The Body Shop Earth Lovers Shower Gels

I'm not usually a Body Shop shopper, but when I received an invite to the Eco-Conscious Shower Gel launch I was interested to see what this new range is about.

The Earth Lover Shower Gels are readily biodegradable and formulated without sulphates, parabens or colorants, to minimise their impact on the environment. This also makes them gentle on the skin; they are quite a thin texture and aren't madly foaming alone but they do lather up nicely with a shower pouf.

This is the second range from The Body Shop to carry its Eco-Conscious label (the Rainforest Hair Care range was the first), and as well as the simpler, more easily biodegradable formula, it means that the packaging is made of post-consumer recycled waste.

There are six scented variants, launching in March, each with a fruit and herb combination (and there's also an unscented version). I picked the Melon & Eucalyptus and Unscented versions to try, and I like both a lot; the Melon & Eucalyptus is a soft, fresh smell, and the Unscented is good for anyone who is very sensitive to scents or prefers no fragrance in their body cleansing product (I'd have loved it when I was pregnant and my sense of smell went bonkers). They are both pleasant to use, gentle and affordable at £5 each. Swapping your usual shower gel (if it's not already a similar formula) for one of these is a small and simple step to green up your shower routine.

At the launch event for Earth Lover, The Body Shop invited along Eco consultant Donnachadh McCarthy to talk about other actions that can be taken to reduce waste and your impact on the environment in the bathroom. As well as using eco-cloths to clean rather than chemicals and fitting a water-reducing shower head, one of the tips that really resonated with me is not heating or lighting a room you aren't using. I'm turning into my father, but my nagging is gradually encouraging Miss London to turn off the light when she leaves a room!

Disclosure: the two shower gels mentioned were provided without charge as part of the launch event. I was also given some lemongrass seeds to grow, and we've just started those off in the airing cupboard.

By Terry Rouge Terrybly Lipstick in Torrid Rose 303

I bought this in SpaceNK last week, and said I would post a picture wearing it. I like the Rouge Terrybly formula very much; I do find it comfortable and positively moisturising (it adds moisture, rather than not drying out my lips). The downside of this is that I do need to use a lip brush to get a clean line, although it doesn't feather on me after it is applied and has 'set' a bit into my lips. 

Torrid Rose is not quite as bright as Tom Ford Pure Pink, although it is definitely a cooler, brighter rose rather than a browned/dulled rose. I thought Pure Pink and Torrid Rose were much more different, until I swatched them side by side:

Yes, I've graduated from buying similar red lipsticks to buying similar bright pink lipsticks. Torrid Rose is slightly lighter, and also has more white pigment in the base, because on my lips it is noticeably less bright than Pure Pink.

Picture in context of the rest of my face:

It's a nicely wearable pink/rose and I'm glad I bought it. I'll definitely be having a closer look at some of the other pinks from the range. 

Butter London No More Waity Katie available to pre-order at Zuneta

My favourite royals are Prince Philip and Princess Anne respectively, and I'm not really very fussed about this upcoming royal wedding (you may have heard about it on the news once or twice. Oh, and in Hello and OK constantly. At least it makes a change from Peter Andre).

What I am a bit excited about is the rather cheeky Butter London nail polish, named 'No more Waity Katie'. A nude beige with lavender sparkles, I've pre-ordered mine from Zuneta already. The wait list for pre-order opened today, and I'd place a bet that it sells out before the dispatch date of 01 March.

Image is from Zuneta.com

New Rouge Terrybly - the Pinks, and a SpaceNK code

Unfortunately I was only able to get pictures of three of the five new pink shades in the Rouge Terrybly range from By Terry. The sales assistant in SpaceNK found the tester for 302 Hot Cranberry after I'd already gone outside and taken this photo, but I did get to have a look at it and swatch it and it is much more of a reddish pink shade than those shown here, and a little warmer than 304. We didn't manage to locate 300 Cupid Peony, but according to the sales assistant this is a bright barbie bubblegum pink, lighter than 301.

