A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

Over the years, I’ve slowly discovered that as much as I love my makeup, I can also be rather lazy about it.  An example of this is my love for palettes.  I like knowing that someone has taken the work out of choosing which shades goes with which to ensure that I don’t end up looking more Coco the Clown than Coco Chanel.

There are a few single eyeshadows that you’d have to prise out of my cold, dead hands before I’d relinquish my grip but for the most part, I’m pretty commited to having the hard work done for me.

Estee Lauder’s latest palette launch features a new line of Sculpting Eyeshadows that are firmly grounded in the neutral camp.  Offering a total of 12-different palettes across the range with shades that are designed to add definition, shadow and highlight to the eye area – these haven’t been created to break ground on new trends… you’ll have seen these shade combinations a hundred times over but they have been designed to make mornings easier.

In my posession, I have 04 Rebel Metal – a collection of golden, metallic hues.  Each shade is a shimmer, there are no mattes at all.  I prefer balanced palettes that offer a matte, I’m too old and wrinkly to wear shimmery shades in my eye socket!  Having said that, the five shades do deliver some pretty, subtle nuances between them and are nicely colour-balanced to ombre across the metallic spectrum.  The palette definitely leans to the warm side but should suit most skintones well.

Pigmentation is good and the texture from each pan is pleasing, I’ve found some Estee Lauder shadows to be a little firmly-textured in the past… particularly the paler shades.  This palette, though not quite “buttery”, is easy to apply and wears nicely when applied both wet and dry.  As you might imagine, wearing these metallic shades wet creates a far more impactful and intense look, it’s nice to have the option.

Despite eschewing a primer, I found these to be fairly crease-resistant, they didn’t move about on the eyelid but instead, faded gently as the day wore on.  In all honesty, I can’t say I’m hugely excited by this release but at the same time, there’s nothing I can moan about either.  There’s nothing wrong with them per se… they just don’t get my makeup-loving heart a-beating.

Perhaps I’ve been exposed to too many palettes of golden neutrals over the years *cough* Naked *cough* but for the £40 price tag, I’d gently suggest that your money could stretch further, whilst getting the same quality… from a purchase elsewhere.

I’ll still be checking out some of the other colour-combinations on counter though, you never know where that perfect taupe is lurking!

Estee Lauder Pure Color Envy Sculpting EyeShadow 5-Color Palette in Rebel Metal is priced at £40 and is available to buy on-counter and online from esteelauder.co.uk, johnlewis.com, and debenhams.com

*press sample

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February must be formula month, because I’m going gaga over some perfectly-created lipsticks.  Don’t get me wrong… I’m a sucker for some pretty packaging too and can be driven equally wild by a product based purely on it being the perfect shade but the perfect formula?  Well, like I said, it must be a month for it because not only did Clarins blow me away with their sheer (gerrit?) perfection earlir this month, it’s now Estee Lauder’s turn to get me all of a flutter with some incredibly-formulated, deeply-pigmented lip colours.

The new Estee Lauder Pure Color Envy Sculpting Lipsticks – launched just this month – feature a range of 20-shades that should particularly excite my fellow bold lip fans.  The collection promises to deliver saturated colour and continuous moisturisation with a formula that stays true for up to 6-hours.  Formulated with a new and exclusive Time Release Encapsulated Moisture Complex with Hyaluronic Acid, I’ve been rather impressed with the happy medium the brand have managed to capture between long-wear and comfort.

Have a little look at the two shades that I’ve got here… Tumultuous Pink and Red Ego…

First of all, the packaging is a bit of a departure from Estee Lauder’s classic heavy gold styling… these lipsticks are dressed in navy with gold accents.  The heavy-weight feel is still there but it’s a little more understated in design with that incredibly addictive magnetic closure that feels so satisfying to use.  Application is easy straight from the bullet but as with most bold shades, I prefer to tidy up the edges with a lip brush and the formula of these offers enough slip that I can achieve this easily with just a little extra product applied near the lip-line.

Talking of the formula, although creamy… it feels very light-weight for the amount of pigment it provides.  Infact, I almost want to describe them as being more like a rich gel formula, either way… you know when something just feels technologically advanced?  It’s like wearing an old skool Rouge Volupte without any of the weight or inconvenience of migration/feathering.

The swatches above show two swipes taken directly from the bullet, you can see the shine and the depth of pigment that the two shades – Tumultuous Pink and Red Ego – provide.  Upon fading, they leave a stain which makes them perfect for blotting if you’re not keen on a high-shine lipstick.  I tend to blot Red Ego once but leave Tumultuous Pink just as it applies, it’s a personal preference.

