A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

So far, all the Ciates I’ve tried are consistent in formulation.  They’re thick but not quite gloopy and they dry like lightning.  If I knew how to thin nail polish down… I probably would with these.

If you’re quick enough, application is great!  It dries to a smooth glossy finish and lasts like the Duracell Bunny.

Plastic Fantastic is a great shade… it’s not mind-achingly beautiful, but it’s a solid mauvey pink which is sensible enough to be completely work safe.

Recommended.

01/02/2010 (UK Date Format) – This post is overdue an update.

I’ve been revisiting this mascara throughout January.  And the formula feels thicker to me now.  It’s less clumpy (although I still wouldn’t advise more than 2 coats) and I’m finding that it nicely defines my lashes.  I need to update with a photo, and I shall do that very shortly.  But I wanted to put this update in now as I saw that I was receiving a few Google search referrals to this page.

As it stands, I would repurchase this mascara… I’m not sure *why* I found it so hard to work with back in November, but it seems like a completely different formula to me now that it’s aged a little… I’m enjoying it so much that I took it on holiday with me as my only mascara, that sounds like a silly ‘compliment’.  But when you have as many mascaras in rotation as I do, it’s a big commitment!

When I was in Superdrug the other day, I was looking for some of Bourjois’ new makeup removers and skincare products when I spied this unremarkable looking tube on the shelves.

Bourjois 1001 Cils…

I adore mascara, I have no less than 7 unopened tubes sitting in my makeup drawers at home, waiting to be put into action, so of course… I had to buy another one.

With mascaras, innovation seems to be the buzz word “du jour” and it’s not about the formulas…  It’s all about the brushes at the moment.  I’ll happily admit that I’m a total sucker for this.  I love me a good explanation as to why a mascara brush is gonna make me look like bambi on steroids.

So what’s the USP of this one?

Bourjois says:

Say good bye to mascaras that only thicken or lengthen the lashes! Bourjois goes further and multiplies your lashes*

* visual effect

Excellent! How’s it gonna do that then?

The revolutionary patented** double helix brush has astonishing powers: with its twelve rows of bristles, it works on every single lash, even the very smallest. In just one application, every lash is reached and fully coated from root to tip without clumping.

** patent pending

Right-O… No clumping, Multiplied Lashes and a Double Helix Brush…

Double helixes rock. It’s true…

Think DNA, responsible for encoding all the genetic information in our sad little lives.

And how about the Double Helix Nebula, found in the middle of our very own Milky Way galaxy?

Not quite so impressive, but interesting nonetheless is Bourjois’ 1001 Cils Mascara Brush:

It’s a plastic spiked brush as opposed to fibre bristled, which usually works nicely for my lashes.  Do you have a preference?

The formula is quite wet… one of those “sneeze and you’ll *really* regret it” types.

The head of the wand is really flexible compared to the shaft.  When I was putting the wand back in the tube, I hadn’t quite aligned it properly and instead of it simply jamming and not going in the tube as what usually happens… the head flexed and “pinged”, flicking mascara on me. Nice.

It clumped on the first coat and spread itself over my eyelid thanks to the thin, wet formula.

I didn’t find it particularly lengthening, volumising or ‘multiplying’.  The only positives I have are that it contains a nice strong black pigment and thanks to the thin brush you can reach the inner lashes with ease.

Here’s some before > afters:

I wouldn’t repurchase.

Bourjois 1001 Cils/Lashes is currently priced at £6.99 in Boots (I can’t remember how much I paid in Superdrug), RRP: £8.99

Eeee… d’ya reckon if I sneak this up here at 3am no-one will notice?  It’s in them there Aussie rules that I’m to post it up on my blog.

It’s bad… it’s really rather horrific.  Car crash cosmetics.  The worst of it is… it took me bloody ages!

Oh god… ok… Today’s news is tomorrow’s fish wrap and all that.  I’ll post heavily afterwards to push it onto page 2.

Ta-Da!! *does a whirl*

So, inspiration… what was I thinking? WHAT WAS I THINKING?!