The shades I did manage to swatch are:
301 Pink Party - BRIGHT pink. Not fuchsia, but a very bright pure pink, actually even a little brighter than Tom Ford Pure Pink.
303 - Torrid Rose - slightly warmer, more muted but still brightish rose shade. This reminds me of Samilke from Kevyn Aucoin, and is the one I purchased. A picture on my lips and a face of the day picture will be coming soon.
304 - Cherry Cherry - cherry pink, a little more pink than Tom Ford Cherry Lush - halfway between Moroccan Rouge and Cherry Lush.

The SpaceNK gift with a £75 purchase is also available in stores, as well as online. It consists of a Lipstick Queen Jean Queen lipstick, a Rococo nail polish in Sno Baby (at least, that's the shade that was shown in the store today), a mini (15ml) Laughter EDT and a mini NARS powder foundation (the size of a single NARS eyeshadow). This is available from today until Saturday, but I already have the Lipstick Queen lipstick and the only other thing I'd want is the Rococo nail polish, so it makes more sense for me to just buy the nail polish. The online code to redeem this offer is EXPRESSION.

New Pure Colour Lipsticks from Estee Lauder

L: Rose Tea, R: Bois De Rose

Estee Lauder are revamping their lipstick range with the new Pure Colour Lipstick line in two formulations; the full coverage Long-Lasting lipstick, and sheerer Crystal lipstick (both come in creme and shimmer finishes). These have been available in Harrods since the end of January and are launching nationwide and on the Estee Lauder website www.esteelauder.co.uk from 28 February (Monday).

I was given the opportunity to pick a couple of shades to try, and I chose Rose Tea and Bois de Rose. In the tube, these look very similar, and are the type of rose/pink/brown shades that I typically chose if I'm not wearing a red or bright shade.

L: Rose Tea, R: Bois de Rose

Swatched, in same order. L: Rose Tea, R: Bois de Rose

Rose Tea looks less brown on my lips than it does when I swatch it, but my lips do tend to make many natural shades read pinker and paler than they do in hand swatches. On me, this is a natural, subdued lip. I would wear this with a heavier eye make-up; it'd work well with the Wild Violet eyeshadow palette I reviewed here.

Bois de Rose is deeper, and has more reddish/rosy tones than Rose Tea. Bois de Rose is an intensified lip to me, and a brightening colour, whereas Rose Tea is more of a natural lip. 

The fig scent is never going to be my favourite (I liked it until I was pregnant, but ever since I've found it a little hard to love) but apart from that these are great lipsticks. The two colours I picked to try are both colours I'd wear a lot, and there is a good range of shades to choose from. The formula is creamy and comfortable, and wears well for at least three hours even in these more natural shades (I find bolder colours generally tend to last longer) without drying my lips or feathering. 

The colour chart:

Disclosure: products in this post are PR samples.

A very good biscuit baking book

I make lots of jokes about Boden clothes and how very middle-class it is, but I do like the women's stuff for work and mini-Boden for Miss London. (1. We are middle class. 2. You can buy clothes for tall girl children that don't make them look like mini ladies of negotiable affection).

Just to make everything that little bit more middle-England, Mr Boden sent us this baking book as a thank-you after a recent clothing splurge. The quote from Nigella Lawson on the front makes me want to stab my eyes with a fork a bit, but it's a really good biscuit baking book from the Biscuiteers, who make and sell special occasion gift biscuit baskets and cards. Their website is at www.biscuiteers.com.

Miss London and I haven't worked up to the really fancy designs yet, but our iced stars taste very nice indeed. If you already make a good biscuit the recipes are likely a bit basic for you, but it's very good for biscuit beginners and the basic recipe is a great one.

Celia Birtwell £1 lunch bag for Boots and MacMillan Cancer Support

I often grab a Boots Meal Deal for lunch, and think this is a lovely (and stylish) way to carry it, in support of a very good cause. Can't say I care for the Shapers sandwiches (too weedy for me) but hopefully I'll be able to sneak my usual fat sandwich in and still buy the bag. I do always get Shapers Ginger Beer and Snack a Jacks Chilli snacky things to complete my meal deal, so I have a half-healthy lunch. The Celia Birtwell bag is available at 300 Boots stores until 22 March, costing £1.