I’ve included shots below of both lipsticks worn on the lips, the pink leans a little more fuchsia on my lips than I expected from the bullet and the hand-swatch but I’d imagine that this may not be quite so apparent on a warmer skintone.  From the shade range on offer, Dominant looks to be a bluer-pink (or possibly just a little lighter) than Tumultuous Pink.  Definitely worth swatching on counter first though to get your perfect pink match!

Red Ego is simply a dream.  Shade-wise, it’s my perfect red… rich and dark with just enough of a berry hint to complement a cooler skin-tone.  It looks darker in the bullet than it does on the lips, especially when blotted, but it still retains the kind of richness that your standard pillar-box red just can’t deliver.

The Estee Lauder Pure Color Envy Sculpting Lipsticks are available to purchase on counter and online from esteelauder.co.uk now, in a range of 20-shades (+ one online exclusive), priced at £24.00 each.

* press sample

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Beauty is such a personal experience, it’s subjective… it’s intimate… but as a blogger, I know and appreciate the importance of sharing a connection with others over something that many of us feel shouldn’t be quite so laced with mysticism.  Making oneself feel more beautiful shouldn’t be a cloak and dagger operation but often, it’s treated that way.  Whatever makes me feel more beautiful, I want to share with you and I never stop hoping that you’ll enjoy the same experiences that I have with a fresh technique, or a new product.

Launching today is Estee Lauder’s latest contribution to the world of beauty, a global campaign aimed at connecting women through personal experiences.  It’s called The Beauty of the Night and it invites you to upload a personal thought, story or experience relating to the night-time in an effort to connect, across the globe, with another woman simultaneously sharing their experience.

In doing so, both participants will also receive instruction on how to get their hands on a sample of Estee Lauder’s new Advanced Night Repair Synchronized Recovery Complex II.  You’ll also be able to read and rate other people’s shares and discover exactly what it is that makes everyone’s nights that little bit more beautiful!

Go ahead and spread those messages of night-time beauty!

What is it?

An elegant pink pin in the iconic pink ribbon design with one pink, and one blue stone.  The blue stone represents male sufferers of breast cancer, currently affecting around 1% of all those diagnosed with the disease.

How much is it?

£10.00

How much of the money goes to supporting PINK projects?

All of it.  The whole kit and caboodle.

How do I get it?

Available now on counters nationwide and online at www.esteelauder.co.uk

Elizabeth Hurley is known for her work as Estée Lauder spokesperson and Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign Ambassador, and just as in past years… she’s putting in some personal appearances once again to help raise awareness for the annual campaign.

To celebrate the 20 year anniversary for BCA Month, this year Elizabeth will be making two in-store appearances:

Monday 8th October

1pm – 2pm: Elizabeth Hurley will be at Selfridges Oxford Street in London for a PA to meet and greet customers and sign BCA limited edition purchases.

Thursday 11th October

1pm – 2pm: Elizabeth Hurley will be at Selfridges Trafford Centre in Manchester for a PA to meet and greet customers and sign CA limited edition purchases.

7:30pm: Elizabeth Hurley will make an appearance at Selfridges Exchange in Manchester, and turn the store façade a spectacular shade of pink

Will you be there?

Firstly, I’d like to say a big hoorah for a “western” BB Cream with a decent SPF rating.  The Estee Lauder Daywear BB Creme* comes with a broad-spectrum sun protection rating of SPF35.  What it doesn’t come with, is a whole bunch of moisture – and that’s bad news for me, especially because it’s kind of the whole reason I fell in love with BB creams in the first place.  But let’s not forget, this version from Estee Lauder has disassociated itself with the whole BB cream ‘thing’ by re-imagining those two initials, not to mean blemish/beblesh balm, but ‘beauty benefit’.  If that sounds a little bit wanky, it’s because it is.

Having said that… every cloud has a silver lining does it not?

What the Estee Lauder Daywear BB Creme does introduce, is very good oil control.  It doesn’t achieve this by mattifying the crap out of your complexion, you’ll still see a certain amount of dewiness (a.k.a life) and definitely a lot of ‘real’ skin, but it manages to velvet-ify (that’s SO a word), keeping the greasies (also a word) at bay very effectively indeed.

Coverage is sheer/medium but it evens my skintone without arguments and reduces the redness admirably.  If you’ve got blemishes, you’ll need to conceal these – don’t be layering four coats of BB cream ontop and hoping for the best.

Many have raised concerns about the shade and yes, two shades is not enough and 01 Light (the palest) is both too dark and too warm-toned for pale, cool pink types like myself.  If you’re an NC20 upward, you should be fine with this shade.  I’m not one to be massively horrified if a foundation doesn’t match my skintone exactly, I just don’t want to look tangoed or for people to take sly twitpics of me to show their friends how ‘not’ to get matched for foundation.  You know?  Hopefully the pictures will give a better impression of what I’m trying to say but I think I can get away with this one aslong as I don’t get too fixated on it not quite being right.

