Got Rid of the Man

No, not Mr London (despite his interest in Scarlett Johannson's appearance at Selfridges tomorrow.) This is a picture of the Rouge Bunny Rouge lipstick, Got Rid of the Man. It is a very lovely easy to wear red. It's also comfy, non-drying, fades evenly and it does not bleed even without lipliner. (See? I told you it was the D&G, and not me.)

I'm also wearing Solstice Halcyon eyeshadow and Vermeer cream blush. The picture was taken at a godawful hour of the morning before we left for London for work, and so I do look a bit washed out.

Rouge Bunny Rouge is available exclusively at Zuneta in the UK. The lipstick costs £22.

Dr Alkaitis Organic Purifying Cleanser Review

Dr Alkaitis is a raw ingredients line. This means that none of the ingredients or the finished products are heated above body temperature, to avoid compromising the active components (like the RMS Beauty products I wrote about here.) I decided to give this cleanser a whirl almost on a whim when I was ordering a moisturiser from beingcontent.com. I'm very glad I did; this has quickly become an absolute favourite of mine.

This does sting if you apply directly to the eye area (yes, I tried it, but only once!) I remove my eye makeup first with another cleanser, and then I use one or two pumps of the Dr Alkaitis mixed with a little water all over my face and neck to cleanse. It does not foam excessively, but it rinses clean away with water taking with it all my face make-up and the grub and grime of a day in London. My face feels soft and completely clean with this cleanser, never stripped afterwards but balanced and peachy. I credit this with keeping my complexion clear, particularly around my chin where I am prone to congestion. When I started using a REN cleanser instead of this at night recently I started to get clogged pores on my chin, nose and forehead; a few days back on the Dr Alkaitis has sorted that out entirely. I also like the fact that the packaging is a hygienic pump tube, and the cleanser has a pleasant fresh herbal smell.

I only use a cleanser at night; in the morning I simply wash with water. I'm about half way through the bottle of this after 3 months of almost constant use. It cost £35 for 120ml.

There is more information on the entire range at the Dr Alkaitis website. When I ordered from Content, they sent me samples of the day and night cream from the range to try, and I'd certainly consider purchasing the night cream in the future (the day cream has no spf, so is not for me.) I might give the Dr Alkaitis eye cream a try next, as I doubt I will buy the Zelens I am currently testing unless it completely amazes me. I'm very interested in the Soothing Gel and the Treatment Oil.

In summary, this is an excellent cleanser with an interesting ethos behind it.

Ingredients:

Castille cleansing base (compound of olive oil, coconut, shea, jojoba, sesame, castor and borage oils), aloe vera, vegetable glycerin, chamomile, black elder, nettle, myrhh, bitter orange, rosemary, marsh mallow, benzoin, marigold, true lavender, sea wrack, icelandic seaweed, plaintain, citrus seed extract, natural vitamin A complex (from carrot and marigold) natural vitamin C complex (from camu camu and acerola cherry) natural vitamin E complex (D-alpha, beta, gamma, delta tocopherols and tocotrenols from sunflower and palm oils) and aroma (blend of 100% pure essential oils.)

Zelens skincare - currently road testing

I was in SpaceNK at lunchtime and picked up a couple of samples each of the Zelens eye cream, day cream and night cream to try out, while purchasing a replacement for my broken MAC lip brush.

SpaceNK at the Brunswick centre (Marchmont Street, near Kings Cross) is friendlier than the SpaceNK in Covent Garden, where they have in the past looked at me as if I had asked them to sacrifice their first-born whilst tap-dancing naked in Trafalgar Square when I asked for a sample of a specific product (to be absolutely fair it is possible that Chantecaille and Fekkai just don't provide samples. At those prices, and with no returns on opened products unless you have an allergic reaction, they really should.)

So, I'm testing this line, and specifically the eye cream, to see if it's a contender for the new-eye-cream-from-next-month's-budget purchase at the end of the week. At £95 for 15ml, it will really have to go some to outperform the Sarah Chapman and justify being double the price, but I'm very glad to have the opportunity to try it.

Hei Poa Monoi with Tamanu review

I have liked and used Hei Poa Monoi for several years - I used to buy it in Harvey Nichols which was the only stockist when it first arrived in the UK. It's a much cheaper alternative to NARS body glow (and more authentic, as the monoi is not diluted with other oils.) I've bought and liked the original Tiare scent, and the Vanilla scent in the past. This time I decided to go for the variation with Tamanu oil, which is known for its additional healing properties.

This stuff is interesting. It's solid when the temperature is below 24C, and liquid at temperatures above that. You can still use this when the weather is cooler - if you hold the closed bottle under a hot running tap for a few seconds it quickly liquifies. If it's liquid automatically in the morning, I know I should be using it every day as a body moisturiser. Put simply, it puts back what the sun takes out of your skin. I am very careful about using a sunscreen, but it's impossible to avoid the sun completely and even with a sunscreen I find my skin can feel a bit hot and parched at the end of the day. This is perfect as an aftersun for those who do still like to tan (but please, think golden rather than mahogany. If Christian Ronaldo could look like a barbeque chicken on a spit in those dreadful holiday pictures, the rest of us mortals look no better with a too-deep tan.)

Don't be afraid of using an oil to moisturise - it's almost like a dry oil and sinks in very quickly, as long as you don't use too much. I find it much lighter than using a body cream in the hotter month(s?). Hei Poa monoi has a subtle gardenia type of smell, and the tamanu in this variation lends a soft and pleasing slightly nutty undertone. It's also very good to protect the delicate ends of the hair and to defrizz. You only need a tiny amount on dried hair - start with a 5 pence piece sized blob.

I bought mine from Zuneta.com. It's also on HQhair.com, which often has codes for free samples/free shipping - it's worth signing up to receive these. Hei Poa Monoi costs £9 for 100ml.

The ingredients are:

Coconut oil, fragrance, tahitian gardenia extract, tamanu oil, tocopherol, benzyl salicylate, amyl cinnamal, linalool, geraniol, citronellol, benzyl benzonate, limonene, farnesol, benzyl alcohol.

Baby Butter London: guest nails from Miss London.

