A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

I’m reviving my ever-so-slightly neglected Swatch Saturday posts!

These will be filled with images and swatches as opposed to my inane ramblings (woohoo!) and will hopefully showcase some of the products that I use regularly.

So here we go with today’s swatches of an eyeshadow that I’ve been using pretty much non-stop this week.  Estee Lauder’s Pure Color Eyeshadow in Sugar Biscuit.

Estee Lauder Pure Color Eyeshadow in Sugar Biscuit has a satin finish that shimmers without being metallic.  It is an integral part of my lazy day looks!  A wash of it from lid to browbone will brighten tired looking peepers and give the impression of 8 hours sleep. Kinda.

I usually combine with a taupe in the crease and lots of mascara!

You can see it used in a quick look here.

Estee Lauder’s Pure Color Eyeshadow in Sugar Biscuit is priced at £15.50 and available on counter or online (though currently OOS).

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What’s your favourite eyeshadow for all-over brightening?

Stepping away from the dark-side for a wee while, Illamasqua have brought their own version of Spring/Summer to the table.  And as you might imagine, all is not quite as it seems…

The 17-piece collection comprises of pastels, neutrals and vivid neons… but with a few curveballs thrown in for good measure!  Let’s have some piccies…

The campaign imagery depicts a surreal, unpredictable world inspired by a natural world that is retaliating against the mankind that has distorted it.  Those feelings are demonstrated by shades that conflict, revel in their hybrid nature and tease with now-you-see-me, now-you-don’t pearl and glister.

6 New Cream Pigments (£17.00) that promise to be more crease-resistant than Illamasqua’s current cream eyeshadows and suitable for use all over the body.

Mould (Grape) / Hollow (Toffee) / Delirium – EU Only (Rose Taupe) / Bedaub (Mint) / Emerge – EU Only (Peach) / Dab (Lilac)

Thanks for lending me your swatching arm Rowena!

Did you spot those lip colours in the top row of the last picture?

Not ashamed to admit they might be my favourite thing about this collection.  Well, one of my favourite things… here’s my personal picks from the Illamasqua Toxic Nature Collection:

Torture and Divine are the new Illamasqua Sheer Lipglosses (£13.00) for this collection.  Just beautiful for Summer.

Dab and Delirium are my picks from the new Cream Pigment range… lovely, wearable shades.

Atomic is a hot non-hooker pink lipstick (£15.50) that I was excited to receive in my event bag… I’ll bring you a proper lip swatch v. soon.  The other lipstick, Flare is a vivid matte orange, canyousayontrend?

and for the nail polishes… Bacterium was going down a storm with nearly everyone.  The metallic putty shade flashes with pearlescent blue to give it an edge and Radium is just retina-searingly awesome!

Swatches of my picks of the collection…

Now, one thing that WOULD have also made my pick were it not for the fact that I DIDN’T NOTICE IT in it’s unassuming black housing is this little marvel…

Illamasqua’s NEW Precision Ink (£17.00) in Glister is a skin-toned (obv depending on whose skin!) liner packed full of purple/pink glitter pigment (v. finely milled) that’s bears more than a passing resemblance to their Static Pure Pigment that was such a hit in 2009.

The thing about this liner is that unlike most… to my eye, it gets better with age!  The more rubbed-down and worn it becomes, the more that beautiful pigment shows through… glistening… just like its namesake!

Let’s finish off with some nails…

Here’s The Claw (£35.00).  The Toxic Claw!

Terrible camera angle there which I appreciate means you can’t see the tips!  The Toxic Claw is a play on the original nail quill by Mike Pocock that involves making it look more animalistic and… well… claw-like!

And the nail polishes (£13.50)…

Big thanks to Janaka for being such an excellent hand model!

5 new polishes, 5 fingers!  Woot to Helen too for lending her fingers in the name of beauty!

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Illamasqua Toxic Nature will be launching online from the 10th March and instore from the 17th March.

For the chance to win your favourites from the range, register at Illamasqua.com and join the waiting list for your desired Toxic Nature shades.  3 winners will be sent all of the items from this wishlist!

Is there anything there that tempts you?

The Estee Lauder holiday collection is upon us and it’s a veritable feast of Christmassy goodness.  Berries and golds take the centre stage in the colour stakes and the line-up oozes Yuletide charm.

On a personal level, I was a touch disappointed not to see two eyeshadow palettes as with the Summer collection (the palette on the left contains lip colour) but that’s the non-gloss fan in me talking.

