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.

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 Lipstick Collection for Rimmel

The wait is over! Mossy’s lipticks have hit the highstreet and are going down a storm.

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

The packaging is seriously sleek and sexy – matt black casing embossed with Kate’s signature. Available in seven rocking shades, including – as many predicted a bright red, as well as shocking pink and a muted nude. The formula is creamy and moisturising, the colours are quite opaque and the finish I’d describe as satin.

For me the stand out shades are are 1 – the classic Red, 2 the fushia Pink and 4 the Gothic, and oh so on trend deep purple.

In Boots stores now £5.45. If you’re unable to choose just one shade, why not take advantage of Boots’ current 3 for 2 promotion.

Get the London look!

17 All About Nude Palette

If you’ve been in Boots anytime in the last week or so this summer palette might just have caught your eye. Unfortunately the limited edition palette is not for individual sale, instead it’s a free gift when you purchase any two 17 products. I ordered mine online as the shops had sold out, and now I see why. The palette is really good quality and wouldn’t be out of place alongside premium palettes from the likes of Benefit and Stila. It contains two eye shadows (top row), a multi purpose cheek blush/highlighter (bottom left) and a lipgloss (bottom right).

The golden coloured eyeshadow is divine – buttery texture, highly pigmented and metallic finish. The cheek product reminds me of a pigmented highlighter, think Nars’ Multiples or Topshop’s Cheek and the lip square is rosey glossy lipstick.

l-r pink eye shadow, golden eye shadow, blush and lips

 So which two 17 products did I choose to go with the new palette? Well, I opted for a mirror shine lipstick in Peace that I’ve had my eye on for a while and a practical, but slightly boring pencil sharpener (£1.99).

Mirror Shine Lipstick – Peace £2.59 (online, £4.59 in store)

If you fancy one of these lipsticks, order online. Boots have £2 off the Mirror Shine range, for some reason they’re still full price in store. As the title suggests, this is a shiny, glossy lipstick. It looks like a lipstick but feels like a balm. It’s shiny like a lipgloss but not at all sticky. Peace looks like a bright coral, but on the lips, it’s more of a hot pink – either way it’s a nice summer shade and super shiny.

All three products cost less than five pounds, a pretty savvy haul I’d say!

Tropical Nails

The good old British summer is shaping up to be another washout, but don’t let that put you off embracing all things bright and beautiful. Just a couple of months from now, the days will be short, the nights will be dark; skin will be paler, cold sores and chapped lips will come a calling and dare I say the C word…..Christmas will be looming.

 

With that in mind I’m trying to make the most of this so called summer before it’s too late…. so I decided to “pimp” my nails. Revlon’s Tropical Temptation SCREAMS summer! I have been searching for a perfect coral shade for ages, and whilst this might not quite be it, it’s still striking.

2 coats

It’s a beautiful orangey coral – with hints of bublegum pink – depending on the light. It’s really bright and very opaque. The finish is glossy, but not what I’d describe as “jelly”. Although it’s highly pigmented it did apply a little streaky. It took three coats to achieve an even coverage, but it was worth it! The colour is very striking and eye catching – and still going strong after 5 days.

3 coats

Picture with flash is probably the best representation of the colour

With flash

 

Right now save £2 at Boots – Normally £6.29, currently £4.29

Garnier’s BB Cream arrives in the UK

Just a quick reminder ladies (and gentlemen) that Garnier’s BB Cream has hit the UK’s shelves.

If you’re a die hard beauty obbessive you’ll already know all about BB Cream – the wonder product from Asia that combines the benefits of skincare and make-up in just one step – if not I blogged a couple of months ago about the benefits of BB cream – read it here. 

Garnier’s BB Cream Miracle Skin Perfector £9.99 in available in Superdrug stores now and Boots from next week.

Tried it yet?

LUST HAVE Steamcream

Ok, I know I’m a sucker for funky packaging, but I’m no fool – the product’s still got to pack a punch, and this one soooo does!

Introducing STEAMCREAM – a multipurpose moisturiser made with unrefined steam that can be used on face, body and hands. The use of steam in its production makes Steamcream break down quickly as soon as it touches your skin, providing an intensive moisturising experience! Steamcream’s light, gentle and loosely bound emulsion allows each ingredient to break back down to its purest form and reach where it’s needed fast.

Made from the finest organic ingredients including orange flower water, healing lavender oil and soothing oatmeal and, now this is the exciting part, comes in a range of gorgeous little aluminum tins with cute designs including the lady bug and leopard print.

Steamcream is a perfect on-the-go product – convenient to slip into your bag, take to work, on holidays or to the gym. And it’s hand luggage friendly at just 75g!

I especially love the Stars and Stripes design “Liberty”. A bit of kitsch Americana to add some fun to your morning moisturising session.

Available from many stockists including Boots. ASOS and Feelunique.com £10.50

WOW lashes with 17’s FALSIFEYE Mascara AND a FREE Gel Liner

I’ve never used “cheap” mascara in my life. Don’t dismiss me as a make up snob, it’s all down to my Mum! She made the “mistake” of introducing me to Lancôme mascaras when I was 13 – after that there was no “downgrading” to Collection 2000, 17 or Rimmel – none of them could live up to the wonders that are Lancôme’s mascaras. Over the years I’ve had brief flirtations with Clinique, Dior and Benefit mascaras, always returning to my trusted Lancôme. 

Me, my scepticism and my elitist lash attitude decided to give 17’s new FALSIFEYE mascara a go. I was drawn in by the bright pink packaging and the FREE gel liner, oh and a million or so Boots points burning a hole in my pocket.  

17 says “Watch lashes transform into voluptuously thick, curvy lashes as the oversized brush coats each and every lash from corner to corner, root to tip without clumping. Lashes look fanned, volumised and falsified in an instant!”

I say, i agree  and I never expected to love this mascara but I blinking well do!

Everything about this mascara is BIG –the name, the chunky, bright pink tube, the results and unfortunately the wand. That’s my only criticism (believe me, I went looking for them) 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.

You really can create the doll eye look with this mascara, but you don’t have to. I’ve been road testing this mascara for a week now –day and night. You can vary the intensity of the look. One, quick coating is fine for the daytime look or layer two or three coats for a dramatic evening look.

Left shows one coat, right two

I wore it last Saturday night and friends did ask me if I had falsies in.

I expected major clumping and smudging, again FALSIFEYE proved me wrong – no panda eyes in sight, and it washes off easily with my usual face wash.

All this at the bargain price of £6.49! Available from Boots in Black and Brown.

I haven’t road tested the gel liner yet, but a quick swatch on my hand and it appears to be everything you’d expect from a gel liner – thick, black and long lasting.

Either I’ve been missing out all these years or highstreet brands have really pulled their socks up in recent years, either way I’m hooked. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not turning my back on Lancome Hypnose, but FALSIFEYE will sit nicely next to it in my collection and will be my go to product when I want that extra va va voom!