A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

Yesterday I went along to the Bourjois Press Office in central London to have a look at a new line of cosmetics that have been launched exclusively to Boots in the UK.

Une Natural Beauty is a new brand backed by Bourjois. The main focus of the brand is on it’s natural and eco-credentials.  The brand’s formulas are 98% – 100% derived from natural origin, contain no oils from petrochemistry and are paraben and silicone free.  14 out of the 20 products carry the French ECOCERT label which means that the products adhere to strict ecological and environmental regulations and standards.  You can find out more about the ECOCERT label here.

Une Natural Beauty is a brand for those who take a keen interest in ingredients and the environmental impact their cosmetics may carry with them and simply want to discover a more natural way to wear makeup.

This is all great stuff and frankly an exciting concept for a new high street brand, but only if the products are as good as the philosophy behind them right?  I chose a few products from the range to bring home with me to have a play with and I’ll share my thoughts on them (and some of the products I didn’t choose) later in the week.

For now, I thought you might like to see some photos from the unveiling.

Beware… it’s image intensive beyond this point!

Read the rest of this entry »

During one of my recent Fyrinnae splurges, I picked up their highly-regarded Pixie Epoxy to use with my mineral shadows.

In the tube, it reminds me of when clear mascara goes rank!  I used to buy clear mascara to set my brows, but it always went this cloudy consistency after a couple of months.

Anyway, Fyrinnae’s Pixie Epoxy isn’t supposed to be a primer… it’s a foiling agent.  Nothing to do with espionage and everything to do with making mineral eyeshadows extra purdy!

Slick some of this Pixie Epoxy over your eyelid… wait about 30 seconds and apply your mineral eyeshadow as normal.

Fyrinnae advise that you use the teeniest amount you can manage… and for super staying power, apply it ontop of your usual eye primer.

On the left is a mineral eyeshadow applied over bare skin, and on the right… the same eyeshadow applied over a small quantity of Pixie Epoxy.  Look how much more vibrant it is!  The bottom photo is after I did a single heavy-handed smudge in an attempt to dislodge the product.  You can see that the Pixie Epoxy has great staying power.

Available online from Fyrinnae and priced from $1.50 ($7.00 full size)

Have you tried Fyrinnae’s Pixe Epoxy?  How do you make it work best for you?

OK… bit of a sensationalist title… apologies, but I’m thinking of the google keyword search!

A reader requested a list of the CCS/CCO outlets in the UK as she was struggling to find the information on Google.

Here are the ones that I know of… if you know of any others, please let me know so I can update the list!

1). Gunwharf Quays, Portsmouth Harbour
2). Bicester Village, Oxon
3). Designer Outlet, York
4). Cheshire Oaks, Ellesmere Port
5). Designer Outlet, Swindon
6). Junction One, Antrim

What is a CCS/CCO?

If you’re not sure what it is, let me explain…  CCS/CCO stands for Cosmetics Company Store/Outlet.

They sells discounted Estee Lauder owned company’s cosmetics… which includes brands such as: MAC, Clinique, Estee Lauder, Bobbi Brown and Origins… I would imagine there’s probably a shed-load of Prescriptives in the outlets at the moment aswell.

The discount is generally in the region of 30% and often includes discontinued or hard to find products (including past MAC collections).

Stock changes frequently, so if you see something you like… buy it.  It probably won’t be there next week.

If you’re looking for something in particular, it’s worth googling for the phone number of the store you’re planning to visit.  Give them a ring and check to see if it’s in stock to avoid disappointment.

Sounds good, why isn’t there one in London?

Dunno…

But… if you’re in London, your nearest would be either Bicester or Gunwharf Quays.

Gunwharf Quays is my local and boasts a train station right outside (Porsmouth Harbour).  You can purchase a megatrain ticket from London Waterloo which costs around £12 for a return and takes just over an hour and half journey time.

I’m biased… but Gunwharf Quays makes for a fabulous day out, especially in the Summer… if your other half isn’t interested in the discount shopping, Portsmouth’s historic dockyard is worth checking out next door.  Just make sure he leaves his wallet for you to look after ok?

Another mini splurge from last week!  I know you’ve seen these 100 times now, sorry!

I only bought two things from the range though, aren’t I good?

I was tempted by the chunky lip pencils and the LE eyeshadow trio too (gold,blue,red one)… but I resisted!

At £6 each, I think these blushes are brilliant value for money and there are some lovely shades available.

