Make Up For Dolls

Random ramblings

2013-05-22T08:00:00.000+01:00

Contemplating frozen strawberries blitzed in the blender with cheap vodka I found at the back of the press...

Finishing up with latest round of Makeup Brush Cleaning amid grumblings and moanings and general wishings that I had a Girl/Boy Friday to Do This Stuff for me...

Ruefully getting a shape on the apartment before the cleaner comes in tomorrow (I haven't met her, but she's almost my level of OCD cleanliness - I picture her tutting when she comes along on Wednesdays, wondering "what we've done with the place" since she last visited)...

Quietly admitting to cleaning up a bit before the cleaner arrives. Silently admitting to having a slight problem about it. Slightly admonishing myself for said problem. Deciding it's who I am and the world (aka my OH) needs to deal with it...

Eyeballing the nicely ripe peaches in the fruit bowl (ok, the peach bowl... lookit, I did say I was OCD and with reason)...

And wondering what they'd be like mixed in with the strawberry cocktail...

That I haven't made yet...

With some peach schnapps added in for good measure...

While drinking peach and raspberry sparkly water and telling myself that it will do instead...

Trying to figure what to publish in terms of blog posts for the rest of the week, as a combination of no camera + skeleton posts for which I have no swatches or images do not happy bedfellows make...

Convincing myself to haul ass off the sofa so I can wash my hair. It's too damn long. It takes a good hour or so to wash and style it... much as I like it long, this chore drives me mental...

Wishing I lived with a hair stylist who would Do My Hair for me...

Setting my alarm for 6am tomorrow morning as I want to get up early to do some bits and pieces before work...

Forgetting what those bits and pieces are...

Planning my makeup and clothes for tomorrow...

Moaning that I have to make a quick trip up into the attic to get down something I meant to bring with me to decorate my cubicle in work last week...

Mentally planning the makeup class and bridal trials I have setup for the weekend...

Looking at the destruction that is the dining table (replete with washed brushes and sanitised makeup) and wondering where I'm going to put it all before aforementioned cleaner arrives, as they will in no way have dried by then...

Trying to figure what I'm willing to eat for dinner tomorrow evening. My OH cooks on Wednesdays. He's a veggie. Am eating veggie food for weeks on end now as I haven't had time to do two different meals in the evenings. Realising that I'm well bored of lentils and chickpeas now...

Looking down at my fingers as I type and wondering how my nails are so damn bad. All the typing I do notwithstanding, I know buckets of people with gorgeous nails who type every bit as much as I do...

Wondering if I have time to put some nail polish on them...

Realising I can't do this and wash my hair at the same time...

Fuckiiiiiiit! Remembering I promised a friend I'd proof her latest novel... sorry P... I have been busy... I'll get around to it, I promise.

Mentally revisiting my failed visit to a new hair colourist at the weekend - I went there with a very clear description of what I wanted, down to pictures, and came out very light in pocket with a hair colour really not at all far off what I went in there with... Pissed Off Dot Com...

Re-living with fondness the twitter chat #irishbbloggers last night and some of the lovelies that I made contact with...

Reminding myself to actually listen to the Atoms for Peace album I purchased over the weekend...

Thinking about the designs for the cards I will make for various family members' upcoming birthdays...

Remembering that I need to pick a winner from the giveaway today - I'll do it tomorrow morning!!! Oh yes, now remembering *this* is why I'm getting up fifteen minutes early tomorrow morning...

Wondering why the effing beeeeeeeep-ing hell my blog traffic and google page rank has completely and utterly nosedived in the last few weeks and what to do about it...

Aside from yelling at the one person I know who works in (a completely unrelated job in) Google...

Wishing I didn't have to get up at stupid o'clock to go to work...

Realising this is a dumb-ass post and anyone who's read to the end deserves to finish off my (proposed) cocktail while I go sort out my life for the evening...

Apologising for said post and promising myself and anyone who reads this nonsense that I'll do better tomorrow, I promise...

(Chanel Summer collection and Catrice Candy Shock collection posts to follow... at least I can use PR images for those)...

Finally hauling ass off the sofa to get going for the rest of the evening... it's been a long day... and I'm tired already. Slán go fóill gach duine. Hasta mañana. Normal operations will resume...

Illamasqua Hydra Veil - the verdict

2013-05-21T07:55:00.003+01:00

Illamasqua Hydra Veil

I LOVE this stuff!!!!!

It's Illamasqua's latest product, a Rehydrating Gel, brought out as part of the Paranormal collection but new to the permanent line - and it's pretty damn spectacular.

Before... all nice and calm on the surface :-)

After - swooshed around with the spatula, for fun
(it settles back to non-smushed-up after less than a minute)

This is one of those weird non-Newtonian fluids - a strange substance that turns from an almost solid jelly to a scrunched-up smushy substance, like a broken jelly - and then back again when it settles after a few minutes.

As it's a gel, it's nicely cooling on application. A pea-sized amount, applied over the face, is more than sufficient either as a primer in its own right, or as a step between moisturiser and primer. Great for hot and bothered skins, or hot climates, or hot environments, or sensitive skins.

And why do we need to add yet another step to the morning routine, I wonder. Well, as most people who use Illamasqua's Skin Base foundation will know, it's one of those beautiful foundations which really only works for perfect skin (I call it a "goldilocks" foundation - it works when your skin is just right, not oily, not dry, not even combination - it shows up any dry patches on your skin quite noticably and can bunch and look patchy after a while (look here for my review), which is annoying). This is designed to work in tandem with the Skin Base foundation to prevent either of these from happening.

Initially I wasn't sold. The first time I used it, I didn't notice any particular difference to my skin which was quite dry in parts at the time, and the combination of Hydra Veil + Skin Base foundation didn't make any difference; the dry patches still looked dry. However - and here's the weird bit - when I looked again in the mirror maybe an hour later, the dry flaky patches had completely disappeared. And every day since I haven't seen them return.

How to use it is a little confusing - Illamasqua's website indicates a pea-sized amount to be applied using a brush. The in-box instructions on the product's leaflet suggest fingers. Either works - fingers are simplest and fastest.

It is supposed to give your skin a nice radiant finish - I can't honestly say that I've noticed this, however it most certainly makes foundation apply much easier than before, especially over dryer skin. And I have also found that I'm using a fraction of the foundation I used before, in addition (maybe a half to three-quarters as much). I have also found that makeup lasts significantly longer (with no creasing or fading or separating) using this as a base first.

In terms of ingredients, it's water-based, so will work better with water-based foundations, and it will also work with silicone foundations - but don't use it if your foundation is oil- or wax- based. It doesn't contain any nasty ingredients (parabens) or flash-back ingredients (titanium dioxide etc), but it does contain some alcohol though, so watch out for this one if you're dry/sensitive skinned.

The cynical amongst us could argue (in programming parlance) that this is Illamaqua fixing a bug in their existing Skin Base foundation by applying a patch, instead of a rewrite/reboot of the foundation, and then charging us additionally for the patch. Yep - I'm inclined to agree somewhat, except for the fact that it also works beautifully with other foundations I've tried it with. So in this instance I don't mind particularly. You may not need it, but if you do, it is a fantastic "fix".

It retails at £27 for a 30ml tub, which comes with its own spatula - handy. Look here for more info.

Estée Lauder Re-Nutriv Ultimate Lift Age-Correcting Creme & Serum

2013-05-20T07:49:00.002+01:00

Seriously. These are not skin care products

Considering the retail price of these, I thought I was actually lucky to receive them in my Estée Lauder Christmas crackers back in December - the sample of the moisturising cream would retail at around €75 and the sample of the serum, at around €45 - in other words, decent amounts. I forgot I had these but have been using the combination as night serum and night cream for the last week. It was a loooooong week. I wouldn't put this back on my face were I paid to do it.

Re-Nutriv Ultimate Lift Age-Correcting Creme

The Creme

This stuff is expensive (50ml of this will set you back €250 or thereabouts). And it's nowhere near as good as some other more expensive face creams (Creme de la Mer, Chanel Sublimage, to name just two which are genuinely deserving of their high price tag).

It is a thick cream formulation, which has a bunch of good stuff (like anti-ageing ingredients, vitamins C, E, milk ad vegetable proteins, hyaluronic acid and collagen - all designed to (and proven to) assist with ant-ageing and skin-plumping). Mind you, they're listed after the bunch of bad stuff

... and a bunch of bad stuff (alcohol, petrolatum, extremely heavy fragrance, parabens)

... and some debatable stuff: oleus barbatus extract & lady's thistle extract, both which can cause irritation - well, something certainly did on my face).

... and some stuff that you don't need in skincare: you don't need bloody ground-up pearls in skincare, to give you luminous skin - this is fine for makeup, it is not fine for skincare. Theres's also no proof - scientific or empirical - that refined gold dust helps skin at all. And don't get me started on silicones in skincare. I may have ranted about this before, once or twice. The top billing in this "skincare" product goes to various silicones.

Were there any pros? Yes, my skin most certainly felt softer after using it, at least for the hour or so before I went to bed - there was no lasting difference.

