Beauty Spotlight weekly round up 31 March

The month of March was a little crazy with its swings in weather. The Beauty Spotlight Team still found ways to discover beauty everywhere we went. We have some new faces to share with you so be sure you check out the team’s posts and find some new fun blogs along the way.

15 Minute Beauty Fanatic discovered some lippies that work with every skin tone from Susan Posnick! They even stay closed in a purse!

Pammy Blogs Beauty finds that Urban Decay's Naked 2 Palette exceeds the hype! It might possibly be the best neutral palette ever for cool-toned girls!

The sophisticated Suqqu triumphs again with a beautiful array of products for spring; Visionary Beauty has a look at one of the eye shadow palettes.

Witness a miracle when Prime Beauty's stick-straight hair goes curly with Marc Anthony BEACH WAVES. All she needs now is a sunburn!

Modesty Brown shares some juicy lip action courtesy of Ellis Faas Glazed Lips in L303.

The weather is warm in the UK, so LondonMakeupGirl's thoughts have turned to sunscreens. Which ones does she recommend? Find out in Sunscreens - Which one to buy?

Beauty Info Zone has a set of 6 amazing lipsticks for all you red lovers from YBF Beauty. This set would make the cutest gift for you or your mother! Even your Mother-in-Law would be impressed.

The Pink Sith Blog has tried out the NEW Eyeko Skinny Brush Mascara. Is it the bee’s knees or a stinging reminder that there is no such thing as the perfect mascara?

At Everyday Beauty, Zuzu's Petals described how she conquered Rosacea and discussed the pros and cons of various treatments.

At Lipstick Musings, Shannon's found the perfect summer shimmery eye with Tarina Tarantino's Eye Dream Highlight Duo in Amber and Elektron . Come check out swatches and an Eye of the Day!

See how Paula, from Older Girl Beauty, *almost* had the cult classic eyeshadow "Erika F", but ended up with the pretty, grey "Last Night" shadow in her stash instead.

Polish Insomniac falls in love with a sheer grey polish called OPI My Pointe Exactly. Find out why this polish made it onto her Top 20 list!

Lisamarie from Beauty Crazed goes colourful for spring with candy coloured lips and tips from Bourjois Paris and Dior! Check them out and see if you don't think they look good enough to eat!

Perilously Pale decided it was about time she tried out some much raved about drugstore gems and has been won over by the incredible L'Oreal Infallible eyeshadow in All Night Blue.

Ilia Beauty Neon Angel lipstick and Sway Illuminator

Content Wellbeing has the new Ilia Beauty products in stock, so I went to have a look at them. I ended up buying a lipstick and Illuminator: bright pink Neon Angel and bronze Sway.

Neon Angel is a bright neutral pink cream formula that doesn't lean either blue or too warm. It's slightly brighter than Tom Ford Pure Pink, although it's very similar when applied. No shimmer at all, just pigmented creamy pinkness. It feels quite creamy when first applied and I was concerned it might migrate, but I didn't have any smearing issues and the colour lasted quite well - it's still going strong after a cup of tea and a couple of hours, but does need reapplication after lunch.

Sway is a golden bronze with shimmer; the base is yellow toned rather than red or orange. It warms up my pale olive skin without looking tangoed or obviously bronzed, although for a very pale skin I'd go for the vanilla-toned Polka Dots & Moonbeams. 

Swatched. 

I love a bright pink lip. It's a little more casual than a red, but still a quick and easy way to add a brightening splash of colour to a face. I have high contrast colouring and need some colour to avoid looking wan.

Picture of my bare lips, and then with Neon Angel applied.

Full face picture, also with Sway on my cheeks. I've got on my usual brown-liner-taupe-eyeshadow eye combination going on (Rouge Bunny Rouge Lola and Solstice Halcyon.) 

I bought both of these from www.beingcontent.com. The lipsticks are £20, and the multi-sticks £30.

Fudge Paintbox Creative Conditioning Colour

I've been using Manic Panic Lie Locks quite happily to colour my lilac streak, but when I ran out I decided to give Fudge Paintbox a try instead.

