A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

Firstly, I’d like to say a big hoorah for a “western” BB Cream with a decent SPF rating.  The Estee Lauder Daywear BB Creme* comes with a broad-spectrum sun protection rating of SPF35.  What it doesn’t come with, is a whole bunch of moisture – and that’s bad news for me, especially because it’s kind of the whole reason I fell in love with BB creams in the first place.  But let’s not forget, this version from Estee Lauder has disassociated itself with the whole BB cream ‘thing’ by re-imagining those two initials, not to mean blemish/beblesh balm, but ‘beauty benefit’.  If that sounds a little bit wanky, it’s because it is.

Having said that… every cloud has a silver lining does it not?

What the Estee Lauder Daywear BB Creme does introduce, is very good oil control.  It doesn’t achieve this by mattifying the crap out of your complexion, you’ll still see a certain amount of dewiness (a.k.a life) and definitely a lot of ‘real’ skin, but it manages to velvet-ify (that’s SO a word), keeping the greasies (also a word) at bay very effectively indeed.

Coverage is sheer/medium but it evens my skintone without arguments and reduces the redness admirably.  If you’ve got blemishes, you’ll need to conceal these – don’t be layering four coats of BB cream ontop and hoping for the best.

Many have raised concerns about the shade and yes, two shades is not enough and 01 Light (the palest) is both too dark and too warm-toned for pale, cool pink types like myself.  If you’re an NC20 upward, you should be fine with this shade.  I’m not one to be massively horrified if a foundation doesn’t match my skintone exactly, I just don’t want to look tangoed or for people to take sly twitpics of me to show their friends how ‘not’ to get matched for foundation.  You know?  Hopefully the pictures will give a better impression of what I’m trying to say but I think I can get away with this one aslong as I don’t get too fixated on it not quite being right.

What else is there to mention?  Packaging is sleek and portable, if not the sexiest I’ve seen.  It smells strongly of cucumber, reminding me of the Boots own range of cucumber products… again, this doesn’t really scream “I’m worth my £32 price tag”.

Ok, before/after time – this is taken under flash conditions, at night so the change in tone is pretty much spot on (as I have complete control over the lighting here).  Also, I’m loving the chin spot.

The bottom line is this, if you have very dry skin, there are more suitable products available in the BB cream world for you.  If you have combination or oily skin and you’re a little darker than the average sun-dodger, you should really try and beg a sample of this from your nearest counter because I think it may be the best BB cream you’ve yet to try.

Estee Lauder Daywear BB Creme is available to buy now online and on counter, priced at £32 for 30ml

* press sample

From pale to dark, teal is the perfect blue/green combination and it’s everywhere this season.  I thought I’d swatch the cream teal nail polishes in my collection to give you some alternatives to Estee Lauder’s Teal Topaz spring sell-out polish.

From left to right: Estee Lauder – Teal Topaz  |  Misa – Dirty, Sexy, Money|  Barielle Shades – A Bouquet For Ava  |  American Apparel – Peacock  |  Ciate – Superficial

If shimmers are more your cup of tea, don’t forget that March is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month and Lena White are donating £1 to Ovacome – the ovarian cancer support network – for every sale of OPI’s Teal the Cows Come Home.

Are any of these shades catching your eye?  What’s your favourite teal?

If you’re a little colour-shy when it comes to your eye makeup, coloured liners are the best place to start.  You can introduce a full spectrum of shades without turning too many heads just by adding a pop of colour to the waterline.  My favourite way to wear brights is with a flash of colour just beneath my lower lashes, it brings brightness to my eyes and makes me look a lot bolder than I feel!

Estee Lauder have released two Intense Kajal Eye Crayons this Spring, a chunky pencil with a creamy formula that lends itself well to both lining and using as a shadow.  If you’re looking for that pop of colour, might I point you in the direction of 03 Dramatic Teal, a shade that I can see flattering most, if not all, skintones.

Not much to look at in their generic stubby pencil-form, these crayons glide without pulling and yet remain firm enough to achieve some truly precise strokes across the eyelid.  The tip stays strong despite pressure and deposits nothing but creamy colour in its wake.