There are also some very pretty Star bag charms, also £1 each, available from all Boots stores. All proceeds from the bag and the charm go to MacMillan Cancer Support.

From the press release:

Through their long-term partnership, Macmillan Cancer Support and Boots UK want to improve the lives of everyone affected by cancer. Together they are delivering more ways to access information about living with cancer to the high street, in local communities and online. For example, Macmillan Cancer Support is training 15,000 Boots pharmacists, dispensers and healthcare assistants on the issues surrounding cancer, and the advice support and services that are available to them through Macmillan Cancer Support. Customers are also able to pick up a leaflet with general information about cancer.

Shiro Cosmetics Three Wolf Moon Intertube

This is one of a new range of lip products by Shiro Cosmetics. The Intertubes are based on internet memes, and the Three Wolf Moon meme arose from a t-shirt featuring three wolves howling at the moon, which was given customer reviews on Amazon assigning it magical powers (sort of the Chuck Norris of t-shirts). 

I don't usually care that much for shimmery lip colours, but the shimmer in this is red rather than pink or gold, and so it doesn't look obvious or wrong to my eye. The colour is lovely; a deep rose red that can be applied lightly for a red stain or built up to quite a strong red. The texture is actually quite dry and non-greasy, but not at all drying. The cinnamon flavour is noticeable but not overpowering; it gives a nice tingle on my lips on first application but doesn't sting. The scent reminds me a lot of the Uruku lip colours from Aveda (actually, the colour reminds me a little of Bixa from this line, which was one of my first reds many, many years ago).

I'm surprised and impressed by how long this lasts on me; I get a soft red stain that lasts through food and cups of tea and fades down gradually and evenly.

Swatched more heavily on the left, and lightly on the right.

Applied over a base of Lanolips 101 ointment. 

Shiro Cosmetics are available from www.etsy.com/shop/shirocosmetics, although the shop is currently on holiday while they move into a new warehouse.

Ila Bath Salts for Cleansing

I most often use these bath salts after a stressful week at work or after particularly intensive exercise and I do find that a bath with these helps to reduce muscle ache the day after a workout.

The blurb on the box says, 'Himalayan Salt Crystals draw out toxins from the skin, while juniper berries stimulate the circulation, geranium sends energy to the lymphatic system. Your body will feel refreshed, your aura cleared of negativity.'

This weekend, I put the cleansing claims to the ultimate test. I went out on Friday afternoon/evening with an Australian friend, and attempted to match her drink for drink (red wine, followed by cocktails. It seemed like a good idea at the time). Consequently, I felt like I was dying for most of Saturday.

I had a bath with the Ila Cleansing Salts in the early evening on Saturday after a day of feeling very sorry for myself, and definitely felt a lot more human afterwards, if not completely brilliant. I'm not sure about my aura, but my head no longer felt like it was going to fall off and my stomach was noticeably settled. They have a clean herbal smell that isn't too strong (thank goodness).

So, Bath Salts for Cleansing do what they say on the tin, although I will be sticking to them after exercise rather than excess in the future. *

These are comparable to the price of Elemis Milk Bath at £42 for 500g. I bought mine during a 30% off sale at beingcontent.com, but I can no longer see them on the Content website. They are available from www.feelunique.com.

Ingredients: Himalayan Salt Crystals (Sodium Chloride), Essential Oils Of Lavender (Lavandula Augustifolia), Rose Geranium (Pelargonium Graveolens), Juniper Berry (Juniperus Communis), Lemongrass (Cymbopogon Schoenanthus), Patchouli (Pogostemon Cablin), Naturally Occurring Citral, Citronellol, Geraniol, Limonene, Linalool. Mineral Compounds: Himalayan Salt Crystals: 99.35%.

*I have vowed never to drink again. Perhaps a vow not to mix red wine and cocktails is more realistic.

