Laura Mercier Cinema Noir Collection: Mystere duo

The Mystere duo (£18.50) from the fall Cinema Noir collection immediately caught my eye. Its a cool toned duo featuring a matte clay taupe and a deep shimmery navy blue.

(I took my pictures near an open window hence the rain droplets)
The colours are beautifully saturated and create a smoky and sultry look. They feel quite smooth and have great pigment and very good wear.

Unfortunately I have a major problem with these and that is how they apply; its patchy and looks dry. I find trying to blend these near impossible and it just looks a bit messy. I've tried different primers and using none and still I get the same result.
The below picture is the best I can get using all my blending might.

A beautiful colour pairing let down by a sub par formula, you can call me disappointed...very...

I bought this from John Lewis

BM Beauty Dewy Perfection Finishing Powder & Eye Shadow Brush

I was reordering my mineral foundation from BM Beauty and would you believe it some other items jumped in my basket!


For those new to BM beauty they are a UK company that offers mineral makeup. They are approved by BUAV and the products are suitable for Vegans. The products are free from bismuth oxychloride, parabens, nano particles and synthetic dyes and fragrances.

The Finishing Powder comes in one shade, called Dewy Perfection (£8). Though its a slightly peachy champagne, once on the skin it only imparts a whisper of colour.

It gives a very subtle dewy sheen to the skin without looking frosty,sparkly or shiny. It applies very well and does not feel heavy like a lot of mineral makeup can.

The brand has a concise range of seven brushes (all synthetic). The Eyeshadow Brush (£8)  is more of a crease brush in terms of its oval shape and length.

Its reasonable dense but does not feel too firm, it picks up product well and deposits and blends very nicely. Given the low price I am really impressed with this.

 As I spent a certain amount I qualified for some samples. The blusher in Velvet Dawn is a slightly dusty warm pink with very slight golden shimmer.

I often find loose mineral blushers can be overly pigmented, unblendable and a shimmery mess, so I was very surprised just how workable this was on the skin. Its easy to not over do the colour, it blends in very well with extremely good wear time.
The other sample I got was a eyeshadow called Looking Glass.

Its a matte white that does not look chalky nor dry and it adheres well to the lid and has good colour payoff.

Swatches L-R: Finishing Powder, blusher,eyeshadow

I've not been a fan of the majority of mineral makeup brands on the market but BM beauty is undoubtedly a solid brand, and one that I hope will expand its range as it certainly has a lot to offer.

 I bought these from bmbeauty.com ( the samples I qualified for as I spent over £40)

Rouge Bunny Rouge Original Skin Blush:Orpheline

Orpheline (£25) is a departure from my normal blush shades as I tend to go for more subtle peaches, pinks and beiges.

 

I rarely go for brighter toned blushers as my skin has a lot of discolouration and brighter tones tend to heighten it. Orpheline is one bright I will be keeping as it does not look ruddy on. Its a healthy strawberry pink that applies with a satin finish.

Swatched below: Two swipes on the left and one swipe blended in on the right

Swatched below with my other RBR blushers L-R:Orpheline,Delicata,Gracili,Starina

 One of the biggest attributes of RBR blushers is that the colours never apply patchy, they also have a beautiful smooth texture, great pigment and good wear time. RBR are easily one of my favourite brands for blush and I am very glad I have added Orpheline to my collection.

I bought this from zuneta.com

Beauty Spotlight Roundup 07/07/12

Love Chanel polish, but don’t want to spend the moolah? Jessika from polish insomniac shows you a new dupe for Chanel Paradoxal!

Get matchy-matchy with Prime Beauty and the new Benefit Ultra Plush Lip Glosses!

It is Giveaway Time on Pammy Blogs Beauty! Enter to win the RoC® MAX Resurfacing Cleanser and the RoC® RETINOL CORREXION® MAX Wrinkle Resurfacing System.

Edward Bess has added some new shades to his ultra slick lipstick line up, Visionary beauty checks out the shade that most of the neutral lip lovers will home in on, Lotus Bloom.

Modesty Brown takes part in a colour challenge and is surprised to discover that purple is the most purchased colour in her collection.

Lisamarie from Beauty Crazed tried to beat the heat by trying out products from Yves Saint Laurent fall - check out her swatches and see if they cool you down!


