YVES SAINT LAURENT Pure Chromatics eye palette

The pure Chromatics eye palettes are meant to be a “new generation of powders, a magical meeting of color and water, pure water becomes a color catalyst, intensifying the chromatic power of the nacres and pigments” . I tend to only use shadows wet when I’m using them as liners so I was quite intrigued by this new formula.
The colours have great pigmentation, however its when used wet they you see the true vibrancy and richness of them. The finish is shimmery, almost metallic. On application, even when used dry I feel like these adhered to the skin, as such I don’t find they blend as easily as my favourite shadow brands and I do have to take more time in application. Used with a primer they last all day with absolutely no colour fade.
I bought quad #3 (£37). It contains a midnight navy blue, frosty ice blue, fawn brown and a deep bark brown.
Swatched below, I have included a dry then wet swatch of each shade:
I find the icy blue difficult to wear, its just too stark against my complexion so I mix it with the darker blue. I wore it like this today and I think its quite a vibrant look.
Whilst I know this won’t be something I use on a weekly basis I’m very pleased I got it as the colours really are quite striking.

I bought this from John Lewis

No7 Poppy King

I tend to associate Poppy King with style and uniqueness so I was interested to see her input into the No7 collaboration.
All the lipstick shades are sheer but buildable. They have no shimmer and the finish is more of a sheen. Both lipsticks and glosses feel hydrating and comfortable on, I am very pleased to say that the glosses only have a slight stickiness to them.
I bought each of these with those £5 off vouchers Boots gives out. I would however of happily paid the full price, £12 for the lipsticks and £11 for the glosses as I do think the quality/performance is equal to lipsticks/glosses of similarly priced brands such as Too Faced and Urban Decay.
Its rare that I rate a drugstore product but I am really pleased by these.
Lipsticks L-R:Allure, Intrigue, Glamour, Confidence
I would say all the colours are accessible and easy to wear. Allure is a Peach nude, Intrigue is a rosy your lips but better, Glamour is a pink and Confidence is a warm nude.
I also got two glosses: Allure (peachy/pink) and Intrigue (rosy)
Swatches L-R: Allure gloss, Allure lipstick, Intrigue, Glamour, Confidence, Intrigue gloss.
I think this is a very comprehensive and easy to like collaboration and I would be interested to see if Poppy King brings out any more ranges with No7.

La Mer The Eye Balm Intense: update

I have recently finished my La Mer The Eye Balm Intense, so thought I’d give you my final thoughts. It lasted me a bit less than 3 months, applying every day morning and night.
The positives is that it makes a good smooth base for concealer, my lines were slightly softened and I had a slight decrease of puffiness.
For me this cream did not perform to justify its £95 price tag. Whilst there was some improvement, I have had similar results from the Sarah Chapman eye cream which is half the price.
Such slight changes are difficult to capture on my camera. I have therefore taken two pictures in slightly different lights, and added it to the before and after photo in my last review.
In the brighter light it does look there is some improvement in the final eye photo:
However in slightly darker light it actually looks worse:
I think this highlights that what change there was, it was subtle. A lot of people have experienced amazing results from this product but for me I still stay firm in my view that this is not a miracle cream and doesn’t out perform a lot of cheaper brands I have tried.

RMS Beauty Lip2Cheek

RMS beauty is a brand I have been wanting to try for quite a while. Where they differ from a lot of the more natural/organic cosmetic brands, is that the ingredients are not over processed. What this means is that you are getting raw food grade organic ingredients as close to their natural state as possible, with no extreme heating or chemical processes.

I bought a Lip2Cheek in shade smile (£28) . It comes in a screw top glass container.
It feels comfortable on both lips and cheeks with no oily/greasy feel. It blends seamlessly and lasts all day on me when used on the cheek. I also have had no breakouts from it. The colour is a very pigmented coral with a very slight hint of pink.
Swatched below, on the left its swiped, on the right its blended.
Ingredients (shade Smile is the only one that contains a bit of synthetic colour, RMS are looking towards finding a natural source for this colour):

I am very impressed by the texture and wear of this product, I might go for shade Muse next as I think it would make a nice highlighter.

I bought this from cultbeauty.co.uk

Laura Mercier Premier Beauty Collection

I was really pleased to see this set at my counter as I assumed we weren’t getting it here in the UK, I was even more pleased by the price I paid (£45) as I thought this good value considering the Cake Eye Liner and Lip Glacé are £18.50 each alone.

Apart from a blusher it contains all the colour shades you would need for a full look. It comes in a Brown zipped bag and contains a Full sized Tightline Cake Eye Liner in Ground Espresso (very deep matte brown), Full sized Lip Glacé in Pink Lilac ( sheer lilac pink) Full size Eye Colour Duo in Dusk and Chocolate (shimmery pink-lilac and a neutral brown with subtle micro glitter), Mini flawless Foundation Primer (30ml), Mini Black Full Blown Volume Lash Building Mascara and Double-Ended Pony Tail/Flat Eye Liner Brush.

Swatches L-R: Lip Glacé, Eye Colour Duo, Tightline Cake Liner Wet, Tightline Cake Liner dry.

Ingredients:
Its a very nice set, although I would say the lip glace could do with a bit more pigment and I am unimpressed with the mascara, but I do think its a good price and would make a nice present.