Well, the colours are representative of the Aussie Hair logo…  Purple and white is synonymous with the brand no?

One of the top things that springs to mind when I think of Aussie is fun-loving!! Combine that with it’s home territory and what is more fun loving than the annual Sydney Mardi Gras?

Which goes some way to explain why I went for something a little more ‘out there’!

The white parts are also meant to be like kangaroo tails as in the logo… but um, yeah…

Oh and the stars! Musn’t forget those… well they’re in the Aussie flag of course!!  Very important considering the amount of natural and native ingredients that can be found in some of our favourite Aussie Hair products!

So anyway, that’s my competition entry and despite my current embarrassment I had *so* much fun doing it.  Thanks Aussie for making me think outside of the box.

If you haven’t entered the competition yet, you’re running out of time!!  It’s open internationally (cos who says that it’s just us Brits who love a bit of Aussie?).  You have ’till Monday to get your entries in.  Just show me… what is Aussie all about to you?

So, I was asking on Twitter last night… Why is it, when department stores advertise things like 25% off sales, the beauty department only ever offers 10% off at the most.

All department stores are the same, you receive the email with the promise of big savings only to open it and sigh at the small print.

So, it was rather apt this morning when I read this article on the Daily Mail website.

If you haven’t got time to read it, here’s the headline:

Battle of the beauty brands as Debenhams slashes prices by 15% in Christmas price war

God I hate the Daily Mail.

“Slashes” and “15%”, an oxymoron if ever I heard one.  Excuse me if I don’t pee my pants with excitement and rush down to my nearest overpriced cosmetics counter to take advantage of that generous 15%, I wouldn’t want to start a stampede in the middle of this dramatic pricing war.

So yeah, no real point to this post… just venting a little.  Sorry about that.

I was very excited to see the promo image for this latest GOSH collection which has been out for a little while now.

The eyeshadow palette in particular caught my eye:

*sigh* Such beautiful taupes…

Unfortunately for me, the stock image looks nothing like the product.  Way to go Mr. GOSH product photographer/retoucher.

This is what the palette really looks like:

Black to White… hey, where did my lovely taupes go?

I can’t really bitch too much – I was sent this by the nice people at GOSH.

Well I can bitch, ‘cos that’s what I do when I don’t like something… so yeah… where the hell was I?

Oh yes, it’s often helpful if the promo images reflect the actual product, don’t you think?

Let’s have a look at the packaging and see if the palette can redeem itself.

Oooh, a tutorial.  I’m a sucker for these and always happy to receive some inspiration and direction!

This is really nice, sturdy casing… good job!

2 eyeshadow applicators and a big mirror… all good stuff.

How about the actual shadows themselves?

Disappointing really…

They feel chalky and they’re simillar to Sleek shadows in as much as they’re quite soft and crumbly.  Shadow dust will fly everywhere when picking up the colour with a brush.

That’s where the Sleek comparison ends.  Unlike Sleek these give very little payoff in terms of colour.  Wanna see?

That third grey from the left is a real bastard to get much out of. *swipe, swipe, swipe*.

Having said that… hand on my heart, I don’t mind at all in this instance.  I usually err on the side of heavy-handedness when it comes to applying eye shadows and with a palette of this nature, my looks usually end up all black and not much else.

The Sleek Graphite palette is a real bugger for this as it’s *so* pigmented I generally look like I have a pair of black eyes after using it.  This, on the other hand gives me the chance to build up the colour and stop short of Panda.

However, for most… I’m sure that this lack of pigmentation is not a good thing.  And if it were a palette of different shades, I’d most likely agree with you.

One more thing I will say though, is that it does state that you can use these eyeshadows wet… I shall give it a go and be back with a FOTD, you never know… it could be amazing – eternal optimist that I am!

I’ve heard great things about the nail polishes from this collection.  In general, I find GOSH Nail polishes to be *awesome* but I’m still dipping my big toe into the world of glitter polishes and don’t need another black so didn’t pick either of these up.

