A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

Ey up!  I’ve got a guest review on the blog today!

Kenzie hails from Kenzie Benali Beauty & Fashion, a blog that the Southampton-based student enjoys updating during her spare time from a busy Multimedia Journalism degree.  She kindly took charge of guest reviewing the new Dermalogica Clear Start Range* for me, as her younger skin is more suited to the range’s active ingredients and target audience than mine!

Take it away Kenzie…

For the last month and a half, I have religiously been using all of the products from the Dermalogica clear start range.

With a history of problematic skin and having tried what feels like every product on the market I was excited to find out what the hype surrounding Dermalogica was all about.

Here is how I got on with them!

Breakout Clearing Foam Wash (£13.00) – I used this product twice daily and I have to say I loved it. It has quite a thick, gel like texture, which at first was a little hard to take to, but it really left my skin feeling cleansed and fresh and smelt beautiful.

Breakout Clearing All Over Toner (£13.00) – This is a unique toner because of its mist form. Prior to using this, I had never tried any spray toners. At first it felt slightly uncomfortable as it leaves the face feeling a little damp but once you get used to the sensation and allow it to sink into the skin it is extremely refreshing and effective. If you can not take to the spray however, I often applied the toner onto a cotton pad and then to my face to avoid the feeling of residue on the skin. This product can also be applied onto other areas of the body that are prone to breakouts.

Blackhead Clearing Pore Control Scrub (£13.00) – My skin is extremely prone to dryness, so out of all of the products this was one of the most effective for me. I used this 3 to 4 times a week and it made a visible difference to the way my foundation sat on my skin. Often my skin would become flakey and applying foundation on to my skin can just worsen this but using the scrub prior to doing my make up really helped to smooth the skin and provide a clean and soft base. The only trouble I did have with this was that I found the microbeads perhaps a little too harsh, that being said I have very sensitive skin! To combat this, I just used a tiny amount each time and rubbed it in extremely gently.

Breakout Clearing Daytime Treatment (£16.00) – This moisturiser was lovely to put on after my morning routine. However, I did find that I had to leave a substantial amount of time in between applying this and doing my make up, (about 30 minutes) because it took sometime to really soak into the skin.

Oil Clearing Matte Moisturiser SPF15 (£16.00) – This moisturiser promises to provide all day shine control and although it didn’t completely eliminate all areas of oiliness, it certainly helped to improve it. Often, a few hours after applying my make up, I start to get shine on my face so this was a great product for me.

Breakout Clearing Emergency Spot Fix (£13.00) – I used this at the first signs of any breakouts and it made a very obvious difference. I usually applied the cream before I went to bed so that when I woke up the redness had noticeably gone down. My only criticism would be that it comes in an extremely small tube and I went through it very quickly.

Breakout Clearing Cooling Masque (£16.00) – This masque was extremely successful in unclogging pores but most notably for hydrating my skin. I used it about 3 times a week whenever my skin was looking slightly dry. As my skin is so sensitive I only kept this treatment on for 5 minutes, rather than the 10 suggested but it still did exactly as the packaging promised and soothed away irritations.

Breakout Clearing Overnight Treatment (£13.00) – This invisible treatment really improved swelling and redness and felt extremely soothing before bed. This product also seemed to greatly reduce dryness and kept my skin hydrated until the morning.

Over all I found the clear start range very true to its word, “a clear winner for teenagers.” I definitely noticed fewer breakouts and improved clarity in the skin which I think in the longer term could potentially completely clear affected areas. All of the products smell gorgeous, with a very fruity and fresh theme running throughout and left me feeling completely cleansed. I would not hesitate to purchase anything from this range again!

Lots of love, Kenzie xxx

* press sample

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If you’re anything like me, you’ll recognise the reality of logging onto eBayUK “for a quick look” before losing hours of time, clicking through from item to item… a shopping black hole, genuinely one of the hardest sites on the internet to escape from once you start browsing.

You’ll also be familiar with the triumphant feeling of snagging a hard-fought bargain, waiting until the timer ticks down, heart-rate increasing as the counter gets closer to zero.  Wait, wait… ok… BID!  HOORAY!