The formula is quite simple; it's basically some gentle conditioning agents, a couple of preservatives and colour:

water, cetearyl alcohol, distearoylethyl hydroxyethylmonium methosulfate, ceteareth 20, citric acid, methylparaben, colourants.

I bought the Whiter Shade of Pale toner to mix with the darker Purple Haze colour to get a lilac shade. I've tried mixing the purple shade with a plain conditioner and got the same result, so if you want a pastel shade, I wouldn't say the Whiter Shade of Pale is absolutely necessary (I'd recommend using a non-silicone, relatively simple conditioner though. I like the 3 More Inches pre-wash treatment.)

The Fudge Paintbox colour is very concentrated - a small amount (about a cm 'worm' of the colour) is enough to dye my streak. I mix it about 1:4 with conditioner for my roots where yellow/blonde tones tend to come through, and then dilute it down to about 1:8 to refresh the mid length and ends. For me, the Fudge lasts a bit better than Manic Panic - I only need to refresh every two weeks and it fades to a very pale lilac rather than grey. If you are colouring a whole head lilac, I'd say the Fudge Paintbox is a more economical way to do so as you only need a small amount of the colour and can dilute it yourself.

The disadvantage of the Fudge is that you do need to judge the strength of the colour; I have ended up with a streak more purple than I intended it to be on a couple of occasions.

Fudge Paintbox Colours cost £7.60 including delivery from www.feelunique.com. The tube is 75ml, but as I've mentioned you only need a small amount each time.

Sunscreens - which one to buy?

This was another good idea for a post that came from a comment left on another blog post - so thank you Rachel.

I use a moisturiser with sunscreen pretty much every day. I just don't like the look of my skin with a tan, and I subscribe to the idea that sun damage causes a lot of visible ageing of the skin.

Chemical sunscreens absorb UV rays, and generally release the energy as heat. If you suffer from prickly skin in hot weather, a chemical sunscreen may actually makes things worse for you because of this.

There are many chemical sunscreens, including avobenzone, oxybenzone, octinoxate and octisalate, which block different spectrums of UVA and UVB light. Mexoryl is a stable chemical sunscreen filter that also blocks UVA light well, and is a L'Oreal exclusive. I find the Mexoryl sunscreen formulations to be too silicone-heavy for my skin to tolerate well.

The safety and stability of mainstream chemical sunscreens is something that's been debated widely. I am certainly more comfortable and feel more protected using a sunscreen with at least some physical sunscreen ingredients in it during the summer.

On the positive side, chemical sunscreen ingredients are generally transparent and feel more cosmetically pleasant to apply than physical sunscreens. In the winter, I'm comfortable using a purely chemical sunscreen, as I find them to be less drying than physical sunscreens.

Physical sunscreens reflect UV rays, bouncing them off the skin. They are generally easier for sensitive skins to tolerate, and it's easier to find formulations with less silicones/parabens/mineral oil/whatever than with chemical sunscreens.

Physical sunscreens can be thick and feel tacky when you apply them, and can also leave a white cast that takes a while to sink in. I also find that they have an oil-absorbing effect on the skin; great if you are a bit oily, not so good for a dry skin.

The two types of physical screens are zinc oxide and titanium dioxide; generally zinc oxide is regarded as the better of the two for a wider spectrum of protection and for being less prone to cause clogged pores.


Chemical sunscreens I've used:

Sarah Chapman Skinesis Dynamic Defence spf 15. I've used and liked this for a few years in the winter, but it isn't one to use over an active treatment serum - the Dynamic Defence itself has a lot of anti-ageing stuff going on and it created a mess on my skin when I tried to pair it up with Perricone Face Firming Activator. If you want a one-stop, treat and protect for normal to dry skin, this is a great day moisturiser. £43 for 40ml.

Algenist Regenerative Anti-Ageing Moisturiser spf 20 is a good winter day cream. It's not as busy as the Sarah Chapman, so you can layer it over an active serum. £68 for 60ml.

Soap & Glory Feel Good Factor spf 25. I found this too silicone-heavy for my skin, but if you don't have a problem with silicones it's a good, less expensive, option. £12 for 50ml.