Melvita Quintessential Beauty Oil for dry skin, and other Melvita Launches

I should really dust that skirting

Melvita is a French brand that uses natural and organic ingredients in its products, and is reasonably priced. It was founded in 1983 by Bernard Chevilliat, a beekeeper and biologist. It is a brand I've been interested in having a look at since it was launched in the UK last summer, but never gotten around to doing so, and I was recently invited to a preview of its Spring and Summer 2011 launches.

Melvita is probably best known for its stable of beauty oils; a range pure plant oils suitable for a variety of uses. In February it launched a trio of facial beauty oils each blending three plant oils and five essential oils - The Quintessential Beauty Oils: one to moisturise dry skin, one to soothe sensitive skin and one to re-balance combination skin.

I was given the Moisturising Care for Dry Skin. This is a blend of Argan, Hemp and Inchi plant oils with Neroli, Rosewood, Immortelle, Myrrh and Carrot essential oils. The scent of this facial oil is subtle but lovely; a gentle citrus smell, and it is quite a light texture; it sinks into my skin well and does not feel greasy or oily. Used alone at nighttime after cleansing, in the morning my skin feels plump and comfortable but not overloaded. I am considering purchasing the Re-Balancing Care for a nighttime treatment in the summer, when my skin can often go a bit bonkers. At £28 for 30ml, it's a relatively affordable way to try a high quality, organic blended face oil.

Also launching in March are more products in the Naturalift range: as well as the existing cream there is a new lip and eye complex, a serum and a mask. I was given the cream to try, but I haven't opened it yet; I try not to test too many new skincare products at once.

Launching in late Spring - the Algascience range, a slimming/detoxifying body care range, based around marine ingredients and caffeine to help combat fluid retention and puffiness. I don't believe that any product can melt fat or cure cellulite, but these smelt and felt very pleasant. My pick of the range would be the bath salts with Laminaria seaweed, sugar and sea salt.

Finally, the Extraordinary Waters launch in early summer. These are a floral lotion with glycerin and hyaluronic acid, similar in texture to the Japanese skincare lotions (the step before moisturiser), in Rose to rejuvenate, Narcissus to brighten and Orange Blossom to moisturise. These do contain alcohol, according to the INCI on the French Melvita website, so I would need to approach with caution if I do decide to give these a go.

Melvita products can be purchased from the website www.melvita.com, from Wholefoods, some John Lewis stores or from the flagship shop in St Martin's Courtyard, Covent Garden.

Disclosure: Moisturising Care Facial Oil and Naturalift Youthful Skin Cream provided as part of launch event.

Eye of the Day - Suqqu Ginbudo Blend Eyeshadow and Jet Bordeaux Eyeliner Creamy

I pulled out this Blend Eyeshadow and liner today; the launch of the Suqqu Creamy Glow Lipsticks in March is the next colour cosmetic launch I'm most looking forward to, so I'm gearing up for that. I am also interested in the new Frame Fix Cream Foundation (which should be released in the UK sometime in the Spring).

I used the white (matte) all over as a base, the purple (matte) in the outer corner of my mobile lid and into my crease, the taupe shimmer on the rest of my lid and blended into my crease, and the sheer gold on my browbone. I would say these are noticeably more pigmented (apart from the deliberately sheerer shimmery gold) than most previous Suqqu eyeshadow quads, and a lot more pigmented than the Spring 2010 Kisui collection (although the Spring quads do often tend to be lighter and sheerer).

The Eyeliner Creamy gel liner is excellent; it gives a boldly coloured line, and thickness of the line is easily controlled with the brush. If you wanted to smudge it for a smoky line you would need to work very quickly indeed, but I personally prefer a smudgier pencil for that kind of liner look. The Suqqu gel liner lasts all day and does not budge or smudge until I remove it.

My previous post on this palette (with swatches of the eyeshadows) can be found here.

A (not great) full face picture (it's very hard to avoid odd angles when taking a photo of yourself). I'm also wearing Balancing Cheeks 03 Hinagesi, and Blend Lipstick 14, a sheer pink/beige. I like this overall look better than the one I showed in the picture I posted when I first bought the quad, perhaps because of the extra definition the gel liner adds, or perhaps because I'm not wearing a competing bright purple t-shirt today.

