A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

Can we please have an all-together-now chorus of “it’s tooooo cold!”.  Is anyone else finding it harder-than-usual to adjust to the plummeting temperatures?  I was doing ok until about a week ago, when things seemed to take a leap from chilly to arctic.  Anyway, with the big freeze only just beginning, I’ve been battling it off with this lovely face and blush powder from Clarins.  Part of their Autumn/Winter collection, it gently injects a little warmth and colour without looking “bronzy”.

As much as I want a bit of warmth on my face, I don’t want to look like I’m desperately hankering after a bit-part in Benidorm.

I will never tire of the classic elegance of Clarin’s packaging.

The Clarins Colour Accents Face and Blush Powder offers a trio of shades that should suit all skintones, I’ve swatched them below and you can see that there is slightly less difference on the skin as there appears to be in the pan between the two tan shades.  I would say that the darker section is slightly more orange-toned, and the lighter tan a little cooler, which is why this set doesn’t “oompah, loompah” me.

Unlike the more summery offerings, this palette is also very matte.  There’s no shimmer and not even a hint of luminosity – which is actually a bit of a shame because Clarins does luminosity in their face powders better than any other brand I know.

Having said that, on my skintone, this works more as a blush than a face powder and I don’t have any issues adding some highlighter to my foundation instead.

 Clarins Colour Accents Face and Blush Powder is a very nice choice for adding some warmth to your complexion without looking like a summer-desperado.

This limited edition product won’t be around too much longer but is still available online at clarins.co.uk (£30) or even better, you can currently grab it at the special price of £24, from escentual.com

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Q: Why did the elephant paint his toenails red?

A: So he could hide in a cherry tree!

No, I didn’t break into a smile either.

Daft jokes aside, if you’ve always been looking for an elephant-coloured nail polish, your search is over. Elephant walk is an odd blue/grey shade that does indeed remind me of Dumbo.  The silver shimmer clearly seen in the bottle, is distinctly lacking once on the nails, which is a shame because I could really imagine it making a difference.

As things stand, it’s a nice two-coater but ends up reminding me of a poor-relation to something like Butter London’s Lady Muck.  Sigh, I wanted that shimmer in it!

Nevermind, at least you heard a really shit joke today.

China Glaze Elephant Walk is available to buy instore at Sallys or online at BeautyBay.com, priced at £6.95

Tell me a really bad joke!

I’ve been dragging my heels when it comes to getting excited for Autumn. Everyone around me has gone chunky-knit/boot-buying crazy while I’ve been trying to eke out one more wear from my floral palazzo trousers before I vacuum pack them away under the bed for the Winter.

But I’m feeling zen about it now. Infact, I feel quite vindicated seeing as Autumn has now clearly arrived with a vengeance this week. Yeah, you go ahead and shiver in your new chunky knit. You brought this on yourself.

It’s not that I hate Autumn… despite my protestations, it is indeed my favourite season too and I am particularly partial to the new collections that the cooler weather brings.  I’m already contemplating vampier lips and more Autumnal blushes.  Infact, here’s five Autumn blushers that I bet you don’t own…

1. Cargo – Tonga: A beautiful, muted matte rose with a hint of mauve

2. Makeup Store – Sugarpink: A soft, dusty pink with a touch of earthiness.

3. Becca Pressed Shimmer Powder – Princess: A muted plum with a hint of bronze, scrumminess.

4. Jane Iredale – Cotton Candy: A sparkly plum with shimmer that flatters without looking too glittery.

5. T. Le Clerc – Brun Voile: A sheer, neutral brown that will go perfectly with everything.

What are your favourite Autumn blushers that don’t get the hype they deserve?

Due to launch this Autumn are six new “specialist” shades from China Glaze that promise to leave you mesmerized as the color shifts and moves across the nail, traveling with the light.

Woohoo for duochromes!