I’ve been shopping on eBay for beauty-related items for many years, it’s my number one source for hard-to-find products that may have only been available on counter for a couple of weeks.  It’s also my number one source for buying high-tech cleansing lotions and quirky cheek tints from the Far East.  It’s a veritable treasure-trove for beauty hunters, especially those of us who may be looking for a little saving on the RRP.

This month, eBay UK have introduced a new and exciting way to browse for some brilliant items.  eBay Collections lets YOU take control and publicly share the items that catch your eye.  Create themed boards of items that inspire you, styling them beautifully into carefully curated collections that range from homeware to beauty, fashion to sport – the possibilities are indeed, limitless!

I’ve been working with eBay to create some beauty-inspired collections that feature some of my favourite finds and fantastic themes including: Rainbow Nails, Nuts About Neutrals, and The Miracle of the Micellar!

I’ll be updating the collections and refreshing the items over the next few months and hope that you’ll follow my lead and get curating some collections of your own!

If you find yourself feeling inspired to get creating, leave a comment below so I can hook up with you on eBay and follow your collections as you build and grow them.  Also, if you have any ideas for themes that you’d like to see me create, give me a shout and I’ll give it a go!

* this is a sponsored post in conjunction with eBayUK

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Question of the Week: On average, how often do you make impulse beauty purchases? What type of product is your biggest weakness?

Answer: I’d say that about 30/70 of my purchases are an impulse/considered split.  There’s nothing quite like the anticipation of spying a product on counter and getting it into your hot little hands within 5-minutes of that first look but I know that I’m far, far more likely to be disappointed by those impulse naggings than I am something that I’ve researched to the hilt.  I almost always buy my considered purchases online too… usually because I buy them after doing my research through blogs and makeupalley etc!

My biggest impulse-weakness has to be for lip products and nail polishes… mostly because they’re less likely to disappoint than something like an impulse-bought foundation.

Clumps of Mascara has found the best nail polish top coat ever. No really, it’s pretty incredible.

EauMG – is kicking off festival season with a review an indie fruity-floral perfume roll-on that reminds her of hip Southern music festivals.

Gouldylox Reviews – Can a hot scissor hair cut change your life? Or just steal your money? I did the research to find out.

Lipglossiping – goes all out gaga for a gourmand skin treat that leaves you smelling of hot-buttered popcorn. Do you know what it is yet?

My Beauty Bunny – has teamed up with The Humane Society and beauty bloggers around the world to make a video in honor of #BeCrueltyFree week. Please watch and share to help spread the cruelty free message!

Nouveau Cheap – There’s a new collection of jelly polishes now hitting drugstores! Come check out the Sally Hansen Limited Edition Palm Beach Jellies.

Pink Sith – gives you her top 10 wish list beauty items for Pantone’s Color of the year in Radiant Orchid!

Prime Beauty – goes nude (in spirit only) with the new Maybelline Dare To Go Nude Color Tattoo Eyeshadow Collection–a drugstore gem!

Phyrra – shares her Top Ten Cruelty Free Radiant Orchid Beauty picks.

we heart this – What do bacon, Mr. T, mug shots and Rosa Parks all have in common? Why don’t you click here and find out?!

Do you impulse buy?

Whilst I try not to get too hung up on product packaging, I do feel that it’s only fair to point out that the bottle for the new Cartier La Panthere fragrance is way, way, too cool for school.  Seriously, it builds the kind of bottle-lust in me that I didn’t even know existed until now.  Solid and strong… it’s a beautifully angular monument to the luxury brand with the iconic Cartier panther peering out from within.

I think my favourite part about it is the top… the err, spritzer… and the golden, almost neo-classical design of those geometric lines under the cap.  Despite it’s obvious *cough* panther *cough* extravagance, there remains a certain understated quality… it just screams glamour, expensiveness, and good taste.

The press release describes Cartier La Panthere as a “feral floral”, flowers gone wild… animalistic, even.  Indeed the gardenia within has been let loose with abandon, allowed to bloom until the milky white petals exude their earthy qualities to the max.  It’s a kind of dirty glory that you might not have imagined a floral could possess, don’t fight it… just enjoy its pungent qualities and subtle sweetness.

