Springtime Spree (including L'Oreal Rouge Caresse)

I didn't mean to, honestly, but the colours were so purrrrrrrrty......

I was lured into temptation by the new L'Oreal window display in Di and I ventured inside to have a nosey about. Now, I'm sure I've said this before, but I really don't like L'Oreal that much. The adverts annoy me, and I find the products expensive for what they are and somehow a bit cheap looking. There are one or two goodies, that's for sure, but in general the brand is so EVERYWHERE that it has no lustre for me whatsoever.

L'Oreal Color Riche nail polishes in 208 So Chic Pink and 601 French Riviera

But it looks like they've given some of their products a mini make-over and I like it! The nail polishes are particularly dinky, housed in 5ml bottles and every single colour cried out to me like a lamb bleating for it's mother...

I picked up a coral (surprise surprise) and a baby blue with a touch of shimmer. I haven't swatched them yet, but I tried the blue on my pinky nail and the first thing that struck me was the unusual brush. It's fan-shaped, wide and flat. I would say I have medium sized nail beds and one stroke with this brush would definitely cover my whole nail. If you have tiny nails this might not be the best brush for you.

Color Riche polish brush

(Incidently when I got home I compared my new coral to all my other corals only to find that I'd bought yet another identical coral.....  What is wrong with me????)


 I also saw the brand new Rouge Caresse lipsticks, which I'm pretty sure are L'Oreal's answer to Revlon's mega popular lip butters, as yet unavailable in Europe. They are basically a hybrid between a lip balm and a lipstick, giving a sheer wash of colour and a shiny finish.

All the colours looked gorgeous, I mean, really really gorgeous. I plumped for 06 Aphrodite Scarlet (amazing name!) which incidently is what the model is wearing in the Rouge Caresse campaign:

Rouge Caresse - Aphrodite Scarlet (L'Oreal advert)

Here is Aphrodite Scarlet on me.

Bare Lips

With Aphrodite Scarlet

It pulls more cherry-red on my very pigmented red, but I like that. It also feels very light and comfortable on the lips and has a good 'slip'. I had a sniff in the shop and I thought that these were mildly fruit scented, but my one at least doesn't have a scent. I kind of wish it was lightly fragranced with a touch of grapefruit or something, because all I can sense is a slightly waxy taste. This won't stop me from using it though as the colour is really gorgeous and it really gives me a 'lift'.

Rouge Caresse Aphrodite Scarlet, swatch

On my way out I also grabbed a Bourjois shadow I've been hankering after for a whole year but which is always sold out. It's so pretty, and I LOVE it. A matt peach pink with silver glitter particles. I'm wearing it today and I feel like a ballerina (or as Mr P would say, a hippo in a tutu a la Fantasia....).

I'm so annoyed at how the lovely packaging is ruined already! They have this stupid practice of wrapping cheap sellotape around the whole product to prevent skanks from swatching the non-testers and it's almost impossible to remove it without wrecking your nails and the packaging. I can't seem to remove the tape residue so it's all manky now :(

Bourjois Intense eyeshadow in 03

There also appears to be a new Maybelline range which I haven't seen in the UK but which has been in Brussels for a few weeks now. It's called Fit Me and it encompasses a range of new foundations, concealers and powders. I tried the Fit Me concealer and liked the smooth, light texture, so I thought I'd give that a go seeing as my Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection is running low.
 

Swatch of Maybelline Fit Me concealer, shade 25, thick (L), blended out slightly (R)

This info will only be of interest to those residing in Belgium, but Di is also running a few offers at the moment, 25% off L'Oreal, Bourjois & Rimmel, plus there is the opportunity to claim your money back on a L'Oreal product, make sure you take a form before you leave the store.


Have you seen this stuff in drugstores where you live?

Chanel Illusion d'Ombre Review

Hmmmm, now where do I begin with this one?


First of all, if I told you all when I actually bought this then you would chastise me for being a bad blogger and not telling you all about it sooner, but on the other hand I wanted to give it a good enough trial before unleashing my (probably controversial) opinion on it.

So, here goes....


I bought this back around the beginning of November and it was one of the most highly anticipated purchases for a very long time. As soon as I'd heard about these spongy, light-as-air cream shadows from Chanel I knew that I wanted all of them. I would skulk around Ici Paris and Planet Parfum stroking all the colours and return home with the backs of my hands full or glitter, shimmer and promises of stupendous eye make-up to come....


