Hits and Misses from Burberry, NUDESTIX, Paul & Joe and Kevyn Aucoin

I've had a few disappointing acquisitions lately, as much fun as it is to share the must buys I also think its worth showing the products which don't quite hit the mark.

First up its the Kevyn Aucoin Creamy Glow Duo in shade #2 Pravella/Janelle (£19). It contains a cool pink and dusty peach. The pigment is quite flexible, you can apply as a bold colour or sheered out.
Swatched below and then on the right both shades combined,

Blended out swatches,

Its packaged the same as the eyeshadow duos so its very streamlined, though I have seen reviews whereby the product was felt to be on the small size.

It applies a bit patchy with a faint bit of tackiness to the touch. My gripe with this is the lastability, as it wears off in patches. I fully understand that if you touch your skin whilst wearing cream products then it will transfer off, but this does it when no contact is made, its very odd but without fail every time I wear this I end up with a very visible patch where its completely disappeared.

 

Next we have the NUDESTIX Lip & Cheek Pencil in shade Love (£24). I didn't pay attention to the brand when it came out as it seemed aimed at the younger, flawless crowd, however Spacenk had a gift with purchase promotion a while back, so I thought I'd give it a go.

 

I like the colour which is a subtle warm pink.

 

What I don't like is that on the lips it shows up any dryness and on the cheek wear time is poor and it feels unpleasantly tacky.

 

 

Next its Burberry Sheer Luminous Concealer in shade #03, Rosy Beige (£26). I've had this before in shade #01 Light Beige and really liked the finish but it wasn't quite enough coverage for my dark circles. I stumbled across a video with Burberry's makeup artist and she said they used shade #03 on every skintone to cancel out circles due to its peachy tone.

Swatched below on the left with Bobbi Brown corrector in light peach on the right, you can see how much more yellow the base is in the BB.

 

Whilst this has a non drying creamy texture and a skin like finish, the actual colour is too peach and too dark and doesn't so much conceal darkness but add a new colour to the mix. This is not so much a miss as I think its a good product, just not for my skintone. 

 

 

To end on a good note we have the Paul & Joe trio in #05 Cherry Blossom (£23 for the trio and £7 for the case).

 

It contains a multi coloured sparkle pink, shimmery golden brown and a satin finish plummy brown.

 

Pigment is excellent and the shades are soft, creamy and apply/blend really well, and there is of course the cute limited edition packaging.

 

 

I bought the Kevyn Aucoin from uk.spacenk.com (NUDESTIX was a gift with purchase) the Paul & Joe from Harrods and the Burberry from johnlewis.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

Kevyn Aucoin: The Eye Shadow Duo

The Kevyn Aucoin brand released new eyeshadows duos near the end of last year. Though I thought they looked interesting, I have only have one palette from the brand, which whilst nice, did not wow me and as I saw very little coverage of the new duos I quickly forgot about them.

The packaging is very streamlined/minimal, and has the signature gold edged push-latch compact. The lid contains a mirror and I am pleased it does not come with the normal throw away applicators that most brands love to include, as I find them a waste of space.

This duo, which is numbered #201(£34), contains a very smoky silver/grey and burgundy/plum, both have a subtle shimmer. These are not normally the colours I go for as this was a present from my husband who choose this himself, but they do create a quick and foolproof smoky eye.

The shadows feel very soft and are highly pigmented, they go on very smoothly and blend nicely together. With an eye base I get no creasing nor colour fade.

Overall thumbs up and I will be perusing the other shades on offer.

My husband bought me this from Space NK

Kevyn Aucoin: The Sensual Skin Tinted Balm

The Kevyn Aucoin brand has recently brought out a Sensual Skin Tinted Balm. The packaging is extremely sleek, its very streamlined and smooth, with the signature black and red finish.

 

The paraben and oil free formula contains botanical rice extract and is rich in peptides, its meant to increase cell longevity and induce a delay in ageing.

It comes in only 4 shades, I bought the lightest SB01 (£36) and though its a bit darker than my natural colour, it is wearable and doesn't have an overly yellow nor pink tone, though it does lean warm.

Swatched below, KA on the left and MAC face & body N1 on the right

 

It has a creamy consistency but manages to feel light weight. It glides onto the skin and blends in extremely well, though I do see potential for this to highlight dry areas. It gives light coverage (a step more than a typical tinted moisturiser) yet evens out the skin well. I really love the finish of this, it just looks very natural, its not dewy as such but looks very fresh.

This was absolutely going to be a re-buy for me but unfortunately something in it does not agree with my skin and I get a lot of spots every time I wear this (I am extremely break out prone so this might not be an issue for you).

