Hourglass Arch Brow Sculpting Pencil

If there is one beauty item which I have found near impossible to be 100% happy with its a brow product. They can often apply patchy, look dry and have no lasting power. Perhaps the biggest hurdle is colour, as nearly all brow products I have tried designed for blondes have an overly warm yellow or orange tone.

Nevertheless I had high expectations for the well reviewed Hourglass Brow Sculpting Pencil (£26). The formula combines powder, pencil and wax which allows you to create a fuller brows that stays in place. The product has a triangular shape and though I thought it would create too thick a line (I have very sparse brows) I actually found it more precise than your typical pencil as you can use the flat edge for the main area and the pointed tip for more fine strokes.
Ingredients:

I think the formula is fantastic, it adheres really well and is the longest lasting brow product I have tried. It has good pigment and applies smoothly, with no drying look or feel and keeps the hairs in place really well. It also has an automatic pencil (so no sharpener required) and contains no sulfates, phthalates, synthetic dyes, fragrance.
It is rather sad therefore that the colour is almost unwearable for me, I bought the shade designed for blondes (my hair is a natural golden blonde) and its too warm with a strong yellow tone that looks unnatural.
Shown below, eye on your left is naked and on your right with one application of the Hourglass (the photo has shown it less yellow/warm that it is in real life)

Shown below eye on your left is with my Chantecaille ash blonde pencil and the Hourglass on your right

I can't tell you how annoying it is to have found such a wonderful formula which is scuppered by the colour.
Swatched below,


I bought this from spacenk.com

Suqqu Blend Colour eyeshadow Akanezora

Akanezora was not a planned acquisition, I had the Spring 2013 quad Ginusudama EX13 on my wishlist (the EX donate a limited edition item) and as the Selfridges website only lists the quads by their numbers, and this was a gift from a family member, I ended up with Akanezora (£45), which is numbered 13.

The quad contains a non chalky matte white base shade, very warm shimmered pink, shimmered sheer baby pink and a warm deep brown cream liner.

The powder shadows have the lovely smooth light weight feel that we associate with Suqqu and the shimmered shades have that elegant refined finish.

The cream liner I am not so keen on, its not as smooth as I would like and though I have only had this for just under two months, its turning a bit dry, I do think cream liners need to be in a more air tight container to prevent deterioration.
This is one of those quads that sometimes I love how it looks and other days I'll catch a glance of myself and think the warmth of the medium shadow and liner just look a bit off against my cool toned complexion.

Had the liner shade been a powder and the medium pink less warm I think we would of had a winner here, that said I have already made a generous dip in the base shade and baby pink so it does have its attributes and lets face it any Suqqu is better than no Suqqu :)

Ingredients:

 My mother bought me this from selfridges.com

The new Dior Addict Gloss: Diablotine & Rose Surprise

The reformulated Dior Addict Gloss formula promises mirror shine and comfort, it has a gel like texture and contains "hyaluronic acid spheres, to plump and moisturises lips for an intensified volume-boosting effect".

Swatching them in store they felt tacky/sticky, but this great review, made me decide to take a chance on them. The line up has three different textures; shimmer (glittery with a high shine finish), pearly (softly illuminating) and pure (a bright block of colour with a variety of finishes).

I picked up two of the shimmered ones; #643 Diablotine which is a warm strawberry

#653 Rose Surprise which is a warm pink. Both shades have golden micro glitter (£22 each).

Swatched below L-R:Diablotine, Rose Surprise

Applied and they only have a very slight tackiness to them, I would say pigment is sheer so best to go for a more intense shade. I do not find them long wearing but as they feel so comfortable, reapplying isn't an issue. The best aspect for me is that they leave the lips feeling very moisturised and hydrated, the majority of glosses can often leave lips feeling a bit parched after they wear off so this is a really great attribute. I of course now want to try some of the ones in the pearly and pure finish, so if you have any recommendations please let me know.
Ingredients:


I bought these from Boots

Beauty Spotlight: Desert Island with Visionary Beauty

So its now my turn to be stranded on a desert island, how rude!
I of course brought my husband and little boy (I didn't read any small print about not being allowed guests).
Trying to take just 12 items was difficult and I did have a moment where the idea of cello-taping products together and putting them into some box system thus making them count as 1 item seemed a genius way forward.
Luckily my boy and husband bought the brushes, hair/body care and perfume etc so that I could concentrate on skincare and makeup......

