Tom Ford Lip Colour Shine Frolic

The Lip Shines are new for 2013 and are meant to provide a semi-transparent, high-shine colour veil.

 
The shade I bought, Frolic (£36) is a very sheer peach/pink and has a subtle shine finish. The texture is very smooth and glides on nicely, it has a cushioney feel somewhat akin to Chantecaille Lip Chics and has less slip than a Chanel Coco Shine.

Though it feels moisturising on, it can highlight dry areas, I also do not think it provides any conditioning/moisturising abilities that can be felt after the lipstick has worn off. Its not long lasting (maybe a tad more than a Chanel Coco Shine) but I don't expect lipsticks of this type to be. It has a strange scent, there is some fruitiness going on but mixed with that typical lipstick smell, I don't like it but only notice it when I am first applying the lipstick.


Swatched below with one swipe

Swatched below with three swipes

Swatched below with a more peach shade (YSL glossy stain in #27 Peche Cerra Cola) to show the pinkness.
 
Overall it does have a good texture and nice feel and the shade, though very sheer, is flattering, so though I am not running out to buy more, I certainly wouldn't discount the range should another shade take my fancy, but I just don't think the qualities rise above the many other sheer lipsticks out there to account for the high price.

Ingredients:


I bought this from Harrods.com

Suqqu Spring 2013: Face Colour Palette EX-02

I'm somewhat ashamed to admit I have been doing a daily check on the Selfridges site in anticipation for the Suqqu spring release. The brand is notorious for extremely quick sell outs of their limited editions and after seeing how pretty the collection looked from pictures floating around on blogs, I wasn't taking the chance of missing out.

Today I will show you the Face Colour Palette, I also bought one of the eye palettes, Sumiredama EX-11, which I'll review after I have tested it some more.
On opening the palette you are presented with two good quality brushes.

The second layer contains the two powder products (one a highlighter and one a blush) and a mirror. The face palette (£50) is inspired by a vintage pearl necklace and the embossed pearl pattern is certainly pretty.


The left highlighter shade is meant to create a pearly glow to the skin, it illuminates well adding a subtle brightening sheen to the skin.

It has a similar effect to the Lumière Sculptée de Chanel Highlighting Powder, though with a cooler tone.
Swatched below with Lumière Sculptée de Chanel Highlighting Powder on the left.

The blusher is a soft warm pink with a satin finish, it gives a lovely fresh glow to the skin.


Both have a soft, smooth texture, feel lightweight and blend beautifully on the skin without any effort. Both of the powders have a slight scattering of sparkle though its barely detectable on the skin.
Ingredients:

I wouldn't say either is extremely long lasting and do get a bit of fade after five hours.
They are very pretty and easy to wear, and the quality is very high. I have no regrets over this purchase though I would say that if you have similar colours from a high quality brand, these aren't necessarily going to rock your world.

I bought this from selfridges.com

Ambre Botanicals Luxurious Oils Blend Face Serum & Gentle Face Soap

Though I am not normally a fan of face oils I have been really impressed with the Luxurious Oils Blend Face Serum (£25) from the independently owned raw natural skin and body care brand, Ambre Botanicals.

Its contains ingredients such as Marula (rich in anti-oxidants, to help heal skin tissue and make the skin smooth and resilient), Meadowfoam oil (which is an extremely emollient plant oil), Rosehip (to regenerate/heal the skin) and Evening Primrose (to help repair and maintain skin tissue).

   

Its super concentrated as I know to expect from Ambre Botanicals. It has a fuss free formulation which only contains ingredients to benefit the skin rather than fillers. I don't feel like it leaves my skin oily/greasy, nor does it cause my sensitive skin any problems. I use it at night if my skin is feeling dry, mixed in with my day moisturiser and also on the body. It provides long lasting hydration and makes the skin feel nourished.

Ingredients : Jojoba Oil (Simmondsia Chinensis), Meadow Foam Oil (Limnanthes Alba), Marula Oil (Sclerocarya Birrea), Rosehip Oil (Rosa Rubiginosa), Evening Primrose Oil (Oenothera Fiennis), Avocado Oil (Persea Americana), Non-GMO Natural Vitamin E (D-alpha Tocopherol), Natural Vitamin A (Retinyl Palmitate), Rosemary Antioxidant (Rosmarinus Officinalis). Unscented.

 

I find face soaps irritating and ineffective for cleansing/make up removal, so my expectations were low, however I was pleasantly surprised by the gentle face soap (£10) . The cold process soap is made from ingredients such as; Avocado butter (a rich source of essential vitamins), Shea butter (moisturising and conditioning ) and Coconut/Palm Kernel oils (to cleanse the skin).

This removes makeup extremely well, several time I would try using a cleanser/toner afterwards to find any residue left, but there was none.It  leaves no greasy feel/coating on the skin and washes away well. 

One thing I would say though is that I wasn't sure if you could use this on the eyes, I did and would advise you don't, as it stings.
I don't use this everyday as it doesn't provide my dry skin with enough moisture but I make sure to use it at least once a week as it really does provide that squeaky clean feel.

