Fresh Supernova Mascara & Sugar Lip Gloss

The fresh makeup range has dwindled over the years, which is a shame as they used to have some nice eyeshadow palettes and a good brush collection.

I really like their packaging, the delicate detailed design is really pretty and adds a nice touch.
Though I am not a gloss person, the Sugar lip gloss remains one of my favourite formula's (I've had 5 shades and have used them all up).

They give sheer colour with a high shine finish.Though some shades have tiny microglitter I like that they never register as shimmery once on.

They are not sticky and feel cushiony and moisturising and have the sugar lemon scent. I bought Sugar Kiss this time (£15.00) which is a sheer peachy nude with a hint of gold.


I've bought the Supernova mascara (£17) several times in the past (though the firebird mascara, which no longer seems to be on their website, was my preferred formula). It separates, lengthens and gives a bit of lift.

I would say that if you try to build it up it is prone to clumping. What I really like about this is that the black is really glossy and the formula does not make my lashes feel brittle. Unfortunately this time around this smudges on me quite a bit for some reason.



I probably say this every time I review Fresh but I really think they need to get online for more countries, its not that convenient having to mail order and to not know what postage will be until you place the order, and I know that I would order much more from the brand if they had a UK website.

I bought these via mail order from the London Marylebone High Street Store.

Neal's Yard Remedies Organic Make-Up

I've been trying to use more natural/organic brands in the last year or so but the area I struggle with most is makeup. I can't say I have found a brand yet that is on par quality wise.

Neal's Yard first brought out their makeup range around 2010 but they had a bit of a re-launch this year with some additional products. The whole makeup collection is Certified by the Soil Association. Its a small range and to be honest when I saw it in the flesh it didn't really excite me; the packaging looks rather drab and the colour range is very duplicable.

The eyeshadow in Oak (£11.50) is an extremely sheer beige with a pink tone and a slightly shimmered finish, though it registers as more of a glow.

It not that noticeable on me but acts as a more glowy, your lids but better shade.
It feels very smooth but I find the texture too soft and its easy to kick up a lot of product. Unfortunately it does fade (even when using a primer).



The Mulberry lip gloss (£9.50) comes in a squeeze tube. Its a cranberry with golden micro glitter and has a fruity scent. It has a smooth texture and feels moisturising, it does have a very slight tackiness. It has good colour payoff and wears quite well for a gloss. It contains No parabens, silicones or carmine.

I was hoping to really like these as I applaud the ethos of this brand and wish more brands had the same mentality towards the environment. Unfortunately whilst these are not bad products I still find them average and there isn't really much else from the currant line up that looks interesting enough to entice me.
I do however think the range is worth checking out if you are moving towards more organic/naturals lines as these fare better that a lot of makeup I have tried within that category.

I bought these from a Neal's Yard store.

Omorovicza Gold Sugar Scrub & Soothing Shave Cream

The gold scrub (£57) looks luxurious from the get go. It comes in the signature Omorovicza modern packaging and comes in a large container (200ml).


It contains an abundance of Fair trade golden sugar cane, its very thorough without irritating my sensitive skin. My skin is left smooth and feeling soft without an oily/greasy residue. I really like the scent, which I find warming with a slight citrus note.

Amongst other things the scrub contains Gold (which is said to have anti-inflammatory and repairing qualities), Apricot kernel oil (gives softness to the skin and is rich in vitamin A) and Capsicum peptide (rich in antioxidant vitamin C, and is meant to stimulates micro-circulation and promotes a healthy glow).
Ingredients:

At this price there is no doubt this is an indulgence but its an indulgence that works and one I will buy again.


The Soothing shave cream (£18) has been a great find. Its quite thick but spreads well and leaves the skin feeling moisturised. My skin is very sensitive and I always have a problem when shaving day after day, and often end up with irritated itchy skin or razor burn. I've tried copious amounts of shaving products and different razor blades without success. The Soothing Shave cream allows me to shave day after day without creating redness, bumps on the skin, dryness or razor burn.
Ingredients:

I was initially worried as this contains menthol which I don't get on with but I have had no irritation and the anti-inflammatory properties of the Hungarian minerals and sea mayweed may well be the reason for this.

