Saturday 31 October 2009

Illamasqua cream shadow in Hunger

Out of Illamasqua’s cream shadow you’ll see this one gets mentioned a lot. It’s a highlighter shades with a beautiful slightly pinked gold shimmer. Its very fine so never ventures into the frosty territory or disco shimmer like a lot of highlighters can. I don’t have much luck with cream shadows staying put from any brand and do use this over a bit of TF shadow insurance to ensure it lasts all day with no creasing. It’s a very versatile shade, I can use it as a base to either get more subtle shades to show up (as they grab onto the cream base) or to give an eye look a shimmered effect, it can also be used as a cheek highlighter and is nice dabbed on the centre of the lips.

Friday 30 October 2009

Guerlain Imperiale Holiday Collection 2009

I don’t often buy from Guerlain but I had a £15 Debenhams beauty gift voucher so decided to use it towards the holiday collection, which looked very wearable.
I got the eye quad (£34.50) and lipstick in Grace (£26.50). I’ve heard a lot of good things about these lipsticks but was put off by the bulky packaging and price. This is a beast of a lipstick, I have never seen such a humongous tube before. The colour is a natural gentle pink with a really pretty shimmer almost iridescence to it. Is this lipstick formula better than my cheaper lipsticks, no, I have nothing bad to say about the texture, wear or colour its just that it does not excel over other brands.
The eye quad contains all shimmery shades, a White with a touch of gold shimmer, peachy pink (both these shades are slightly frosty) taupe and a deep slightly chocolate taupe, I’d say this quad is neutral-cool. Quality wise, I don’t think Guerlain make the best shadows, however they do seem to be softer, more blendable and with better pigment compared to a quad I bought from last years collection.

Here is a very quick look with it (and no I am not wearing any under eye concealer)

I am happy with these items but I do seem to have amassed a collection of eerily similar shades. Overall I don't think these items are going to thrill you, but they are great easy to wear colours and would probably make nice gifts.

Wednesday 28 October 2009

Bamford Haircare


As part of a Liberty GWP I received small versions of Bamford Botanic Geranium Shampoo and Conditioner. I have never heard of this brand before but have since checked online and they are a high-end clothing company by the looks of it, which has branched out to produce a Bath/Hair/Body range.
The products are meant to use the” finest natural and organic ingredients with no nasty chemicals”, “made from “100% natural essential oils and plant extracts”

My hair type is dry but can get oily at the roots, I have lots of broken hair and its also damaged due to daily straitening. I have a very sensitive scalp so usually opt for sulphate free haircare if possible (the Bamford shampoo is NOT sulphate free).

The shampoo, gives a really nice shine, I wash my hair everyday so the shine suits me but for those prone to oily/greasy hair I could see this being too much. I would not buy this for the simple reason that it made my head a bit itchy after use.
The conditioner texture almost feels like a moisturiser, not fine or thick but its definitely creamy. Its not heavy duty so if you hair is quite damaged then this is not for you but it is a great detangler and I would buy this in the warmer months when my hair seems to be less damaged.

Both retail for £16.00 each, for a 250 ml bottle. They have their own site and are also on Liberty.co.uk and beautique.com

Sunday 25 October 2009

The Joy of Children.....

Bit off topic here, but my little boy not content with having nabbed a lipstick out of my bag, decided to take the top off and squish his finger in it ! Behold the destruction.
I like that instead of picking out one of the cheaper lipsticks he went for my RBR one. Note to self, keep all makeup zipped away or on very high shelve....

Friday 23 October 2009

Rouge Bunny Rouge, Loose Glitter Pigment, Glassy Gloss, Quartz eyeliner and more..

These are some other RBR items I have that I had not got round to posting about (read as “I have too much makeup” ).
Quartz Eyeliner - Devotion Ink, shade ‘Tiger Eye’. I don’t have much luck with liquid liners, I cannot seem to get a straight liner nor right up close to the lash line, the ones that worked best for me were Chantecaille. RBR exceeds Chantecaille for me. The brush distributes the product better, I can go thin or thick, I also like that I can go over the line without any clumping/flaking. The colour I got is a copper bronze effused with multi colour glitter (which stays put) the price is steep, £27, but I will definitely buy more of these if they expand their shade range (currently they only have 3).
Vivacious Maquari long lasting eye shadow: This eyeshadow is a pure sterling shimmery silver, as with my other RBR shadows this is pigmented, very soft and blends really well (this pairs really nicely on the lid with ‘Periwinkle Cardinal, a shimmered green ‘ in the crease)

Glassy Gloss - Sweet Excesses, shade ‘Crisp Sorbet’: I was slightly disappointed by this. The description of the colour is “coconut ice pink with coral and gold opalescence” but on me it’s almost clear in colour. What it does have is a really reflective shine, more so that any other lipgloss I have tried. It’s slightly stickier than I would like, but I do always go for the less sticky option possible. Whilst I don’t think I would buy another one of these I am very happy to have this one for the shine effect alone.