Suqqu is available in Selfridges London and Birmingham.

Tom Pecheux for Estee Lauder at Derek Lam NYFW

I try not to overdo press release posts, but I like the look that Tom Pecheux designed for the Derek Lam New York Fashion Week show very much (and I was interested in seeing a picture of the man himself too). I think it works well on all three girls, and it's interesting how the ratio of silver to black eyeshadow and the shape of the winged eye has been adapted to suit the individual colouring and features.

I like the look on Liu Wen particularly. This shot shows the nail polish used, which is Porcelain, launching in Autumn 2011 (credit: Jin Soon Choi for Estee Lauder). Liu Wen has really beautifully shaped nails; it's nice to see such an elegant shortish shape.

The point make-up used is from Estee Lauder Autumn 2011 collection. I'm not sure I could go quite so nude matte on my lips, but I do like the texture and combination of the metallic silver and shimmer black eyeshadows.

My guide to looking and feeling good (well, human) with a baby

It's always interesting to see where traffic to my blog comes from, and one traffic source recently made me a little sad. My rms Beauty 5 minute face video was linked on a parenting forum, in response to a mother who had posted that she was feeling ugly after the birth of her child. I thought I might write a post on how I got through the fugue state of the first couple of years of Miss L's life while managing to look, if not exactly stunning, at least halfway decent/alive.

The recommendation of rms Beauty products is a very good one. I breastfed Miss L for a loooong time, because she threw up like the child in the Exorcist every time we tried her with formula. As a result, every last drop of oil was sucked out of my body and my skin was drier than desiccated roadkill, and I'd have loved rms Beauty then. Cream products are generally easier to slap on quickly than powder products, and the rms Beauty creams are very easy to work with, as well as feeling nourishing on the skin. They don't look overly made-up either, which is fantastic if you don't want to look too done.

Not having rms Beauty at the time, I relied on Becca and Bobbi Brown products. I swore by the Bobbi Brown eye concealer and powder kit, and I loved both Becca and Bobbi Brown cream blushes. The Becca Eye Tints would be a good choice for anyone with oilier lids as they wear very well indeed.

If you need or want to feel a little more glamorous, then I found (and still find) a good lipstick is the quickest way to achieve that. I am liking the Rouge Terrybly reds I bought before Christmas a lot, and By Terry has just released some very pretty bright pinks in this range. I also love and recommend Tom Ford Lipcolors (and I do recognise both of these recommendations are horribly expensive). I haven't tried them myself, but I know the Revlon Colorburst lipsticks get good reviews on blogs that I trust; one here by Cosmetic Candy, and here by Lipglossiping. If you're using lipstick a good lip balm is a must. I absolutely swear by Lanolips 101 ointment, which is 100% pure medical grade lanolin.

For skincare, I'd particularly recommend Apivita skincare products - available from www.apivita.com, as much for what they don't put in the products as for what they do (no mineral oil, parabens etc). The 3-in-1 Cleansing Milk removes make-up and cleanses the face quickly and gently, and I liked the First Line spf 15 day cream very much. Melvita also has effective and gentle organic products at reasonable prices.

For body care, it has to be Haus of Gloi. I'd recommend the Aether unscented line, particularly if you are breastfeeding or sensitive to scent.

I wouldn't recommend cutting your hair short (I know, I didn't follow that advice myself) - it's actually easier to deal with longer hair as you can throw it into a ponytail or knot to keep it out of the way. I found I had to wash my hair more often when it was short too.

Not strictly beauty related, but I found I looked a lot fresher when I wore lighter, brighter colours near my face rather than my habitual black. Also, babies tend to throw up on your shoulder a lot, and it's less obvious on paler, patterned fabric than it is on black or navy. Uniqlo has lots of good t-shirts and tops at reasonable prices, and I swear by their knit leggings trousers (okay, they're jeggings). They're as comfortable as leggings, but they have proper pockets and a zip and button fastening, so they're more aesthetically pleasing (to me, at least). Also, BritishBeautyBlogger swears by them, which is good enough for me.