For skincare I would choose, Pai Camellia & Rose Hydrating Cleanser and Chamomile & Rosehip Sensitive Skin Cream. I think these are now my most re-bought skincare items, the range is just superior for being effective and not causing irritation/acne.

For eye cream I would go with Omorovicza Gold Eye Lift cream, I am going to be buying my second one very soon, as its the best eye cream I have found to hydrate and reduce lines and puffiness.
Onto makeup; my eyeshadow needs would be covered by two Rouge Bunny Rouge palettes; you just can't fault the creamy,buttery texture and great pigment.

Swatched L-R: Unforgettable Oriole, Bohemian Waxwing*, Umber Firefinch, Delicate Hummingbird,Snowy Egret and Eclipse Eagle.

Blusher would have to be a nude, wear with anything, shade and then a brightening peachy/pink shade, so my picks are Rouge Bunny Rouge Delicata and By Terry Torrid Peach.

For mascara, one of my favourites is By Terry Terrybly mascara as it lengthens, gives lift and does not clump.

I found lipstick to be the most tricky, so have gone with the two shades I am using most at the moment, for my pink nude I'd go for Burberry Field Rose lip mist and for my peachy tone By Terry Rouge Terrybly Love Me Tender.

Swatched L-R: Love Me Tender, Field Rose, Delicata and Torrid Peach.

In terms of base it has to be Omorovicza Complexion Perfector BB SPF 20, I'm on my third bottle, this is simply the best base product I have ever used.

I have not found the perfect under eye concealer yet for coverage so I'll pick Burberry Beauty Sheer Concealer as that is the one I am currently using.

(*I bought all these myself apart from the refill of Bohemian Waxwing)

So there we have it, it was rather fortuitous that just a few weeks later my husband was able to craft a boat out of trees and coconuts and we were able to return home (I mean how was I going to survive with just two lipsticks...really....)

Rouge Bunny Rouge Giveaway Winner

Thank you to everyone who entered the giveaway :)
My giveaway for the RBR shadow closed at 19:00 PM today. I used a custom random number generator and the winner is, BeautyDetective, congratulations :)
If you could email me your address please at replica.visionarybeauty@googlemail.com

Dior Sparkling Shine: Spring Ball Nail Vernis & Gel Top Coat

The Sparkling Shine collection brings us four nail polishes and a Gel Top Coat, the collection display also had the four corresponding Addict Gloss shades (which are the newly reformulated ones).

The polishes all have a crisp brightness about them and the shimmered finish manages to remain sophisticated rather than looking over done.

Spring ball (£18) is a shimmery peach/coral. It has very good pigment and has no gritty feel. The texture is quite thick and unfortunately I found this did not spread over the nail as well as the last Dior polish I bought.


Ingredients:

I do not have good wear time with Dior (a day at best) so I decided to pick up the Gel Top coat (£18). It provides a glossy shine and is not thick/gloopy nor difficult to spread like a lot of top coats. This has become a favourite, as it allows me three days wear, so I am extremely impressed.
Ingredients:

So a slightly mixed bag, I did also pick up some of the new Addict glosses which I'll show  you soon.

I bought these from Boots

Rouge Bunny Rouge Snowy Egret and Eclipse Eagle

Snowy Egret and Eclipse Eagle are the two Long-Lasting Eye Shadows released near the beginning of this year. They are available in compacts or as refills for the Shadow Keepers, I bought the refills (£17 each).

The shadows have the same beautifully smooth, creamy texture and great pigment that are the trademarks of RBR shadows.


Snowy Egret is a pale slightly sage shade with a golden iridescence.

Taken in a slightly dim light you can see the sage tone more.

Eclipse Eagle -is a cool toned grey/purple with multi toned refined shimmer.

I swatched Eclipse Eagle with Delicate Hummingbird so you can see that the purple tone is not dominant.

The shades pair really well together and I really like the differing tones within them as they can give quite different looks depending on what corresponding shades you choose to use.

