The Worst Makeover I Ever Had

Was at the Estee Lauder counter in the Liverpool branch of Boots a few years ago.

I only really have myself to blame, I'd ignored a few of my own hard and fast rules about makeovers (namely the ones about ignoring advice from someone who has deliberately turned themselves tangerine, and - my bad - the one about women who willingly wear black lipliner in the middle of the day having no business with their hands near my face), and gone for it in spite of myself.

I have to say, the girl was a dab hand with the highlighter, I had it everywhere.  Cheekbones, upper lip, and on my brow bones.  The stuff on my brow-bones was, I kid you not, an inch thick!  Worse though, she'd used so many products on my face that the whole thing started slipping even as she was applying it, meaning she had to cake more and more and more powder over the top to keep the "look" in place.  It looked, and I kid you not, like crazy paving by the end of it. And she was so proud!  I went back to the office afterwards, and after listening to the insane giggling and dodging a volley of remarks referencing Danny La Rue (imagine the above picture with dark hair, that was me, that was), I vowed, there and then to never go to an Estee Lauder counter for a makeover again.

Well, today I'm eating my words, as I've been invited to a makeup lesson at one of Estee's flagship stores, and I'm actually really looking forward to it.  I think the Estee Lauder brand has really pulled itself out of the "old lady" rut with the advent of Tom Pecheaux this year, I adored his Blue Dahlia collection a few months ago, and his Christmas collection (which I'll be showing you soon) is beautiful too!  Plus, they've promised not to make me look like an elderly drag queen today, which is nice.   I'll be showing you the results in the morning, so they can't say they haven't been warned!

So, what was your worst makeover like?

Estee Lauder - Blue Dahlia Collection

Hold on to your hats people, for I have fallen in love with an eyeshadow.  And it's BLUE ...

I was saying in one of my rambles on Zuneta recently that I much prefer the autumn/winter collections from the major cosmetic houses than the summer ones, and this a/w collection - the first widely available one from new Lauder creative director Tom Pecheux - is a beauty.  I don't mind admitting that Lauder are - for me - doing some of the most interesting collections of the major beauty houses at the moment, Michael Kors was a total winner, and Bronze Goddess is probably my most favourite of all the summer collections I've seen.

I was invited recently to take a look at the new Pure Colours collection which is shortly to be re-launched in new packaging complete with 24 new eyeshadow shades and 24 new lipglosses.  The new formulation is great, long-lasting shadows and some lovely glosses (though I do wish they had a brush instead of a rather stiff and hard to use does-foot applicator), but it was the capsule limited edition Blue Dahlia collection (above) that caught my eye ...

Here's the palette itself:

There's a teal, taupe, smoky blue, a white with an iridescent teal shimmer, and a black for defining.  Take a look at a close up of that white:

It's gorgeous.  It swatches quite sheerly, but with a teal-ish glimmer, it's very good mixed with the other shades in the palette, or patted over the top for a hint of sparkle.

I think the palette - despite my allergy to blues - is really very versatile, and I've created a couple of looks from it already.  Ha, Ha! Created looks - I hate that phrase, I'm about as creative as the average doorknob - what I actually mean is that I've done my makeup in a couple of (slightly) different ways with it already:

First off, a smoky eyed look:

I used the lighter teal shade in the inner corner, with the smoky blue on the outside, then blended the taupe into the crease, I used the black as a liner on the upper lid, with the smoky blue as a liner on the bottom, I then finished it off with a spot of Guerlain Kohl in Noir on the waterline.  Here's a (slightly fuzzy, sorry!) close
up:

I didn't use any base with these shadows, I wanted to see how they lasted (something I always do the first time I wear new shadows), and this is how they looked after ten hours wear:

Yes, the colour has faded somewhat, but the creasing is minimal, and it's still quite wearable.

