Chanel Notes de Printemps Spring 2014: Rouge Coco in Triomphe & Rouge Allure in Melodieuse

With pink, coral brights and a mauve added to the mix, the Chanel lip offerings for this years Spring collection were not within my normal "safe" colours, however I had a "moment" and decided that yes perhaps I too could be one of those sporting a bright lip this Spring.


From the 6 shades on offer I went for the Rouge Coco in Triomphe #60 (£24) and the Rouge Allure in Melodieuse #136 (£25).

Triomphe is a coral with a touch of pink. I find the Rouge Coco formula hit and miss with some being drying and not applying as evenly as I would like, unfortunately I found this the case with Triomphe, its a shame as I really do like this brightening colour.

When I picked up Melodieuse, my head was saying don't be silly that's far too bright put it down, but alas the heart (which is often bedazzled by all things pretty, with memories of when I was young and could wear any colour I liked) won out.
I still stand by Melodieuse being a really pretty colour, but can I wear it full on, well lets just say when I applied two layers of this my husband said it looked radio active! However, I do love this bright coral/red with one coat and blotted down. Its has a satin finish with a light texture, smooth application and even, full coverage.


Overall I think these are both fun brights to wake up the complexion, but my pick would be Melodieuse for its superior texture/application.

I bought these from Boots

Chanel Notes de Printemps Spring 2014: Impulsion & Diapason Illusion d'Ombres

This Spring Chanel brought out two new colours of the Illusion d'Ombres. The limited edition Impulsion (£24), is a sheer baby pink with a heavy shimmered, slightly frosty silver edge. As its not warm toned I find it a very easy to wear pink.


I really like this as a wash on the lid to give that clean, brightened look or used on top of a powder shadow to give it a bit of a glimmer.


I hadn't anticipated buying the second shade, Diapason, as it looked too dark and smoky, however after seeing how beautiful it looked on the SA paired with Impulsion I just had to buy it. Its a duochrome shade in some sense, deep purple with a burgundy/brown tone in certain lights, with a really interesting blue low level shimmer/sparkle.
I have used both shades below, I used fingers rather than a brush so its not as neat as I would have liked.

Both shades swatched below

Swatched below with the shades combined

Both have a lightweight, non drying texture which is smooth and spongy to the touch. The best attribute of the Illusion d'Ombres for me is just how blendable they are, they don't go patchy or ball up and work really well layered over powder shadows. To get an all day, non creasing wear I do wear these over a primer.

I bought these from Boots

Charlotte Tilbury: Cheek to Chic Blusher in First Love

Whilst I liked my first Charlotte Tilbury blush in Love Glow, it wasn’t the peachy pink I had hoped for, so I ordered the shade First love (£30) which though not pink, looked like a peachy nude shade.

It's a warm peachy/apricot shade with a satin finish. Again the outer shade is more pigmented than the inner, with the inner having a more dusty tone and nearly matte finish, the outer being more peachy/apricot with gold shimmer.

The texture is really smooth and blends well with a long wear time. Pigment was again high and it’s not what I would describe as a nude shade on me, I really do have to be light handed with application. Swatched below the outer circle, then inner and then the shades combined

Once again this colour isn’t quite right for me, whilst some peachy shades look brightening on my cool toned skin, there is too much gold here and it just looks a bit off, probably best suited to someone more yellow toned.
I do really rate the application and wear of these blushers, I just need to find the right shade for me.

I bought this from http://www.charlottetilbury.com

Kevyn Aucoin The Eye Shadow Duo in #203 (Fog/Cool Smoke)

The Kevyn Aucoin Eye Shadow Duo in shade #203 (£34), contains shadows in Fog which is a dusty matte dove/slate and Cool Smoke which is a smoky navy with a hint of shimmer.


Both shades have really good pigment and feel smooth, though Fog is noticeable more creamy. Once applied I wasn't so excited by this duo, Fog applies smoothly but the edges don't seem to blend too well and Cool Smoke looks very patchy used on the lid/crease so I can only use this shade as a liner, which does limited the use of this duo.

I've tried using different primers, no primer and then just a light dusting of powder but these still don't apply as well as I would have hoped. As shown below its not really doing much for me,

I do like the concept of a cool toned, polished simple lid with a twist from the usual blacks/brown to line, but as mentioned there is really not much versatility to be had here and the application is not the best.

My husband bought me this from http://uk.spacenk.com

Burberry Complete Eye Palette Pale Pink Taupe

Now I am a big fan of the Burberry single shadows (baring Gold Pearl which did not perform the same as my others) and though the initial reviews for the eye palettes were not positive (as it was felt the quality was not the same as the singles), as time past more favourable reviews came in so I finally made the decision that it was indeed a rather good idea to buy one, so went for Pink Taupe (£40).
You know where this is heading....


I have to say that the shadows in this particular quad are not to the same high standard as the singles. If I didn't own singles already and was therefore not doing a direct compare I might not feel disappointed, but I do have to compare them and the palette does falls short.
Pigment is quite good but the shadows are not as smooth, creamy or easy to blend as the singles nor do I find they last as well.

Pink Taupe includes a satin beige gold, a satin moss green, a matte dusty mauve and a matte cool brown. I don't find these shadows work too well together, they get muddy and its hard to pick out any distinctive colour.