You need to allow around 2 minutes for the pencil to set fast and if your eyelids are particularly oily, you may find these migrate a little.  For normal complexions, these should set and hold throughout the day.  The only time I had any bother was when wearing a moisturising primer, combined with a cream foundation and to be fair – I was an oil-slick by lunchtime everywhere.

Both shades are limited edition, if you pick up one thing from the Spring Collection, let this be it.

Estee Lauder Intense Kajal Eye Crayon in 03 Dramatic Teal & 01 Dramatic Black are priced at £17 a-piece and available on counter and online from boots.com – the teal appears to be sold out everywhere else!

Estee Lauder are really hitting the nail on the head (pardon the pun) with the shades recently no?  They’ve revamped their line of lacquers and have blown the cobwebs away with a real injection of colour.  Teal Topaz features in their Spring 2012 collection of Arizona-inspired shades and this one is a corker.  But does the formula live up to the kerb appeal?

Honestly?  Not quite.  The above photo shows three coats, and for a bold creme of this type, I’d usually expect to need only two – and the reason it needed three coats was a patchy application.  Whilst I’d mostly covered the nail bed after two applications, it just hadn’t applied smoothly enough to leave it without a final coat.  The formula is also fairly thick, which contributed to a little drag… it’s nothing terrible, but at its price point – I’d expect not to have these issues.

On the flip-side, it has great shine, dries quickly and hasn’t given me any wear issues.  I do love these teal shades and this one I’d imagine to be particularly flattering on all skintones.

Estee Lauder Pure Color Nail Polish in Teal Topaz* is available to buy on counter and online from Harrods, priced at £14.00 for 9ml

* press sample

Please, for the love of all things vanity-driven, excuse the ‘left to dry naturally until it looks like shit’ hair.  Please.

Brushes mentioned:

E.L.F – Bamboo Angled Blush Brush (£5.50)
E.L.F – Studio Blush Brush (£3.50)
E.L.F – Studio Small Precision Brush (£3.50)
E.L.F – Studio Powder Brush (£3.50)

Boots No7 – Concealer Brush (£3.00 with till spit)
Boots No7 – Eyeshadow Brush (£0.75 with till spit)

Crown Brush – C139 Stiff Tapered Crease Brush (£2.95)
Crown Brush – C217 Bent Liner Brush (£2.60)

Stila – #4 Precision Eyeliner Brush (£3.50)

Revlon Vital Radiance – Brow Brush (£1.29)

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Do you agree with any of my choices?  What are your favourite cheap makeup brushes?

I’ve been a little bit too obsessed with tracking down and swatching recent Western brand’s attempts at B.B. Creams (still not great) resulting in having become a little blinded to other base releases on the market and this latest Estee Lauder release is one that I’m pleased I didn’t miss.  Billed as one of those skin-matching formulas (which makes me wonder why they need an impressive 16 shades 😉 ) Invisible Fluid Makeup promises to perfect your skin without leaving a trace.  Step back all ye who can’t be parted with your Double Wear, this one’s not for you.

The  base delivers a lightweight, slightly mattifying finish that evens out my redness and softens my pores.  I would prefer *slightly* oilier skin when using this to maximise those mattifying benefits but it doesn’t cause me any tightness on my dry skin either… I just feel that there is a little room to love it more.  Something that I’ll be excited to discover when the weather begins to warm up.

The fluid formula reminds me very much of Chanel’s Vitalumiere Aqua, but delivered with more refinement — I found the Chanel less kind to my drier skin.  The bottle needs a good shake to mix the formula before application and contains a ball bearing inside to speed things along.  Unlike the Chanel, and despite its mattifying features – Invisible Fluid Makeup* gives my skin a luminosity, it remains more transparent despite still affording a more even skintone.  The Chanel simply gave me a light mask which didn’t sit kindly with my dilated pores and fine lines.

If you’ve many blemishes, you may find that this doesn’t give you the coverage you’re looking for.  Similarly, if you’re a tinted moisturiser kinda girl — this may offer too much.  If you just want something that feels very lightweight, is easy to blend, and evens both skintone whilst softening the appearance of pores – you should head to your nearest Estee Lauder counter when this goes on full release next month.