Haus of Gloi Valentine's Review - Come Hither and Something Hopeful

I love Haus of Gloi so I stayed up until midnight to nab the new Valentine's collection when it was launched (and good job I did; Come Hither Pumpkin Butter had sold out by morning). At the moment, most of the Valentine's stuff has been restocked, so it seems a good time to put up a post with my thoughts on the bits I've tried.

Come Hither - described on the Haus of Gloi website as 'Based off of traditional herbs and roots used in Hoodoo to draw and attract a lover, or entice the one you've already ensnared! Bourbon vanilla, tonka bean, cardamon, a touch of rose oil, Queen Elizabeth root, three threads of saffron and a touch of honey to sweeten the whole deal.'

Come Hither is very hard to describe. It's warm, a little spicy and a tiny bit rosy, but it's not any of those notes excessively. Although it doesn't smell very similar to Jo Malone Blue Agava & Cacao Body Creme it has a similar feel to the fragrance - not overpoweringly any one note, but it just makes my skin smell really good.

I wouldn't recommend this for anyone who likes very fresh scents (Something Hopeful is the one for you) but it isn't overpowering and is relatively subtle in the Pumpkin Butter (although, like all Haus of Gloi scents, it lasts all day on the skin). I found myself sniffing my arm during the day to get a whiff of it.

Something Hopeful - described as 'Perhaps the first stirrings of the spring to come. Warm sakura blossom green tea with the tiniest droplet of plum juice, red mandarin and crystallized jasmine essence.'

Something Hopeful is a delicate, fresh, clean, very slightly fruity scent. If you like Litchi Milk Tea, I think you'd like Something Hopeful. It's gorgeous in the Whipped Soap, and I also like it in the Pumpkin Butter for a lighter fragrance. I want to get this in the Bubbling Scrub too.

I didn't buy anything in the Who Needs Love scent as I don't generally get on with foody scents, but the coffee note has me a little interested. I might sneak a 2oz Pumpkin Butter in to my next order.

Looking forward to OPI Pirates of the Carribean

Photo is property of www.just-nice-things.co.uk, used with permission

There was a preview yesterday for bloggers of the release of the OPI Pirates of the Carribean collaboration collection, called Ahoy Me Hearties (coming out in the Summer, with the new PoTC film). I didn't get to go, but Helen from www.just-nice-things.co.uk did, and she took this picture and many others.

I'm interested in Mermaid's Tears, Stranger Tides and Skull & Glossbones, and the Silver Shatter top coat. I love anything sea-themed, and I love the murky greeny/grey shades.

You can see Helen's full post here. Do any of these shades appeal to you?

Love is Nice, London style

These are what pass for romantic gifts in the London household. Mr London said that he bought me Angry Poppet because it reminded him of me.  I bought him the Sean and Ed peg dolls for Valentine's Day.

Poppet is from www.etsy.com/shop/Strangestudios

Sean and Ed are from www.etsy.com/shop/RandomlyGenerated - who also does the Firefly crew, all the Doctors (including the Paul McGann one, but we'll gloss over that) and Star Wars.

Roxana Illuminated Perfume Chaparral review

'They're setting fire to the cornfields
As you're taking me home.
The smell of burning fields
Will now mean you and here.' *

Chaparral is smoky, smoky, smoky. It's one of the series of Illuminated Perfumes celebrating the aromatic landscape of California, but it reminds me personally of the smell of stubble being burnt in fields at the end of summer (this practice was mostly stopped in England in the 1990s). The first sniff of Chaparral immediately took me back to the smell of fields full of flame in late August evenings.

The fragrance is a smoke/sage/frankincense blend, with the smoke (solid) or sage (liquid) taking immediate centre stage on my skin, before frankincense comes through as a dry incense/woodiness. I find the smokiness softens through the day although it still lingers, and a salty skin note appears which develops more as the day wears on. The herbal bay/sage notes linger gently, although they don't shout.

