A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

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.

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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

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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?

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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.

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Just a quickie to share the new Boots 17 Spring Fling Eye Palettes that showed up today – I don’t think I’ve seen much about these online yet?

Two limited edition eye palettes with super, super pretty styling.  What with it being the weekend and all, I don’t have the release info but I think it’s safe to assume that these will be out very shortly (I can’t see them on the website).  Here’s some photos and swatches taken this afternoon.

Texture-wise, the shadows are very soft and a little crumbly but they blend effortlessly and subsequently afford better pigmentation than most pastels.  The colour combinations are cute… I can see a distinctly traditional fair/olive divide going on!

Any first impressions?

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NARS Holiday Collection didn’t catch my eye as readily as some of the other recent collections, but as a long-time fan of the brand’s Multiples, I have to admit that my curiosity was piqued by the new shade G-Spot.

The name… it’s atrocious isn’t it.  Thankfully though, the product… isn’t.

A rosy flush with a subtle golden edge that applies smoothly and blends effortlessly with either fingers or a brush – it’s a lazy girl’s dream.  I haven’t experienced any issues with application despite trying it over mineral, liquid and cream foundation in an attempt to pick some holes in the formula.

Compared to some of my other NARS multiples, I find my G-Spot (har har) to be quite silky (oh stop it already)…

In all seriousness though, this is a great shade with a solid formula, usefully packaged and easy to use.  I’ve sampled a couple of items from the Holiday Collection and this is the absolute stand-out-if-you-get-one-NARS-item-get-this-one.  Got it?

NARS G-Spot Multiple is available online or on counter, priced at £29.00

Are you a NARS Multiple fan?

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This striking pewter polish is from the Orly Birds of a Feather collection that was released for this Autumn/Winter.  It’s a beautiful grey with silver flecks that gives it a stunning metallic effect without the usual brushstroke issue that actual metallic polishes present.

Fully opaque in two coats with absolutely no application issues, this is a cracking polish for Autumn/Winter and one that I recommend you have in your collection.  Flawless.

Orly Sea Gurl is available to buy online at BeautyBay.com, priced at £6.95

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I’m not generally a fan of jelly nail polishes… they have to be quite special to turn my head. I like a nod to a jelly finish, infact, one of my favourite Butter London polishes has a slight jelly edge (Come to Bed Red) but in general, I’ll take a creme finish any day.

Orly Fowl Play from the Autumn/Winter Birds of a Feather collection contains a myriad of multi-colour flake, glitter and sparkle in a purple jelly base.  I love the razz but am just not digging that base which always looks kinda… unfinished to my eye.

The simple answer is to layer it over a cream polish, which is exactly what I’ve been doing… just one coat over a black looks incredible but for the sake of swatching, I’m showing it to you in it’s 3-coat glory over a bare nail.

Orly Fowl Play is available to buy online from BeautyBay.com, priced at £6.95

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Sparkle sparkle went the fairy atop the Christmas tree – gently dazzling all those who looked upon her beauty.  That’s what I want to do, I want to shine… it’s my turn!  Godammit Mummy, you promised meeeeee!

And so, it happened that I was shopping with LongTallAlly late last month, and ‘cos she’s on a self-imposed spending ban that seems to be lasting her ENTIRE life, she did what all women do… she fully enabled me into this purchase of the Chanel Poudre Universelle Libre in Féérie just to make herself feel better about not being able to buy anything.  Bitch.

Actually, that’s not entirely true, because tradition dictates that I must buy something from each Chanel Holiday collection.  It’s a new tradition, do you like it?  And this is what caught my eye with it’s soft pink powder, finer than baby lanugo – it shimmered in the pot and called to me, more siren than féérie to be honest.

Well hello!  You’ve got more glitz and glitter than a high street filled with nothing but Claire’s Accessories.  It’s not that I don’t like you Feerie, I do… I’m actually a little bit in awe of your rose-gold beauty, but I just don’t think I can wear you without a matching creosote tan and quickstep outfit.

Can you see the glitter?  Can you?  CAN YOU?!?!  Don’t say no.

When I first applied Féérie, I knew it was going to be glittery… but I honestly thought, that as a secret glitter-lover, I could work it.  Truthfully, I just keep waiting for someone to try and helpfully remove a piece of glitter from my face before realising that I’ve actually bathed, rolled and gargled with it.

So, to be fair… it’s not you – it’s me.  Transport me to the Tower Ballroom in Blackpool and cast me among the stars, I’ll come back with a trophy, hell, I’ll replace the discoball and be brighter and better than any other in the land.

I love you Féérie and I’ll wear you in secret, when I don’t need to leave the house.  Maybe I’ll dust you over my decolletage… but truthfully, we know I won’t.  Who dusts their decolletage for God’s sake, I mean really?  How many times have you done that this year?  Enough to warrant a £31.50 purchase?  No, me neither.

Chanel Poudre Universelle Libre in Féérie is available on counter, priced at £31.50 – *le sigh*

My dislike for all things Midnight Cowboy is well-documented.  I don’t have a problem with the colours, au contraire (Rodney), I love the peach-champagne-y goodness that MC, MCRA and its coven of glitter-witches bring.  It’s just, well… a bit of a pain innit?

Now imagine an entire palette based around Midnight Cowboy and it’s equally glitter-tastic night-time shades…

Oh HAI Urban Decay Midnight Emergency Kit*!!  I need an emergency GLITTER cleanup!

The styling reminds me of those “Keep Calm and Carry On” posters you see in billions of guises everywhere nowadays but the silver wallet is hugely resilient to being thrown in the bottom of a bag.  It is a touch chunky considering the fairly slimline contents, I’ve sized it up against my Nintendo DS below…

…it’s very well protected and I can see the whole shebang lasting and lasting without so much as a scratch on it.

The contents of the Midnight Emergency Kit include:

 4 Eyeshadows (Midnight Cowboy, Midnight Sin, Midnight Rodeo and AC/DC)
 1 Lip Junkie Lipgloss (Midnight Cowboy)
 1  Travel-Sized Eyeshadow Brush

I’m not sure how many variants of Champagne a girl needs for a night-time look… something a little blacker wouldn’t have gone a-miss in this palette but I can’t deny that there are four very pretty shades included.

Here’s the rub.  All four will produce major fall out, either during application or after.  Eschew your beloved Urban Decay Primer Potion and use something like Fyrinnae’s Pixie Epoxy to get them to stay stuck well into the night and for the love of God, don’t do your foundation before applying these shades.  Make use of those two tips and you’ll be able to give yourself up to the glitter monster and save your curses for something else.

Pretty yes?

Also included in the kit is a rather lovely lipgloss that doesn’t do too much on it’s own but applied over lipstick, turns your lips from daytime chic to night-time party in an instant.  The Midnight Cowboy shade is a sheer, glittery champagne that looks beautful worn over the top of a neutral lippie to give a bit of oomph and added sexiness.

The final inclusion comes in the form of a travel-sized eyeshadow brush…

It does what it says on the tin and it does it well.  Urban Decay brushes are some of the most under-rated synthetic brushes around.

A couple of FOTDs showing the kit in action…

At £28, I think it leans fairly expensive for what it is and will only really appeal to glitter demons and those under the age of 22.  Of course, there are plenty who will fall into that bracket and I can see this making a spectacular Christmas gift for those who would appreciate it.

However, in the face of some of Urban Decay’s other recent offerings… it’s a thumbs down from me.

Urban Decay Midnight Emergency Kit is priced at £28 and available on counter now and online from House of Fraser, HQ Hair, Debenhams and BeautyBay.

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