Miss London was admiring my nails, and I made the mistake of telling her that Artful Dodger was the nail polish that Miley Cyrus was wearing at an MTV award show.

Miss London is a big fan of Ms Cyrus' work, and as it is the summer holiday, I agreed to paint her nails with Artful Dodger.

This picture terrifies me, because her hands look so grown-up, and although she's seven, inside my head she's still about two.

Nude Advanced Eye Complex review

I've previously reviewed the Sarah Chapman Skinesis Eye Recovery here and I like it very much. About two weeks ago I finally finished my tube, and as I have been profligacy personified recently I decided to use up the half finished tube of Nude Advanced Eye Complex I'd purchased before Christmas before buying more of the Sarah Chapman.

This has milk peptides, acacia, Coenzyme Q10, argan extract and mountain ash in it. It is meant to have an immediate, dramatic lifting effect, to smooth wrinkles and reduce dark circles and puffiness. Sounds miraculous right? Well, on my eyes, it fails to deliver.

For me, this is a reasonably good eye cream at an extraordinary price. It doesn't irritate the delicate skin under my eyes (and many other eye creams have) but it does not particularly hydrate it well either - it's not hydrating enough for me to wear it under my Bobbi Brown or Becca eye concealers which both require setting with powder. It also takes a relatively long time to sink into the skin. I've noticed in the two weeks I've been using it that my dark circles have gotten worse (I was wrong when I said the Sarah Chapman didn't help these, apparently) and the fine lines around my eyes are becoming more noticeable. I can see why I asked for the Sarah Chapman for Christmas, despite having recently purchased the Nude.

The Nude costs £60 for 15ml, Sarah Chapman is £40 for 15ml. As soon as I hit next month's fripperies budget, Sarah Chapman Eye Recovery will be repurchased.

I like the idea of Nude, but I haven't been hugely impressed with the line, and find it expensive for the results it delivers. I did like the Cleansing Oil (it smells edible, and it's lovely for a really deep cleanse) and the Advanced Smoothing Complex (which did seem to help improve skintone, and does not have that odd slippery silicone texture.) I did not care for the moisturiser at all, which performed the double whammy of being insufficiently hydrating while managing to clog my pores.

The website is www.nudeskincare.com and it can also be purchased at SpaceNK and beingcontent.com.

Suqqu Marotsuya autumn/fall 2009 collection

The fall 2009 collection, Marotsuya, is now up at the Suqqu Japan website. Betsy at Autumn Masquerade has written a very interesting post on it here, with screenshots of the products from the Suqqu website.

I agree with Betsy that this collection is about the interplay of light and shadow. If you click on the link to the collection, and then on the "Movie" tab, you can see the Suqqu head artist apply the collection to the model. I find this fascinating, and I think it's a new idea for Suqqu this season. Although the Makeup Pattern (which gives an illustration on how to achieve the different seasonal looks) is helpful in picking colours, it is very useful to see them actually applied to the model. I found the application of the dual contour shadow very interesting; the darker shade is applied from the inner edge of the eye (next to the nose) in an arch up to the browbone, and the lighter shade is used under the outer corner of the eye, from the middle of the lower lashline in an arc to the very top of the cheekbone near the orbital bone. It is very difficult to describe this in words, and much easier to understand from the movie, so I'd recommend watching it.

The colours of the collection all appear to be brown shades of neutral; it will be interesting to see the variations properly when I visit the counter when the collection is launched here.

Rouge Bunny Rouge more purchases and a different face

So, I was bad and ordered a couple more Rouge Bunny Rouge lipsticks and eyeshadows from zuneta.com.

I went for more colourful shades this time; I love both Solstice Halcyon and Scrumptiously Devious, but I do like a bit of colour somewhere on my face to avoid looking washed out, so I picked some brighter lipsticks and darker eyeshadows to mix in with my lovely neutrals.

Whim of Mine is a muted raspberry cream - it's somewhat brighter than my natural lip tone, but it isn't as bright a pink as I what I think of as a classic raspberry. This would be a fantastic bridal lip colour - it brightens the complexion without being overpowering.

Got Rid of the Man is a warm reddish/burgundy cream. This is a subtle red, because it is neither blue nor orange based, but has brown undertones.

Volcano Fairy-Wren is a deep true charcoal with subtle silver sparkles. This is very pigmented, but blends easily too.

Mysterious Tinamou is a deep slightly blackened sea blue/green. Again, this is very pigmented, and would work well with the Fairy-Wren to make a colourful smoky eye.

I've swatched both of the eyeshadows below. These are both with one soft swipe of my fingertip, and it's very easy to pick up the colour from the pan. I do worry slightly with the softness of the shadows if they'd be quite fragile; I will report back on this if I find it is an issue.

So, in the picture below I'm wearing Solstice Halcyon on my lid and up to my crease, and Volcano Fairy-Wren smudged along my upper and lower lashline. The lipstick is Whim of Mine.

Again, the picture is washed out compared to life - it doesn't look as pale on iphoto, I am not sure what blogger does to my pics!

Butter London Branwen's Feather nail polish

So, another Butter London polish. I like this colour a lot; I'm sure that my real nail ladies out there will be able to name a handful of similar shades, but I've not seen anything quite like it.

This is a deep purple with silver micro sparkles and red and purple shimmer. It did need three coats for absolute coverage; if I was less haphazard two coats would have given an acceptable finish. The top picture is with flash, the bottom one without.

PS: I found with the Butter London PD Quick top coat I got three days of chip free wear with my Artful Dodger last week. The small brush is still fiddly and irritating; I will be glad when these are changed, but all in all these are decent polishes in fabulous colours, and free of the big 3. I purchased this from beingcontent.com, and they are also on zuneta.com. They are £9something for 0.3fl oz.

Free REN Frankincense Body Lotion with £40 purchase

This is a freebie worth placing an order for. Get a full-size REN Frankincense body lotion with any order of £40 or over at the REN website, use offer code MOON.

Valid until 26.07.09.

Rouge Bunny Rouge swatches and face

Swatches are (from left to right)

Sea of Tranquility highlighting liquid

Vermeer blush wand

Solstice Halcyon eyeshadow

Scrumptiously Devious colour burst lipstick

I've also swatched Vow medium pencil by Illamasqua on the far right.

