Benefit Roller Lash Mascara

Hot on the heels of They're Real, Benefit are shortly launching their new formula mascara, Roller Lash.  Lighter and less claggy (and easier to remove!) that They're Real, Roller Lash features an innovative new brush:
 

Much smaller, and without the spiky ball on the end, the Roller Lash brush has tiny hooks on some of the bristles to catch and curl your lashes.  Let's take a closer look:

You can just see some of the hooks on the top row of bristles there.

It's a really nice formula, I was worried that it was going to be a bit too natural for me - I prefer a thicker, less everyday look on my lashes, but here's the before and after:

It's a good look.  Natural without being too invisible, and there is definite curl and lift.  I genuinely love the brush, it grabs the lashes and makes application a breeze.

There is a downside though.  Smudges.  I first noticed smudging around lunchtime after a 7am application, and it carried on whenever I wore it.  So, overall, love the brush, not a huge fan of the formula.   I'll be sticking with They're Real.

Roller Lash costs 19.50 and will be on counter soon - there's a free sample with the March issue of Elle though, so try it for free first!

The Fine Print: PR Sample

The Even Finer Print: We're not featuring full fragrance reviews on Get Lippie at the moment owing to illness - please see The Parosmia Diaries for more.


This post: Benefit Roller Lash Mascara originated at: Get Lippie All rights reserved. If you are not reading this post at Get Lippie, then this content has been stolen by a scraper

Benefit Brow Arch March

By Luke

I am very lucky indeed to be a volunteer for the amazing beauty industry charity, Look Good Feel Better.

If you are not familiar with the charity, you can read all about them here http://www.lookgoodfeelbetter.co.uk/, but in a nutshell, women undergoing cancer treatment are able to spend a bit of time in a room full of other women in a similar situation, compare notes, chat, network, and at the same time are able to have some expert advice about their beauty routine from rather amazing volunteers.

There is a goody bag provided by various brands who have kindly donated products which consist of everything any woman would need to look and feel beautiful, let alone when you’re losing your hair, eyebrow, lashes, and having to live with the effects of cancer treatment.

The workshops are rather incredible, and one thing that has been brought home to me from doing these workshops is that there is nothing stronger (or louder or more fun) than a group of women talking about makeup and skincare. At a time in their lives where they are at their most vulnerable, both physically and emotionally, bonds are formed that serve only to make the whole process of survival a lot more bearable, and it truly is a privilege to witness and be a part of.

One of the biggest and boldest of beauty brands, Benefit alongside Debenhams, are teaming up to support LGFB.  Every year in March, when you visit a Brow Bar at any Debenhams Benefit counter, you will receive a complimentary brow shape (normally £11.50), for a charitable donation of at least £5 which will go to the Look Good Feel Better charity.

In addition to this, Benefit are planning to hold a fundraising March through the streets of London passing all major landmark Arches (see what they’ve done there?) on Sunday March 9th. 

The participating ‘Arch Angels’ will be asked to start with minimal makeup, and join the pit stops en route to have little beauty treatments along the way , not dissimilar to those undertaken at a Look Good Feel Better workshop. By the end of the march you will look AMAZING!

A worthy cause indeed!

For more information, visit www.browarchmarch.com, and if you get involved, you can tweet @BrowArchMarch and hashtag the same.


This post: originated at: Get Lippie All rights reserved. If you are not reading this post at Get Lippie, then this content has been stolen by a scraper

Current Favourite Blushers

I didn't see the point of blusher for the longest time, and so, for many years I didn't use it.  I've had high-colouring for many years, so the thought of adding MOAR COLORZ to my skin was a scary one, to say the least!  These days, however, I'd rather leave the house without lipstick than without my blusher!

Blush brightens the face, and can add shade and contour to even the widest of faces (personally, I don't bother with all that contouring malarkey because, as has been extensively reported on this blog, I am a cack-handed muppet), but blusher does make such a difference, making my skin look alive, and helping me avoid looking like a trainee goth who forgot to attend the lesson on  not dressing like an accountant.  