So what were the cons (aside from the ingredients listing)? Well, it stinks. It's a sickly sweet, ultra over-the-top cloying floral scent that just refuses to fade away. (it actually makes me personally slightly queasy and I think, contributed to a headache or two). And more importantly, it hurts! My skin had an immediate (and lasting) sensitivity to this cream - it prickled (way beyond a gentle tingle) and bothered the effin' life out of me. After a couple of days' usage (persevering with the fragrance and the prickly sensation, which, along with the scent, refused to dissipate), I found my skin to be even dryer than before. Likely down to all the silicones.

Nope, then. Next...

Re-Nutriv Ultimate Lift Age-Correcting Serum

The Serum

Apparently, this is designed to "deliver up to five times the levels of [...] ingredients found in the cremes" - so far so fair, it is generally true that most serums fit this bill.

According to Lauder, your skin will "immediately feel more lifted—tighter and more toned".

Nope. This is a standard, extremely silicone-heavy serum. Sure, it has some of the "good" creme ingredients as mentioned above. But if it's got five times the "good" creme ingredients, does that equally mean five times as many parabens? Five times as many silicones? Five times as much alcohol? Even if it doesn't why would I use a "skincare" product that actually dries the skin and can cause harm (parabens are known carcinogens)?

It also, annoyingly, has gold, pearl and mica powders, all of which make your skin look shiny and dewy and radiant and luminous, thanks to their pearlescent properties, but it doesn't do much else than alter appearance and perception - those ingredients certainly don't do you any good from a skincare perspective.

It also contains wheat protein, you need to watch out for this one if you're a coeliac.

Either way, having used it for a week, I can safely say it's absolutely and categorically not good enough to justify it's €235 (for 30ml) price tag.

Definite pass. I shan't be using either of these anymore. I won't miss the prickly skin or the overbearing, sickly sweet, cloying, clinging scent, every night for starters.

Illamasqua Blusher Brush v MAC 109

2013-05-17T08:05:00.000+01:00

Illamasqua Blusher Brush #1 v MAC 109

Another of my recent Illamasqua purchases, I mainly got this one to see if it was as good as the other Illamasqua brushes I have thus far (angled brow and liner brushes, new blush-up brush, three eyeshadow/blending brushes, all brilliant by the way).

It reminded me of something, and sure enough it's like a super-charged MAC 109...

L -> R: MAC 109, Illamasqua Blusher Brush #1

Essentially these are the same shape; a dense domed-shaped brush; the MAC brush is slightly smaller but otherwise these are more or less the same idea. There's a few differences between these two brushes - the MAC brush is natural fibres, the Illamasqua synthetic. The MAC brush is a little on the scratchy side, the Illamasqua one is quite soft. Either can be used for powder, liquid or cream product, although the Illamaqua one does better with liquid products (as it's synthetic). Either can be used for blusher, contour, highlighter, foundation, powder. The MAC brush works better as a buffer brush (as it's natural fibres). The Illamasqua works better for building product up from light coverage than the MAC one, as the bristles have a little more "give" in them (as they're a little longer than the MAC bristles).

L -> R: MAC 109, Illamasqua Blusher Brush #1

If you have one, you likely don't need the other. Which would I recommend? Honestly, either-or, take your pick, depending on your own preference with respect to bristles (synthetic v natural).

Look here for more on the MAC 109, or here for more info on the Illamasqua Blusher Brush. Alternatively, compare with the recently new blush-up brush, reviewed here.

Le Volume de Chanel Mascara

2013-05-16T08:31:00.002+01:00

Chanel's latest and greatest new mascara - Le Volume de Chanel Mascara...

Chanel have released a new (permanant line) mascara called Le Volume de Chanel Mascara in their Jeux de Regards collection. I received a copy of the black (01 Noir) to try out. It's fabulous - it's one of the single most beautiful, simple, elegant mascaras to give you the old your-lashes-but-better-like-you're-not-wearing-mascara-at-all look.

The three mascaras in the new collection (Jeux de Regards)

It is designed to plump-up, lengthen, thicken and intensify lashes, and it comes in three shades, Noir, Bleu and Prune.

... featuring a new applicator brush (spoolie)

According to Chanel, "the unique brush of the new mascara coats lashes from root to tip... lashes are longer, plumper, thicker and more intense... eyes are defined and look bigger with a wide-open effect".

Before: no mascara at all at all at all

I completely agree - with literally one coat, your lashes look longer and slightly thicker, but not in a clumpy stuck-together sort of way - each lash gets coated with just enough of this stuff to make them still just look like your own lashes, just a little thicker and a little blacker and a little longer - it's beautiful.

After: nice long, separated, natural-looking lashes but still quite intensely black

Part of the reason, I suspect, is the formula - it contains a combination of natural waxes (designed to boost volume and guarantee a fluid texture for application), and acacia gum (for volume and lash separation). The other reason is likely down to the new “Snowflakes” brush, which is composed of stacks of disks with a combination of both long stiff bristles and short soft bristles. The applicator itself is quite flexible-feeling, almost rubberised and has a little give and movement, which makes is very easy to use.

At €30 it's not an inexpensive one, but it's hard to find a decent mascara that genuinely looks like you're not wearing mascara at all.

Disclaimer: this product was kindly sent to me for consideration.

Illamasqua Precision Gel Liner

2013-05-15T07:58:00.000+01:00

Illamasqua Precision Gel Liner

This stuff, the latest in a line of new product releases from Illamasqua, is un-be-lie-vable. It is the gel liner to end all gel liners.

My previous holy grail product, Clinique Brush-on Cream liner, has just got the boot. David Horne, head of product development at Illamasqua, and his team, have got it just exactly perfectly right, yet again, with this product.

... nice

This is a gel-cream product which manages to combine the fluidity and ease of movement and use of any liquid liner, but without the attendant difficulties that liquid liner introduces, like bleeding into fine lines (very apropos for older or crepy-er eyelids).

One-swipe uber-black goodness

It's just exactly black enough. And just exactly pigmented enough. And just exactly opaque enough. And just exactly matte enough. It doesn't drag or pull. It allows you to produce very accurate lines, no feathering or bleeding...

By the way, those are not fine lines above LOL
- they're me drawing in really fine lines with my liner brush ;-)

Nothing remotely precise, literally just ten seconds of playing around with it...

In literally under ten seconds flat, I was able to do an eyeliner flick and some feck-acting around (nothing anyway precise, strictly just playing with it to see what this product can do) - you can see just how black it is.

It stays wet just long enough for it to be extremely easily useable. And then dries down and doesn't bloody budge - it's a waterproof formulation and requires some decent waterproof bi-phase eye makeup remover to get rid of it at the end of the day (seriously, it takes a bit of doing to remove this stuff). So it's going to work in wet conditions. Brides. Cry-babies. The gym. Hot countries... It doesn't fade, or flake, it doesn't dry out, it doesn't bleed into fine lines on application. It works on younger and older skin. It's amazing stuff. It's frankly what gel eyeliner should be.

Just released as part of the Paranormal collection (but permanent line), at £18 for 5g, look here for more info. Don't bother with any other liners. Ever again. Seriously.

Chanel new Illusion d'Ombre shades in Convoitise & Apparition

2013-05-14T07:53:00.001+01:00

L -> R: Apparition, Convoitise

Wheeeeeeeeee! Chanel have released another two new Illiusion d'Ombre shades in their Jeux de Regards collection (I'm a little bit overly-excited as I just love this formulation shadow).

I had already purchased the Illusion d'Ombre in Apparition in the past - this had previously featured as an LE product as part of the boutique/fast track Blue Illusion collection. As I've already swatched and blogged about this shade, this particular post features the other Illusion d'Ombre shade, #90 Convoitise.

Chanel Convoitise

Chanel have now a total of three gold Illusion d'Ombre shades

L -> R: Vision, Convoitise, Apparence

... or four, if you include Émerveillé, and they're all very different:

L -> R: Vision, Convoitise, Apparence, Émerveillé

This one, Convoitise, is a more muted, calmed-down, beige-based gold with the tiniest barest hint of a peach (it's not peach, it's just there in the background. Very very barely in the background).

Chanel Convoitise - yummy yummy

It's also, while frosted, more of a shimmer and less of a frost finish than some of the others. This makes it easier to sheer-out, but similarly, harder to build-up to a very obvious colour. That's fine - this is a pale subtle shade anyhow, so you're not going to want to build this one up hugely (I mainly got it, if I'm perfectly honest, as I'm somewhat obsessed by this formulation - it's not going to be one I use a huge amount).

Top: Mad Minerals Nude Frost
Middle: Chanel Vision, Convoitise, Apparence
Bottom: Make Up For Ever Aqua Cream #13, Benefit Birthday Suit, Chanel Émerveillé

As you can see, there's a bunch of similar shades to Convoitise, especially when swatched:

L -> R: Mad Minerals Nude Frost, Make Up For Ever Aqua Cream #13,
Benefit Birthday Suit, Chanel Vision, Convoitise, Apparence, Émerveillé

Convoitise (third from the right) is slightly similar to Émerveillé, but less pink and slightly more gold-peach. It's also slightly similar to Make Up For Ever Aqua Cream #13 (but more gold and less peach, and more shimmery), similarly it's somewhat like Mad Minerals Nude Frost* (but more gold).

