Wednesday 29 February 2012

By Terry Terrybly Mascara

The By Terry Terrybly mascara is describes as a "new generation of growth booster mascara which visibly transforms the lashes day after day". The lash serum is enriched with Lumicoat® Care Technology (exclusive to By Terry). This technology is meant to help lashes grow faster, and Collagen and Hyaluronic Acid are meant to make the lashes stronger and more silky. The finish is meant to give a curved, volumised lash look.
For such high claims, you'll not be surprised that its accompanied by a high price tag of £31.
The colour I have is Moka Brown. Its a very dark cool brown, its a very deep colour and the pigment is really rich.
My results with this are rather good. It defines the lashes without clumping, lashes do not feel overly crunchy/brittle and it lengthens and lifts whilst giving a bit of thickness.
Perhaps most impressive is that I do think my lashes seem a bit longer. Its not a dramatic growth but its tangible enough for me to notice.
Overall, I really like the performance of this mascara and I do think there is something to be said about its growth booster technology.
Ingredients:
If I ignore the growth booster aspect of this mascara and judge it as a normal mascara, whilst it doesn't quite knock Hourglass Film Noir off the number one spot for me, its definitely a close second.

My mother bought me this from SpaceNK

Sunday 26 February 2012

Terre d'Oc Compact Eye Shadow & Organic Concealer

Terre d'Oc is a brand that offer a variety of products such as candles, home fragrance, body care, skincare and makeup.
At the moment we only seem to have the makeup available in the UK.
The range is organic (Ecocert certified) and the products are not tested on animals. The makeup seems to be mineral based and offers more natural looking colours.
From a very limited shade selection, I bought the Compact Eye Shadow in Gris Tighza (£13.50). The colour is a shimmery silver/grey.
It has good pigment and feels quite smooth. It blends well but requires a primer to get it to last and prevent colour fade.
Though this formula is not on par with my favourite shadows, I don't have anything negative to say about the shadow, given the price bracket.

Ingredients:

I also bought the Organic Concealer (£12).

It only comes in two shades, so I went for the lightest, #51 Pure Beige. The colour is suited for light toned skin and has a pink/peach tone.
The coverage is unfortunately very sheer and I didn't find it buildable. It has a reasonable amount of slip and I found it settled into lines under the eyes and did not adhere well to uneven or dry areas. Whilst this works for light concealment on the face, I find it gives an unflattering finish under the eye. As you can see in the picture below it accentuates the bumps on the skin and has applied patchy (I'm also wearing the Gris Tighza shadow in the picture).
Ingredients:

Swatches of both products below:

I can't say these products have made me want to explore the line anymore, but I do think that if you are looking to switch to a more natural/organic range, then the eyeshadows might be a good starting point.

I bought these from naturisimo.com

Wednesday 22 February 2012

SUQQU Creamy Glow Lipstick: #06 Umegasumi #07 Asasuou

I always have something Suqqu on my wish list so when I happened upon a sale on dollyleo.com which included some of the Creamy Glow Lipsticks (the sale is still on, though on other shades to the ones I feature here) I bought the two lightest looking shades.
#06 Umegasumi is a slightly warm peachy/pink/beige hybrid
# 07 Asasuou is a warmed rosewood
(These cost me £20.25 each but the normal price is £27 each)

The finish is that of a glow, however the formula seems different to the other two Creamy Glow Lipsticks I have (limited edition shades from Fall 2011). The pigment is much more intense, the formula overly creamy, with more slip, they do not have the balm like feel nor moisturising properties of my other shades.

