Laura Mercier Moonlight collection: Crystal Beige

Although the focus of the Moonlight holiday collection from Laura Mercier is on the flower embossed Face Illuminator, it was one of the new Luster eyeshadows that caught my eye.
Crystal Beige (£18.50) is a shimmered warm rosy brown/bronze with a hint of copper.
As I have a cool toned complexion it encapsulates a lot of what I avoid, but I can just about get away with it, though it does have a slightly maroon/red cast against my cool skin.
Whilst I don't doubt this would be better suited to those who can wear warm shades, its nice to try something a bit different, I just need to be careful how I wear it.
Quality wise, the pigmentation is very good and it feels smooth and blends well, with an eye base this lasts all day.

I bought this from John Lewis.

Trish McEvoy Portable Beauty Collection Romance

As the SPF 15 lipstick in shade Mulberry was not available on the Selfridges website I decided to console myself with this little beauty instead. The Portable Beauty romance collection (£60) is presented in a chic little red case complete with a bow.
It has a fitted mirror and a click shut feature. Inside you get a portable beauty card, two tiny brushes, an instant eye lift under eye brightener and beauty booster lip gloss (both deluxe travel size).

Beauty Emergence Card Romance: A slimline mirrored compact, measuring roughly 3.4 inches by 2 inches .
It contains eyeshadows in Romance (frosty slightly silvered lilac), Shell (matte pinked cream), Antique Rose (matte dusty pink), Eye Definer Deep Aubergine (matte deep blackened purple).
When I initially swatched these the frostiness of the Romance shade and the pinkness of Antique Rose gave me hesitation. On the eyes, I really like these, Romance has a lively twinkle to it and though Antique Rose is indeed pink, it works surprising well against the coolness of Romance.
The card also contains the Bronzer Golden, I already have this in the full size, its a medium bronze with a golden glow and very subtle shimmer, the more I use the bronzer the more I like it and its become a staple product for me. I think its a good one for those who are cool toned and fair, as its not too dark, not too warm and doesn't go on with a red or orange tone.
Swatches of the eyeshadows and bronzer (please note I don't do heavy swatches as I try to swatch as per what I would put on, as in this case, just two soft swipes of each product)

Instant Eye Lift under–eye brightener: This comes with a doe foot applicator. Its a matte peachy beige nude shade. It doesn't emphasis lines, nor does it go on cakey. It does give a subtle brightening effect, I like this but think I need something a bit more heavy duty.
Beauty Booster Lip Gloss SPF 15 Sexy Petal. This is a very sheer pink (you just get a whisper of colour) that contains micro glitter.
It has quite a thick texture and does feel quite balm like, yet it is a bit tacky/sticky which I am not a fan of, though to be fair there are only a handful of brand's glosses I like.
Swatches of the lip gloss and instant eye lift

Dual Ended Eye Brush Brush 50 Angled Eye Lining/Brush 23 Angled Crease Contour and Brush 48 Blending.
The #48 brush feels soft and is quite versatile, I can use it for Blush, bronzer, highlighter and precise application of loose powder. I was very surprised how well this worked with bronzer as I was assuming that due to its small size I'd just got a splodge of concentrated colour on my face but it applies a sheer application of colour and blends in the edges really well. The #50 brush has a thinner brush head compared to a MAC 266, and is slightly stiffer (though not uncomfortable) as a result of this its much more precise. The 23 has a surprisingly large brush head so I was pleased that it worked nicely, it picks up quite a bit of colour but deposits its evenly, I'd say it gives a more natural crease definition that you don't have to worry about blending.

I think they have chosen the colours really well, its touted as being universally flattering and I do think that a fair assertion, I think this would be a safe present option (though you'd probably want to keep it for yourself). The stand out for me has to be the beauty emergency card as I really like the look it creates, its soft, natural, defined with a little bit of twinkle.

Ingredients:

I bought this from Selfridges

Beauty Spotlight Team Mystery Makeup Bag

It's time to peek into another Beauty Spotlight Team member's makeup bag, and this week Zuzu's Petals will show just how much she can squeeze into a tiny bag. What minimalist essentials might be hiding inside?

Pai Geranium & Thistle Skin Cream & Echium Rejuvenating Eye Cream

Pai skin care is a range designed for those with sensitive and allergy prone skin, the products are certified organic by the Soil Association

Geranium & Thistle Combination Skin Cream (£24 for 30ml):
Although I have dry skin, my skin doesn't always respond well to heavy creams as I am very acne prone/sensitive. This cream is a lightweight to medium lotion consistency and sinks into my skin quickly, it does however provide just enough moisturisation, so this cream has managed to provide the perfect balance.Though I think with this cold weather I'll need to switch to one of my more moisturising creams, I'll certainly be able to use this for the majority of the year.
It makes a good makeup base, feels soothing and does not give me any irritation or break outs.
Ingredients:


Pai Echium Anti-Aging Organic Eye Cream (£24 for 10ml):
This is the most soothing eye cream I have ever tried. I had been trying to find a cheaper eye makeup remover and the result is that I got a lot of eye irritation, dryness and the skin near the sides of my eye had two lines which were actually beginning to crack (yikes), I'd never had this level of eye irritation before but this Pai was my hero product, I could just put it directly on and it felt so soothing and with continuous use the irritation has gone.
For me this moisturises extremely well without giving me those little bumps (which I am extremely prone to) and has made my under eye area look less red/sore.