Institut Esthederm Bronz Repair cream. I didn't follow this initial post up with a review because I really didn't like it and I wouldn't recommend it. I found I had to double cleanse to remove it and still had clogged pores. I also didn't like the look of my skin with a tan, and I tanned extremely quickly with this (that's its selling point, so it's me, not the cream.) It also felt very sunscreen-y. £52 for 50ml.

Physical sunscreens I've used:

Trilogy Vital Moisturising Cream spf 15. Pure Zinc Oxide protection, feels a bit thick when you first apply and looks white but sinks in quite quickly. Inert, nourishing. Shame it's not a higher spf for summer, although if you don't spend a lot of time outside this might be adequate for a typical British summer. £28 for 50ml.

Invisible Zinc spf 30. I haven't reviewed this one on this blog (the link is to the Cult Beauty website where it is sold in the UK). It's another pure zinc oxide block, takes a while to sink and and feels heavy at first but gives extremely good protection. Heavy on the silicones though. £25 for 150ml.

Super Daylight Savings spf 25. I've just started using this (no review yet, link is to product page on the Boots website.) This lists zinc oxide (13.5%) as the sunscreen ingredient, although it does contain titanium dioxide too. This product leaves almost no white cast on my skin at all, which makes me suspect the zinc oxide has been micronised (ground up into incredibly small particles). It does contain mica (but no bismuth, I checked!) for a 'glowy' look - I think it also helps to cover up any potential whitening. I could live without the mica, but it's not Data-from-Star-Trek distracting, it's more a bit Twilight. I like this a lot, although it is also oil-absorbing and my skin can feel a little dry at the end of the day. £28.50 for 30ml.

Combination (chemical and physical) sunscreens:

Chantecaille Firming Sun Cream spf 30. Link is to my review. This is my favourite summer sunscreen. It doesn't feel heavy, it applies well and leaves a semi-matte finish on my normal-in-the-summer skin. It also smells beautiful. £75 for 50ml.

Coola Organics spf 30 Unscented Moisturising Sunscreen. Quite a silicone-heavy base, but feels light, applies easily and gives good protection. I used this last summer after I'd finished a pot of the Chantecaille and was happy with it (it was a PR sample). Mr London liked it too. Link is to Mise Beauty, the UK stockist, as I haven't reviewed it yet. £23.50 for 50ml.


There isn't such a thing as a perfect sunscreen, but I hope that this round up of some sunscreens I've tried together with their good and not so good points might be helpful.

For an oilier skin, I'd recommend one of the mineral sunscreens or the Soap & Glory. For a drier skin, I would recommend the Algenist or Sarah Chapman. The Chantecaille is my personal favourite for the summer, although it's very expensive.

I'd be glad to get recommendations for any other moisturisers with spf to try.

Mu London Organic Rose Foaming Face Wash

I bought this for myself, but it's ended up belonging mostly to Miss London. She'll be ten this year, and some of the children in her class at school are starting to get a bit spotty (particularly the girls). She's noticed this, and discussed it with Mr London, who assured her that 'Mummy will have a potion you can use.'

So, when her skin started to get a little congested under the surface recently (no actual spots, but a little bumpy on the cheeks) I gave her the Mu London Organic Rose Foaming Face Wash to use when washing her face at night (she'd just been using water up until this point). I don't believe in using harsh treatments when young skin starts getting a bit oilier; quite often just stepping up with a gentle cleanser is enough to be getting on with, and the Mu London has been perfect for this. We also both like the smell; a subtle natural rose.

The Mu London Face Wash base is a vegetable oil liquid soap (sunflower and coconut) enriched with rose otto essential oil and rosehip extract. It cleans skin thoroughly without stripping it, and Miss London's skin has been returned to its baby-smoothness. As she gets older we'll most likely have to introduce other products into her daily routine, but at the moment the Mu London Face Wash and sunscreen on very sunny days are all that we use.

I also use the Mu London wash myself in the morning, and it doesn't make my normal to dry skin feel uncomfortable. It won't remove heavy makeup (and don't get it in your eyes because that does sting) but it is a good, gentle, simply formulated cleanser. If you have any spotty teens or pre-teens, I'd strongly suggest trying something like this before letting them attack their skin with harsh anti-bacterial cleansers.