Swatched below L-R: #06 Umegasumi, #07 Asasuou (this is just two swipes of each shade)
If anyone has both the limited shades and ones from the regular line up I'd be very interested to hear if you have felt this discrepancy, as I'm not sure if this is normal (I did get a GWP in my order of a Becca lip gloss, which had separated and was part oil, part hard/dried up so it did make me wonder as to the storage conditions of the products).
Whilst I like these shades, I much prefer the feel of my other Creamy Glow Lipsticks as I find them much more comfortable, so I can't help but feel disappointed with this purchase.

~~~UPDATE~~~
I have been reliably informed by The Driveller Kate that these are just the regular Creamy Glow formula, and the limited edition shades I have are the Creamy Glow Moist formula, thanks for clearing that up Kate.

Ingredients:
I bought these from dollyleo.com

Sunday 19 February 2012

Chanel Rouge Coco Shine Flirt

The Chanel spring collection brings us two new shades of Rouge Coco Shine, Candeur and Flirt. Though I was tempted by the very sheer pink, Candeur, I felt it might be too similar to Royallieu, so decided to give it a miss (for now).

Though Flirt (£23) looks quite bright, the Coco Shines always apply more sheer than they look in the tube.
On me, Flirt is a pink coral. Its a very pretty shade for spring which brightens the face without being overbearing.
I initially thought that it might be similar to Misia #45, however as you can see in the swatch below, Flirt is a lot more pink in tone.
L-R: Laura Mercier Sheer lipstick in Kissed Lips, Chanel Flirt, Chanel Misia
Coco shines have a a high shine/gloss finish. The texture is smooth, with a lightweight feel. They are reasonably hydrating but have poor lasting power (my one negative for them, though you'll note I can't seem to stop buying them).

Ingredients below.

I bought this from John Lewis

Saturday 18 February 2012

Beauty Spotlight Roundup 18/02/12


From beauty blunders to brushes to a cold weather face, The Beauty Spotlight Team has you covered this week!

Prime Beauty channels her glory years--the 70's, with Make For Ever's Spring Collection La Bohème. Remember your inner gypsy?

Styrch has been busy traveling for work, but she managed to review Project Runway alum Althea Harper's Fall/Winter 2012 this week - she's once again in fashion love!

There seems to be universal love for Real Techniques brushes that Pixiwoo created. Lisa from Beauty Info Zone totally agrees with that and shows you just how wonderful they are.

Lisamarie from Beauty Crazed checks out the new range of colours in the Clinique Almost Lipstick line to see if they really deserve the "your lips but better"claim!

Visionary beauty shows us her favourite cream shadow stick formula, By Terry Ombre Blackstar

Atlanta has totally skipped winter this year, so Shannon at Lipstick Musings has decided to start focusing on summer! She's starting with her new favorite sunscreen, Elta MD UV Physical SPF 41.

Modesty Brown shares her first foray into OCC Lip Tars and finally gets what all the fuss is about!

Zuzu's Petals came clean about some of her biggest beauty blunders. Come over to Everyday Beauty to see what they were, and share your mistakes!

The last couple of weeks in London have been (below) freezing! London Makeup Girl tells us what products she reaches for when the mercury goes below zero for her Cold Weather Face.

Pammy Blogs Beauty falls in love with L'Oreal's new 24 hour Infallible Eye Shadow. Has she found a new Holy Grail shadow?

Wednesday 15 February 2012

Nvey Eco Organic Erase Concealer

On first swiping my brush against the concealer I thought there must be a see through protective cover that I had not spotted. However, in actuality it just has a really hard texture, somewhat reminiscent of Laura Mericer's Secret Camouflage.

On application the texture warms up and applies well with no tugging. It doesn't settle into lines and lasts reasonable well as long as you powder over it. The coverage is sheer to medium and I find it buildable without going cakey. It does have a heavier feel to it, yet manages to look quite natural on the skin. The deal breaker for me is the shade.
Of the three shades on offer I bought the lightest, called Neutral (£16). Its far too light for me to use under the eyes and highlights the darkness rather than covers.
I can just get away with it on the rest on my face (I'm a shade lighter than a MAC NW15), but I bought this for my under eyes as I had a feeling that the ingredients would cause congestion for my acne prone skin (which it did when I tested it on other parts of my face).
Not only is this extremely light in colour but it seems devoid of an undertone.

Swatches L-R: Estee Lauder Double wear Light 01, YSL Touche Eclat shade 2, Vapour Illusionist 01, Nvey Eco Neutral
Though I might sound negative I do actually quite like this. I am using it under the eyes as more of a base. I follow with a normal concealer and blend together. The Nvey Eco provides a good smooth base for concealment and the colour works to brighten the area.
I think if you have dry, non acne prone skin then this might be worth considering for a face concealer, and though the colour is too light for me, I do think its has the formula of a good under eye concealer for those with dry skin that only have moderate darkness.
The hunt for the perfect under eye concealer continues.

Ingredients:

I bought this from naturisimo.com

Sunday 12 February 2012

