A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

Sink or swim?  I’m definitely sinking this week but I’m not going down without a fight!  Splish Splash feels rather apt and this beautiful cerulean blue is a dreamy shade.  Again, I had issues with thickness and pooling at the edges of the nail bed… thin coats are a must, but the polish redeems itself with a no-nonsense coverage that’s done in two coats.

All of the shades in this Summer Neons collection have benefited from a top coat to bring back the shine that these neon formulas often lack upon dry-down.  The shimmer gives this sea-blue a real kick and sparkle that does it complete justice in the sun.

China Glaze Splish Splash is available to buy instore from Sallys or online at BeautyBay.com, priced from £6.95

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I’m not really down with surfing jargon but I have totally watched Point Break as many times as the next girl, perhaps even more… sometimes in slow-motion too.

hang ten (verb American) – to ride a surfboard (at near-optimum speed or full stretch) with the toes of both feet hooked over the front. From the jargon of American surfers since the early 1960s. The phrase is sometimes used figuratively to mean something like ‘go full-tilt on a risky course.

China Glaze’s Hang Ten Toes might not make me think of Keanu Reeves or Patrick Swayze (rip) but it does make me think of long Summer days and sand between my toes.

Hang Ten Toes* is a superbly vibrant, hot pink with a silvery shimmer that gives the polish some blue flashes in the right light.  It’s a more wearable neon pink than some, though still impressively bright.  The formula was good, a little thick – as with the whole collection so far, it needs a small amount of care and attention to prevent pooling at the cuticles.  That’s the price CG have decided we should pay for impressive opacity in only two coats this time around.

China Glaze Hang Ten Toes is available to buy instore from Sallys or online at BeautyBay.com, priced from £6.95

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Orange You Hot? Well, you are indeed warmer than a slice of Kingsmill, toasted on the defrost setting.  I’m not really damning this polish with faint praise… it’s pretty bright, but to be honest… it’s still totally wearable for everyone.  I realise this is probably a good thing… but I do like my neons to just occassionally, set my retinas alight.

Orange You Hot is an orange, nay tangerine shimmer.  The shimmer adds a dose of brightness that can’t help but inject a bit of wotsit (cheetos)-flavoured sunshine into the proceedings.  Mr. L hates it… which means that I, of course, have to love it more than I really do just to piss him off.

China Glaze Orange You Hot is available to buy instore from Sallys or online at RadiantBabe-Beauty, priced from £6.75

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I love blue nails, yet rarely wear them myself.  I don’t know why that is… perhaps the fear of smurf fingers after removal (though I’m frequently advised that a smear of vaseline over your fingertips avoids the problem), or is it simply the primitive-ness of the hue? Perhaps I’m just scared it might make me look like Michael Howard’s lovechild (afterall, there is “something of the night” about me).

China Glaze Ride The Waves doesn’t really conjour up images of riding any kind of waves, it feels more traditionally maritime blue in a Royal Navy kinda way than all surfy n’ stuff.  Although most definitely a primary blue, the finish is all squishy and jelly-like to give some oomph to its character.  Unlike some of the other brights in the Summer Neons Collection, this one isn’t actually all that bright – though it does create an impact.  Application was fine but worth bearing in mind that it will prove to be a little sheer because of the jelly finish (the above photo shows three coats).

China Glaze Ride the Waves is available to buy instore from Sallys or online at RadiantBabe-Beauty, priced from £6.75

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I’ve been wearing a lot of kohl lately, reaching over my usual liquid liners in favour of a smudgier, more deconstructed look than normal.  This Summer, Clarins have released one of the most-beautiful-to-hold kohl liners that I’ve ever used.  The Clarins Kohl Kajal promises a soft, creamy texture that’s both deeply-pigmented and delivers a long-lasting formula.

I know that there are many different methods of applying kohl kajal and I tend to hold the larger-than-normal nib horizontally, running it along the lower waterline back and forth to build pigmentation before squeezing my eyes shut and hoping for a good amount of transfer to the top lashline!  I’ve never really been able to simultaneously run the nib along both upper and lower lashlines.  At least, not without my eyes watering.

The beauty of kohl is that its softness really delivers product into the base of the lashes, making them appear thicker and giving your eyes greater definition.  The Clarin’s version allows great manouverability with the application thanks to the cleverly designed packaging, you can tell I’m digging the packaging right?

It’s not all good stuff though as this doesn’t deliver enough pigmentation to make me delirious with joy.  Although quickly buildable, if you do the transfer method of application like me, you’ll be squinting like nobody’s business in an attempt to increase the depth of colour.  This does make it more suitable for work-appropriate looks but I do like a bit of inky blackness from my kohls!

