Edward Bess: Luxury eye brush, Defining eyeliner, Nude shadow

The Luxury eye brush (£32) is different from my other eye brushes, its shaped like your traditional crease blender, but is a larger size and more dense. It also comes in its own sleek box.
This has become a "rescue" brush for me, if I have a shadow that has a bad texture this soft natural haired brush applies it so that it does not go on patchy, if I have gone and created something very wrong with an eye look in the morning, I just use this brush to blend it all and it somehow makes it work.
I know brushes aren't the most exciting thing to buy but this has definitely become a staple for me.

Almost every line has a base shade, often they can be too white, chalky, shimmery, warm or flat. Edward Bess's nude(£22) is just right. Its a neutral cream that has a subtle sheen to it, great for brightening the eye area whilst looking natural. As with my other EB shadows the formulation is smooth and silky and they wear well.
Swatches L-R: Nude shadow, deep brown defining eyeliner
The defining eyeliner (£20) has a soft smooth texture so there is no tugging, nor is it too soft so that it smudges. Deep Brown is matte and true to its name and has no red undertones like a lot of deep browns do. It lasts well, even when its humid or you get rained on.
My own slight issue is that although the automatic design means no sharpening to get to the product, it does lose its point ( I've taken my photo before sharpening it so you can see what I mean) I feel it could do with coming with one of those little sharpeners (like the Chanel Stylo Yeux Waterproof ones do).

Edward Bess is stocked by http://www.zuneta.com/ who ship worldwide and also stock Rouge Bunny Rouge and Hourglass amongst others.

None of my links are ever affiliated.

Shu Uemura Rouge Unlimited lipsticks and first thoughts on their UK website

As I like the majority of items I have from Shu I was pleased when they recently opened their online UK site, http://www.shuuemura.co.uk/. Two great things about the website is that it actually lists the ingredients of all the products and offers free delivery if you spend over £30.
My only slight negative is that a few days after I placed my order I got a email saying that one of the lipsticks was out of stock and an email would be sent to inform me when I could reorder the item. Having had no further emails I was then surprised to, after receiving my initial order, have another one show up with the remaining lipstick. I didn't think I was getting it and didn't receive an email that I would be so its a good thing I didn't spend the money on something else.
The Rouge Unlimited lipsticks cost £19.50 each. When you can't find swatches/reviews of a cosmetics product I always find lipsticks can be the ones where you end up with a colour you least expect. Luckily I really like these shades, but I am hoping to come across a site that has some swatches or reviews of these to enable me to choose more in the future.
#945 is a mix of rose,pink and plum and is neural to cool toned
#958 is a delicate beige with pink and peach tones.
#322 (shown below) is a very icy sheer pink with a hint of peach (not a colour I would normally buy but I thought it would pair well with a silver/blue smokey eye)
Swatches L-R: #958, #945, #322
The lipsticks feel very comfortable, lightweight and incredible smooth, the colours have a moist/dewy finish to them, I will definitely be getting some more of these.

Tom Ford Private Blend Lip Colour

The packaging matches its £35 price tag, the white and gold looks clean and luxurious, the tube has a good weight to it.
On me Pink Dusk is a slightly warmed gentle pink with a semi-matte finish. Its very pigmented and goes on almost opaque.
Its feels quite creamy, and isn't slippery. I'd say this lasts better than the average lipstick. This has a vanilla fragrance but its quite subtle.
I'm very pleased with it but I wouldn't say the performance is better than my slightly cheaper lipsticks. I am very interested to see what else gets released though as the quality is definitely there.

I bought this from Harrods but Selfridges and House of Fraser also stock them.