Long lasting lip pencil, shade ‘Roald’: This is a matte cool toned pink mauve. This really does stay put, lasts all day and beyond if you don’t take it off well! The downside of this is that its not really creamy and I find it slightly drying.
Fire drops-Loose glitter pigment: I got this in shade ‘Sleeping under a mandarin tree’. I am not a fan of glitter so initially overlooked these until I saw a post on londonmakeupgirl’s blog and realised these were more along the lines of shimmer. This shade is a beautiful sheer shimmery/Iridescent warm golden champagne, given its not really unique but what I really like about this is that its not over the top (no frostiness here) and lasts with no fall out. I’ll likely buy ‘Night wind sailing’ at some point.
Here are the swatches

Wednesday 21 October 2009

Review of Clarins Palazzo D’Oro holiday collection Part 1

I tend to find that when I deviate from my main brands I’m usually always disappointed apart from a few exceptions. Clarins makeup has never really appealed to me in the past but I do think this collection is worth checking out for the face palette.
The eye quad contains a very frosty silvered pink, warm shimmery coppery yellow gold, subtle browned neutral, pigmented brown with gold glitter (the gold glitter is not that noticeable once the shadow is applied), and deep brown cream liner.

The quality if the shadows are ok in terms of pigmentation and they blend together quite well and last fine. The cream liner, whilst a really nice deep colour once applied, the texture is very dry so it’s quite hard to get a smooth line.
I like the combination of colours and would say this is suitable for those either warm or cool. You can do a soft shimmery glowy look or a slightly deeper look as below. Ultimately the liner is the only thing that lets this palette down for me.

The overspray on the face powder went down deeper than I thought and I still have golden glitter on application but its getting less! Although I thought this a highlighter I can actually use it as a blusher as its comes out quite pigmented on me. It is a glowy warm golden, almost coppery peach.
I’ve taken a picture here so you can see the true colour coming through.
I think if you are going to get one of them I’d probably go with the face powder as it seems a bit more unique (once you get rid of most of the golden glitter overspray). They both cost £35 each and are limited edition. You will notice this is part 1 of my review, you'd have thought I would have stopped at just these two items but always one for a complete lack of self contral where makeup is concerned the following day I picked up the lipstick and Mascara as well from the collection....

Sunday 18 October 2009

Clarins Palazzo D’Oro holiday collection

When I first saw a image of Clarins Palazzo D’Oro holiday collection on another blog, it instantly appealed with its delicate shimmery golden look.
They had the collection out in Boots today; I picked up the Gold Attraction Eye Quartet & Liner Palette and Gold Attraction Face Palette. I may go back for the mascara (I think its meant to be a black with golden shimmer) and even the lipstick (very shimmery wash of gold). They also have a GWP on if you spent over £40, really generous sizes of various skincare/body products.

I was surprised that both compacts were £35 each. I have no problem paying this price but in terms of Clarins pricing range I was expecting them to be around late £20’s, £30 each at most. It maybe they cost slightly more due to the packaging, which is really pretty. The compacts are very heavy (feel like they are made out of metal) and have a embossed golden pattern on the lids (the whole casing is gold) they even come in a suede feel pouch. These are the most luxurious packaging I have seen from Clarins.

I will have to mention at this point that Clarins isn't one of "my" brands, the skincare I have tried irritated my skin and I have only bought two things from the makeup range before and was very unimpressed.
The Gold Attraction Face Palette has a very glittery over spray but under this is a sheer gold with a bit of sparkle.
The eye palette contains a shimmery slightly silvered pink, this may be a bit frosty, very warm gold, slightly mauved brown and medium brown with gold shimmer. The liner shade is a very deep brown.
I’ll give these a proper try out first before I do a review and swatches but I just wanted to do this post to show you this collection as Clarins does not seem to get much of a mention, but on the face of it this is one of their prettiest collections to date in my opinion.

