A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

This one goes out to Charlie from LadyoftheLane.

Eyeko Chi Chi is a rosy pink which leans slightly toward gold.  The glitter particles are chunky and suspended in a sheer pink base.  3 coats to achieve the opacity shown above though you could also layer this over a pink creme to achieve the same effect in less glitter coats.  It’s girlie, but the rosiness (rather than pink) stops it from being too juvenile.

I must be into a bit of S&M with these 3 coats, my eyes are watering at the thought of the removal already (where’s my tin foil).

You’ll need a top coat to even out the rough finish from the glitter.  I did one layer and it’s still rough (though not scratchy) to the touch.  It reminds me a little of Butter London’s Rosie Lee although I don’t think the glitter is quite so dense or the finish so foiled.

Eyeko Chi Chi is priced at £3.50 from the Eyeko website who offer worldwide delivery.

When I was in H&M last week, my attention was diverted (as always) by the polishes on display.  I already own Goddess on Stage (a TDF purple) and just looking at the bottle, I could tell this was gonna be a knockout.

I wasn’t wrong!

Envy Me is a beautiful, beautiful, BEAUTIFUL shimmering emerald green.  It practically dances on my nails.

Opaque in one coat, it needs two for a flawless finish – the formula was not that far off being perfect.  All for £2.99 – is that even legal?

My photo is pants, I need to find a window which doesn’t have so many smaller panes of glass in it… the reflection really screws with the overall look.  But anyway…

If you haven’t tried the H&M polishes yet, why not?

I also picked up Spending Cash with Carl which looks like a royal blue version of this and Grey Sky which looks like a shimmery putty grey.

Do you have any H&M favs?

I received these two boxes of E.L.F’s new Mineral Booster through the post the other day courtesy of PR and my interest was piqued.  I do love my mineral makeup.

I will however, always hate the mess from playing with… what are essentially, little pots of dust.

I already own the original version of the Mineral Booster which I bought about a year ago to use as an alternative to Bare Escentual’s Mineral Veil (it got superceded by my love for E.L.F’s HD Powder though).  These new incarnations are pretty much the same thing as the original… but on steroids!

Since I’ve become spoiled by Bare Escentuals new Click Lock Go packaging, I’m taking a point away from the E.L.F Mineral Booster ‘cos frankly, it’s a nightmare to transport.

E.L.F Mineral Booster in Shimmer is an ivory toned powder with a healthy does of sparkle.  Sneeze over this baby and you’ll be seeing stars for the foreseeable future!  I was surprised at how creamy the powder felt to the touch.  Obviously very finely milled… E.L.F never fail to impress me with the texture of their mineral products.

E.L.F Mineral Booster in Tinted is a warmer chocolate latté kinda colour… not quite dark enough to terrify me, but certainly deep enough to give me pause about applying it to my pale skin tone.  Again, texture is great with no lumps or areas of heavier pigmentation.

When I swatched both products, I felt a little disappointed.  Not hugely inspiring are they?  The Shimmer is pretty subtle on the back of my hand and the Tinted is just kinda Ovaltine-y.  I wasn’t actually sure what I was gonna be able to do with them by way of demonstration to show you how they work.

Faced with this… a lack of any technical skills whatsoever and my 10hr old makeup, I decided to just go for it.  I grabbed a big powder brush and went for the Tinted version first.  I chose a powder brush over my kabuki as I wanted something that wouldn’t deposit too much product.  I needn’t have worried, Tinted is quite sheer when applied with a brush, it definitely gives you the opportunity to build without flooding your face with pigment.  I applied a light layer allover, then built up the shading along my invisible cheekbones.  I wasn’t too bothered about whether I was ‘contouring’ or ‘blushing’ – I was just slapping it on.

Reaching for Shimmer, I focused on the high points on my face.  Those imaginary cheekbones got a dusting, as did my nose and chin.  Watching the sparkles float on the air I was expecting to see a beacon of glitter reveal itself to me when I looked in the mirror, but the effect was pretty subtle.  Infact… I couldn’t really see any difference at all.

I took an ‘after’ photo anyway and figured that I’d leave the review at swatches and the fact that I thought it was too subtle.

The photos disagree with me though:

Is it just ‘cos it’s mattified me or does the ‘after’ look smoother?  More polished?  I think it’s given me a hint of coverage (check the red nose)… but as a Mineral Booster, that’s not really it’s job description.

Wait… what IS it’s job description?