The formula smudges easily (in a good way) but resists migration down my face admirably despite the warmer weekend weather.  I wouldn’t say that it ever fully “set” on my eyes (I was able to go back in and blend out further an hour later) but it remained on my waterline for a good few hours and between my lashes for the entire day.  It’s perhaps the perfect solution if you’re looking for a subtler version of the Indian kohl pencils.

Clarins Kohl Kajal is available to buy on counter and online at Clarins.com, priced at £15.00

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I thought I’d start swatching the China Glaze Summer Neons collection with my favourite (at least from just looking at the bottles): Pink Plumeria*.  It’s a bright coral which definitely leans more towards the pink side of the spectrum, making it an excellent choice for those of us who might usually struggle with the warmth in traditional coral shades.  Pink Plumeria, to my eye at least, carries a really subtle duochrome – I’m not sure if this is intended, or is simply a result of the golden shimmer packed within.

You can see on the nail tips, there’s definitely more golden tones than toward the base of the nail bed.  The formula on this one was ok… a bit prone to pooling, so definitely paint this one on in thinner strokes.  This is going to be such a lovely pedicure shade too, I’m feeling the love for this one!

China Glaze Pink Plumeria is available to buy instore from Sallys or online at RadiantBabe-Beauty, priced from £6.75

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…but most of the time, I take the photos – write the post, upload the photos, think “job done”, click preview and then wonder why the hell I bothered.  Today is one of those days.

I would blame the camera, the lighting, the mis-calibration of your monitor… but the truth is, my face absorbs colour.  Unless of course, I wear a shade from one of my Sleek palettes which seem to encourage my chemistry to saturate the colour to the max, turning me into some kind of deformed caricature of myself.

Grumbles aside, and seeing as this was intended to be a FOTD post, I’d better get on and list the products just as I would for any other FOTD post… who cares if you can’t actually see them right?

Face

Giorgio Armani Fluid Sheer #2
MAC Studio Fix Fluid Foundation in NW15
Kevyn Aucoin The Sensual Skin Enhancer in SX03

Cheeks

Trish McEvoy Golden Bronzer*

Eyes

Trish McEvoy Glaze Eyeshadow in Rose Quartz
Make Up For Ever Smoky Lash Mascara
Estee Lauder Intense Kajal Eye Crayon in 01 Dramatic Black*

Lips

Clinique Chubby Stick in Oversized Orange*

I’m liking the MAC Studio Fix more than I thought.  It’s a little drying and perhaps a touch too matte for me but I mix in some Fluid Sheer to give it a boost of luminescence and I’m quite enjoying it.  The Kevyn Aucoin SSE is starting to work for me now that I’m using it to conceal rather than as a fuller-coverage foundation – though I am still determined to work out how to get full-face coverage from it.  I received the Trish McEvoy Golden Bronzer last year and it’s a sheerer formula which is quite forgiving despite my pale skintone, it has a subtle sparkle and is quite buildable.  I’m not the best at applying/blending bronzer though… consider me still a bit of a bronzer noob.

The eyes were the most disappointing aspect of today’s look.  The Trish McEvoy shadow I bought for my palette, although a beautiful colour didn’t create much impact – which to be honest, is fair enough – it is intended to be a sheer wash of beautiful rosy taupe… nothing too dramatic, it’s my fault for not bothering with a contour.  I’m sitting on the fence when it comes to the MUFE Smoky Lash mascara, I know that many of you swear by it and although it’s certainly quite impressive at creating some drama, I feel that it’s a little prone to clumping and I don’t like the way it makes my lashes feel.  Finally, the Estee Lauder Intense Kajal Eye Crayon in 01 Dramatic Black seemed to look more ‘dramatic plum’ on my waterline… perhaps it’s those sleepless nights finally showing through!

The one component of today’s FOTD that I thought I’d be indifferent about (sheer lip colours – “meh”), I ended up really liking.  The Clinique Chubby Stick is such a nice formula to wear and for me to reach for it, well… perhaps I was feeling more ‘subtle’ than I was letting-on!  You won’t see a huge amount of colour with this range but the Oversized Orange gives my lips a nice polish and a hint of warmth.

What’s your favourite product that you’re sporting today?

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Do I feel a faint glow of warmth on the back of my neck?  Could it be that Summer is attempting to at least play a bit part in our lives this year?  I won’t hold my breath to be honest, so while I can see a bit of blue inbetween the clouds, I’m gonna make the most of it.

There’s no better way of injecting some summer lovin’ into your routine than with skittle-licious nails in the shape of China Glaze’s Summer Neons collection*.

Twelve shades of super-vibrant colour in that Summer-staple neon formula.  Have we seen these before?  Probably – but those hot corals never fail to make me smile, no matter how many times they come around.  Individual finger swatches coming soon!