 

I think if acne is not a problem for you and you have normal/combination/slightly dry skin and want a light coverage with a natural your skin but better finish this could be what you are looking for.

I bought this from spacenk.com

Kevyn Aucoin Sensual Skin Enhancer

I think the sensual skin enhancer is considered by many to be the star of the Kevyn Aucoin range, indeed it seems to have reached a cult status in the beauty world.

Deeply concentrated and with a rich creamy texture, it can be used for concealer or sheered out with a moisturiser as a foundation. The finish is neither dewy nor completely matte, the aim being for it to replicate a natural skin finish. I know I bought this from Harvey Nichols when KA was first briefly in the UK, but I think that was back around 2003 and to be honest I can't remember what my thoughts were on the product, however I'm sure I didn't get the right shade, so on the assumption that I would have gone for the lightest colour, this time I went for shade SX2 (£36).

Its yellow toned, so slightly at odds with my cool tones, however the lightness is a match for my skin. Unfortunately its a tad too light for under my eyes.
Swatches L-R: Vapour Illusionist 010, KA SX2, Le Metier De Beaute 01

This gives extremely good coverage and is long lasting. Though due to the creamy texture, its very prone to creasing.
Unfortunately this is not for me. It looks extremely dry on the skin (my skin type is dry/sensitive and prone to an oily breakthrough on t-zone). If your a regular reader of my blog you may recall a post when I had to have an emergency Benefit makeover to re-do my base, and that was due to me using this concealer as a base on a day when my skin was very dry. Unfortunately even when my skin is in its normal state, this just looks patchy, dry and sinks into pores.
I can however use this is as an undereye concealer, whilst the dryness still remains a problem, there is no denying that the coverage is very good.
Pictured below with no concealer and then with, I've not applied powder and you can see it has creased.

I can see why this product is loved by many, but I think you need a certain type of skin/texture for this to work and clearly I don't have it. So for me, due to the performance of the product its only use is as an undereye concealer, however the colour is not right and I can't say that I feel the need to put down another £36 to get the correct match, its good but not that good.

Ingredients:


I bought this from spacenk.com

Kevyn Aucoin Celestial Powder in Candlelight and Brushes

I have read a lot of rave reviews for the Celestial Powder in Candlelight (£30) and I’m pleased to say it lives up to the claims. It’s a champagne highlighter, I find it quite pigmented so apply it sparingly. Where it differs from the majority of highlighters is the finish is one of a glow/illuminator rather than full on glitter/shimmer. The powder feels very smooth and this lasts till the end of the day.

I also bought the Super Soft Buff Powder Brush (£34) and the Small Eyeshadow Flat Tipped Brush (£20).
The Super Soft Buff Powder Brush is a very densely packed flat end brush. I tried using this for blush but it picks up way too much colour, instead I have found this great for applying liquid foundation when you want a full coverage look, it blends it in perfectly without any streakiness and due to its size its super quick. Heres a close up of the head,
The Small Eyeshadow Flat Tipped Brush has a slightly tapered head and again is quite densely packed. I think its best used when you want to apply a more pigmented layer to the crease. I find its better for applying colour rather than blending. Overall both brushes are not the softest I have but nor are they scratchy, the buff one does feel quite firm on the skin though. The brushes also do not shed at all. Of the two I prefer the Super Soft Buff Powder as I don’t have another brush like it and it gives an almost flawless finish.

I buy all my Kevyn Aucoin from misebeauty (they do ship international) and I have always been pleased with the service I have received from them.

http://www.misebeauty.com/

Kevyn Aucoin Essential Palette and Expert Lip Tint

Kevin Aucoin was briefly available in the UK quite a while back, then it was pulled, so I was very pleased to notice that http://www.misebeauty.com/ stocked the brand.
I’ve heard mostly good things about the brand so picked up the Essential Eyeshadow Set-Palette #2 (£40) and the Expert Lip Tint in Leaharia (£17)

The palette contains a charcoal-black, shimmery lavender/silver taupe, sheer shimmery tan/beige, frosty white, and a sheer shimmery beige/champagne

The shades blend nicely but I do need to wear a base to prevent colour fade. Its not my favourite eye shadow brand and the colours don’t wow me but it’s a great palette for a easy neutral or smokey eye look.

For something described as a tint I would say the Expert Lip Tint is rather pigmented. Leaharia is a classic pinky brown but leans more to the brown side and I’d say is neutral to cool. It’s not drying and has a nice smooth texture, it is scented.
I’m not sure what is going on with the KA brand as it seems to be pulling out of the stores in America and there is talk that they are going to start selling through other channels? I’m not sure if this is good news or not if you are a KA fan.
I bought some more things, which I’ll post about soon; service from misebeauty was again faultless, super quick delivery and lots of nice samples.