MAC Pro Longwear Concealer and Foundation

I bought the Pro Longwear Concealer (£12.50) in shade NW15, for comparison the swatches of my other MAC foundations (all NW15) L-R: select moisture cover, pro longwear, studio finish. As you can see there is a lot of variant.
One squirt of this pigmented, creamy concealer is enough for my under eye area and any facial redness and I still have a bit over. It covers well, although doesn't completely block out my darkness. It manages to give a natural matte finish, it doesn't settled in lines under my eyes, nor looks dry.
I woke up with really puffy eyes this morning so this is not the most pleasant before and after picture but I don't like to sugar coat things, I have just applied less than half a squirt under the eyes and on the surrounding area (coverage can be built up more than what I have done).
It does last very well and I have managed to go without powder on top of it. This is a definite re-buy for me due to the texture.
Here are the ingredients:
I had to buy the Pro Longwear Foundation (£22) in NC15 as they don't do it in a NW15 which seemed a bit odd. It is a bit too dark for me but I can blend it enough to make it wearable.
Swatches: L-R: Bobbi brown moisture rich Alabaster, MAC Pro longwear NC 15, Burberry Trench #1.
Although this medium coverage foundation sets quite quickly, it blends really well and evens out the skin tone with a natural semi matte finish. As I have dry skin this can go on a bit cakey but as long as you don't get too close to me it doesn't notice. In terms of staying power I would say that this is probably the longest lasting foundation I have had and I don't seem to get my usual shiny T-Zone break through when I get flustered.
The downside for me is that If I wear this too many days in a row I do get a few little spots ( I am very acne prone) and this is the only reason I would be hesitant to buy this again.
Here are the ingredients:
Both products come in a pump container, which is always my preference as it makes them more hygienic and easy to use.

Guerlain fall Kiss Kiss Essence de Gloss & Rouge G de Guerlain lipstick

Part of the fall 2010 collection was the release of the new lip-gloss formula, Kiss Kiss Essence de Gloss (£20). Its meant to have anti-aging ingredients and smooth and plump lips with continued use. I can't attest to the long-term anti ageing benefit but it does seem to make those little lip lines a lot less noticeable. The gloss is pigmented and has a glossy, high shine finish. I bought Grenat which is a medium slightly warm rose.
It feels comfortable on, but does have a very slight tackiness to it ( I'm very picky with my glosses) however its not enough to put me off buying more.
Of the four new Rouge G de Guerlain lipsticks released, I choose Gilian (£27), the other neutral shade, Giny does look quite similar but its warmer.
Gilian is a neutral nude pink with touches of beige and peach. It has a subtle shimmery glow, I think its a beautiful colour.
Both products are scented.

Guerlain Fall 2010: Place Vendome

Following on from my Rue de Sevres review, I also bought Place Vendome (£51). Again the palette is a mix of matte,satin and shimmer finishes. It contains a neutral off white/cream base shade, clay, taupe with golden shimmer, dark grey, Sapphire and a deep navy blue liner.
The colours are more distinctive, and I can certainly get more looks from this compared to Rue de Sevres.
Although the quality of the shadows of both of the palettes are not comparable to my favorite eye shadow brands, the liner in Place Vendome is noticeable more pigmented and smoother compared to the one in Rue de Sevres.
I think I got a bit caught up with the packaging and design of this collection and in actuality its the lip products I bought that I am most impressed with, but if you are looking to get one of the palettes I think Place Vendome is the most interesting one.

Guerlain fall 2010 : Rue de Sevres

The 2010 fall collection from Guerlain seems to have been one of their most talked about releases. The elaborately designed chiseled metal latticework palettes are certainly a sight to see. Whilst the palettes are a bit bulky and heavy there is no doubt they still retain an elegance and desirability about them. Each palette contains neutral shades and one pop of colour. The finishes seem to be a mix of matte, satin and shimmery.
29 Rue de Sevres (£51) contains a shimmery white/beige with a slight pink hue, a greyed beige, medium taupe which applies more grey,deeper cool grey, shimmery aqua green, dark brown grey liner.
The pigmentation is average and these are not the smoothest shadows I have, although they do blend and last well. Ultimately this is one of those palettes that looks better in the pan than it does on. I don't feel like I can get a lot of looks with these colours, the greys seems to go on quite similar.
Nice to have, but certainly not a must have for me. I also bought Place Vendome at the same time which I will show you soon as I much prefer it.

