Nars Egea and Tokyo eyeshadow duos - the difference that texture makes

Egea top, Tokyo bottom.

These are two superficially similar eyeshadow duos from Nars, one of which I consider a mistake and one I like very much.

The two shades (pale sage and lilac) in Egea are too similar in depth and tone and altogether too frosty. I don't care for very frosty eyeshadows on me, but it's made worse in this duo by the fact that both shades are the same, extremely shimmery texture. There's no variation in depth or texture, and when I apply it all I see is a blah of shimmer. Egea is not a duo I enjoy using because of the extreme frostiness.

Tokyo's dusty lavender is a satin finish, the brushed silver isn't too bright, and is a touch lighter than the lavender. The silver is also more of a glowing pearl finish than out-and-out frost. Although it gives the same blur of non-colour as Egea, I much prefer the finish and effect of Tokyo.

Swatched: Egea top, Tokyo bottom.

Egea actually looks more visually interesting in the palette than Tokyo does at a counter, but I have learnt that interesting is not what I look for in eyeshadow! I much prefer a subtle haze of colour that adds definition and shadow without screaming colour or frost.

Beauty Spotlight Weekly Round up 24 November

Pammy Blogs Beauty has a new blog series: Check out MAC Matters: Building a Core MAC Collection with less than $21 per month!

Obsessed with her hair, Teri constantly tests and tries the latest hair tools. On Beautiful Makeup Search this week, she has the hottest hair tools for the hair you want this Holiday season.

Wouldn't it be great if you could indulge in your chocolate cravings without the calories? Prime Beauty shows you how with the LORAC Sweet Temptations Holiday Collection!

The Pink Sith has gone plum crazy over her MANNA Cosmetics Plum Crazy Eyeshadow Palette!

15 Minute Beauty shares which beauty products the founder of Tavarua Skin loves!

Marcia from Beauty Info Zone seems to be obsessed with subscription boxes. She’s constantly on the hunt to find the latest and greatest. Since there’s a new nail polish box, Color Me Monthly, she just had to see what it was all about.

Looking for No-Fail Beauty Shortcuts? Check out what Helen from Lola's Secret Beauty Blog had to say in her REDBOOK interview!!.

Perilously Pale has found the perfect traditional grey toned smoky eye palette with a kick. Taupe and sparkle! Check out why she's so smitten with the Yves Saint Laurent Pure Chromatics Palette in #12 released as part of YSL's Holiday 2012 collection.

Whilst it’s all about the holiday collections at the moment, the Becca Fall Smoke & Grace collection has made a quiet appearance. Beautiful soft smoky eyes paired with a nude lip, Visionary Beauty thinks this is definitely not a collection to be missed.

Jessika from polish insomniac shows us her favorite polishes from the China Glaze Holiday Joy collection.

With all of the talk (ie, jokes) about the new Chanel No.5 commercials with Brad Pitt, Paula from Older Girl Beauty wants to remind you of the history of this iconic scent.

Lisamarie from Beauty Crazed gets a chance to take the new MAC In Extreme Dimension Mascara for a test drive. Y'all can't buy it until after Christmas but until then, feel free to admire her lashes!

S5 Skincare Replenish Serum review

S5 Skincare is a new skincare brand created by Laura Rudoe, the person behind the Evolve skincare brand. The idea behind the range is to use botanical ingredients from 5 extreme ecosystems to target 5 specific skin concerns.

Cosmeceutical is a made-up word. The organic content of the products also varies; this one is only 30% organic ingredients, although all ingredients are natural/plant-based. With those grumbles out of the way, I like this product very much, and have found it useful for combating the drying effect of cold and windy weather and central heating.

The Replenish serum is a light oil formula, containing sea buckthorn, desert pomegranate, rosehip and argan oils. It's recommended for dry or scarred skin, and I've been using it for a few weeks, mixed with my moisturiser (not an S5 one, but the combination works perfectly well). I like adding a drop of the oil to a moisturiser as it's easy to control the dosage; I use one drop with the moisturiser for my face, but two drops for my drier neck and decolletage, allowing me to customise the richness of the mixture where I need to. I actually find this works better for me than applying the oil first and moisturiser afterwards; I find I sometimes get areas of congestion if I apply an oil directly to my skin.

I have found the Replenish serum works well to keep my skin comfortable and flake-free. If you have a moisturiser you love that isn't quite moisturising enough, this is a good product to consider to oomph up the richness where you need it.

S5 sells these try-me sizes on their website now, and I wish more brands would do this. It's better than a sample sachet to determine if a product suits your skin, but saves you putting down the whole £££ for a full product. I've just bought a try-me size of the Nourish cleanser and Restore cream to try out.

