Beauty Spotlight round up 22 December

Burberry Sheer Eye Shadows in Pale Barley, Rosewood, and Midnight Brown are so amazing that Lola's Secret Beauty Blog might have to be renamed Burberry's Secret Beauty Blog!

Perilously Pale shares a great last minute holiday gift option with us from Urban Decay. The new Double Ended 24/7 Glide-On Pencil Set. Or heck, just pick it up for yourself!

15 Minute Beauty shared a quick and easy holiday up-do for all of your holiday parties!

Prime Beauty wants you to look your gorgeous best at those festive holiday parties so she's sharing her 4 Easy Steps for long, full, flirty lashes!

There is still some time to shop for the Holidays! Need a last minute gift for a beauty lover? Pammy Blogs Beauty loves Laura Mercier's Limited Edition Glamour Wardrobe Palette! Be sure to check out her full review!

What are you wearing for your holiday look? Beauty Info Zone participated in a Makeup War and chose some pretty products from her favorites of 2012.

The Pink Sith thinks she must have been very naughty if Santa has delivered a Birchbox as woeful as this for the month of December.

Modesty Brown compares Rouge Bunny Rouge Selene Eye Kohl to a couple of her other green liners, including MAC's re-promoted Mystery Kohl Power.

London MakeUp Girl explores a new 4 free nail polish brand with Kure Bazaar Cappuccino, a not-very-festive (but very nice) creamy taupe.

It's time for a bit of enchanted garden magic courtesy of Rouge Bunny Rouge, Visionary Beauty reviews one of their new Fragrant Confections.

Lisamarie from Beauty Crazed has been sleeping with someone, well something new - kinky right? Actually it's her new Polysporin Visible Lip Healthy Overnight Renewal Therapy and her lips are loving it - come see if you might love it too!

Would you take a pill to reduce fine lines and wrinkles? Paula, from Older Girl Beauty tell us about an anti-aging supplement and is giving away a 90-day supply, too!

MyChelle skincare review

 

MyChelle is a US skincare brand that combines natural ingredients with advanced skincare technology. I read about it in a press release, didn't fancy the product that the press release was about but was intrigued by the brand so I had a look on the website and ordered a couple of products myself.

Creamy Pumpkin Cleanser

This cleanser is too spicy for me; it feels like washing my face with a Fisherman's Friend, my skin feels dry and I get red irritated bumps on my forehead after using it. It's a shame because I like the creamy texture, it removes eye makeup effectively and washes away cleanly with water. The combination of the clove, cinnamon and nutmeg are too much for my skin, although they are reputed to stimulate dry or sluggish skin. I suppose my skin just doesn't need the stimulation, and if your skin isn't very resistant/non-sensitive I would not recommend this cleanser to you. £16 for 130ml.

Pumpkin Renew Cream (unscented) 

In contrast, I liked this moisturiser very much indeed, as the empty jar will testify. There is a scented version of this cream which has the same nutmeg/cinnamon/clove combination as the Pumpkin Cleanser, and I'm glad that I opted for the unscented version instead. This moisturiser has some very good ingredients; polypeptides, cloudberry and pumpkin seed oils and a number of potent antioxidants.

It's a medium texture; not runny, but not thick and buttery either. I found it provided sufficient comfort for my normal to dry skin most days, but not on very cold days when I had to add in a couple of drops of oil serum to prevent tightness on my forehead and around my lower cheeks/mouth. My skin was smooth and even when using this cream, with no odd congestion.  £23.50 for 35ml.

I ordered these online from www.mychelleuk.com. There's 25% and free shipping until 21 December on the website.

Beauty Spotlight Desert Island with Perilously Pale

Perilously Pale has been stranded on a desert island by her Beauty Spotlight Team mates. What twelve products did she decide would make the cut on this epic adventure. Will she be looking fabulous or hiding under a coconut hat?

