Trish McEvoy: Chic and Sheer Collection

The fall chic and sheer collection provides an extremely wearable, polished look. There are no harsh colours here or anything that will look ageing, instead the products are able to give gentle definition; effortless and perfect for everyday.
The two eyeshadows are French Vanilla (Deluxe size £18) which is a slightly warm toned vanilla and Soft Grey (£12) true medium grey.
Both of the shadows have a matte formula. The texture is really smooth, applies evenly with good pigment and blends with ease.

The collection also includes the Brush 62 Fan (£28), its flat, with an arched shape.
It feels lightweight and gently against the skin. I think this brush is genius, it applies a light dusting of product, never over done, its also great for precision cheekbone highlighting and for applying a whisper of powder to set my under eye concealer.

For size comparison here is the brush against the medium compact
The Bronzer in Golden (£22) is limited edition. Its very smooth, has good pigment and applies really well.
As I am very pale there are very few bronzers I can wear so I was surprised this worked for me. I think application with the fan brush helped as it applies a sheer veil of colour. The shade is a medium gently shimmered bronze with a golden glow. It doesn't go on with any red or orange tones like a lot of bronzers do. It works to give definition and a healthy natural glow, I also really like it applied to the eyes in the crease.

Swatches below: French Vanilla, Soft Grey, Golden Bronzer, Golden Bronzer blended in.

The light wasn't so good today so I'll try and get some eye look pictures up for you soon.

The collection also includes a SPF 15 lipstick in shade Mulberry, a Beauty Booster SPF 15 Lip Gloss and a Beauty Booster SPF 15 Lip Balm. I really want to get the Mulberry lipstick, its not currently on the Selfridges website to buy separately so I'll keep my eye out for it, of course while perusing the website I had to console myself and buy a few other Trish McEvoy goodies instead so I'll be showing you those soon.

Trish McEvoy are available online from selfridges.com

Disclosure: I was sent these items for free.

Dolce & Gabbana Luminous Cheek Colour Rose

I have wanted a D&G blush for a while, unfortunately not the shades that happened to be on the Harrods site. Such was my "need" for one of these I started contemplating the shade Rose, I was very fortunate that makeup magpie helped me out by doing a really useful comparison post of the shade.

The Luminous Cheek Colour (£29) has a smooth texture, however its not got a soft/creamy feel like some brands, I'd actually say it feels on the dryer side and as a result of this I found the colour tended to grab onto my dry skin and I do have to blend more than normal. The colour is a warmed pink rose and it is very pigmented, I apply this very lightly.

The finish is not shimmery, nor does it seem completely matte, it just gives a flush with a hint of a glow. I'd say the wear is average.

Swatched below:Swiped on the left, blended on the right
Whilst I really like the shade it hasn't made me crave any more D&G blushers as I do prefer the texture/application of my By Terry and Rouge Bunny Rouge blushers. I guess this falls under the nice to have but not a must have category.

Ingredients:

I bought this from Harrods.com

Going Gluten free: The Beginning

I happened upon a article on the paiskincare blog talking about gluten and it sparked something off.
Although I know people who are gluten intolerant I assumed the symptoms were just of a digestive nature. The blog mentions that skin symptoms could be things like "redness, dryness, itching and rashes". After reading this I started doing some searches and a lot of people link a direct correlation to gluten in their diet to ill effects on their skin. A lot of the skin symptoms seem close to what I get, especially unexplained sensitivities.
Given that the skin cycle is meant to be 28 days I have decided to go gluten free for at least a month to see what, if any benefit it brings me.
So this is where it begins.
One thing I can say is that cutting out gluten in your diet is expensive, not only do the items cost that bit extra but I have made a lot of bad buys ( I have tried 5 different brands of bread in the run up to this test and all have been terrible).
From doing my searches quite a lot of people seemed to find a benefit with changing their skincare to gluten free as well so I followed suit and have changed completely over to the Pai range.
I have read a lot of positives from going gluten free; feeling more healthy, less tired, clearer skin and losing weight. I'll be back in about a months time to let you know how it goes.

All the items in the photos I bought myself.

Guerlain Ombre Eclat 4 Shade Eyeshadow Les Perles

Unlike the other Guerlain 4 pan palettes which contain a mixture of finishes, the shades of Les Perles (£37) are all of a similar gentle shimmer finish.
The palette contains a light baby pink, white, silver and a smoky grape.
I had a bit of hesitation when I initially saw this at the counter as I thought it would go on overly frosty and the three lighter colours would just be too light so that they looked stark.
I have been proved wrong, instead of a frost I would say the look is shimmery and luminous and the silver and grape have enough colour to give definition.

I think this is a beautiful palette and Guerlain are really up there for me in terms of eye shadows; smooth, good pigment and they just blend so well I really don't have to work with them at all to get the look I want.

I bought this from Debenhams

Beauty Spotlight Team Mystery Makeup Bag

It's time for a look inside another Beauty Spotlight Team member's makeup bag, and this week it is Grace London's turn to dish the dirt and show us the stuff. Is she a minimalist, or does she carry everything but the kitchen sink inside her daily essentials kit? What secrets are hiding inside London Makeup Girl's bag?

Suqqu fall 2011: Komorebi eye look

I have really been enjoying the gentle soft shimmered look of the Komorebi palette, I tend to use the colours mixed together like below,
or slightly more graduated,
Hopefully you can see the colours, sunlight is fleeting and these were the most realistic I could get.