After my recent colour analysis, I've found blush difficult, as the shades which are nearest matches to my fan do NOT look good on my skin - NARS Sin is consistently recommended as a good blush for someone with my colouring, but ... well, it's too dark and far, far, far too brown for me, so I challenged myself to find some more suitable blush shades. 

Initially, I didn't think I had any, aside from one, but after digging deep into the recesses of my blusher drawer, I managed to scramble up seven or so ... (may you never know the horrors of saying "But I don't have any like that" only to discover you're lying to yourself about it ... anyhoo, here's my pick of my blusher collection:

Clockwise from top left we have:

Accessorize: Merged Baked Blush in Sensation
MAC: Blushbaby
Stila: Convertible Colour in Lillium
Laura Geller: Ethereal Rose/Sateen Subtle Berry
Benefit: Hervana
Burberry: Cameo
Bare Minerals: Ready Blush in The One 

In the past couple of years, I've been pretty much inseparable from NewCID iGlow in Coral Crush, but I've been trying to use pinker shades recently, and, even though a couple of these have a touch of coral to them (in particular The One by Bare Minerals - bottom left in pic above), I think the pinker look is just a bit more "healthy" to my newly-educated eye.

Accessorize is very pink, and works well as a highlighter, also, it was very cheap!
MAC Blushbaby is an old, old favourite, but it's a little on the brown side, so needs applying with a light hand.
Stila Lillium is a great neutral shade of blush, and one I wear over tinted moisturiser.  You can wear it on your lips too, but that's really not a good look for me.
The Laura Geller has been my day to day staple blush recently.  A slightly berry pink, it has a gentle sheen, and is very pretty without making me look too flushed.
Benefit Hervana is a very pretty cool-toned matte pink.  It's a little on the sheer side, but it's a good shade for just the lightest possible flush of  colour.
Burberry Cameo is another subtle berry shade, which is on the matte side, it's a lot more pigmented than the Laura Geller, so again, needs a lighter hand (or a duo-fibre brush).
Bare Minerals is a heavily-pinked coral, and is a good easy to wear shade, even if it is a little bit warmer than the other shades in this selection.  I LOVE the Bare Minerals "pressed" powder formulations, and need to pick a few more up.

So, what are your go-to blushers at the moment?

The Fine Print: Mainly purchases, ironically.

This post: Current Favourite Blushers  originated at: Get Lippie All rights reserved. If you are not reading this post at Get Lippie, then this content has been stolen by a scraper

Five basics every makeup bag should have

I get asked, quite regularly, what makeup products every makeup bag should contain, and I always find it a difficult question to answer (I don't really carry a makeup bag round with me, and, when I do, it mainly contains lip products ... the name of this blog didn't come around by accident, you know) but, in response to a particularly heartfelt plea from MummyBarrow, asking for the five products you need to re-stock an empty makeup bag, here's what I think you need in a basic, but well-stocked makeup bag:

1) Base
2) Blush
3) Mascara
4) Eyeshadow/Eyeliner
5) Lip Colour

Here's my product picks:

1) Base 
 
Every makeup bag should contain a base product, whether it's foundation, concealer, or a powder is entirely down to individual preference, but, if I was starting from scratch, I'd pick a pigmented base with some skincare properties - either a tinted moisturiser from a reputable skin-care company, or a BB cream, again from a reputable skincare company (rather than a company better known for their colour cosmetics.  So, which ones would I pick?  Well, depending on budget, I'd either pick:

Chantecaille Just Skin Tinted Moisturiser (£57 from Space NK)

Or Dr Jart Regenerating BB Cream (£21 from Boots)

 Both can be used as a moisturiser in their own right (confession, I never use a coloured product in place of skincare, I always use my full skincare routine then use tinted moisturisers etc, but not everyone is as obsessive about their skincare as I am, I admit), and both give great coverage.  If pushed, I prefer the Chantecaille, less mineral oil, nicer fragrance, more buildable coverage as you can apply in successive layers - but the Dr Jart has an SPF of 30,  over and above the Chantecaille's SPF of 15.  The Dr Jart is nice and soothing on the skin though, and doesn't irritate my stupidly sensitive skin. 

A good base is all-important for making the rest of your make-up (however little you spend, and however little attention you pay to it) look good, don't skimp here.