Trish Mcevoy Lash Enhancer Nighttime Conditioning Treatment: 2 week result

I have been diligently applying my Trish Mcevoy Lash Enhancer Nighttime Conditioning Treatment on the root of my top lash line for two weeks now. The question is does it give stronger, fuller lashes and up to 25% increase in volume in just two weeks ? I am pleased to say that I have noticed a difference, it's not dramatic but I feel like my lashes seem a bit thicker. Where I have noticed the most difference is that I don't lose any lashes when I remove my eyemakeup like I used to; it has definitely made my lashes stronger.

Right eye before:
Right eye after:
Left eye before:Left eye after:
In hind sight I should have taken pictures with my Husbands professional camera rather than my puny one, but hopefully you can see there is a tiny bit of a difference. I'd say it looks more noticeable in the flesh.
I think this is meant to last 4 months, the longer you use it, the more noticeable the result, so I'll do another update after over 2 months of use, where we will hopefully see more of a change. I am pleasantly surprised this has worked as I tend to be skeptical about these types of products. My stupid question is that once you stop using it do the effects stay, or do the lashes go back to their fragile, weaker state ?

Disclaimer: This was sent to me for free.

MAC Pro Longwear Lipcreme and a tiny bit of Fabulous Feline

MAC's newest lip formula is the pro long wear lipcreme. It feels Lightweight and initially very creamy, however it soon sets and although I wouldn't say it feels drying it does not feel hydrating. It also has a tacky finish, this feeling does dissipate after a while but I don't think its pleasant. In terms of wear, for me I'd say its 5 hours max, which is very good.
I bought the shade Till Tomorrow (£14.50), which is a cool toned mix of brown/rose/mauve, the finish seems to be semi-matte. Whilst I do like this shade, the feel of the lipstick is enough to put me off buying another one.
From the fabulous Felines, I picked up the Burmese beauty eye shadow palette £29.50. This contains a sheer peach/beige, old frosted gold, brown with duochrome green shimmer (much more noticeable in the pan then when applied), cool toned matte deep brown. The colours work really well together and overall the pigmentation and blendability is a lot better than other MAC palettes I've had in the past.
The only other item I got was a Superslick liquid eye liner. I choose marked for glamour (dark grey) £14.50. Its long wearing and does not smudge, and the colour is very pigmented. However, because its very watery I find that when I draw a line its prone to migrate out before it dries, so I end up with a thicker line. My other gripe is that I find this really difficult to remove, it flacks off in bits so takes a lot longer, its a far cry from my RBR one's which I can take off with ease.
Liner swatched far right:
I also bought the new Pro longwear foundation and concealer which I will tell you about soon.

Burberry Sheer Fluid Foundation and Shadow Swatches

I've had to wait a while before reviewing this as I wanted to make sure it didn't break me out and I am glad to say we have a success!
Here are the ingredients (please click to enlarge)
Burberry Sheer Fluid Foundation (£34) comes packaged with quite a heavy cap so its probably not the most travel friendly. It has a pump dispenser which is always my preference.
It gives a natural finish, giving a slight glow/ luminous quality to the skin. The coverage is sheer, but it can be layered to achieve medium.

It really applies well, I get no cakiness (often a problem for me) and it feels very comfortable and lightweight on. The colour, Trench 01, is a perfect match, I think if you find MAC 15's a bit too dark this will work for you. It doesn't have noticeably pink or yellow tones, very natural.
Swatched below, on the right I have blended it in.
The only downside for me is that it does not last that well, so I have to put on a light dusting on powder, otherwise it fades by mid day.

I thought I'd give you a swatch of all my Burberry shadows together, I am still really liking these and they are up there with my other favourite eyeshadow brands. Shadows L-R: Pearl Blue, Porcelain, Trench, Almond, Rosewood, Taupe brown, Pearl grey.
I buy my Burberry from Harrods.

Rouge Bunny Rouge Abyssinian Catbird

The texture of RBR shadows puts a lot of similar priced brands to shame. They are highly pigmented, smooth, creamy, feel comfortable on, blend and last extremely well. I was initially hesitant about buying Abyssinian Catbird (£22) as I thought it would be too warm for my cool toned complexion.
However I'm glad I did as I think this is one of my favorite RBR shadows.
The colour is a deep, almost metallic, mix of brown/bronze with golden highlights and in some lights looks like it has a hint of olive. Simply put, its stunning.