The picture below is not brilliant - these types of shades don't show up very well in pictures, but they give a soft and pretty look.

Rouge Bunny Rouge purchases

As you all know, I've been stalking the Zuneta website for this brand and waiting excitedly for my order to arrive. My parcel arrived this morning (along with my Illamasqua order - had a bit of a crisis deciding what to wear today, but the Rouge Bunny won.)

This line is, so far, a total winner for me. The packaging is gorgeous, and the beautiful illustrations are not just on the box but are taken through to the actual makeup casing. Each of the items has an image on it that makes up part of the Enchanted Garden illustration on the boxes, and I love this kind of attention to detail.

The products are exceedingly high quality, and I don't say that lightly. The lipstick texture is most similar to Serge Lutens (I've tried out a sample card of these, but never bought one - even I baulk at £50 for a lipstick.)

Sea of Tranquility Highlighting liquid (£45.)

This is a generous 30ml size. The texture and finish on the skin in incredible; it would send an Armani Fluid Sheer sobbing into a corner. It gives a beautiful sheen to the skin, without any greasiness or obvious shimmer. I've used it in a C shape on the top of my cheekbone to browbone, and down the centre of my nose. The colour is perfect; a very pale neutral pink (neither candy or rose, just a pure opal pink.)

Vermeer Blush wand (£28.)

This is quite a soft stick cream blush - it's much more creamy in texture than a NARS multiple. The colour is a soft rosy pink, with no mauve/cool tones. It gives a very soft natural blush, and it does not oxidise (turn orangey) on my skin like some blushes can, but maintains a true blush pink colour. Slightly oddly, this smells like sweeties (I say slightly oddly, because the lipstick isn't scented at all.)

Scrumptiously Devious Colour burst lipstick (£22.)

This is described as a lavender pink with golden opalescence. The description is spot on, but I think the colour swatches on zuneta and the RBR website might read a tone or two deeper on my monitor than in real life. It's a pale cool pink with a very subtle golden sheen - just enough to prevent frostbitten looking lips, but not out and out shimmer. This gives me pale ice princess lips, and it does not dry out my very dry lips.

Solstice Halcyon Long lasting eyeshadow (£22.)

I predict that this particular shade will be *that* eyeshadow; the one that's always sold out, and that people go nuts over (like Shu ME945, Armani 11, Bobbi Brown Rockstar or any of the taupes that MAC releases with every other collection.)

It's a glowy but not too shimmery neutral mid to light-toned taupe. This, my friends, is eyeshadow nirvana. It gives natural definition and brightens my eye colour. I'm wearing it simply swept over my mobile lid up to my crease, and then along my lower lashline, just with black mascara. I can also attest to the long wearing qualities; I don't have any kind of base on my eyelids but this lasted through an afternoon nap with no creasing.

At the moment, the only UK stockist is Zuneta.com. This was my first purchase from Zuneta, and I would not hesitate to place another order. I emailed back and forth on colour choices and they were incredibly helpful, and also kept me well-informed as to when I could expect to receive my order. My purchases were beautifully and safely wrapped in tissue paper and presented in an elegant box.

I am still stupidly excited about this line, delighted with my purchases and could already fill another basket at Zuneta. My wishlist (you know, just in case Mr London is reading!) is:

Got rid of the man lipstick - satin burgundy

Whim of mine lipstick - satin raspberry

Mysterious tinamou eyeshadow - sea blue

Volcano fairy-wren eyeshadow - charcoal

I could also do a picture of my face using the products, if anyone is interested.

Great Illamasqua pictures at Visionary Beauty

There are some really good clear pictures of Illamasqua products over at a new blog I've just discovered, Visionary Beauty. Replica at Visionary Beauty tends to like the same sort of colours that I do - neutrals with some brighter colours chucked in for the eyes, rosy/pink/reddish lip shades.

Her pictures are clear and excellent. She has pics of quite a few of the neutral eyeshadows up, and the rosy lipsticks and glosses. If you're ordering online, this blog is a great resource to help pick colours, because the colour swatches on the Illamasqua website can be quite off.

Butter London Artful Dodger nail polish

Artful Dodger is from the new spring collection from Butter London. Artful Dodger is a true teal cream; very finger-on-the-fashion-pulse, but also very wearable, even on my fishbelly pale hands. This is a cheery, summery shade, but it isn't so bright that it's garish.

At the same time I bought this (and Branwens Feather - will do a picture with this one next week) I also bought the Butter London nail base and top coat, so I'll report back on how these help with wear in a few days.

The colour applied well; the formula is pigmented and gives a deep and even coverage in two coats. The handle is still a bit clunky (even with the discovery I could take off the square bit, it's a little small for very easy handling; apparently there will be a new longer handle soon.)

Picture is with two coats and the Butter London PD Quick top coat.

V pleased with Cult Beauty

I read on Cosmetic-Candy recently that Invisible Zinc sunscreen is now being stocked at the Cult Beauty website.

This was serendipitous timing, because Miss London has recently developed a heat rash on her neck where we've been using the Kiehl's sunscreen on her. We've used Invisible Zinc on her for years (from way back when it was branded as Megan Gale) but I've always bought it from Adorebeauty in Australia. Last year we tried the Kiehl's on her with no problems (which was a lot more convenient, as I can just pick up from the shop in Convent Garden) but last year wasn't particularly hot. I'd switched over to the dregs I had left of another mineral sunscreen on her for the last week or so, but ordered the Invisible Zinc this weekend as I know we can trust this to:

1. Stop her burning or tanning, even in v hot weather.

2. Not give her a weird rash.

I ordered on Saturday or Sunday, and it arrived today. I am very impressed with the speed of delivery.

PS: Cosmetic-Candy is brilliant, and often hilarious. Do check it out if you haven't already.

Rouge Bunny Rouge

Seriously, with images like this how could I possibly be expected to resist? I've just placed an order for a few bits with Zuneta.com, the only UK stockist.

Could someone please take my credit card away from me now? I am hoping that this will be what I was expecting from Le Metier, which did disappoint me a little (and think of what I saved there!) I will report back after I receive my order and have a play with it.