I’m concentrating on the eye palette today which I was given at the recent press event.  For me, it’s the jewel of the collection.  At first, I thought the shades contained within were a bit ‘off’… although neutral, they’re all rather warm toned and I really wasn’t sure how this would play out against my very cool skin.  I needn’t have worried, they work delightfully well.

Let’s take a closer look at that eye palette shall we?

Packaging is a solid, acrylic housing with gold-coloured lid.  It feels well built, substantial and looks classy on my dressing table!

Read on for closer shots of the shade and swatches…

Read the rest of this entry »

One of my favourites, it’s a sheer… which meant that I didn’t like it for about a week when I got it.  Until I discovered how easily it layered… and THEN discovered how easily I could use it as a crease colour without giving myself Panda eyes!

A cool toned violet/brown taupe with a hint of shimmer.  Urgh, even just describing it makes me wanna take it out and wear it right now (it’s 2am and I’ve washed my face already).

It’s my versatile friend that makes it possible for me to do subtle smoky daytime looks.  Without it, I’d be screwed.  I’m not being melodramatic, stop looking at me like that.

Thanks Francois, you’re the best.  No, really.

I wanted to get these out quickly in the hope that the photos/swatches over my overspend haul may be useful to those still making up their minds on what they want to order.  But I failed…

I’m not gonna do any proper reviews, I’m just trying to put some shots out there that are as colour accurate as I can manage.

Without further ado…

The Haul!

Stereo Rose MSF – surprisingly wearable on my pale, cool-toned skin.

Read the rest of this entry »

…this Alhambra eyeshadow duo from NARS.

I wanted something that was soft, fairly pale and neutral… and I found exactly what I was looking for the last time I went to the NARS counter at Liberty.

Alhambra is a soft, romantic nude duo.  It’s perfect for daytime wear or if deepened with a darker crease colour you can create a beautiful smoky look.

I reach for this when I’m feeling lazy… admittedly I usually reach for one side or the other rather than wearing both together.  A sweep of the ‘pink champagne’ side paired some brown eyeliner and mascara gives me a fresh, wide-awake look that’s polished but not at all overdone.

The shadows are soft, pigmented and shimmery with a metallic look rather than glittery or frosty and I imagine the shades would easily complement many skintones.

NARS Alhambra Duo is priced at £23.00 and available at counters nationwide or online.

Do you like?  Or is it a bit plain for you?

I found it, I found it!

I thought I’d add a swatch to my collection of Creaseless Cream swatches… you can find the rest here.

Flatter Me is described as a ‘Toasted Mauve’… which basically means it’s a strange mix of mauve, taupe and brown.  It’s quite, quite beautiful.

As with the other Creaseless Creams, this is budgeproof on my eyelids.  More, more.. I must have more!  I think I’m going after Stiletto or Pre Nup next!

Do you like this one or are they all a bit too neutral for you?

I picked up two Besame lipsticks a couple of weeks ago from a discounter on eBay and managed to get both for around £12.

They’re the older style lipsticks with the retro shaped tips that help you get a beautifully sharp line.  I believe they’ve since reformulated.

The packaging is just beautiful.  Twirling the case between your fingers actually feels like you’re holding something special… even Mr. L wanted to have a look (and that NEVER happens!)

These little lippies are teeny tiny… 1.8g compared to a 3g MAC lipstick and the casing is about 2/3of the height.  But look how beautiful they are!

I picked up two pinks.  Exotic Pink (a bright true hot pink) and Portrait Pink (a subdued ‘nuder’ pink).

Exotic Pink is densely pigmented and absolutely rich with colour.  You can see from my swatch… it’s very opaque and glides on beautifully.

Portrait Pink is sheerer, but still builds to an opaque glossy finish with a bit of work.

I adore both of these lipsticks and I’m really happy to add them to my collection.  They’re not the most moisturising lipsticks I’ve worn, but staying power is great and both shades are completely adorable.

Are you a Besame fan?

These little pots of loveliness are currently enjoying a bit of a resurgence in popularity, and so they should.

I own 4, yes I can count (just about)… but couldn’t find my ‘Flatter Me’ shade for the photos – boo!  Above, from left to right are: R.S.V.P (a peach shade), Skinny Jeans (an oh-so-popular pewter) and My Date’s My Brother (a girly pink).