Thursday 15 October 2009

Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair Eye Recovery Complex and Fall Lavish plum quad


I don’t recall having ever bought from Estee Lauder before, to be honest the packaging does not appeal to me and I feel it has a more old fashioned image. I think of it more as an anit-aging skincare line. Well maybe I am feeling my age and have been called “madam” too much recently but looking in the mirror I suddenly felt my eye area had really aged. I’ve always had dark circles but the little lines are not so little and the bags seem more pronounced. I had seen a few raves for their new Advanced Night Repair Eye Recovery Complex £33 so decide it was worth a try. Whilst going to pick it up in Boots I noticed that they had a GWP event on. I showed my usual impressive restraint and immediately decided I have to buy someone else to get a gift I would most probably not end up using. Perusing the range it changed my perception of the brand a bit, it wasn’t all neutrals and I did like the look of some of the shadows and the new coloured mascaras. I decided on the new limited eye quad in Lavish plum (£29).

I choose this as I was intrigued by the bottom left shade, kind of a cranberry, this is not a shade I have in my collection and I thought the quad offered a slightly different twist on a normal plum look. Texture wise its not the best. The darker plum is a bit flaky, the other shades are ok but there are better brands for colour payout and blendability. I am however pleased with the overall look the quad gives ( I don’t advise using the plum as a liner as this made my eyes look really blood shot, best used on the outer V) .
I will wait at least a month before reporting back as to whether the eye cream works wonders (I'll be optimistic at this stage)
This is the GWP, I got a bit over zealous trying to open the lipstick and smooshed it ! There were two colour options (warm and cool) , which I thought a good idea. I got cool which contains a mini quad in smokey pink, pure colour lipstick in Crystal pink, Idealist pore minimizing skin refinisher, high gloss in pearl, mini sensuous fragrance and a take it away makeup remover.

Tuesday 13 October 2009

Hourglass eyeshadow and lipstick review

Having never had access to this brand before, as soon as I heard Zuneta.com were stocking Hourglass I had to pick up a few things.
The eyeshadow duos are pigmented, quite smooth, blend and last well.Texture wise RBR are much softer.
Prism contains a Smokey slate blue (not a colour I have in my collection) and a really pigmented charcoal black with sparkles. The sparkles are much less visible when applied. I have not come across a colour like this blue before and highly recommend this duo if you can wear cool tones.

Suede contains a gentle shimmered champagne and neutral shimmery mink beige. The shimmer is not over the top at all. Even though I have a lot of neutrals I don't have exact dupes of these shades in my collection.

Its worth mentioning that they come with a really good sized mirror and the little brush which comes with them ( I always throw these away usually) is actually good quality and can easily be used for shadow placement, so that is a first for me ! The cases are magnetic as well, not sure the use of this but noticed it when I wondered why my lipstick was stuck to my duo when I was taking a photo :)
I also got lipstick in Lucid, this is a neutral metallic rose. I don’t go for metallic normally but decided this was the safest bet colour wise ordering unseen. I’m pleased to say that the metallic finish is not harsh. The colour is true to what’s in the tube, good coverage and lasts quite well. I will say that this is not really creamy or moisturising.

I am very pleased with these items.The range seems quite small but I will pick up another eyeshadow and lipstick. Here is a quick EOTD using all four shadows, blue on lid, black lightly to line, Beige blended lightly in crease, champagne as all over highlighter.

Saturday 10 October 2009

Hourglass Visionaire ¬ Eyeshadow Duo and Adorn ¬ Lipstick


I'm currently moving so its all a bit hectic but I had to do a quick post to show you my new Hourglass cosmetics. Zuneta.com have started stocking it and have videos on their site showing the products in use. I got the two duo's used in their video, Suede (Ivory and beige shimmer) and Prism (beautiful smokey slate blue and shimmery charcoal) . I'll do swatches, detailed review and EOTD at a later stage but for now will say that these shadows went on more pigmented than they looked in the video. I also got one of the lipsticks, Lucid (Metallic Rose). The Hourglass range it quite small but I will be picking up a few more bits at some stage.

Wednesday 7 October 2009

Malin+Goetz Lip Moisturiser

I received this as part of a GWP, it retails for £9 (size 10g). It comes packaged like a toothpaste tube, so whilst not elegant I prefer it over a pot as this seems more hygienic. As it gets colder I do notice more dryness and roughness and find that my matte lipsticks really need a smooth,moisturised base before applying. This product delivers, its a gel like texture (like Bonjela) and is clear in colour and fragrance free. Where this exceeds other similar products is not only does it give instant hydration and smoothness but it last a lot longer so feels like more of a treatment rather than just a quick fix.

Rouge Bunny Rouge EOTD

I did a simple look of RBR 'Grey Go-away Lourie' on the lid with 'Blackpepper Jay' blended lightly in the crease. I added a bit of RBR Loose Glitter Pigment in 'Sleeping Under a Mandarin Tree' in the inner corner. I took picture with and without flash but still the colours seem a bit washed out so the look was darker in the flesh.