Ingredients:

Aqua (Water), Potassium Sunflowerate (Saponified Sunflower Oil)*, Potassium Cocoate (Saponified Coconut Oil)*, Glycerin (vegetable, naturally occurring)*, Potassium Chloride, Potassium Citrate (Potassium Salts), Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba Oil)*, Rosa Damascena (Rose Otto Essential Oil)*, Rosa Canina (Rosehip Extract)* , Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary Extract)*
*Denotes Certified Organic Ingredients.

The Organic Rose Foaming Face Wash is available from www.mulondon.com and costs £15 for 150ml. A 50ml size is also available for £7, ideal to try it out or for travelling.

PixiGlow Tinkerbell collection

I know. A Tinkerbell-themed cosmetics collection isn't exactly my usual cup of tea, but I happened to be in London on the day of a blogger event for this, and I have a soft spot for the Pixi Beauty brand (I used to like their Jet Set Lips wheels of lip colour in a particular family.)

If you've ever wondered how many people could fit into the little Foubert's Place Pixi shop - it's less than the number of bloggers that were crammed in there for this preview! 

The Fairy Face palette (£32) contains five baked eyeshadows, a baked 3-colour blush and 5 lip tints. The powder products are all shimmery and on the sheer side, as most baked eyeshadows/blushes are. The lip tints are also quite sheer, although the two bottom shades are more of a stain than a gloss and give a berry stain to the lips. It's pretty, but I wouldn't wear this much shimmer all at once on the eyes and cheeks personally (there is no shimmer in the lip tints though.)

My favourite products from the collection were the pencils:

Magic Tink Tint lip balm in Happy Thoughts Pink, Straight on till Morning eyeliner in 2nd Star Twinkle and Catching Moonbeams Crayon in Beaming Reflection. The names make my teeth hurt a little with the sweetness, but the products are very good indeed.

Swatches:

The Happy Thoughts Pink Lip Tint (£12) is one of those colour adapting pink lip balms things, with some very good ingredients. On my lips, it turns a medium rosy shade. 

The Beaming Reflection crayon (£12) is a warm beige. The formula allows you to blend for a couple of minutes and then sets. It's designed primarily for eyes, and makes a good (although shimmery) base for powder eyeshadows.

I really like the eyeliner. It's a neutral grey-green with gold sparkles, applies easily, does give a couple of minutes to blend but then sets. The colour and finish reminds me a lot of the Sisley Phyto Kohl Star in Sparkling Bronze, for a third of the price. Here is the Pixi 2nd Star Twinkle eyeliner (£9.50) applied:

The PixiGlow collection is limited edition, and is available from the Pixi boutique, some Boots shops (and online) and www.ASOS.com (although I wouldn't buy cosmetics from ASOS.com if you can avoid it - in my experience they chuck stuff into a poly bag with no padding.)

Disclosure: PR samples. 

RGB Cosmetics Dew nail polish

Dew is one of the shades from RGB Cosmetics Spring 2012 collection. It's a pale pistachio green, very pretty and very springy. Like a lot of pastel shades, it did need three coats to cover fully for a blog photo. Two coats were still patchy.

Full hand picture. I have a fondness for green nail polishes (perhaps because they match my skin undertone!) and this is a lovely, delicate one.

The closest colour to Dew that I already own is OPI Stranger Tides. Stranger Tides is a touch darker and has a greyer cast to it, which dulls the green.

Here's a picture with RGB Minty, which shows how pastel Dew is in comparison. 

I bought Dew from www.misebeauty.com, the European stockists. It's also available from www.rgbcosmetics.com in the USA.

Beauty Spotlight 17 March

Another Beauty Spotlight Team round up, and welcome to The Pink Sith, who combines great reviews with a touch of cruelty (I can't read her 'taupes you can't have' series any more. It makes me sob.)

Over at Pretty in Dayton, did Styrch choose to be "Beauty" or the "Beast" for her avant garde photo shoot with local photographer Kidtee Hello?

There's a new girl in town and her name is Sunday Riley. Beauty Info Zone has the first of several posts about Sunday Riley eyeshadows. Come see what the fuss is about.

