A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

I thought that this Color Club shade was going to be sheerer than it turned out…

Three coats gave me full coverage and results in a beautiful pink-violet with a strong blue/green flash.  My photograph hasn’t picked up the green but you should be able to see the strong blue hues lurking where the light reflects off the nail bed.  For a bargain brand, this shade is a cracker – I just wish it were more accessible in the UK.

I bought Color Club’s Ultra Violet on eBay and paid around £5 inc. postage (from the U.S.) – which nail polish brands do you wish had better availability in the UK?

There’s always a bit of excitement in the air when Benefit release a new boxed blusher because a). they’re generally pretty damn good and b). they’re kinda cute.  Well, the latest addition to the blusher lineup doesn’t disappoint on either of those scores and nicely fills a little gap in the Benefit blusher market for a netral-toned rose.

Despite having a total of four different shades in the same pan, Hervana is designed to be swirled together to create a single shade – infact, you’d physically struggle to load a brush with a single shade.  The packaging, despite being the usual Benefit cardboard offering, seems as though it would be substantial enough to see it through its lifetime and the brush makes for a decent application if you don’t posess a blusher brush you’re already happy to use.

My pink skin-tone pulls Hervana toward the cool side of the spectrum, obviously making the most of that fuchsia-pink shade in the pan.  This makes Hervana offer something very different to some of my other Benefit blushes which lean a lot warmer in tone.  Because of the peach shades within the Hervana spectrum, you may find that your skintone pulls the blush in a different shade direction to mine, something to be wary of when swatching for yourself.  I really love the ultra-fine satin finish which adds a little luminosity and lift to the complexion without exagerrating pore size or fine lines.

Overall, Hervana is definitely one that I’m happy to recommend.  Providing the shade works for you, I can’t see you experiencing any application problems with this one – it blends smoothly and evenly and lasts well throughout the day.

Benefit Hervana is currently out of stock on the Benefit website but is available to buy on counter or online at ASOS, priced at £23.50

* press sample

Palettes are a busy girl’s best friend.  They require no effort when it comes to colour-matching, you just pull it out and get applying, safe in the knowledge that you’re not gonna look hideously “wrong” afterward.

I thought I’d quickly share my current three favourite neutral palettes.  Well, seeing as I mostly just wear neutrals, they’re probably my three favourite palettes full stop.

1.  Clarins Ombre Minerale 4 Couleurs Eye Quartet in Rosewood – review and swatches here

2.  Elizabeth Arden Color Intrigue Eyeshadow Quad in Velvet Plumtones – review and swatches here

3.  Wet n’ Wild Color Icon Trio Eyeshadows in Silent Treatment – review and swatches here

Told you it was a quick one!  Do you have a current favourite neutral palette or are you more of a singles girl?

In a list devoid of MPs, philanthropists, and celebrities – I bring you 12 products that have impressed me beyond my expectations over the past 12 months. This wasn’t easy to compile. Infact, it was so hard that it’s now nearly February and I’ve only just published it.

Some were a given from the moment I used them (Avon Mega Impact Eye Liner), some were growers (Elemis Cellutox Active Body Oil), but all of them have left a real impression for achieving what their claims suggest and let’s face it, that’s what out beauty-loving hearts desire most.

Optrex Itchy/Allergy Eye Drops  |  Lanolips 101 Ointment  |  St. Tropez Perfect Legs Spray  |  Urban Decay Super-Saturated High Gloss Lip Colors

Optrex make eye drops for seemingly every occassion and their Optrex Itchy Eye Drops have saved my poor peepers numerous times throughout the year.  I actually prefer their Optrex Allergy Eyes formula for the Summer months when my eyes are really suffering but I find them quite hard to get hold of (it’s over the counter stuff) and so pharmacists always offer me the Optrex Itchy Eye Drops instead.  To be fair, they both work but nothing soothes the feeling of wanting to wash your eyeballs under a running tap (and swill your eye sockets out while you’re at it) faster or more effectively than the Optrex Allergy Eyes formula.

Another product that goes beyond the pretty to simply make my life more comfortable is Lanolips 101 Ointment.  This nourishing, thick balm is as much a part of my nightly routine as washing my face or repeatedly checking Twitter on my phone after turning off my computer.  It’s simple existence means that my lips never peel or crack, as used to be the case throughout the winter months and if I like a new lipstick, I buy it based on how much I like the shade without caring about how drying the formula may prove to be.

