Clinique Almost Lipstick Black Honey

Clinique Almost Lipstick is a sheer lip colour with no shimmer.

Black Honey is a dulled brown plum. I don't believe there is such a thing as a universally flattering colour and I wouldn't recommend this for anyone with very light or clear colouring, but for more muted/dark colouring it is a very good natural lip colour. I prefer Dior Addict 783 Londres for a natural lip look on myself (it's more mauve, less brown) but Black Honey is a more subtle finish.

Swatch on white paper:

On my lips - it deepens the natural colour of my lip but without adding brightness. 

£16.50, from almost every department store. 

Beauty Spotlight Desert Island with...The Pink Sith

This week the Beauty Spotlight has abandoned The Pink Sith on a desert island. It was probably Lisamarie from Beauty Crazed that suggested it. While the Sith is pretty ticked off about being abandoned, she is looking forward to the 4 S's of desert island living: Sun, Sand, Surf and Sunscreen! She has compiled a list of 12 essential items she must have during this exile, and yes, it even includes some beauty items for when she is rescued by Chris Hemsworth (The guy who played Thor) or some suitable facsimile there of. Enjoy!

Go to Pink Sith's Desert Island Beauty to find out what she's taking with her.

Ilia Beauty Mascara in Shadow of a Doubt

Ilia Beauty released mascaras last autumn, and I bought Shadow of a Doubt, the ash brown shade. You can see the ingredients in the picture above - it's a cleaner formula that uses plant oils and waxes.

The brush is a rubber bristle. Ilia designed the tube opening to wipe off all excess, and I never have to wipe the brush. It does require some welly to get the brush out though, and a bit of faff to get it back in the tube - you have to have the tube and brush perfectly lined up.

Swatch to compare with a Chantecaille black mascara and a brown Dior mascara. I chose the Dior mascara specifically because it was a cooler brown - I prefer that to a warmer brown.

Side by side comparison of the Ilia and the Dior. Apparently my makeup super talents have developed from buying the same shade of lipstick or eyeshadow over and over again into the field of buying the same colour of mascara (black doesn't count - that would be no challenge).

Eye with no mascara:

After - the lashes are subtly defined and more polished/glossy, without adding much length or thickness. I prefer a very natural lash look - often all I want from a mascara is to take away the dusty look that lashes get when you apply eyeshadow. If you prefer a more dramatic look, I'd recommend the Dior instead. It's easy to remove, and doesn't flake or smear during the day (unless you get caught in a snow blizzard).

I bought this from www.beingcontent.com in the UK, where it costs £20.

Beauty Spotlight Desert Island Beauty

The Beauty Spotlight Team's Desert Island Beauty Series continues! This week Pammy from Pammy Blogs Beauty tells us what products she would wish for if stranded on a tropical island. While none of us wish to *actually* be stranded, the very thought makes us select the "best of the best" product-wise. Some truly stand-out and/or multi-purpose items made Pammy's list. Curious yet? Be sure to click the link to find out what Pammy's essential products are!

Nars Mata Hari, Gaiety and Sin blush swatch comparison

NARS Mata Hari is the exact shade that I blush - a reddish pink. It's my favoured blush of the moment - it has no shimmer and as it blends with my natural blush it's quick to apply and blend; if you have different colouring it might be quite easy to overcook, so test out first if you can.

NARS Gaiety needed a lot more product to show up than the other two blushes in this post. It's a clear, very slightly lavendered pink. It is pretty, and good for a natural blush-and-highlight effect on me. Gaiety has no shimmer, but it is a satin texture with more sheen to it than Mata Hari.

NARS Sin is one I need to be careful with; it can look dirty if I don't apply lightly and blend well. In the pan Sin look quite brown but when it is swatched on white paper you can see the plum tones. I feel like this is a bit too dark for my MAC 20 depth skin; it might be better for a 25-30+ depth. Sin has golden shimmer running through it that I could live without; it's not sparkly or as shimmery as Orgasm, but I prefer matte/satin blushes.

As you can probably see, I prefer blushes on the cooler side of the colour spectrum. NARS blushes are excellent, and come in a wide range of shades. You do have to apply with quite a light hand for most of them though.