Perilously Pale has found the most mouthwatering blush that she thinks will flatter almost every skin tone from fair to deep with Rouge Bunny Rouge Original Skin Blush in Orpheline.

Modesty Brown share the beautiful and very versatile Le Metier de Beaute Aurora Lip Kaleidoscope. There's also some exciting news for European LMdB fans!

Trip to London planned? London Makeup Girl tells you where to find some British beauty bargains in her Guide to Less Expensive Beauty Shopping in London.

In an attempt to simplify her routine, Zuzu's Petals at Everyday Beauty tries in vain to find a single brand that meets all her needs and wonders if you've found yours.

Lisamarie from Beauty Crazed is ready for spring already and has the nails to prove it! Check out her swatches from the Sephora by OPI Bohemian Brights Spring collection and see if you don't get a touch of spring fever too!

Paula, from Older Girl Beauty, talks about the new product line from Burt's Bees called "güd" that has scents so good it made her act like a fool in Target.

The Pink Sith has made her justification to get the Chantecaille Coral Reef Palette. Can she provide one for you?

At Lipstick Musings, Shannon's found the coolest eyeliner collection EVER with the new Ultraflesh Black Magic palette!

Prime Beauty fell in amour with Lancôme's new Rouge In Love High Potency Lip Color in In Corail, see why it completes her.

Are you ready to embrace your inner Tinkerbell? Then you *must* check out Pixi's new Disney collaboration palette: The PixiGlow Fairy Face Palette. It is a must have for an enchanted Spring!

Neom Organics Happiness Candles

What does happiness smell like to you? To Neom, happiness smells of a fresh spring day; green grass, bitter orange blossom and bright yellow mimosa flowers heralding the end of winter.  Neom has captured all of these scents and blended them together in the new Happiness candles. These fragrances combine with a touch of lemon to make a fresh, green floral that isn't too feminine or heady; it's perfectly suited for fragrancing any room of the house, particularly at this time of year when a fresher scent seems more appropriate. It's more floral and less herby than Refresh, but if you enjoy Refresh (it's my favourite kitchen candle) you may also like Happiness.

I was initially confused by the reference to 'natural fresh grass notes' because as far as I was aware, it isn't possible to extract essential oil or an absolute from grass. The Neom blog explains that this note is actually extracted from peppermint stalk, for any natural fragrance buffs out there who were also wondering about it.

Like the Neom candles I've reviewed previously, Happiness burns cleanly and evenly. It is available as a 3-wick Home candle for £37.50 and a smaller Travel candle for £13, from www.neomorganics.com.

I know the packaging isn't the most important thing, but I do like the redesign of the box the candle comes in, both to show the picture of one of the main fragrance ingredients (in this case the bitter orange blossom) and to have the drop down side.

Disclosure: PR sample

Spring Trollbead bracelet with Summersday glass beads

From the lock, anticlockwise: silver Angles, Triangles, Summersday Jasmine, silver Falling Leaves, Trollbeads LE from Christmas in Hawaii, Trollbeads Buttercup, silver Turtle, Summersday Bird's Egg, silver Bee on Hive, Summersday Marigold, silver Forget Me Not, Trollbeads Turquoise Feather, Trollbeads Rose, silver Ladybird, Trollbeads One of a Kind, silver Lucky Knot, Summersday Frogpond.

Summersday on Dawanda (Dawanda is basically like a European version of Etsy) is one of my favourite artisan glass charm bead makers, and she's had some beautiful beads for sale lately. I bought the four in this bracelet together, as I thought they'd work well for a spring/summer themed bracelet. The beads all cost between €10 and €12 each, which is very reasonable.

Jasmine

Bird's Egg

Frog Pond

Marigold

Her Dawanda shop can be found here:

http://en.dawanda.com/shop/summersday?#shop_products.

Guest post on Beauty Mouth

The lovely Caroline Hirons invited me to take part in her series on bloggers' favourite cleanse, tone* and moisturise routines. What this lady doesn't know about skincare is not worth knowing, so I was very pleased to be asked. When I say asked, I do mean ordered ;)

So, I'm over on www.beautymouth.com today.