My milk-bottle legs are anticipating the return of the warmer weather with a renewed vigour thanks to St. Tropez Perfect Legs Spray.  I’m surprising myself by including a tanning product in my honours list – I really don’t care much about being tanned… but, this product surpassed all expectations of turning my blue-tinged pins into something that I wouldn’t mind showing off when the sun finally peeks out from behind the UK’s perpetual blanket of cloud cover.

As much as the U.S. brand have released some stonking palettes this year, it’s these Urban Decay Super-Saturated High Gloss Lip Colors that have been ticking all the right boxes for me this year.  They pack a supreme punch of colour, offer maximum convenience and last well throughout the day.  The shades I own are all searingly bright and obnoxious, just the way I’ve been liking my lip shades this year.  These are real beauties and I can’t wait to see if Urban Decay add to the lineup in 2012.

Benefit They’re Real Mascara  |  Elemis Cellutox Active Body Oil  |  Dr. Hauschka Neem Hair Oil  |  Avon Mega Impact Eye Liner

An everyday staple achieves its status by being dependable, consistent, and easy to use.  Benefit’s They’re Real Mascara has been my go-to mascara since its release last August.  It extends and volumises my lashes with an inky formula and doesn’t let me down by smudging or flaking throughout the day.  Once it’s time for bed – it doesn’t give my cleansing oil any arguments and I’m still enjoying the same, usable formula from the original tube that I was given all those months ago.  It’s a solid but impressive addition to my makeup bag.

2011 has been a year of weight loss (and gain, and loss again) for me.  I knew from the start that I’d be putting my skin through the mill on my quest for a less flabby existence and I’ve been using various body oils with my cellulite massager in an attempt to keep my skin elastic, supple and unblemished.  While they all did a good job at moisturising, I wasn’t sure that they were achieving much more than this until I began to use Elemis Cellutox Active Body Oil toward the end of last year.  Aside from it smelling as delicious as you’d expect from the British brand, I’ve noticed a marked improvement in skin-tone, texture and dare I say it… cellulite.

Another major concern over the past year has been the constant flare-ups that have turned my scalp into an itching, flaking mess.  I would start a new shampoo, only to be forced into discontinuing its use a month later.  I tried SLS-free which seemed to improve things for a while, though still didn’t eradicate the problem completely.  I’ve been using Dr. Hauschka’s Neem Hair Oil (non-stinky) for a few months now and have so far, touch wood, not had a flare-up that’s been severe enough to cause any real misery.  I also find the oil effective at soothing any persistent itches alongside a welcome side-effect of improving the condition of my dry hair.

If I could only choose one, my product of the year would go to Avon’s Mega Impact Eye Liner for being outrageously awesome at such a reasonable price.  The blacker-than-black formula applies as smoothly as a gel with no tugging along the delicate waterline.  Give it a few moments to set and you’ll be treated to a full day of hard-wearing, sultry lashlines that resist smudging and transfer like real troopers.  They have a new metallic shade coming out for Spring, look out for it!

Suti Rejuvenate Organic Facial Oil  |  Lumos High Speed Top Coat (try eBay if you’re not a pro)  |  Missha M Perfect Cover B.B Cream  |  NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream

I’ve always loved facial oils but have only recently discovered the true extent of their capabilities.  Suti’s Rejuvenate Organic Facial Oil is a wondrous concoction that seamlessly melts into my skin to give an instant glow on those days when my complexion is feeling particularly dull and drained by the cold weather.  Perhaps even more enlightening is the oil’s ability to turn a dud foundation into a keeper.  I’ve been adding a few drops (during application) to foundations that I consider dry-skin unfriendly and have been amazed at Suti’s ability to make the formula more compatible to my winter skin.  Lots of money saved thanks to this one!

So good do I consider the Lumos High Speed Top Coat, that I’ve bought the entire family!  From salon-sized down to purse-friendly bottles, they speed-dry my nail polish without causing shrinkage or becoming a thick, unusable mess in the bottle before I’ve reached the halfway mark.  The Lumos System also encourages you to use the High Impact Bottom Coat to achieve maximum results and longevity from your manicures but as someone who doesn’t generally suffer from polish chips, I’m happy to report that for me, it works as well with or without.