Some have described La Panthere as unwashed, and a little skanky (which in my opinion could only be a fragrant compliment when it comes to perfume!) but to my nose, it’s not a true skank-fest in this way.  Perhaps, as a lover of “dirty” fragrances, my skank benchmark is placed a little higher than most!  Sure, it’s musky and a little sour in places but there’s just too much refinement going on, too much floral elegance for it to ever be anything other than fairly well-tamed at all times.

The sillage and longevity of La Panthere is testament to the quality of the work behind it.  On my skin, I get at least 6 hours of wear that floats across the ether, casting its warm drydown out like a (oak)mossy net among the crowd.  I feel classy with this fragrance against my skin, nay womanly… without a hint of girlish mischief, I’m all about the serious business.

Cartier La Panthere is available exclusively on counter and online at Harrods, priced from £49 for 30ml

* press sample

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As a simple lady (in more ways than one), I’m just not interested in painting my eyes with a rainbow of colours anymore.  It makes me feel conspicuous, something that I don’t enjoy being at the best of times.  Whilst I may be getting past the whole idea of using makeup as a way to be creative, I don’t think I’ll ever get over its abilities to make me look more refreshed, and leave me feeling more confident in my own appearance.

Truth be told, nowadays… I rarely stray from wearing anything other than a highlighting shade across my eyelids.  I need something that puts luminosity into a part of my face that is often the first to express just how little sleep I’ve gotten in recent weeks.  I know that many of you will be the same as me, “boring” though it is…

I thought I’d share my favourite luminosity-delivering eye shadows for a quick morning post… these are the ones that I use in constant rotation… whichever is closest to hand, I’m happy to use that morning.

Top row, left to right: MAC Vanilla Pigment, MAC Femme Fi, MAC Phloof!

Bottom row, left to right: Becca Vicuna, The Body Shop Colour Crush 101, Shu Uemura IR Beige 800

I rarely feel makeup guilts about purchasing a highlighting shade, which is silly… because six, used in rotation, is more than enough for anyone.  However, I know that as part of my daily staple, I’ll get through them… eventually.  In a pinch, most of them can also be used as a skin highlighter across the cheekbones, I do this particularly with The Body Shop Colour Crush 101 eyeshadow when I can’t find my NARS Albatross.

Of the six, MAC’s Vanilla Pigment delivers the most intense light-reflection, it’s wonderful for the inner corner but my skin is a little too mature to wear this as an under-the-browbone highlighter, it makes me feel like I’m in drag to be honest… not really a good thing, when err… you’re not actually in drag.  I do love this one as an allover lid colour, I just make sure to blend it well and combine with some black liquid liner for a simple-but-polished look.

If you were to push me, I’d probably call out MAC’s discontinued Femme-Fi as my ultimate favourite.  It just has such a lovely quality that never looks chalky or stark across the lids, sometimes the cooler-toned, more frosty Phloof! can look a little too highlightery across the lids.  Whenever I spot Femme-Fi in someone’s blog sale, I always succumb to the purchase.

Becca’s Vicuna is also a beautiful one-shade option, I probably reach for it the least out of the six just because it’s in a cream format… but when I get my head around working outside the box, I’m always pleased with the result.

Finally, the discontinued Shu Uemura IR Beige 800 and The Body Shop Colour Crush 101* are really similar to each other in tone.  The Shu Uemura is a little more refined in texture, but once both are blended, you’d be hard-pushed to notice a difference between them.  These are both perfect for the inner corner but when worn across the lid, I try to combine them with a more golden-toned crease colour as opposed to my usual taupe.

What are your favourite luminosity-delivering eye shadows?

* press sample

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I simply cannot over-stress the importance of amazing eyebrows.

Well err, scratch that because obviously I could… I could suggest that they were more important than something like world peace or the need for a Krispy Kreme stand on every corner.  But what I’m trying to explain, dear reader, is that I do place an emphasis on how my brows look.  Mostly because, without intervention, they’re an embarrassment to my face.  The saddest thing about this, is that my eyebrows, despite all this extra attention (I spend more money over the course of a year on my eyebrows than I do my hair), are still not amazing.

I have been cursed with the worst affliction that any brow-wearer could suffer from.  Curly eyebrows.  My threader always has a little giggle to herself (she thinks I don’t notice) when she gets the scissors out.  I try and make light of the situation by suggesting that she might have better luck with a pair of straighteners, but then her wry smiles turn to a look of pity, so I shut up and let her get on with it.