*I cheated and tried to slip in a serum instead of a toner. I'll be interested to see if I got away with it.

W3ll Narcissist v RMS Beauty 'Un' Cover-Up

I feel a little like Harry Hill shouting 'fight!' but when Susan asked me to compare W3LL Narcissist and RMS Beauty 'Un' Cover-Up it was a very good idea for a post. Both are very good 'clean' concealer/foundation formulas, and both are mostly available online so difficult to compare in person.

Here are my reviews and the ingredients list for both:

RMS Beauty Un Cover-Up review

*Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil, *Ricinus Communis (Castor) Seed Oil, *Cera Alba (Beeswax), *Theobroma Cacao (Cocoa) Seed Butter, *Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Tocopherol(non-GMO), *Rosmarinus officinalis (Rosemary) Extract, and may contain: [+/- Titanium Dioxide CI 77891, Iron Oxides CI 77492, CI 77491, CI 77499]

*organic

W3ll People Narcissist Review

Sunflower oil* infused with green tea*, reishi mushroom*, and wild harvested bayberry, castor oil, beeswax*, silica, essential oils, safflower oil, pomegranate extract, tocopherol [+/- titanium dioxide, iron oxides, mica].

*organic

To compare the two formulas:

RMS Beauty is a richer, creamier formula. Coconut oil, while being very inert and unlikely to cause irritation, can be pore-clogging on some skins, and the same is true of cocoa butter.

The W3LL is sunflower oil based, which is a lighter oil and less likely to cause clogged pores. It does contain essential oils, which may irritate very sensitive skins (it's not overly fragranced, and I do count even essential oils as fragrance - I can't use Origins skincare because of the amount they pack into their products.) W3LL is still a pleasantly creamy texture to apply and blend, but it is somewhat drier in texture, and has a more matte finish on the skin.

For most skins, I would recommend the W3LL Narcissist. W3LL also has a slightly wider range of colours. For an extremely dry skin, I would recommend the RMS Beauty. I am using the W3LL happily for most of the year, but I was tempted to repurchase the RMS at a couple of points during the very cold weather in the winter, and will repurchase the RMS next winter.

Beauty Spotlight Weekly Round Up 10 March

The Mystery Makeup Bags have all been revealed! Therefore the Beauty Spotlight Team is regrouping for new surprises. In the meantime, please enjoy Marcia from Beauty Info Zone's picks of the week from the team. She hopes you enjoy these as much as she does.

Beauty Crazed has a great foundation contest.

Beauty Info Zone introduces you to Addiction NV cosmetics.

Everyday Beauty shows us the beauty of Rouge Bunny Rouge’s Florita blush.

Lipstick Musings shows us the beauty of a Tarina Tarintino eyeshadow duo.

London Makeup Girl goes nude with HIPP-RGB nail polish.

Modesty Brown tempts us with Edward Bess’ Monte Carlo palette.

My Beauty Bunny finds a great cruelty free bargain mascara.

Older Girl Beauty shows us how to enjoy Nars artistry.

Pammy Blogs Beauty shares her February Star products.

Perilously Pale shares her thoughts on Lashem Lash Gel.

Pretty in Dayton shows the POP of China Glaze.

Prime Beauty teaches us about Sue Devitt Lip Intensifier pencils.

Visionary Beauty shows us how to be natural with Too Faced.

Monica Vinader free engraving service tomorrow

Monica Vinader have an engraver on site at the South Molton Street shop tomorrow (10 March) from 12pm to 7pm. He (I am assuming it is a he) will hand engrave a message for you on any Monica Vinader jewellery purchased, free of charge, as part of a Mother's Day event. I think this is a lovely idea if you are stuck for gift ideas and are in London tomorrow.

The Fiji bracelets (pictured) are perfect for engraving.

Jo Malone London Blooms limited edition collection

Jo Malone has just launched the limited edition London Blooms collection of three colognes. These are inspired by the combinations of plants that can be found in British Gardens, and have special limited edition bottles decorated with etched botanical paintings of the plants that inspired the scent. The presentation is exquisite; these would look beautiful on a dressing table (not in direct sunlight!) and there is no label on the back of the bottle so the presentation isn't spoiled.