* Mad Minerals Indelible Cream Shadow in Nude Frost is a brilliant dupe for - almost the identical same in fact as - MAC Bare Study Paintpot.

While we're on the topic of the Illusion d'Ombre shades, here's a post on the original lineup of shades first released, and my search for dupes. And here's some other posts (here and here) which outline the other Chanel gold Illusion d'Ombre shades.

MAC Temperature Rising Powerchrome Eye Pencils

2013-05-13T08:05:00.002+01:00

Powerchrome Eye Pencil

MAC's latest collection, Temperature Rising, features a bunch of new products, and four new Shadestick-type eye "crayons" called Powerchrome Eye Pencils. Let's get the annoying bit out of the way first: these are LE.

There are four colours in this collection:

Rich Glance (Light Gold)
Copper Strip (Frosty Midtone Copper)
Life's Luxury (Deep Bronze Brown)
Polished Jet (Charcoal with Pearl)

Of the four, I purchased two; Life's Luxury and Polished Jet.

As mentioned, these are similar to MAC's (discontinued) Shadesticks from the past, however they are an entirely new formulal; although similarly metallic, these are softer and longer lasting than even Shadesticks were.

MAC Temperature Rising Powerchrome Eye Pencil in Life's Luxury

Life's Luxury is a really really warm metallic bronze-brown which is shot through with a small amount of mid-sized copper and pink glitters. It's not enough to be scratchy and frosted, but it's definitely evident as another dimension.

MAC Temperature Rising Powerchrome Eye Pencil in Polished Jet

Polished Jet is truly gorgeous; it's a soft, warm, charcoal-grey-black with an almost-greened-silver duochrome metallic finish. Droolsome.

L -> R: Life's Luxury, Polished Jet

I love these - they are really soft, but for all that they set and don't budge. After about eight hours, I noticed a small amount of creasing however that's good going for my eyelids. After maybe ten hours, I noticed some fading. Long lasting, opaque and highly pigmented these most certainly are.

L -> R: Life's Luxury, Polished Jet

What don't I like about them? They set quickly - really really quickly. This is a blessing and a curse; they're a pain the rear-end to blend-out for that reason, you really do need to whack these on and get blending with them asap. But if you do work quickly with them (I found the MAC 217 the best brush to blend these out with, they need a slightly scratchier brush actually), you will succeed in getting either a wash of colour, or a nicely built-up metallic (but not wet-look) finish. Layering is the way to get these to last - as with all of these better-formulated soft crayon-type eye pencils, building up layers will mean you reduce the likelihood of creasing.

Look here while they're still available.

Curlformers Review (Or "How to look like a demented seven-year-old")

2013-05-10T07:39:00.001+01:00

Curlformers.. ringlets in disguise... (promo image)

I can't stop singing the theme song to "Transformers - robots in disguise" along with this post. Annoying eh.

I think I got these about a year ago, and it's taken me up until now to remember that I have them, and that I should try them out and see what they were like.

There are a bunch of different sizes and widths available - at the time I got short-wide and medium-wide ones. Which are, I've discovered, nowhere near long enough for my down-to-the-middle-of-my-back hair. No where near long enough. And frankly nowhere near wide enough as it turned out. That's fine though, because I thought I'd just use them on the lower ends of my hair anyhow, to give it a "bit of a wave".

Some curl the hair in a clockwise direction, and some in an anticlockwise direction (and they're colour coded so you know which is which - a nice simple touch). It's a good idea to mix them up a bit, but also try to have the clockwise ones on your right hand side, and the anticlockwise ones on your left hand side, at least those closest to your face, so you get the curls working away from your face, which is generally considered A Better Look.

She's wearing a kind of "you've got to be kidding me" smile (promo image).
I was personally convulsed in laughter...

In terms of using them, it couldn't be simpler - you push the plastic hook through the Curlformer, then thread some hair through the hook and pull it through the Curlformer, then let go of the hair, and move on to the next one. Simple enough. Their usage-ability is a major pro.

I have reasonably thick hair and I used about 38 of these (which is fine as I seem to recall there are 40 in a pack). You leave the Curlformers in your hair until it has fully dried (they're made of a plastic mesh so the air can circulate through them), then remove them by pulling them off each section of hair (they can snag a little, but by-and-large, they come out reasonably easily), and hey presto, curled hair.

Demented uber-curls...
immediately after I took the Curlformers out

Or, as I collapsed in a heap laughing, absolutely demented ringlets, the like of which I haven't seen since I was about seven. And I do mean demented. These babies were bouncy. Way way way bouncier than if I'd tonged them.

I'm not showing you a full shot
(a) no makeup on (b) I have added a foot
to my head size with these curls at either side
(not a good look ;-) )

OK, I thought to myself, I'll just brush them out and I'll have a nice retro-type Hollywood wave. Nope. My hair resolutely resisted every attempt to brush-out and quite a lot of the curls persisted in bouncing back to ringlets, albeit slightly less defined ones. After about ten minutes of firm-but-gentle brushing (the kind necessary to get a wave but not a frizz), I succeeded in down-sizing the Demented Ringlets to Slightly Softer Curls, but I still felt a bit like an escapee from a bad 80's movie...

They were good for one thing: I laughed very very very hard at the result. Then I put them all back in their bag and I know I will never, ever use them again. Recommended if you like springy, bouncy, fake-Irish-dancer-type ringlet curls. Or if you don't mind adding about a half a foot to either side of your head when you try brushing them out. Otherwise, nope. Perhaps the extra wide option would be better for producing a less crazed look, but at around €50 a set, I'm not going to bother trying. If you're a hair masochist, or a seven year old, look here for more info :-)

Inglot Milk & Tonic Makeup Remover Wipes

2013-05-09T08:09:00.000+01:00

Make Up Wipes... actually these are not bad

While at a recent Inglot event, I was kindly given these to trial by one of the staff and although I'm not a huge fan of makeup remover wipes, on occasion, let's face it, using something like these is better than using nothing... when you're caught short on makeup remover, or when you're unexpectedly away, or when you're at a festival or...

My biggest gripe with wipes in general is the amount of alcohol usually present; they're generally soaked through with the stuff, making them a poor choice for delicate northern skin-types. While these do contain alcohol in the list of ingredients, I'm pleased to note it's the second-last item in a very long list. I can live with that. Some other list-ticks: no parabens (good), not tested on animals (good). Pleasantly (and very lightly) scented (good), and suitable, apparently for sensitive skin types... ok, I'll bite, I'll try them out.

And I was pleasantly surprised. Not alone did they remove makeup, but also mascara, and they did it all without aggravating my sensitive skin - an achievement in itself. They stopped shy of removing all of my waterproof mascara and long-long-long lasting eyeliner, but they got most of it. They feel nice - they're more like a very soft thin cotton cloth than any other wipes I've used, and they are quite sturdy.

Nice feeling, sturdy, hardworking...

I think they're around €4 for a pack of 25, which is not bad value for something that (a) works and (b) doesn't do any harm while doing it. Whereas I in general shy away from using wipes, these are firmly staying in my overnight bag for those times I'm just too exhausted to be bothered cleansing properly. I certainly won't use them every night, but I don't object to using them as a stop-gap. For me, for wipes, that's unusually high praise :-)

NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer

2013-05-08T07:44:00.000+01:00

NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer

There's a new concealer on the block. And I love it.

I was eagerly awaiting the release of this on-counter as it's quite a new formulation and has been getting a lot of airplay. I've used it nonstop since I got it - I could wax lyrical about this for ever and ever. And bore you senseless. Let's just say that I won't, and I'll give you the whistlestop on it instead:

Why do I like it - it's extremely pigmented - a little goes a very very long way with this. It's water resistant. It doesn't crease. It doesn't fade. It doesn't bunch. It doesn't settle into fine lines. It works under the eye. It works as a blemish concealer. It seems to work on dry and oilier skin (so far). It doesn't even need powdering. It's fragrance free. Paraben free. Alcohol free. It's possibly the concealer-to-end-all-concealer-searches. My previous hitherto-used-without-a-blink concealer palette is looking in danger of not being replaced (not that it needs it, anytime soon, but how and ever).

It's a water-and-silicone based formulation. It contains a teeny tiny amount of bismuth oxychloride, which means it's great for brightening up under the eyes. I haven't found it to flash back.

The ten shades available

In terms of shades, these don't necessarily come in cool- or warm- undertones, like many other concealers (look here and here for some more information on concealers and correctors and here for information on all of the MAC concealers available), rather they mirrors some of the NARS foundation shades (which is a good and a bad idea in my mind), and there will be ten shades, ranging from a reasonably light shade to a reasonably dark shade. A few minutes swatching one on-counter should net you a shade you need for your purposes. Demonstrably absent is an ochre shade, but then again these are concealers, not correctors - it just so happens that some can double-up nicely as both.

NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer in Honey

For example, I bought just one to try it out - in shade Honey, which is a peachy coloured one, great for cancelling-out blueness in under-eye dark circles then.