Benefit’s Gimme Brow* promises to be an all-in-one solution for badly-behaved brows, delivering a natural-looking finish and a long-lasting hold.  It’s a gel formula, packed with tiny fibres that adhere to both skin and hair to help fill in any bald spots and volumise (yes, volumise!) the brows you already have.  Imagine the brand trying to sell this back in the days when “big” lady brows were frowned-upon!

My biggest bug-bear with this product is a usual Benefit complaint.  You’ll leave the counter feeling much, much lighter of pocket… and for not a lot of product.  Infact, you get just 3.0g of product for your £17.50 outlay and when you’re dealing with something that you need to “build up” for maximum effect, and will most likely be using daily… I really think that Gimme Brow will quickly become a rather expensive addition to your beauty routine.

The wand inside the tube reminds me of those bottom-lash mascara wands… it’s very, very small and very, very tapered.  It’s been nicely designed to allow for precision application but I still find it a little too big for my few straggly hairs at the outer tips of my brows.  I did read someone say that they wished the wands were bigger, to cover a greater area with more speed… I’m just LOL’ing to myself at just how big this person’s brows must be!  Spare a thought for us with spindly face slugs, love!

Benefit Gimme Brow is available to purchase in two shades: Light/Medium and Medium/Deep – not only is Light/Medium obviously the paler of the two, but it looks a little warmer also…

I’ve included a before/after shot below.  This is how I use the product, though I’m aware that some have taken the “adhere to skin” advice quite literally and have used the product to *really* fill in the brows, as one would with a pencil or a shadow.  I can’t quite bring myself to do this with Gimme Brow, I’ve tried… but I just don’t like how it looks.  Perhaps if my brows were shorter, but I struggle to keep it looking natural once I start painting my skin with the product.

The best side-effect I’ve noticed with Benefit’s Gimme Brow (and I’m using the Medium/Deep shade in the photos below) is its ability to transform my two white eyebrow hairs into naturally-coloured versions of their neighbours.  Thank christ for that, I’ve never been so horrified to discover a white hair since… well… since I discovered one somewhere else you really don’t want to discover one.  Other than that, although I do like it for its ease-of-use and convenience (it’s a lot less faff than a pencil or a powder)… I’m not sure I’m in love with it, especially at its current price.

My biggest problem is that it just doesn’t seem to have a huge amount of staying power… and if I’m gonna ditch the powder for an all-in-one brow solution, I really need that perk.

If you’re in need of some serious eyebrow SOS, now would be a great time to head down to the Benefit counter at your local Debenhams store.  The brand are partnering with cancer charity Look Good Feel Better for the month of March and are offering a complimentary brow arch service (worth £11.50) for a requested minimum donation of £5, with all proceeds going directly to the charity.

Benefit Gimme Brow is priced at £17.50 and available to buy instore at Benefit counters nationwide and online at benefitcosmetics.co.uk

* press sample

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A dark brown holographic? This is stuff of my dreams!

It’s pretty similar to the first Layla Cosmetics Holo I posted from my recent haul: Misty Blush, albeit a little less red-toned… if you’re a fan of the base shade, get both… if not, it’s quite hard to choose between them.  I had guessed that they’d be close-enough for me not to need to buy both but I love these darker holographics, so I just couldn’t walk away with only one.

Application once again, needs three coats to ensure no patchiness but each coat dries quickly and didn’t give me any major issues.  I’m sorry for the (almost daily) Layla spam but I’m taking massive advantage of the sunshine while it lasts!

Layla Coffee Love Hologram Effect Nail Polish is priced at £5.32 and available to buy online from amazon.co.uk

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I can’t stop showing these new Layla polishes off, I’m sorry.  Everytime I see a chink of direct sunlight, peeking through the shadows, I’m out on the balcony with my camera desperately trying to capture the holographic sparkle like a woman possessed.  My neighbours must think I’m a bonfide “speshul” case as I angle my hand this way and that to capture the brightness between the clouds.

Shock Pink is a cheerful magenta that’s pretty true to its name… bright enough not to be babyish but in the shade it’s subtle enough not to be obnoxiously “pink”.  This multicoloured beauty takes on a real golden hue in the sunlight, alongside the rainbow holo effect that’s a little less intense than the one I showed you the other day.  Application was a little kinder this time but still needed a total of three coats… I think this may be the sacrifice one has to make for a great (but inexpensive) holographic.