It was a practical order too though, as I did get some Hei Poa Tamanu Monoi Oil (essential stuff in the summer for me - it's very good if you've accidentally caught the sun a little too much and is also good for frizzy hair. I like it on Miss London's hair and scalp to protect it in the sun, although a hat is also essential, especially on a little.)

Birthday beauty swag

I did very very well this year in the realm of birthday beauty swag. Mr London and I have a long-standing arrangement by which we give each other lists of things we would like and the gifter gets to pick stuff off it, so the giftee is still surprised.

This year, I received:

Jo Malone Red Roses Cologne

Jo Malone Orange Blossom Body Lotion

Ren Purity Cleansing Balm. This is quite new; it's Ren's Eve Lom-esque oil/wax based cleanser. It smells lovely, but it does not rinse clean away contrary to its claims. It does leave a waxy film unless I use a muslin to remove it properly.

Sarah Chapman Age Repair Serum. I have wanted to try this for ages. It's quite rich for a serum; more of a cream texture than a traditional silicone or oil based serum. I will report back after using it for a reasonable amount of time, and I won't start using it consistently until the weather is cooler and my skin needs more nourishment.

Chantecaille Narcissa lipstick. This is a replacement; I have actually used this lipstick up. Chantecaille have changed their lipstick packaging into the same sleek shape as the Lip Chics, but I think I quite miss the old traditional design. Narcissa is a non-shimmery warm natural rose shade.

Chantecaille Rose Gold eyeshadow. This is one of the new iridescent eyeshadows. These have much better pigmentation than some of the older Chantecaille eyeshadows, which are very sheer. Rose Gold is a warm beige with very slight rose undertones, metallic and soft, and quite similar in texture to the old Shu Uemura metallic eyeshadows.

I will try to add pictures of the Chantecaille when I have better light; they are both really very pretty.

Jo Malone Fragrance Combining System

Jo Malone pioneered the idea of layering two fragrances together to come up with a different blend. I like the idea of changing the mood of a favourite fragrance to suit the occasion or season; add something spicy to warm it up for winter, something citrus to make it fresher, or a heavier floral for an evening blend.

My favourite way to layer is to use a body creme or lotion in one fragrance under a cologne in another. The body moisturisers have good scent payoff (the creme in particular) and can hold their own with the cologne. The shower gel and bath oils also work well, but I'd recommend only starting off with two different fragrances at first rather than three, unless one of them is a very simple citrus blend.

If you like the idea, but are not sure where to start, the safest choices in the range to combine with others are:

• Grapefruit (not just a straight grapefruit, more of a herby fresh citrus.)
• Orange Blossom (sparkly and fresh with pretty floral orange blossom note.)
• Lime, Basil and Mandarin (*the* famous JM. This is fresh and inoffensive, although it can turn soapy on some skins. Mr London bought this (himself!) in a shower gel recently, and I quite often nick it on very hot mornings.)

If you're unsure what to pick to combine with your chosen scent, one of the above is almost guaranteed to work. These are also great choices if you want to give a gift to someone but are unsure what scents they like.

Next safest choices:

• Nutmeg and Ginger (warm and spicy, but not too foody.)
• Pomegranate Noir (fruity and incensey, but not too wood top-heavy.)

Both of these are a little spicier than my top three safe choices, but still work well with almost any of the other scents. Pomegranate Noir layered with Black Vetyver Cafe cologne is a combination of dark and stunning beauty. Nutmeg and Ginger and Pomegranate Noir also work beautifully together in colder weather; I love a bath with the Nutmeg and Ginger bath oil followed by a spritz of Pomegranate Noir (the bath oil is so moisturising I can do without a body cream afterwards.)

More unusual combinations I have particularly liked in the past are:

• Blue Agave and Cacao body creme with Pomegranate Noir cologne. This combo is very warm and like being wrapped in a blanket.
• White Jasmine and Mint body creme with Pomegranate Noir cologne. This freshens up the Pomegranate Noir and I liked this one a lot in winter.
• Amber and Lavender body creme with Red Roses Cologne. Red Roses is very very girly, and I like to combine it with the masculine Amber and Lavender to make it more serious for work.
• Grapefruit works very well with the Red Roses too to cut through the slightly heady rose, and freshens it up.

Other popular combinations can be found at the Jo Malone website, and you can also enlist the help of a Jo Malone stylist at a counter or store. I have found the stylists to be not quite as well trained since Jo Malone herself left the company in 2006. They are still extremely courteous, but less willing to venture "off list" for possible combinations. When I used to buy the products in the Brook Street store the stylists would be familiar with all the different fragrances and their notes and we would be able to try out different combinations based on these, but I have found that in the last couple of years since the counter expansions that they try very much harder to stick to the published list of two or three partners for each scent. Mr London also found this recently; he was purchasing JM for my birthday in Selfridges and the assistant was uncomfortable about selling him Orange Blossom body lotion with Red Roses cologne, because the list recommended Grapefruit.

Of course, you don't have to stick exclusively with JM to combine fragrances; as I mentioned in a previous post, I like a lot of my favourite Villainess scents under the JM colognes.

A few of my favourite things - Becca

Becca is a brand that I love for a very natural glowy look (what can I say? I have multiple makeup personalities.) It's an Australian brand, and the makeup artist who is behind the range came up with it as she wanted to create a base system that would provide adjustable coverage without looking obvious or fake. I tend to buy Becca from either the counter at the back of Fenwicks, or from the Becca Website and there are details of other stockists on the website.

Favourite things:

Concealer in Praline. This is a really good match for my pale, neutral skin, and it works on dark circles without looking ashy. There are two textures in the compact - the right side is creamier for undereyes and any drier bits, and the left side is drier and more pigmented for blemishes.

Pressed shimmer powders in Angel and Princess. Angel is a flesh/nude highlight shade, Princess has more of a rosy glow. These give a very soft and subtle glow to the skin, perfect if you want to add a little luminosity without obvious shimmer. The shimmer is hardly noticeable in sunlight, but is more apparent in artificial lighting. The pressed shimmer powder colours also come in loose shimmer powders, and I find the shimmer is more apparent in the looser powder version.