2) Blush

Only one possible choice here, for me, and that is:

New CID iGlow in Coral Crush (£24 from New CID Cosmetics)

This is possibly the most-used cosmetic item in my stash at the moment, and I adore it.  Gives a wonderful glowy lift to my cheeks (it's ostensibly a highlighting product, but I find it pigmented enough to use as a blusher), and it goes with most makeup looks.  It photographs amazingly well too.  Writing this reminds me that I need a backup.

3) Mascara

The mascara I've been wearing most often over the last few months is:

Benefit They're Real Mascara (£18.50 from Boots)

I was slightly underwhelmed with this on first release, but, over the last while, I've come to love it a great deal, and regularly reach for it over and above other fancier (and more expensive) releases.  It's a good, buildable formula that, on me, doesn't flake or smudge, and only comes off when *I* want it too.  Can't say much more than that.  It's a bit wet on first opening though, but after a week or two when it dries out a little, it's a cracking tube of mascara.

The above three products are what I would consider the absolute bare essentials, if you've evened out your skintone with a base, highlighted your cheekbones with blush, and defined your eyes with mascara, then, frankly, any other colour cosmetics are an optional extra.  That said though, here's my pick of eye and lip products to round out a new collection:

4) Eyeshadow/Eyeliner

Sometimes, you just want something quick, and versatile.  When that's the case, I reach for:

Sue Devitt Eye Intensifier Pencils (£18 from Harvey Nichols)

Soft and smudgey, these pencils are a total boon if you're a bit short on time.  You can use them as a soft liner, a base for other shades, or smudge them and create a soft smokey eye look.   They come in a variety of no-fuss, no-worry shades, so there's something to suit most people.

If I was really splashing out, to be honest, I'd also pick up a Cream Colour from Tom Ford in Platinum. A cream eyeshadow that doesn't crease, and isn't greasy, and lasts all day.  I just wish they were a permanent part of the range (and didn't cost £28, but that's a different story).

Clinique are rumoured to be bringing out an eye version of their cult Chubby Sticks, and I, personally, am waiting with baited breath for their release.

 5) Lip Colour

Blimey, where do I start?  When it comes to lipstick, it really is up to you (your budget) and your personal preferences.  For budget preferences, I've discovered I'm a bit of a fan of the Kate Moss range of lipsticks for Rimmel, the matte collection is really cute, particularly in the darker shades.  If you want something a bit less fussy, then the Clinique Chubby sticks:

Might be what you want: Retailing at around £14, they combine the best parts of lipbalm and lipstick.  There's a whole slew of imitators around, but I definitely prefer these for their superior balm properties (little known fact, Clinique's range of superbalm lip products are amongst the best balms on the market, for me at least), and their sheer range of shades.  They're releasing an "intense" version now too, which have more pigment ... I may already have a couple, and will be bringing you a full review soon ...

If you want to splash out, and still have a balmy consistency, well, then you need a Chantecaille Lip Chic.  Which is, for my money, the most divine lipstick formulation in existence.  If you really want to push the boat out, well, then, head yourself over to Tom Ford.  Or pick yourself up a Guerlain Rouge G.  You know you want to ...


 
 This post originated at: http://getlippie.com All rights reserved.

Benefit That Gal Limited Edition

Oh, now this is cute. To celebrate the Jubilee and the Olympics, Benefit are bringing out a limited edition version of their popular That Gal primer.  The product remains the same, but the packaging has had a "British" (read: London) - centric makeover.  Let's take a look:

 

It's certainly cute, and continues onto the tube itself:

But this is Get Lippie, and I'm all about what's inside.  I don't think I've reviewed this before, so here goes.  That Gal is a pink facial primer, that has brightening effects when used.   The rube has a wind up mechanism, and you apply the product to you face, direct from the tube, even though it's a liquid product:

Don't tell me I'm the only one thinking about the playdo barbershop, right now.

On the skin it's slight tint helps even out skintone, and leaves you looking glowing, allegedly:

You don't need a huge amount to cover your whole face, and this is best used under your foundation, but you can also add a dab to areas of your face on top of your base to add a little glow too:

It's a nice product, but ... I find it smells unearthly sweet so tend to use very, very little indeed and then can't bring myself to put it all over my face.  