2011 was the year that B.B Creams hit the Western world with a vengeance and some bandwagon-jumping efforts from the major cosmetic players have left consumers wondering if there’s any difference between B.B Creams and Tinted Moisturisers with added SPF.  If you want to try a true B.B. Cream without the big-budget advertising hype – I can’t recommend the Missha M Perfect Cover B.B Cream highly enough.  It evens my skin-tone, gives serious sun protection, and calms my redness-prone skin in an instant.

I get annoyed with the NYX Cosmetics incarnation in the UK but if there’s one thing worth picking up, it’s the NYX Soft Matte Lip Creams that come in a variety of shades and offer easy application, good coverage, and long-lasting colour without causing unbearable dryness or discomfort.  Remembering that these are (to be fair) matte formulas, it’s a great option for those who wince at the thought of dragging a hard-textured matte lipstick across their lips.  There are some awesome lip-popping shades to choose from too!

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So there we have my New Year Honours List – a little late, but what’s half a month between friends?  Do you agree with any of my choices?  What would you have included in yours?

* the selection includes a mixture of press samples, repurchases from what were originally press samples and my own discoveries/purchases.

I’m going all demure and sophistimicated with today’s nails courtesy of Butter London…

Hoorah Henri is a pale, creamy nude that would make a beautiful French mani with clean, white tips.  The above photo shows three coats because I wanted to see how it built up – not too badly as it happens because three coats were just about enough to disguise the ‘orrible stains on my nails.  The formula was good and drying time perfectly adequate.  What do you think, too pale?  I don’t actually own anything quite like this and it may well inspire me to attempt a Frenchie before the month is out.

Butter London Hoorah Henri is priced at £11.95 and available online from PowderRooms

It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of BareMinerals, infact not a day goes by without  a quick dust of their original foundation either as a “topper” to my liquid foundation – or during the Summer months – worn alone.  I love their little store in Covent Garden that I like to refer to as a “swatchers paradise” with some of the friendliest MUAs in the area.  If I’m honest, I find most of their ad campaigns a little twee (this one included) but they always make me take notice, and that means they’re doing their job right?

I thought I’d share their latest campaign with you — half of you will be dry heaving at the saccharine-sweet concept, the rest of you will be joining me by doing the same but with a certain degree of admiration!

Take a moment to watch this and you’ll see just what I mean…

Animal activists?  Non-profit business types?  Voracious readers?  Striving to be like your own children?

One half of me is completely inspired, the other half wants to throw my Full Flawless Face brush at the screen.  I can’t help it, I’m such a *girl*, I felt a bit goosebumpy at the end, maybe someone left the window open?  Yes, that must be it.

The final selection of faces, “blind-selected” for the campaign:

To read more about the campaign and the models selected to front it, check out the Bare Escentuals website.  What do you think: cute, nausea-inducing or a healthy bit of both?!

Japanese mascaras are hot property and DJV Fiberwig is the top selling mascara brand in Japan, Fiberwig LX builds on the popularity of the original Fiberwig formula with a new-fangled brush that promises to coat each lash with greater ease, allowing more of those lash-extending fibres to reach their intended target.

I already have fairly long lashes but lengthening is still high on the list of what I want mascara to do.  There are two things in life that can never be long enough… lashes, and um holidays? (stop smirking).

Packaged in a glossy, red tube, d.j.v. beautenizer Fiberwig LX combines a lash-building fibre formula that unlike previous fibre-rich mascaras I’ve tried, doesn’t irritate my eyes or drop little fibres onto my cheeks as the day progresses.  It has a filmy, slightly oily texture that glides onto the lashes and the curved brush makes applying the product to my lower lashes a breeze.

I found the finished effect to be more lengthening than volumising.  I have naturally curly lashes, so I’m unable to comment on how well it holds a curl but I can feel that this is a lightweight formula, so I’d imagine that it would do well for those who need to curl their lashes in advance.  The most impressive thing about the Fiberwig LX mascara is its resilience.  There was no flaking, no smudging and my lashes looked as mascara’ed up by the end of the day as they had at the beginning.  Removal was an issue… I did have to work a little harder than normal to dissolve the mascara with my cleansing oil.  The product removes in little clumps which can feel a bit disconcerting!

