A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

Stepping away from the dark-side for a wee while, Illamasqua have brought their own version of Spring/Summer to the table.  And as you might imagine, all is not quite as it seems…

The 17-piece collection comprises of pastels, neutrals and vivid neons… but with a few curveballs thrown in for good measure!  Let’s have some piccies…

The campaign imagery depicts a surreal, unpredictable world inspired by a natural world that is retaliating against the mankind that has distorted it.  Those feelings are demonstrated by shades that conflict, revel in their hybrid nature and tease with now-you-see-me, now-you-don’t pearl and glister.

6 New Cream Pigments (£17.00) that promise to be more crease-resistant than Illamasqua’s current cream eyeshadows and suitable for use all over the body.

Mould (Grape) / Hollow (Toffee) / Delirium – EU Only (Rose Taupe) / Bedaub (Mint) / Emerge – EU Only (Peach) / Dab (Lilac)

Thanks for lending me your swatching arm Rowena!

Did you spot those lip colours in the top row of the last picture?

Not ashamed to admit they might be my favourite thing about this collection.  Well, one of my favourite things… here’s my personal picks from the Illamasqua Toxic Nature Collection:

Torture and Divine are the new Illamasqua Sheer Lipglosses (£13.00) for this collection.  Just beautiful for Summer.

Dab and Delirium are my picks from the new Cream Pigment range… lovely, wearable shades.

Atomic is a hot non-hooker pink lipstick (£15.50) that I was excited to receive in my event bag… I’ll bring you a proper lip swatch v. soon.  The other lipstick, Flare is a vivid matte orange, canyousayontrend?

and for the nail polishes… Bacterium was going down a storm with nearly everyone.  The metallic putty shade flashes with pearlescent blue to give it an edge and Radium is just retina-searingly awesome!

Swatches of my picks of the collection…

Now, one thing that WOULD have also made my pick were it not for the fact that I DIDN’T NOTICE IT in it’s unassuming black housing is this little marvel…

Illamasqua’s NEW Precision Ink (£17.00) in Glister is a skin-toned (obv depending on whose skin!) liner packed full of purple/pink glitter pigment (v. finely milled) that’s bears more than a passing resemblance to their Static Pure Pigment that was such a hit in 2009.

The thing about this liner is that unlike most… to my eye, it gets better with age!  The more rubbed-down and worn it becomes, the more that beautiful pigment shows through… glistening… just like its namesake!

Let’s finish off with some nails…

Here’s The Claw (£35.00).  The Toxic Claw!

Terrible camera angle there which I appreciate means you can’t see the tips!  The Toxic Claw is a play on the original nail quill by Mike Pocock that involves making it look more animalistic and… well… claw-like!

And the nail polishes (£13.50)…

Big thanks to Janaka for being such an excellent hand model!

5 new polishes, 5 fingers!  Woot to Helen too for lending her fingers in the name of beauty!

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Illamasqua Toxic Nature will be launching online from the 10th March and instore from the 17th March.

For the chance to win your favourites from the range, register at Illamasqua.com and join the waiting list for your desired Toxic Nature shades.  3 winners will be sent all of the items from this wishlist!

Is there anything there that tempts you?

A couple of you eagle-eyed ladies spotted the lipstick that I was wearing in my Bateau Ivre FOTD from earlier in the week.  It’s very, very nude isn’t it?

The NARS shade is new for Spring and called Madère.

How do we pronounce that then?  I’m opting for ‘mah-daire’ – anyone wanna wade in with an infinitely more sensible suggestion?

For a matte… it’s fairly creamy to apply, though pretty unforgiving on very dry lips.  If you have deep furrows, you may need to think about some intense moisturisation and a plumping base before attempting this shade as it will highlight any areas of concern.

Many reviews from last year’s launch of these Pure Matte Lipsticks commented on how the formula of these were more moisturising than normal mattes.  Sadly, I can’t say that I’ve reached the same conclusion with Madère.  I felt that it was just as drying as any other matte lipstick that I wear.