Sale on at L'Artisan Parfumeur

There's a sale on at the L'Artisan Parfumeur online shop now: www.artisanparfumeur.com, but the Covent Garden store has a few extra items in the sale and some products that have already sold out online, like the 50ml The Pour Un Ete.

I bought 100ml of Navegar, a marine salty (but not ozone-aquatic) woody/spicy fragrance, and Fou D'Absinthe shower gel. If you are in London, it is worth making a detour. (Drivel Kate - if you're in London you need to have a sniff of Navegar).

Navegar is quite light and wears close to the skin, but I prefer that in a fragrance. I have been debating between Miller Harris Fleurs de Sel and Heeley Sel Marin, and Navegar has stepped in and settled the argument at half the price of either. If you have tried and liked the Haus of Gloi Picaroon scent you would probably like Navegar.

Navegar was £46 for 100ml, and the shower gel was £16 for 200ml (both in the sale).

Phyto Hair Care review

I recently repurchased some Phyto haircare for the whole family and realised I've never written about this brand on my blog. It may be because spelling the full name of the brand (Phytotherathrie) is such an enormous pain, but it is a brand I like very much.

I have used Phyto products for more than 10 years - I first began using them during Blonde Period I (before Miss London) when my hair was fried from highlighting. At the time the shampoos came in glass bottles which looked lovely but were a biohazard in the shower; it's a miracle I still have ten toes. On the plus side, they stopped my hair from looking and feeling like straw.

The shampoos are now packaged in more sensible aluminium bottles, and are £11.50 to £12.50. The  everyday rinse-off conditioners (Phytobaume) are £13.50 to 14.50, so it's much less expensive as a brand than the Rahua I also use and love.

Phytoapaisant is a soothing shampoo for easily-irritated scalps. Mr and Miss London both have hard-to-wash, thick, almost waterproof hair and scalps that tend to get itchy and flaky easily, and it is hard to find a shampoo that is aimed at irritated scalps, rather than dandruff (this one is; there are other shampoos in the range for treating dandruff.) This shampoo manages to clean their hair and stop itchy-flaky head, and it smells pleasant; very neutral and not medicinal.

Phytojoba is the shampoo I use on myself; it is designed for normal to dry hair and gives great shine. I used Phytocitrus when my hair was coloured.

Ingredients of Phytojoba:

Phytobaume conditioner has sometimes annoyed me over the years. It was originally quite a runny liquid but a very good detangler, but then the formula was changed to make it more of a traditional conditioner-cream texture and they added silicones - after using over a period of a couple of months it made the ends of my hair quite brittle (and I had exited Blonde Period I and had a radical haircut, so it wasn't the hair to blame). The formula has changed again to remove silicones (it's still a cream texture) and I once again like it. There are now three different versions; one for normal to dry hair (I use this one), one for very damaged/weakened hair and one for colour-treated hair.

Ingredients of Phytobaume Hydration:

I also like the Phyto 7 and Phyto 9 leave-in hydrating creams - essentially these are smoothing creams for longer hair that discourage frizz and condition the ends of the hair. Phyto 7 works for my hair now; Phyto 9 is best for very thick or dry hair.

I will review the Secret de Nuit overnight treatment later on in its own post before this becomes War & Peace. It is the most expensive item in the Phyto range at £28, but it's a pretty good substitute for the much more expensive Ageless Overnight Hair Repair treatment by Fekkai.

Phyto shampoos and conditioners are paraben and silicone free. I purchase them from John Lewis, there are also a number of online retailers, including Beauty Expert and Feel Unique.

Beauty Spotlight Weekly round up 05 January

After more than 6 weeks of continuous daily use, Lola's Secret Beauty Blog has determined that vbeauté Buying Time Everyday Crème is one of the best luxury face creams on the market!

What is in her bag? Pammy Blogs Beauty Opens up her JustFab Handbag/Diaper bag to show us what is inside!

Prime Beauty is having fun creating a plethora of nail looks with Le Metier de Beaute's Holiday Nail Lacquers. The Deck the Nails duo are shimmering overlays and Bright as Night are deep jewel tones including the new Pantone color for 2013-Emerald! See what combinations she created!

Are you a subscription box fan? On Beauty Info Zone Marcia shares her favorite company, PopSugar Must Have. Read to find out why a beauty junkie likes a non-beauty box so much.

