Glitter and Ice… It’s MAC’s Christmas Collection

Want to know what’s in MAC’s holiday collection 2011? See the pictures and full collection here

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What’s in October’s Glossybox?

It’s that time again!

October’s Theme is the SIX PACK, as there’s a 6th bonus product to celebrate 6 glorious months of Glossybox – can you believe this is the 6th Glossybox already?

When I saw names like Stila and Dermalogica on the card I was very excited…

Dermalogica Age Smart Multi Vitamin Thermafoliant 15ml A powerful thermal skin polisher that combines physical and chemical exfoliants. A full, 75ml bottle costs £40.50, therefore a 15ml equivalent is worth £8.10.

Dermalogica Age Smart Multi Vitamin Power Recover Masque 15ml. A full 70 ml bottle retails for £33, equivilant 15ml worth £7.07 A powerful masque of concentrated antioxidant vitamins to help skin recover and regenerate.

Leighton Denny Expert Nails Colour & Care Nail Polish 12ml Leighton Denny Nail colour in Hanky Panky, a true orange shade. I love nail polish and was very excited to see Leighton Denny’s name on the card, but I’m a little disappointed at the shade. I have orange nail polish and don’t find it very wearable. I tested it on one nail, the quality is very good and the colour very opaque, no need for three coats with this one. I would have been happier with the baby pink or blue though. Full size product worth £11.

Stila Smudge Stick Waterproof Eyeline in Moray Another full size product, worth £13. I love Stila and have high hopes for this little stick. A lovely olive shade with golden flecks – can’t wait to try it.

Robert Piguet Eau de Parfums Fracas de Robert Piquet, Visa de Robert Piguet and Calypso de Robert Piguet are three signature scents from the ‘most Parisian of fashion designers’.

And the sixth, bonus gift Dermalogica Renewal Lip Complex 1ml with a handy little bag to keep all your new Dermalogica gifts safe. A daily treatment that restores the delicate lip tissue. Full size 1.75ml product retails for £22.50, so this mini version is worth £12.85  

I think this is a really good box – a perfect mix of make up, skin care and fragrance. I’m very excited to try the Dermalogica products and the Stila liner, and as ever, I’ll let you know my thoughts.

Thinking of subscribing? See what was in August and Septembers boxes.

Hot new Lipstick Alert!

17 have just added a seriously sexy new lipstick range to their collection. Supreme Shine Lipsticks work bold, virant colours with a new, lightweight formula.

Available in 13 beautiful shades – Barely Blush, Bon Bon, Pink Posey, Kissable, Hot Stuff, If You Please, Red Devil, Rich, Bella, Hot Flash, Day-glo, All About the Sass, Deep Secret.

Hot Stuff

For me red lipstick is like chocolate, I know it’s not good for me but I just can’t resist, but in Hot Stuff I think I’ve finally found my perfect red! Blue toned reds don’t suit me, I find they drain the colour from my face. Coral reds and pinkish reds work better on my skin tone. This, I’d describe as a very flattering cherry red. It’s rich, highly pigmented and fairly opaque. The forumla is easy to apply, slides on, a little waxy and very lightweight. The finish is a classic shine, but not sticky or glossy.

Pink Posey

Purples and Plums are so hot right now! Pink Posey is a very wearable pinky purple. It’s bright and bold and my new party season go-to. Like before it’s rich, highly pigmented and fairly opaque. The forumla is easy to apply, slides on, is a little waxy and very lightweight. The only drawback is it doesn’t have the staying power of regular formulas, but it’s a good excuse to whip it out and reapply.

OFFER ALERT – Check out this free gift with any two 17 products. Femme Noir

Supreme Shine Lipstick in store and online now, £4.99

Be a Style Queen

The release of the Boots’ Christmas catalogue marks the official run up to Christmas. Each week during this run up to Christmas, Boots offers up one of its “star” gifts for half price. This weeks’ is pretty good and guaranteed to cause a stampede….

Frontcover Style Queen Reduced from £35 to £17

Frontcover Style Queen is a bumper beauty collection for eyes, lips and cheeks. It includes all the products, tools and techniques you’ll need to rock a new look and is great for party season.

The Frontcover Style Queen Colour Set includes:

• 6 lip glosses
• 7 dome baked powder eyeshadows
• 6 pressed powder eyeshadows
• 2 fine-line baked powder cheek domes
• Double ended mascara/sealer
• 2 iridescent pigments
• Shadowline
• 6 make-up brushes
• Mini lash curler
• Double pencil sharpener
• A mirror in the lid

All that for just £17! I can personally vouch for their eyeshadows – I picked up a bumper collection during last Christmas’ star gist. See the review here.

Offer ends Thursday 20 October 2011, whilst stocks last, which won’t be long!

Kate Moss for Rimmel Lipstick Shade 08

I liked shade 5 sooo much (read the review here) that I bought another.

Shade 8 – I’m still really annoyed that they didn’t come up with sexier names like Mossy Mauve – is a muted pink. I went to a ball at the weekend sporting plum smoky eyes. I didn’t want to clash with bold lips so opted for this soft pink and it worked really well.

As with shade 5, it’s soft, moisturising and velvetty. It’s long lasting and smells gorgeous.

Shades 1,2,3,4,5,8,12

At £5.49 they represent really great value and are now available, 3 for 2, at both Boots and Superdrug stores in the UK.

LOOK Beauty Collection

Another new kid on the block! LOOK Magazine announced last week that they are launching their first beauty range. I think this is a brilliant idea and I’m surprised someone hasn’t beaten them to it. I picked up a few samples at the show last month and wanted to share my pics, and thoughts.

