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Posts Tagged ‘Make-up’

16
Jan
2014

Lancome Hypnose mascara review

categories: Blog

Ok, recently I have been on a mission to review many mascaras that have received attention in the media and some that I have found to be popular without the hype. I trailed the review section for hours or research on the Superdrug wesite to find mascaras that have received a 5 star review with the public, and pitched them against some bigger named brands to see what the results were and see what really is value for money.

Lancome Hypnose is around the £22 pound mark here in Britain. A little pricey some would say, but others might consider it mid range. Whatever you viewpoint, this mascara is nice and performed well. I test with and without an eyelash primer. Without the primer it was ok but with the primer it performed much better. However that does seem to be the case for most mascaras.

Hypnose mascara

To me this mascaras lengthened and added a little volume. I would keep it because it really performed well on my bottom lashes and as I have a few missing on one eye, this has really become a standard test for me. Apart from that it did not dramatically add volume.

If you are looking for a mascara to fill in sparse areas and lengthen your lashes then is a mascara for you. If you are looking for volume, then perhaps another brand would be better.

This Hypnose mascara did not perform better than my drug store brand collection 2000 mascara so I would rather pay £4 than £22. If I could not get hold of my regular brand, this is definitely an alternative.

08
Jan
2014

Foundation Pyjama Games; Foundations you can take a nap in

categories: Blog

This is really a review of Lancome Teint Idole Ultra 24 hour. I wanted to recommend it as an alternative to the very good Estee Lauder Double Wear. I use both of these products and can vouch for their staying power.

But first I want to address the chatter that went on in forums last year about Double Wear. Many people claimed that Estee Lauder changed the formulation of their foundation. In America, rumour had it that the change was prompted by American FDA regulations regarding sunscreen declarations, or some such nonsense. I have not verified that, I am just reporting on what has been said.

Either way, Estee Lauder does seem to have had an overhaul of foundations and now there are new shades in double wear light. I am keen to try the double wear light because the packaging and the product information looks a lot like the old demi matt that they had on sale in the 90’s.

Getting back to Lancome, I would like to recommend Lancome Teint Idole Ultra 24 hour, as an alternative foundation.

This is a great product that comes in a glass bottle with a pump dispenser, and it does have remarkable staying power. I personally have taken a nap in this foundation and it is still on my face.

It is an oil free formulation, similar to the original Double Wear, and feels incredibly light on the face. So if you are looking for a foundation with real staying power, why not try Lancome Teint Idol Ultra 24 H

03
Jan
2014

A Great Little Brow Kit .

categories: Blog

Eye brow kits are something of a recent phenomenon in the makeup and cosmetic industries. Before their existence women relied upon a bit of plucking and an eyebrow pencil. Eyebrow pencils are still very much in, but since eyebrow grooming has become so much more fashionable,( with the introduction of precise waxing and threading,) HD eyebrow kits have become essential.

This one from Gosh has exactly what you need for a nice HD, high definition look.

Eyebrow compact from Gosh

This nice looking eyebrow compact has three powder colours, a wax cream, a brush and a mirror.

It’s usually priced around £8.50, but it’s on offer right now at Superdrug, and you can get it online for £6.49.( just search for brow kit) It has an amazing five out of five stars review at the time of writing, And as I am typing, I am finding it very difficult not to buy another one right now to stock up..

14
Dec
2013

Mally Mascara – Make-up worth investing in.

categories: Blog

Well the mascara wars are really firing up. Let’s face it there are so many mascara’s out there each one promises to be the next best thing. So I am going to put them through their paces.

I didn’t think I was going to like this mascara. How wrong could I be? As long as you do not over load the brush it works fine. In fact, it works more than fine and I was astounded about the length and volume of the lashes.

The only thing I don’t like about this mascara is the price. QVC are selling this at £17.50 plus postage and packaging. So we are looking at around the twenty pounds mark. QVC do sell duos of Mally mascara, but they seem to be a different formulation. The duos are priced at around the £24.00 mark.

I really don’t think that you should have to pay more than around the ten pounds for a mascara. Unless of course the results are exceptional, and even then, I would find that price hard to swallow.