I'm again very pleased with these buys and Omorovicza is fast becoming one of my favourites, my only quibble is some of the pricing which is rather high, that said I do continue to re-buy the brand.

 I bought these from http://www.omorovicza.com

ILIA Beauty: Funnel of Love Lipstick

Ilia beauty is a contemporary line of natural and organic products (all products are made with up to 85% certified organic ingredients). The brand has been getting rave reviews across some of my well loved blogs so it was only a matter of time before I succumbed.

Content Beauty was out of stock of a lot of the items I wanted so I settled on just one lipstick, albeit in a shade that wasn't something I would normally go for.

Funnel of Love (£20) is described as a soft nude with peachy undertones. On me its undoubtedly an orange nude with a semi matte finish, so not my best colour. The pigment is really rich and I found it lasted well.



Unfortunately the texture was not what I was expecting; it doesn't feel smooth and applies looking dry with a slightly powdery feel. The picture below is of the lipstick after a couple of uses and you can see the bitty texture

Initially disappointed, however I have been reliably informed that the feel/texture of this lipstick is not necessarily across the board and they are usually balmy in texture and not dry. It might well be that these qualities are only particular to this shade, I'd be interested to hear if anyone else has this particular shade and had the same experience?
Ingredients:


I bought this from beingcontent.com

Ambre Botanicals Giveaway: The Winners

Here are the five winners for the Ambre Botanicals Face Soap Giveaway.

Richard

The Procrastinator

Beauty Balm

Anastasia Itokazu

Rachel Oxtoby

Thanks to everyone who took part and to Ambre Botanicals.

Ambre Botanicals will be in touch with the winners shortly.

**winners were picked via a random number generator**

Ambre Botanicals Giveaway Reminder

I just wanted to give you a quick reminder about the Ambre Botanicals Giveaway as its ending Friday 17th August at 19:00 UK time.
Five of their Gentle face soaps are up for grabs and the giveaway is open to all countries. The details on how to enter are in my original post here

Good Luck

Kevyn Aucoin Sensual Skin Enhancer

I think the sensual skin enhancer is considered by many to be the star of the Kevyn Aucoin range, indeed it seems to have reached a cult status in the beauty world.

Deeply concentrated and with a rich creamy texture, it can be used for concealer or sheered out with a moisturiser as a foundation. The finish is neither dewy nor completely matte, the aim being for it to replicate a natural skin finish. I know I bought this from Harvey Nichols when KA was first briefly in the UK, but I think that was back around 2003 and to be honest I can't remember what my thoughts were on the product, however I'm sure I didn't get the right shade, so on the assumption that I would have gone for the lightest colour, this time I went for shade SX2 (£36).

Its yellow toned, so slightly at odds with my cool tones, however the lightness is a match for my skin. Unfortunately its a tad too light for under my eyes.
Swatches L-R: Vapour Illusionist 010, KA SX2, Le Metier De Beaute 01

This gives extremely good coverage and is long lasting. Though due to the creamy texture, its very prone to creasing.
Unfortunately this is not for me. It looks extremely dry on the skin (my skin type is dry/sensitive and prone to an oily breakthrough on t-zone). If your a regular reader of my blog you may recall a post when I had to have an emergency Benefit makeover to re-do my base, and that was due to me using this concealer as a base on a day when my skin was very dry. Unfortunately even when my skin is in its normal state, this just looks patchy, dry and sinks into pores.
I can however use this is as an undereye concealer, whilst the dryness still remains a problem, there is no denying that the coverage is very good.
Pictured below with no concealer and then with, I've not applied powder and you can see it has creased.

I can see why this product is loved by many, but I think you need a certain type of skin/texture for this to work and clearly I don't have it. So for me, due to the performance of the product its only use is as an undereye concealer, however the colour is not right and I can't say that I feel the need to put down another £36 to get the correct match, its good but not that good.

Ingredients:


I bought this from spacenk.com

Bare Minerals Ready to Wear

I find the Bare Minerals Ready collection of pressed shadows, blushes and powders much more appealing than the regular line, it comes in similar styled packaging to NARS, it looks sleek and modern and the colours look vibrant and wearable.
 