I like the solid and liquid forms layered, which I wear most often at the moment with Haus of Gloi Snow Wolf Pumpkin Butter body cream underneath. I bought this primarily to use as a winter scent, but I think it'd work well as a fragrance for autumn and summer evenings (the solid layers beautifully with Green Witch liquid). It would also be a good fragrance choice for a man, and a good choice for a work fragrance as it is a drier incense scent rather than a heavy or oily one.

There is a sibling liquid fragrance called Tangent (also pictured) which does not have the smoke of Chaparral. It has more of the clear herbal tones, and an almost eucalyptus note to my nose (possibly from the use of more sage and bay in the formulation). It is also somewhat sweeter in tone than Chaparral.

*Kate Bush 'Never Be Mine', with apologies to my parents for playing this continuously as a moody teenager. 

By Terry Touche Veloutee swatches and first impressions

A good friend (and bad influence) asked me if I could have a look at the three colours of Touche Veloutee concealer to help her with shade choice, and here are the swatches.

Touche Veloutee claims to give lightweight but full coverage, with botanical ingredients to help combat dark circles, eye bags, wrinkles et al. The texture reminds me a lot of Sisley Phytocernes concealer, although the Touche Veloutee is a little more moisturising and fuller coverage.

Porcelain looks like the best match on my hand, but it's a bit too light and pink for me (and has a slightly stronger pink cast that my camera couldn't pick up in the not-very-sunny street). My skin is about NC20, Bobbi Brown Warm Ivory coloured. Cream is a bit dark for me (but I think it'd be your colour, Kathy).  Beige is a bit warmer and darker than Cream, but wouldn't work for any skin darker than a golden olive; there are no colour matches for deeper skintones.

I wasn't tempted to buy one (I prefer the texture of my rms Beauty 'un' cover-up) but this would be good for a less dry skin or someone who wants a soft matte texture, rather than a creamy one. Although the product blurb states there are 'soft focus pigments' in the formulation there is absolutely no discernible shimmer to my eye (a very good thing in my opinion - I don't care for the shimmering eye concealer-highlighters).

By Terry Touche Veloutee is available at SpaceNK, and costs £30 (it is quite a big tube though).

StrangeBeautiful Nail Polish - Yeats Poem Lapis Lazuli and Cinder

I loved the idea of the StrangeBeautiful nail polish collections. The brand's creator, Jane Schub, was previously an illustrator and draws the inspiration for the colours from a diverse range of objects and memories: Joseph Albers Colour Theory, A Mid Century Modern Knoll Fabric, Oscar Wilde (what colour is Oscar Wilde? I wish I knew) and one of my favourite descriptions: the dull red colour of a lobster shell immediately after it has been removed from boiling water. 

None of the polishes are labelled. Some you can recognise from the inspiration, some you can't. They are extremely pigmented indeed and a careful person could easily get away with one coat. I slopped on two for maximum colour punch (the brush is also very user-friendly, although you do need to be a little careful not to pick up too much polish at once on the first go). 

StrangeBeautiful polishes are sold in colour libraries of eight 15ml bottles for £45, or duos of 7.4ml bottles for £17. The libraries represent better value for money, but only if you will wear all eight shades (or you have a friend you can split them with). I bought this duo because I absolutely loved the look of the blue in it and it is every bit as cobalt and rich in real life as it appears on the Cult Beauty website. Cinder is a good greige too - it's not too yellow and is flattering to my pale olive hands. 

StrangeBeautiful polishes are 3 Free. I found they dry quite quickly, but do better with a top coat than without; with no top coat I did get tip wear very quickly (within a day). The Butter London top coat works well with these for me. 

For a very good photo of another StrangeBeautiful colour (a green-winged teal, maybe) see this post over at the marvellous Worship at the House of Blues blog. 

For pictures of the Camo Library (which I covet, and may well end up buying) see this post on The Non-Blonde.

I bought these from www.cultbeauty.co.uk. The libraries are also available at Liberty. 