Women spend a lot on their make-up. Cosmetics is big business. I am still looking for that one brand that can meet all my needs. But that is asking a lot and we do like to mix and match, otherwise it would be a little boring.

Anyway Mally has won a consumer choice award from QVC and it has been highly rated elsewhere.

Here are my results:

Without mascara

Waiting for my mascara and the rest of my make-up

With Mascara but no lash primer. Curled lashes.

Mascara lashes

Volume with Mally

This second view shows that actually Mally Provides more volume than the ELF mascara reviewed previously The Mally mascara is just one coat, where as with the ELF I used two coats and curled them again afterwards.

As I have very fair and sparse lashes the Mally Mascara did a pretty good job. Actually both the ELF and the Mally mascaras did a good job. But the Mally smudgde less and was a lot easier to get off. The ELF mascara really did leave a mess when trying to remove it.

12
Dec
2013

A quick makeover challenge

categories: Blog, Uncategorized

If there was ever a difficult client, then it would be myself. I like to think of myself as a time served Make-up Artist, but I have been ill for sometime, a disc herniation at the L5 S1 area, means that I have been living on pain meds for months, and that takes its toll. The last thing I want to do is to put on makeup, but today I gave myself a challenge. How quickly could I get ready to go out?

It was 3.12pm when I started and 3.39pm when finished.

I started with Liz Earle Superskin Moisturizer and added a touch of a Gatineau anti-wrinkle formula. I then used Garnier roll on to lighten under the eye and on the eyelids. For foundation I used Lancome Tient Idole Ultra 24hr, but underneath I used a No 7 concealer crayon where needed..

Moving onto the eyes, I used the lightest shade I could get from my Laura Geller Balance and Brighten Foundation compact all over the eyelid. I then used Revlon matte eyeshadow in rich sable. I placed some on my outer eyelids and blended the colour over the crease stopping short of under the brow. I used some of the mid tone colours in my Balance and Brighten foundation in the inner corner of the eye crease and blended a little with the rich sable eyeshadow. To highlight just under the brow, I used some of my No 7 concealer crayon. To darken the eyebrow I used YBF brow liner and also filled in using the Laura Geller babycakes brown.

Under the eye I used the Babycakes eyeliner palette to line my eye in a rich chocolate colour. I then grabbed my trusted Boots eyelash curlers and gave my lashes a good curl. I then used my Estee Lauder lash primer and finished with one coat of Collection 2000 Lash Multiplier mascara.

I then took my Balance and Brighten and did some very quick contouring of the face..

Reaching for the first lip pencil that I could find, I took Foxglove from Liz Earle and filled in my lip area. This is the first time I have used this particular pencil in this way and I won’t be doing so again as it is very drying. I had also used some Gayle Hayman lip lift on my lips, so they were far from dry to begin with. I finished off with Liz Earle lipstick in Rosewood.

For blush I used the Collection 2000 Shimmer Shades, using a sweep of all four shades. As I had only just reviewed them, I thought it would work with the lip tone.

Some of the mess I left behind

After the makeover

My maths is not that good, but 33 minutes is a reasonable about of time for a quick makeover. And I would like to point out that the photos were taken on an iphone by myself and there is no Photoshop involved. But I do like to remain a safe distance from the camera, and that applies at all times. ,

05
Dec
2013

The amazing work of being a Make-up Artist

categories: Blog

Being a make-up artist is rewarding. Taking a face and applying make up and watching the transformation is truly amazing. But to really bring that message home it is important to see results. And nothing demonstrates that more than a Russian Make-Up artist who has recently courted controversy over some pictures on the internet. I saw them on Twitter. I now share them here.

http://bit.ly/1eZMYJE

before-and-after-makeup-photos-vadim-andreev-3(1)

I advise anyone to go to the website and take a look. The site is the SLR lounge and this article highlights the work of Vadim Andreev. There is a debate raging about how the work of make-up artists and photographers can change the look of a woman so dramatically. But hey, isn’t that what playing with makeup is all about.

23
Nov
2013

A Blush for All Seasons

categories: Blog

This Collection 2000 blush quad is great. Use the individual pigments or take a sweep of all four colours and mix it up a bit.

