The London Beauty Review

FOTD: Topaz Spring

2012-02-20T19:45:00.001Z

Here's an FOTD using some of the products from the limited edition Estee Lauder spring collection, Topaz. The combination of golden brown, amber and turquoise is somehow more summery to me - but hey, I guess it's never too early to inject a little warmth into the face after a long cold winter, and anything's better than the usual spring fare of pastels. FaceLaura Geller Balance n' Brighten

Two Weeks On: CND Shellac in Masquerade

2012-02-19T20:57:00.000Z

Over two weeks ago, I treated my hands to a CND Shellac manicure prior to a trip abroad, to save me the effort of doing my nails whilst away. My fingernails still look absolutely immaculate, glossy, and chip-free - seriously impressive stuff. I also find it fascinating to see exactly how much my nails have grown in two weeks. The polish was applied right up to the cuticle, so the gaps around

Travel Makeup: Essential Picks

2012-02-18T19:03:00.000Z

The other week, I went away to San Francisco on a work trip. I stayed in three hotels in three different parts of the Bay area - so I knew I wanted to keep my suitcase as light as possible. So, I pared down my makeup bag to the bare minimum to get the maximum possible number of looks from a small number of items. This is what I took. Clockwise, from top left:La Femme blush palette - this is

Review & Swatches: Guerlain Rouge G Lipstick in 64 Gemma and 66 Gracia

2012-02-16T20:32:00.000Z

Say hello to my two newest lipsticks, the latest additions to my eye wateringly expensive collection. These little silver beauties are Guerlain's Rouge G lipsticks, and they have absolutely gorgeous packaging, gorgeous colours, and are all named with ladies names starting with G. So, you know, I couldn't really avoid buying the one called Gemma, right? And a friend to keep it company, of

Collection 2000 Rebrands As Collection

2012-02-15T19:00:00.001Z

High street favourite Collection 2000, purveyors of excellent concealer and glitter eyeliner, are celebrating their 25th anniversary by changing their name to "Collection". I can totally see the logic there - where the 2000 might have been futuristic in the past, it seems a little dated in 2012. The rebrand brings with it a new tagline, "Work The Colour", along with a brand palette of orange,

Quick Pick: Davines NOUNOU Conditioner for Colour Treated Hair

2012-02-13T19:40:00.000Z

First off - I can't read the label of this conditioner without giggling. Nounou just sounds a little too much like a word you'd use to describe your ladybits than I'd like. Smuttiness aside, this conditioner is damn amazing. It comes in a large 250ml deli-style tub, and I was rather surprised to find that this rich, nourishing conditioner isn't actually the richest, most nourishing in the

Review & Swatches: Clarins Gloss Prodige Lip Gloss in Grenadine and Rose

2012-02-12T18:11:00.000Z

These new lipglosses from Clarins are described as a "new generation gloss", boasting high shine, great wear, and intense colour. Packaged in slim, elegant, but not mold-breaking tubes, they've been carted around in my lipstick bag for the past week or so, and I'm actually rather impressed. Grenadine is a bright, pinky coral, and Rose is a soft neutral pink. The texture of these glosses is

Nail of the Fortnight: CND Shellac in Masquerade

2012-02-10T18:50:00.001Z

As you're reading this, I'm in San Francisco on a work related trip, and not worrying at all about the state of my nails, thanks to a CND Shellac manicure. And look... isn't it so shiny? And so incredibly perfectly smooth and crisp? As an incredibly clumsy person who more often than not smudges her freshly applied polish on the way home from a manicure, I'm always incredibly happy to leave a

John Lewis Nail Art Challenge

2012-02-09T19:04:00.002Z

So John Lewis decided to see what bloggers were like at nail art. In some cases, the answer is "breathtakingly good", but for the likes of me it's more like "hmm, interesting effort". Nonetheless, I did have fun playing around with the 4 shades John Lewis picked out for me - YSL La Laque in Sparkling Garnet, YSL La Laque in Pink Pearl, Nars nail polish in Space Odyssey and Nails Inc magnetic

Review: The Sanctuary Day Spa

2012-02-08T19:30:00.000Z

Despite being a confirmed lover of all things beauty treatment related, and a native Londoner, I've never visited the famous Sanctuary Day Spa in Covent Garden. This is largely because I've always found the entry fee (around £75) a little exorbitant given that you basically get use of the facilities and no inclusive treatments for your money. This month, though, I finally went - with one of my

Review: Klorane Gentle Dry Shampoo with oat milk

2012-02-06T19:15:00.000Z

Dry shampoos are one of those products that become absolutely indispensable once you've discovered them. What else would you do on a rushed workday morning when you didn't have time to wash your hair? They're fantastic for spraying through, rubbing, in, brushing out and running out the door. Klorane's dry shampoo has made a big impression on me because... well, if you use dry shampoo you'll

NOTD: Orly Lunar Eclipse

2012-02-05T19:40:00.000Z

I get a lot of compliments where I wear this beautiful Orly polish. From the Cosmic FX collection of 2010 (which seems like only yesterday), it's a gorgeously glowing blue with a subtle purplish duochrome and a heavily foiled finish. It's wonderful. In sunlight it's insanely eyecatching, glowing as if lit from within, and in artificial lighting still rather pretty with speckles of purple.