The heavy glass jars seal well, ensuring that your product stays in the best condition for as long as possible before eventually (like most cream products) becoming a little drier and harder to work with.  So don’t forget to screw the lids on as tightly as possible!  The usual cutesy kitsch Benefit design is apparent on both the outer box packaging and the glass jars.  I think I’m in the majority when I admit to being a perpetual fan of this 50s style design.  A lot of brands try to mimic the Benefit styling, but none pull if off quite so well in my opinion.

L-R: R.S.V.P, Skinny Jeans and My Date’s My Brother.

The creams pick up well on a synthetic brush like a concealer brush or simillar.  I mainly use my creaseless creams as an allover base which is why I prefer the paler, more neutral shades.  I only use Skinny Jeans if I’m doing a smoky eye.  My favourite of all the Creaseless Creams I own is R.S.V.P, it’s a beautiful peach that works well as an allover wash with a taupe shadow (powder) blended into the socket line for some definition.

As their name would suggest, these things don’t crease.  Infact they don’t budge an inch once set, which means that any other shadows you apply ontop also hold fast.  Benefit Creaseless Creams hold a dear place in my collection and I’m always on the hunt to add some new shades!

Are you a fan of cream shadows?  What are your favourites?

Remember this post from last week?  (gawd, was that *only* last week?!)

A couple of you demanded requested swatches, and I do aim to please… (sometimes)…

Pink Icing/Devil’s Food:

L – R: Pink Icing (foiled), Pink Icing, Devil’s Food, Devil’s Food (foiled)

Bewitching Bronze:

L – R: Dry, Foiled – not a huge amount of difference there is there? Amazing pigmentation.

Fire Water:

Sorry, no pan shot (forgot!), check out the very top picture to see what it looks like.

L – R: Fire (Foiled), Fire, Water, Water (Foiled)

The Blue out of Fire Water is indeed beautiful, and the swatch does it justice… but it’s still too glittery and crumbly to be classed as anything other than a pain in the arse.

Here’s a quick EOTD with Pink Icing/Devil’s Food (my favourite):

Very simply: Pink Icing on the lid, Devil’s Food in the crease and foiled as a liner.

Sorry for the manky eyeball shot, hopefully you’re not eating or anything… I woulda shut my eye, but then you’d have had manky creasey eyelids to look at instead.

Thanks for all your recommendations on which other Laura Geller products I should have a look at, I’ve now got *quite* the shopping list!  Enablers, the bleedin’ lot of ya!

This is Part 3 of a triple post on the Urban Decay Alice in Wonderland Palette.  Check out Part 1 and Part 2.

Whew!  I’ve been on a marathon swatching session for you to feast your eyes upon!  I hope the photos are clear enough.  I’ve worked hard to keep the swatches as close to real life as possible and I’m confident I’ve achieved it.

Slightly less importantly, I’ve added a commentary of my thoughts on each of the shadows.  I think eye shadow preferences are a particularly personal affair, so please be aware that these are my personal likes and dislikes.

There still seems to be a lot of (mis)information flying around.  To clarify, the Alice in Wonderland Book of Shadows will be released exclusively at Debenhams.  It appears that *some* stores won’t be receiving stock, so do check with your local store in advance to save disappointment.  If your store won’t be selling it, you will be able to order it online from Debenhams.com (and there’s usually a free delivery code floating around on t’internet to save you a few pennies).

The palette will be priced at £28 (UK) / €37 (Ireland) and the rumours that there are only 2000 palettes allocated for our shores are untrue.  There will be many more than that, but it IS limited edition and it WILL sell out quickly as sales in the US have proven.

Ok, that aside… let’s get started shall we?

Key:

S = Shimmer
SG = Shimmer Glitter
UGBCGGIOM = Ugh! Great Bit Chunks o’Glitter, GET IT OFF ME!

UNDERLAND (flash) (S) – A true violet.  It’s buildable to a strong intensity with 3 strokes… definitely leaning towards the cool tones –

ALICE (painkiller) (S) – Beautiful aqua turquoise.  Highly pigmented, one firm stroke gives solid opacity on the lid.  Not a shade for shy, retiring types! –

CHESSUR (chopper) (SG) – A gold that leans towards brown.  This would be great for a pop of intensity to an otherwise neutral eye.  It’s gold, but not gaudy –

WHITE RABBIT (polyester bride) (UGBCGGIOM) – More commonly known as “Polyester Bride”.  It’s a white with silver reflects.  Gritty in the pan, the large chunks of glitter are more likely to end up on your cheeks than stay on your lids.  Be prepared to apply your eyeshadow with your head tilted toward the ceiling in an attempt to minimise fall out –