Chanel Charme & Superstition Rouge Coco

I'd been ignoring any new releases of Rouge Coco for a while as the few that I have were a let down. Whilst the range has a great colour selection with good pigmentation, I found the formula drying and uncomfortable.
Just out of interest I swatched the ones from the spring collection and noticed that two of the shades seemed different as there was more slip and they felt more moisturising.

Charme Rouge Coco (£23) #40 is a shimmery cool toned pink with a semi sheer finish. Its such a flattering delicate shade of pink and has just a touch of brightness to it, its gives a very youthful look.
Superstition Rouge Coco (£23) #38 is a sheer shimmery golden beige nude with a bit of warmth. I have very few nude lip colours as the majority look rather unflattering on me. This shade manages to work as its not overly beige and the sheerness allows some of your natural lip colour to show through, which adds a bit of pink to the mix. I really like this shade and its one of the best "nudes" I have found.
Whilst I would still not say these are what I would class as hydrating/moisturising lipsticks, they are definitely not as drying as the other Rouge Coco's I have tried. Another difference is that the colour pay-off is more sheer, which works well for these two shades. If I was blind testing these I wouldn't have thought they were from the Rouge Coco range.
Here are the ingredients, as with all Chanel lipsticks these are scented.

Below is a quick eye look with the Éclosion quad I reviewed here

I bought all these from John Lewis

Saturday 11 February 2012

Beauty Spotlight Team Mystery Makeup Bag

Cruelty free beauty blogger, Jen, from My Beauty Bunny, shares her makeup bag with us. Let's see what her essentials are.

Wednesday 8 February 2012

By Terry Ombre Blackstar: Blond Opal

Whilst there are a lot of twist up, cream eyeshadow sticks on the market, I have not found any to measure up to the By Terry Ombre Blackstar.
The pigmentation is impressive and with a base they last all day with not a hint of fading.

Blond Opal (£27.50) is a shimmery, slightly warm creamy vanilla.
Swatched on the left, and blended on the right:

One of the major attributes of the Ombre Blackstar's for me is how well they work mixed with a powder shadow or layered (there is no balling up of product).
Pictured below is Rouge Bunny Rouge Abyssinian Catbird on the left and then on the right I have added some Blond Opal to it. Here is how they look once applied:
I also recommend these for more mature skin (my family member who wears these is in her 60's) as they give extremely good coverage and apply really smooth.

Ingredients:

I bought this from spacenk.co.uk

Sunday 5 February 2012

Chanel Éclosion Quad

The Éclosion quad (£37) looks rather warm in the palette so it was not something I was planning to buy, however an innocent swatch at the counter changed my mind. Though the colours lean warm I do think this is wearable for my cool toned skin.
It contains a peachy coral with a soft shimmer, very sheer ivory with gold micro glitter, deep plummy brown (slight red tone) and a sandy beige with soft shimmer.
I've never been a fan of the baked formula from Chanel, which I find very powdery/dry and usually accompanied by poor pigmentation. However, this quad is an improvement for all but one shade. They feel less dry, the colour is smoother and pigment is improved. The one "old style" shade is the ivory on the top right, its very sheer, very powdering and has a lot of fall out.
The colours coordinate very well and it gives a nice brightening look,with the plum adding definition. Yet, I must concede that though I like the overall look, the shades are not special in themselves as such, so I wouldn't rush out to get this if you have similar colours in your collection.

Ingredients:

I bought this from John Lewis

Wednesday 1 February 2012

Peaceful nights with NEOM and This Works

I crave sleep and yet instead of unwinding, nighttime seems to be the time for my mind to go through all the wrongs of the day and fears for the future. I have tried many products to aid relaxation and give peaceful restful sleep but they never quite work out, however I present to you this duo which has really helped me.
I got the NEOM Organic Tranquillity Pillow Mist as part of a gift with purchase and I think you can only buy it in the gift sets they do. Its scented with English lavender, sweet basil and jasmine. A few sprays on the pillow and I feel more relaxed, I have a deeper sleep and wake up feeling more rested.

This Works deep sleep balm (£12) is a pulse point balm. The Lavender oil calms and the Monoi and Rose oil soothe and hydrate dry skin .
I like this blend as it gives that relaxed slightly heavy feel.

Ingredients: HYDROGENATED VEGETABLE OIL, COCOS NUCIFERA (COCONUT) OIL , GARDENIA TAHITENSIS FLOWER EXTRACT , EUPHORBIA CERIFERA (CANDELLIA) WAX , THEOBROMA CACAO (COCOA) SEED BUTTER , ROSA CENTIFOLIA (ROSE) OIL, FRAGRANCE (PARFUM), LINALOOL, TOCOPHEROL, GERANIOL, LIMONENE

I'm very pleased by these in the fact that they actually work and are pleasant to use. NEOM is definitely the more heavier hitter of the two, whereas the This Works serves as more of a milder relaxant.

I bought the This Works balm from the biggreensmile.com and the NEOM was a gift with purchase if you spend more than £65 from naturisimo.com (the offer is still on the site as of today)
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