The Gosh Bright n’ Black Collection is available to buy from Superdrug and the eyeshadow palette is priced at £8.99

How have you been finding the collection?  Have you tried any other GOSH eyeshadows?

This week feels like it’s dragging… and it’s only Tuesday!!  Let’s have a quick Eye of the Day for a few minutes distraction…

Eyes:

Inner Corner: B Never Too Busy… – B Delight
Lid: BarryM – #88 Winter Berry
Crease: E.L.F Mineral Eyeshadow – Royal
Outer V: NYX Ultra Pearl Mania – Charcoal
Mascara: Rimmel Sexy Curves – Black
Eyeliner (1st Layer): MAC Fluidline – Silverstroke
Eyeliner (2nd Layer): eBay Infinity Liner – Black

Don’t know if it’s the ‘right’ thing to do, but I love layering my eyeliner like this.  I’m a total eyeliner fiend and have so many, it’s surely the only way I’ll ever get through them all!

Seriously, it’s a great way to wear a pop of bright colour along the lashline, without commiting yourself to making a statement with it.  I often wear gold and blue eyeliners in this way.

Ok, that distraction worked for about 40seconds… hurry up Hump Day!

Heather over at The She Space/About Face Cosmetics had a blowout sale in honour of turning the big 4-0! (Happy Birthday!)

How could I not take advantage with full size eyeshadow pigments reduced down to $2.50 each?

I went for mainly wintery shades that work well on my cool skin:

Aren’t they beautiful?

Stand out shades are: Female Soldiers…, Inspired Meltdown, Anybody Seen Erin, Touched By Truth.

Those 4 blow me away by how achingly beautiful and unique they are.

Driven by Instinct was described as a “smoky purple shimmer” but unfortunately, it just looks blue on my skin.  A lovely shade nonetheless, but blues don’t really suit me.

Shipping time from The She Space is *always* slowwww.  I ordered on 20th October and it took very nearly a full month to arrive.

Are you into your pigments?  I’m hoping to press these when my pans arrive from Hong Kong – I don’t know how they’ll turn out, but I’ll share my method and results!

The She Space Holiday sale has now kicked in and full size pigments are reduced to $3.50 each from $4.50.

Have a great Monday xx

So, I’m not a big glitter fan.  I’m really not.  I don’t mind how it looks (as long as it’s not rainbow coloured)… but the thought of the removal process makes me want to stick forks in my eyes.

Barielle sent me a couple of shades for review, and I may have physically shuddered in a glitter-induced repulsion when I saw this one.

I mean look…. it’s chunky!

However, the polish itself is a beautiful mid-toned blue, infact it’s quite an unusual combination… I’ve never seen blue and copper combined like this in a polish.  Website describes it as gold, but it’s definitely a more rose gold/coppery colour.

I am *so* on a blue kick since that George beauty.  And this Barielle shade is doing nothing to quench those flames!  B-e-a-utiful!

I don’t like the rough feeling that glitter polishes leave and despite a top coat… my mani still felt bumpy but there’s no denying the blue/copper combination works.

I’ve waited ’till removal before writing up this post, and removal was just as horrible as I had anticipated… in the end, I poured some polish remover into the cap of the bottle and soaked each finger individually before I developed RSI from all the wiping.

These Barielle’s are probably some of the longest-wearing polishes I’ve used.  6 days in with this one and I have absolutely no tip wear.  Application was fine, with no issues at all.  I don’t know if glitter polishes tend to have more or less issue with application than normal?  But this was good.

Are you a fan of glitters?  Any removal tips for me? Liking this one?

So, the ELF Studio Line has burst onto the scene with a variety of affordable makeup and the most interesting thing about it all to me is some of the innovation it’s brought with it.

I’m talking genuinely new, innovative products… that, and trying to knock high-end products down from their pedestals (HD Powder anyone? – p.s. how are you finding that?)

Introducing the Shimmer Palette.

It’s a palette of 4 shimmering iridescent cream shades that can be used to highlight wherever you choose to apply!