It lasts well throughout the day, slipping a little from my nose by tea-time but wearing evenly across the rest of my face.  The lightweight feel of a tinted moisturiser with a hint more coverage makes for a very interesting new addition to the foundation market.  Do check this one out if you’re a no-foundation foundation girl.

Estee Lauder’s Invisible Fluid Makeup is currently an exclusive for the rest of the month at John Lewis, retailing at £27.00 for 30ml.

* press sample – I’m wearing shade 1CN1

So, I’m an old married… and my husband doesn’t buy me Valentine’s gifts.  Instead, he makes me a minimum of three cups of tea a day, fills the car with petrol when I can’t be arsed, sounds semi-enthusiastic when I regale him with tales of my shopping bargains, and always knows my current favourite chocolate bar.

But it wasn’t always this way and back when we were all shiny and new, falling out because he laughed at a pair of BIG girl’s pants in M&S that looked scarily like a pair of mine, Valentine’s Day was kind of a big deal.

In all honesty Valentine’s Day is about as much for married people as it is for single people, i.e. it’s not.  It’s for sickeningly saccharine types enjoying the first, what — maybe two years of a new relationship?  Which ultimately means that the rest of us should treat V-day as nothing but a big excuse to buy ourselves a present of LOVE.  Because afterall, no one understands how much love (read ” new stuff”) we need better than we do.

01: Jo Malone Red Roses Travel Candle* – The problem with fresh roses is that nine times out of ten, the other half has bought them from the Esso garage.  Go for something a little longer lasting with Jo Malone’s Red Roses Travel Candle.  Burn, enjoy, extinguish – repeat ad. infinitum until you’ve surrounded yourself with the luxurious atmosphere afforded by a blend of seven of the world’s most exquisite roses.  Priced at £22.00 and packaged in the inimitable “Jo Malone way”, it’ll be considerably more affordable and better-presented to boot!

02: Wahanda Valentine Treats – Treat yourself to a Wahanda treat in time for Valentine’s Day.  From £11 mini manicures (and a glass of wine!) at Coco Nail Bar to a £200 overnighter at the chinese-inspired Chuan Spa at The Langham – there’s something to suit every taste and every budget.  Just be ready to bat away the incoming offers from those potential suitors who’ve heard about your bargain!

03: Calvin Klein Forbidden Euphoria – Unashamedly pink and most definitely girly, this new release from Calvin Klein ticks all the right boxes for those who like their fragrances on the fruity side.  Dedicated to the ‘independent woman’, there’s no better way to announce your fabulous presence than with a blend of forbidden fruit including mandarin, passion fruit and touches of iced raspberry.  Priced from £32.50.

04: Elemis Frangipani Monoi Body Oil – Smell delicious from top to toe with this nourishing body oil from Elemis.  This multi-tasker can be drizzled in a hot bath for a relaxing scent-sensation, smoothed onto dry skin to replenish and moisturise, rubbed into cuticles to nourish, and even massaged into your hair to scent and soften.  Worthy of its cult-status, the Elemis Frangipani Monoi Body Oil makes for a great Valentine’s night treat – just keep it to yourself eh?

05: Philosophy Sweet Talk Set – This latest body-pampering set from Philosophy combines the brand’s three-in-one shower gel, body lotion and pink-tinted lip shine in the Candy Hearts flavour: a sweet (with a hint of tart) scent which will capture the hearts of girls across the nation.  Limited edition and priced at £22.00

06: Samsung MultiView MV800 Camera – For girls that have been very good this year comes the latest compact camera offering from Samsung.  Small enough to slip in your handbag with a 3.0″ wide (every inch counts right?) touch-screen which flips a full 180 degrees to ensure you capture spot-on self-portraits every time without getting a crick in your neck.  16.1 megapixels, HD video recording and 5x optical zoom will ensure your Facebook photos are the best on the block.  Just leave out the duck-face yes?  Comes in a range of snazzy colours (it’s gotta be red though right?) and is priced at £249. Unless you’re clever and go to Amazon!