What else is there to mention?  Packaging is sleek and portable, if not the sexiest I’ve seen.  It smells strongly of cucumber, reminding me of the Boots own range of cucumber products… again, this doesn’t really scream “I’m worth my £32 price tag”.

Ok, before/after time – this is taken under flash conditions, at night so the change in tone is pretty much spot on (as I have complete control over the lighting here).  Also, I’m loving the chin spot.

The bottom line is this, if you have very dry skin, there are more suitable products available in the BB cream world for you.  If you have combination or oily skin and you’re a little darker than the average sun-dodger, you should really try and beg a sample of this from your nearest counter because I think it may be the best BB cream you’ve yet to try.

Estee Lauder Daywear BB Creme is available to buy now online and on counter, priced at £32 for 30ml

* press sample

If you’re a little colour-shy when it comes to your eye makeup, coloured liners are the best place to start.  You can introduce a full spectrum of shades without turning too many heads just by adding a pop of colour to the waterline.  My favourite way to wear brights is with a flash of colour just beneath my lower lashes, it brings brightness to my eyes and makes me look a lot bolder than I feel!

Estee Lauder have released two Intense Kajal Eye Crayons this Spring, a chunky pencil with a creamy formula that lends itself well to both lining and using as a shadow.  If you’re looking for that pop of colour, might I point you in the direction of 03 Dramatic Teal, a shade that I can see flattering most, if not all, skintones.

Not much to look at in their generic stubby pencil-form, these crayons glide without pulling and yet remain firm enough to achieve some truly precise strokes across the eyelid.  The tip stays strong despite pressure and deposits nothing but creamy colour in its wake.

You need to allow around 2 minutes for the pencil to set fast and if your eyelids are particularly oily, you may find these migrate a little.  For normal complexions, these should set and hold throughout the day.  The only time I had any bother was when wearing a moisturising primer, combined with a cream foundation and to be fair – I was an oil-slick by lunchtime everywhere.

Both shades are limited edition, if you pick up one thing from the Spring Collection, let this be it.

Estee Lauder Intense Kajal Eye Crayon in 03 Dramatic Teal & 01 Dramatic Black are priced at £17 a-piece and available on counter and online from boots.com – the teal appears to be sold out everywhere else!

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

What is it?

This year, Estee Lauder’s Pink Ribbon Collection includes:

The Evelyn Lauder Lip Set.  Featuring a pink clutch and Pure Color Lipstick in Evelyn Wildly Pink.

Perfectionist (CP+) Wrinkle Lifting Serum 50ml with Charms.  A limited edition Perfectionist serum featuring a reusable keychain with charms inscribed with ‘Estée Lauder Breast Cancer Awareness 2011’.

The Elizabeth Hurley Lip Set.  A stylish pink evening bag containing Pure Color Lipstick in Elizabeth Lavish Pink

How much is it?

The Evelyn Lauder Lip Set – £18.50
Perfectionist (CP+) Wrinkle Lifting Serum 50ml with Charms – £63.50
The Elizabeth Hurley Lip Set – £18.50

How much of our money goes to supporting PINK projects?

£5.00 from each purchase of The Lip Sets in the UK will be donated to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

£10.00 from each purchase of Perfectionist (CP+) Wrinkle Lifting Serum 50ml with Charms in the UK will be donated to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

How do I get it?

Available nationwide throughout October, while stocks last.

Estee Lauder’s Autumn 2011 collection goes by the name Modern Mercury and includes three limited edition Pure Color Liquid Eyeliners in a trio of metallic shades.

I’ve got one of the three shades here to show you: Graphite.  A sparkling charcoal with multi-coloured shimmer that makes such a lovely change from black.  I’m already a big fan of charcoal eyeliner, it provides a softer look that still carries a bit of impact.  Infact, I’m wearing my Lord & Berry in this post on another item from the Modern Mercury collection!

Long-handled, slender and well-designed with a flexible, soft nib for drawing precision lines, the Graphite liquid liner ticks most of the boxes.  I prefer this design to spindly brushes or chunky nibs as I find they offer the greatest compromise between control and precision.

The inky formula is well pigmented and opaque within two strokes.  It dries very quickly to a smudge-proof, water-proof finish providing a metallic gleam that manages to avoid the ‘wet-look’.

It’s all great so far huh?  Except, there is one problem… it flakes.  You’ll get to around 90% satisfaction before this bothers you but really?  It shouldn’t flake at all and it’s a bugbear for me.  It won’t stop me wearing it but it will stop me wearing it with complete confidence.  The above photo was taken about 5 hours into my day and you can see that it’s holding up pretty well but there is evidence of some flaking going on… a few specks around my eyes and a little caught in my eyelashes.