Flush is a warm pink… I would say Guava, but I keep going on about Guava shades… *whispers* Guava.

Butterscotch is a natural neutral shade… it’s warm without being orange… lovely!

This is heavily swatched and unblended.

My favourite thing about these blushes is the finish… they’re cream to powder and they blend soooooooo smoothly.  I’m crap at blending and I can blend these with my eyes closed.  They’re completely forgiving to makeup incompetence.

I really hope that Topshop bring out some more shades in the blushers… is there a cool-toned pink in the range? I don’t remember seeing one and I want one!

If you don’t have a Topshop that stocks the range nearby, you can purchase online. Prices start from £4.

Truly excited by this…

It’s gorgeous no?  I dug it out of my goody bag that I was given at the Sleek MakeUP blogger event this week.

I’m loving the new Sleek i-Divine cardboard sleeves… not so much the coloured cases, but the sleeves are a total win for me!

Visible from outer space.

It’s a bright palette… I personally wouldn’t wear these as eyeshadows… but I’d buy it anyway, ‘cos these are gonna make some cracking Summer eyeliners.  I’ve already worn both blues blended tightly along the lashline… fabulous!

Like the Bohemian palette before it, the Sleek Circus palette contains a mixture of shimmer and matte shades.  Mostly heavily pigmented (with 2 exceptions) this is an exciting selection.  It’s exciting because it’s pushing the boundaries of my comfort zone… without going too far.  It’s not the acid palette… I couldn’t wear that one.  This, I can work with… it’ll spice things up nicely!

Here’s a quick colour description of the shades…

1. Guava Pink (Matte)
2. Purple (Shimmer)
3. True ‘shrimpy’ Pink (Matte)
4. White (Matte)
5. Bright Yellow (Matte)
6. Fuschia (Slight Shimmer)
7. Black (Matte)
8. Greyed Lilac (Matte)
9. Chartreuse (Shimmer)
10. Azure Blue (Matte)
11. Midnight Blue (Shimmer)
12. Orange (Matte)

They will be getting named in due course by one of the lucky bloggers who won the opportunity at the event!

4 & 8 are crapola.  Heavily swatched, I’m just not getting any colour payoff from them dry or wet.  They’re write-offs unless you have incredible patience.  I’m not bothered about the white, but it’s a shame that the lilac is so disappointing… it’s an interesting shade.

Stand out shades for me are: 1, 2, 5, 9, 10 and 11.

Infact, I’d buy the palette for 11 alone.  It’s perfection.

The Sleek Circus Palette will be released in June, what do you guys think?  Impatient or Indifferent?

…another cheeky Fyrinnae haul, mostly lip lustres… wanna see?  Don’t say no… ‘cos you don’t actually have a choice.

I said I was going back for some more and I did!

The formula is great for me… not so opaque that I feel like a clown in bright colours but with more than enough coverage to make it worthwhile.  A couple of these are slightly gritty in texture which I didn’t notice with my first order, but this doesn’t bother me… Infact, I don’t even notice it after a couple of minutes, I’m not sure if the warmth of my lips dissolves the grittiness.

I ordered sample sizes of: Pink Guitar, Mege-Hold, Glitter Kittiez, Ryo-Pinko, Meloncholy, Trickster and Devil Horns and full size versions of: Shangri-La and Visual Kei

I’ve hand swatched because I’ve not long lip-swatched the new Revlon Colorburst Lipstick collection and to be honest, I was kinda bored of swatching!

If there’s any of these shades that you did want to see a lip swatch for though, please tell me ‘cos I’ll be happy to make sure I include it in a FOTD.

Fyrinnae Lip Lustres are available from the Fyrinnae website and are priced from $2.50 each.

Which of the shades above are your favourites?

I swear… I will stop doing “greige” soon… when HELL FREEZES OVER! Bwuhahahhaha!

Bored of reviewing Eyeko now…. are you bored of seeing ’em?  Thing is though… they’ve got some rather fashionable polish shades out now and this is one of them.

Also, this one’s got a formula comparable to that lilac that I liked, which means that I owe it to people who don’t like the thicker Eyeko formula to let them know that Eyeko Posh Polish might be a good’un for them!

Opaque in two coats and not only that… but this mani is lasting and lasting… I’m actually on my 4th day (at the time of writing this) and um… I don’t have any tip wear.  I don’t usually get much chipping with any polishes but as a chronic keyboard user… tip wear IS something that I usually suffer with.