RBR is available from http://www.zuneta.com/ who ship worldwide.

Yves Saint Laurent: Fall Rouge Volupté Perle

The 6 Rouge Volupte Perle Lipsticks (£21 each) were released with the rock and baroque fall collection. They have a shimmery/micro glitter glossy finish to them. They feel quite moist and have a slightly slippery texture. They have a very strong fragrance.

I bought two shades, #101 Beige Caress (beige/peach with golden micro glitter) and #104 Stellar Pink (natural pink with subtle silver micro glitter).
They last quite well for a lipstick of this type and the colors and lush glossy finish are really pretty. Swatched below, #104 on left, #101 on right.
There is however one problem, my 104 is perfectly smooth, my 101 has a gritty texture, probably caused by the fact that the glitter in 101 is more prevalent. I can't understand such a discrepancy between two lipsticks that are the same formula, I don't know whether I have just been unlucky or if all the #101's are like this but it makes me reluctant to buy another shade (even though I could have happily bought all the shades) as it was only when I wore this rather than swatched it that I felt the grittiness. At any rate I do really like the shades, its just a shame about the texture of #101.

NuBo Skincare

NuBo is a luxury anti ageing skincare brand. The implication seems to be it offers a revolutionary range of products that will work wonders. The range seems focused on the Cell Dynamic® which is meant to be a "super-powerful complex which activates cells to rejuvenate your skin, which goes beyond traditional anti-ageing approach". Its "advanced energy-recycling technology eradicates blocking toxins and radically improves the metabolic cycle to clear a pathway for effective delivery of bio active boosters creating a cycle of a self-maintained rejuvenation"

It sounds impressive, but to be honest what made me buy the products was not the anti ageing blurbs but the product formulations which are completely free of Parabens, SLS, Petro-chemicals, synthetic colours and fragrances.

Beauty expert have an offer on whereby if you spend £80 on NuBo you get a free full sized Hydrating Lipids Complex (worth £50) . A good offer, so I bought the Softening Cleansing Mousse (£30) and Vitamin C 12% Concentrate (£60) to qualify.

The Softening Cleansing Mousse is meant to be a calming and refreshing foam cleanser suitable for dry and sensitive skin (which I have).
Given how quickly the foam dissipated, I was very surprised by how well this removed my makeup (its not for eye makeup), I initially thought it would take off nothing as it seemed I was using such a little amount of product however I used a toner afterwards and got nothing. Very impressive.
My skin was not left irritated and I didn't receive any breakouts. Unfortunately the longer I used this the dryer my skin became. It was obvious after the first few days but I carried on as I loved the ease and efficiently with which it removed my makeup. However it was all too evident that the dryness was affecting my application of foundation and sure enough when I went onto another cleanser the dryness ceased. Such a shame.

The Vitamin C 12% Concentrate is an intensive brightening treatment with antioxidants to protect skin from free radical damage.
Its meant to "Neutralises free radicals caused by UVA and UVB rays, pollution and stress. Promotes an even skintone by reducing the appearance of pigmentation. Helps prevent age spots and helps to revive skintone. Assists the repair of sun damaged skin.Prevents signs of premature ageing".
As its a concentrated formula (15ml), you only need to use about 2 or 3 drops twice a week. Although its not given me any adverse effects I can't see any improvement after well over a month of use, I'm not sure if this is one of those long term products, but for the price I think I want to see some sort of improvement by now.

The Hydrating Lipids Complex is a concentrated serum (15ml) you only need a few drops for the whole face.
It contains a "complex blend of plant-derived lipids to intensively moisturise skin. Perfect for delicate and dry skin".
The formula feels quite silky, siliconey. There is no greasiness to it and it sinks in quickly. I do think it helps with dryness and dehydration, I use it under my normal moisturiser when my skin is feeling dryer than normal.

Overall I think this is quite an interesting line, the product formulations seem quite clean and the "activeness" of the products and constant notion of rejuvenation make them seem more advanced. I will re buy the Hydrating Lipids Complex and may have a look at the other products in their range.