If I’d experienced better volumising from this mascara, I’d have it on my holy grail list – but as it stands, a girl needs more than just lengthening alone.  Unless you’ve got naturally thick lashes, in which case run RUN to CultBeauty.co.uk, where you can buy the Fiberwig LX by D.J.V. Beautenizer for £18.00

* press sample

UPDATE: I sheepishly stand corrected… this mascara removes like a dream with the help of some hot water.  Who knew water was so, err, useful? 😉

I prefer my wintery brights over summery brights.  My skintone loves raspberry, purples and red shades and I have to feel a little more ‘brave’ to wear skintone repel-ing orange, green and turquoise shades on my fingers.  This is one of the main reasons for my love of Ciate’s Talent Scout.  It’s a bold purple that reminds me of juicy damsons!

A little unforgiving to ridged nails, though probably nothing a basecoat wouldn’t have prevented – Talent Scout is a two-coater with a creme finish.  Drying time was also good.

Ciate Talent Scout is available to purchase online at PowderRooms, priced at £9.00

Sparkle sparkle went the fairy atop the Christmas tree – gently dazzling all those who looked upon her beauty.  That’s what I want to do, I want to shine… it’s my turn!  Godammit Mummy, you promised meeeeee!

And so, it happened that I was shopping with LongTallAlly late last month, and ‘cos she’s on a self-imposed spending ban that seems to be lasting her ENTIRE life, she did what all women do… she fully enabled me into this purchase of the Chanel Poudre Universelle Libre in Féérie just to make herself feel better about not being able to buy anything.  Bitch.

Actually, that’s not entirely true, because tradition dictates that I must buy something from each Chanel Holiday collection.  It’s a new tradition, do you like it?  And this is what caught my eye with it’s soft pink powder, finer than baby lanugo – it shimmered in the pot and called to me, more siren than féérie to be honest.

Well hello!  You’ve got more glitz and glitter than a high street filled with nothing but Claire’s Accessories.  It’s not that I don’t like you Feerie, I do… I’m actually a little bit in awe of your rose-gold beauty, but I just don’t think I can wear you without a matching creosote tan and quickstep outfit.

Can you see the glitter?  Can you?  CAN YOU?!?!  Don’t say no.

When I first applied Féérie, I knew it was going to be glittery… but I honestly thought, that as a secret glitter-lover, I could work it.  Truthfully, I just keep waiting for someone to try and helpfully remove a piece of glitter from my face before realising that I’ve actually bathed, rolled and gargled with it.

So, to be fair… it’s not you – it’s me.  Transport me to the Tower Ballroom in Blackpool and cast me among the stars, I’ll come back with a trophy, hell, I’ll replace the discoball and be brighter and better than any other in the land.

I love you Féérie and I’ll wear you in secret, when I don’t need to leave the house.  Maybe I’ll dust you over my decolletage… but truthfully, we know I won’t.  Who dusts their decolletage for God’s sake, I mean really?  How many times have you done that this year?  Enough to warrant a £31.50 purchase?  No, me neither.

Chanel Poudre Universelle Libre in Féérie is available on counter, priced at £31.50 – *le sigh*

Perhaps the ultimate offering from the Boots Star Gifts this year is the Soap & Glory Big Splendour set which, from tomorrow, will be slashed to better than half price.

The set includes the following Soap & Glory bestsellers:

Clean On Me™ Creamy Clarifying Shower Gel – 500ml
The Righteous Butter™ Body Butter – 300ml
Pulp Friction™ Body Scrub – 300ml
Face, Soap & Clarity™ Fresh Facial Wash – 150ml
25 Off Your Face™ Cleansing Wipes
Heel Genius Foot™ Cream – 125ml
Hand Food Hand™ Cream – 125ml
Mist You Madly™ Fragrant Body Spray – 250ml
Sexy Mother Pucker™ Lip Plumper In Candy Gloss – 7ml
Calm One, Calm All™ Bubble Bath – 500ml

From tomorrow, the price will be £25 (was £60) and the offer will run until Friday, 24th December.

Stocks are going to fly off the shelves, so if you know a S&G fan who would love one of these under their Christmas Tree – please avoid potential disappointment by jumping on this offer quickly.