Where Madère does excel is in the density of colour and it’s ability to truly blank out the lip when you want to concentrate attention on your smokey eye.  If you’re a fan of true nude lips (and I know many of you are), it’s probably a shade that you’ll want to add to your collection for nights out.  I feel that it would particularly suit women who feel that nudes often run too orange on their skintone.

NARS Pure Matte lipstick in Madère* is available now from NARS online, on counter and other stockists priced from £17.50

*press sample

How much do we hate it when we look down at our fresh manicures to realise that yet again, we’ve managed to daub more polish on our fingers than we got on our nails?

Well, worry no more ‘cos Butter London set the scene at Vena Cava yesterday for a forward-thinking, fabulous faux pas that’s achievable for anyone with a nail brush (and an unsteady hand!)

image stolen borrowed from Nonie Creme’s twitstream here

Check out the finger bands painted by Nonie with some of the bestselling Butter London shades!  Such a fun touch, much cheaper than hunting down the latest high-street jewellery and at around 24hours, probably longer-lasting too 😉

Wanna see my late-night take on the trend?

Shades used: Marrow, Scoundrel and Come to Bed Red!

If you give it a go, make sure you play safe and only use Big 3 Free polishes in the creation of your finger art masterpieces.

I love anything in beauty and fashion that doesn’t take itself too seriously and this daftness reminds me of being at school and tippexing the crap out of myself in an ‘artful’ manner…  and anything that reminds me of those playful days is a win in my book.

What do you think of Butter London’s Vena Cava Finger Bands?

If you had told me 5 years ago that I’d get excited over the thought of a blue eyeshadow duo, I’d have pointed you in the direction of this photo and told you not to be so stupid.  So it surprises me to recognise that Bateau Ivre was the duo that captured my imagination when I first saw promo images from the NARS Spring 2011 collection last month.

They say: The Spring 2011 Collection is the epitome of minimalism, reaching a sensual peak with fresh, forward color. Jeweled earth tones for eyes and nails are infused with a metallic finish that lends a subtly sleek finish. Cool compliments of sheer and sparkling lips pair with unexpected accents of parrot green and vivid blue.  It all adds up to a look that’s indisputably modern.

Let’s take a look at those eyeshadow duos:  Bateau Ivre & Nouveau Monde*

Read the rest of this entry »

Butter London say: Straight from the Fashion Week runways, the butter LONDON Spring/Summer 2011 Collection was inspired by the many colourful “impressionist” style prints that graced catwalks from New York to Paris. Designed by Founding Creative Director Nonie Creme, the new collection is reminiscent of Monet’s palettes, with the inclusion of an opal overcoat that lends ethereal beauty to any shade.

BLAGGER
Colour: Striking cobalt blue.
Definition: A person with a silver tongue; a charlatan.

HEN PARTY
Colour: Sheer opal lacquer that is neutral and stunning alone and on-trend as an edgy overcoat on top of any shade.
Definition: British term for a bachelorette party.

LADY MUCK
Colour: Powdery periwinkle blue, slightly on the grey side and infused with pearl pigment for a soft, sexy sheen.
Definition: A term for an arrogant, conceited woman; a snob.

DOSH
Colour: A molten apple green shot through with metallic gold.
Definition: British slang for money or cash. “Can have a bit of dosh, love?”

TEDDY GIRL
Colour: A pale retro bubblegum pink, featured on the catwalk of a top Brit designer for S/S 2011.
Definition: “Teddy Boys & Girls” was a youth culture movement in Britain typified by teens fighting, drinking, shagging, and fighting some more.

The collection launches around the 1st March and will be available to purchase online from ThePowderRooms and instore at Harvey Nichols.

Due on counter next week (26th January), the new No7 Spring collection includes an array of delicately-hued goodies for the new season.

