Bobbi Brown Tortoise Shell Collection: Rich Lip Colour Soft Nude

When I picked up the Sand palette I also got one of the new lip colours from the collection.
There are two new limited edition Rich Lip Colour SPF 12 lipsticks. I picked up Soft Nude (£18) as the other option Twig, looked extremely brown.
Soft Nude is a neutral pinky brown nude, it pulls slightly too brown on me to prevent it being a favourite.
This is my second Rich Lip Colour, it has the same great pigmentation and long lasting wear however I find it feels dryer compared to my other one.
Ingredients:

I was hoping to have a look at the brush set that came out with the collection, however was told it was only being sold in Selfridges stores, at any rate I am very pleased with the palette, probably could have skipped the lipstick, but its a nice safe collection and I think worth a look.

I bought this from John Lewis

Beauty Spotlight Roundup 09/07/2011

The last two weeks have brought some makeup excitement to many of our Spotlight Team. From travel to California to shopping in the US and UK, we have wonderful articles to share with you.
A new lipstick from Chanel? Lisamarie from Beauty Crazed knows you are dying to see swatches so here you go already!

Beauty Info Zone went to California for shopping and the IMATS show. Find out why their suitcases were overweight on the way back home.

Zuzu's Petals at Everyday Beauty had a blast debating the merits of the nude makeup invasion with fellow readers.

Over at Lipstick Musings, Shannon's brown eyes turn blue with Lancome's Eye Brightening All-In-One 5 Shadow and Liner Palette #401, Midnight Rush. Will you fall in love, too?

Now the UK is finally getting some Summer,London Makeup Girl had a look at the Sue Devitt Beausoleil Summer 2011 collection.

This week Jeanie at Makeup Merriment has once again fallen under the spell of the Rouge Bunny Rouge cosmetics line. This time she's enchanted by a gorgeous eye color named Kevin Aucoin's liquid lipstick in Aquarouge to be precise.

Paula, from Older Girl Beauty tells us how she refreshed her hair color, and how we can all refresh ourselves this summer, with the help of Natural Instincts.

Its time for monthly favorites! Find out what made Pammy Blogs Beauty's list of Star Products for the month of June.

Chanel Peridot Le Vernis Nail Colour from the Fall 2011 Illusions d'Ombres de Chanel Collection has Perilously Pale contemplating buying her first ever "backup".

Styrch shows what a dramatic difference weight loss can make in just YOUR FACE on Pretty in Dayton. (People saying she looks like a teenager again).

See what Vincent Longo Pearl X eye shadows and a Chameleon have in common over at Prime Beauty!

Described at the “new classics” Visionary Beauty has a look at the Sand eye palette from the Bobbi Brown Tortoise Shell Collection.

SOME OF THIS WEEK'S GIVEAWAYS:

Would you like to win one of Tarte Cosmetics fantastic new Amazonian Clay Blushes and a fabulous natural mascara? Are you a luxury eye shadow and brush lover who missed out on the wonderful Rock and Republic cosmetic line? Makeup Merriment has two giveaways that are ending soon- have you entered?

Pammy Blogs Beauty is giving away Clinical Organics "Try Me" Packs to two lucky winners! Each prize is worth $352! Visit Pammy Blogs Beauty for more details and to enter!

Prime Beauty has a Perricone Cold Plasma for one lucky winner. Enter by July 14th.

Perilously Pale is giving away some Rouge Bunny Rouge to her followers! Contest ends July 15th.

A few picks from MAC Semi Precious & Fashion Flower

A pattern is emerging with the first week of every month, my lunch break on that first Thursday has become a race to how quickly I can get over to the MAC store, peruse new items and then inevitably buy a few things. So lets begin...

Gem of Roses is a medium slightly warm, almost strawberry, pink.
One of a Kind is a rosy/brown, berry.
Both have semi sheer pigment but are buidable and they have a lustre finish, both cost £13.50 each.



After seeing posts online, the Mineralize Blush in Pressed Amber (£18) intrigued me, just how wearable could this unashamedly brown blush be?

The colour is different to what I would normally wear. Its a warmed brown/beige with a satin finish. As long as I apply this very lightly it works, giving definition and warmth to the skin.
Ultimately I do think this is probably best suited for those NC/NW 25 or above as if I apply a smidge too much it can have that dirty look about it.
The texture is smooth and pigment is very good, I’d heard some negatives about its wear time but this lasts all day on me, but then I do have dry skin.
Ingredients:

I’d been looking for another all over eye brush similar to my Chanel #17 for a while now and the #235 Split Fibre All Over Eye Brush (£21) seemed very similar.
If you already have the Chanel#17 and unlike me don’t like to have multiple types of the same/similar brush then you can probably give this a miss as they really are close.
Picture below:MAC227, MAC 235, Chanel 17
Picture below MAC 235, Chanel 17
The brush is soft but also had a bit of firmness to allow for a pigmented application of colour. Although the split idea of the brushes is an interesting concept I do wonder how many people will actually use them as intended.

From Fashion Flower I only picked up the beauty powder in Light Sunshine (£20.50).
Its a very pale whitened pink. Although it does contain very small micro glitter I do not notice any once applied. Its has quite a smooth texture and lasts well. The effect is a very subtle glow and it works well on my pale complexion as a highlighter.
Swatches of Light Sunshine and Pressed Amber:
Ingredients of beauty powder:

I pleased with everything, which is quite an accomplishment given the amount of fails I’ve had with MAC.

I bought all these from a MAC store.

