Category Archives: Uncategorized

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

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

Read more on my new blog http://beautyandlechicblog.blogspot.com/

What’s in October’s Glossybox?

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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!

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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

Tried and Tested – Volumising Mascaras

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I’m falling in love again with mascara.

For many years I’ve been a one mascara kind a gal. That one being Lancôme’s Hypnose, which I still love, but after playing the field and discovering the wonderful Falsifeye by 17 I realised that mascaras had moved on, and without me! With new ones hitting the market all the time it’s difficult to keep up, but in an attempt to update my knowledge, I’ve road tested some of the new kids on the block. They all have one thing in common – they promise the World, they don’t all deliver.

No7 Lash Adapt £12.50 7ml

I had high hopes for this mascara, especially since Boots rolled it out with a huge marketing campaign and tied its release with the £5 off voucher. The second most expensive mascara on the list, it certainly wasn’t anywhere near the best. This one markets itself as offering buildable volume. The first thing I noticed was that it didn’t coat the lashes generously enough, I had to keep dipping the wand back in for more. It took around 3 for 4 coatings to achieve what I’d call volume, but by this point the lashes were starting to look spidery, feathery and a tad clumpy, see the pic. It did have separating and lengthening qualities, but it didn’t have the WOW factor. I’d say this one is a good everyday mascara, one to two coats gives a natural flutter, more and it looks clumpy. It did last well with no smudging.

Good for: Seperating and fanning the lashes

Bad for: Quick application

Score: 6/10

Revlon Custom Eyes Mascara £9.99 5ml

Whilst it doesn’t market itself as a volumising marcara, it does promise drama. The first point to note is that this mascara has two settings 1. Length and Drama, 2. Length and Definition. You twist the wand handle to change between the two, but in reality I’m struggling to notice what difference it makes. The second point is it had a RUBBER wand, a wobbly rubber wand at that, which I’m not a fan of. Despite this, the mascara was fairly easy to use, you get used to the flexi brush and it was good for getting right down to the root. The mascara separates and fans out the lashes. It added length, layers well, but definitely no drama here.

Good for: Length

Bad for: Fiddly rubber wand

Score: 6.5/10

Revlon Grow Luscious Plumping Mascara £9.99 10ml

What sets this one aside from other mascara is it’s size! The tube is large, the wand is large and the brush is HUGE.  It seems unnecessarily so, it’s certainly longer than the eyes width and I imagined it would end up all over the place. But it was easy to use and not too cumbersome. The formula I liked – no clumping or smudging and lasted all day. It coats the lashes quickly and generously, but not excessively. Again I found it created more length than volume. It was buildable but certainly didn’t have the WOW factor. My main criticism was that some how, it made me look like a had less lashes. I guess the bulkiness of the brush means it doesn’t separate or fan the lashes. It was also difficult to wash off, I needed to use eye make up remover as well as my usual face wash.

Good for: Quick application

Bad for: Washing off

Score: 6.5/10

 Maybelline Volume Express Cat Eyes Mascara £7.99 10ml

Cat eyes by name, cat eyes by nature. This one did live up to the hype. Like a moth to a flame I was drawn to this one by its appearance – bright yellow fat tube with a band of leopard print, you can’t miss it! Now the brush takes some getting used to, it’s very small, curved and quite fiddly. I didn’t feel like I had great control, but it is good for getting down to the root of the lash and inside the inner corners. The formula I like, it immediately and generously coats the lashes and is very buildable. It separated the lashes, fanning them across the upper lid for that wide-eyed/cat eye look. It lengthened and curved the lashes with no smudging and no clumping!

Good for: Separating and curving the lashes

Bad for: Fiddly brush

Score: 7/10

17 FALSIFEYE Mascara £6.49 9ml

Everything about this mascara is BIG –the name, the chunky, bright pink tube, the results and unfortunately the wand. That’s my only criticism the wand is quite fat and cumbersome and I found it difficult to get in to the inner corners of the eye. BUT it’s that same fat wand that makes this mascara quick and easy to use. A quick coating really does add heaps of volume and creates that wide eye look. Add two or three coats to create a dramatic false lash effect. No clumping, no smudging and washes off with my regular face wash. Whats’s more amazing about this mascara is it’s price! It was my favourite mascara, for about a week until Lancôme released Doll Eyes, but remains a firm favourite and is pretty safe in my beauty hall of fame.

Good for: Volume and value for money

Bad for: Clumpy brush

Score: 8/10

Lancôme Hypnôse Doll Eyes £20.50

I’m a life long fan of Lancôme mascaras, for years Hypnose has been my favourite, but I haven’t loved their every offering – Amplicils didn’t do it for me, nor did Virtuose but with Doll Eyes they’ve hit the spot, well mine at least. This mascara has the holy grail WOW-factor. If you’re looking for drama – this one has it! It coats lashes generously, gives instant volume, separates, fans and creates the illusion of having more lashes than you do. One coating is all you need, but if you’re looking for the false lash effect, a couple more coats will do it – but be warned, mine end up poking my eye brows! I especially love the brush; it’s tapered at one end making it easy to get to the small lashes in the inner corners and separate the clusters at the outer edges. The only downside I can find, is that it’s prone to some smudging beneath the lower lash line, but I did road test it in the Greek heat! It’s pretty expensive too but I’m hooked! Doll eyes is now my number one mascara and secret weapon when I need some va va voom!

Good for: Volume, Drama and speed

Bad for: Smudging

Score: 9/10

THIS BLOG HAS NOW MOVED, KEEP READING AT http://beautyandlechicblog.blogspot.com/

 

Love it Share it

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I don’t normally blog about my fashion pieces but this bag’s so cute, and a bargain, I wanted to share it.

I went to a charity ball in Glasgow last week and had just one week, and not much budget to find an outfit. I opted for a safe LBD (that’s LONG black dress) but really wanted a statement box bag. I spotted some gorgeous ones in Reiss, Coast and Dune but cost between £80-150. Luckily I stumbled across this gem in NEW LOOK.

It retails for £15.99 and I had a 20% discount voucher! It looks much more expensive than it was and is very well put together. Love the diamante clasp and optional gold chain strap.

It wasn’t too small like many box clutches, I managed to squeeze in my camera, lipstick and hairbrush. Here’s how it looked in action…

My make up doesn’t show up so well in the picture, but I’m wearing the Kate for Rimmel Lipstick in 08.