The Replenish serum costs £44 for 30ml. It is available from Selfridges, www.beingcontent.com and the S5 Skincare website at www.s5skincare.com. It's only available in the try-me size in a trio with the Illuminating and Renewing serums for £35, but but both of those look quite interesting too.

Ingredients:

Coco-Caprylate, Rosa Rubigiosa Seed Oil*, Hippophae Rhamnoides Oil*, Punica Granatum Seed Oil*, Argania Spinosa (Argan) Kernel Oil*, Parfum (Natural, Low Allergen Fragrance), Tocopherol. *ingredients from organic farming

Disclosure: PR Sample

ESpa 24 Hour Replenishing Eye Moisturiser

I was trying to buy the Korres eye cream that Kate from Drivel About Frivol wrote about in this post when I bought this one. The Korres one is discontinued, and a hundred readers and commenters on Kate's blog cried. I went to Liberty to try to hunt down a tube of the Korres, and ended up at the ESpa counter after having no luck with my original mission.

I've never bought anything from ESpa before, although it seems like the kind of brand I'd like (although I'd avoid the toners, which have alcohol in them.)

This eye cream is light enough to sink in quickly without causing any puffiness, and it is very good at long-lasting hydration. I find fine lines are minimised for the whole day with a morning and evening application, living up to the 24 hour hydration claim (and my skin is naturally quite dry and fine around the eyes, so that's impressive). I have noticed some improvement in dark circles after a month of use; it hasn't magically faded them into nothingness but I look well-rested, even if I'm not.

At £35 for 25ml the price is quite reasonable too. I still wish I'd been able to try Drivel Kate's magic eye cream (discontinued) but this one isn't half bad at a very good price compared to some eye creams on the market.

More information and an online shop is at www.espaonline.com.

Ingredients:
Aqua (Water), Glycerin, Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil, Isopropyl Palmitate, Cetearyl Alcohol, Glyceryl Stearate, Polysorbate 60, Sorbitol, Sodium PCA, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis (Sweet Almond) Oil, Phenoxyethanol, Hydrogenated Olive Oil, Tocopherol, Borago Officinalis (Borage) Seed Oil, Glycine Soja (Soybean) Oil, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Xanthan Gum, Sodium Lactate, Oenothera Biennis (Evening Primrose) Oil, Acacia Farnesiana Flower/Stem Extract, Centella Asiatica Leaf Extract, Ginkgo Biloba Leaf Extract, Macadamia Ternifolia Seed Oil, Prunus Persica (Peach) Kernel Oil, Glyceryl Polyacrylate, Benzoic Acid, Olea Europaea (Olive) Fruit Oil, Centaurea Cyanus Flower Extract, Dehydroacetic Acid, Caprylyl Glycol, Pelargonium Graveolens Flower Oil, Aniba Rosaeodora (Rosewood) Wood Oil, Santalum Austrocaledonicum Wood Oil, Sorbitan Stearate, Sodium Hydroxide, Boswellia Carterii Oil, Citrus Aurantium Amara (Bitter Orange) Flower Oil, Salvia Sclarea (Clary) Oil, Styrax Benzoin Gum, Sodium Benzoate, Anthemis Nobilis Flower Oil, Pogostemon Cablin Oil, Spinacia Oleracea (Spinach) Leaf Extract, Urtica Dioica (Nettle) Extract, Gardenia Florida Flower Extract, Sorbic Acid, Potassium Sorbate, Polysorbate 80, Cinnamyl Alcohol, Citronellol, Geraniol, Limonene, Linalool

La Bella Figura Perfume Oils

The ladies at La Bella Figura offered to send me some of their natural, hand-blended perfume oils to try recently.  The three fragrances are inspired by the travels of the two Bella Figura creators, Victoria Fantauzzi and Karen King, and each is a tribute to a different city. These are my thoughts on them after wearing them for a while.

Description of Paris from La Bella Figura:

Paris perfume oil is inspired by the city in all her splendid glory. Romantic and feminine with delicate complexities, it unveils like an olfactive memory of strolling through the scented gardens of Parc De George Brassens. This perfume is designed around its heart notes of tuberose flowers, rich, earthy orris butter and sweet cognac reminiscent of the grape vines of pinot noir that adorn the apiary in the park. The dry down trails off into a wonderful abyss of gentle woods and spicy sandalwood with slight balsamic kisses of vanilla and amyris. A truly lovely and impressionable perfume for floral lovers.