The ELF Studio Line packaging has been consistently good, more than slightly reminiscent of NARS… everything I’ve bought or been given has a solid feel to it and this is no exception.

The 4 shades included range from white through to a couple of peachy/gold colours ending with a pink.  All are very wearable shades.  Although I have no idea how they would look on deeper skintones.

The consistency of the creams are slightly greasy which means that they blend very easily but need setting to stop them sliding.  The colours are also surprisingly pigmented until you blend them out into a nice sheen.

You can see the iridescence in the shades in this swatch, I’ve tried using them on my cheekbones… I like.  I’ve tried using them on my eyelids… um, not so much like (too greasy).  I’ve yet to try them on my lips… I don’t really see the point.

Someone give me some more ideas of how to use!

You can see the colours a little better here.

So, overall ELF’s Shimmer Palette is a nice, fun product.  It’s easy to use and does what ELF intended it to do… add a bit of shimmer an sheen wherever it’s used.

I’m not sure that I’m going to reach for the palette that often, I don’t really have much need for it… however, I will be buying some as Xmas pressies for a couple of young teenage girls in the family.  I think it would be awesome for that “too young to wear full on slap – but wants to play with makeup regardless” age.

Have you tried ELF’s Shimmer Palette – what say you?

I’ve been playing with Sleek MakeUP’s new Luminous Pressed Powder which I was sent just over a week ago.

It’s designed to be swept all over your face for a glowing, illuminated effect.

The powder, which is available in 4 shades is packed full of tiny light-reflecting mica pigments.  These are visible in the pan, and whilst very fine – are indeed pretty sparkly!  Unfortunately, the pigments are too fine for my camera to pick up on.  I did try!

I received shade 02, which is far too dark for me to use as an all-over powder – not that that stopped me from trying of course.

Unfortunately, the shade just looked unnaturally dark on my skin.  I can however say that the mica pigments are just about subtle enough to be used all over without looking like a disco ball.

It’s ok!  You can put the dancing shoes away!

I found that it absorbed oil effectively and didn’t clump down the side of my nose as some heavier powders will.

As it’s a golden tone, I am currently using it as a light bronzer just to warm up my skin a little where the sun (if we had any) would touch.  I was a little nervous about putting an illuminating powder on my nose fearing that it may be seen from out of space, but so far visibility is staying below the stratosphere.

Packaging is nice for a budget item, other budget cosmetic companies could learn a thing or two from Sleek MakeUP’s consistently good quality casings.

You can dispense with the silly little powder puff and just use a large fluffy powder brush to pick up the product.

If shimmer ain’t your bag (baby), then I’d refrain from applying it all over and use it more as you would a MAC MSF.  Ooh, actually… bet it would look lovely swept over your decolletage too, it’s a bit more subtle than some products designed to draw a bit of attention to the old boobies.  Make you look less like a slapper and more like a subtley shimmery ladee.  Innit.

It’s a nice addition to the Sleek MakeUP line, it fits right in and is fairly priced at £5.99.

Now that we’re hurtling headfirst into that downward spiral of financial gloom otherwise known as “the run up to Christmas”, I thought you lovely lot might be in need of a few discount codes to make those purse-hitting punches a little less painful.

Thanks to the penny-pinching money-savvy people over at VoucherCodes.co.uk, here’s the best of the discounts currently available:

20% Off and Free Delivery at The Body Shop
10% off plus Free Delivery at Elemis
10% Off first Orders at Zuneta
5% off Orders over £30 at Feel Unique
10% off and Free Delivery at TimeToSpa
£5 off Orders over £60 at Gorgeous Shop
5% over Orders over £50 at Salon Skincare
10% off Orders over £20 at The Beauty Room
5% off Christmas Selection at Treat Her

Click the image below for more money-saving discounts.

My competition is now closed, thanks (all 6 of you) for taking part. *sticks 2 fingers up at the lazy buggers*

I will get my makeup expert (Mr. L) onto helping me pick the winner in the morning.  He doesn’t know it yet, but I wanna hear *exactly* why he’s chosen his favourite.  And I’m sure you do too!

Read more about it here