Ingredients:

I'm extremely pleased with both products, I have since re-bought the eye cream and will re -buy the moisturiser when I run out. I think if you want a no frills but good honest skincare range that does what it says then Pai is worth a try

I bought these from http://www.paiskincare.com/

Going Gluten Free: The Result

Over a month ago I made the decision to go gluten free (food and skincare) in a bid to see if it would help with my skin.
I've had acne for years, through taking medication its under control yet my skin remains highly sensitive and break out prone. However, going gluten free was not an attempt to see if it would have an effect on my acne, what I wanted to see if it helped with the "unexplained" breakouts I would get. These are not the same as my normal acne, its more of a skin irritation, small little red lumps appear coupled with dryness/itching, every time I get these breaks outs I am unable to link them with a product so that's why I wondered if it was a reaction to certain foods.

First of all I should mention that for at least the first two weeks I felt extremely irritable, had dizzy spells and trouble sleeping. Looking online I read that there was side effects and people spoke of withdrawal. Some say gluten produces substances that have an opiate (narcotic) effect. The severity of effect varies but its worth noting as its not something I had anticipated.

Going gluten free has proved expensive and I have found a lot of the items inedible, I've not come across a gluten free cake/biscuit that I have liked (lets get our priorities right here). Lunch times are difficult, I take a sad little salad box into work with me and glare at people eating bread. Its also very restrictive on away days/work outings.

I was hoping to be able to tell you that I feel less tired, more healthy and have lost weight, sadly not, I have lost a meagre 2 pounds and still feel as tired as ever.
There are some positives, I have not had any heartburn nor any bloatedness.
I have not had any of the unexplained breakouts, though I'm not sure this can be attributed to gluten or its just a coincidence I've not had any for this duration.

I'm not completely sold on if this is right for me, I'm going to try this for another month just to see if the longer time will reap more tangible results but although ultimately I might not carry on being gluten free, I will definitely be reducing my gluten intake.

If you have managed to read right to the end here's this little fellow for randomness sake and because I couldn't bring myself to do a post without a photo.

Rouge Bunny Rouge Smithereens of Stars Eye Gloss

You'll be forgiven for not being being familiar with the RBR eye gloss, although they have featured in some of the beautiful RBR seasonal looks, rarely have I seen them mentioned elsewhere.
I'd never thought I'd have a use for such a product, an eye gloss would seem to suggest a sticky texture and creasing, I couldn't have been more wrong....
The gloss is wax free and water based and has a high gloss/wet look finish. I have the shade Angel's Play (£27), which is clear in colour, it comes in a tube with a brush applicator.

Swatches below to show the change with the gloss added L-R: Fire-Tailed Sunbird shadow with gloss added, Fire-Tailed Sunbird on its own , eye gloss on its own, Wishing for Wings loose pigment on its own, Wishing for Wings loose pigment with gloss added.
Below I have used the gloss mixed with RBR shadows and loose pigments. I've not applied it as neatly as I should, nor have blended as much as normal, but I was hoping to show the effect of applying a bit of colour and a larger quantity of gloss.
The shadows I used where L-R: Spun From Sunny Seawater loose pigment, Eaten All The Cherries loose pigment, Abyssinian Catbird shadow, Bejewelled Skylark shadow and Long-lasting Eye Pencil Lola to line.


This gloss melds the shadows together, the colours take on a different hue, the finish has that extra gleam. It doesn't feel sticky on the skin and I don't get any creasing used over an eye base, I also don't find the mixture of gloss with powder to have an adverse effect on the shadow smoothness and blendability. Its also nice used on eyebrows mixed in with your normal brow product as it locks the colour on and makes it look more sleek and its also pretty used under the brow bone to give that touch of shine/dewiness.

Disclosure: I was sent the eye gloss and Long-lasting Eye Pencil for free (I've recently reviewed the pencil here).

The other Items I bought from Zuneta.com

Guerlain Les Bois de Rose

Les Bois de Rose (£37) was a colour combination I had completely disregarded until I swatched it. I'm someone who has the fear of that sickly pink eye look, so I usually avoid shadows in the pink/rose family.
The palette contains a satin finish taupe with a slight mauve tone, frosty white pink, rich slightly shimmered plum chocolate and a cool rose with subtle micro glitter.
The shadows are quite smooth, easy to blend and have great pigmentation.
Though I use the rose shade in moderation and just a dash of the highlighter shade, the taupe and chocolate are what made me buy this palette.
One of the best attributes of Guerlain shadows is how easily they blend with each other and that it what makes the rose and highlighter shade work as the colours really layer and coordinate well to create a soft smokey mauve look (not a pink eye in sight).

I bought this from Debenhams