Back of bottle

Unfortunately I didn't like the White Lilac & Rhubarb Cologne I was sent to try. The floral side is very pretty indeed (soft and powdery lilac and rose) but the bit that's meant to be the rhubarb didn't work for me; there was a little bitterness on the drydown that smells more of crushed rhubarb leaves than the fruit (rhubarb is sharp, but not bitter to my nose). I would also have liked more fruitiness overall. I did find that it lasted well throughout the day though (isn't that always the way with fragrances you don't love?) If you like florals with unexpected savoury notes, this is worth a sniff.

From Twitter conversations with like-minded fragrance friends (a few of whom have also been sent one of the London Blooms to try) I think Peony & Moss is the safest choice, especially if buying unsniffed. It's the one I'd have been most interested in from the notes.

Jo Malone have partnered with Harrods to do something special for Mothers Day this year. On 16th, 17th and 18th March, at Harrods the 100ml colognes can be gift wrapped in a box of fresh flowers for £115 (the 100ml colognes on their own are £72). 
I think the boxes full of flowers are beautiful in themselves, and a lovely way to buy fragrance for a special occasion.

Disclosure: PR sample

Goodbye Google Friend Connect

This issue doesn't affect me personally as I am on the Blogger platform, but it's affected a lot of blogs that I love.

Here's a clickable link to some non-Blogger blogs that are affected by this issue:

http://twitter.com/lipglossiping/goodbye-gfc/members

Less expensive beauty shopping in London

This post is in response to a request from a commenter, Nina, who wants to send her daughter to London armed with a bit of a shopping list of interesting but not too expensive things to pick up. I heartily approve of child labour (Miss London is still too young to make me tea, apparently) so I'm happy to oblige.

The big Boots on Oxford Street (half way between Oxford Street and Bond Street Tube Stations) is the first spot to hit.

As well as the basics like Sudocrem and the Vaseline tins, you can also get my favourite cuticle treatment, Flexitol Cuticle & Nail Cream (Flexitol do a good balm for very dry heels too) and Lanolips Ointment.

Cosmetics wise, the Boots sells Models Own (the nail polishes get a lot of love) and Orly mini polishes, Bourjois and their organic sister-line Une, Soap & Glory and Max Factor (the fabled Fantasy Fire nail polish should be back in stock now, and they have some other nice multi-chromes in the line - I like Meteorite.)

Superdrug (I like the one in the Bond Street Tube Station shopping complex) is also worth a visit. As well as Sleek, they sell Bloom Cosmetics and Gosh (the long wear Velvet Touch Eyeliners are very good indeed). The Optimum range of anti-ageing skincare gets good reviews, although I can't remember reading any by anyone who has used it for any length of time, and I'm somewhat sceptical of magazine and newspaper skincare rave write-ups.

The Garden Pharmacy (Covent Garden tube). Sells Art Deco cosmetics (the eye primer is good, but smells oddly of washing up liquid). Also sells a good range of La Roche Posay skincare and suncare, including my favourite spot treatment, Effaclar A.I., Klorane haircare and Kneipp bath products.

Charles Fox (Covent Garden, other side of the plaza from the tube) sells theatrical make-up. Worth a visit for the Kryolan alone.

Top Shop (Oxford Square tube) be warned, this place is usually heaving by 11am. The make up is well worth a look though.

Are there any other gems I've missed?

HIPP x RGB Nail Foundation

The HIPP x RGB range is a collaboration between green nail stylist Jenna Hipp and and RGB founder Gina Carney. I was recently sent the collection for review, so I can show you all four shades. The concept of this range is that these are skin tone specific, full coverage, nude nail polishes, like foundation for the nails; in other words, these are the perfect shades for the mannequin hands manicure.

Mannequin hands look a bit weird to me, but I also think they are strangely elegant (or perhaps elegantly strange.) Painting the nail the same shade as the hand gives an optical illusion that elongates the fingers and I like it on my short nails as much as on longer ones. It's a very clean look that's a little more edgy to my eye than a more traditional pastel or sheer french nail polish. 

Like my lips, my natural nails have a bluish undertone, so painting them a pink or beige shade also makes me look a little healthier. 