The collection includes:

Limited Edition Eye Palette – £12.50
Limited Edition Gel Eyeliners, in Navy Blue, Turquoise and Black – £10.50
Limited Edition Lipsticks, in Brigitte (pale pink) and Grace (pale coral) – £10.50
Limited Edition Nail Polish, in Sugar (pale pink) and Spice (pale coral) – £7.50

Lisa Eldridge had this to say about the inspiration behind her latest No7 collection:

“Inspired by St Tropez in the early 1960’s, the birthplace of the glamorous international jet set and Brigitte Bardot, the archetypal sex kitten, this collection focuses attention very much on the eyes – the key items being the three Gel Eyeliners and beautiful Eye Palette. The eye shadow quartet contains the prettiest washes of ‘barely there’ beiges, corals, pinks, shimmering turquoises and sea greens all evocative of the Cote d’Azur. When the strong liners and pretty shadows are combined with the pale pouty lip colours… the look is defnitely more than a little 60’s Riviera starlet.”

I’ll be diving in for a closer look at the Gel Eyeliner in Navy Blue (love a good, deep blue eyeliner!) and lippie in Grace (pale coral).

What will you be making a beeline for?

Browsing the Sephora website late at night is a dangerous pastime.

I’ve talked before about how Too Faced is a brand that tends to skim under my radar… it’s all rather cutesy and whilst I have nothing against cutesy per se… I just never feel quite so inclined to pay good money for ‘cutesy’ as I do for ‘sleek’.  Catch 22, I mean I might adore it all right?

I think I may finally be forced to indulge this coming Spring (or whenever the hell the UK imports this stuff).

I’ve admired the Too Faced Shadow Collections from afar and I think this might be the one that gives me the shove I need to purchase.

Too Faced Romantic Eye Collection – quite possibly the worst stock image ever.  If you go onto Sephora you can use that fancy zoomy picture feature to get a better idea of what the actual shadows look like.  A top down view would have been nice though.

I’m a sucker for purples and cool toned taupes.  In the Summer, I’m a sucker for copper… but Winter/Spring it’s all about these cool-toned shades.  I’m also excited to be so delighted by ANYTHING makeup-wise in the Spring.  Usually it’s all too pastelly/corally for me.

Another Too Faced release that’s got my interest piqued is this little Glitter Glue number…

Is a brand finally jumping on the Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy bandwagon?

They Say: This colorless cream formula is designed to grab and hold loose glitters, pigments, and shimmers so they won’t come off until you take them off.

I’m not sure when we’re getting this in the UK or how much it will retail at but I’ll guess… around £11 (the same as the original primer).  Roughly the same quantity of Pixie Epoxy is cheaper (despite international shipping) but that won’t stop me from comparing especially as the availability of the Fyrinnae website seems to be conspiring against me recently.

Either of these two products making you stop in your tracks?

As requested, here’s a shot showing how Urban Decay’s soon-to-be-released Afterglow Cheek Tint in Quickie (the hot pink one) looks on my skin.

I’ve also applied it to my lips in the above picture.  Excuse the post threading forehead blotchiness.

I don’t like Quickie worn on the lips as much as Greedy which was infinitely more flattering and didn’t pale down my lips so much.

Both cheek tints are sheer but buildable.  To remind yourself about them, read my post on them here.

Hope you’re having a lovely weekend xx

I’m a little bit excited to be showing you these today.  I love Urban Decay, I love Blushes and I love cream blushes most of all…

They come packaged in Urban Decay’s signature purple acrylic emblazoned with a silver serpent… for sizing, they’re a hint smaller than a MAC blush… identical to a TopShop cream blush if you have one to compare.  Each pot contains 4g of product which is about standard when compared to Illamasqua, TopShop, Stila… but less than the generous 6g that MAC provides with their blushcremes.

I have two shades that I was sent to show you today:

Quickie is a vibrant, bubblegum pink that leans to the cool side.  Greedy is a plum/grape shade that is also ideal for cooler skin tones.