I chose Illusoire, a cool metallic purple-silver shade but I was torn between this and Mirifique, a majestic black with silver microfine glitter.

The little glass pot is very alluring and it comes with a tiny slanted brush which you can use as a liner brush or use to apply the colour to the lid. 

When you open the pot you are met with a strangely bouncy, almost whipped looking shadow, a bit like a mousse. In fact it's just like memory foam, if you touch the shadow the imprint remains. (See photo above and below)

The colour transfers beautifully onto the fingers ....

Chanel Illusion d'Ombre (Illusoire)

and onto the back of my hand..... 

....but sadly that's where the joy ends.  Unfortunately I can't seem to get this quality of colour onto my eyelids. I've tried using my fingers, using the brush it comes with (a bit pants to be honest), my MAC 217, a synthetic eyeshadow brush, you name it, the colour doesn't quite 'make it'. 


The point of these shadows is that they provide smooth, even, long-lasting colour to the lids and that they are easily blendable. This is my problem, I find that this colour applies patchily and that it takes a lot of working in and blending to achieve an even finish. Once it's on the lids it looks pretty enough but doesn't have that depth of colour that you see on my finger or on the back of my hand in these photos. 


Also, it does crease. For me it works better over a primer, but it still creases. The overall effect on the lids is almost shiny, like my lids are 'wet'. This can be pretty and edgy or a complete disaster, depending on the look you're going for. 

I've used this quite a few times, as you can see from the photos as I've been determined to find a way of making it work for me.  I've found that it's best to apply with the fingertips and complete the blending with a eyeshadow blending brush so that it blends seamlessly into the skin. I then like to line the waterline in black and apply mascara. It makes for a pretty look, but it's not 'wow', and I expected more 'bang' for my buck. 


Perhaps the other colours are better, and I've seen that other girls have loved these, but I remain a little unconvinced. Perhaps if it had been a drugstore/highstreet product I wouldn't have minded so much, but this is Chanel, baby, and that don't come cheap. 


So far the ultimate cream shadow for me is Benefit's Creaseless Cream shadow liner. I've also had far better results from Kiko's Cream Shadow Stick and, most recently, the new Metallic Cream Shadows from Collection 2000. 

I can't wait to try the Maybelline Colour Tattoo shadows when they finally land in Europe! 


Have you tried any of the Illusion d'Ombre shadows?


Score 6/10

I'm Naked and loving it

New Years resolution: Be naked more often ;)

I can't believe I finally own the palette to end all palettes, the all-hallowed Naked by Urban Decay.
12 sumptuous, chic, velvety neutrals to face 2012 in. A million thank you's to GG for gifting this to me for Christmas.

The Naked palette is EVERYWHERE on the net but I wanted to take my own pictures to show off it's glory. I held off touching it for a whole two days (do you feel my pain?) until I'd taken photos so please appreciate my patience and admire them accordingly....

And it wouldn't be a 'useful' post without some sort of comparison so behold the Sleek Storm palette compared to my spanking new Naked baby.

There are definite similarities but not all the colours are duped. I thought about doing comparison swatches too but wasn't sure if it had been done a million times already, plus I spent the whole of the Christmas period feeling pretty rank and the last thing I wanted to do was paint the lengths of my arms in shades of beige.....  Nonetheless I will do some if requested along with a more detailed comparison of the two palettes. In general though the Storm palette shadows are softer and more 'crumbly' as they are mineral based. Also the colours in the Storm palette are a fraction warmer and darker and there is a matte black shade which the Naked palette does not have. Naked contains more pale shades.

Thoughts so far..... apart from loving the instant prettiness of all the colours, the shadows are buttery and smooth and apply beautifully. I haven't used all of them yet but Sin and Smog are in the running to becoming my favourites. The brush which is included is nice  and soft but in my opinion not suited to applying powder shadow. It doesn't pick up colour well or transfer it evenly. I want to see if it picks up cream shadow better as synthetic shadow brushes often do. I've been using my MAC 217 both for laying the colour down and for blending.

Naked 2 should be out later this month if not already......now, what's a girl to do?