Perilously Pale shows us why the Chanel Lumiere d'Artifices Beiges Illuminating Powder with Shimmer from the Les Essentials de Chanel Fall/Autumn 2012 collection is not only a beautiful highlighter but also a fabulous subtle bronzer for those with fair skin.


London MakeUp Girl reviews the new Jo Malone Velvet Rose & Oud Cologne Intense. It is every bit as delicious as it sounds.

Have you ever wondered what your makeup has done for you? Beauty Info Zone has found the answer with Tarte.

The Pink Sith does not have a constipated face but she is putting Phillips Milk of Magnesia on her face to control oil. She's weird but she's shine free!


15 Minute Beauty Fanatic has some great tips for how to keep your hair looking great despite all of the time in the sun and at the beach!

Paula, from Older Girl Beauty, finally get to show us the NARS Fall 2012 "Undress Me" Multiple she first told us about during NYFW back in February.

Edward Bess Ultra Slick Lipstick: New Shade Lotus Bloom

Edward Bess has recently added new lipstick and gloss shades to the line up. I ordered Lotus Bloom (£24) which is described as a sheer peach pink.


On me I don't see any pink and I would describe it as a peach nude with a sheen finish (which prevents it looking flat).

The texture is creamy and has a quite a bit of slip, more so that other shades I have from the brand. It has good pigmentation and an average wear. Though it does feel moisturising it does highlight any dry bits so I think its better to exfoliate the lip area first.

The lipstick is very strongly scented (its described as a fig scent) and I do find that the scent lasts.
Ingredients:

Though not quite the colour I was expecting it is an undoubtedly pretty natural peachy nude that is surprisingly wearable (as its not too nude/pale and doesn't go orange).

(Just to note it started to rain when I was taking pictures so you may notice water droplets on the lipstick in some of the pictures)

I bought this from zuneta.com

Chanel Rouge Coco Shine Boy

Like the majority of the population I finally have Chanel Boy (£24).

As this was the one shade that was released earlier in some stores to showcase the new Coco shine lipstick formula in 2011, they must have thought it universal. In the tube it looks like a slightly mauve pink  with a hint of shimmer, it swatches slightly warmer on my skin but applies on the lips as a sheer slightly cool toned rosy pink with a glossy/shine finish.
I really like this, its very easy to wear and it won't compete with your other makeup.


I swatched it below with more cooler tones L-R: #52 Fetiche, #54 Boy, #72 Effrontée

With a light weight and hydrating formula, the Coco shines are very comfortable, wear time is poor though.

Ingredients

My brother bought me this from the world duty free store at Terminal 5, Heathrow airport.

The Organic Pharmacy Cellular Protection Sun Cream SPF50

I've been waiting for a sustained amount of sun before posting this, but if I hold off any longer it will be autumn, so here we go.....
I've been on the hunt for a replacement sunscreen since my beloved Everyday SPF15 from  Snowberry was no longer an option as the brand left the UK. Enter a great review from Danny of  Holistic Green  Beauty  for Organic Pharmacy and I had to try it.

The Cellular Protection Sun Cream SPF50 sunscreen (£33.95 for 100ml)  provides UVA and UVB protection with titanium dioxide and zinc oxide. An added bonus, depending on your view point, is that it contains no nano particles. From what I have read there is a bit of hoopla over nanoparticles as to whether they are safe and how much they’re absorbed into the skin, at any rate I guess I go for the "when in doubt leave it out" view.
Ingredients:


The texture is quite rich, however I don't find it that moisturising for my dry skin. Its best to apply a little at a time as it doesn't blend in that well and like the majority of sunscreens it does leave a tacky feel, which is not the most workable to apply makeup over. There are however many qualities to this product, I don't get a white residue, it doesn't irritate my sensitive skin and it provides a very high protection, it also contains a lot of skin benefiting ingredients such as antioxidants and hydrating oils.
Had I not tried Snowberry I would have re-bought this as its most definitely one of the better sunscreens out there, however what I loved about Snowberry is that it didn't apply/feel like your traditional sunscreen but instead like a moisturiser. Organic Pharmacy is a very good option, but for me its not a substitute for my Snowberry.

I bought this from theorganicpharmacy.com