makeup | makeovertoday.co.uk

Posts Tagged ‘makeup’

11
Dec
2013

ELF Mascara – Makeup made easy.

categories: Blog

Reviewing make-up so that you don’t have to.

Although I am perfectly happy with my Collection 2000 Multiplier mascara. It has taken me a long, long time to find a mascara that I am happy with. Mostly, I think, because the big cosmetic companies over promise, and under deliver. So with this in mind I am on a quest to find other mascaras that I can rely on should my favourite disappear.

ELF mascara tube makeup

Elf or rather E.L.F Eyes Lips and Face is a company that is based upon the principal that quality cosmetics should not cost a fortune. The company was founded by Joseph Shamah and Scott Vincent Borba in 2004, apparently after seeing wealthy women in Los Angeles buying Drug Store cosmetics.

The make-up has been featured in Glamour , Instyle and Good Housekeeping magazines and the cosmetic company’s 100 piece Endless Eyes Pro Eyeshadow Pallet was featured in Oprah Winfrey’s “O” magazine on Oprah’s Favourites Things list. And then the make-up pallet sold out. All this info comes from Wikipedia. But I have read the same details time and time again on various websites.

With such a pedigree following, I thought it only right I should check it out for myself. In this country ELF is only available through its website and has one store in Wales.

The make-up is made in China. The packaging reads: Made in China Designed in the USA. As I have said before in another article, I have no problem with cosmetics made in China, as long as the quality control is good. Many mainstream brands are made in China. I was very surprised the other day to see that some products from Rimmel are made in China. I was surprised because their advertising campaign would lead you to believe very differently. Rimmel’s slogan “Get the London Look” along with their London, England centric advertising campaign, does not really get you thinking of factories in Southern China.

Ok, another rant over. The ELF mascara was fabulous. The brush was very well designed and separated the lashes nicely. It was easy to apply a second coat and I did not notice much in the way of smudging throughout the day. I was very, very surprised and really pleased that a mascara priced at £3.75 could deliver so much. It was so much better than the Loreal Voluminous 4x that I purchase and reviewed a few days back.

I only discovered the ELF brand by watching various youtube video of makeup tutorials and decided to seek it out. In general the packaging leaves a lot to be desired, but as far as the mascara goes, this is a great every day product.

So here is me without any mascara

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

And this is me with ELF mascara after eyelash curlers but no primer.

ELF mascara and nothing else.

Ok, I know it is the other eye, but you get the idea. And it is really difficult to focus iphones close up. And I am trying to take pics of myself without shaking the image.I think you can see that there is a marked improved in the appearance of my lashes, and this without eye-liner so that you can see how it works on lower lash. So I say that this mascara is well worth its price tag.

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.

04
Dec
2013

The worst mascara I have used in a long time.

categories: Blog

And it is L’oreal Voluminous 4X.mascara. I am thinking perhaps that I got the wrong product. I wanted the orginial formual and I have one in a lilac packaging. It seems to be formulated for sensitive eyes.

It was so thin and watery and I needed two coats plus a lash primer. I hate it when you waste money on a product. But what can I say, it just was two lacklustre for my liking. Perhaps if you have contacts then this is the product for you. But for me, well I need the original formula that the Americans seem to rave about and I think it is in Carbon Black. So back to the mascara counter for me.

30
Nov
2013

What happens when your favourite lipstick is discontinued.

categories: Blog

So here begins the lipstick dramas. My ID Bare Escenutuals lip palette runs out of my favoutie colours. I love this palette. And Bare Minerals, as they now like to be known, don’t seem to have a dupe. I tried.

Lip colour palette well used

I bought these two lipsticks thinking from the on screen shot at barereminerals.co.uk thinking they would be a good substitute. I knew I was taking a gamble, as they don’t accept returns for wrong colour choice, but they looked a pretty good match on screen. The colours are Parfait and Spiced Raisin. Spiced Raisin is the darker of the two. I think I would use the Parfait lipstick but the spiced raisin is really too dark for my skin tone.

Lipstick colour swatch

I put the lipsticks away thinking I would use the lighter of the two, (I actually put them back in the jiffy bag they came from and left them in a cool place, on a north facing window sill that gets no direct light,)but on returning to the package some two weeks later, I noticed these beads of what can only be called, wax deposits. Almost like a crayon had sweat. I used the Parfait lipstick on my lips and it tasted like a wax crayon and smelt like a candle.

I paid £14 plus P&P for these lipsticks. I remember it wasn’t an easy transaction because their web site was playing up, and I tried to place the order over the phone only to be told that they didn’t take telephone orders. I nearly gave up, but my desire to have the right lipstick shade in my makeup bag just got the better of me. What women will do in the name of beauty!

As my husband is an IT consultant as well as a photographer, I got him to locate the error on their website and he made a note of it to show them the problem. When I told them this, the response of the lady on the telephone was to send it to them by email and they would get their IT department to “look at it for you.” At this point my attitude was that actually we were notifying them of a fault that could lose them money and she had just made it sound like they were doing me a favour. So needless to say no email was sent.

As our American cousins would say, all this just kind of “sucks.” I went to a lot of trouble to find a duplicate of my favourite colours and it seems like I have ended up with a waxy poor substitute. I did think of ordering the two lighter colours in this range. In fact I went to Debenhams to see if I could find them, but there was no assistant on the counter, and try as I might, I could not find these lipsticks, just the Moxie range. I do understand this range contains wax, but honestly, this lipstick tastes like some cheap lippy from the 80’s.

Usually at this point I would just through them away, but after I had gone to so much trouble, and I do in fact like the brand, despite some issues, I thought I would give them a call about the waxy build up. It was Saturday, in peak Christmas buying season and their website had no support. I called the number on their website and I was given a recorded message that their office hours were Monday to Friday. I don’t really have a lot else to add really. Perhaps I will call Monday or perhaps I should just use another brand.

25
Nov
2013

Lancome Teint Miracle, the perfecting concealing pen

categories: Blog

This is a must have product. The concealing pen has light reflecting capabilities which help sculpt the face.

One of the best concealing and highlight makeup pens

A small application along the nasal labia area gives a lift to the face. It is equally useful to add a touch down the centre of the nose and run along brow furrows. My favourite application is just beneath the eyebrows. A light touch under the eyebrows gives instant lift to the eyes. But you don’t have to leave it there. You can add a touch of colour to the highlight with gentle sweeps of highlighting eyeshadow.

All in all this makeup product is great for multitasking, the brush on application makes using this highlight and concealer an absolute dream.

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.

Previous 1 2 3