The satin finishes of the singles have a lovely subtle glimmer about them, this is omitted from this quad.
Swatched below the beige gold from the palette then the single in pale barley,

I'm not blessed with good skin and am not a beauty so I really need my makeup to give me something extra, but this does nothing for me. Suffice to say I'll be sticking with the singles!

I bought this from http://uk.burberry.com

Guerlain Crazy Terracotta Healthy Glow Powder

Now I know we are a bit over Holiday collections but I really couldn't just let this Healthy Glow powder (£46.50) go past without a mention.

Its of course very pretty to look at and mixes peach/orange bronze tones and pink. I was worried this would be too dark on my pale skin but though its very buildable, the initial pigment is quite low, which is good for us pale folk.

I was surprised how much the pink came through, for me this is more of a blush than a traditional bronzer.

Swatched below L-R:Rouge Bunny Rouge  Bronzing Glow Powder At Goldcombe Bay, Guerlain Crazy Terracotta and Dior Nude Tan Paradise Duo in Pink Glow.

It has a satin finish and gives a lovely very warm pink/peach touch to the skin, certainly living up to its healthy glow name.
The texture feels lightweight and smooth, blending extremely well with no patchiness on my dry skin and has a good wear time.
The only negative for me is the extremely strong fragrance, there is no need for such a common irritant in a face product.
I think for light to medium skintones this is an excellent powder for adding warmth without venturing into ruddy, orange or muddy territory.

I bought this from John Lewis

The new Japonesque cosmetic line: Velvet Touch Eye Shadow Palette & Pro Performance Lipstick

Japonesque, best known for their innovative, good quality (yet still affordable) brush range, recently brought out a cosmetics line. I have seen very little coverage of the range but promptly put it on my Christmas list.

The products all have a unique packaging as the swirled designs are all individual creations from a gel pigment. In the mass market of cosmetics, these little touches can make a brand stand out.

The Velvet Touch Eye Shadow Palette comes in three colourways, I have shade #2 (£24). The quad contains a yellow gold with metallic finish, shimmery peach/copper, shimmery taupe and a matte deep cool toned brown.


All shades have good pigment and the colours are true to pan. They feel smooth, with the non matte shades having a softer texture. They all apply smoothly and blend extremely well though I do find a primer best used to get them to last all day.



Ingredients:



The Pro Performance Lipstick (£15) in shade #5 is a pigmented cranberry pink with a heavy dose of gold shimmer. Though it looks rather cool in my swatch it applies warm on me (I tried getting a better swatch so many times that I made my skin blotchy, but honestly it does go on warm)

It has a good creamy/moisturising feel, with a reasonable amount of slip. It lasts well and leaves behind a slight stain. There is a slight scent to the lipstick, not flavoured but that typically lipstick smell.
Ingredients:

 I am very pleased with these colours that my husband choose for me so kudos to him. My initial impressions of the range are high, I think the quality is very good for such an affordable range (certainly comparable to more expensive brands) and the products are easy to use and wear. I will definitely be ordering more from the line.

My husband bought me these from http://www.johnlewis.com

Charlotte Tilbury: The Golden Goddess Luxury Palette

You know how it is, sometimes you just want to be a golden goddess (unfortunately not a look that goes hand in hand with my pale, pasty self).

I have been very impressed with the Charlotte Tilbury range so far, so bought the eyeshadow palette in Golden Goddess (£38). Its as the name suggest a more warmed toned palette.

It contains a shimmery cream/champagne, golden taupe with a satin finish, bronze with satin finish and a copper glitter shade. All shades have superb pigment, apply, blend and last well. The only difference in texture is that the glitter shade feels dryer to the touch (though this is not apparent in application) and the Charlotte Tilbury glitter shades are the best I have tried compared to other brands in terms of lack of fall out and delivery on pigment.

I find these palettes so easy to use, the shades just meld into one another so well that it really cuts down on the application time. I did the eye look below using all the shades and this is without a base after a bit over 4 hours wear.


As an aside I've recently noticed that on their site (http://www.charlottetilbury.com/Eyeshadow_Palette/luxury-palette-the-golden-goddess.html) they have swatches of the eye shadow palettes on three differing skin tones, this is a very helpful addition and I would think an influence from the popularity of this form of colour representation on beauty blogs.
Ingredients:

Though this particular palette would probably be better on someone warmer toned, the quality is extremely high and I really can't find any fault with the formula.

I bought this from http://www.charlottetilbury.com

Dior Golden Winter Collection: Minuit Diorific Vernis Nail

Happy New Year :) I am trying to get out my last Holiday product reviews as I know we are all now looking ahead to the Spring collections. 

In the bottle Minuit (£20) is a mesmerising deep vampy raisin/wine shade infused with micro glitter. The brush handle is quite short and the brush head small, so I didn't find this the easiest to handle in application. The polish does not apply as smooth as I would have liked and two coats are required to give an even finish.
Unfortunately once I put this on it looks extremely flat. I find its best to apply three coats and a glossy top coat (I used Dior's gel coat).

Shown below is one coat, then two, then three and then two coats with the gel coat followed by three coats with the gel coat.

I do find this chips within a day so a top coat is a must for me.
This is one of those times where the product looks better in the bottle than it does applied.

I bought this from Boots.