Cream blush in Turkish Rose. This does need to be set with powder as it is very creamy; I set with either the loose powder or a pressed shimmer powder. Once you set it, the colour is very longlasting. Turkish Rose looks quite dark and dull in the pan, but it gives a lovely natural flush that would work well on very fair to quite tanned skin.

Jewel dust in Nyx. The jewel dusts are loose pigments with sparkly shimmer finishes, and excellent colour payoff. Nyx is a chocolate plum shade. I like to wear this applied with a fine brush as an eyeliner for a subtle look, or over more of the lid for a sparkly smoky eye.

Eye tint in Paracus. Becca makes cream eyeshadows in pots, but these do tend to crease quite easily. The Eye tints were formulated to give a more long wearing tint without any creasing. Paracus is a neutral mid-depth brown without shimmer. It applies quite sheerly and one thin coat gives a natural shadowing on the lid, but it can be built up for a more obvious colour. This does not budge until you remove it, and it is an excellent base for other eyeshadows.

Eyeshadow in Lame. This is a shimmery taupe with subtle mauve undertones. It's immensely flattering and easy to wear for cool complexions (a warmer skintone would be better off with a colour like Shantung instead.) Lame gives a very similar finish and colour to the sadly discontinued Shu Uemura ME945 eyeshadow.

Loose shimmer powder in Mermaid. This is a cool gold with a slight green undertone. This no longer comes in a pressed form, as I suppose it would be an unusual colour choice for wearing on the whole face. I love it on the eyes, especially to set cream eyeshadows, and it is very good over Paracus (which does not need to be set, but this adds a very pretty and subtle gilded effect.) The loose shimmer powders give a wash of sheer shimmer, and are much sheerer and more subtle than the jewel dusts.

Sheer lipstick in Vendela. These are scented with vanilla fudge, but while I wouldn't choose to flavour a lipstick if I could avoid it, it does fade quite quickly after being applied. Vendela is a rosy my lips but better shade - it's not really a nude shade in my opinion. The colour payoff is good for a sheer lipstick, and it gives a healthy glossy but not greasy finish. It's a very comfortable lipstick to wear, and feels almost balm-like.

Sesame loose powder (not pictured - it's just a pot of loose powder, and you can't see the colour terribly well due to the sifter.) This is a very fine, pale slightly yellow powder. It's less yellow than Bobbi Brown's pale yellow powder.

Not so favourite things:

Luminous Skin Colour. This is the tinted moisturiser/foundation that is meant to be the first step in your skin system. I like the texture and the spf 25, I do wish it wasn't fragranced though. My real problem is that I don't have a good match in it; Sand is slightly too pale, and Cashmere looks okay when I apply it but oxidises and looks a bit orange within an hour. I also find that this does clog my pores if I wear it for a few days in a row. I tend to just use the concealer and powder on bare skin.

Ultimate mascara. If you call anything the "Ultimate" you're setting yourself up for a fall. This is a reasonably good tubing mascara, it does not add a lot of volume but it doesn't smudge or smear. It does that hideously annoying thing though of collecting excess mascara around the base of the bristles. I can accept mascara collecting around the tip, which can be wiped off easily, but a lot of product is wasted when removing the excess from around the base of the bristles (the bit nearest to the stick of the wand/lid.)

Suede eyeshadow. This is a lovely, lovely colour (a dark cool chocolate semi-matte.) It cracks if you breathe on it. I exchanged this three times before I finally gave up on it altogether, and I did not drop it or have it clanging around in my makeup bag - it chipped and disintegrated just from having a brush applied to it. I understand that many of the semi-matte shades are similarly fragile.

Lipglosses. I find these oddly plasticky feeling on my lips, and I don't like the very artificial fragrance of them.

Illamasqua Solstice liquid metal back in stock

I got an email today to say this is back in stock, and the news is also up on the Illa blog.

Yes, I placed my order before I posted this. ;) I passed on this one when I first saw it at the counter as I just assumed the texture would be like the MAC Metal X cream shadows (which creased if you sneezed. Honestly. Gilded Ash - lovely colour, terrible wear.) I had a proper look when I was makeup shopping with my friend Mary, and the Illamasqua liquid metal has a better, drier, less greasy but more metallic finish. I've been stalking the website for this ever since.

I also ordered Milf nail polish, and a couple of other bits and pieces. Will report back (and 'fess up to the whole order) when it arrives.

Going to party like it's my birthday - b'day clothes

I'm having a very happy 27th (*ahem* 35th. Ed.)

These are all the clothes I received for my birthday. The hoody is reversible, and is from Howies, as are the jeans (I love baggy jeans. These are made from organic cotton and are lightweight, and so are suitable for summer. The style is called Flipster, and is based on Thai fishermen trousers.) The T-shirt is a Hokusai print from Uniqlo, and the Chucks are purple. I'm too old to be an Emo, but I do love the shoes (I have a variety of different colours.)

All were gifts from Mr London, who obviously prefers the glamorous look on his wife.

I also received some beauty gifts, which I will post about later.

For UK Villainesses - Poshbrats exclusives, Posh and Brats

I've been a Villainess girl for a couple of years now (I reviewed Pyromania Smooch! on Emakemeup.com in May 2007.) I was pleased to recently discover that there is a UK Villainess distributor, Poshbrats. The proprietor kindly sent me some of their two exclusive Villainess blends (Posh and Brats) to try.

The Smooch!es in these scents are both classic Villainess sugar scrubs. They are nicely scrubby without being abrasive, and a great choice for everyday exfoliation. Both give a soft and moisturised finish to the skin, and good scent payoff even after rinsing off.

The Whipped!s are all a uniform texture across the Villainess range - very thick, but they sink in well and do not leave a greasy layer on the skin.

Posh is described as, "A rich heart of dragon's blood resin, white peach and crushed pomegranate washed with sheer plumeria and lightly spiced with sarsparilla."

The dragon's blood in the description is not just Brooke being whimsical; it's a real extract from the berries of the Rattan Palm tree. This is much more subtle than the Patchouli that seems to automatically go into pomegranate sniffs nowadays. I find this a surprisingly fresh interpretation of a pomegranate sniff - the sarsparilla gives an almost minty top note when scrubbed or first applied (in the body cream) that rounds out to a fruity, very slightly spicy heart. This works very well under Jo Malone (JM) Pomegranate Noir cologne.