Before (no foundation, no brows, no concealer :-)

Applied a tiny amount of Honey shade along my dark circles,
then blended-out with a synthetic eye buffing brush

After (still no foundation, no brows :-))
Dark circles begone.
One step, replacing my previous correct-conceal-highlight-powder routine.

In terms of coverage, this is a medium-buildable-to-almost-full coverage concealer.

Annoying standard-doe-foot-applicator

Downsides? Doe-foot applicator; I hate these things, they're unsanitary.

Price-wise I think this was around the €26 mark as I recall - not crazy expensive, not crazy cheap. I would certainly not hesitate to pay this, as it works so well, and is the first product I've ever used that fully replaces the need for both corrector and concealer. In addition, as I don't need to correct, conceal, highlight, then powder, it's a major timesaver.

Look here if you want more information or to buy online.

Cheap-ass v Fancy-ass? Shiseido v Lidl in the Battle Of The Cotton Pads

2013-05-07T10:07:00.002+01:00

The humble cotton pad / cotton round...

Today's post was written in two halves - by both myself and my friend @MontyC. It's a review of something we all use and need; for makeup removal, for toning the face, for refreshing the eyes, for nail polish removal... the humble cotton pad.

Fancy-ass/Splurge: Shiseido Cotton Pads - A bit posh but are they worth it?

(This half of the post is with thanks to @MontyC)

Shiseido Facial Cotton

Shiseido and I don't know either very well. We're acquaintances more than friends. I have their foundation brush and one pot of their shimmering cream eye shadows. And now these cottons pads.

[Ed: strangely, I have exactly the same amount of Shiseido "stuff" in my arsenal, although likely a different colour cream shadow I imagine - mine is the black one and I love it].

When you think of the humble cotton pad, you may think to yourself what's the fuss? Aren't they all same? Why bother buying a packet of posh ones? Well, a pet pet peeve of mine is when the pad disintegrates in your hand as you're attempting to use it. So when I read the serious amount of love that was being heaped on these pads online, I decided to check them out for myself.

Firstly and most importantly, the price. There aren't many things you can get for a fiver at any of your high end brand counters these days. Well, now you can. The Shiseido cottons pads come in at €5 for a box of 60 pads. Yep, that's right. Five quid.

[Ed: a fiver for cotton pads - that right there is going to galvanise you one way or the other]

Secondly, and just as importantly, are they any good? Short answer - yes they are. I'm happy to report that they do not fall apart. Another great thing about these is that they don't soak up all your product; since I've started using these, I've noticed I'm using less toner/nail polish remover/cleanser than I did before.

Thirdly, are they really better than your average packet of cottons pads from Boots? I believe they are a lot better. So much so that I'm going to go back to my Shiseido counter to buy two more boxes.

Cheap-ass/Save: Lidl Iseree Cotton Pads - Sure will these ones not just do instead?

(This half of the post is written by myself)

Lidl cotton pads...

I understand, and share, MontyC's annoyance with cotton pads that disintegrate in your paws as you try to use them. At this point in time, I've used all the usual drugstore and supermarket offerings: Boots (not bad but not great), Tesco (separate-out as soon as removed from the packet), Tesco cheapies (disintegrate if you look crooked at them), Penneys (harsh and scratchy, awful, awful, truly awful, I can't overstate how bloody awful), The Body Shop (not bad but not cheap), DeMak'Up (nearly the same price as the Shiseido ones, ok-but-not-great), Irish Breeze (more or less ditto), Sephora (only ok and can't get them in Ireland anyhow), ones from Salon Services and Flair (the best I'd found so far and at trade prices, not bad, especially as I usually buy these in bulk) and of late, the Lidl Isereee offerings (my current favourite).

I could buy and sell shares in cotton pads. Between my own use, my kit use and my class use, I go through a lot of these. I am personally highly unlikely, therefore, to sit in the splurge category, but I'm always interested in hearing about an item that is a good buy because it's a good product, occasionally despite its price (I am no stranger to occasional splurging on certain products myself).

At the other end of the price scale from the Shiseido pads MontyC mentioned above are the Iseree pads from Lidl. At 79¢ for 120 of them, and after trying a lot of other offerings out, I've settled upon these as the best option in terms of value-for-money, for my level of usage. There's a textured side and a flat side and they're crimped at the edges. They don't separate into two halves, they don't shed, they don't disintegrate. They don't feel harsh but neither are they as silky soft as I believe the Shiseido ones are, but they'll do for me.

From a per-usage price perspective, 8¢ for 1 pad (for the Shiseido ones) equates to approximately 12 of the Lidl pads, or in other words, the fiver I'd spend on 60 Shiseido pads would net me about 800 Lidl pads, so I know which ones I personally will be buying and using, but for people with sensitive eyes, contact lenses, sore or sensitised skin, or simply a general intolerance to tiny tufty bits of cotton wool on their faces, it looks like the Shiseido ones are a good bet. And for all their (relative) expense, no where near as expensive as the Chanel equivalent (which are around the €20 mark (!!), as I understand).

Look here for more info on the Iseree pads and here for more info on the Shiseido ones. And as always, thanks to MontyC for her insights!

MAC's new Mineralize Moisture SPF15 Foundation

2013-05-03T08:48:00.001+01:00

New kid on the (MAC) block:
Mineralize Moisture SPF15 Foundation

This post was a labour of... well, just a labour really. I started out writing up this review the same way as I usually do for foundations - trying to cover all the bases (coverage, finish, lastability, cost, skintype, application method etc) and I realised that, while I would still be doing this, I needed to add a bit of a rant to the top of the post. So here it is:

<Rant>

So Here’s the thing. I wanted to love this foundation. I first saw this new foundation in action back in December and have been eagerly awaiting its release. What this foundation tries to do – in terms of finish – is everywhere at the moment; that glowy, radiant skin look is the biggest 2013 trend going. Aside from the fact that healthy glowy skin looks gorgeous, and apart from the fact that it’s coming into the summer and this tends to be a seasonal trend, this is a particular ongoing trend at the moment.

What I found was that it’s a blasted bugger of a thing to apply correctly. It needed quite a lot of investigation into what would and wouldn’t work. And when I found what worked (in terms of application), it didn’t necessarily last (in terms of wearability). But dear God it was hard work getting there, and involved a multitude of different application methods, different finishing methods, different priming methods over a seven day period, even down to doing things one way on one side of my face, and another on the other side, to compare! It involved a ten-minute earlier start all week to try get to the bottom of it (I’m looking forward to that extra time in bed next week :-))

Bottom line: now that I know how to make it work, how to use it, how to get the best out of it, I’m fine with it – in fact I absolutely love it. But it’s still not a foundation for when you’re in a hurry. It’s a needy-baby-greedy-baby foundation, to paraphrase The Big Bang Theory.

</Rant>

Anyhow, read on if you want to see how in the name of £$%@^ you can make it work…

Coverage

Coverage is light-to-medium. This is slightly buildable - but only to a point, at which case you will look like you're just wearing a layer of this stuff on your face. This doesn't produce a "flawless" look - it's not a heavy enough coverage - and you will need concealer with it (I recommend the MAC Mineralize concealer with this foundation).

Light to medium coverage

That said, however, it contains a huge proportion of optical diffusers, so although you do need to conceal, you don't need a heavy coverage concealer, as the optical diffusers do their job of blurring your imperfections out, if not covering them up.

Coverage caveat? You need to find the balance; you can build it to a point, after which it just sits on your skin, no matter what you do.

Finish

MAC Mineralize Moisture SPF15 Foundation
(featuring a very tired looking me)
No brow product, no concealer, no powder.
Not a bad finish for just raw foundation - dewy and luminous.

The finish for this is a funny one - MAC calls it a satin finish but it is categorically not - it's a dewy finish, but a new type of dewy; it has that very mineralised, slightly "almost shimmery" appearance without being greasy or oily looking. It's a definite nod to the radiant looking, fresh-faced, healthy skin trend of this season as I mentioned before. In fact, it's the perfect foundation for getting that result - I can see why it was used so much backstage for SS shows. It's perfect for that - for a certain period of time, at least. Finish caveat? None. But reference "Wear" below.

Wear

This is a mineralised product that works reasonably well with dryer skins, but I don't recommend it for oily skin types; quite a lot of buffing and powdering was needed to set it.

Which brings me to my next point: yes, it categorically and most definitely needs powdering, especially if you have oily areas of your skin - it can sit on top and slip a bit. And it will transfer everywhere if you don't, with little or no provocation. However, if you use a mineral/mineralised powder (I use MAC Mineralized Skinfinish) to set it, you'll still see that gorgeous luminosity through the powder, which is an achievement in itself. Because mineralised powders don't work particularly brilliantly as blot powders, you’ll need to re-powder a bit more frequently than you might otherwise be happy with.

Once applied correctly it looks like a gorgeous foundation. So what's the caveat on Wear? It is a reasonably "standard" wear foundation - about six hours' wear, at which point you're going to notice that it has annoyingly bunched on dry areas, and separated-out on oily areas, it goes from hero to absolute yuck in those six hours. Unless you use a finishing spray. In which case it lasted me about twelve hours. See "Best Applied With" below for more information.