Achieve the ultimate, translucent “photo finishing touch” to your makeup, our Mineral Booster melts into your skin, infusing it with key vitamins A, B and E to promote healthier skin that’s noticeably silkier and smoother. Completely sheer and ideal for all skin tones, Mineral Booster gently absorbs oil and minimizes the appearance of wrinkles, fine lines and pores for a beautiful even finish. Wear alone or buff over our Mineral Concealer and Foundation to lend extra staying power and to achieve a professional and stunning porcelain matte look that will last all day.

Oh right!  Well, I guess it’s up for promotion then ‘cos that’s what I’m seeing…. though they aren’t gonna last you all day unless your middle name is Dust Bowl.

Can you notice a difference?  I can’t put my finger on what else it’s done.  Considering the colour of ‘tinted’, it’s pretty subtle innit?

All I know is, I prefer the ‘after’.

At £3.50 a pot, these new E.L.F Mineral Boosters are getting the thumbs up from me.

** Those of a sensitive disposition may not want to view this post in it’s entirety… just sayin’

Have you all heard of Ginvera’s Green Tea Marvel Gel?  It’s been on the market for a while now… I first heard about it three years ago when they exhibited at the Vitality Show.

Anyway, what is it?  Do you need it?

Ginvera Marvel Gel (£15) is a product that will both gross you out and enthrall you in equal measure.  Marketed as a Dead Skin and Blackhead Remover, I’d add “small child charmer” to that list of USPs.  You’ll see what I mean shortly…

The product itself is a pale green gel which you gently rub into your skin, focusing on problem areas.  For me, I have congestion on my nose…. congestion = stubborn blackheads.

As you rub the gel into your skin, you should start to feel ‘bits’ develop under your fingertips…. bits = flakes of dead skin.  It’s at this point you run for the nearest mirror to examine the nasties and hope that what you see will gross you out slightly.  Or is that just me?

After about 60 seconds, the gel dries and it’s pretty fruitless to keep massaging the product in, so take a look at what you’ve removed!

Read the rest of this entry »

Beige, Grunge, Greige, Taupe, Shit Fingers… whatever you want to call it.  There’s a love/hate vibe around the shade that hasn’t venured far from the spotlight for the last year or so…

Here’s a run down of a few of the shades I own.

My perfect “greige” needs to be the right mix of grey and brown.  If it has just a hint of mauve, all the better…

Orly Prince Charming and BarryM Mushroom are quite chocolatey in appearance… I prefer a little more grey to my greiges.  Boots No7’s Beanie and O.P.I’s You Don’t Know Jacques are both beautiful but quite dark.

This leaves the mega bargainous E.L.F’s Smoky Brown as my pick of the colour crop.  On price alone (£1.50) it wins hands down.

If you haven’t done so already, you can check the E.L.F polishes out here.

…you kinda need this:

Estee Lauder’s Surreal Violet Nail Polish from the new Blue Dahlia collection is now available to purchase.  It’s a limited edition shade and a beautiful late summer/fall companion to Chanel’s eagerly anticipated Paradoxal.

Surreal Violet is priced at £12, and I’m just as in love with it today as I was back in June.  A cracking shade.

With the new Edward Bess range firmly settled into it’s new UK home at Zuneta, I thought it was time to bring you some product shots from the launch I attended a few weeks ago.

A busy swatch table at the launch.  Makeup, check.  Cameras, check.  Tissues, check.

Edward Bess Blush Imperiale (£36) – L,R – Soft Orchid, Desert Bloom, Moroccan Rose

Edward Bess Blush Imperiale swatches – L,R – Soft Orchid, Desert Bloom, Moroccan Rose

Edward Bess Eyeshadow Trios (£44) – L,R – Island Escape, Soft Smoke

Edward Bess Lip Wardrobe (£310)

Edward Bess Compact Rouge (£30) L,R – After Sunset, Love Affair, Island Rose.

The Compact Rouge pots are something rather special… smooth, silky and pigmented.  My heart has been stolen by more products than I can afford.  To be blunt, this is an expensive range.  For me, it’s an aspirational range.  The packaging is plain but sleek with quality casings… some will admire it’s simplicity, others may regard it as lacking in personality.

Edward Bess Midnight Sun Set (£136)

Before seeing the products in person, I was particularly keen to check out the Daydream bronzer and it didn’t disappoint.  Soft, creamy and natural – even on my pink hard-to-please skintone.