But hey!  Pretty box ...


 The Fine Print: PR Sample.


This post originated at: http://getlippie.com All rights reserved.

Benefit Sun Beam

You might have noticed a theme this week - summer.  Yes, I know the last few weeks have had lousy wet weather, but I am determined to make things a little summery right now!  With that in mind, I'm happy to show you Benefit Sun Beam, the latest addition to the "Beam" collection, alongside "High" and "Moon", both of which I happen to adore, but can't find right now ...

Anyhoo, Sun Bean is described as a golden bronze highlighter it's actually very pretty, and a lot more versatile than I thought it would be on first opening the bottle:

Almost an "antique" gold shade, this would be flattering on many skin shades, from the palest through to very dark olive, I suspect.  I'm extremely pale at the moment, and even I find it wearable:

See the pretty speckles?  I'm glad to see that it's not too orange, as that would be very difficult for a lot of people to wear, I think.

As with the other liquid highlighters in the range, Sun Beam is easy to blend, and leaves a lovely glow, without glitter.

It's pigmented just enough to leave your skin with a pretty sheen, and will look great on tanned cheekbones if we ever get any sun this year!

Benefit Sun Beam will be available from June. 



This post originated at: http://getlippie.com All rights reserved.

Benefit They're Real Vs Dior Diorshow Iconic

Perfume aside, I don't think there is a beauty product that is as dependent upon personal preference as mascara.  We all have our particular requirements, and personal favourites, and we tend to stick with them, no matter how many new mascaras are released in a particular year.  Last year I was addicted to Trish McEvoy's mascara, but discovered that the formula had changed - making it wetter, and less volumising - when I bought a replacement, so I spent quite some time this year looking for a new one that would replace it in my affections.

I like long, fat "dolly" lashes - verging on the drag queen effect - from my mascaras, none of this natural look thing, thank you.  I'm a fan of Armani Eyes to Kill, but it is pricey, and I can't always be bothered heading to either Selfridges and Harrods to pick one up.  Ditto Makeup Forever's Smokey Lash, but the only place I've found that is Paris, really, so even less easy to pick up.  So, I thought I'd try a couple of mascaras that were easier to get hold of in department stores, Benefit They're Real, and DiorShow Iconic.  Both have had a lot of love from my fellow beauty bloggers lately, so which one would win for me?

The Tubes:

I have to say that the hands down winner of the battle of the tubes is Benefit, I love the shiny pewter finish, and the fat tube.  In all honesty, the embossed finish of the Dior tube makes it look a bit sticky.  It's not, but I don't like it, all the same.

The Brushes:

These are both plastic brushes, as opposed to bristles, and they're both slightly unusual twists on a normal brush in their own right:

Benefit:

This always reminds me of a mace, for some reason.  We have short spiky bristles, and these bristles continue onto the tip of the brush.  I'll be honest, I do find the bristles a little too spiky at times, and if you accidentally blink when applying, well, it's not nice.

DiorShow:

A little wider than the Benefit, the bristles on Iconic are arrayed in a spiral pattern, and they're a little longer and rounder than the Benefit bristles.  Personally, I find that the brush on the Diorshow Iconic suits my lashes better, leaving my lashes looking more "groomed" after using.

The Formulas:

I find that the Benefit They're Real formula is very wet in comparison to the DiorShow Iconic, and that it requires more coats to give a "finished" look than the Dior.  The Dior is dryer, and gives a fuller effect with a lot less effort. Both are very black, and I've not noticed any flaking with either formulation. Dior wins. Anything that can help a lazybones like me look good quicker has to be good.

The Lashes:

They're not upside down, I'm just looking up.  A bit too much.

It is, in fact, almost a dead heat.  Both lengthen, and both volumise, but the Dior just has the edge on volumising, and, I noticed, it curls the lashes more.  Pic shows two coats of each on uncurled lashes.  I suspect though, that if I were to apply more than two coats, that the Dior would clump a bit more than the Benefit.  I only ever apply two coats though - life is too short for three coats of mascara, if you ask me.