Wear was about 48hrs before I got a chip from one of the tips…. top-coat the crap out of it.

There’s currently only 8 left in stock of the Layla Shock Pink on Amazon.co.uk, priced at £5.09 so get your skates on if you’re interested!

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You didn’t know that I was psychic did you?  It’s ok, I didn’t expect you to… after all, I’m the one with the special powers, not you… and I know what you’re thinking right now…

“…there is never a time in my life that I don’t need my cleansing products to smell like hot-buttered popcorn.”

You’re right.

When it comes to the brand LUSH, I feel like I’m regressing. I’m sure that the proper rite of passage is to begin with a teenage addiction of all things LUSHY, then as you mature… you move onto the beauty halls and away from the “sniff me, sniff me!” LUSH stuff, keeping only a mild interest going (and a few furtive dips into the store for an occassional bubble bar topup).

Me?  I had no interest in LUSH stuff growing up.  I was a Body Shop girl through and through.  It didn’t help matters that we didn’t actually have a local store I could nip into… but still, I just wasn’t particularly tempted by the brand.  When I did develop more of an interest, mostly through seeing other people’s LUSH hauls and the like… I appreciated their ability to turn a boring bath into a far more interesting one.  But beyond that?  I still sidelined them somewhat.

It’s only in the last couple of years that I’ve come to the realisation that I have a few LUSH staples in my bathroom that you’d have to prise out of my cold, dead hands before I’d give them up.

I’ve just discovered a new one.

Let The Good Times Roll is a skin cleanser that delivers a damn good exfoliation while its at it.  On paper, with my prone-to-redness skin, I should probably run a mile from its manual exfoliation capabilities but my flaky skin would stage a mutiny if I dared to stop using this now.

To use it, you break a small amount away from the crumbly mass contained in the pot and rub it into your palms with a little water until it begins to emulsify and develop a creamier texture.  It’s packed with grains of maize flour and polenta to exfoliate the skin and I’m careful to use only a light hand as I massage it over my skin.  If you’re particularly sensitive, I’d recommend restricting its use to a couple of times a week but I’ve been using it every morning for over a fortnight now without any signs of irritation or over-exfoliation.

I use it when I’m in the shower, keeping the pot within easy reach… it’s a little messier than your average cleanser and I prefer to do my exfoliating immediately prior to my makeup application anyway.  Before I started using this, I was using Dermalogica’s Daily Microfoliant for exactly the same reasons and Let The Good Times Roll has completely replaced this high-end product, which will shave 10s of pounds off my yearly beauty budget, hoorah!

The reason that I place this above the Dermalogica for my needs, is not only because of its price point but also because it leaves a moisturising residue behind that the Dermalogica daily exfoliator doesn’t.  This leaves my freshly-cleansed skin feeling more comfortable in the short-term, giving me half a chance to get my fringe dried before I have to get my daily moisturising skincare routine organised.  It may even be enough to replace some of my moisturising needs as the weather warms up, time will tell.

I’m a proper fan of this product, I was going to leave my usual full-month of skincare testing before writing my review but I just don’t need to… I don’t need to judge it on any anti-ageing or treatment capabilities, I just want to praise it for how it fits neatly into an already established routine, rids my skin of the daily flakies, and will leave me feeling less light in pocket than the product I was using before.  Job done.

LUSH Let The Good Times Roll Cleanser has now been made a permanent part of the LUSH skincare lineup, it’s priced from £6.35 for 100g available instore and online.

* press sample

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I’m not the world’s biggest Spring/Summer collections fan, I have the kind of complexion that needs contrast… it needs bold colour, the kind that you’re more likely to find in collections released toward the end of the year rather than the beginning.  That being said, I’m nothing if not a total sucker for palettes with a delicate amount of sparkle to brighten and highlight.

The Suqqu Spring/Summer 2014 Collection* is is my first experience of Suqqu’s colour makeup, it’s not a brand that’s stocked within 80-miles of where I live and when it comes to flying-visits to Selfridges in London, I’ve only ever peeked with curiosity at the much-lauded brush range that the Japanese brand are famous for producing.