For a simpler look (I can't, in all honesty, usually be bothered using more than two shades of eyeshadow on a daily basis), I used the taupe all over the mobile lid into the crease, then blended some of the teal into the crease and the outer eyelid:

I've also been using the teal for tightlining, alongside the taupe as a neutral shade, but I forgot to take photos of that one ...

The new pure colour shades will be available from July, and the limited edition Blue Dahlia collections (there's a lavender/lilac version too, which I think I may have to splash out on) will debut in House of Fraser at the same time.  Will you be indulging?  What's your opinion on blue eyeshadow?

The Fine Print: Palette was provided as part of a PR event, opinions are - as usual - as credible as you think opinions on PR-provided products possibly can be.  However, I've never had a good word to say about about any blue cosmetic ever, so he fact that I've used this every day since it arrived should speak volumes. That, or I've suddenly gone colourblind/mad/senile.

Waterproof eyeshadows: YSL and Estee Lauder

I had no idea YSL actually did a waterproof shadow until I found this little beauty recently! YSL Fard Lumiere Aquaresistant in #2 Amethyst Grey, which is actually a cool-taupe shade with just a hint of silver shimmer:

This feels very different on the skin to my normal crease and budge-proof shadows (Benefit Creaseless Creams, for reference) they're very cool, and more of a mousse texture than other ones I've tried.  That said, this stuff does not budge once it's in place.  It's still pretty easy to blend though.  But the brush that comes with it:

should just be thrown away.  For a £20 product, the brush is utterly useless.  I've been using my (clean) fingers to apply, and find this helps spread the product much better.

Onto one that's much more familiar, Estee Lauder's Double Wear Eyeshadow cream:

This is the shade Pink Amethyst (spotted the link between the two shades yet?), this feels more greasy in texture, and takes a few seconds to set once you've applied it, but once it's one, it's going nowhere, here's how it looks on the skin:

Now, I love my Benefit Creaseless creams to an almost absurd degree, but this one comes in a poor third in a comparison of those, and the YSL.  It's a nice shade, and it doesn't crease or run, but it doesn't blend as well as the other two formulations, and I find it feels a little "rubbery" once it has set.  Also, I find that you can't apply other (powder) shadows over the top as well. They tend to ball up, and drop off, has this happened to anyone else?  Is there something I'm doing wrong?

Here's a comparison of how the two formulations look on the skin:

What's probably not apparent from this swatch is that the YSL has a matte finish - albeit with silver shimmer - but the Estee Lauder has a more visible cream-sheen to it.  They're both nice shades, but I think I'll get more wear out of the YSL.  The Lauder is cheaper though, at £15 for the pot, as opposed to the YSL's £20 (which made even me blanch slightly, as I don't think it will actually last all that long, being a whipped mousse rather than a cream).

What's your go-to waterproof shadow?

The Fine Print: I bought these and I have the receipts to prove it.  And the overdraft.

Estee Lauder - Bronze Goddess Applied (FotD)

There were a lot of comments about the Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess collection that I showed you the other day, so I thought I'd show you how that little lot looks applied too.  Yeah, no idea why I thought a quiff was a good idea either, anyhoo, onto the pics:

Again, the pic is enlargeable, with the usual caveats (cold, terrible hair, and so on...).  For reference, I used the Shimmering Sand and Ultra Violet shadows - which blend out pretty well, actually - alongside the Exotic bronzing blush and the Wild Orchid lipgloss, which is beautifully wearable, and surprisingly versatile, bearing in mind it's rather ... er ... scary shade in the tube.  Tastes nice too, light vanilla scent.

Don't worry, I've got other things to talk about as well as showing you my ugly mug (again) today ... back later!

Estee Lauder - Bronze Goddess

After my utter disaster with the Estee Lauder Michael Kors collection, I made darn sure I got my hands on this one! I think Estee Lauder are doing really interesting and exciting things at the moment, and this collection confirms it.