Paris is a well-balanced slightly woody-herbal floral fragrance. I love a good magnolia, and it works beautifully here with the other tarragon and lavender top notes to give a clean and fresh floral opening. No note dominates, and the perfume moves smoothly into the floral heart and warm woody base. I'm not usually a big fan of either tuberose or sandalwood but again, these notes don't dominate and never become oily or cloying - I get more orris than tuberose, which suits me well.

If you like Strange Invisible Perfumes Magazine Street this is worth sniffing, although Paris is more a chic city garden than the swampy beauty of Magazine Street. Paris is clean, chic and pretty without being soapy or forgettable, and I'm surprised by how much I love it (I expected Buenos Aires to be my favourite by a mile, but I'd actually buy Paris instead, and it's the sample vial I've used up first).

Description of Buenos Aires from La Bella Figura:

Deep, dark, and mysterious, Buenos Aires perfume oil is an exotic dance bursting with sensuality. Tobacco offers traces of suede and smoke with layers of rose, violet leaf, and orange blossom unfolding into soft, elegant roundness. Refined Argentine mate, vanilla and peru balsam intensify with bourbon and forest woods, revealing a most beguiling and intoxicating perfume.

Buenos Aires isn't particularly dark on my skin; I do tame smoky scents considerably though. On me, it's more fresh golden tobacco, not pipe smoke, and it's a golden spiciness rather than the dark green stickiness of a tobacco scent like Soivohle Meerschaum. The yerba mate in Barcelona adds a fresh herbal tea-like note.

It's definitely darker and more nighttime than Paris or Barcelona, but it's not overpowering; I'd describe it as a clean woody fragrance, and one that a man could comfortably wear too.

Description of Barcelona from La Bella Figura

Barcelona perfume oil is crisp, bright, and uplifting with top notes streaming rays of sunshine and sparkling cava. Its heart is pure gold and sensuous like an exquisite summer evening. It finishes with great warmth caressing skin with a touch of creaminess and blonde wood. A beautiful sophisticated fragrance full of discovery and awe.

Barcelona is lovely warm citrus. It has orange and lemon top notes (more orange than lemon to my nose) with pink peppercorn for added sparkliness, then a waxy jasmine heart that lays over the La Bella Figura soft wood base I recognise from the other two fragrances.

These are lovely fragrances that are a pleasure to wear and smell. The perfume oil lasts pretty well on my skin, although it does benefit from a lunchtime refresh. They are $90 for 0.25oz, so priced along the lines of other artisan natural perfumes. I'd like to see La Bella Figura selling the small sample vials I was sent; it is good to test a fragrance before buying the full bottle if you are buying online at the higher end.

Available from www.labellafigurabeauty.com.

Disclosure: samples.

Beauty Spotlight Desert Island with Modesty Brown

This week it's Modesty Brown's turn to visit the Beauty Spotlight Team's Desert Island and she gets a little carried away. The products are pretty good, so it is worth glossing over the fact that she's clearly 'lost' it! Let's see which twelve products made it into her desert island bag.

Original photo from ABC Lost site. May have been slightly tinkered with.

Go and find out what she takes with her at Modesty Brown is Lost.

New handbag from MimiBerry

My old handbag has finally given up the ghost, and I've just bought this one from www.mimiberry.co.uk to replace it. I am not a handbag fetishist; I don't go for big name designers and I prefer simple, well-made and roomy.

It's made in England, beautiful leather, big enough to hold all my junk, zip fastening and has smaller handles that are still big enough to carry over the shoulder, and a long strap to wear across the body. Plus, it's purple (it's also available in grey and green).

It's fully lined, with an inside zip pocket and a couple of open pockets on the other side.

The model is the Handy Pelham, which is in the sale section reduced from £262 to £157. Customer service was also excellent; I received my bag a day after placing the order.

Beauty Spotlight Weekly Round Up 10 November

Perilously Pale is excited to share her brand new site design with you AND the amazing new Fyrinnae Samhain 2012 collection.I know, I know.The Fyrinnae is prettier, but it's still worth checking out both. ;-)

Teri from Beautiful Makeup Search took COVERGIRL's latest mascara out for a test drive. How did it perform?

15 Minute Beauty has been using way too much mascara! Check out what 30 layers of Clump Crusher looks like.

Lola's Secret Beauty Blog is madly in love with the Giorgio Armani Nude Lip Set featuring Rouge D'Armani Beige 103 and Gloss D'Armani Beige 103.If you love a gorgeous nude lip- then this is a must-have set!

The Pink Sith Blog tells you all about Literal Linda and the Lise Watier Portfolio Corrector. She is also giving one away, so enter today!