Shades & Undertones

18 shades in NC and NW undertones

Colour-wise this comes in eighteen shades (NC15 being the lightest and NW50 the darkest, with eleven of these as cool toned/NC). I haven't found this to oxidise, so the colour you apply is the colour it stays on your skin.

NC20 on me - nice and dewy looking

I'm using an NC20 at the moment and while it's a tiny bit pale, the NC25 was too dark for me (the swatch above is on the back of my arm).

Best Applied With

First and foremost, this needs a really well moisturised skin underneath. And a primer is an absolute must. I can't stress this enough. And a finishing spray, if you want it to last and keep looking well. If you spend time working your moisturiser into your skin, and then spend time on your primer, and then spend time working the foundation into your skin, and then spend time finishing it (powder + setting spray) you will wind up with a gorgeous finish. But do you really want to go to all that hassle for just a base?

As I said at the outset, application of this foundation is a weird one. I spent some time trying out different methods. I didn't find a sponge (either wet or dry) worked particularly well - neither did a flat/paddle foundation brush. A dual fibre foundation brush was too lightweight to be much use. A dense buffing brush was too dense. Fingers didn't work great on their own, but as a mechanism for getting most of it on, sure. The best result I personally found was using my Shu Uemura #18 brush:

A match made in foundation heaven...

This is not a foundation for when you're in a hurry. It sits on the skin a bit, you need to really do some work with this, and it looks best when you buff it in - comprehensively but gently if that makes sense - and as I've found, with a fluffy (natural fibre) brush. Which is likely why the sponge/paddle/dual fibre brushes didn't work - this foundation is not a friend of synthetic fibres.

The only thing that I found with this foundation... moisturise (very well) first. Then apply a primer. I found that silicone based primers were not necessary, just any good primer (I am currently using and loving NARS Pro Prime, Cosmetics à la Carte Skin Veil). Then whack the foundation on (fingers, flat paddle brush) and buff it in/out/shake-it-all-about with a brush as described. Set it with a powder and then - and here's the bit that really stops it from bunching and separating later - spritz it with MAC Fix+.

This gave me the beautiful finish that I have seen in campaign visuals, and it lasted all day this way, no bunching, no crap. Use a synthetic brush: doesn't apply well. Miss out on the moisturiser or primer: harder to apply well, bunches and separates out later on. Miss out on the powder: transfers like bejeezus. Miss out on the finishing spray: bunches and separates out later on. See what I mean? Needy.

A fluffy dense brush with natural fibres and some give is the best bet...

Back to the issue of a the brushes - if you have something like the Shu Uemura brush I mentioned, or the Tom Ford equivalent, or even the MAC 168 brush; to work with this foundation, it will be fine. It needs to be a fluffy-but-dense natural fibre brush. Synthetic fibres won't work. Buffing brushes won't work - the brush needs some "give" in it. Otherwise, the foundation will just sit on the skin and look strange; like it's separated-out on your skin.

Formulation

In terms of ingredients, it's a water-and-silicone-based formulation with a lot of minerals (77 I think is MAC's boast) and a bunch of good skin stuff including Shea Butter and Vitamin E, so it is quite moisturising. It also contains optical blurring powders which really do their job. It feels nice on the skin, and looks gorgeous. Until it starts to bunch. And separate. Unless you do all the steps I set out.

Best Suited To / Skincare

Absolutely perfect younger skin. Reference "wear" for pretty much all other skin types. A definite no-no for oilier skins. I have found that this can clog pores somewhat. Not good. A silicone-based primer will help out in that area.

Flashback, SPF, Price

This is around the €36 mark for 30ml and it has an SPF of 15 (titanium dioxide) - there is most certainly a small amount of flashback with this foundation. Look here for more info on the MAC site.

I like the look of this foundation a lot, now that I know how to use it, I can say that yes, it's absolutely a beautiful one, but I can't in all conscience recommend it unless you have the correct tools to apply it - a decent moisturiser, MAC Fix+, the right brush, and a lot of time. Why bother when you can use something like this one instead - a similar coverage/finish/price with much less hassle and effort.

Cosmetics a la Carte - 40th Anniversary Celebration!

2013-05-02T08:27:00.001+01:00

Although I'm a relatively recent convert to Cosmetics à la Carte, this year they are this celebrating forty years in the business! To mark the occasion, they are hosting a creative beauty exhibition detailing the creativity and innovation of their makeup, and the impact that cosmetics has on modern culture...

Sadly I won't be in London at the time, but details are as below if you're in London and fancy a look!

Sleek Pout Paints v OCC Lip Tars

2013-05-01T07:52:00.000+01:00

I know this post is a little late (ok ok very late, I have been meaning to publish it for over a year now!) but how and ever, better late than never...

For anyone who doesn't know, OCC (Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics) are a cruelty-free all-vegan cosmetics store who make a bunch of different cosmetic products and tools - but their pièce de résistance are their Lip Tars. Ostensibly a pro product, these are great for anyone who likes to play with makeup.

Sleek Makeup (a drugstore/budget makeup brand that I absolute love) have released (oh, back in 2011 I believe) their version - called Pout Paints.

Here follows my compare-and-contrast.

One of the big things I love about Lip Tars is the scent - they are heavily peppermint-tasting, which is all fine and dandy if you like that, but it's a bit much if you don't. The scent fades slightly over the course of wear (I personally like it, actually, for me it's a nice break from vanilla- or rose- scented lippies, or - heaven forbid - fruity-flavoured lipsticks, yeuch). Sleek doesn't have that OTT OCC peppermint smell. Score this one in accordance with your preference.

In terms of appearance, the Lip Tars dry down to a satin (semi-matte) finish that categorically doesn't budge, and the Pout Paints are more of a slightly-glossy finish. This one is also a matter of preference.

With respect to wear, the Lip Tars probably last a little longer, but care is needed when applying Lip Tars - too much will cause feathering. Score +1 and -1 for Lip Tars for these reasons :-)

As far as pigmentation goes, the Lip Tars have extreme pigmentation - a dot of this product will do for entire lip coverage. The Pout Paints are quite pigmented, but nowhere as good as Lip Tars. Lip Tars 1: Pout Paints 0.

The full suite of OCC Lip Tars

What about colours? The Lip Tars also have a lot more colours; at this point in time there are 46 shades (at the time I purchased, I believe there were 18!) and feature weird and wonderful shades of blues, greens, black, white etc., making them a real artist's tool, as other shades can be created by mixing.

Sleek Pout Paint - current shades (April 2013)

The Pout Paints colours change from time to time - at present they come in 7 shades, all (bar the blue) are pretty ready-to-go day-wearable. There used to be a white shade for mixing, but at the point of this post, it didn't feature on their website. Lip Tars 2: Paint Pots: 0.

In terms of wearability and "last-ability"; I find that most of the Lip Tars wear nicely, and fade uniformly to a stain... rather than gradually in bits and pieces. The Paint Pouts didn't fade quite as uniformly, but they are not bad either (better than most lippies for eg). Lip Tars 3: Paint Pots: 0.

The big down-side of Lip Tars? The product separates in the tube - nothing a good shake can't fix, but still a little annoying (and from a purely aesthetic viewpoint, they do not look good in your kit!) Lip Tars 3: Paint Pots: 1.

Price-wise, at retail price, the Pout Pots (£6.99) are considerably cheaper than Lip Tars (£12). Lip Tars 3: Paint Pots: 2.

Would I buy again? Hmmm... given that I have a Pro card and can get Lip Tars (the real deal for me) at more or less the same price as the Pout Paints, probably not. But I wouldn't object to recommending them. Or to using them if I don't have Lip Tars to hand. Or to buying them completely on a whim if I happen to be in a Superdrug (not often) and I just "need" that exact colour.

More information on Pout Paints here. More information on Lip Tars here.

essence trend edition for summer 2013: guerilla gardening

2013-04-30T07:54:00.001+01:00

Guerilla Gardening is essence's summer trend-based makeup collection release, featuring botanical shades of both bright and dark green, earthy browns, bright pinks and intensive reds.

The collection features

Two Lip Creams
Four nail polish shades
Two nail effects powder shades
A nail effects brush
Three LE eyeshadow shades
Two eyebrow mascaras
Two cream-to-powder blushes

Lip Creams

T - > B: floral glam, mission flower

The lip creams are, in keeping with much of the collection, a matte finish. 01 mission flower is an almost fuchsia pink, while 02 floral glam is an intense coral-tomato red. These retail at the tiny sum of only €2.49!

Nail Polish

L - > R: floral glam, mission flower, plant the planet, I'm the moss

The nail polishes (all €2.29) include 01 I'm the moss (a medium-dark grass green), 02 plant the planet (an acid-bright lemon-yellow-green) and two others - a pink (03 mission flower) and a red shade (04 floral glam) which match the new lip creams.

Nail Effects & Brush

L - > R: mission flower, I'm the moss

Every collection needs a cornerstone item - one item that stands out, and the jewel of this collection is the nail art velvet powder, which gives a strange moss-like look to the nails. I'm not 100% convinced of the furry/textured nail finish, but at €2.49 it's worth a shot! It comes in two shades; 01 I'm the moss and 02 mission flower (to match the other dark green and pink items from the collection).