The first thing I noticed about these cheek tints are the vibrancy.  Both look rather intimidating in the pan, particularly Greedy which is an almost blackened grape shade.

The texture is interesting, there is a huge amount of slip and neither have that creme-to-powder feeling that you often get with cream blushes.

Quickie is shown on the left, Greedy on the right.

The best way that I can describe these is as having Illamasqua’s slip… but with Tarte’s gel-like consistency.  Another comparison would be to NARS Limited Edition multiple sticks they came out with this summer… especially in terms of the sheer, glowy finish these provide.

All in all, it’s a winning combination in terms of blending.  I would happily state that these are the easiest-to-apply cream blushes (sorry, cheek tints) that I’ve used.  They move around on the skin beautifully and don’t muddy or fade during blending.  The obvious downside to this is that they take a while to ‘set’ and until they have, they will transfer onto clothing etc if you’re not careful.

These can also be used on the lips… the texture lends itself to this well.  Feeling more like a balm when you apply, I didn’t experience any dragging or particular dryness though it’s still worth making sure that your lips are well exfoliated beforehand.  Again though, because of the extra slip… I didn’t find them particularly long-lasting when worn this way.

Out of the two shades I was sent, Quickie is punchier and more pigmented.. the above swatch shows two swipes of the shade.  Greedy is sheerer and the above swatch shows a good 4 swipes to achieve that pigmentation.  Not really a bad thing to be honest considering how intense the shade is… it would be easy to go overboard were it more pigmented I feel.

I thought it might be useful to see Greedy applied… out of the two, it’s my favourite but one that I would have probably overlooked simply because of how it appears in the pan.

Greedy gives one of those natural winter flushes of colour to my skin and also looks lovely worn on the lips (shown above).  I wanted to make sure the colour would show on camera so I’ve applied more heavily than I would normally.

I’d recommend these Urban Decay Afterglow Cheek Tints to anyone but particularly if you struggle with getting blush to look natural.  You have to work quite hard to overdo these (though I’m sure that some of us will still manage!)

I’d also say that these would be particularly suited to those of us with older or drier skin, if you’re quite oily… you may fare better with a cream-to-powder formula for increased longevity.  Alternatively, you could always powder over the top of these to ensure a good ‘set’ that will last you throughout the day.

Hey UD junkies!

Here’s a preview of some of what we can expect to see hitting our shores next Spring/Summer from Californian uber brand Urban Decay!

The 15 Year Anniversary Collection features 15 of Urban Decay’s 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencils.  Whilst Avon may have recently taken the shine off UD’s long-wear eyeliner pencil crown for me, there’s no denying that UD still do some of the most scintillating array of colours around.

The full-sized liners (which ordinarily retail for £12 each) are packaged together like this for a limited time only and will set you back an eye watering £60.  I know that mathematically, you’re getting a good deal… but £60 is £60 is £60 right?  I’m thinking that this set will have limited appeal based on that alone, which is probably just aswell because there’s a very limited quantity available.

The thing that softens that thump to the purse (for me) is the fact that I don’t actually own too many of these shades already.  I have Bourbon, Ransom and Zero… that’s it.  This is mostly due to the fact that 6 of the shades are new and exclusive to this set.  Would I have preferred this to be a mini-sized set at a lower price?  Probably…

If you’re new to Urban Decay 24/7 Liners, this would make a great investment… if you’re a collector, you’ll be all over it.  If you’ve picked up most of the UD 24/7 shades already then you’ll probably want to double check that you wouldn’t be doubling up too much before purchasing.