Over at Prime Beauty, poor Cindy is befuddled (it doesn't take much) trying to pick which bareMinerals Holiday Gift Sets to keep and which to give. I'm all for the 1 for you 2 for me method!

Sparkle and Gold, it must be the holiday season approaching, Visionary Beauty shows us the Dior Night Golds palette.

Pammy Blogs Beauty's Holiday Shopping Guide 2012 series continues with her review of Laura Mercier's beautiful Color-To-Go Palette

Beauty Info Zone not only has a fabulous Cult Nails purple lacquer to share with you but they've joined with bloggers all around the world to say STOP BULLYING. Come see the gorgeous glittery Seduction polish as well as to read our message.

Modesty Brown shares swatches of the Make Up For Ever Black Tango palette along with a quick face of the day.

Beauty Crazed is giving stuff away and wants everyone to enter - if you are looking to update your makeup bag with some Burberry Beauty, shu uemura, Veil Cosmetics, Revlon and more be sure to come and enter!

London MakeUp Girl shows us what Dior Addict lipstick in Londres looks like on her, and what other colour cosmetics she likes to wear with it. She had to buy it for the name!

Paula, from Older Girl Beautyreceived some exciting news this week - her BFF is pregnant! Now she just needs to learn about pregnancy beauty products, starting with the Mama Mio 9 Month Stretch Kit.

Dior Addict lipstick Londres 783

A couple of you wondered what the lipstick was that I bought Mata Hari to tone with; it's this one, Dior Addict lipstick in Londres. Karla Sugar describes Londres as 'kidney purple' and that's quite accurate to my eye (although unappetising!) It's a sheer purpled rose with the slightest drop of grey/brown. 

On my lips, Londres reads as a slightly mauve but quite natural rosy tone. That's on my lips - I think it'd have a tendency to pull blue/frostbitten on the wrong colouring, so I'd suggest testing at a counter unless you know mauve/blue undertones work for you in lipsticks.

These are the other products I'm wearing with it; NARS duo eyeshadow in Tokyo and NARS Mata Hari blush. 

The full face. It's pretty low key, but that's how I like to wear make up most days. The purple hair is PURPLE at the moment; I overspludged the Fudge in the colour v conditioner ratio, but it'll fade down quickly. 

NARS Mata Hari blush

I was looking for a blush recently to complement a mauve-toned rosy lipstick, and NARS Mata Hari powder blush turned out to be the perfect solution. It's a cool toned rose with blue/purple undertones, no shimmer and absolutely no warmth/brown tones. 

Compared with Gaiety (left). Gaiety is a similar tone, but lighter.  

Swatched: Gaiety left, Mata Hari right. The difference in depth is more pronounced in the swatch; Gaiety has a very white/pastel base, where Mata Hari is a clearer deposit of pigment.

Mata Hari looks like it could turn feverish, but on my skin it reads as a natural flush. If you find a lot of pink blushes turn muddy or orange on you, Mata Hari (and Gaiety, for that matter) would be worth looking at.

I purchased this from SpaceNK - I do try to buy NARS here for the N.Dulge points, but I've noticed their selection of NARS products seem to be getting smaller in some stores. NARS blush costs £21 in the UK.

Beauty Spotlight Team stranded on a desert island, part 1

One by one the Beauty Spotlight Team members are being stranded on a desert island. Poor Marcia from Beauty Info Zone drew the short straw and has been airlifted there.

Will the items in her whimsical bag reflect what she took with her? Click on the picture to go to her post and find out.

Nourish Golden Glow Toning Souffle body cream

This is the perfect product for party-ready skin. I'm not going to say the C word, but we all know it's coming.

I've written about Nourish skincare before and I was recently sent one of their new body products to try out. The Golden Glow Toning Souffle is a light body cream with golden shimmer and ingredients to nourish and tone the skin, including argan oil, peptides, marine extracts and hyaluronic acid. It smells beautiful; a subtle spicy-orange from the frankincense, myrrh and neroli oils in the formulation.

The golden glow isn't too yellow; it's a white gold, light cream texture that moisturises well but isn't so thick that it is hard to spread evenly.

The shimmer that it imparts is subtle but pretty, and good for imparting a healthy glow on paler skins that don't like to fake tan. I am sure it would also look lovely on a deeper/warmer skintone. Here it is applied to my arm (you can click the photo to enlarge for a better view of the shimmer - and my goosebumps).

Nourish Golden Glow Toning Souffle is £24.95 for 150ml, available from www.nourishskinrange.com.

PR sample.