It’s with this in mind that I’m approaching my post by placing more emphasis on the overall impression of the products, their textures… their longevity and blendability, than I am the colours that come and go depending on seasonal releases.  I hope this is ok, I’ve included plenty of photos to show this year’s Spring Summer shades but my curiosity was mostly centred-upon trying to work out for myself whether or not the legendary SUQQU quality lives up to my inflated expectations.

The pieces I received* from the Suqqu SS14 Collection are shown in the photo above, from left to right: Smoothing Face Color, Sirakoucha EX05 Nail Polish, Mitsucha 15 Eyeshadow Quad, Usubeni EX-03 Creamy Glow Moist Lipstick, and Momoshuiro 01 Balancing Cheeks Blusher.

I’ll start by focusing on the Balancing Cheeks Blusher (£38.00) below, and will say outright that for me… it was my favourite item in the collection.

Looking at both the product in the pan, and the swatches on the back of my hand… I was sure that I’d struggle to get the colour to show up on my pale but prone-to-ruddiness cheeks.  I was wrong.  When I’m reviewing something that may end up in someone spending £38 on a blusher, you can be sure that I take my responsibility seriously… and that extends to doing something I might not ordinarily do.  I used the cheek brush that comes with the product.  Interestingly, so should you.

The textures of the blushers are incredibly soft and they kick up a lot of dust… the powder needs the touch of a whisper-light brush, and one is thankfully included in the pan.  Infact, despite owning some beautiful, and rather expensive blush brushes… the one that comes included with this duo is softer than anything else in my collection.  The colour glides on beautifully.  I ended up using the warmer and paler of the two shades in the traditional blusher “stripe” configuration before blending the slightly sparklier pink (pan on the right) into the apples of my cheeks and drawing upwards as you would use a highlighter.

Longevity is day-long.  I just can’t give any complaints about this product… except to say that it’s more money than I’ve ever spent on a blusher before and I’m just not sure I could bring myself to part with almost £40 for 4g of product.  If you could, then you should give the range a once-over on counter.

The next item under scrutiny is the Eyeshadow Quad, Mitsucha 15 (£45.00) – a warm-toned palette with an incredible luster and grown-up sparkle.  The depth of pigmentation is perfect here, no matter which shade my brush picked up… I felt that I had – as if by voodoo – managed to transfer just the right amount of product from pan to brush each and every time!  The only occasion I returned to the palette was at the end of my application just to add a little more of the gold (top left) shade to the centre of my lid after blending the crease.

Overall, the shades in Mitsucha 15 wouldn’t be my first choice but this is a personal opinion on what suits me.  The texture, quality and luminosity delivered by the palette is second-to-none.  This is grown-up stuff for those of us who aren’t willing to give up on sparkle and highlight but appreciate that our eyelids are a little too mature for the same heavy glitters or metallics that we used to favour.

The formula reminds me a little of how the Clarins eyeshadows suit my personal tastes, but with an undeniable added refinement brought about by the fact that with no primer applied, these shades didn’t move a centimetre in over 9-hours of wear.  For the perfect quad of shades, I would be willing to part with the £45.00 required to get my hot little hands on the product.

I hope you don’t mind but I’ll be covering the SUQQU polish in another post, I’d just freshly painted my nails the day before taking these swatch shots and I couldn’t give up an hours-old manicure just yet!

The Smoothing Face Color (£50.00) is an interesting concept, featuring a trio of shades that combine together to deliver a three-in-one solution to help beat complexion imperfections.  The white powder on the right contains green pearls to create a “photography reflector effect” diffusing light and blurring imperfections.  The larger, central beige powder is a finely-milled, non-pearlescent powder that helps create “smooth-looking skin without visible pores”.  Finally, the pinker shade on the left aims to correct uneven skintone and discoloration.

Ultimately, it doesn’t leave me tempted.  It’s a lovely, lightweight powder that delivers the “smoothing” finish it promises but I just couldn’t justify the price difference between this and some of my other luminosity-delivering finishing powders in my collection.  I’m already a huge fan of Guerlain’s meteorites range and Clarin’s regular releases of LE face powders (not the “blush” ones).