Lip of the Day: Rockalily Lipstick in Sailors Beware

2012-02-04T19:45:00.001Z

What's a girl to do when she finds a red lipstick with an absolutely lovely formula? Well, buy another red from the range, of course. Having fallen in love with Rockalily's lipstick in Roulette Red, I had to buy one of the limited edition shades, Sailors Beware. Same slightly lightweight, slightly cheap packaging, same incredible formula which wears comfortably, and looks incredible on the

Quick Pick: Smashbox Fusion Soft Lights in Radiance

2012-02-03T20:06:00.000Z

How pretty are the jewel-like facets of colour in this Smashbox powder? Fusion Soft Lights powder is designed to give natural looking radiance - although I can't quite work out whether this means that it's a highlighter or a blush. On my pale skin it gives a soft hint of colour which works well as a subtle blush, which also works for layering on top of matte shades. On my pale skin, it's a

NOTD - Estee Lauder Teal Topaz Pure Color nail polish

2012-02-02T18:30:00.002Z

Here's another seasonal winner from Estee Lauder - Teal Topaz. It's a deliciously smooth, opaque cream in a dusty turquoise/teal shade. (Sorry for the lack of clean-up on these pictures.) It comes from the limited edition Pure Color Topaz spring collection, inspired by Creative Director Tom Pecheux' holidays in Arizona. The collection also features eye, lip and face colours in various sandy,

Review: Liz Earle Botanical Shine Treatment for Frizzy, Coarse or Very Dry Hair

2012-02-01T19:00:00.003Z

When Liz Earle released her long awaited hair care products last year, I fell in love with the Botanical Shine conditioner, finding that it's rich, slippy texture was a fabulous way to detangle and condition my dry, curly hair, particularly for a silicone free product. So when I heard that Liz's next hair product was a treatment conditioner, I jumped at the chance to give it a go. I was

Review - Estee Lauder Cyber Lilac eyeshadow

2012-01-31T18:29:00.000Z

As Gemma reported last week, Estee Lauder have recently translated their 3-in-1 powder/liquid/gel format into a range of eyeshadows, Cyber Eyes. I tried out Cyber Lilac. It's a metallic mid-purple with a black-ish plummy base. Like Cyber Copper, the eyeshadow looks pretty impressive in the pan - it's got a kind of grooved, undulating surface design that catches the light beautifully. The

Review: MeMeMe Dew Pots

2012-01-30T19:15:00.000Z

Luxury on a budget brand MeMeMe have released Dew Pots, which are already being compared to MAC Paint Pots across the blogosphere. These pretty little pots of colour are cream eyeshadows which promise great pigmentation and long wear. Here we have four shades - Woodland Truffle and Deadly Berry on the top row, and Moonlight Mist and Hollow Haze on the bottom row. Housed in heavy little glass

New Love: Rodial Glam Balm Lip

2012-01-29T18:51:00.000Z

When I heard about Rodial's Glam Balm Lip at a recent event, I was reasonably sure that it'd be a fairly standard petroleum based balm with a slight pink tint and a rose scent. Turns out I was right on two out of three of those assumptions - it is indeed slightly pink, and it does smell of roses. But it's more than a standard petroleum balm, containing a plethora of other ingredients,

Review & Swatches: Estee Lauder Cyber Eyes Eyeshadow in Cyber Copper

2012-01-28T20:00:00.000Z

Estee Lauder's Cyber Eyes Eyeshadows are designed to provide plush, rich colour, in a eyeshadow texture that mixes the best of gel, powder and liquid in one. And damn, does it look pretty in the case! The wavy, embossed shadow doesn't feel anything like a gel or a liquid to me - it's very definitely a powder, albeit a slightly firmer than usual one which gives up its pigment in a way that's

Review: Clinique Age Defense BB Cream

2012-01-27T19:40:00.000Z

Clinique are the latest brand to jump on the BB bandwagon with their latest release, Age Defense BB Cream. Described as a perfecting cream, it contains anti-oxidants and SPF30 PA+++ (which is a pretty high level of protection - the more +, the more protection against UVA rays). According to the tube, it can be worn alone or under foundation - so we're looking at a cream with a light level of

Models Own Bottleshop Coming To Westfield

2012-01-26T19:40:00.000Z

I love this. A giant bottle of nail polish, plonked in the middle of West London's Westfield shopping centre, filled to the brim with Models Own polishes. It'll be the first time that all 200 shades of polish are available in the same location, and should prove to be a big draw for polish lovers.

Diet Coke + Benefit Get Glam

2012-01-26T18:30:00.000Z

I once gave up Diet Coke for a good month or so in a bid to get healthy. It didn't last long, but even if I was off the stuff now, I'd probably be jumping straight back on it - Diet Coke's latest collaboration is with Benefit, with the core offer being £5 off a £20 with every can. Even more of a reason to buy a new lipgloss, or a tube of the UK's best selling mascara, They're Real. Alongside

Valentine heart nail wraps from Myleene Klass

2012-01-25T18:18:00.002Z

Myleene Klass (via JML) has brought out 2 sets of sweet heart-patterened nail wraps in time for Valentine's Day. Costing £5.99 for 24 individual wraps, they're the type you literally peel off and stick on - they don't require heating up before you apply them. There's the red set (above), which I tried out, and a complementing black set. Both include both 24 coloured wraps and 24 clear wraps

The Lynx Effect... for girls?

2012-01-24T18:31:00.001Z

We just received a press release announcing that Lynx are launching a new deodorant fragrance for women. The famous "Lynx Effect" will now be accessible to girls as well as guys, but how well will it translate? It's called "Attract For Her", and will be released as a limited edition alongside a "for him" version in February. First impressions are... well, it's pink, and it looks like it could be