Recent duochrome launches have been a bit disappointing no?  I still smart from being underwhelmed by the much-hyped Models Own Beetlejuice collection which offered (to my eye), a disappointing effect on the nail compared to the bottle shots.  I’m gonna be a tough cookie on these if they fail to live up to those lovely stock images below.

• Unpredictable – Multidimensional gorgeous green
• Rare & Radiant – Extraordinarily rich gold
• Swanky Silk – Brilliant beige with peach undertones
• No Plain Jane – Lavish lavender-pink
• Want My Bawdy – Sexy sapphire blue
• Deviantly Daring – Adventurously bold peacock teal

It almost makes me excited for Autumn.  I said, almost.

Laugh?  I nearly cried when I got a press release instructing me on how I could transition my Summer look into something more suitable for Autumn/Winter.  I mean, really?  WE HAVEN’T EVEN HAD SUMMER.  Not that this is the fault of Bobbi Brown, to be fair.  I’m sure that she (of sueded nudes and creamy ivories) has absolutely no influence on our climatic shitness.  I nearly wrote ‘climactic’ then… sorry, freudian slip.

Here, let’s distract ourselves from the views out the window by looking at some pretty pretties instead.

I must admit, the Desert Spring Collection does bridge the gap between happiness (summer) and misery (winter) quite nicely.

You’ve got a bit of Turquoise Nail Polish to remind you of those halcyon, balmy days WE NEVER HAD and the Long-Wear Cream Shadow in Blue Moon shouldn’t smudge too easily as we sob the makeup OFF OUR FACES.  Finally, the Creamy Colour for Lips and Cheeks looks suitably frost-bitten for when it’s still DARK IN THE MORNING and you’re scraping the ice off your car with your credit card ‘cos you’ve lost the scraper and the de-icer in the can has frozen solid.

Yeah, it looks quite promising.

I’m lusting after the eye palette (always the palettes Bobbi!), the blush/bronzer duo and the vampier polish of the duo.  The collection is set to launch next month online at BobbiBrown.co.uk and across counters nationwide.

Got any early favourites?

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?

These trio of eyeshadows from Illamasqua’s latest Human Fundamentalism* collection landed on my desk this week and I thought I’d post up some swatches.  The three matte shades are: Vernau (yellow ochre), CanCan (bright lilac purple), and Pivot (yellow green).  Get ready for some piccies… (I dunno why I always say that like it’s 2001 and you’re all hitting X so as not to max out your 56k dial up *shrugs*)

The shades have fair to good pigmentation (for mattes) and blend nicely.  The pick up is powdery but again, this is something you often have to contend with when you’re using a matte formula.  On with the swatches…

Applied on dry skin with no primer (please excuse the cycling scratches).  The pales don’t look too chalky considering.

Each shade applied with Illamasqua’s Sealing Gel* (as you would for an eyeliner application).

My attempts at a FOTD sadly ended with me looking at myself in the mirror and declaring “you look like a twat in those colours”.

But…. and this is where it gets interesting…

I went to the bathroom to remove my clown face and upon scrubbing with face wash and warm water….

The swatches done with the Sealing Gel would. not. budge.  I mean, they really wouldn’t budge.  I’m sat here 5 hours later and they’re still looking at me.

So my review is being thoroughly hijacked because I can’t coo over a trio of eyeshadows in shades that I wouldn’t be seen dead in (did I mention Illamasqua will makeover your dead body?).  However… I can get excited over the Illamasqua Sealing Gel which would be a phenomenal addition to your makeup routine if, like me, you have hooded eyelids and can’t stop eyeliner from transfering up to your hairline when you blink a bit too hard.

The shadows are ok, if you’re gonna get all hot and sweaty over them… you probably don’t read my blog anyway to be honest.  But check out the inconspicuous looking bottle of sealing gel next time you’re near a counter.  I already own/use a mineral-makeup branded sealing gel… this is 100x better.

Illamasqua’s sealing gel is priced at £10.50 and can be purchased on counter or online.  Also, if you haven’t seen them already – check out Illa’s pretty glorious moving swatches on their new-fangled website.  The Human Fundamentalism Collection can be seen here.