Nail art fan brush

The nail art brush is a small fan brush, used for sweeping the nail effects powder onto the nails. At €2.49 it's a good purchase (and is worth investigating as a possible dupe for this brush).

Eyeshadows

L - > R: my piece of land, plant the planet, garden up!

I love essence's eyeshadows for their pigmentation and three new LE eyeshadows join essence's shade lineup - 01 garden up! is an earthy brown, 02 my piece of land is a light asphalt-grey, and 03 plant the planet is a fresh yellow-based green, matching the nailpolish of the same name. These are €2.29 each. I personally like the look of my piece of land and I'm looking forward to seeing it in the flesh (I'm always on the look-out for neutral/base shades).

Brow Mascara

T - > B: garden girls, my piece of land

The new brow mascara has a gel-based texture and helps keep unruly eyebrows in shape. At €2.49, it comes in two shades; a lighter shade for blondes (01 garden girls) and a darker version for brunettes (02 my piece of land).

Cream to Powder Blush

L - > R: mission flower, floral glam

Again, these shades are designed to match the nail polish and lip creams of the same names - a pink (01 mission flower) and a red (02 floral glam). These retain for €2.49 and are an easy-to-use cream product that dries to an almost-matte powdered finish.

The collection is available from the end of May in Dunnes, Penneys and selected pharmacies.

Clarins Splendours Eyeshadow & Liner Palette Review & Swatches

2013-04-29T09:32:00.001+01:00

I promised a separate review of the eyeshadow and liner palette that features in the Clarins Splendours summer '13 makeup collection so here we go!

This is a gorgeous quad, full of gilted summer shades of gold-pink, bronzed-copper and champagne-gold and featuring two eyeliners which can be used either wet or dry.

Cute packaging!

What I liked about it

Back-of-arm swatches
L -> R: Copper, Pink Gold, Pale Gold, Powder Liner, Plum Liner

The shadows are really pigmented, super-smooth and apply easily. Even on oilier lids (I had a willing guinea-pig for testing these out) there was no creasing after four hours - after that point a small amount of creasing and fading was evident, however this can be helped along for the oilier-lidded-ladies by use of a primer+powder on the lids beforehand.

The shades are also true to form; sometimes I find that these kind of lighter shimmery formula shades can look quite wishy-washy on the eyes, but not so with these. The eyeshadows all have a gentle shimmer finish (not particularly frosted), with the Powder eyeliner having a satin finish, and the Plum eyeliner, a matte finish.

L -> R: Copper, Pink Gold, Pale Gold, Powder Liner, Plum Liner (dry), Plum Liner (wet)
ie - hardly any difference between wet/dry application of liner

In terms of the eyeliners, I tried these out wet and dry. The only difference was that the wet application resulted in a sharper and smoother line as you'd expect); but in terms of opacity, they were not any particularly more intense used wet than they are used dry.

The Powder eyeliner (ie the dark brown shadow) worked fine as both a liner and an eyeshadow, however the darker Plum eyeliner was too patchy to use as an eyeshadow - but as a liner it was perfect.

Look here for more information on all of the beautiful products in this release.

Disclaimer: This post features makeup received as PR sample however my opinions are my own. Many thanks to the lovely Emer for helping me out with this review!

Cosmetics à la Carte Brow Ink

2013-04-26T07:59:00.002+01:00

Cosmetics à la Carte Brow Ink

Cosmetics a la Carte call this their "smudge-proof eyebrow enhancer and filler" and it is hands-down the absolute best brow product I have ever used for creating a simple, understated, natural brow.

Featuring one extremely skinny applicator...

This is a water-based long-wearing ink delivered via a pen-based liner which features an ultra-skinny flexible applicator that can be used to create hair-line strokes on the skin to mimic the appearance of hairs on the skin under the brows.

It can be used for brows, natural-looking eyeliner, even semi-permanent body art. There are three shades:

Sable (for dark brown to black eyebrows)
Blonde (for golden pale blonde eyebrows)
Taupe (for ash blonde to mid brown eyebrows)

Top Down: Sable, Blonde, Taupe

Taupe and Sable are both cool-toned, while Blonde is warmer, good for redheads I think. I have purchased all three and use both Taupe and/or Sable for my own (dark enough) brows, depending on the look I'm creating.

Before - the nude brow. Scrappy from years of over-plucking :-(

Cosmetics à la Carte Brow Ink in Sable

Cosmetics à la Carte Brow Ink in Taupe

Once on, this stuff doesn't budge. I have used it for brides who really really don't like full brows, but in general it works best as a work-a-day brow product for the best natural looking brows I've ever seen - using short fine strokes to mimic the appearance of hairs. It will require use of a brow set product if you need to tame more unruly brows, but this is true of most brow products anyhow.

Look here for more information. While we're on the subject of brows, compare this with MAC's Fluidline for brows which is my new BFF for more full and flash photo-friendly brows.

Sleek Magnitude Mascara Review

2013-04-25T07:58:00.002+01:00

Sleek Magnitude Mascara

This stuff is a.mazing. And it costs €6. Six quid! It's a two-step mascara designed to lengthen and voluminise lashes. And boy does it.

Lashes before, no mascara, nada, almost non-existent...

Artistic :-p side-on shot of the white primer. Look how long!!!

The first of the two steps, the white primer, is particularly good. Previously I'd only ever used the Smashbox equivalent and while it's ok, it's nothing compared to the Sleek one. In fact the white primer is usable on its own as a white mascara if you need such a thing. And boy does it lengthen. The only con is that it is quite wet and takes a few minutes to dry before you can add the black mascara on top. It's also likely to need a quick comb-through as it's so wet, it can blob a little at the roots. No rushing around with this one, it's not one for the 6am-rushing-out-the-door-starts then for me.

+ primer + mascara, combed through

On top of the white primer, the black mascara most certainly creates volume. Again, it's quite a wet mascara, and care is needed to avoid clumping - and you definitely need to factor-in drying time to avoid it transferring.

The black mascara, used on its own

The black side, used on its own (ie foregoing the primer) is still a good mascara, providing reasonably decent volume, so you don't need to use the primer. Either way, if you use the primer, I would also advise that you remember to coat your lashes from both topside and underneath with the black mascara afterwards, or you'll wind up with a two-tone lash-look. Apropos given the SS'13 monochrome trend perhaps, but strange looking unless you're aiming for zebra-looking lashes :-)

It doesn't curl much, but two out of the mascara holy trinity ain't bad. It comes in a black, waterproof black, and a darkened navy.

Sleek claims that this is "an innovative two step mascara that gives the illusion of false lashes" and it certainly does that - my lashes look huge when wearing this stuff. It does take a bit of effort to remove with a decent eye makeup remover but what of it. I will most certainly repurchase when I've used it up. Highly recommended.

Look here for more info.

Dermalogica UltraCalming Range

2013-04-24T07:53:00.002+01:00

I've used some Dermalogica products in the past - notably their Multivitamin Thermafoliant (an amazingly fantastic product which is simultaneously both a mechanical (via micro exfoliating beads of magnesium oxide, silica and sodium bicarbonate) and chemical (via salicylic- and lactic- hydroxy acids) exfoliator.

But that's not what I'm talking about today. I received some sample products, having been "Speed Mapped" by the aesthetician, from the Dermalogica UltraCalming Range after a recent facial, and as these are especially formulated for sensitive skins, and as that's me to a tee, was happy to try them out...

Used/Reviewed

UltraCalming Cleanser (cleanser)
UltraCalming Serum Concentrate (serum)
UltraCalming Barrier Repair (moisturiser)

UltraCalming Cleanser

This was the best of the lot - it was quite a reasonable cleanser, reasonably comfortable feeling, removing makeup and cleansing the skin in one step. Somewhere between a fluid and a cream, it didn't aggravate my skin, and it didn't leave it feeling tight or overly dried, nor did it leave it feeling weighed down. It is a cream-gel consistency and tentatively recommended. I say tentatively, because despite the large quantity of natural ingredients, it still lists alcohol very close to the top (second, after water). Aside from alcohol, which I would prefer not to see in my personal skin care products, it has another very major con (for me): it can't be used around the eye area. I'll stick to my Shu Uemura cleanser then, thanks very much.

Ultracalming Serum Concentrate

Here's where we start getting into the skin care bit. A cleanser, I don't mind as much. A cleanser can have alcohol. But a serum? Alcohol is listed alongside a bunch of really really good things - but there's a hodgepodge of both natural and chemical ingredients listed. The moisturisation-ability likely comes from the likes of the hyaluronic acid and oils from avocado, evening primrose and sage. Glycerin and silicones provide a barrier for moisture loss. I am dead against silicones in skincare products. So this is not a runner for me, personally, long term.

Scent-wise, it's got that very slightly plastic-y, very slightly lemon-y, very slightly spa-y scent; certainly inoffensive enough.

yes yes, let's get the funny comparisons out of the way...

Consistency-wise, it's a very thin, runny and milky fluid. It doesn't feel particularly nourishing on the skin and after five days of use, my skin was dry. This one I won't be purchasing for use.