The Epiphany Eyeshadow Duo (£19) contains two shades: A-Ha and Foreshadow.

 A-Ha is a very shimmery, bordering on frosty, bronzed brown. It has a soft, smooth, creamy texture.

Its applies quite similar to Bronze Topaz from Le Metier de beaute's Penelope Kaleidoscope, albeit less golden.
Shown below, A-Ha on the left, Bronze Topaz on the right.

Foreshadow is a deep cocoa brown with a matte finish, it has a smooth texture and applies well.

Both shades have extremely good pigmentation and blend well. The wear of this is extremely good; with no primer I do not get any creasing or colour fade even after 10 hours.

For me A-Ha is a touch too shimmery for my taste and the overall look of the duo is a bit too warm, however I will certainly pick up some more of these due to the colour payoff, ease of blending and wear time.
Ingredients:

 I bought the blush in Aphrodisiac (£22) though I was very tempted by the nude shade called Whisper.

Its a peachy pink with golden micro glitter. It feels reasonably smooth and soft to the touch. Its not as strongly pigmented on first application but the colour is easily built up.

 It applies smoothly and I don't notice the gold micro glitter once on. Wear time is average.
Ingredients:

Swatches below:


 I bought these from John Lewis

Ambre Botanicals Giveaway

The independently owned raw natural skin and body care brand, Ambre Botanicals have kindly offered 5 of their Gentle face soaps to my readers.
 
The cold process soap is made from the most luxurious pure cold-pressed natural ingredients: Avocado butter is a rich source of essential vitamins, lecithin, phytosterol, chlorophyll and amino acids; moisturising and conditioning Shea butter; extremely gentle and nourishing, rich in vitamin E Rice bran, Sunflower and Soya bean oils; and Coconut and Palm Kernel oils that provide a high quality cleanse. This soap is great for everyday use to remove make-up (avoiding eye area) and to gently cleanse the skin.

For a chance to win one of the five face soaps all you need to do is go to the subscription page here and fill in the "Message Subject" line with "Visionary beauty" and "Enter your Message" field with your first name.

Five winners will then be picked via a random number generator and announced here on Friday 17th August after 19:00 UK time

This giveaway is open to all countries. Good luck

For more information on Ambre please view their website here

(As always none of my links are affiliated)

Chanel Rouge Coco Shine collection update

As I have amassed even more Rouge Coco Shines I thought I'd do another collection round up.

Shades below are L-R: #45 Misia (tangerine ) #48 Évasion (sheer creamy peach) #50 Rivage (warm pink) #52 Fetiche (cool toned mauve pink) #54 Boy (rosy pink) #58 Royallieu (very sheer cool toned pink) #61 Bonheur (berry with a hint of fuchsia) #62 Monte-Carlo (strawberry)

Shades below are L-R: #66 Bel Ami (plummy rose with bit of brown) #67 Deauville (brown/mauve/rose) #69 Flirt (pink coral) #70 Sourire (sheer petal pink with micro glitter) #71 Style (beige nude with a golden shimmer),#72 Effrontée (clear,cool pink) #437 Empreinte (beige nude) and #447 En Vogue (coral pink).

 Swatches L-R:#45 Misia, #48 Évasion, #50 Rivage, #52 Fetiche, #54 Boy, #58 Royallieu
Swatches L-R: #61 Bonheur, #62 Monte-Carlo, #66 Bel Ami, #67 Deauville  #69 Flirt

Swatches L-R: #70 Sourire #71 Style, #72 Effrontée, #437 Empreinte, #447 En Vogue

There was a time that I thought that you couldn't have enough lipsticks, however as I looked at my entire collection last week, I realised I had in fact gone beyond this and it was time to rein it in. Problem is I have a weakness for these Coco Shines and evil Chanel keep bringing out new ones. I had a momentary ridiculous thought that I should just stop buying so many lipsticks, but that is not the beauty blogger way, so my resolve has been to cut my stash quite mercilessly (apart from my top 3 favourite formula's, aforementioned Coco shines, Rouge Bunny Rouge, By Terry).
So its all looking a bit less obscene now and I feel happy to go merrily on my way with my Coco Shine addition......