Click on the picture to go to her post:

Kure Bazaar Cappucino nail polish

Kure Bazaar is a new 4-free nail polish brand that has recently arrived at www.beingcontent.com. I was tempted by the blues (Rock Star is calling me) but instead opted for the probably more sensible nude Cappuccino in my latest Content order.

Cappuccino is a lovely colour; a creamy, very slightly pink-tinged pale taupe that makes a great mannequin hand for a MAC NC20-25 skintone. The colours in the range are a good mix of classic and unexpected/brighter shades. I also like the look of Or Rose for the party season.

Picture is with two coats; there is some visible nail line still, but it applied smoothly and with no streaking. It's lasted well for me too - I have a bit of tip wear after three days of wear with no topcoat, but no obvious chips. It did take a little longer to dry than formulas with formaldehyde etc do, but not unbearably so; I just had to be careful not to snag it for 5 minutes.

£14.95 for 12ml.

Anu Essentials Perfume review; Sea Scape, Sita and Meadow Lark

I was recently offered the chance to sample three fragrances from a line I hadn't heard of before, Anu Essentials (sold online at www.anuessentials.com).  My taste runs very much towards independent natural perfume, so these appealed to me.

Sea Scape opens with neroli and jasmine (both of which feel quite marine to me for some reason - jasmine blends particularly well with salt), rose and violet leaf give a watery floral burst and then the ambergris and seaweed provide the marine feel at the base of the fragrance; salty, warm and slightly animalic. Anu Essentials Sea Scape is a warm summer sea where Roxana Illuminated Perfume Green Witch is a cool, spring sea. Both are lovely.

Sita leans more to the floral than the spicy to my nose, although it is a good balance of both. I get mostly rose from this one after an initial sparkly citrus (pink peppercorn and pink grapefruit) and a nice warm spiciness to the heart and base notes - the patchouli listed in the notes is done with a very light hand so don't be put off if patchouli isn't your thing; I get more of the coriander and clove. This isn't overly heavy, it's just a little warmer than most mainstream florals, and would be a good winter floral fragrance. Sita has a touch of the animalic base note that I smell in Sea Scape, so I wouldn't be surprised to find ambergris in this perfume too, although it isn't listed. It gives both Sita and Sea Scape good lasting power; they are both still sticking around after four hours and the base note lingers even longer.

Meadow Lark is clean, fresh and green. I like herbs used in fragrance, and the tarragon in this works well with the clementine and clary sage (again, it's nicely balanced and not overdone, so the tarragon doesn't overpower and take you into roasted chicken territory). This would be a good unisex fragrance, and is also perfect for hot or humid weather. Meadow Lark does not have the ambergris note in it, and is more ephemeral than Sea Scape or Sita, fading down to a whisper on me after a couple of hours in the winter. I imagine it would last better on warm summer skin, and I don't mind reapplying.

The sample vials are a great way to try the fragrances before you buy them, and if the sound of any of them appeal to you I would encourage you to try a sample. The full size fragrances are $85 for 1/2oz and the website will ship internationally.

Disclosure: PR sample

Still here, although less often

Spot the sad snowman. I love my oddball child. 

I've been quiet on the posting front lately, and I'm likely to continue to be sporadic for a while, although I'm not disappearing.

I have a big project on at work which requires working in the evenings quite often, travel to other parts of the country and generally being completely knackered when I'm not at work.

The light hasn't been great recently for taking pictures at weekends.

I've booked a Personal Colour Analysis for March. I am trying to avoid buying colour cosmetics until then, so that I can buy colours in my season/group. I have literally no idea what season I am. I'd guess Deep Winter if I had to judging by my eyes/hair, but some of the colours feel a little dark to me. I don't think I'm Bright. I could end up being an Autumn something and completely mess with my own idea of myself - I much prefer slightly cooler neutrals, and Ma will be unbearable if it turns out that warm browns do suit me.