Though we are all looking towards Spring, lets focus on the Guerlain Holiday Liu collection for a moment with Visionary beauty

This week Jessika from polish insominac fell in love with the Nicole by OPI Modern Family Collection, and once you see it you will too!

Perilously Pale recaps 2012 by sharing her 10 most popular posts of the year. What do you think made the list?

Lisamarie from Beauty Crazed celebrates the new year by listing 5 of her favourite products from 2012 - do you agree with her list? Check it out to find out!

Pink Sith - is giving away an Argan Oil Infused Hair Care Set from DermOrganics. Enter today!

Modesty Brown starts the New Year off by sharing her winter skincare routine.

London Makeup Girl has a new berry lipstick from Dior for Christmas and compares it to a couple of other colours from the same line in Dior Addict Stiletto comparison swatches.

Did you make a resolution for the new year? Paula, from Older Girl Beauty, decided she was going to "Be Better" for the new year and challenges you to do the same.

15 Minute Beauty showed off her night out look.

Elemis Cleanser & Toner kits - half price (ish)

Elemis always bring out good value kits in the new year and the cleanser and toner sets are excellent. For the price of the cleanser, you get the toner as a bonus.

The sets come in Revitalise and Replenish (normal to dry skin) and Balance and Purifying (normal to oily) for £21 and in Brighten and Resurface (with the tri-enzyme face wash, for mature/all skin types) for £29.

Even though my skin is normal to dry, I like the Balance and Purifying cleanser and toner best. The Lime Blossom lotion cleanser is gentle and the Lavender Toner is not stripping (Elemis don't use alcohol in their toners), and it's a good set for any skin that feels like it needs pepping up after a month of over-indulgence.

The sets can be purchased at Elemis counters and online here www.timetospa.co.uk - cleansers and toners.

Molton Brown Peruvian Maca Anti-ageing Hydra-cream - or don't impulse-buy skincare

I'd almost completely run out of moisturiser in the week before Christmas and hadn't left myself time to purchase something online from Being Content before Christmas. There's a Molton Brown shop near work, so I rushed in on the way home one day and purchased this moisturiser.

I did a quick scan for mineral oil and wheatgerm oil (none), spotted some silicone in the formulation but thought it would probably be okay as it wasn't one of the very first ingredients, and completely failed to clock how high fragrance is on the INCI. Fragrance is listed before shea butter and the other botanical ingredients - which means that this moisturiser has next to no shea butter etc in it, or a lot of fragrance (or possibly both).

The texture of this moisturiser is nice, and it does hydrate skin well - no flaky patches even in the cold weather. Unfortunately, the fragrance is overwhelming to my nose and it doesn't fade either. It's an ozone-y type of smell that is meant to smell clean, but reminds me of washing powder or washing-up liquid, and that's not a smell I want on my face. I also found that it made my skin feel a little itchy after application, and I had spots develop in unusual places (tip and side of nose, cheeks, just above eyebrows) within a week of use twice daily. This is a typical sign that my skin dislikes a particular product so I've discontinued use and I'm borrowing Mr and Miss London's Mu London Hemp Moisturiser while I wait for the Pai Skincare I've just ordered to arrive (the spots have gone).

If you are still interested in Molton Brown moisturisers, I'd strongly recommend trying a sample first if you can, but if not definitely giving it a good sniff first (I'm doubly annoyed at myself because a lady in the Molton Brown shop did offer me a sample but I just barged ahead and purchased it). This is not a full review as I haven't used the product long enough to do that - more a caution to read the ingredients list and sample first.

Dior Addict Lipstick 797 Stiletto

I like the formula of the Dior Addict lipsticks a lot; so much so that I put another colour on my christmas list and Mr London duly obliged. Stiletto is a sheer berry shade; noticeably brighter than Londres but in the same colour family (more cool than warm, with slight muting).

It gives me a bitten berry lip; it's quite bright on me but still natural looking  and it doesn't shout 'Look at my LIPS.'

I like to wear this with NARS Mata Hari blush and NARS Tokyo eyeshadow duo; I like the combination of sheer berry lips/rosy cheeks and a pale lavender/taupe eye.

Swatched on white paper - Stiletto, Londres and the other Dior Addict I own, Diorkiss. Stiletto is noticeably more berry and Londres has more brown/muting. Diorkiss is a brighter, lighter, almost slightly coralled pink.