It’s a pretty comprehensive range with everything you’d expect – foundations, primers, blushers and more. For me the stand out product is the Double Hit Lip – lipstick at one end and gloss at the other. The shade I received is an orangey coral, which looks quite scary but is actually quite sheer.

The texture of the lipstick is nice, more like a balm and the lipgloss smells divine. These were used to achieve the very on trend bold pouts at the recent LOOK catwalk show (see the pics here). I’d be keen to try the red for a buildable crimson pout, with optional gloss finish.

As for the Statement Eyes shadows £4 each, again, not the best shades for me, but the textures are nice. Quite silky and satin-like.

 

I’d like to try their metallic shades – Lame and Luxe were used on the models in the show.

Other stand out products include the Ooomph Lashes mascara £7 and Holiday Glow highlighting Powder £8.

Available exclusively in Superdrug stores later this month. A donation from every product sold goes to cancer support charity Look Good… Feel Better.

Road testing Collection 2000 and The Natural Collection

Of all the budget brands I’ve never tried Collection 2000 or The Natural Collection. If truth be told I probably dismissed them based on the price, but when my little sister picked up these treats at the weekend I was intrigued to test them out.

Natural Collection Moisture Shine Lipstick in Crimson £1.99

 If I was blind testing this I would never have expected it to be a cheap lipstick. Don’t be fooled by the bland packaging, it’s very creamy and moisturizing – easy to apply straight from the bullet and can be layered up to achieve more intense colour. As for the shade, I struggle with reds – blue based ones don’t suit me much, I tend to go for orange/coral reds or slightly pinker reds. This, I’d describe as a universally flattering cherry red. It didn’t last as long as other red lipsticks I’ve tried, but equally it didn’t stain my lips. Overall I really liked this lipstick and it shows I should be more open minded – cheap doesn’t always equal substandard.

Natural Collection Pressed Powder £1.99

I couldn’t fully road test this as the shade is too pale for me, but my sister liked it and said it doesn’t what it says on the tin – reduces shine and gives a matte finish where it’s needed. She wore it all day and it didn’t go patchy pr dry the skin out. It’s a light, soft powder, which used sparingly can control shine, or used all over can give a matte finish. My only criticism would be the lack of shades. There’s only three, and this was the darkest, which is still quite light.

Collection 2000 Hot Looks Fast Dry Shimmy Shake £1.79 8ml

This is spectacular – I can’t believe the price tag! She opted for Shimmy Shake – a sparkly yellowy gold. I’m dubious when it comes to glitter polishes, they’re often too sheer and can take many layers to achieve the bottle colour. This one applied like a dream. I loved the formula – not too runny, not too glupey. It dried really fast and needed just two coats and unlike the natural collection, came in a vast range of shades.

Right now Boots have a 3 for 2 mix and match offer on, meaning all these goodies together cost just £3.98!

Kate Moss Lasting Finish Lipstick for Rimmel London

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This lipstick is good! In fact it’s very good! I could happily have taken away the full range. I was tempted with the nude shade for opted for the bright and bold, but disappointedly name 002 – a hot pink, cos let’s face it bold lips are here to stay.

The shade itself is I’d describe as a true fushia pink. For a budget brand, its formula is very impressive and the breakthrough black diamond complex means it reflects like never before. It’s rich, opaque and very highly pigmented – meaning a little goes a long way. I tested it straight from the bullet at first and ended up with it all the place – use a lip brush for more accurate application.

It had serious staying power too, easily withstanding a few drinks. It has a light fruity smell which is an added bonus, my only complaint, the bullet looks shorter than regular lipsticks – have Rimmel scrimped on the gramage?

The closest dupe in my collection is a MUA lipstick – not so much in the bullet but certainly on the skin.

Rimmel Left, MUA right

I thought it would be similar to MAC’s Girl About Town but it’s not as BRIGHT and has less of a blue undertone.

Anyway Mossy’s lippies get a thumbs up from me. Check out the rest of the shades here.

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LOOK Loot

I forgot to share with you the wonderful goodie bag I received at the LOOK fashion show…. it was crammed full of fashion, beauty and confectionary treats.

Treats included Make Believe Night Time Self Tan, Palmers Cocoa Butter, Label M Curl Spray and Next perfume.

Make up treats included an eye shadow and double ended lip product from the upcoming LOOK Magazine range and a Burt’s Bees Tinted Lip Balm.

A very cute H&M scarf and some Monsoon bangles.

Plus the latest LOOK Magazine, of course, discount vouchers, a Miss Selfridges gift card and chocolates and evian that didn’t make the journey home!

Thank you LOOK!

Beauty Waitlist… VIVO Make up at Tesco

Tesco, is there anything they don’t sell? Ok I know they already do make up in the form of Barbara Daly, but I’m sorry it’s a bit dull and does anyone actually buy it? Their new and exclusive make up range VIVO  celebrates being “Alive with Colour” and looks set to rival other budget brands like MUA and Sleek, who give us great, on-trend products at affordable prices.

The VIVO range will start at a very affordable £1.50 offering the staples – foundation, mascara and lipgloss etc, as well as bronzer/highlighter duos, brow kits and false eye lashes.  There are also some gorgeous eye and cheek palettes containing domed and marble affect blushers and eyeshadows set to retail around £6!

To be honest I don’t think I need anymore distractions when I’m trying to do my weekly shop, I already spend half an hour in the magazine aisle and have to be dragged away from F&F and now, like a bee to honey  I’ll be drawn, actually sucked in, to the make up isle.

 

I might as well just transfer all my wages to Terry Tesco.

VIVO coming soon (End of September) to an oversized Tesco near you!