Yves Saint Laurent Ombre Solo & Rouge Pur Couture lipstick

I happened to walked past the YSL counter and then stopped. There was a sign saying “gift with purchase”, one of the most deadly sentences ever. The gift was a pink celebration palette which was part of the 2011 spring collection. All I needed was to buy two items. Simple, I picked up a Ombre Solo Eyeshadow and a Rouge Pur Couture lipstick.
My original glee that I had this pretty pink highlighter in my possession was cut short after I applied it. Its chocked full of micro glitter and for me this makes it unwearable on any part of my face other than the eyes.The texture is quite smooth and not too powdery, the colour is a sheer whitened pink and it does work well as an under brow highlighter, albeit a very sparkly one.
Ingredients:

I’d previously bought a few of the older shadow singles and was disappointed with their performance, so was pleased to hear that they had been reformulated. I'd heard great reviews of how pigmented they now were, with a really smooth application and great blendability.
Now unless the shade I got, #2 Cashmere Brown (£20), is the exception, I am not seeing the majority of these improvements. The good things about the shadow is that it is pigmented and lasts extremely well and the cool toned brown/taupe with sliver micro glitter works well with my blue eyes.
Now onto the bad, due to the micro glitter I do not find it smooth, it feels powdery, a bit rough and drying. I find it difficult to blend and it applies a bit patchy, I also get glitter fall out. I am disappointed with this and do not think the quality represents the brands image or pricing.
Picture below: #2 Cashmere Brown on lid, pink celebration palette as highlighter.

So far and its not going to well, but luckily the Rouge Pur Couture lipstick stopped this from being a total disaster. This is only my second Rouge Pur Couture and I hadn’t planned to buy anymore, but Gift with purchases do make you forget all that you know. However on this occasion I am really glad I bought this.
Although they are not my favourite formula, as I do not find them moisturising enough, they have good pigment, feel smooth and last really well. The shade I bought is newly released and part of the summer collection, #25 Taupe Raphael (£22.50).
This could pretty much be my signature colour, its a satin finish natural pinky brown with a touch of mauve.
Swatches:

I bought the shadow and lipstick from John Lewis, the pink celebration palette was the gift with purchase, the promotion is still running although I am not sure of the end date.

Bobbi Brown Tortoise Shell Collection: Sand Eye Palette

The Focal point of the Tortoise Shell Collection is the two eyeshadow palettes, each compact has four shades on the top layer and then a slide out drawer underneath with the four other shades. The palettes are plastic and the drawer felt more flimsy than I was expecting. It seems the Bronze option is being marketed for those who are warmer and darker toned and the Sand option for those cool and lighter toned.
I bought the Sand option (£48).
The shades are top layer to base layer working clockwise: Ivory (matte sheer white), Hot Stone (matte cool medium brown), Desert Sand (very shimmery warm golden beige), Terracotta (matte sheer peach), Antique Rose (matte sheer warm pink), Black Chocolate (matte very dark brown/black), Gold Bar ( very sheer gold sparkle) and Sandy Rose (shimmery taupe).
Top layer
Base layer
I’m not normally keen on BB mattes but the ones in this seem smoother and blend better. I also have a problem with BB shades turning on me, taking on a yellow or orange tone, apart from Desert Sand which goes on even warmer on my eyes, I’m glad to say that all the other colours went on as swatched. Overall this is not a pigment heavy palette and the look is warm and natural. The stand out shade for me has to be the beautiful Sandy Rose.
Swatches L-R:Ivory, Hot Stone, Desert Sand, Terracotta, Antique Rose, Black Chocolate, Gold Bar and Sandy Rose.

In terms of quality, the shadows blend nicely although I would say I get a bit of colour fade with them. Overall for something that I was somewhat apprehensive about this has turned out to be a nice surprise, its just very easy to wear and great for a no fuss look.
Here is a lipstick next to the palette to show the size.
Eye shadow Ingredients:

I bought this from John Lewis

Rouge Bunny Rouge Long-lasting Cream Eyeshadow Silk Aether: Batiste Grayling

Batiste Grayling is my fourth Rouge Bunny Rouge Cream Eyeshadow. Beautiful packaged as all RBR products.
I really appreciate the formula when I am running low on time and just need something that is effortless yet looks good. They do not feel heavy or drying, they blend easily, the colours are buildable and I find them long lasting.
Batiste Grayling (£26) is a medium toned cool grey with a subtle glow, it doesn’t have the blue undertone which I find a lot of greys do.
In the look below I used another RBR cream shadow, Brocade Skipper all over, Batiste Grayling on the lid and RBR Eye Khol in Vera to line.
Ingredients:

I bought this from zuneta.com (they ship worldwide)

Burberry Lip Mist No.9 Feather Pink

Packaged the same as their lip covers, the lip mists are Burberry's new sheerer formula. I’d say the lip mist feels lighter and less creamy that the lip covers, however it feels more moisturising. It feels and applies smooth and wear is average.
Feather pink (£23) is a delicate carnation pink, I’d say the pigment is medium rather than sheer. The finish is a dewy glow.
Even though I don't tend to get on with straight up pinks, I find this extremely pretty and easy to wear. I prefer this formula to the lip covers and will be picking up some more.

Check out this great review from naturalnchicmakeup, which is extremely helpful for those of us who order sight unseen

http://naturalnchicmakeup.blogspot.com/2011/06/burberry-lip-mist-natural-sheer.html

Here are the ingredients, this lipstick is scented but it doesn’t smell as strong as the lip covers I have.
I bought this from Harrods.com