I bought the palette from Selfridges.com, my original review is here

Sue Devitt: Eye focus

Finally I got round to buying some Sue Devitt. I played safe and went for two natural looking eyeshadows.
Nordland is a smoky deep taupe purple, it has a satin finish base and tiny micro glitter.
Lonely Splendor is a slightly warm taupe, it has a satin finish (shadows are £14.50 each).
Ingredients:
The eyeshadows feel smooth although I wouldn't say they have that creamy, soft texture like brands such as Rouge Bunny Rouge. They have a good level of pigmentation and application colour is reflective of how they look in the pan. They blend nicely and I noticed they had little fall out compare to a lot of other brands. Worn with a base these last all day. These colours aren't necessarily going to set your world on fire but they are great basics that you'll no doubt find yourself reaching for often.
The next two products are part of a GWP ( currently still available from lookfantastic its worth £32.50 but is free when you buy any 2 products from Sue Devitt).

Eye Intensifer Pencil in Laos (£18) is a deep bronze/brown with a slightly shimmered/metallic finish.
It has very good pigmentation, applies smoothly and is not dry nor overlay creamy. As the tip is quite large I use this as a shadow rather than a liner.
Ingredients:
Eye Rollerball Eyeshadow in Bambari (£14.50) is a very shimmery/glittery warm gold/beige.
Its a loose powder contained in a tube with a roller ball applicator. It glides on with no tugging and the colour is buidable. Its extremely easy and quick to use and I didn't experience any fall out. It does require a primer to get it to last the day.
Ingredients:
Swatches of all products:
I'm really pleased with all the items and I will be looking into getting more from the brand.

I bought the shadows from lookfantastic.com

Dolce & Gabbana Passion Duo Gloss Fusion Lipstick

The newest lip formula from D&G is a lipstick/gloss hybrid. The gloss core is surrounded by the creamy lipstick.
As I was buying online haven't not seen the product I was initially drawn to my usual pinky/rose natural shades, however my lovely blogger friend Lakshmi recommended the shade #250 Desirable (£24) for me, its not a shade I would have normally gone for as it looks so very brown in the tube, however Lakshmi is always good at recommending things for me so I trusted her opinion.
This shade is stunning,whilst there is brown/nude tones there it also has a bit of rose, its just a beautiful glossy neutral with a bit of warmth and an extra shiny finish.
Its a pleasure to apply this beautifully smooth,creamy and moisturising lightweight formula.I'd say wear is average.

For me I say this is a product that does deliver what its meant to as it does give the look of a gloss with the benefits of a lipstick texture (not heavy sticky or tacky)
Ingredients:
This is scented.

I bought this from Harrods

Stila Natural Beauty Palette, Brighten & Correct concealer, Lip Gloss trio

After my somewhat mixed bag of success with my last Stila buys, I still couldn't resist picking up some of the newer items on display.
The Natural Beauty Eye Shadow Palette (£19.50) took centre stage on the Fall/New products display. Once home I googled it and apparently it is not a new product at all but part of the 2010 Autumn collection, this doesn't sit well for me as I don't want to be thinking I am buying something that is new/on trend when its actually an old release.
It contains 13 small eyeshadows. Predominately neutrals with an orange thrown in, it mixes mattes and shimmers.
Whilst some of the shadows are lacking in pigment and a bit dry, the formula is definitely better compare to that in the travel palettes. The shades are very wearable and you can really get a lot of looks from this.
Overall, for the price, I think this is a really versatile and useful palette to have. One gripe I do have is that the packaging is rather flimsy, I don't know how well the plastic see through lid will hold up so I keep my stored separately so that nothing is against it.

I also bought the new brighten & correct concealer (£18).
It features the same swirl appearance of some of their foundation/primers. Whilst this is advertised more for under the eyes, I really like this mixed in with my foundation. It gives another notch of concealment and a subtle brightening/illuminating effect. It feels lightweight, non drying and is quite buildable without going cakey.
Its a good colour match (I have this in the lightest shade called fair). Swatched below L-R: Touche Eclat shade 2, Stila Fair, Diorskin Nude 001 ivory

I really like this and will be buying another when I have used this up.
Ingredients:

Finally I got the cool lip gloss trio (£10).
I'm not a fan of sticky, tacky glosses (which these are) but I have always really liked the colours, high shine and long wear of the lip glazes and for this great price I thought it would do not harm to add these to my collection.
The trio consists of Grapefruit (cool pink with a touch of brightness), Seashell (pinky beige), Raisin (rosy plum). All contain a bit of shimmer and are scented.
Swatches L-R: Grapefruit, Raisin, Seashell.

Ingredients:

I bought all these from Boots

Hourglass Vol.6 Eye Palette Neo-Classic

Part of their fall collection, the eye palette in Neo Classic (£42) comes in the signature 360º swivel compact.The mirror is a great size and the palette contains a little dual ended brush applicator.
The palette contains 6 eye shades. Five are matte (inky navy blue, intense black, dusty rosy pink, chocolate brown and cream) along with 1 shimmer, which is a gentle brightening peach.
I really like how they have chosen to have the two lighter shadows in a larger size as these will be the ones that you'd likely use more of.
As with all Hourglass shadows these are richly pigmented, very long wearing and blend well.
I really like this palette, I was initially hesitant as I thought it would just be liner shades and base shades, but they are very versatile, in the look above I used all shades and just blended the darks with the lights to get my preferred colour intensity.

This does not contain fragrance, gluten, parabens, phthalates or sulfates.
Ingredients:

I bought this from zuneta.com