Winner:

For me, it's the Dior, but they're both excellent.  Once the Benefit had a chance to dry out a bit (when I first used it, I hated it, but letting it dry out for a month or two has worked wonders for it, for me), I liked it a lot more, whereas the Dior was a winning formula straight out of the box.

The Fine Print: Benefit was a PR sample.  The Dior ... wasn't.

This post originated at: http://getlippie.com All rights reserved.

Review - Benefit Girl Meets Pearl

I have a love-hate relationship with Benefit.  When the products are good (and very many of them are), they're very good, but when they're bad, they're dreadful.  Add in the hard sell at the counter, the freaky makeovers you get, and then look at the frankly rather limited range of foundation shades, they can be difficult to love at times .... also, please don't get me started on the cheap and rather undurable cardboard packaging that drives me nuts ... but hey.

But, when they get things right, they tend to get things really right.  Their Creaseless Cream eyeshadows are a work of genius and I never miss an opportunity to recommend them, and I've been using You Rebel ever since it was called "I am Rebel" (even if these days, I do prefer the "lite" version, I don't enjoy being orange now!).

They're bringing out some new products at the moment (and I hear exciting things about a possible skin-care launch in the near future too), and I've had a chance to try them.  I'll talk more about Porefessional soon,  but Girl Meets Pearl launches in the next couple of weeks and it's really very pretty indeed.

A cool pink with gold pearl, this is a cooling liquid highlighter that you can use to "spotlight" individual areas of your face, or use all over your face (under your foundation) to give your skin a sheeny glow. It's not a shimmer, or a glitter - thank goodness - but it just lights your skin up a little in a delightfully natural fashion.

Here you can see it on my skin, it's largely translucent, but it blends remarkably well, and gives you a buildable effect, you can apply it lightly for a light sheen, or apply more for a more glow-y effect.

Here you can see it catching the light whilst I was blending it in.  It dries a lot more matte though:

Can you see the difference?  I like to use this on my cheekbones (over a tinted moisturiser, and under a powder foundation), and I love the very subtle effect.

But, there is one dreadful thing about this product - the scent.  It's like smearing Hubba Bubba on your cheeks.  Not nice, and, to make things worse, the smell lingers a long time.  Your mileage on the scent may vary, of course!  I do find Benefit products a little over-perfumed at times, and I have to admit that this isn't nearly as bad as the smell of Dr Feelgood (which always smells like curry to me), but I thought you should know!

How do you get along with Benefit?

The Fine Print: I was visited on my sickbed by a very lovely Benefit PR recently, and she left me a sample of this.  PRs are people too, people! 

Makeover: Laura

Laura got married yesterday, but way back in February she asked me for some ideas for her wedding makeover.  Here's what we came up with.

Please welcome Laura:

Laura was a little too young to remember Prisoner Cell Block H, hence the rather cheery "before" pic this week.  As always we start with the foundation.  Laura is very pale (and yet had been recently colour "matched" as an NC30 by a MAC assistant who obviously needs their eyes testing, and possibly a change of career), we decided to use Bourjois Healthy Mix foundation in 51 Light Vanilla instead, which is a great demi-matte foundation which lasts a whole day, and leaves a healthy glow:

This gave us a great canvas to work from, and we decided to concentrate on the eyes.  In order to make whatever we applied last for the whole day, I used Benefit Creaseless Cream in RSVP as the base for the colour.  A lovely shimmering champagne shade, this does NOT budge, and is great for wedding makeups.

I then went on and added a little Bobbi Brown colours from the chocolate palette to define the eye (this palette doesn't suit me at all, but it's stunningly versatile on other people, I've found):

I lined the eyes - very lightly - with the same shade, and then added Bourjois Ultra Care mascara to define those pretty lashes:

To add some colour, and a little bridal glow, we brushed a little of the deepest shade of Physicians Formula Shimmer Strips in Natural on the cheekbones, then used the lightest shades to highlight:

All that is missing now is a touch of lipgloss.  We used Bobbi Brown in Rose Sugar, and the look was complete, here's the blushing bride!

And here's the before'n'after:

I hope everything went well yesterday for you Laura, and I wish you and Kris every happiness in your new life together!