Behold the prettiness...

...that is this gorgeous mineralize eyeshadow from MAC.

An early Christmas present from my darling friend Ms R, this little beauty has stolen my heart. In the pan it appears a silvery pinky-lilac shot through with gunmetal veining.

It reminds me of the marbling we used to do in art class at primary school... you know,  where you mix oil paints on top of water and then lay a sheet of paper on top.

 Perhaps controversially I also love the white casing, a change from the usual black pots. This is part of the limited edition Glitter and Ice collection and the colour itself is called Strike a Pose. I was kind of overwhelmed by the size of the MAC collections this winter so I never really took the time to browse them properly. Plus I was trying to stay away from the little MAC store in Place Stephanie so that I would not be led into temptation.

MAC Strike a Pose mineralize eyeshadow swatched (not very well, I hasten to add!)

On the eyes this is the perfect winter shimmer! Not too frosty, not too coloured, it's a cool toned wash of lilac-grey shimmer. It's incredibly flattering and eye-brightening, I'm astonished at how 'fresh' I look with this on. It's the type of shadow I've been searching for subconsciously over the past few months but have not been able to find. I can't think of an occasion when this wouldn't be appropriate. 

If you'd want high density pigment in this then you'd be disappointed, but to me pigment isn't everything and I really believe that shadows like this can be easier to negotiate on hurried days. A quick swipe, minimal blending and you're done. I can't think of a skin tone this wouldn't work on.

Love it! 

Surfing in Brussels

It's been a blue day (mood-wise not sky-wise unfortunately). I feel in desperate need of a holiday, and the image of a beautiful tropical beach with white sand and clear waters is haunting me day and night. This time last year I was getting ready for our honeymoon in the Maldives. In fact Mr P and I are one year married this weekend :)

In the spirit of honeymoon memories I decided to finally check out MAC's Surf Baby collection which came out last week here in Brussels. Now I am not, nor ever have been, a surf baby. I can't even ride a bike let alone a wave. But the great thing about make-up is that it can make you feel part of a culture in which you normally don't fit in. You can feel like a screen goddess, surfer chick, rocker chick, boho girl, geisha girl.... whatever it is you want to be there will be a cosmetics company out there with a very clever marketing strategy to sell it to you.

MAC is very good at this. They release so many collections throughout the year that I can't keep up, and actually it's better that I don't... there is only so much eyeshadow one person can use in a lifetime. Surf Baby is the only collection so far that I've bought into, probably because at the moment I have this immense desire to be a cool blonde surfer chick with lithe limbs and tanned gleaming skin running into the ocean with her surfboard at the ready.....and not Pandora toddling on the hot sand trying desperately to suck her tummy in, then wincing like a baby when she dips her foot into the freezing sea while a Japanese whaling ship launches the harpoon.

Not that the surfer chick wears make-up at all. She doesn't need it because she's PERFECT. But MAC wants us to wear make-up on the beach, or at least, in the spirit of the beach....

MAC Surf Baby - My purchases!

The first thing I was drawn to was 'Hibiscus', the gorgeous corally-red (Yes, coral. Again) lipstick. Within a nanosecond of putting it on my lips I knew I had to have it. I have very naturally pigmented lips so most lipsticks are not what they first seem when I put them on. This one was just great. I don't have a colour remotely like it and yet it's so versatile, more so in fact than my beloved Costa Chic, which, although equally summery, is harder to pull off. It's a creamsheen formula, which makes it glossy and moisturising with a good amount of pigment. It lasts beautifully on the lips and I still have it on after 4 hours.

MAC Hibiscus

I also choose two eyeshadows, Short Shorts (a golden white) and Surf USA (a frosted turquoise). The shop assistant (a really sweet guy, impeccably made up!) applied them on me together and I loved the result. It was far more subtle than I thought it would be but the turquoise paired beautifully with the Hibiscus lips. Short Shorts is such a versatile colour, it can be pretty much paired with anything to create a beautifully blended eye, or it can be used just to brighten the inner corners. I'm surprised that I don't actually have a colour like that already.

MAC Surf USA

MAC Short Shorts

So, they were my little purchases and seeing as I will not see the sea for another two months, I'm very happy that I could bring a little of the surf to Brussels.