MAC Kissable Lipcolour in Temper Tantra

I wrote that I might buy a more traditional lip colour in this formula, and today in Cambridge I did just that. Interestingly, more of the Lipcolours are sold out in the MAC store than the Mega Metal eyeshadows, which is the reverse of the online situation. I suspect that this is because the lipstick formulation and colours are more impressive in real life than they appear online and because the eyeshadows vary a lot in pigmentation and metallic-ness (which you can't test online).

The Kissable Lipcolours are a gloss/lipstick hybrid, have the typical MAC subtle vanilla scent, aren't sticky and give decent colour coverage. They don't last particularly long without substantial fading, but they are very comfortable to wear (and I usually find even MAC Lustre finish lipsticks dry my lips out).

I bought Temper Tantra, which looks quite brown in the tube but reads as more of a mid/deep browned pink on my naturally mauve lips (it reminds me a lot of Bobbi Brown Putty lipstick in colour).

Swatched on my hand:

In context of the rest of my face. I'm wearing Unflappable and Dalliance Mega Metal eyeshadows, and Brit Wit Blushcreme. Although it might not look like too much in the photo, I do feel a bit overcooked with this eye and lip combination.

Temper Tantra is a good match with Brit Wit Blushcreme, I think in future I will wear this combo with a simpler eye look.

Brit Wit and Temper Tantra

Spring 2011 Trollbeads - the Beach Kit

From left: Angles, Triangles (silver), Whitecap, White Stripe, Mermaid (silver), Drifting Seeds, Dragon (silver), Turquoise Feather, Brew of the Moor (silver), Summer Dot, Turtles (silver), Sea Urchin, Beach, Viking (silver), Conch, Lucky Knot (silver), Azure Bubbles.

I bought the whole Beach Kit from the new Spring 2011 collection - I wanted four of the beads, so it made sense to buy the kit as you get six beads for the price of five (that's girl maths at its finest). The beads in this kit are:

Whitecap, White Stripe, Summer Dot, Sea Urchin, Beach and Conch.

I found an online shop (based in Germany) that has pictures of each bead in store, so you can choose each individual bead. This is really useful for trollbeads as they are handmade, and each bead can vary quite a bit even in the same type of bead. I wish more online shops would do this.

MAC Peacocky, Unflappable and Dalliance

I bought two of the new MAC Mega Metal eyeshadows from the Peacocky collection yesterday, in Dalliance (left) and Unflappable (right). Dalliance is a pale gold with slight greenish undertones, Unflappable is a purple-toned charcoal in the pan that swatches more of a plum-toned charcoal on my skin.

I thought this combination reminded me a bit of Habenera, until I found Habenera and took some comparison photographs.

Swatches:

Unflappable is darker and cooler than Habanera, and has a finer texture with none of the micro-glimmer in Habanera. Dalliance is obviously more gold and less minty than Habanera.

I like the textures of the Mega Metal eyeshadows I picked very much; they're soft and pigmented and easy to work with. Unflappable is less metallic to my eye than Dalliance.

Picture applied: Unflappable in outer half of mobile lid and below lower lashes, Dalliance in inner half both blended into crease. Picture taken in (cold) natural light, which has muted the colours somewhat.

Picture in context of the rest of my face (with flash), which is a better overall colour representation of the two shades.

I did also buy one of the Kissable Lipcolours, and it was this one:

This is Peacocky. I'm not sure yet I'll be wearing it outside of the house other than dressing up as Delirium next Halloween, but I'm currently enjoying freaking out Mr London with it. I will probably post a full face picture wearing this soon. I'm not sure if it is just completely unflattering, or so totally unexpected that your eye doesn't quite know what to make of it. I wonder if blue lipstick will ever be able to go mainstream like black nail polish or (to a lesser extent) red eyeshadow have.

I might go back and buy one of the more traditional colours in the Kissable Lipcolour formula - it's very comfortable and not sticky, although it doesn't last very long on the lips. The eyeshadows are already selling out fast online, so a counter or MAC store are your best bet for getting hold of them.