* press sample

I pounced on the Zoya spring collection, probably my favourite of all the spring offerings this year – it’s subdued, with its muted softy pastels and delicate shimmer.  I could have bought so many more but stopped myself at two, here is the first that made it into my basket, Lotus.

Of the two purples in the spring collection, this is the one that had the dustier edge.  And I’m all about dusty edges… both when it comes to nail polish, and bookshelves.  Lotus has a soft pink shimmer that catches the light but sadly failed to pick up very well in my swatch photo – you can see it in the bottle though yes?  It’s not a glaringly obvious shimmer but gives the shade more depth and prevents it from sitting flat on the nailbed.

Formula was fine, the above photo shows three coats but you could get away with two… I applied my second coat with too much impatience and caused a bit of drag, hence the need for the third.  My fault, not the polish’s.

Zoya Lotus is priced at £7.99 and available online from beauty4nails-body.

Estee Lauder are really hitting the nail on the head (pardon the pun) with the shades recently no?  They’ve revamped their line of lacquers and have blown the cobwebs away with a real injection of colour.  Teal Topaz features in their Spring 2012 collection of Arizona-inspired shades and this one is a corker.  But does the formula live up to the kerb appeal?

Honestly?  Not quite.  The above photo shows three coats, and for a bold creme of this type, I’d usually expect to need only two – and the reason it needed three coats was a patchy application.  Whilst I’d mostly covered the nail bed after two applications, it just hadn’t applied smoothly enough to leave it without a final coat.  The formula is also fairly thick, which contributed to a little drag… it’s nothing terrible, but at its price point – I’d expect not to have these issues.

On the flip-side, it has great shine, dries quickly and hasn’t given me any wear issues.  I do love these teal shades and this one I’d imagine to be particularly flattering on all skintones.

Estee Lauder Pure Color Nail Polish in Teal Topaz* is available to buy on counter and online from Harrods, priced at £14.00 for 9ml

* press sample

As far as visuals go, the images for Dolce & Gabbana’s new Spring/Summer 12 collection are striking!  I love the interpretation on a floral theme, it works beautifully with the soft pastels in the new Bouquet collection which features young actress, Felicity Jones.

With my high contrast colouring, I struggle not to look a bit sickly with pastels but the nude eyeliner (Shimmer) looks very nice, as do the polishes.  Talking about the new collection, makeup high priestess (otherwise known as Dolce & Gabbana Make Up creative advisor) Pat McGrath said, “There’s something really uplifting about these colours.  They make you feel as if you’re on holiday”.  Which other than stating the obvious a little bit just makes me want a holiday to Southern Italy.  And a dress like Felicity Jones’.  Are you rocking the Spring pastel trends right now?

Dolce & Gabbana Spring/Summer 2012 Bouquet Collection is available to buy instore and online at Harrods.com

Orly’s Spring 2012 Collection is out and pays homage to some of the gentlest pastels around.  We’re not talking sweet-shop pastels here, these are the slightly edgier, grungier cousins of the pastel world.  Just about.

I don’t generally go much on pastels, so Cool Romance’s dirtier take on the trend is right up my street.  Infact, I love the look of all of them except Steel Your Heart, the non pastel that gives me the “Geez, it’s Spring not Autumn/Winter!” feeling.

Prelude to a Kiss* is a pretty pale pink creme with a hint of peach.  It feels like it should be opaque in two coats but needed a third to even out a little bit of streakiness.  It’s a little bit thick in formula, like many pastels, but applies without too many frustrations.  I love these shades for lazy weeks when I can get away with a whole heap of tip wear!

Orly Cool Romance Collection is available to buy in two sizes: 18ml are £6.95 each from www.beautybay.com and the mini 5.3ml are £5 each at www.boots.com

Do you have a favourite from the collection?