Let's have a look at some swatches, I'll start with the eyeshadows:

There are four eyeshadows in this collection, Sand Shimmer, Ultra Violet, Aqua Flash and Molten Bronze.  Sadly, I didn't receive Molten Bronze, so that's why it's not swatched here.  These are intensely pigmented, and will cover your entire eyelid in one swipe of the does-foot applicator.  They can, however, look a little crepe-y if applied too heavily, so I recommend a light hand on the application, and you can sheer them out with your fingertips if you prefer.  However, these last and last, once they're in place!  You will not need a primer, as these shadows are not going anywhere!  I washed this hand three times with soap and water and it still bears traces of the swatches! They will come off very easily with an oily cleanser though, don't worry, you're not going to be stuck with aqua eyelids till the end of time ...

LOVE these lipglosses!  Gloriously fluorescent in the tube, they give lovely sheer brightness to the lips.  The pink (Wild Orchid) has a beautiful blue micro-shimmer to it, and the orange (Wild Coral) has golden micro-shimmers, both of which you'll be able to see more easily if you click on the picture to enlarge it.  Neither feel gritty on the lips, and they last about as well as your average lipgloss.  One thing I will say, is that you don't get as much in the tube as it looks like you do, as you'll see from the top right of the pic - the label fell off mine!

I think, however, that this is the piece I'll be going back for backups of - at least two, I think.  This is the "Exotic Bronzing Blush" and as well as being really cute - have to love those zebra stripes of colour! - it's actually great for giving you a touch of sunkissed colour, without being as "flat" as a traditional bronzer.  Slightly (but not overly) sparkling, it's a real gem.

This is very pretty, a deep, dark purple shade of polish, with pink glitter, it's really very lovely ("Oh, that is super!" MrLippie), it's a trifle on the thick side, almost gloopy, but it's very glossy and beautifully sparkly on the nails.  The wear isn't the greatest I've ever seen (two days maximum without chipping) but it's one of those shades that keeps catching your eye, and just demands that you look at it.  I forgive it all the problems for that.  And I, for one, love the Lauder polish bottles!

I'll be honest, I've not actually plucked up the courage to use this on my face yet (and anyone who read my last post on Zuneta last week will know why!) but it's a wash-off bronzing gel, which, as you can see from my hands there does leave you with a natural-looking glow.


I'll see if I can actually get over myself a little bit soon, and use it in a FotD!




So, as you can see, a wide range of products, some good, some great, but all useable, I think.  W|hat's caught your eye?


Small Print: These products were provided by PR.  Opinions free and unsullied, yadda yadda, yadda. No cake was harmed in the making of this post.

Makeover: Mel

It Sunday Makeover time, and this week I was delighted to welcome along Mel:

Mel's a schoolteacher, and was looking for a simple and easy day time look that suits her colouring.  Mel actually owns a bit of very lovely makeup, but doesn't use it very often, so I was hoping to show her how to get the most of some of the things she already owns, and introduce her to a couple of techniques to get the best out of her routine.

First of all, we started with the base, to even out Mel's skintone we used YSL Perfect Touch Foundation, and for the slightly darker skin around her eyes, we used By Terry Eclat de Teint to conceal.  I like both of these products as they have the brush built in already, and they're super-quick and easy to use:

 

 

Mel has really lovely grey/blue eyes, so we decided that they would be the feature.  As we were trying to keep this simple, we use Benefit Creaseless Cream eyeshadow in RSVP all over the lid, up to the brow area:

Then, to define the crease - and as an eyeliner - we used Cargo Plant Love eyeshadow in Sparrow:

 

 

Then a lick of mascara

And we were ready to add the finishing touches, which in this case were a light dusting of Cargo's Plant Love Illuminator in Wind over the cheeks and temples, and a light coat of Estee Lauder's lipstick in "Beige".  I also darkened Mel's eyebrows a touch with Smashbox eyebrow powder:

 

Lovely, quick, and natural.  Here's the before and afters:

 

Thank you, Mel. Let me know when you want to go shopping!