Edward Bess Ultra Luminous Eyeshadow (£22) – L,R – Intimate, Escape, Dusk, Mystery.

I was surprised by how much I fell in love with the Ultra Luminous Eyeshadow in Intimate.  I don’t do greens… but this khaki is something quite special.  Texture wise, I slightly favour the Rouge Bunny Rouge formula which blows me away… but I’m smitten by Intimate and Dusk and am in the process of working out how many excuses I can invent to part with the £44 needed to purchase.

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I will definitely be purchasing the Ultra Luminous Eyeshadow in Intimate.  I aspire to own the Daydream bronzer… but not until I finish the equally lovely Guerlain Teracotta Light Sheer Bronzer in Blondes.  I will also spend the next few months lusting after a compact rouge… but knowing that I would only use it as a cream blusher, I know that I can spend less and fall in love with other cream blushers to the same degree.

This is a line for women who want to enhance with quality cosmetics.  Subtle enhancement with luxury products is (for me) the epitome of what I want to see in my makeup bag.  If you’re looking for a compact collection of beautiful products to achieve subtle but effective enhancements, Edward Bess is worth exploring further.

This photo does not do the polish justice.  It’s one of those that needs a good dose of direct sunlight to light up the sparkles contained within the shade until they simply glow.

A beautiful deep plummy red with more sparkles than you can shake a stick at.  Simple gorgeous.

Wear was around the 3 day mark before the inevitable tip wear began to make it all look a little tired.  Application was great, 2 solid coats to achieve a great finish.

What can I say?  It’s a little pricey at £12.50 for 5.5ml. I paid half that in the beauty sale in Harrods a couple of weeks ago.  It’s a wonderful shade for Autumn though and is still available online at HoF.

Fake Bake have introduced a new range instore at New Look designed to appeal to High Street bargainistas!

Four paraben-free products to fulfill your self-tan needs, the new high street range incorporates:

Pasty to Tasty wash off instant-tan £6
Rough to Buff perfectly smooth body polish £5
Dull to Delicious oil free moisturiser £5
Bland to Tanned sun-kissed self-tan £10

The packaging is not a hit with me it has to be said.  I might be partial to the odd high street bargain, but I’m not 7 – which incidentally is probably the last time I dotted my I’s with hearts.

Will you be giving this a try?

Eyeko Saucy polish, the other limited edition release alongside the new Rain polish.

Saucy is ONE HOT RED!

One of the thinnest formulas I’ve used in a long time, I was sure that it was gonna be a sheer streaky mess until I reached my third coat. I was wrong. Not only is it hot, but it’s a one-coater.

The above shows one coat.

This was gonna be a staple toenail colour for me, one coat means I only have to suck it in and stretch my self stupid for a single run through.

Thing is though, I said ‘was’. Saucy polish stains like a MoFo – and I’m not base coating my toenails.

Eyeko Saucy Polish is currently available as part of a set of three priced at £8.50

If you want to buy either Saucy polish or Rain polish individually, I’ve had confirmation that you will be able to do so from next week.

A new limited edition polish release from Eyeko…

Rain Polish is a rather delicate smoky blue/grey amalgamation.  It’s instantly clear that a lot of thought has been put into the colour selection by the addition of a subtle amount of shimmer that really lifts the shade and stops it falling into the familiar pale blue trap of looking flat and chalky.

Application was a touch tricky, the formula felt fine…. nicely balanced, but on application it dragged a bit unless I was super quick.  The best way I found to prevent this was by applying thicker coats than I would normally… which then has the knock on effect of taking longer to dry, so I probably wouldn’t wear this without the addition of a quick dry top coat.

It reminds me of Essie’s Sag Harbor from last year’s North Fork collection but with less shimmer.

Do you like it?

Looking on the Eyeko website, I’m only seeing it available as part of a set of 3 (priced at £8.50).  Hopefully they’ll make it available as an invidual shade ‘cos it’s a fairly unique one.

July is an exciting month on Zuneta.  Mark the date in your diaries ladies, for the 12th July will see the launch of U.S. brand Edward Bess.

I have been lemming the Daydream Bronzer (apparently a great choice for pale skins) for longer than I care to think about and Zuneta, in their endless quest to fill the voids in our makeup-loving hearts have their finger’s well and truly on the pulse with this latest import.

As if that weren’t enough…

Zuneta are inviting 5 lucky customers to attend the press launch in London on the 14th July!

Click here for more details on how to win this great opporunity to be one of the first to see the full line up and meet the man himself!