Although entitled Shimmer Shades, I could not detect much of a shimmer when I used it. And for me that is fine, I am not a great fan of shimmery blushers in makeup.

I am a big fan of the Collection 2000 range of cosmetics, their mascara is my favourite of all the mascaras that I have tried, and believe me, I have used a lot. So when I saw this blush quad in boots I was going to give it a whirl. After I bought the blusher set, I saw that Lisa Eldrige had used the very same blush in one of her tutorials. Like me she decided to mix the shades.

If you are looking for a versatile blusher, then look no further. The pay-off is great. The pigmentation is just right, and the price is very low.

19
Nov
2013

Revitalash Advanced lash conditioner

categories: Blog

At first the claims of this product seem far- fetched. However after using Revitalash Advanced for 3 months I saw an improvement in my lashes. My eyelashes seemed fuller and stronger. After that period I became a little complacent about the condition and decided not to use it every night, but just for a couple of nights a week. This did seem to work. But as with most things, life gets in the way, and I forgot. My application became very haphazard.

Revitalash lash conditioner

Because of ill health, I recently decided to start using this again. I want the longer looking lashes I had a year ago, which was at the end of the three month trial period. I knew it wasn’t my imagination because even a good friend of mine asked if I was wearing false eyelashes. Who wouldn’t want their own lashes to look as good as false eyelashes?

So despite recent ill health I am going to leave the Revitalash Advanced out in my bathroom where I can see it, to encourage me to use it as part of my nigh time routine.

Whilst expensive, the use of false eyelashes also mounts up, and really I just prefer my eyelash curlers, my Estee Lauder eye lash primer, and a good coating of mascara. So if I can have the look of false eye lashes without the hassle, I am going to take it. To find out about my current thoughts about the best mascara, (which may surprise you) just click on any of links in this article.

18
Nov
2013

One of my favourite Liz Earle skin care products

categories: Blog

Liz Earle Instant Skin Tonic Spritzer, has a lot of things to recommend it. This product is great to set your make up after powdering, or for refreshing your make-up during the day.

The perfect tonic for your skin

I have mine in a 30ml bottle which can be refiled from the Liz Earle Instant Boost Skin Tonic. As it comes in at under a 100ml it should be great for air travel when your skin so desperately needs extra moisture.

For years I have been either using Evian water spray, or more recently, Eau Thermal Spring Water which is cheaper to refresh my make-up. But neither of these products is convenient for popping in your handbag or make-up bag . The 30 ml spray is ideal for this. And what’s more, the smell is devine.

This Liz Earle spritzer is a must have. I got mine in a set from QVC, but cannot find it as a stand-alone product on the Liz Earle web site. So if you see it in a kit, grab it when you can.

13
Nov
2013

Liz Earle Lipstick – Azalea

categories: Blog

I bought this lipstick shade last year in Leeds in one of the Liz Earle Stores. I bought it along with another shade Rosewood. The Rosewood lipstick I initially found more wearable, however yesterday I decided to go for a completely different make-up look and the Liz Earle Azalea shade seemed to fit the bill.

The initial problem for me with the Azalea lipstick was that it seemed to have pinky undertones and that just did not fit in with the more coral warm shades that I seem to favour. I am blonde and blue eyed with a fairish skin tone, and the Azalea lipstick just didn’t sit right. But yesterday when I was wearing teal, the bluish undertones in the lipstick just seemed to pop. So I highly recommend it if you are going to be wearing blues.

The other product I wore was an Avon Khol eyeliner in cobalt blue. I would have been better off with a teal eyeliner shade, ( which I have in another product line, ) but at the time I forgot all about it. I love Avon products, but I hate, the way they sell them. I love the old Avon, the one of the fifties, sixties and early seventies. But the way they treat reps today, well, I just don’t agree with it. Wouldn’t it be great to have the old Avon lady back; the one that sat in your living room and opened her cosmetics box and brought out a tonne of lipstick shades to try? Those were magical days.

Well I digress. So Azalea lipstick from Liz Earle, it’s a winner when worn with the right colour. If you have dark hair I think it would look great without the additional worry of wearing blue tones. But for very fair blondes, make sure you wear it with the right blue.

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