You can’t see in the above photo but the top edge of the line is no longer perfect, this is the first area to show signs of wear.  I’m being pernickity (as always) but when I’m reviewing an eyeliner that costs £19.00 – it’s only right that I am.

How about some comparisons?  I dug around in my eyeliner drawer (it’s only a little drawer, I’m not completely mad) and pulled out a few that seemed fairly close (ok, the last one is MILES off!):

1.  Barry M Metallic Liquid Eyeliner #1
2.  Chantecaille Luminous Eye Liner in Pianissimo
3.  Estee Lauder Pure Color Liquid Eyeliner in Graphite
4.  Lord & Berry Liquid Eyeliner in Slate
5.  Chantecaille Luminous Eye Liner in Allegro
6.  NARS Liquid Eyeliner in Bullitt

Most of these are now discontinued but luckily, the one that bears the closest resemblance isn’t!  Again, it’s Barry M that’s coming up to be the nearest in terms of shade duping so if you’re on a budget, check it out!

Estee Lauder Pure Color Liquid Eyeliner in Graphite (£19.00) is available on counter now and online at Estee Lauder.

Do you wear grey eyeliner?  What’s your favourite?

It’s been a while since I checked out the Estee Lauder Double Wear Stay-in-Place Shadow Cremes* (we’re gonna need to abbreviate that from here on in).  I’ll have to admit not noticing that they’d been sneakily replacing the shades with a whole bunch of new gorgeousness.  That said, I’ve long been a fan of the formula… one of the most long-wearing formulas I own.  Infact, the only ones I’ve found to rival them (and I’ve used a lot) are the new Bare Escentuals Primer Shadows.

If you want to see my previous post featuring some long-discontinued Lauder shades, you can have a read back through the archives here.

Six current shades that are distinctly more wearable for neutral-loving beauty fans than the previous incarnations… same great formula.  Let’s have a swatch fest.

And one by one…

In between playing with my Wet n’ Wild palettes, it’s these that I’ve been reaching for on a daily basis.  Today, I’m sporting Pink Pearl on the lid (applied with my fingers) and Mochachino brushed through the crease (applied with my Paula Dorf Sheer Crease brush).

Verdict:

The new shades from Estee Lauder’s Double Wear Shadow Creme lineup are a lazy girl’s dream.  No primer, a brush if you can be bothered and a formula that blends itself.

My top pick from the new shades would be Mochachino, not the most visually exciting but the true workhorse of the bunch.  The slightly damp squib?  Gold Dust lacks the magic the others posess.  It doesn’t apply as smoothly and is probably better suited for layering over a dark shade for the sparkle factor.

Estee Lauder Double Wear Stay-in-Place Shadow Cremes are priced at £16.50 each and available online and on counter.

Have you dabbled in Estee Lauder’s cream eyeshadow range?

* disclosure: press samples

A luxurious-looking lipstick with a heavy-weight gold case.  The Signature Hydra Lustre range looks a little retro but it’s because of this rather than inspite of it… that it seems to ooze a touch of class.  In other words, I like to twirl the packaging… it makes me feel like a laydee.

Scarlet* is a slightly pink-toned red which will make it a good choice for the warmer weather.  I don’t know about you but the thought of wearing uber red lipstick in the Summer makes me feel a little uneasy, like I’m breaking some unwritten rules or something.

It’s heavily scented, my nose detects fig… it’s pleasant enough but may be off-putting for anyone delicate to scented products.

The formula is a delight, infact so much so – that I’ve already added a few other shades to my swatch list for next time I’m passing Debenhams.  I usually call a lipstick non-drying rather than moisturising… but this one almost edges into moisturisation territory as I can see it practically ‘plumping out’ the furrows in my lips rather than sinking into them.

I would really recommend checking out the Estee Lauder Signature range more closely if you suffer from dry lips.

So, you’d think that with such a lip-friendly lipstick, you’d get similar slip to something like the YSL Rouge Volupte right?  Wrong.  Scarlet applies well with no drag but I’d certainly not class it as ‘glidey’.  It applies like a normal lustre lipstick and wears for a good 5 hours.

Pink reds aren’t generally my favourite shade – so I’d deduct a couple of points for that, I’d recommend swatching on skin before buying incase the bullet colour is a little different to how it transfers.  Also, the swatches on the Estee Lauder website are not good.

Overall though, I’m really impressed, particularly with the formula which delivers everything it promises and then some more for good measure.

Estee Lauder Signature Lipstick in #62 Scarlet is available to buy online from their website, HouseOfFraser and Debenhams or on counter, priced at £18.00

* press sample