* press sample

Can you feel it coming?  The birds are beginning to sing a slightly more cheerful tune, the flowers are peeking their tiny heads out from beneath the frozen ground and the dark evenings are gradually fading into longer twilights.  Sure, it ain’t exactly warming up yet… but I’m optimistic that we’re over the worst of it.  Maybe.

The fact that I took delivery of the Boots No7 Floral Brights Spring 2012 Collection* this morning may have had something to do with the new-found spring in my step (pardon the pun).  Look at that packaging, I love it and I usually quite dislike white cosmetic packaging.  Mind you, I used to hate white gadgets too… *hides all Apple technology*.

The new Lisa Eldridge-created collection consists of: one eye palette, one complexion highlighter, two cream blushers and two lipsticks.  No nail polishes this time.  Boo.

Want a closer look?

This prettily packaged eye palette reminds me of the Avon Marimekko ones from a few years back, does anyone remember those?  Anyway, the No7 Vital Brighetning Eye Palette offers five warm-toned shades with four neutrals and a pop of golden-yellow.  Nothing too dark here, this is all about bringing some light to the face and brightening the eye area.  I tend to prefer cooler tones on my eyes but I do like the satin-finish of these, they’re not too metallic and showy.  Texture is a touch soft but they blend nicely and last very well on primed eyelids.

Next up is the No7 Vital Enlightening Highlighter, a smooth champagne highlighting powder that applies with more sophistication and refinement than I expected.  It imparts a non-metallic glow when used with a light hand and is neutral enough not to look too warm, or too pink on my skintone.  No7 generally do highlighting powders very, very well and if you’re in the market for a new one, this is worth a look.

A real standout in the collection are their two new blushers.  The No7 Vital Brights Cream Blushers in Blooming Pink (fuchsia) and Blossoming Pink (guava) are a cream-to-powder formulation that pack a real punch of vibrancy whilst still being able to blend down to a wearable flush without streaking.  The formula is *so* spot on with these… I own cream blushers that cost twice as much and apply literally, half as well as these do.  Highly recommend checking these out while they’re still available.

My other favourite from the collection are the two new No7 Vital Brights Lipstick shades that allude to the popular lightweight formula the beauty world can’t get enough off, whilst boasting more buildable pigmentation levels than most gel-style lipsticks.  They’re knockout shades too… Blooming Pink is the killer, cool-toned fuchsia which looks great with a slick of black liner and will carry you confidently through to Summer.  Blossoming Pink is a slightly cool-toned nude which will please women who prefer a safer lip-shade.  It’s nude without being too pale, more of a perfecting lip shade than a colour statement.  How this one turns out will really depend on your natural lip colouring.

Without wanting to sound like a major fangirl, there’s not a dud in the collection.  If you twisted my arm, I’d say that you could probably leave the eye palette on the shelf.  It’s a little bit soft and doesn’t tick my must-have requirements in the same way as some of the other pieces.  Do not let this limited edition collection pass you by without going in for a closer look at the lipsticks and blushes though.  That’s an order.

If you can bring yourself to, please excuse the bottom right cam-whoring.  I couldn’t – in all seriousness – where such a horrifically clashing lip shade and not ham it up a bit.  In all photos I’m wearing the eye palette, blossoming pink cream blush and highlighter.  It’s hopefully clear enough in which photos I’m wearing which lipstick.  Does that make sense?

No7 Vital Brighetning Eye Palette – 4g (£13.00)
No7 Vital Enlightening Highlighter – 10g (£13.00)
No7 Vital Brights Cream Blushers in Blooming Pink or Blossoming Pink – 2g (£10.00)
No7 Vital Brights Lipsticks in Blooming Pink or Blossoming Pink – 3.5g (£10.00)

Have you got your eye on any pieces from the new Spring Collection?  Already bought something – let me know!

The No7 Floral Brights Spring 2012 Collection is available exclusively in Boots stores now and online at Boots.com until the 6th March 2012.  It’s worth pointing out that No7 products are also currently on 3for2.

* press samples