Shades included:

*Asphyxia – pinky iridescent purple
Baked – bold bronze
Binge – deep metallic navy blue
Bourbon – medium brown with gold sparkle
*Corrupt – dark metallic brown with silver glitter
Electric – bright aquamarine blue
*Midnight Cowboy –  beige with gold sparkle
Mildew – deep mossy green
*Perversion – blackest carbon black (blacker than Zero!)
Ransom – bright iridescent purple
Rockstar – darkest eggplant
Stash – dark olive with gold sparkle
*Stray Dog – shimmery brown taupe
*Uzi – gunmetal grey with sparkle
Zero – zealous black

* connotes never-seen-before shades that are exclusive to this set.

the Urban Decay 15-year Anniversary 24/7 Glide-on eye Pencil Set will retail in the UK at £60 (€75)

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I think I’m most excited about the new blush launch!

The Urban Decay Afterglow Glide-On Cheek Tints remind me (and I haven’t seen them in person yet, so I’m speculating) of a cross between Stila Convertible Color and those NARS Limited Edition Multiples we saw last Summer.  They appear to be closer to gel than cream in consistency which is always good for Summer.

Going by stock pictures alone, I’m in love with about 5 of these shades in the swatches above… are any of them calling to you?

Fetish – sheer mauve w/fne pearlized fnish
Score – sheer pink lemonade w/fne pearlized fnish
Greedy – sheer blackberry
Quickie – sheer ‘bubble-pop-electric’ pink
Indecent – sheer apricot w/pearly gold shimmer
Bang – sheer coral red
Crush – sheer hot pink

The Urban Decay Afterglow Glide-On Cheek Tints will retail in the UK at £18 (€28).

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The U.S. girls got these in Autumn, but we’ll be seeing them hit the counters soon!

They claim non-sticky, sheer to medium coverage with a long-lasting finish.  Available in 11 shades.

Crush – sheer coral
Jilted – hot pink w/blue shift
Heavy – shimmering nude
Runaway – shimmering deep coral
Midnight Cowboy – shimmering sheer beige
Love Junkie – deep but very sheer wine
Naked – pinky-nude w/pink shift
Wallfower – medium nude
Red Light – sheer candy-apple red
Perversion – sheer sparkling granite
Peroxide – palest pink

The Urban Decay Lip Junkie Lip Gloss will retail in the UK at £13 (€18).

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Packed with pearl powders and coconut oil, Urbanglow Cream Highlight promises to leave your skin with an ethereal glow.

Available in 4 shades;

Brown Sugar – bronze shimmer
Wicked – scintillating pink
Sin – gold highlight
Moonshine – iridescent pearl

The Urban Decay Urbanglow Cream Highlight will retail in the UK at £18 (€28 ).

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I’ll try and get more info on exact UK release dates when they become available.

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What d’ya think… any must haves, any disappointments?  Talk to me people!

From Left to Right: Pure Porcelain, Gilded Coral, Fancy Fuchsia, Ancient Jade, Sapphire Silk and Royal Velvet.

Are any of these calling to you?

Spring polish shades are my least favourite.  Though, I say that every year and by March I’m rocking the lilacs and pale greens with the best of them… short memory you see.

I like the look of Pure Porcelain… the rest just don’t excite me.  Royal Velvet doesn’t even look very spring-like and reminds me of SpaRitual’s Health, Wealth and Happiness too much to be worth owning both.

The Orly Precious collection will be available from January 2011 priced at £8.75 each from www.orlybeauty.co.uk and www.spicebeauty.co.uk

What do you ladies think?  Picked out a favourite yet?

If there’s one ‘trend’ I could do without.  Matte orange lips pretty much sums it up.

Photo credit: Samantha Adler, www.samanthaadler.com

Big hair and bright, orange lips were the order of the day for Marc by Marc Jacobs’ fun, colorful collection for Spring 2011.

Really… no, really.  Thanks.

Not only the hardest formula for us gals to wear whilst going about our daily whatevers… but let’s do it in orange too shall we?

What I wanna know is this…

Does it really matter? I’m not sure I pay much attention to seasonal trends… I just wear whatever the hell I want.  I guess I’d appreciate it if companies don’t go ALL OUT on the orange for their Spring collections, but meh… whatever, guess it’ll save me money right?

Do you follow so-called trends or even take much inspiration from them?