Andrea Fulerton Nail Boutique have expanded their popular line of nail products with a set of ultra-cute glitters encased in little ‘puff’ tubes… let me tell you a bit about them…

Four shades of glitter that are designed to be ‘puffed’ onto a wet nail… the design of the ‘pen’ is supposed to afford directional coverage, giving you the ability to do cool things like create half-moons and glitter tips.

Frankly, I’d do a better job at creating a precision design if I snorted the glitter up my nose and sneezed it onto my nails.

The actual glitter is beautiful!  Fine, super-sparkly and not even too gritty… but the whole puff system is just massively flawed.  When I first squeezed the tube to activate the puff, nothing happened.

So of course… I squeezed a little harder, and the harder I squeezed, the more my eyes slitted in anticipation of a puff that would put a mushroom cloud to shame.  The anticipation damn near killed me, but nothing came out.  I recomposed myself, by which time my nail was of course, too dry to be of much use.

Eventually… I got a puff – the most anti-climactic moment of my life.  A splodge of glitter about half a centimetre away from where I’d wanted it placed.

Glitter…

Ultimately, these are beautiful nail glitters with a really awful delivery system that just doesn’t work well enough to create any kind of precision effect.  You may aswell just get a pot and dip your nails in that way.

Andrea Fulerton Glitterati Nails are priced at £10 available to buy at Superdrug.  Yano, if you really want to.

* press sample

Last month, I attended a ByTerry event to showcase the French brand and in particular, two new foundations that have hit the counters recently.

Sheer-Expert and Cover-Expert are the two new formulas from ByTerry’s creator Terry de Gunzburg.  As you may have guessed from their names, the major difference between the two are the coverage that they offer.

According to the brand…

Sheer Expert provides adjustable coverage, smoothes and plumps features and dims imperfections and signs of fatigue.  The natural satin finish adjusts and blends into your natural skin colour to reveal a perfect complexion with a sheer effect.

Cover Expert corrects all imperfections and flaws (including dark circles, freckles (flaw?!?!) wrinkles, fine lines or expression lines) while immediately lifting, smoothing and illuminating.  The matte satin formula is undetected on skin and provides an illuminated, unified, smooth skin tone.

Priced at £44 each for 35ml, they’re as you would expect, priced for the luxury end of the market but unlike a lot of their luxury counterparts, the range is impressively inclusive with a full 12 shades from the lightest to darkest skin shades available.

I was given a tube of the Cover-Expert foundation, after being matched to #4 Rosy Beige and have been trying it out over the past month.  I have to say, it’s been a difficult month for a foundation to be tested on my skin… adjusting to the central-heating coming on has cause all manner of dryness and irritability, so this foundation has really been up against it, so to speak.

It’s rose-scented (as is much of the ByTerry lineup) and has a distinct silicone feel to the formula… which isn’t surprising when you look at the top three ingredients listed: Cyclopentasiloxane, Aqua and Dimethicone.  This does give a good, smoothing and softening effect over my imperfections but doesn’t play too well with my skin dryness.  I have to give this foundation a well-moisturised base to avoid the dreaded flakies – but to its credit, it does behave well as long as I prep my skin adequately.

The shade is a wonderful match, which is surprising as I never have to go as high as a #4 in anything usually!  Pale girls, check this range immediately.

As for the coverage… I’d actually describe this as a little less than full.  It’s not in the same league as something like Estee Lauder Double Wear, my benchmark for wearable full coverage!  The ByTerry Cover-Expert foundation is a medium-to-full coverage which is fine for wearing during the daytime.  It reduces the redness around my nose without obliterating it or preventing my natural skin texture to show through.

I also find that it makes excellent use of light reflection, despite a matte finish – I feel that the hollows under my eyes are softened thanks to some clever light trickery – something which we all know Terry is notoriously good at (hello Touche Eclat!).

If you’re normal or even oily-skinned – you may find a perfect foundation partner with this new high-tech foundation from ByTerry.  Me?  Well, it makes me work a little harder than I’d like… but the result is worth it and this may well come in to its own once the weather gets a little warmer.  It’s a keeper, I’ll let you know if it’s a repurchas-er!

Sheer-Expert and Cover-Expert are available to buy now from SpaceNK, priced at £44 for 35ml and available in 12 shades.

* press sample