Again… £3.50 from the Eyeko website, free UK shipping… cheap international shipping… yada yada yada…

Do you wanna see the rest of the shades (I’ve got a coral, tea rose and a pink sheer left) or are us bloggers doing Eyeko polishes to death now?  Be honest… I don’t mind and whilst it’s nice to feature new product releases, I don’t want you coming here rolling your eyes at reading your 16th Eyeko NOTD yano?

Put down the broccoli and head for the Beauty Aisle ‘cos there’s a new brand in town!

Dirty Works is exclusive to Sainsbury’s and incorporates a range of body scrubs, body butters and bath products to leave you feeling pampered but not penniless!

The comparison to Soap & Glory has to be made though right?  Is this an even more budget-friendly option?

I was sent a little trio of goodies called “Get Set Go” Mini Luxuries which includes:

Bare Necessity Body Lotion
Buff Your Stuff Body Scrub
All of a Lather Body Wash

I’m a little over the whole kitsch packaging thing now that it’s been done to death… but I can see it still appealing to many and this set in particular would make a great little gift set for a bathing belle.

Each product in the set is 100ml, so considering it’s mini… is pretty darn generous!  The products are all quite highly-scented… I smell cocoa butters, fruity scents and vanilla.

They’re not the most luxurious products I’ve used, but they do what they say on the tin and they do it well.

Most products seem to be priced around the £5 mark, check them out next time you’re doing the weekly shop!

Moving on from the Eyeko pastels I was playing with earlier in the month…

The new Eyeko range features 5 new shades from sheer pink through to this rather gothic black with red glitter called Vampira.

As with all Eyeko polishes I’ve tried, the first coat applies streaky… my trick to achieving a good finish with these polishes is a thin first coat, followed by subsequent thicker coats.  Don’t worry how crap that first coat looks… just get some product onto the nails and map out the shape you want.  If you start thick then it’s gonna take longer to dry and will be more likely to drag at the cuticles when you lay down that 2nd or 3rd coat.

You can see that I got decent coverage with 2 coats following my method above.  Unfortunately I then needed to add a couple of coats of top coat to smooth out the rough, gritty surface thanks to the glitter.  This fnish might not bother everyone, but it kinda sets my teeth on edge.

Wear has been fine with no chipping (though I never seem to have a problem with chipping and I know other people do), average tip wear and when I did finally remove it (after 3 days) it didn’t give me a TOTAL nightmare considering how packed full of glitter it is.

Overall it’s not my favourite Eyeko polish I’ve tried… the black/red glitter mix is kinda chunky.  Still pretty good value for £3.50 though.

More NOTDS to come from the range soon…

When I saw the Butter London Jelly Collection on sale at ASOS, I made a dive for my handbag and had my order confirmation sat in my inbox in record time!

The trio of polishes were a Spring 2010 release.  3 shimmery sheer jelly shades that promise some layering gorgeousness.  They didn’t disappoint.

The image shows 2 coats of each applied over a black base.

Stroppy transforms into a blackened purple sparkle fest that reminds me of a vampier version of NARS Purple Rain.

Twee completely changes the hue to a slightly dusky purple with a more subtle sparkle.

Chuffed glitters all over the place… just beautful.

I can’t pick a favourite from the three, I thought I’d be able to… but they’re each quite different and totally mesmerizing in their own right.  I can’t wait to try these over other shades… they apply like a dream, dry smoothly and rapidly with a glossy finish (no top coats in the above image).

You can also wear these shades sheer if you prefer, Kelly over at Vampy Varnish has some great nail swatches to show how they look applied alone.  They’re a great option for sprucing up a tired looking manicure when you simply can’t be arsed to redo the whole lot… patch up any chips, grab one of these… 2 coats… brand new mani!

Tempted?  If so… grab ’em while they’re still a fiver each – free delivery at ASOS! *siren/temptress dance*

Just a few of the products so you can see how they look applied (badly as always!)

Face

~ MUA Blusher – Shade 3
~ MUA Pressed Powder (used as contour) – Shade 4

Eyes

~ MUA Eyeshadow Shade 9 (on the lid and under the lower lashline)
~ MUA Eyeshadow Shade 4 (blended into and sligtly above the crease)

Lips

~ MUA Lipstick Shade 5

Do you think you’ll be picking anything up?  Or if you already have, what did you buy?