Ultracalming Barrier Repair

The turn of the moisturiser. This one is just plain weird - it's a completely clear, thick, gel-like formulation, not unlike a silicone-based makeup primer. It is completely scent-less. It feels nice on the skin, it certainly does not hurt or bug sensitive skin in any way - but after five days' usage, I realised it wasn't really doing anything for me whatsoever.

yep, that's it - weirdest moisturiser I've ever seen...

Ingredients-wise, a scout online led me to realise this is likely due to the high quantities of silicones present; silicones are a great barrier to the elements and can help stop your skin leaking moisture, but they are little more than a cosmetic ingredient designed to make your skin look better than it is. No thanks; I'd rather have skincare products doing treatment stuff for my skin, and makeup products doing cosmetic stuff.

Overall? No dice. Dermalogica is certainly not an inexpensive brand, and you can get just as good, if not way better, for a lot cheaper. I can see how these products could maybe assist with a skin that had been extremely senstitised for some particular reason, in that they wouldn't do any further harm to it. But longer-term, they feature too much silicones, too much alcohol to merit serious personal consideration. In addition, I was suffering from a bit of a redness flare-up at the time and these products did absolutely nothing to assist with that. Want a good sensitive skin recommendation? Try Pai (look here for more information).

Make Up For Dolls lipstick - my very own signature red lipstick!

2013-04-23T08:24:00.000+01:00

Make Up For Dolls Signature Red Lipstick

It's finally here! My very own Make Up For Dolls signature red lipstick!

This is something I've been working on for about a year now, and when I had a chance meeting with the lovely Lynne Sanders of Cosmetics à la Carte at their Dublin launch some time ago, I realised that I finally had a ready-made outlet to develop the finished product.

What I wanted to create was a red that had a little bit of shine, but lasted all day. That was a slightly darkened red, with a blue base. That could look slightly more raspberry pink in some lights, and cherry-red in other lights. I had started out with the premise of trying to dupe this red lipstick, but to be honest, I realised in the course of the journey, that what I was trying to get towards was slightly darker and slightly bluer and slightly pinker than this.

Rome wasn't built in a day...
it took a few goes and a bunch of trials and reference colours to get it just right

After a lot of experimentation and mixing, it would seem that I've finally hit upon the final result; a blue-undertoned slightly darkened red with the tiniest, barely perceptible, flash of an orange-based coral as a top note to lift it ever so slightly, giving the appearance of a cherry-pink red, or a cherry-blue red, depending on what else you have on your face, your colouring and the lighting. It manages to be a darker toned red and quite a vibrant one at the same time. And I love it!

In all its shiny glory - Make Up For Dolls signature red lipstick
(Moisture Plus formula)

Best of all, it lasts and lasts and lasts... it's extremely pigmented and stains the lip nicely, fading gradually rather than bleeding and flaking away. It keeps your lips nicely moisturised and I honestly think it will work on all skin tones and hair colours!

L -> R: Make Up For Dolls Red, Dior Marilyn

It's somewhat ever-so-slightly similar to Dior's Marilyn lipstick from Christmas 2012 collection but slightly less of a pink-red and more of a "lifted" cherry-red. When I want to play up the coral, I apply it over a more orange-based red liner, I use MAC Redd lipliner, which is a very orange-toned red. When I want to play up the blue tones, I use it over something like MAC Cherry lipliner. When I want to amp-up the pink in it, it goes on solo. Three shades or red, one lippie :-)

L -> R: Make Up For Dolls Red, MAC Redd liner, MAC Cherry liner

As I could decide between a matte or a glossy finish, the lipstick comes in two formulas - first, Matte Velvet (this one is a lush creamy velvety matte - look here for more info) and also in Moisture Plus (a moisturising lustre-satin hybrid - look here for more info).

What was also important to me was that this would be a long-lasting lipstick, and that it would feature lots of great ingredients for moisturising and nourishing the lips - somewhere between a lipstick and a lip care product. These lipsticks will be hand-blended (if you're not offended!) by the fantastic chemists at Cosmetics à la Carte (see here for more posts on this brand), and is called Make Up For Dolls Red, and contains the best of natural ingredients - like conditioning emollients derived from palm and coconut oil to attract and hold moisture, plant waxes, Vitamin E, ‘Maxi-Lip’ peptides (a skin-plumping ingredient which help restructure the lips by stimulating the synthesis of collagen, hydrating the area and producing fuller lips), pigments, mica and other minerals.

As far as I'm concerned, it's been a dream of mine to produce my very own, bespoke, red, and this is it! The fact that each and every single one is hand blended is a plus, and it will never ever go out of production either - this is not a LE offering. Of course I'm also happy to entertain purchases if anyone is interested (please let me know via info@makeupfordolls.com), but this was fundamentally, at least for now, for me, me, me :-)

Laser Hair Removal: One Year On

2013-04-22T09:28:00.001+01:00

Laser Hair Removal
(no, that's not me looking all relaxed)

Just over a year ago, I decided to take advantage of an "Unlimited small-area laser treatment" for a year (for some very reasonable price, I don't recall the details) from a clinic I'd been frequenting for a while. A bit of a misnomer really, as I had only eight sessions during the twelve months (*more on that in a minute). I have naturally very dark hair and light-medium skin colouring, so in theory I should qualify as highly suitable.

What did I have done

For the purpose of this review - underarm hair removal, using a laser. IPL hair removal is a different kettle of fish, it's nowhere near as effective, it takes longer, the effects last a shorter period of time, it is not what I'm talking about here.

Does it hurt?

Yes, yes it does. If you have alcohol before or the night before, it hurts. If it's in a sensitive area, it hurts. If you're a girl and it's that time of the month, boy does it hurt. If you're dialled up to a high intensity and you haven't built up to it, it hurts. If your practitioner is frankly not good, it really really can hurt, and it can really cause you problems in the longer term.

Is it crucifying? No, it's tolerable. But it's not a walk in the park either. I've had laser on my face (thread veins - major ouch) and underarms (moderately less ouchy) now and while I am not rushing back in to have more done on my face, but I wouldn't rule it out if I needed to (let's just hope I don't need to for some time).

It stops hurting when the quick zap is done, but you can be left feeling hot and pricky and sensitive for a day or two.

Bottom line - don't kid yourself, this isn't kittens licking you or your favourite person tickling you with feathers. Or even whacking you with the scratchier side of the feather. Nor, as it has been described, is it like a "gentle elastic band twanging on your skin". It is certainly less than pleasant, but equally, more than tolerable.

So what happens in a session?

You present your [insert area to be laser'd here] (underarms for me). Some conductive (and cooling) gel is applied to said area. It's gradually zapped, one small area at a time, by the operator. There's a quiet bzzzzzzzst sound, a bit like an electrical spark, and an extremely short sharp shock. After a while, the malodorous scent of ozone and overheated skin fills the air (yuck) but it all is over and done with in no time. It used to take me longer to remove my top, get into a towel and lie on the treatment bed than it did to administer the laser treatment. Done and dusted, the conductive gel is removed and some aloe vera gel is applied, you give it a few minutes to dry in and off you go.

Did it work?

Yes it most certainly did. Before, I had previously rather hirsute pits. Lovely, eh. After the eight sessions, I think I am down to two (irritating) lone hairs, which are extremely extremely fine and barely noticeable (no, I'm not posting before-and-after pics). I will likely have one more session to get rid of just those at some point in the future. Either way, it has been about three months now since my last session and I haven't had to wax or sugar or thread or shave or use depilatory cream or... before: all hair... after: all gone. No mess, no fuss, done and dusted, happy days.

How long should it last?

The hair that is targeted can grow back. "Can" means that sometimes it does, and sometimes it doesn't. If it does, it's likely to be sparse and extremely fine, and a top-up session or two can be had every couple of years to zap the strays into submission. I'm not at that stage yet, so I don't know.

What do you need to remember (prep & after care)

Make sure that you shave the area to be laser'd the night before (it really hurts if you don't).
Make sure that you don't wear any perfumes, perfumed body lotions, deodorants etc in the area that will be treated.
Absolutely and categorically no sunbathing, fake tans, tanning beds for usually a week before treatment, as this increases the melanin content in your skin.
Make sure that you apply aloe vera or some equivalent to the treatment area afterwards for a 24-48 hour period, and don't use any deodorants/scents/scented products. for the same timeframe.
No very hot showers or sports or sunbathing within 48 hours usually recommended after treatment.

*Standard enough stuff, but stuff that you may not be told in advance (I wasn't, on my first trip, and wound up having to forfeit the first appointment, hmmmm).

Would I recommend?

Most certainly. It's not altogether pleasant, it's not dreadfully unpleasant or intolerable. But the results speak for themselves. Only time will tell how long said results last, but I wouldn't rule out top-up sessions if necessary.

A few things to note about laser hair removal

Around since 1997, laser hair removal essentially only works on where there is a contrast, so dark hair will laser away fine if you are not dark skinned.
It doesn't work particularly on naturally blond/lighter hair.