Sunday 4 October 2009

Rouge Bunny Rouge, Blackpepper Jay,Chestnut-napped Apali,Grey Go-away Lourie

Here are some close up pics of 3 of the new RBR matte shades and swatches, I will do an EOTD at some point soon. Blackpepper Jay ( middle swatch) is a deep blackened brown, great as a smokey crease shade or to line.
Chestnut-napped Apali (right swatch) , is a slightly browned beige neutral, works great as a lid shade or a natural crease shade.
Grey Go-away Lourie, (left swatch) is a medium slate gray (the close up pic below shows it as lighter than true life) I really like this on the lid, its a bit darker than I would normally use there but it pairs beautifully with Blackpepper Jay in the crease. It also looks really nice in the crease, with neutrals or silvers,pinkish shades on the lid.

As I briefly mentioned these have perfect pigmentation and they go on exactly how they look in the pan. As with all my other RBR they last well throughout the day and I am happy to say that even though these are matte they blend faultlessly. So my costly obsession with RBR ploughs on. Zuneta.com stock RBR exclusively ( they have also started selling Hourglass, which I am sure to submit to soon)

Nars lipgloss


At one point I had a rather large NARS collection, present day and I very rarely buy NARS. I can't get past the smell of the lipsticks and lip lacquers, the blushers break me out and texture wise only the newer eyeshadows seem good ( I may have to pick up Mekong as that has been getting a lot of raves). Part of the Liberty GWP was a NARS lipgloss duo. I'd only tried their pot glosses before. The duo consists of Greek Holiday ( sheer wash of gold with multi coloured glitter) and Chihuahua (slightly warm pink with no shimmer). Texture wise these are reasonable thick and sticky but not overly so, this one also doesn't seem to posses a smell. Greek Holiday really only shows up on me as glitter ( and I don't have pigmented lips) and whilst Chihuahua is an easy to wear everyday shade I'm not overly impressed and wouldn't buy a NARS lipgloss after trying this one out.

Saturday 3 October 2009

Rouge Bunny Rouge Long-lasting Matte Eye Shadow

Naturally I had to order some of RBR new Long-lasting Matte Eye Shadows. Of the four I got three (picture above L-R), Blackpepper Jay,Chestnut-napped Apali, Grey Go-away Lourie . The light is bad here at the moment so I'll do a close up on colours, swatches and thorough review shortly but for now I will say I am seriously impressed. True to colour, great pigmentation and they blend like a dream, once again RBR doesn't disappoint.
RBR can be bought via Zuneta.com

Illamasqua Dystopia review part 2

The other items I got from the Dystopia collection were the two pigments and Velocity nail varnish. Android is a smokey charcoal full of multi coloured glitter. To get the most out of this its best used wet or over a cream base. Used dry, whilst it goes on as per my swatch as soon as you make any move to blend it you are left with far less colour intensity and the glitter seems to mostly disappear.

Static is a very sheer opal with pink glitter, applied dry I pretty much only get the glitter, so I just apply a bit over the middle of the lid over other shadows to give a bit of sparkle.

Velocity is a dusty grape, I've not seen a colour like this before so its a great addition.

Thursday 1 October 2009

Le Métier de Beauté

I got two Le Métier de Beauté eyeshadows recently (£21 each) as I noticed that Liberty had started stocking the brand. I got eyeshadows in Clay (neutral beige with a slight sheen) and Naked (cream base shade). Clay is great for a natural nude look, I tried this type of colour several times (from brands such as Bobbi brown) and everytime they either end up muddy or too warm, this is perfect for me, it has no strange undertones and applies exactly as it looks in the pan. Naked is your typical off white base shade, neutral rather than cool or warm, there is no chalkiness here.
Texture wise they are quite soft, blend really well, have very good pigmentation ( I didn't need to layer to get the colour to apply the same as in the pan) and they well wear throughout the day. Whilst I don't have anything negative to say about these, the shade range ( that is available on Liberty) whilst it offers good basics is nothing exciting so I don't think I will be rushing out to get any particular shade anything soon.

I also got the Tinted moisturiser as part of the Liberty GWP. This retails for £50 and is not meant for someone with skin like me but I had to try it ! As you can see shade #1 is too dark for me, the swatch shows it before and after being blended in. I would say it has a warm tone to it.

Texture wise its quite creamy but not heavy at all, it provides VERY minimal coverage as expected for this type of product but it does give a nice healthiness to the skin without an obvious sheen. It works quite well as a makeup base as well if you skin is a bit lacklustre and dry. As this is not something that I would get much use out of ( I need coverage) I gave this to my Mum who has clear skin, she will be able to get away with this shade ( she is about a MAC NW20/25).
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