So the new MUA £1 range has been out in stores for almost a week and I’ve been playing with a couple of items that I was sent.  It’s quite hard to review such bargainous products… it’s difficult to decide whether I cut them a break on the quality front because afterall.. they’re a £1 each… or do I just review them based on whether or not I’d use them again?  I vote in favour of the second option… hard luck MUA.

I’ll start with some of the face products…

The MUA bronzer (I have shade 1) is a sparkle fest, and as a result… quite gritty in texture.  It’s definitely more bronze toned than golden and if shade 1 is the lightest I can’t see it suiting pale tones too well.  I have tried it lightly brushed across my cheeks, but the glitter fall out has left me cold and I won’t be reaching for this again.

A staple for any cosmetic line up is a pressed powder.  I have shade 4, which on my skintone… actually makes a fairly decent matte contour shade.  It’s quite silky to the touch in an old-fashioned Cornsilk kinda way.  It’s also highly scented… powdery, like an old pharmacy.  When I brush over the surface…. a lot of the product is kicked up and sits ontop of the pan which means you need to give your brush a bit of a shake before lifting it to your face to avoid fall out.  It blends quite smoothly though, I’ll certainly be putting this aside for another play next time I can be bothered to contour.

Ahhhh blusher… such a great product for a quick skin pick-me-up.  The best way to describe this is… draw a line between the bronzer and the pressed powder… the blusher lies halfway.  It has the sparkle and the silkiness.  Unfortunately this stuff really flakes when you brush at the surface… I had more product sitting ontop of the pan than ever I did on the brush.  It also suffers a bit when blending, it has a tendency to blend away to nothing if you’re not careful.  The 4 available shades are really rather pretty though.

It’s worth noting that none of the face products contain mirrors in the packaging, I’m sure for obvious cost cutting reasons.  No applicators are included either, which I totally welcome with the eye shadows, but you’d be hard pressd (no pun intended) to achieve much with a pressed powder on the go without a little puff or mirror.

Talking of eyeshadows…

I was sent two of the pearl eyeshadow shades.  One a duochrome purple/blue and the other a pink/lavender shade.  You get a generous 2g of product for your money and these two shades look particularly stunning in the pan.

They’re soft, smooth and well pigmented.  The packaging is cute (prefer these to the face products packaging) and in my opinion a must have if you’re thinking of checking out the range.  I’ve already used the darker shade a few times this week and it’s lovely blended along the lower lashline for a pop of colour.  Thankfully, these don’t appear to be fragranced either.

See that duochrome effect in Shade 9?  Lovely!  I will say that I find these shadows don’t pick up too well with a natural haired brush… so I’ve been using my Aurifere or E.L.F synthetic concealer brushes to apply!

The lipstick packaging remind me a little of the NYX Round Lipsticks with it’s transparent bases… unfortunately, that’s kinda where the similarities end.  These feel greasier and just not as comfortable on the lips.  Shade 1 is a stonking confident creme shade but it wears very unevenly so a lip liner as a base is a must.  Shade 5 is promising in the tube, but delivers very little on the lips.  It’s frosty, but also contains glitter particles… I guess it might work quite nicely as a layering product to take a nude lip from daytime to night time.  Other than that, these are a pass for me.

Ok, what next…

Eyeliner… a beautiful, vibrant blue, almost metallic in appearance.  The applicator is too stiff and scratchy with very little flexibility.  This means that as you’re drawing the line, the product is only really applying at the edges of the applicator… multiple passes are necessary to achieve full opacity.

Once dry, a gentle swipe of my finger lifts great flakes of product from my skin and if that weren’t bad enough… underneath the line?  I’m left with stained skin.  This is a poor product and such a shame because that colour is so pretty and summery.  Let me know if you make this work for you but I’m sure there are much better alternatives on the high street for not much more money.

After those damning comments, I’ll finish with my favourite…

The Eye Dust.  I have Shade 5, which I’ve artfully typo-ed.  First things first, these aren’t going to last longer than 46 seconds on your eyelids without a base of some sort, and you better make it a good one.

But look, how beautiful is this shade?

Combine this with a slick of UDPP or a coloured cream shadow base and you’re gonna get great payoff and a beautifully shimmering neutral shade.  Packaging is irritating, but I’m not gonna let that overshadow what is a lovely eye dust for the money.

Overall, the new MUA range is a bit of a mixed bag… pretty much what I expected it to be.  My tip though?  Go and check out the eyeshadows and eye dusts, I’m delighted with them!