Both of these caveats are due to a very simple principle: light is absorbed by dark objects, so laser heat energy is absorbed by melanin in the skin. The laser is in effect used to create localised damage to melanin in the follicle and over a few sessions, the damage becomes reasonably permanent (see How long should it last above) and the hair doesn't re-grow (it goes through a few stages of becoming less coarse, less strong and eventually, giving up the ghost altogether).

As melanin gives your hair and your skin its colour, if you are dark-skinned (and have a lot of melanin), laser hair removal can cause damage to your skin and not really effectively remove the hair at all (although newer lasers are being produced all the time which have had some success at targeting dark hair on dark skin).

Finally, even if you are in the ideal candidate group (dark, course hair and pale skin) laser simply may not work for you.

Warming!

This is someone bandying about with a laser. On you. In the larger scheme of things, it really pays to go to a good clinic that you can 100% trust - from the perspective of training and knowledge or the operator, from the perspective of maintenance (the lasers are supposed to be checked over once every twelve months), and from the perspective of accountability (a good beautician will own up if they screw up, and fix it for you).

I had one really bad session of face lasering which left me with minor damage on my skin, for example. And from which took me nearly a month to recover. I genuinely regret that I didn't take action with the clinic in question. When you think that this is about someone blasting your skin with a laser, it makes sense to be safe in the knowledge that the operator is reputable and knows what they are doing.

New fragrances from Essence

2013-04-19T08:00:00.000+01:00

Drugstore brand essence has released three brand new budget fragrances in April and these are available in-store (Dunnes and Penny's and pharmacies nationwide), together with the already popular first six fragrances by essence. These will be available in two sizes, 50ml (€7.99) and a mini 10ml handbag-size (€3.49).

Like a rollercoaster ride

essence - like a rollercoaster ride 50ml

essence - like a rollercoaster ride handbag spray (10ml)

Floral, fresh and cheerful, this one sounds quite sweet, with apple & white peach top notes, vanilla, musk and sandlewood basenotes and a peony floral accord running through it.

Like a million miles away

essence - like a million miles away 50ml

essence - like a million miles away handbag spray (10ml)

Exotic, wild and daring, this one is more citrus-fruity-woody, with mango, mandarin and grapefruit top notes, and replacing the sandlewood in the base notes with cedar, while retaining the vanilla and musk. Plum, rose and praline mid-tone notes run through the centre.

Like a jump in the pool

essence - like a jump in the pool 50ml

essence - like a jump in the pool handbag spray (10ml)

Cool, refreshing and invigorating, the top notes here are sharp and pointed, with green apple and pepper, softened with lemon balm. Lily of the Valley, pink rose and green tea form the mid-notes and the base notes are also musk and vanilla, this time with a white cedar accord replacing the previous sandlewood/cedar.

For more information on these, and all essence products, look here. Probably a little too sweet for my personal liking, but at these prices, I can definitely see them fitting with the teenage demographic looking for a fun summer fragrance at drugstore prices. From my research, these are reasonably high in alcohol content, so I imagine the scent fading after a couple of hours wear, however at these prices, you can well afford to re-spritz liberally over the course of the day!

New Illamasqua Nail Polish Shades

2013-04-18T07:44:00.000+01:00

Illamasqua have recently released five new nail varnish shades to their collection available in-store and online. These are all permanent line and details follow.

Pink Raindrops

Illamasqua Pink Raindrops nail varnish

This particular shade, Pink Raindrops, was created to celebration hitting 100,000 Facebook fans. I'm getting quite personally excited to hit 1,000 - so 100,000 is quite an achievement :-) This is an almost nude, cool-toned pale pink with barely noticeable pink flakes running through it, and it's quite pretty and girly (and not too sparkly to get away with wearing in work). It has a gel gloss finish and it does quite look like slightly smeared raindrops on the nails (it's a pink version of the grey Raindrops, released some time ago).

Matt Top Coat

Illamasqua matt topcoat nail varnish

There's not a huge amount to say about this one, but I can imagine this looking great over the LE speckled nail varnishes (from the I'mPerfection collection - see here for more information on this collection and the speckled nail polishes) for a very authentic, delicate, matte eggshell look. I like matte nail varnishes, in particular creating an almost duo-tone "French manicure" style nail using only one shade, with a matte nail and a glossy tip.

New Spring Shades

Venous, Harem and Superstition were formerly shades exclusive to the Broken Heart collection (Sephora stores only), but these three shades are now available as part of Illamasqua's permanent line.

L -> R: Venous, Harem, Superstition

Venous is a blue-based green which can appear either almost-teal or definitely more green, depending on the light - the shade is based on the blue-green colour of veins as seen through skin. Harem is an almost bubblegum creamy mauve/blue-based light pink. Superstition is a very vibrant fuchsia-toned medium-dark pink (my kind of pink).

I personally love Illamasqua nail polishes - they're extremely long-lasting and hard-wearing. You can get more information and swatches from the Illamasqua site, here.

As a side-note, Illamasqua are also offering 3-for-2 on all lippies at the moment online (resulting in a saving of £16, not to be sniffed at!)

Chanel Jeux de Regards - featuring new Illusion d'Ombres & new mascara

2013-04-17T08:23:00.001+01:00

Chanel Jeux de Regards campaign visual

According to the cosmetics industry, if not the weather, we are firmly entrenched in Springtime and fast approaching Summer. I'll stop to have a snigger at that one. Here in Ireland, I've had the stove pumping out heat to try get the sitting room up to a comfortable 22 degrees. Then just overnight, I'm opening the window to get it down from 24. Oh, feckless Irish weather, how I hate you.

Anyhow digression over, off the subject of weather and onto the subject Chanel's latest eye collection, Jeux de Regards. We're in for a new mascara (I have six Chanel mascaras and love each and every one of them), and two different colour-themed makeup collections as the supporting cast.

Le Volume de Chanel
- new Mascara

The collection is launching on the 3rd of May and features some new products, some new shades, some re-promotes and some LE items.

New Mascara - Le Volume de Chanel

First-off, a new mascara, Le Volume de Chanel Mascara. Designed to plump-up, lengthen, thicken and intensify lashes, nowhere does it "curl them", but I've yet to discover a Chanel mascara that is a good lash curling mascara (the Sublime de Chanel mascara is curl-friendly, but you still need to use eyelash curlers first). Apparently this was developed by Peter Philips, (now ex?) Creative Director of Chanel Makeup.

New Le Volume de Chanel Mascara in L -> R: Noir, Bleu, Prune

The new mascara will come in three shades, Noir (black), Bleu (a slightly darkened denim blue) and Prune (a purple shade, not quite plum, not quite aubergine). I have two Chanel blue mascaras already - one is a dark navy blue (and very gorgeous) and another is a very light blue (and a little 80's for my liking) - this Bleu shade sits somewhere in the middle of those two, from what I can see of the press release images. I also have a YSL Aubergine shade of mascara which I absolutely a-dore, it's quite a wine/plum shade of aubergine and works really well with my greenish-grey-ish eyes. I am a fan of coloured mascaras, therefore. This mascara will cost €30 and the black one will most certainly be permanent line - at time of post I'm not altogether 100% certain if the two coloured offerings are LE or permanent (but I will try to find out).

Le Jeux de Regard - Cool-toned Indigo Shades

Chanel Le Jeux de Regard collection - indigo shades

The supporting cast for the Noir and Bleu mascaras feature a new quad, Fascination, featuring shades in a matte green indigo, warmed with purple, a sparkling satiny blue, a light dove grey and a slightly-darker-than-mid-tone grey. This will be a LE quad and sell for €47.50, if you're inclined.

Joining the cast are four Stylo Yeux waterproof eyeliners in Noir Intense, Gris Raffiné (new), Black Shimmer (LE) and Bleu Exquis (new), each retailing at €23.

Last but not least we see a return of the Illusion d'Ombre in #91/Apparition which we first saw as a LE offering in the Chanel-boutique-only Blue Illusion collection in 2012. Look at my review post here for this one. Priced at €29.50, as I understand, this time around it's going to be part of the permanent line-up of Illusion d'Ombre shades.

Le Jeux de Regard - Warm-toned Brown Shades

Chanel Le Jeux de Regard collection - brown shades

And the staffers in the collection on the brown/gold side, supporting the Noir and Prune shades of mascara, feature a new eyeshadow quad in Séduction, with shades of rose, peach satin, beige and intense chocolate brown.

There are four brown Stylo Yeux waterproof liners; three re-promotes and a new liner - a frosted chestnut Taupe (new), together with Santal (dark very warm brown), a mid-tone warm coffee brown Expresso, and the iconic plum-aubergine shade Grenat, all €23.

As anyone who knows me will attest, I love the Chanel Illusion d'Ombre shades and last but not least for the "browns" we see an Illusion d'Ombre in #90/Convoitise (I'm not sure if this will be new or LE, €29.50), a beige-based gold. From the press images it looks like an even more muted version of Apparance (see here for a comparison of Apparance and Vision, the two pre-existing Chanel gold Illusion d'Ombre shades). I'm looking forward to trying this one out :-)

So what's for me? The new Illusion d'Ombre in Convoitise, most definitely. These are due on-counter on 3rd of May.