Rituals Cosmetics

I’m not entirely sure how well known the Rituals brand is. I have only done one post myself and rarely see it mentioned. Its a Dutch brand which offer a wide range of Home & Body care products and also cosmetics. I think its only available in Europe and Brazil. I’d say its packaged and priced like a mid end brand.
The brands philosophy seems to be transforming our everyday routines into pampering rituals, with their inspiration sited as coming from authentic Eastern rituals.
I liked the body care products I’d tried from them so it seemed only right that I should pick up some of their makeup.
The eyeshadows are quite bulky and come in a mirrored compact with a sponge tipped applicator. I bought the shade Amber lights (£10.90), which is a gentle shimmered beige/Taupe/sand.
The texture is really smooth, easy to blend, great pigmentation and it lasts well.

The lipstick has a sheer to medium coverage, feels creamy, comfortable and quite moisturising, however its not long lasting. It also states it has an SPF15 .
I bought shade cotton candy (£11.50) which is a pink with silver shimmer.
Swatches below of the Lipstick and shadow
As my By terry advanced its a bit too dark I decided to buy the dark circle concealer called Lighten up in shade 1 (£12.90).
It is very lightweight coverage and has light reflecting particles to ease off dark circles and does perk up the eye area a bit. Its a very good colour match for my pale cool toned skin.
Whilst I’d say its a lot better than similar priced brands who offer this type of product (No7, Clinique) the texture and performance is not comparable to higher end brands such as YSL, By Terry.
Swatch on left is my By Terry, on the Right Rituals.
Ingredients:
Overall I definitely think its worth checking out their makeup, I really like the eyeshadow and plan on going back for some other shades (they had a duo of a golden lime and khaki brown which looked very interesting).

http://www.rituals.com/uk-en/

By Terry Rouge Terrybly Flirty Rose

Part of the luxurious Terrybly collection from By Terry, this is my second Rouge Terrybly lipstick. I went by the reliable descriptions given by Londonmakeup girl (http://www.londonmakeupgirl.com/2010/12/rouge-terrybly-and-blush-terrybly.html). I choose #101 Flirty Rose (£30.50).

Its a neutral toned pinked rose. An effortless colour, I think this would be wearable on any skin tone.
Although I do not find these lipsticks exactly moisturising, they have some wonderful attributes: the richness of pigment, smooth coverage and they last extremely well.
Ingredients:
I do think the By Terry makeup collection as a whole is not given the coverage it deserves, its just not a readily reviewed line and having never seen the brand in real life it does make buying online difficult. I have however started to eye up the Nail Laque Terrybly, although £20 seems quite steep its not that dissimilar to the Chanel/Dior polish prices (yes, I am trying to justify it to myself).

I bought this from SpaceNK.

Chanel Rouge Coco Shine

Having quickly swatched all but one of the shades, I can say that the new Rouge Coco Shine lipsticks have a semi sheer texture, even those that look quite bright in the tube.
They feel lightweight on and hydrating. The finish seems to be more of a shine, rather than noticeable shimmer.
They come in the same style packaging as the Rouge Coco but slimmer in size, the product size is listed as 3g/0.1.oz.

I bought two shades but to be honest with you I think I could have had nearly all of them, they just seem so wearable for those who like to sport a more natural lip.

Shade #48 Évasion is a sheer creamy peach. Shade #50 Rivage is a fresh pink with a tiny hint of warmth.

Ingredients:
They cost me £22.50 each and I think that is reasonable pricing for a high end brand.

I think these are lovely lipsticks: beautiful shade range with a glossy shiny finish that applies with ease and feels comfortable on. The only downside is that they do not last long, but that's often the case for these types of lipsticks.

Just to mention that they have samples of their new mascara, Sublime de Chanel. I've not tried it yet, but might be worth asking for one when you next past a counter.

MAC Sheen Supreme, Pink Cult and Marquise d’

Mac’s newest lip formula, Sheen Supreme are creamy and feel quite moisturising. The finish is very shiny/glossy and I do not find them long wearing.

Bare again is a slightly warm, pinky beige. Impressive is a browned rose (£13.50 each).
Swatches L-R : Impressive, Bare again

The pigmentation is good on these, however the formula is perhaps a bit too soft and I did squish the ends of these just with doing a 2 swipe swatch, I’d be hesitant to keep these in my handbag during the warmer months due to this softness.

Lipstick ingredients:
I did cast my eye over the Wonder Women collection, I really dislike the packaging so was hoping to pass on it but I couldn’t resist Marquise d’ (£15).
Its a lustre finish and is a sheer pinky/peach nude with a golden sheen.
From the Jeanius collection I picked up the blusher in pink cult (£17).

I really need to stop buying MAC blushers as I am never completely happy with how they apply, which is often patchy. This shade is a lot more pigmented than I expected and applies as a matte neutral toned dusty pink.

Blusher ingredients:
Every time I come out of the MAC store I do have a hint of regret, I always seem to end up with something that doesn't work for me, but I can't seem to break the habit of going to the store every month for the new collection releases and I'm not the sort of person who can simple just browse new makeup.

NARS Nouveau Monde Spring 2011 duo eyeshadow

You can always rely on NARS to bring out some interesting colour combinations. The spring duo Nouveau Monde(£23.50) pairs a cool toned shimmery silvered lilac (which contains micro glitter) and a satin finish mossy olive brown.

Both shades have a smooth texture and great pigmentation.

The colours are beautiful and the pairing works really well, however I don’t think the shades work on me.
I can’t help but feel that the lilac comes off a tad too metallic looking, and the olive tones of the deeper shade don't translate as much when applied on the lid.

I do still think this is very pretty duo, but I am not too keen on how it looks on me.

I bought this from Space NK