You might like this scent if you have liked (all from Villainess): Proserpina, Paradise Misplaced, Krakatoa.

Brats, ah Brats. Brats is described as, "Ribbon candy spliced with butterscotch, salted caramels and a resinous melange of sticky sweets." This is not my usual comfort zone - I rarely enjoy gourmand body products and the Laura Mercier Creme Brulee line had an underlying smell of baby sick to my nose. I admit, I neglected this one for the Posh, until I finally made myself try it.

What I should have remembered is this a Villainess foody body product, and therefore it is not sickly (I've used and enjoyed Decadence in the past.) It's undeniably vanilla-ish and buttery, but there is a slightly salty undertone that makes it meld into the skin and seem fresher and very appealing to me. It smells like the too-delicious Burnt Sugar Sea Salt fudge . I've found that this scent works remarkably well with my JM Dark Amber and Gingerlily cologne (the Brats, not the fudge, that is.) The Brats softens the JM and makes it daytime-appropriate, and the overall mix has something of the Serge Lutens Un Bois Vanille about it. I think this would also be good under the new JM Vanilla & Anise due to be launched in September. I'd buy Brats when I run out, and that has surprised me.

You might like this scent if you have liked (all from Villainess): Decadence, Spun Sugar, Madame X.

Smooch!es and Whipped!s are both £7 each (for 7oz and 6oz respectively), and the soaps are £4 each for 3.5oz.

PS: Please keep Brats products in particular away from small children and foolish men. Mr London smelled the Smooch! when I was in the shower, and said; "This smells like sweeties. Can I eat it?" I have chosen to assume he was joking. Seriously, I could see a toddler trying to take a bite out of the soap, so please keep out of their reach.

Illamasqua to hit the US?!

I've just read on a board I'm a member of (Emakemeup) that Illamasqua arrives at Sephora NYC (Times Square) and on Sephora.com at the end of July.

US ladies - hold on to your wallets!

Info from www.blog.sephora.com, so it looks like it's official.

Honest scrap tag

I've been tagged for this by Michelle at LipstickRules. Thanks for the tag, Michelle.

The deal is that you post 10 facts about yourself to let your readers know a little more about you. Here are mine:

1. My "real" name is Lydia, but I don't think my brother has called me that in 30 years. My nickname comes from my ability to trip over a solid flat surface. I had a season ticket to Accident & Emergency as a child.

2. I have been married (happily, for the most part, but I don't think the times when we were moving house really count) for just over 10 years. Obviously, I was a child bride. ;)

3. I had meningitis at 15, and was very lucky to recover completely.

4. I am a practising 2nd Dan in traditional japanese karate, and therefore often have strange and suspicious looking bruises on my person.

5. I'm a qualified accountant.

6. I have a 7 year old daughter.

7. I have been wearing sunscreen religiously for the past 15 years.

8. I sing very very badly.

9. ...but I dance quite well.

10. I still truly believe that one day Robert Smith will realise he wants to marry me. I am not sure how I will break this to Mr London when it happens. (Well, this last one is more of a delusion than a fact.)

I think most everyone I'd tag has already been tagged (it took me a while to come up with 10 facts that weren't completely dull) but I tag:

Catanya

Helen

Tali

Jojoba

Sabrina

Mary

and anyone else who wants to do it.

Rock & Republic Drama Queen lipgloss and Rumor blush

No, I have not forgotten how to spell. This is the shade name of the blush (it's an American line) and therefore I am reproducing it exactly.

I was going to give Dolce & Gabbana Devil lipstick another whirl today, to see if the bleeding lipline was a freak event or controllable by a lipliner. Unfortunately Mr London turned off the alarm without waking either of us up, so my face this morning had to be very quick indeed.

I fell back on a couple of very easy products - Rock & Republic mousse blush in Rumor and lipgloss in Drama Queen (I admit, I bought this for the name.)

Both of these are a toning peach-with-a-little-pink shade, perfect for a healthy summer look. It's not terribly easy to wear a bronzey look if you are pale, and so this type of shade is a nice alternative for the summer.

The blush is a firm mousse texture, not as spongy as the Maybelline mousse blushes, for example, more like the texture of the Guerlain cream eyeshadows, which were lamentably discontinued a couple of years ago. It gives a soft glowy flush, and lasts remarkably well for a creamy product; I still have some colour left at the end of a 10 hour day.

The lipgloss is sheer, and gives a veil of colour. It is one of the shimmery shades in this product, there are a few creamy shades, which are also quite sheer. It is non sticky, scented with vanilla, and it does have an odd artificial sweetener taste to it.

The best swatches are at Nordstrom.com, which also helpfully describes the textures. In the UK this line is available at Harrods, but I am slightly worried they may be discontinuing it; all of the products are reduced by £2 or so on the Harrods website (the lipgloss is £16 instead of £18.) As I mentioned in my previous post on the Rock & Republic eyeshadows, this brand has a luxury positioning. I am not sure that its fashion label is sufficiently well known here to support a cosmetic brand at this price point in the UK in the current market.

There's also the Harrods factor for me - I am sure I would own more of the range if Harrods wasn't such a pain to get to. I am interested in the lipgloss in Sexy Beast (You will! You will! You will!*) which is a rosy brown, and the pressed blush in Bedroom, which is a matte pink/brown shade.

*From the Ray Winstone film.

Illamasqua contouring guide

This is a very rough guide to the contouring that Alex Box did at the Illamasqua event. The brown is the blush contouring, the grey is the contouring done with eyeshadow.

Cheeks - from ear to middle of cheek, following the line of the bone

Nose - along sides, a little under tip

Chin - along jawline

Forehead - in a diagonal from top corner of hairline to inner eyebrow, and then following the line of the eyebrow out (I found this really interesting, and it helped to balance out my pointy chin.)

Eyes - along socket, and then in a line in inner bit, near the nose, up towards eyebrow and, if you like, down towards side of nose. This gives a very strong and graphic look.

Of course, you don't have to do everything all at once - you can just pick the bits you want to shade. The lighter/closer to your natural skintone you use, the more subtle the shading will be. Amanda, my MA at the event, recommended starting off with a little product and blending well, and then applying more for a stronger look if you want to.

