Shu Uemura Art of Hair

Whilst going to a new hairdressers I noticed that they stocked the Shu Uemura haircare range, I asked them if they could use some of the products on me, impressed with the results I bought three items from the range.
From the Silk Bloom range (for damaged hair) I bought the shampoo (£22.50 for 300ml) and conditioner (£29.50 for 250ml). This range is enriched with Argan oil and is meant to restore and repair the structure of the hair. I’ve used these for a few weeks now and I find the shampoo non irritating, cleanses without any build up and smoothes my hair down, I will say that I find this is quite heavy and I think unless you have thick hair this is likely to weigh your hair down. The conditioner is quite light, you only need a little bit but it detangles well and makes the hair feel soft.
Shampoo ingredients:
Conditioner ingredients:
The other product I bought was the treatment mask from the moisture velvet range (for dry hair) £37.50 for 200ml. This range is enriched with Camelia oil and is meant to soften and rebalance moistures in dry hair. I only need to use a little bit and its gives great softness and bounce to the hair, yet does not weight the hair down.
Treatment ingredients:
Overall I am very pleased I tried Shu haircare, my hair definitely feels stronger than it did before (was very prone to breakage previously) and looks healthier and less dull, I think I’ll try the moisture shampoo next time though.
I bought these from a Sean Hanna salon but you can buy the range from online stores (for example beautique.com). It is a rather pricey range but if your salon stocks it I'd definitely ask them to try it on you.

Illamasqua and Rouge Bunny Rouge EOTD

Just to prove I don’t always do a natural look, here’s a brighter one
Very simple and not over blended so as to ensure the blue stands out. Illamasqua Spectre as an all over base, Fiasco on outer lid, Truth in the crease, a very light dusting of RBR loose glitter pigments in Sleeping Under a Mandarin Tree on inner half and Spun From Sunny Seawater on the outer half and RBR Devotion Ink in Anthracite Essence to line.
Swatches: RBR Sleeping Under a Mandarin Tree, Spun From Sunny Seawater

Swatches:Illamasqua Spectre, Truth, Fiasco

Snowberry Skincare: Nourishing Lite Day Cream

This is my second Snowberry review, this time for the lite moisturiser.
Just to re-cap Snowberry is a luxury anti-ageing skincare brand from New Zealand. The range does not contain, Lauryl Sulphates,Petrochemicals, Propylene or Butylene Glycols, Volatile alcohols, artificial colours , Silicones , DEA or MEA ingredients.

In the UK you can’t return used cosmetics, as I have highly reactive skin I felt it prudent to buy the smaller 15ml version of the moisturiser instead of the full sized 50ml (£110). Although it works out cheaper to buy the full size I figure that if I didn’t get on with it better to have wasted £46 than £110.
My skin type is dry, shiny T-zone, bad pores and sensitive/acne prone. The reason I went for the lite version of the moisturiser (rather than the rich) is that a lot of products aimed for dry skin are just too heavy for me and the rich version has algae extract in it which is something I avoid due to my acne.
This comes in a pump packaging and I use two/three pumps for my face, the consistency is quite light. I was surprised that this adsorbed almost immediately and I had no residue/oiliness on my skin at all. I’ve used this for over three weeks now and I do feel my skin texture looks better, glowier and feels smoother. The only reason this is not a re-buy for me is this does not provide enough moisture for my dry skin, if I didn’t wear foundation it would be fine but I have found it a struggle to get foundation not to look dry/patchy over this, the product is not aimed at dry skin so its my own fault, I’m going to save what I have left and use it for the summer months.

Overall I’d say if you have normal/combination skin and want a lite cream that rejuvenates the skin this might be for you.I bought one more product I'll be reviewing in a few weeks time.

I bought this from Harvey Nichols, which is the only UK stockist.

MAC: Lessons learnt

When I’m in my local MAC store, I tend to find that if I am getting ignored when I want to buy something, if I start swatching products it gets a SA over in a shot.
This is what lead me to buy Fresh Salmon from the Spring colour forecast collection; had I not swatched it, I would never had bought this seemingly bright coral/orange lipstick- I was surprised that it swatched as a sheer coral pink with a golden sheen.
Swatches L-R: Laugh a lot, Fresh Salmon, Hue
I also bought Laugh a Lot (sheer mauve pink, nice colour but I have similar shades already,not sure why I got this) and finally, the rated glaze lipstick in Hue (not part of the collection) as a Back to MAC (they always refuse to give me a limited edition lipstick). On me this lightens my lips too much and washes me out, so may well go in my next Back to MAC!

Caught up in the Ripe Peach hype, I straight away made a grab for this. I don’t know why I didn’t check the ingredients, being as I always check the ingredients. I don’t why when I got home I still did not check the ingredients and put it on my face. I do know that when the itching came on I thought to myself ‘I wonder if this contains corn starch’ and lo and behold- it did. I’ll console myself by saying that although a very pretty vibrant coral it was probably a bit too vivid for my complexion (I have now given it to my mother).

Ingredients:
So, lessons learnt for me: don’t always write something off by how it looks in the tube/container and don’t become complacent with checking ingredients.

Suqqu Spring Kisui Collection: Part 2

The remaining items I got from the Kisui Spring collection were the Noble Nuance Cheeks duos (£36 each) in EX01 and EX02.
EX01 Momozoe contains a matte true pink blush and very pale pink highlight. EX02 Mukuge contains a matte warm rose blush and very pale cool toned pink highlight.
The colours are very natural and subtle; the highlighters only have the tiniest amount of shimmer. The texture is very smooth and fine and they last well.
Swatches L-R EX01 blush,highlight, EX02 blush, highlight

I have been extremely pleased with everything I bought from the spring collection; the textures and the natural serene colours. It’s a beautiful collection and I look forward to future Suqqu releases.
I bought these from Selfridges who are the only UK stockist of Suqqu.

Julie Hewett Eyeshadows

Although Julie Hewett seems to be known about, I think it’s a brand that gets overlooked. I only have a small range of items from the range but am very pleased with what I have.
I bought an eyeshadow palette (single pans cost £7.50 each and the empty palette costs £8). I wasn’t able to find a wealth of reviews/pictures for all the shades so I played it safe and went for the more natural shades.
I got the following:(shown clockwise from top left in palette)
Cappuccino: Matte earthy brown
Runway: subtly shimmered dusky mauve
Remy: subtly shimmered clay, slight golden hue.
Dovima: Frosty pale pink highlight
Swatches below L-R:Dovima,Cappuccino,Runway,Remy (please click to enlarge)
I somehow missed that Dovima was a frost finish when I ordered it (I’m not a fan of frosty anything) and the texture feels a bit gritty. The texture of the other three shadows is really smooth. All the shadows have great pigmentation, blend beautifully and last well. Although I won’t be getting the frost finish again I will be ordering some more of the other shadows.

The below blogs have some great posts on JH products,
http://beglamoured.blogspot.com/search/label/Julie%20Hewett
http://www.londonmakeupgirl.com/search/label/Julie%20Hewett
http://maquillageobscura.blogspot.com/search/label/Julie%20Hewett

I bought all my JH products from http://www.misebeauty.com/ the delivery was really quick and they included lots of samples, they also stock Kevyn Aucoin and Ellis Faas amongst others.

Chanel Rouge Coco

Chanel used to be one of my favourite brands,the lipsticks being the standouts. Over the last year, as new brands have come along, I have been less impressed with Chanel so when I heard that the Rouge Coco (£21) was launching I straight away went out and bought two lipsticks in the hope that these would give me renewed faith in the brand.
Amidst the extremely glowing reviews I have left writing mine as I felt like I was missing something, but I now have to concede that these are a bit of a let down for me. They are pigmented and have a really nice range of shades but I find the formula drying, and not comfortable. I found that with both the shades I have they migrated into the little lines of my lips after a while and made the area look dehydrated.

I got Muse (slightly copper toned pinky rose) and Perle (sheer pinky-beige). Both have a luminous finish.
Swatch: Left is Muse, Right is Perle
I’m honestly surprised that these aren’t working for me, I do wonder if its just the shades I got, let me know if you have experienced the same thing. I have not given up though, I’m going to order a RBR Shimmering Luxe Balm (from Zuneta.com) and try this under the Chanel and see if I can get them to work for me as I do really like the colours.

Just to note that as with other Chanel lipsticks these are scented.

Ellis Faas Creamy Eyes and Milky Lips

The Creamy Eyes (£22) have a velvety texture and they do not feel heavy nor drying. The shades I have can either be used for an opaque coverage or sheered out with your fingertip, I prefer using them sheered out as they are quite pigmented as you can see from my swatches. They dry quite quickly but you do have enough time to blend and once set they don’t budge until you take them off.
I really like the formula but it’s the colours that aren’t really working for me.
E107-Brown/taupe, looks a bit muddy on me.
E106-Brown with a mauve tone, I don’t normally have a problem with mauve tones but this makes me look very tired and seems to have a slight red cast to it, no doubt this will vary depending on your skintone but if you have a similar complexion to mine (very pale and cool toned) you may want to opt for a different shade. Both shades are non-shimmery.
Swatches are with the colour dabbed on then a swatch of it blended,on the Left E107 and on the right E106
I got Milky lips (£21) in shade L207. The texture is quite light and doesn’t feel drying. The finish is a semi matte and the colour is a non-shimmery peachy beige on me, with a slight hint of pink, its not the best for my complexion but it is wearable.
Overall I am really impressed with the texture and wear of these, its just the colours I bought don’t really suit me. With the currant line up I’m hesitant to try more but I’m hoping they will introduced some cooler toned shades in the future.

I bought these from Liberty.co.uk, you can also get them from misebeauty.com

Suqqu Spring Kisui Collection: Part 1

I finally decided it was about time I bought some Suqqu rather than just drooling at online pictures!
The Spring collection looked full of wearable delicate neutrals so I thought this a good place to start.
I bought the Noble Nuance eyeshadow quad, (£38 each) in EX01 Umegasane and EX02 Sukashizumi.
EX01 contains a sheer delicately sparkled pink, warm shimmery copper rose beige, matte cream and a matte deep brown.
EX02 contains a sheer delicately sparkled cream,shimmery taupe, matte very pale lilac and a matte charcoal.
The shadows have a soft, silky texture and meld into each other with ease; on the whole I’d say pigmentation was on the sheer side. I do need to wear a base with these to ensure the colour stays true all day.
I am really impressed with the looks I can get with these, it doesn’t seem to be just you normal neutrals, and the depth that can be achieved with the layering of colours creates a subtle variant of tones.
I got two of the Noble Nuance Lipsticks (£24 each). EX02 Yamamomo (delicate pink) and EX05 Suzumecha (pinky peach nude). Both have no shimmer.
Pictured, EX02 above, EX05 below.
These have a lovely comfortable light texture and give a natural looking glaze of colour to the lips. Swatch is EX02 left, EX05 right.
I ordered these over the phone from Selfridges London. The lady was really pleasant however I did have to phonetically spell every single letter in my name and address. Due to the noise in the store I had to go over my card/phone numbers and what I was ordering several times, this didn’t make it the best experience and to be honest does put me off ordering again. There were some other things I wanted not from the spring line but I didn’t want to have to go through repeating everything and I did feel like I was troubling the SA as it was taking a long time going through everything. Now that Selfridges are selling online I really hope they add Suqqu to the line up as I really rate everything I have from them.

Rouge Bunny Rouge Blusher Brush

I have quite a large brush collection, I wash all my concealer/foundation/powder and blusher brushes after ever use as I have acne prone skin, so having a large collection is important to me should I not get round to washing my brushes one night.
RBR is one of my most highly rated brands so I was expecting a lot when I finally decided to buy one of their brushes.
I bought the Blusher brush; priced at £47, this is my most expensive brush.
It has a wooden handle and has natural squirrel hair, it comes individually packed in a see thru case with the beautiful RBR imagery.
(Please click picture to enlarge)
I have never tried a brush that felt like this before, its really soft and deposits colour seamlessly, but where I find it unique is the light feel of the hairs, its hard to describe but it feels almost delicate. It feels so nice against my skin I find myself applying it more than I need to, I don’t think I can say that for any of my other brushes!
Even though the price is steep, I am in no doubt that I would buy this again if required. I’ve noticed http://www.zuneta.com/ have added some more of the brushes to their site so I’ll be placing an order for those soon.

Kevyn Aucoin Essential Palette and Expert Lip Tint

Kevin Aucoin was briefly available in the UK quite a while back, then it was pulled, so I was very pleased to notice that http://www.misebeauty.com/ stocked the brand.
I’ve heard mostly good things about the brand so picked up the Essential Eyeshadow Set-Palette #2 (£40) and the Expert Lip Tint in Leaharia (£17)

The palette contains a charcoal-black, shimmery lavender/silver taupe, sheer shimmery tan/beige, frosty white, and a sheer shimmery beige/champagne

The shades blend nicely but I do need to wear a base to prevent colour fade. Its not my favourite eye shadow brand and the colours don’t wow me but it’s a great palette for a easy neutral or smokey eye look.

For something described as a tint I would say the Expert Lip Tint is rather pigmented. Leaharia is a classic pinky brown but leans more to the brown side and I’d say is neutral to cool. It’s not drying and has a nice smooth texture, it is scented.
I’m not sure what is going on with the KA brand as it seems to be pulling out of the stores in America and there is talk that they are going to start selling through other channels? I’m not sure if this is good news or not if you are a KA fan.
I bought some more things, which I’ll post about soon; service from misebeauty was again faultless, super quick delivery and lots of nice samples.

Le Métier de Beauté Blue Steel True Colour Eyeshadow

Blue Steel is a sheer shimmery silvered blue, once applied it almost takes on a slight aqua hue, as with my other Metier shadows the texture is very fine and silky, they blend effortlessly and last well. I bought this from Liberty.co.uk (£21) who stock Le Metier exclusively for those of us in the UK.

I’m already eyeing up the spring Jardins de Villandry collection, although I have seen two very different promo pictures of the Kaleidoscope eye kit,
This much more intense one from the nonblonde blog,
http://thenonblonde.blogspot.com/2010/03/le-metier-de-beaute-spring-2010-preview.html
then this more subtle one from Neiman Marcus,
http://www.neimanmarcus.com/store/catalog/prod.jhtml?itemId=prod104730022&parentId=cat21370743&masterId=cat17310762&index=1&cmCat=cat000000cat000285cat4830738cat000339cat17310762cat21370743
so if you have seen a real life photo anywhere or seen it in person I’d love to know which of these is more realistic?

Snowberry Skincare

I first read about Snowberry on http://www.britishbeautyblogger.com/2010/01/snowberry-skincare.html
Snowberry is a new skincare brand from New Zealand. It’s a luxury, anti-aging skin care range combining nature and science (whilst a lot of the ingredients are natural substances you also get enzymes and peptides in the mix). A lot of the skincare seems to be about renewal and regeneration.
There are many things I like about the brand, they don’t seem to contain ingredients that are of no skin care benefit (such as those to make the texture fill nice) and they do not contain Lauryl Sulphates,Petrochemicals, Propylene or Butylene Glycols, Volatile alcohols, artificial colours , Silicones , DEA or MEA ingredients.
They are also carbon neutral, something I’ve not seen before.
When I emailed them about the ingredients they got back to me straightaway and were really helpful, their confidence and believe in their products only made me more eager to buy from the range.

Before I get on with my review I am going to have to mention the price, Snowberry is above my normal price range, for example the lite day cream is £110 for 50 ml. They do offer smaller sizes at a lower cost, so although it works out cheaper to buy the larger size, if you have problematic skin it might be worth buying the smaller size just in case you don’t get on with it.

My skin type is dry, with shine break through, bad pores, sensitive and hugely acne prone (yes, it doesn’t read well). Probably about 80% of skincare I have used (and I have tried a ridiculous amount of products) has not worked for me and I can only think of 2 facecare products (not including eye items) that have been a re-buy in the last 4 years.

Instant Deep Cleanser (£46 for 50 ml)
This comes in a pump packaging and dispenses with ease (you don’t get out more than your bargained for). The product is quite a bright orange and does have a smell to it (not a synthetic one), its not unpleasant but it is quite strong.
I use two pumps for my face (they say not to use it on the eyes due to all the active ingredients). The consistency is between an oil and cream.
This dissolves and removes make-up with ease and you do feel like you skin has been really deep cleansed, there is no residue left on the skin. I will say that when my skin has been really dry I have felt that I needed to put on a moisturiser afterwards, so I do think for the really cold months I’ll carry on with my Lubatti and use the Snowberry for the rest of the year.
Even given the price this is a definite re-buy for me as I have noticed an improvement in my skin, it looks clearer and the colour is better (I had a lot of redness in my skin due to past scarring from acne and microdermabrasion products).
Please click below ingredient list to enlarge:
I have some other Snowberry products that I will be reviewing in a few weeks time (I didn’t start using them all at once in case I got a reaction and I like to do skincare reviews after at least three weeks use)
I bought this from Harvey Nichols, which is the only UK stockist. At the moment Snowberry is only available in Austria, Germany, Spain, UK, Hong Kong, Ireland and New Zealand.

http://www.snowberrybeauty.com/

By Terry Eyeshadows

Although I’ve read mixed reviews on By Terry eyeshadows, as I was extremely happy with my other two purchases I thought I’d take the plunge. As I couldn’t find photos or much information of colours, I took the safer option and went for more natural sounding shades. I got Silky Eye Shadow in Pearly flannel (grey, very slight blue cast) powder Shadows in Soft Nougat (cream), Pearly Rye (beige) and Sparkling Pepper (silver) .
Clockwise from top left:Soft Nougat,Pearly Rye, Sparkling Pepper ,Pearly flannel
The colours seem to have a subtle differing tone within, which prevents them being flat and gives them a complexity. The finish is between satin and shimmer, resulting in a luminous effect, the silky one is less shimmery, pigmentation is all of them is on the sheer side.
Swatches L-R Soft Nougat,Pearly Rye, Sparkling Pepper ,Pearly flannel

All the powders seems very fine and I’m happy to say they last well on me as their lasting ability was something I had read negative reviews on.
All the shadows come in a screw pot container, I was a bit irked that my Sparkling Pepper shadow was loose in the container rather than being glue down, not a mishap I would expect when I am paying this price for a product.
Heres the packaging, clockwise from top left: Sparkling Pepper, Pearly flannel, Pearly Rye, Soft Nougat
I would like to buy some more but I’m hoping I can find some colour descriptions or pictures first.
I bought these from SpaceNK and they cost me £22 each, as far as I am aware they are the only By Terry stockist in the UK.

Beaute Weightless Lip Crème

If you were on makeupalley quite a few years back you will probably know the Beaute brand via the makeup artist Beau Nelson, I think by posting on the makeup boards and offering advise it enabled him to create a loyal following, one which was all to happy to pounce when he debuted his makeup range.
Beaute is now available on a UK site http://www.cocobeau.co.uk/ (which I think is the only UK stockist).
I bought the weightless lip crème in Trace (£22) a soft, slightly beige pink.
This liquid lipstick provides full coverage and is quite long lasting. It is lightweight and feels comfortable on with practically no stickiness or tackiness. The finish is not shimmery, but more of a semi matte. It has a doe foot applicator. I'd quite like to try the liquid gel stains,assuming I can find out the ingredients first.

The delivery from cocobeau was really quick so no complaints there.

ELLIS FAAS Skin Veil Foundation

The skin veil (£34) comes in the same silver pen packaging as the other Ellis Faas products, just bigger. It has quite a large brush on the end and comes with two vials of product (7ml each) which you just click into the end of the silver pen.

I got the lightest shade S101, I don’t detect any overly pink nor yellow tones with this, and the colour seems very neutral. The texture is surprising dense and quite creamy but upon the skin it blends out to give sheer coverage although you can build with ease for medium coverage. The finish is neither matte not overly luminous just natural, most definitely your skin but better. Just to note for hygiene reasons I don’t use the brush to apply the product as I have acne prone skin, I just dispense it on clean hands and apply with fingers or a brush.
Swatch on left is with it dabbed on, swatch on right is blended.
This is a heavily silicone based foundation but it has not broken me out, although I have noticed that if I use it day after day I do seem to get more clogged pores than usual. I have also found that if I don’t use any powder it doesn’t last the day.
Overall this causes me no skin reaction, is a great colour match and doesn’t highlight my dry areas, however it’s not something I can use everyday so I’m not sure if this will be a re-buy for me.
I bought this from liberty.co.uk, you can also buy Ellis Faas from misebeauty.com.