Reader Request - Highlighters

When I wrote this post about the YSL Palette Y-Mail highlighter a few weeks ago, one of my lovely readers, Renata asked about my favourite highlighters, and what I'd recommend.  Well, my first thought, I have to admit was "I don't have many highlighters, I'll never get a full post out of that!".  I was wrong.  A quick scout around my makeup collections (yes, I have more than one) turned up 13 of the shimmery little suckers.  And, since I rounded them up and took pictures of them, I found a few more too.  Clearly, I have too much makeup.

I thought instead of one mahoosive post of various shiny strips of skin with barely any differences between them, I'd break up the posts into the different textures.  Today, it's liquids and creams:

Nars Copacabana: Much as I love my Nars multiples (and I do!) I have to say that this one doesn't really do much for me.  It's a little frosty on my skin, even when blended in really well.  A beautiful shade for cooler skintones, perhaps, but I end up looking a little metallic, which is never a good look. I've since swapped this one for something I love far, far more, and I'll show you what that is very soon.

Prescriptives Cream Highlight: Apologies for talking about a discontinued product from a discontinued brand, but this was, for a very long time, my very favourite highlighter!  The label has worn off, so I can't even tell you what it was called when it was available.  As you can see, it's a little more peach than the NARS, and so melds more with my skin-tone, rather than sits "on" it.  It's still, it has to be said, a little too metallic for my tastes these days.

Benefit High Beam: Again, another frosty one, I flip-flop  on Benefit products at the best of times (when they're good, they're very, very good, but when they're bad, they're infuriating!), this is one I like, the packaging is good, it's a nice texture, but the pinkish frostiness isn't one that suits as many people as Benefit always say they will.  It's nice to apply, but again, can make you look a little metallic.

No7 Skin Illuminator: This is one I picked up the week before last, and I really, really like the product. Unlike many highlighters, this actually comes in two shades, one pink, and one peach.  This one is peach.  As you can see, the colour of the highlighter almost disappears into my skin - or when it's not swatched this heavily for photographic purposes, it does, anyway!- I'm not, it must be said, a massive fan of the packaging, it seems purposely designed to make you waste the product (indeed, even the box states you should wipe the "excess" off onto your hand before using the brush to apply it to your cheeks) but the liquid inside is a good one, not metallic, not frosty, and not glittery.  It's a very glow-y natural kind of highlighter, and it's one I'll be getting back-ups of at the earliest opportunity.  It's also the cheapest highlighter on this page at £11, £6 if you have any Boots vouchers.

If you're unsure about how to use liquid or cream highlighters, then I suggest you watch this Lisa Eldridge video, she's amazingly talented, and gives great advice:

Tomorrow, loose powders. And I'll be guesting over at Zuneta again too!

The Small Print: I buyed dese.  I haz munny.

Mini Makeover - Ruth

Yes, it's a mini-makeover again this week, mainly because I AM the world's worst photographer, and I owe Ruth a massive apology as a result.

Anyhoo, on with the "show", as they say!  Please meet Ruth:

Ruth is someone I've known virtually for longer than I care to remember, but up until her makeover we'd never actually met in the flesh!  Ruth runs Love it Love It Love It (should be live this weekend!) which is a website that sells the most amazing clothes for babies and toddlers in BRIGHT colours - none of this pastel rubbish.  Please go take a look if there's a child in your life, there are some gorgeous clothes on there, and I'm going to be placing a couple of orders myself soon!

Okay, because the photos I took were so dreadful, we're going to skip straight to the after:

Ruth was looking for a funky look, so I told her we were going to do PINK!  And we did.  I think Ruth was a bit scared I was going to make her look like a refugee from 1986, or something, but I think I succeeded in avoiding that particular fate. Well, hopefully ...

Products used:

Benefit You Rebel Light
Benefit Bluffdust
Milani Runway Palette in pink
Bourjois Ultra Care Mascara in black
Cargo Plantlove Illuminator in Wind
Lipstick Queen 15 minutes of Fame gloss in minute 3

Here's an entirely gratuitous pack shot of the Milani palette, it's not very pigmented, and the colours can be a little chalky, and difficult to blend as a result, but they're very pretty shades, and it cost only £3.49 from Beauty Base in Westfield: