Beauty Blog
I started my blog as a creative outlet but somehow ended up doing reviews at the expense of creativity, probably because getting creative is so time consuming! I’ve decided that I would try a different approach to my reviews so let me know if you like it.
Continue reading “Lancôme Grandiose Mascara vs L’Oréal Telescopic Extra-Black/Carbon Black Mascara”
I’m really liking this grey hair trend at the moment. Why wait until I’m going naturally grey when I can have it now? The question is, how does this work with non-elderly skin without making it look washed out?
The answer has been showcased by several celebrities – bold and bright lips! Mirina Diamandis wears her grey hair with bright orange or Barbie pink lips (two colours I love) and Lady Gaga wore hers with dark blue glitter lips which is clearly not for the faint-hearted.
I love bright lips so here are the colours I think will go best with grey hair:
Orange – opposites attract!
Pastel blue – it’s only a few shades away from grey – take inspiration from Jourdan Dunn
Pastel pink and purple – I can imagine a grey/pastel pink ombre for lips and hair!
Barbie pink – because it’s fun.
Bold purple – grey and purple make a gorgeous combination
Hot Pink – hot pink and grey is just, well, hot!
And of course, grey hair looks great with red lips which works for all ages. It will go with all of my shades of red because they are all so bright but I’ve picked out MUA shade 13 for a red crème and Rimmel Apocalips Lips Velvet in Burning Lava for a matte finish:
Will you be rocking grey hair with bright lips this summer?
I was in a peachy mood so I quickly popped this on:
I didn’t manage to take a photo of my face as I was in a rush but I know I’ll be wearing a peach face again soon. Perhaps I’ll try it with my Makeup Revolution Vivid Blush Lacquer in Heat to see if that works.
I only had about 5 minutes to slap on some make-up so in my mega-quick attempt to look somewhat groomed, here’s what I wore:
Givenchy Teint Couture Foundation in shade No8 applied with my Real Techniques expert face brush
Givenchy Mister Light in shade No5 mixed in with some of the foundation applied under my eyes with the same brush to highlight
Maybelline Color Tattoo in number 75 – 24K gold on my eyelids using my fingers
L’Oreal Brow Artist Plumper in Dark Brunette
Estee Lauder Sumptuous Extreme Mascara in 01 Extreme Black
No7 Stay Perfect Lip Lacquer in Sugar Mauve
Clinique Blushing Blush Powder Blush in 115 Smouldering Plum applied with my No7 blusher brush
Voila!
I put together this look following my Givenchy make-up lesson using a combination of products from the Givenchy Iconic Products beauty box – the British Beauty Blogger Edit, products purchased from my make-up lesson and samples provided from my make-up lesson.
Face
After cleansing my face with Givenchy Skin Drink and moisturising with Givenchy Velvet Luminescence Moisturising Cream I applied a light layer of Teint Couture Foundation in shade No8 using my Real Techniques expert face brush. I dabbed a little onto the back of my hand, dabbed the brush into the foundation then buffed the foundation onto my face using circular motions. I then placed some Givenchy Mister Light in shade No5 on the back of my hand and mixed this with some of the foundation. I applied this to the areas I wanted to highlight and lighten – my cupids bow, under my eyes up to my temples and underneath my eyebrows, using my Real Techniques pointed foundation brush. I applied the same mixture right up to my lower lash line using my Real Techniques detailer brush. Finally I applied a little blusher using my Real Techniques blush brush – No7 Natural Blush Tint Powder in Coral Flush.
Eyes
For my eyes, I used a sample of the Givenchy Prisime Quatour in No1 Caresse. First I applied the light peach shimmer shade all over my lids up to my brows using my Real Techniques angled shadow brush. I the applied the pink colour to my lids using my Real Techniques base shadow brush. I applied the lighter brown shade to the crease and blended it out for a subtle smoke effect using my Real Techniques essential crease brush. I then lined the upper and lower lash-line with the dark brown shade using my Real Techniques eyeliner brush to add some definition and depth to the appearance of my eyelashes.
I applied one coat of Givenchy Phenomen’Eyes mascara in No1 Deep Black to my top and bottom lashes (I’ll post later how best to do this). To brighten my waterline I applied Bourjois Contour Clubbing Waterproof eye pencil in 60 taupe of the top. I finished by defining my brows with L’Oreal Brow Artist Shaper pencil in 04 Dark Brunette, first filling in my brows using the pencil, neatening with the brush and setting with the wax.
Lips
I applied Givenchy Le Rouge Lipstick in 202 Rose Dressing using my Real Techniques retractable lip brush. I used the lip brush because I did not have a matching lip liner and it was easier to get a defined line with the brush. I blotted the lip colour then repeated the process.
The British Beauty Blogger Givenchy beauty box was the perfect introduction to the brand and I enjoyed applying the make-up. I also bought the Givenchy Color Kajal in No3 – a gorgeous violet colour. I’ll show you that in another post.
In addition to the beauty products in the Latest in Beauty Winter Collection Editor’s Picks box here, there’s a bunch of skincare goodies. For me, winter is all about looking after skin. Unfortunately for me, the weather has all of a sudden turned almost summery, so I can’t fully put everything to the test. Oh well, skin needs care all year round! Here’s what I received:
Q Balance the Fine Fragrance Body Spray – I don’t usually use body spray, I’m an eau de parfum kinda girl. This has a very delicate scent – it is very floral and quite nice.
Weleda Skin Food – This says it’s for dry and rough skin. I think it’s a hand cream – no idea!
Caudalie Hand and Nail cream – this is what is says on the tube! I’m looking forward to trying this one out as I see Caudalie products on blogs all the time. I’m definitely curious and this is one of the reasons I decided to get this box.
Sanctuary Spa Resurface & Refine Ultra Polish – This is an exfoliator which is too strong to use every day which is fine by me – once per week does the trick. I thought it was a hand exfoliator but it’s actually for the body. As an added extra, it comes with £3 off the full size tube from Boots, which is valid until 31 May 2014. Nice touch!
Green People Age Defy+ Line Eraser Lip & Eye – I don’t have lines but this promises to make skin plumper and firmer. I could do with that on my lips so this was another product which helped me to decide to choose this box. As an eco-bonus, it’s made with 95.9% certified organic products.
DHC deep cleansing oil – this was the deal-maker for me. I really wanted to try a DHC product. Also, I really like the idea of cleansing oils and was suitably impressed with my L’Oreal cleansing oil which I reviewed here. I thought I would try another oil for comparison.
Do you have any favourites among these? For the make-up I received in this box, click here.
After purchasing the L’Oreal’s Skin Perfection 3 in 1 Micellar Solution, I decided that I wanted to try a cleansing oil. I spotted the L’Oreal Skin Perfection 15 Second Miracle Cleansing Oil on Erin Louise Hunt‘s blog so that saved me searching around (thanks Erin!).
Random historical fact: the ancient Romans cleansed their skin using olive oil and had a reputation for being clean!
To use this oil, I massage one or two pumps into my face and one further pump on my eyes only. I then wipe it all off in a circular motion with a warm and wet muslin cloth. All done!
You can actually just rinse your face without a cloth but for me, this is all about quickly removing the make-up and getting to bed!
It really does dissolve everything I’ve worn (although I haven’t tried it with waterproof mascara) and it leaves my face fully cleansed and make-up free. Rather than providing a way of gripping make-up so that it can be wiped off, it melts straightaway it so it can be washed off.
My only problem is that because it has to be used with water, my cheeks are sometimes left a little tight, but I know this can happen with me. Water really dries my skin out. I can live with the odd tightening for the sake of getting the make-up quickly. I find make-up removal incredibly tedious so the less time and effort expended the better!
Another great thing about this is that it lasts for a long time – a little miracle oil goes a long way!
Well worth trying the Ancient Roman option!
I love the idea of cleansing my face with water that has a little something extra. This L’Oreal Skin Perfection Purifying 3 in 1 Micellar Solution is great.
It easily removes make-up leaving my skin feeling very clean and not the slightest bit dry. It even takes off eye make-up although I haven’t tried it with waterproof mascara. I love the fact this is gentle enough to use on the lips. Before I bought this, I used eye make-up remover on my lips!
As it is a water, it is refreshing and the micellar bit dissolves the make-up, which tap water simply doesn’t do. After cleansing, I do feel like I’ve splashed my face with water without suffering from the drying effect.
The only thing that could be better is the bottle. The rectangle looks nice but it is not practical so when I’m pouring out the cleansing water, it spills! It’s just a bit awkward to control.
Other than that, I definitely like!