By Terry Rose de Rose liquid blush giveaway - the result

And the number out of the (virtual) hat was 3, using random.org number generator. Ilunawo (Lucia) - please email me your address and I'll send it off to you.

Thank you to all three of you for the feedback and supportive comments.

Grace

x

Adorable Blog awards

I feel very happy to have been nominated for this by Helen from Helen and Sheenies Nice Things. Helen is a lovely person, who I felt lucky to meet in person at the recent Illamasqua event.

Please check out the story from the recent giveaway on Helen and Sheenies blog. It puts life into persepective, and made me feel thankful to have a healthy family around me.

Well, I nominate:

Michelle (because lipstick really *does* rule)

Tali

and

Cosmetic-Candy

I also love BritishBeautyBlogger and Mizz Worthy.

Illamasqua purchases

These are the goodies I bought after the Illamasqua event.

They are:

(top left) false lashes no 13

(top right) Spite blush (brown for contouring, may be a little dark for me for everyday, I might put this up for swap and go for Disobey instead)

(middle left) Savage eyeshadow (warm deep purple. Pixiwoo has just used this colour in a purple eye tutorial on youtube, and it's also used in the Illamasqua smoky eye tutorial)

(middle right) Gaze eyebrow cake (dark grey.)

Vow pencil (pale nude flesh colour - great for waterline and highlighting cupids bow of mouth.)

Eyebrow brush and Angled blush brush (the best brush for contouring I've ever tried.)

Pic is clickable to enlarge.

Villainess Grundy Smooch! - for the morning after the night before

'We have tested and tasted too much lover-

Through a chink too wide there comes in no wonder.'*

For the mornings when your night before has involved a little too much of the grape or the grain, there is Villainess Grundy Smooch!. After I've delicately sipped a glass of Berocca and gallons of tea, I get into a shower and purge myself with this Smooch!

This scrub is a salt/sugar mix, so it is more scrubby than the sugar-only scrubs - you need to be careful not to rub too hard, especially if you have sensitive skin. I can feel it sucking the toxins out of my skin as I scrub, and it may well be psychosomatic, but my head feels clearer afterwards.

I particularly like it (even when not hungover) for smoothing out the bottom and thigh area. I don't really believe that many things you rub on your body can have a marked impact on dimply bottom skin, but it feels nice, I like the smell and it's only £7 for a 7oz tub.

Ingredients are:

Salt, Sugar, Grapeseed oil, Mango seed butter, Cetearyl Alcohol and Polysorbate 60, Cherry kernel oil, Coconut oil, Fragrance, Tocopherol, Fever-few powder, Marshmallow root powder, Nettle leaf powder, Blue algae powder.

This does smell of moss and fresh earth; if you liked the smell of Demeter's Dirt, you'll love this. There's a matching soap and Whipped! body cream available; Mr London likes the soap because it doesn't smell girly.

For UK Villainesses, there is a UK stockist, Poshbrats that stocks the whole range of soaps, Smooch!es and Whipped!s, as well as two exclusive blends in Posh and Brats. I'm currently testing out the exclusive scents, which the owner kindly sent to me to try out, and they are both very different and very good - review to follow. I'm loving Posh in the very hot weather.

*Patrick Kavanagh, by way of Marian Keyes.

A few of my favourite things - NARS

So, I thought it might be a nice idea to do some brand focussed posts, and write about my favourite things from each line. I'm starting off with NARS, which can be found in SpaceNKs, Liberty and Selfridges. The Selfridges counter always seems to be very busy, and is often out of stock of the most popular items. I like the Liberty counter, where the MAs are helpful and knowledgeable without being pushy.

Favourite things:

Lili Marlene cream eyeshadow. A dark cream eyeshadow is the best base for a smoky eye, and this grey is a good alternative to black on fairer skin (if you want a more dramatic look, or if you have a deeper skintone, Zardoz is a true black cream.) I wear this under any of the eyeshadow duos to intensify the colours and make an instant smoky look.

London eye pencil. This is a grey pencil that matches the Lili Marlene exactly, and it’s soft enough to wear on the waterline. Again, it’s a softer alternative to a black pencil that defines my eyes nicely without being too much on my pale skin. I do find NARS pencils smear a bit during the day and travel under the eye.

Cannes multiple. I’ve already given this its own post, but it is worth a mention here. It’s a good rose/bronze, perfect for holidays or on days when you can’t be bothered with much makeup.

Medea lip lacquer. Be warned, these smell of lanolin, which gives them a medicinal smell (they smell a bit like 8 hour cream, or nipple ointment for breastfeeding.) These are not drying, and this is a good colour for adding a little natural depth to the lips. Medea is a warm cinnamon colour and has a little shimmer, but is not frosty.

Eyeshadow duos. The eyeshadows duos are a particular strength in this line; there are some strange looking combinations which somehow work brilliantly. Personal favorites include Cheyenne (plum and copper) Habanera (smoky dark purple and seafoam green) and Cordura (sooty darkest brown and golden chocolate.)

Not so favorite things:

I don’t like the infamous Orgasm. It’s too shimmery, and the colour doesn’t work on me; I look like a fevered disco ball. A lot of the shimmer blushes are just too shimmery for me.

Recent collections have been glitter-tastic. Francois has been putting glitter in too many products from each collection recently. I am looking forward to him getting over this.

Egea duo. I bought this earlier in the year, and it’s a disappointment. It’s billed as a sage shimmer and smoky mauve shimmer duo, but on me it looks like indistinguishable shimmer. There is no contrast in depth or texture, and I honestly can’t tell the difference between the sage and the mauve when I apply them.

The lipsticks. There are some great colours, but I can feel them sucking all the moisture out of my lips as soon as I apply them.

Giveaway reminder

This is a reminder that the ByTerry Rose de Rose liquid blush giveaway ends tomorrow at 12 midnight.

Bobbibot - the definition

What is a Bobbibot?

It's my phrase for the slightly scary ladies who work on the Bobbi Brown counters and follow the tao of Bobbi to the absolute letter.

I had a run-in with one a few years ago back when Dickens & Jones still existed. I wanted to buy a mid-toned shade for my eye crease to contour, but apparently;

"Bobbi does not believe in contouring, she believes in a base shade, a lid shade and a liner shade."