 

Ingredients:

Ambre Botanicals products contain no chemical ingredients or preservatives, artificial colour or fragrance, I've bought quite a lot from the brand now and have no complaints.

You can view and buy their products from ambrebotanicals.com

I bought the serum from Etsy.com and the soap was sent to me for free.

Tom Ford Love Lust Cheek Colour

My first review for the Tom ford blushers was somewhat mixed and my second blush I bought at the same time, Love Lust, has not changed my opinion of these.

They are quite smooth, and have a light feel but again I do not think Love Lust has the smoothest or creamiest blush texture I have come across. I also find this particular shade does not go on as smooth looking. It does have a high level of pigment and a long lasting finish.

Love Lust (£45) is a peach/coral with golden shimmer. The colour is quite adaptable in terms of whether you want a sheer or intense finish.

Swatched below with Tom Ford Frantic Love

Swatched below L-R: Chantecaille Fun, Tom Ford Love Lust, Burberry Tangerine, Rouge Bunny Rouge Starina

I don't know whether its my dry skin type that is making me miss the extra merits of these or if its because of the brands I am comparing these to, but for me, whilst I do think these are nice good quality blushes, that give the skin a nice glow, I can't understand the hype for these.


I bought this from harveynichols.com

Rouge Bunny Rouge Blush Wand in Titian

I always like the idea of cream cheek products but find they can be troublesome on sensitive/acne skin and apply patchy. The Rouge Bunny Rouge blush wands possess no such negatives.

They have a lightweight texture that glides onto the skin without being greasy nor tacky. They blend very well and apply smooth with a good wear time.

Titian (£31) is the perfect natural peachy nude, it does not have shimmer, nor pink tones like a lot of nudes do, it also has the perfect amount of peach without veering into orange territory.


Swatched below on the left with Liz Earle cream blush in Nude on the right, to show the peach of the RBR.

If you are looking for a comfortable, high quality, natural nude look to the skin this could be your answer.

Disclosure: I received this via a gift certificate (which was very kindly given to me by RBR) from rougebunnyrouge.com

Les Printemps Precieux De Chanel Spring 2013: Frivole Joues Contraste & Rouge Allure Extrait de Gloss in Attirance

Its been a long time since I have bought a Joues Contraste blush, I noticed a connection with break outs so stopped using them, however, my rationality for picking up Frivole (£31) was that it was so pigmented that I would only need the barest touch, so in theory less on the skin, less likely to break out.

Its a medium bright orange peach in the compact and applies as such. Though I apply this very lightly, it can look slightly too dark and is prone to mixing with my natural redness to make the skin look ruddy.

However, when my complexion is clearer and I apply it with exactly the right touch, it  does add a lovely warm bright flush to the skin. Though it looks matte on swatching it does have a slight sheen about it.
Swatched below on the left and blended in a lot on the right

Swatched below L-R Tom Ford Love Lust, Chanel Frivole, Chantecaille Fun, Rouge Bunny Rouge Starina.

Ingredients below (I have not experienced any breaks outs so far).

In terms of feel, this is quite smooth, though slightly powdery and a tiny bit dry. It blends in well and has a good wear time, with only slight fading after 5 hours.

 
I'm always caught in two minds about the Rouge Allure Extrait de Gloss, the texture is a bit thick and tacky and yet they have some beautiful colours in the line up. I couldn't resist the limited edition Attirance (£25).

Its a warm golden peach with subtle shimmer. Its quite sheer and makes for a great natural polished lip.
Ingredients:


I bought these from Boots.

Dior Cherie Bow spring 2013

I initially disregarded the very pink toned spring Cherie Bow collection from Dior. I of course made the mistake of swatching the collection thus making me decide that I did in fact need some of this sheer pink prettiness in my life.....


I picked up the lighter toned eye palette, Rose Ballerine (£41). It contains a shimmery candy pink, frosty pale pink, frosty/iridescent peachy pink, metallic/frost white, and a shimmery grey/taupe.

 
The colours go on very sheer and although they have the smooth, creamy feel I would expect from Dior, I think these have gone a step too far with the softness (apart from the grey), so much in fact that any type of blending seems to obliterate the pigment and they need to be patted on. Furthermore, even with an eye base I find by mid day I have significant fading.

In terms of the overall look, whilst this is prone to looking too frosty it does give a brightening very feminine look which I can't deny is quite pretty.
Ingredients:

I selected one lipstick from the Cherie Bow display what I though was the pink lipstick from the collection, unfortunately I later found out that the counter only had Espiegle and had substituted Candide and Charmante with shades from the regular line and had a fourth shade which I had unwittingly picked up.

I think this is misleading and I will have to check names of seasonal releases beforehand if I go to this counter as I can't trust that they will actually display the correct products. So the colour I have is called Bow (£21). Its a cool very sheer baby pink,with a glowy/gloss finish.

The colour gives me that overly cool milky frostbitten look, its unflattering on me. It feels comfortable on and quite light weight but the colour does not have any longevity.

Ingredients:

There were a few other items I wanted from the spring collection but I just feel a bit sour grapes about it now so don't think I'll bother ...flounces off...

I bought these from Boots