07: Clinique Limited Edition Kiss it Better Kissable Lip Set –  Spread the love with a purchase of Clinique’s charity lip set and help raise money to fund research into the causes and treatment of childhood cancer.  In collaboration with the Great Ormond Street Hospital, 50% of the RRP price will be going directly to the KISS IT BETTER appeal. The set of covetable minis includes: a Vitamin C Lip Smoothie, Superbalm Moisturizing Gloss, Chubby Stick Moisturizing Lip Colour Balm, and a mini Long Last Glosswear.  Available instore at House of Fraser, priced at £25.

Love yourselves.  The end.

* 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.

My mother is obsessed with guessing the ages of celebrities she sees on reality shows, infact – I’m quite certain it’s the only reason she watches them.  She hasn’t quite grasped the fact that with the power of the internet, I can hop on Wikipedia and tell her exactly how old Stefanie Powers is quicker than she can analyse the tell-tale signs from the actress’ neck and hands.  She guessed correctly by the way: Mum 1 – 0 Wikipedia.  Perhaps I should point Stefanie in the direction of the new Elemis Pro-Radiance Hand and Nail Cream, the latest addition to the Elemis sp@home body anti-ageing lineup.

The rich hand cream contains a wealth of skin-loving oils including: Omega 7, Avellana Seed Oil, Macademia Seed Oil, Virgin Plum Oil and Camellia Seed Oil to promote skin suppleness, elasticity and protect from free-radical damage.  It’s delicately scented and leaves my hands feeling nourished without that sticky hand-cream feeling.  It may be a little too heavy-duty for the summer months but it’s been doing wonderful things for my cuticles and hang nails this month.

Formulated free from: parabens, sls, mineral oils and silicones, the new Pro-Radiance Hand & Nail Cream is generously sized at 100ml and will be launching next month alongside a sister (limited edition) product; Perfect Hands Anti-Ageing Treatment (£29.90) which will be contributing £8000 from sales to The Eve Appeal.

The Pro-Radiance Hand & Nail Cream will be priced at £22.00 and available from Elemis stockists nationwide including timetospa.co.uk, spas/salons, selected John Lewis, Debenhams and Harvey Nichols stores.

* press sample

Following on from the Summer success that was Estee Lauder’s Illuminating Powder Gelee with it’s “tribrid” Prisma Shine™ technology, the brand have created a collection of six new eye-shadows that make use of this all-in-one liquid, powder and gel texture.

“A lot of drama on the eyes creates sensuality, a sexiness. Smokey eyes are sexy and playful and I wanted to give women different ways to wear the look, anytime.”  Tom Pecheux, Creative Makeup Director, Estée Lauder

The unusual formula strives to create an eyeshadow that applies as smoothly as a cream, gives a molten metal-esque gel shine whilst wearing like a powder.  Having played with the collection over Christmas, I don’t feel the creaminess in the formula quite as I did in the Illuminating Powder Gelee but the bounce and soft texture are equal to the brand’s previous creation.

The six shades available in the limited edition Pure Color Gelée Powder EyeShadow (£19) range are:

Cyber Copper; Cyber Pink; Cyber Lilac; Cyber Silver; Cyber Green; and Cyber Teal (not shown).

Designed to be applied with both a dry and a wet brush, I’ve swatched them all on bare skin to show the difference between the two types of application.  With some shades, the difference is extremely noticeable as the metallic shine amps up to extraordinary proportions!

A few points to note about the shades…

Cyber Copper is the “brown” in the set, a great crease colour that is unlikely to let you down.  Should work particularly well with blue/green eyes thanks to the underlying warm, copper tones.

Cyber Pink is best used as a highlight shade, on my pale skin it blends out a crease colour nicely without adding too much glitz when used dry.  Also works beautifully tapped beside the tear ducts with a wet brush for some super sparkle.

Cyber Lilac is one of the most versatile shades in the collection.  Used dry, it is beautiful swiped over a standard taupey-brown crease colour, adding a real 3rd dimension to the proceedings.  Wet, well… it’s simply a stunning metallic purple.

Cyber Green is, in my opinion, the must-have in the collection, though hardly ‘green’ — this is a black with antique-gold sparkles that positively shine when applied with a damp brush.

Cyber Silver is a more wearable alternative to standard silver being less glitzy or obviously metallic than other silver eyeshadows in my collection.  I like to wear this dry, layered over another shade to give greater dimension.