From left to right, F1 is a pale yellow beige, F2 is a medium pink beige, F3 is a deep golden brown F4 is a dark chocolate with reddish undertones. All pictures are with two coats applied. 

F2 is probably a better match for my undertones, but it's a touch too dark and I prefer the look of the more creamy F1. Here are pictures of both of those on a whole hand. 

Full hand of F1.

Full hand of F2. 

These pictures give a better idea of what they look like in context of the rest of my hand. F1 (first picture) blends into my pale olive skin quite well, and is definitely more of a yellow beige than the more pink toned and slightly darker F2 (second picture.) 

I've sent F3 and F4 to a blogger friend with a darker skintone to try out, and I'm hoping she can give me some feedback and pictures to show how they work for her.

RGB cosmetics are available exclusively from www.misebeauty.com in Europe, and from www.rgbcosmetics.com in the US.

Disclosure: products provided without charge.

Beauty Spotlight Weekly Round Up 03 March

The Beauty Spotlight Team has delights from February to share with you. You might learn about some new lip products or maybe you'll be delighted by some blush. You might just decide that your finger nails need some attention or maybe you want to learn a new eye lining technique. Whatever your desires, we aim to please.

 If you haven't smelled Lisamarie from Beauty Crazed's fingers than you just haven't lived! Come on by and find out what all fuss is about scented nail polish!

Beauty Info Zone is crazy about Youngblood Mineral Cosmetics. The new spring collection has some beautiful products, especially the cream blushes. We’re sure you’ll find one (or more) to fall in love with yourself.

At Everyday Beauty, Zuzu finally learned how to line her eyes.

Shannon at Lipstick Musings has been on the hunt for an interesting alternative to her signature red lips, and she's found one in Armani's Rouge D'Armani #601. Come see if you agree that it's the perfect plum!

Modesty Brown hunts through her stash for a replacement for the discontinued Guerlain Kiss Kiss lipstick in Beige Nude. Why do the best things always get discontinued?

Pammy Blogs Beauty gets salon-quality UV gel nails at home with the Knockout Nails system. 

Perilously Pale shows us a Face of the Day using the items she picked up from the BECCA Balearic Love Collection. Beautiful products? Yes. Accurate promotional info? No.

Styrch of Pretty in Dayton played with two of her favorite polishes of all time and found they work well together!

What's lighting up Prime Beauty's life (and face) these days? Milani Illuminating Face Powder and it's under 10 smackers!

Looking for a mascara that gives you that bit extra, Visionary Beauty checks out the growth boosting claims of the By Terry Terrybly mascara.

rms Beauty Karma eyeshadow review, swatch and FOTD

I wanted to buy this eyeshadow as soon as it was announced by rms Beauty, so I was fortunate to be sent it without charge. I've said before that the line could do with a darker, cooler eyeshadow shade, and Karma fits that space very well. Like all the rms Beauty eyeshadows, this is a cream formulation in a base of coconut oil, beeswax, jojoba oil and cocoa butter.

Swatch on fingertip. The brown tones and silver glow are more apparent when swatched, but it isn't frosty. It's a blackened brown (or soft brown black) with subtle silver shimmer - it's less shimmery than the other cream eyeshadow shades to my eye, although it has the same pleasing slightly glossy finish.

Comparison swatch: rms Beauty Magnetic on left, Karma on right. 

Angled to catch the sun and show the shimmer. 

Karma Applied. I'm wearing Karma alone on my eyes with a little bit of black liner underneath my eyes and rms Beauty Moment Lip Shine on my lips and cheeks. This is one wash of the eye colour; you can build it up in layers, although it does increase creasing. It's not something I mind at all because I love the finish and feel of these (and it's very quick and easy to fix with a fingertip), but I would not recommend to anyone bothered by creasing. Karma gives a soft smoky eye. 

This costs £19 for 4.25g, is available in the UK from www.beingcontent.com and you can see the colours in person at the London shop. It is available in Ireland from www.misebeauty.com (also ship internationally) and in the US from www.rmsbeauty.com (and other stockists - details on the rms Beauty website.)

Disclosure: product provided without charge.