The final piece from the SS14 collection I’m reviewing today is the Usubeni EX-03 Creamy Glow Moist Lipstick (£27.00) with its sheer, balm-like formula.  Again, this isn’t one that would tempt me into a purchase, I simply need more pigmentation than this lipstick provides, but if you’re a fan of balms and want a polished-look from a fuss-free formula that genuinely leaves lips feeling better conditioned at the end of the day… I’d make it another one to check out on counter.

And finally, a couple of shots showing how the products look once applied.  Combined, they achieve a Spring look that is understated but fresh and luminous.

I haven’t been disappointed by my introduction to Suqqu.  The quality is evident from the first touch… not just in the sleek packaging but in the high-tech textures and long-lasting formulas.  The introduction has made me question just how much of my own cash I’d be willing to part with to pay for the kind of quality that a range like this provides… and how much more discerning I’d force myself to be when faced with the prospect of spending £50 on a face powder.

Ultimately, it’s a range that is more than worthy of the hype that surrounds it, particularly when it comes to the kind of products that would benefit from technologically-advanced, lighter textures.  Next time I’m in London, I’ll be checking out the base products.

The Suqqu Spring/Summer 2014 range is available to buy on-counter in Selfridges and online at selfridges.com

* press samples

Question of the Week: Name the last beauty product that was a failure for you.

Answer: I’ve had a few recently… from the Butter London glitter polish that never was, to the hyaluronic acid serum that smelled suspiciously of cheesy feet.  I even bought a Burt’s Bees Intense Hydration Mask for my preggo dry skin that contains Clary Sage so I’m too scared to use it incase it induces premature labour. Sigh.

Chalkboard Nails – Chalkboard Nails shares her swatches of the OPI Muppets Most Wanted collection. These soft shades are great for spring, but do they really say “Muppets?”

EauMG – has put together a guide to the best smelling hair products. If you could create your own “dream” scented hair product, what would it smell like?

Gouldylox Reviews – What do you think of letting your hair go gray? Is it a trendy time to jump on the gray hair bandwagon or would you keep your bottle color no matter what? I need to know!

Lipglossiping – It may be pink, but is theBalm’s latest Cindy-Lou Manizer really the perfect candidate for cool-toned ladies?

My Beauty Bunny – shares her favorite cruelty free Radiant Orchid makeup and nail picks on eBay. Save some cash and shop her collection!

Nouveau Cheap – Squishy jellies, vibrant cremes and fiery shimmers, all in one nail polish collection that costs $6 TOTAL? Yes and yes!

Prime Beauty – has 6 hand creams to keep your dry leathery hands looking smooth and supple with options from drugstore to luxury brands!

Phyrra – Phyrra’s ecstatic for the new Urban Decay Electric Palette! Check out the chaos inducing colors and tutorial!

we heart this – You simply won’t believe this insane amount of pigment and sass is only $6.49!

What was the last beauty product that was a failure for you?

My little haul of cheap Layla Cosmetics Nail Polishes arrived from Amazon on Saturday morning, and like a kid in a multi-coloured, holographic candy store, I couldn’t wait to paint myself up.  We’ve been especially blessed with the weather this weekend too… isn’t it the warmest it’s been since last October or something?  Anyway… ultimately, this meant sunshine… and nothing appreciates a bit of sunshine more than a holographic nail polish.

Eeny, meeny, miney, mo… went I…

…I settled for Layla Cosmetics Misty Blush as my first NOTD.

Isn’t she a beauty?  If my cuticles weren’t so ravaged at the moment, I’d have given you a close-up of the holographic intensity with my Canon point & shoot but I’m afraid this was as close as my vanity would allow me to get.  Application wasn’t brilliant, but it wasn’t too dreadful… the polish is pretty thin and had a tendency to “flick” specks about during application – perhaps more the fault of my virus-ridden, shaking body – but please don’t apply this anywhere near a white carpet just incase.  It took three coats to reach full opacity and definitely needs a top-coat as it dries pretty matte.

Wear also isn’t amazing… I have a tiny chip one day later, I don’t usually get any chips though… I’m a tip-wear girl, chips… barely ever.

Ultimately, I still love it.  I can’t help it.  Perhaps I’m a bit seduced by the sunshine, by how it sparkles… I think I’m willing to forgive it more than most just because it’s so damn beautiful.

Layla Cosmetics Misty Blush NOTD is available to buy online at amazon.co.uk, priced at £5.21

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