I'm very excited to see what shadows RBR bring out in the future as I always feel that they add their own unique twist.

I bought these from the RBR site which ships worldwide, http://en.rougebunnyrouge.com/

Giveaway: Rouge Bunny Rouge

::::::::THIS IS NOW CLOSED:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

As a thank you, I wanted to do a giveaway of a Rouge Bunny Rouge shadow. I have bought the duo in 'A Major - fis Minor', as its one I have myself and have pretty much nearly all used up (which is a sure sign its a winner).

Here are the rules:
1.To enter you must be one of my followers and just submit a comment on this post.
2.The giveaway will close on Friday 19th April 2013 19:00 UK time, and the winner will be picked via a random number generator. I'll announce the winner on my blog so that you can email me your address details.

This is open to all countries
::::::::THIS IS NOW CLOSED:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

RMK Ingenious Powder Cheeks - P-10 Holographic Coral Pink

There was something immediately satisfying upon seeing the colour contained within the sleek silver compact, its just so vibrant and crisp.

Ingenious Powder Cheeks - P-10 Holographic Coral Pink (£26) is a warm pink with coral tones and a glowy/luminous finish.

Pigment is high so I apply this lightly on my pale skin. It feels very soft and smooth. I find it really adheres well to the skin (so that the colour doesn't move around when blending) and as a result has a very good wear time. Furthermore I find the included brush is soft and usable.
Swatched below on left and then blended in on right,

Swatched below L-R: By Terry Torrid Peach, RMK Coral Pink, Tom Ford Love Lust.

This is my first Ingenious Powder blush and I find it superior to the two different RMK blush formula's I had previously owned.
I don't tend to think of myself as the target market for the brand as the image seems more youthful, but I have to say I have really been enjoying my purchases so will have to investigate the line further.

Ingredients:

I bought this from lookfantastic.com

Chanel Avant-Première de Chanel: Rouge Coco Shine Interlude

The Avant-Première collection launched last week in the UK, I think the collection is not yet released in all countries (for example I think it hits America in May). The collection which is inspired by movie icons, consists of 6 Rouge Coco lipsticks, 4 Les Vernis and 8 Rouge Coco Shines. What interested me the most was the Coco Shines as they are meant to contain 30% more pigment than the original version.


On swatching all the shades in the store the change in pigment was clear, though I do wonder that given the slip of the formula, if the darker shades would run.
I played safe and bought the second lightest shade, #78 Interlude (£24). Its a creamy peach/coral shade.

Swatched below L-R: By Terry Rouge Terrybly Love Me Tender, Chanel Interlude,Tom Ford lip colour shine Frolic.

Formula wise, there is a slight difference; it is not quite as lightweight as the original formula and I find it a tad less hydrating (its prone to highlighting dry area, but that may just be this shade). In terms of finish it still has the same glossy/shine finish of the original version, but the pigment is noticeable higher.
Looking at the collection as a whole, whilst I think that there is a good spectrum of flattering colours, I felt like I'd seen it all before and would be hard pushed to name a shade that looked like a stand out.
Ingredients:

I bought this from Boots

By Terry Hyaluronic Sheer Rouge Lipstick

I was very excited when I heard about the By Terry Hyaluronic Sheer lipstick launch, however the more reviews I read the more hesitant I became, so I decided to only order one.

The lipstick is meant to moisturise, fill in wrinkles and fine lines, boost volume, smooth and protects the lips. I bought #9 Dare to Bare (£25) which is a sheer natural rose with a gloss finish.

 

The texture feels extremely creamy (as you can probably note the slight smooched sides in my close-up picture below) and applies very smooth.

It was all feeling very comfortable and moisturising and then something changed. The lipstick seems to set within less than a minute, and though I do not notice any negative effect in the applied look, its the feel of it. It feels drying and a bit uncomfortable. If I were blind testing this I would say it has the feel of a long lasting lipstick, which is somewhat redundant as it still has the short wear time and sheer pigment that you would expect from a sheer/balm formula.
By Terry is one of my favourite brands so I was quite surprised that this didn't deliver. Though I like the colour, for something that is marketed as having balm like qualities, this just didn't perform for me.

Ingredients below, the lipstick is strongly scented.

I bought this from spacenk.com