She kept repeating this, until eventually we agreed to pretend that I wanted said shade for a lid/liner colour, and would never use it to contour my crease.

I do like Bobbi Brown (honestly) because she makes makeup accessible to many to whom it was a frustrating mystery. I do remember when as well as contouring she didn't believe in shimmer on the cheeks or any bright colours though, and how times have been changing!

The concealer and corrector are very good for very dark circles, Bobbibot or not.

Illamasqua Dare to be Different event - the report

Well, I certainly dared! Best. Time. Ever.

This was such a fun event. One of the best parts of it for me was sharing it with Helen, from Helen and Sheenie's Nice Things, who was as friendly and lovely in person as she is on her blog. There were a couple of other bloggers there - MizzWorthy and Tali. I think the majority of the other participants were simply huge makeup enthusiasts who have been sidelined by the traditional lines - there were at least a couple of blokes in the mix, including a lovely and very young lad who was quite shy at first but was definitely more confident by the end of the evening.

Alex Box is incredible - so talented and artistic. She did a step by step with the model (also called Alex, from the Illamasqua office) that went from primer to foundation to contouring to wild colour combinations. She was incredibly accessible and friendly, and seemed genuinely excited that so many people had turned up (the class was almost full to its 20 capacity) and had embraced the idea of Dare to Be Different. She made a point of thanking everyone who was there, and I really appreciate that kind of enthusiasm and courtesy. There were some amazing looks by the end of the class, although no-one was pushed to do anything they didn't want to; we had a (visiting) makeup artist at our table who started off very cautiously but finished off with amazing pink eyes and brilliant pink lips.

I said I wanted to do a Tim Burton, Sweeney Todd, Helena BC type look. I think my MA helped me to achieve that admirably. I have to say, I was slightly disappointed not get any funny looks on either the tube or the train home, but I suppose this is Friday night in London.

Things I'd suggest they do differently :

• Have more multiples of the most popular colours available; our MAs had to mug the others for the colours we wanted, which held up the evening and could have been avoided.
• Don't hold this type of event when you're stocked out of a lot of stuff. I don't think Illamasqua anticipated quite how popular it would become, but my MA had to use the black face powder instead of eyeshadow because all the dark eyeshadows were sold out. That doesn't reflect well on the professionalism of the brand, and it's not comfy for the MA either.

Things I loved :

• My MA. Amanda was funny, friendly and very talented. Illamasqua have recruited some great talent.
• The intimacy of the event - I think 20 is about the perfect number for this sort of thing. It's enough to make it buzzy and exciting, but it means you can also have one MA to two people, which helps to keep you on track with what's going on.
• The brave and interesting brand positioning. This was not a 10 step "turn you into a Bobbibot" class. There were some great universal tips on contouring and highlighting, but it was very much about following your own artistic vision, and trying something different.

I bought the angled blush brush, the eyebrow brush, an eyebrow cake, a powder blush (for contouring), a powder eyeshadow, a medium pencil and some false lashes. All of these came to just over £100, and the £20 class fee was redeemable, so that wasn't so bad.

I could do a breakdown of the colours used, if anyone is interested.

Pic with Helen, who was rocking the false lashes!

Slightly rubbish and blurry pic of our lovely MAs, Amanda and Halimah. They were still full of fun even after an incredibly long day.

When it's too hot for makeup - NARS Multiples

London is in the grip of a heatwave at the moment. As well as being blindingly hot, it's unbearably humid - the air feels like soup.

What do you do when it's just too hot for makeup?

I use concealer where I need it (on my dark circles - it's just too hot to sleep! and on the slight reddishness around my nose) and then I use a NARS multiple on my cheeks, eyes and lips.

My current favorite is Cannes, a rosy bronze shimmer. It's rosy enough for lips and cheeks, but brown enough for the lids. This gives me a touch of colour and glow without being overdone or too fussy. Let's face it, whatever you do is going to melt - may as well make it something that is easy to touch up.

When it's really hot, I carry blotting sheets instead of powder; powder just feels sticky and horrid to me if I'm sweating. I also tend to not bother with mascara with such a minimal look, but my eyelashes are darkish to begin with.

The trick with the Multiples (for me) is to pick some colour up from the stick on my fingertips and then blend onto cheekbones, lids and lips. If you swipe directly on the skin it's very easy to overcook it, and very difficult to blend. I also need to use a good balm on my lips first, as I find the silicone cream to powder formulation too drying on its own.

These are £27 each, and they'll last you for years.

In the past I've also had:

Maui - non shimmery rose, pretty, but can be a bit too pink for the eyes.

South Beach - soft apricot/bronze shimmer.

Copacabana - highlighting shade, does not add colour, very shimmery. Very good for an angelic look, but tends to make me look anaemic unless I use some colour on my cheeks with it, at least.

St Barts - cool taupe shimmer. It's a bit 90s grunge on me, if worn on eyes, cheeks and lips, no warmth/rosiness to it.

Illamasqua event - Dare to be Different

I'm attending the Illamasqua Dare to be Different event on Friday evening. What makes it even more fun is that I know that Helen from Helen and Sheenie's Nice Things is also attending - I love this blog.

The ladies on a makeup board I am a member of (Emakemeup - my username and reviews there are under Grace) all seemed a bit tickled by the idea of me going avant garde, but I am determined to do something different than my usual sludge-coloured-eyes-and-red-or-rose-lipstick.

My dilemma is - what do I do with my face beforehand? Wear no or minimal makeup? Or a full face? I usually go with just concealer and brows if I know I'm going for a makeover, but I'm also interviewing at work on Friday so I don't want to scare the interviewee. I also don't want to frighten the poor makeup artist dealing with me by thinking they have a total cosmephobe on their hands...

Illamasqua intense lipgloss swatches - Move and Indulge

When Illamasqua say these are intense, they aren't kidding.

Move is on left, Indulge on right.

Move is a mauve/pink, definitely cool toned. Indulge is a very bright pink, but lighter in depth than Move. It is a bit brighter in real life than it appears in this picture.

These are quite sticky; not as sticky as MAC lipglass, but your hair would still stick to these. They also have a boiled sweet kind of smell.