ORACULUM (baked) (S) – A true intense yellow gold.  Blends like buttah and I fear that I’m already making a very slight dip in the pan on this one –

QUEEN (last call) (S) – One of the nicest cranberry shades I’ve ever worn.  Most make me look like I’ve been rubbing my eyes, this one has enough purple in it to avoid that.  Texture is simillar to UNDERLAND –

WONDERLAND (maui wowie) (SG) – Quite hard to describe… a neutral gold?  60% Gold/40% Silver?  It’s paler than the others in the palette and slightly more metallic.  Glitter is present, but mostly disappears with a couple of taps of my brush.  Other than being a beautiful shade in it’s own right, I love this one for it’s flexibility.  It pairs beautifully with most of the shades in the palette –

CURIOUSER (grifter) (SG) – Looks pink in the pan, applies lilac-y on my pale skintone.  Slightly less pigmented than the majority of shades in the box, but like UNDERLAND… it’s buildable.  Unlike UNDERLAND, it contains glitter which will build alongside the colour intensity –

MUCHNESS (x) (S) – Pretty peach with a golden sheen.  A lovely duotone that would look great set against blue eyes, but not such a great shade for my pale pink skin.  Texture however, is smooth as a baby’s bum and strongly pigmented –

MUSHROOM (mushroom) (S) – In my world, all taupes would look like this.  The perfect blend of grey/brown, a gorgeous crease colour –

ABSOLEM (homegrown) (S) – I’m not a fan of greens (which is one reason why I prefer this palette to the BOSII), but I’ll try my hardest to be impartial!  This is slightly sheerer than the pan would suggest… It’s buildable and safe to do so without ending up looking like a disco ball thanks to a lack of glitter.  A shimmering grassy green that would look fab paired with WONDERLAND –

DRINK ME EAT ME (sin) (S) – A fabulous champagne shade that makes a wonderful base for a neutral eye.  No glitter, smooth-textured and highly pigmented.  This is a winner! –

MIDNIGHT TEA PARTY (mcra) (UGBCGGIOM) – You knew it was coming… Midnight Cowboy Rides Again (and again, and again).  Why do Urban Decay keep insisting on putting it in my palettes! 😉  In seriousness, I know that there are lots of people out there who LOVE this shade… but for the life of me, I can’t think why.  You guys must love it *for* the glitter, ‘cos once that’s dropped onto my lashes and cheekbones (20 seconds after applying) all that’s left is a very sheer version of DRINK ME. EAT ME –

VORPAL (s&m) (S) – Stunning! Looks simillar to MUSHROOM in the pan.  Swatched, it’s a gorgeous platinum grey.  Smooth as buttah and blends beautifully.  I actually DARE you to dislike this shade –

MAD HATTER (twice baked) (S) – The least shimmery shadow in the palette.  MAD HATTER is a neutral dark brown which should get kudos for not leaning towards the red.  It’s slightly sheer on the first stroke, which I appreciate as it would be easy to go overboard otherwise.  I’m sure it’s an absolute staple neutral shade for many –

JABBERWOCKY (oil slick) (SG) – Underneath the glitter, this looks to be a matte black.  It’s highly pigmented… so use with a light touch!  I don’t really wear black shadows but I’ve discovered that I LOVE to use this wet as an eyeliner.  The glitter makes it a killer black liner for the evening!  Urban Decay even make a product that allows you to do this with ease (or, failing that, just wet your favourite eyeliner brush with a drop of good old H2O).  Don’t worry, Urban Decay eyeshadows can be used wet or dry! –

24/7 Pencil in ZERO – A basic strongly pigmented smooth matte black.  Glides on, doesn’t rub off easily.  A makeup staple! –

24/7 Pencil in FLIPSIDE – A super bright teal.  For me, FLIPSIDE is a wise inclusion.  The palette boasts a number of shadows that work well together to create a natural looking eye and FLIPSIDE is the perfect shade to lift that neutral looking eye out of the ordinary and into the extraordinary… straight into Alice’s world perhaps? –

That’s it!  That’s all I’ve got for you (barring a couple of dodgy looks I’ve done with the palette).  If you have any questions about the palette or swatches, I’ll do my best to answer them for you.

My latest NYX eye shadow acquisitions for your viewing pleasure!

Sparkle Cedar is a weird one, it really is as ‘gritty’ as it appears in the photo.  It’s the only disappointment in the bunch though.

These are such great value for money, but I’m a bit NYX’ed out now and can’t decide if I want any more…  Have you made any NYX purchases recently?  Re-inspire me to buy some more!