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I know I was supposed to be hot-footing it to Boots to spend my points on Chanel Summer… but I’ve got a little secret to let you into: I didn’t actually get that far.  I was in West Quay and when I came out of the lift, I got distracted by John Lewis… if you haven’t been to West Quay in Southampton, let me tell you… they know how to make a good John Lewis.  It’s my favourite local beauty department… by contrast, the Debenhams in town is woeful and sends me into fits of depression whenever I darken its doors.

Anyway, there I was… fingering (you can use that word in other contexts) all the pretty beauty stuff at the front of store when I spotted this Illusion d’Ombre (cream eyeshadow to plebs like you and me).  I already own two of them (Mirifique and Illusoire) and I’d completely forgotten that this shade even existed.  I was umm-ing and ahh-ing over picking up Fantasme (a sparkly irridescent shade) which I hoped would brighten my eye area without being too gaudy when the subtle peach-tones of Émerveillé stopped me in my tracks.

Summer in a pot.  Minus the Mojitos and insect bites.

Like Fantasme, it contains tiny reflects of multidimensional sparkle, though much MUCH more subtle, grown-up, and golden.  I know I haven’t properly reviewed Mirifique yet, but I literally wore Illusoire every day for a fortnight whilst up North.  The Illusion d’Ombres are completely effortless in application, blending and wear.  They last perfectly for 7+ hours without a sticky base or primer and almost melt (in a good way) onto my eyelids.  I actually can’t praise them enough for their complex finish and I love how they don’t appear metallic-y (and aging) like many shimmer shades often do.

Chanel Illusion d’Ombre in #82 Émerveillé is priced at £23.00 and available online at Boots (or instore at John Lewis!)

Do you own any of the Chanel Illusion d’Ombres?  Are you as crazy about them as I am?

It’s not my blogging style to post new collections but I’m making a “sort-of” exception in this case. You see, I have a good amount of Boots points burning a hole in my purse and I wanted to gauge some opinion on whether any of these pieces are setting your makeup-loving hearts alight as they are mine?

I usually buy a few Chanel or Dior pieces from the holiday collections, helped along with those handy points but last year, I only bought Chanel Féérie (not even using my points!) and I’ve barely used it. I’ve lost my splurging confidence after being totally won over by the pretty rather than the usable – do you do that?

The above picture shows a few of the pretties from the Chanel Summer 2012 Collection and I’m lusting after one of the bronzers (Sable Beige 907 – the one without the pink) and that eye duo (Sable-Émouvant) – I can’t go far wrong with those right?  I think I’m leaning more toward picking up the Sable-Émouvant eye duo and the Summer blusher (Sheer Summer Glow) from Burberry, have you seen that one?  If you’re as pale as me – I think you should take a look!

The Chanel Summer 2012 Collection will be available nationwide from Friday.

Have you got any high-end beauties on your Summer radar?

Here’s one from the archives.  And by archives, I mean that I found it in an old photo folder, not that I’m re-posting stuff from a couple of years back.  I may be nearly 2200 posts down but I’ve still got plenty to show you thankyouverymuch!

I’m not a massive fan of Ciate… I don’t generally get excited about their releases if I’m honest.  The bows (once you get past the cute factor) are a complete pain in the arse to re-tie and the bottle is a really awkward shape to hold for photos (SO not a valid excuse).

Ciate Silhouette is pretty though, it has a delicate shimmer running through the burgundy base and a nice amount of depth that gives a lovely velvety, plush look to the nails.  It’s unremarkable in drying time and wear, I have no complaints at all.  Definitely one of my preferred Ciate shades, you should also check out Starlet and Velvet Tuxedo if you want some other lovely Ciate polishes.

Ciate Silhouette is priced at £9.00 and available to buy online from PowderRooms

If you’re a fan of sheer formulas that give a hint of colour without the commitment of something too bold, you’ll probably already be aware of the Clinique Chubby Stick formula which achieves just this.  I like my lip colour to be a little more in your face, Stace! but I can appreciate that those of you wusses who still rely on stabilizers will probably come over all unecessary over the new shades.  I’ve got one here called Oversized Orange (sounds like me after I’ve fake tanned) and it’s actually a pretty nice way to wear a shade that I usually run away from.

It glides on smoothly and despite my attempts at laying it on an inch thick to build colour (old habits die hard), it builds pigmentation only moderately but impressively doesn’t go all claggy or yukky on the lips.  It feels moisturising enough and isn’t remotely sticky.

It doesn’t look like it’s made much difference at all in the lip swatch (which is why I always advocate full face shots when it comes to lipsticks!)… because, it actually packs enough colour to finish and polish a look.  At least, on my fairly unpigmented lips.  Please excuse the fringe, I struggled badly at flattening my cow-lick today!

Clinique Chubby Sticks are available to buy on counter and online, priced at £16 each.  The eight new shades (including Oversized Orange will be available from June).

Do you own any Clinique Chubby Sticks?  Like a sheerer, more balmy lipstick?