All shades blend smoothly, particularly when applied dry.  My favourite method of application is to apply the shadow dry with a brush before wetting the foam applicator and reapplying in areas I’d like to build greater intensity.  Despite the all-singing, all-dancing formula, I’m not sure that colour-wise they really offer anything hugely new BUT (and this is a big but), I haven’t achieved such longevity from an eyeshadow ever.  These babies wear like nothing else, all day long with no fading or creasing.  For reals.

Cyber Lilac and Cyber Green are my top picks.

Also included in the collection are six new Pure Color Intense Kajal Eye Liners (£16) in shades:

Blackened Black (01); Blackened Cocoa (02); Blackened Plum (03); Blackened Sapphire (04); Blackened Olive (05); and Electric Teal (not shown).

Described as containing 70% pure pigments that can be used on the inner or outer rim, I’ve found them to share the same long-lasting qualities as the eye shadows.  Wear is particularly impressive on the inner rim where the colour fades but doesn’t run or disappear completely.

From the shades shown above, only 05 (Blackened Olive) is a limited edition shade, the rest will make their way to the permanent line.  I found 04 (Blackened Sapphire) to be much harder in texture than the rest and was the only one to need warming-up prior to application.  You can see from the swatch that there is a bit of skipping in the application and from the set, it would be the one I wouldn’t recommend.

05 (Blackened Olive) and 02 (Blackened Cocoa) are my top picks.

For a ‘mini’ collection, it’s not particularly compact and as a huge fan of Estee Lauder’s Sumptuous Colour mascaras, I am delighted to see the inclusion of three new Sumptuous Extreme Lash Multiplying Volume Mascaras (£22) in shades:

Extreme Teal; Extreme Violet; and Extreme Copper (not shown).

All of the coloured mascaras in the Cyber Eyes Collection are sadly limited edition and if you’ve never tried a coloured mascara before, I recommend that this is the place you start.  Estee Lauder’s coloured mascaras never make sacrifices on quality of product for the sake of injecting some fancy colour into the formula and the new shades that I have infront of me are both beautiful.

You walk a fine line with coloured mascaras, it’s easy to over-egg the effect with high street options and look like you’ve stepped off the set of Dynasty.  These are understated but have enough welly behind them to make people take a second glance!  Such a fun way to complete a look.

I put together a FOTD with some of the products.  The light was fading quickly so you’ll have to excuse the graininess in some of the pictures.

I’ll list the products used at the end.

Cyber Lilac on the lids (used dry, then reapplied wet on the lid (with sponge) once the crease colour was in place)
Cyber Green in the crease (dry)
Cyber Lilac under the eyes (wet, with a precision brush)
Cyber Pink in the inner corner to highlight (wet, with a precision brush)

Blackened Olive to line the inner rims (both top and bottom).

For the purposes of a useful FOTD, I applied a single coat of both shades of mascara, you can see in the closeup photo which eye shows which mascara!

The NEW Pure Color Cyber Eyes Collection* is available at Estée Lauder counters nationwide and online at www.esteelauder.co.uk

Are you lemming anything from this collection?  Already made your purchases?!

* press sample

I picked this Estee Lauder blush up recently from the lovely Perilously Pale‘s blog sale and fell immediately in love with it once it dropped through my letterbox.

As a very pink-skinned thing, I used to be scared of anything that was warmer toned.  I still struggle to wear peach tones on my eyes and lips, but as a hint of blush?  Peach tends to look the most natural against my skin and is my favourite for toning down the redness that already exists in that area.

Estee Lauder Peach Nuance is a gradiated blush that swirls together to create a very pretty flush.  I would assume this shade will suit most skin colours.  If you’re bothered enough, I’m sure you could be selective about applying the peach segment/pink segment individually but I just use the entire gradiant swirled as one.

The blush has a matte finish with a silky texture that applies evenly and blends effortlessly.  It builds pigmentation quickly on my pale skin but if you’re a heavy-handed type – you’d probably get on well with this as it’s hard to overdo with just a single swipe.

Priced at £24.00, the Estee Lauder Signature Silky Powder Blush range looks to have some very pretty shades that I have added to my ‘must go and obsess over at the counter’ list.  It’s a long list.

Do you favour pink cheeks or peachy cheeks?!