Things coming up on the blog:

New fragrances and body oil from Aftelier - gorgeous, particularly if you like interesting complex rose scents (Wild Roses).
Laura Mercier Healthy Lips sheer lipstick - like the colour, hate the formula. Makes my lips itch.
Skincare from MyChelle. One very good product, one quite dreadful.

I hope you are all well and keeping warm; I just wanted to explain the interrupted posting schedule.

Pukka Ayurveda Skincare review

I like Pukka tea blends very much; the Love tea bags (rose, chamomile and lavender) are, well, lovely and the Detox tea bags are good too, particularly after a rich meal.

The Gentle Cleanser is a gentle wash-off cream cleanser, that takes off all make-up, including mascara, and doesn't leave the skin feeling stripped or greasy. It's not artificially fragranced, and it has got a slightly odd bitter herbal smell from the hemp oil that forms the basis of the formula. I'd recommend this cleanser particularly to congested skin or skin that's a bit unsettled or unbalanced; if you're getting spots in odd places or you've overdone it with complicated skincare this is a great cleanser to turn to. It'd also be very good for a teenage skin; it's purifying and balancing without being stripping. It's £11 for 50ml.

Ingredients:

The  Balancing Day Cream worked better for me in warmer weather than cold, and I think would be best suited to a normal, combination or slightly oily skin type. It didn't provide quite enough oil/richness for my normal-to-dry, getting-on-a-bit skin, but again, I'd recommend it for a younger, oilier skin that is looking for nourishment/protection without too much richness. The smell of the rosewater does come through in this product, probably because the primary oil in this is evening primrose rather than the hemp in the cleanser and night cream. £25 for 50ml.

Ingredients:

The Nourishing Night Cream has the same smell as the cleanser (and the same hemp oil base). It's not heavy and sinks in quickly, but is sufficiently moisturising for my skin. I'd recommend this to someone looking for a nourishing night cream that doesn't cause congestion. £28 for 50ml.

Ingredients:

These are good natural formulas, particularly suited to skin that is irritated or easily congested/upset by formulations that are too rich. Pukka Skincare is available from www.pukkaherbs.com.

Disclosure: PR samples

Beauty Spotlight Team weekly round-up 01 December

Beautiful Makeup Search shows off the beautiful Stila Holiday Collection, plus she has an exclusive discount code to share. Who doesn't love 25% off?

The Pink Sith is easily amused with gadgets. This time the gadget is a light up lip gloss wand with a high quality lip gloss inside it. Check out her review of 2 Lise Watier Haute Couleur High Coverage Lip Lacquers.


Don't miss your chance to win Susan Thompson Cosmetics Mim's the Word Liquid Blush, as featured in Lola's Secret Beauty Blog's REDBOOK interview!


Dry your hair in less time? Yes, please! it Factor's Simply It Blow Dry Lotion might just be able to help Pammy Blogs Beauty get out the door quicker!


Beauty Info Zone has a thing about It Cosmetics. We can’t get enough. Please see our latest love Hello Bright Eyes. You’ll want this set before the holidays come.


Prime Beauty got her hands on the newest collaboration between Estee Lauder and Michael Kors. These makeup kits are droll-worthy and the bags are to-die-for!


Modesty Brown tries to prove that one can never have enough taupes, as she lifts the lid on her collection of taupe eyeshadow creams and crayons.


Visionary Beauty finally caved on the much talked about Harmonie du Soir palette from Chanel.


polish insomniac almost didn't review Futurederm's Time Release Retinol 0.5. Why? Because she had to admit she didn't follow directions!


London MakeUp Girl reviews ESpa 24 Hour Revitalising Eye Moisturiser - an eye cream that combats fine lines and doesn't cost an arm and a leg!


Paula, from Older Girl Beauty gives us a look at some of her favorite Kevyn Aucoin products, and wants to know what they have coming up...


Perilously Pale thinks she may have found her perfect pink blush in Yves Saint Laurent Blush Radiance #6. What do you think?


15 Minute Beauty starts her new Favorite Shades of Makeup Artists series with TV veteran Mikki Farrar!