Fenwicks Global Beauty Icons

I love Fenwick of Bond Street, truly I do. It's clean, it's quiet, it's sensibly laid out, the staff are lovely, and there's a frankly astonishing range of brands there now.  I was invited back to their store last week to celebrate both the relaunch of their newly redesigned beauty hall, and the launch of their #FenwickBeautyIcons and #GlobalBeautyIcons campaigns, and, I admit, it was a little slice of heaven in there.  There's something so wonderful about a beauty hall before it opens to the public, all the products laid out like jewels, promising beauty and delight, just waiting for the customers to come along and take their pick, it's rather magical.

I was invited to create my own "edit" of products both old and new from the new hall, and here's what I selected.  I wanted to create a classic red lip and black liner look, so used that as my theme, and I chose both products I've used before, love an immoderate amount and desperately wanted backups for, and new products that I've been lusting after for months now.

I went a bit mad in Charlotte Tilbury (seriously, the Charlotte Tilbury counter at Fenwick really does have to be seen to be believed), and picked up both the Magic Cream and Wonder Glow as I've been curious about them since they launched.
Chantecaille Just Skin Tinted Moisturiser is a holy grail product of mine, and I couldn't resist picking up a backup.  I also picked up one of their Liquid Liner pens, because, you know, Chantecaille.
Also a classic, and a can't live without product is Acqua di Parma, which I finished my bottle of last year, and have been living without ever since. I adore the soapy-clean fresh scent of this, and I've been wearing it all the time since we've been reunited.
I had to pick up a Lipstick Queen product, and the Lip Parade had my name written (almost) all over it.  A three pack of classic lip colours: Red Sinner (divine), Saint Wine (DIVINE) and Metal Nude (er ... slightly less divine, but lovely for people who like nudes nonetheless) I made a beeline for them.
I actually let out a little "SQUEE!" of happiness when I spotted that Fenwick are stocking Artis makeup brushes! Look, I need to get out more, I know, but I did.  So they HAD to go into my "edit", I can't wait, seriously can't wait to give them a proper try.
I've been lusting after the new Bobbi Brown Greige eyeshadow palette too for what seems like forever (actually: probably about a fortnight) now, so I couldn't pass that up, either.  It looks fab for my colouring, and I'm torn between wanting to swatch the whole thing, and just sitting gazing at its prettiness.
And finally a couple of things from some brands I don't know much about, the Colbert Balance Purifying cleanser, and Face Matters 24/7 Collagen Balm (who donate a percentage of the proceeds of every sale to Refuge, the women's charity, which is a wonderful thing for a tiny UK brand to do), because sometimes, it's good to try something completely different.

I could have literally spent hours in there, but I was in a rush to get back to the office, so I will be back to investigate the rest of the counters more thoroughly at another point quite soon (I probably only got around a third of the hall before I had to run away!). There will be some more in-depth reviews of these products coming up in the next few weeks, but what would you have picked up ofr your "beauty edit" at Fenwick?

The Fine Print: PR Samples


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Bobbi Brown Lilac Rose Eye Palette, Roza Polish and Lipglosses

It's been a while since I've featured anything from Bobbi Brown, I realise, but the press release for the new Lilac Rose collection was so pretty I couldn't resist ... a reasonable-sized collection, consisting of a new shimmer brick, an eye palette, a polish and several lip colours, I've selected my picks of the collection to show you here.

First off, the star of the show, the Lilac Rose eyeshadow palette.  This couldn't have been better chosen for me, if I'd selected the shades myself (though I'd have left out the shimmery lilac, thereby negating the whole point of the palette's inclusion in the collection in one go, but there you are, I'm an iconoclast*, I am):

 Housed in a package the same size as a normal shimmer brick, the Lilac Rose Eye palette contains eight shadows, all in the (rather muted) lilac/taupe/plum/brown range, with a variety of finishes.

In the top section, you have (clockwise from top left):
Ivory - Matte but not chalky shade
Pale Rose - matte pale plum-taupe
Pink Lily - Metallic (and slightly powdery) lilac, there was quite a bit of fallout from this
Stormy Grey - Shimmery brown with a greyish cast.

 
On the bottom you have (also clockwise from top left)
Barely There - satin-finish pale tan-flesh shade
Heather Brown - similar to Barely There, only with a touch more pink, and a lot more shimmer
Dusty Lilac - I'd say this was more of a dusty rose shade, very matte, and makes (strangely), an excellent contour shade
Black Chocolate - blackened dark brown, but without any red tones.  A great liner colour.

This is a great set of neutrals that you can use to create quite a few looks with.  I've created smokey looks with stormy grey, pink lily, pale rose and  black chocolate, and a few no-makeup looks with the other shades too.  If pink lily was more purple, then this would - quite possibly - have gone into the top ten eyeshadow palettes of all time.

I'm also a big fan of the Roza Nail Polish that comes with this collection, you know when you get something, and you want to wear it there and then?  I had that with this shade:

Obligatory "Claw" bottle shot

 It's a slightly greyed out pink colour, which really called out to me in the bottle.  No idea why, I'm a bit odd like that.  However, once on my hands, I realised that if Mannequin Hands (where your nail polish matches the colour of your skin -God knows why) is still a thing in the blogging world, then this would be my pick:

Yes, I did mainly choose this shot to show off my wedding ring.  Shut UP.

Roza is, however, extremely sheer.  And, by that, I mean: extremely sheer. This is four coats, and, in the right light, I can still see my nail line which is annoying.  But it does appear to be quite hard-wearing, these pictures were taken on day three of application, after a couple of days of housework and cooking, and it's held up very well indeed. That said, if I have to apply four or five coats every time, I don't think the bottle will last all that long!  This has been my first experience with Bobbi Brown polish though, and it's a good one, I shall have to investigate some of the other shades.

Finally, there are a couple of lipglosses with the collection, which I don't love (they're too sheer for a lipstick slut like myself), but it's a good formula nonetheless, and I'm happy that the crappy brushes Bobbi Brown lipglosses have been saddled with for (what seems like) forever have been ditched in favour of doe foot applicators.  Here's the swatches:

At the top you have Lilac Rose, and bottom you have Pink Lily.  Both nice shades in the tube, but on the lips all you get is a slight milky glaze with just a hint of colour.  Not my kind of thing, personally, but possibly not such a bad thing, as, personally, I think lilac lipstick (and gloss) should be banned.  It makes you look cyanotic, and, unless you're an habituee of Camden pretending to be one of the undead, or are an actual Victorian consumptive crack whore, it's not an easy look to pull off, frankly.

Overall, an extremely nice collection, as far as I'm concerned (potential cyanotic lip issues aside), what do you think? It's on counter this week, and prices start from £11 for the nail polish up to £45 for the eyeshadow palette


* Yes, I did have to check that meant what I thought it meant. I've been away, I think my brains have atrophied.  

The Fine Prinr: PR Samples.  No Victorian crack whores harmed in the writing of this post. Camden, you're on your final warning, however.
 
This post: Bobbi Brown Lilac Rose Eye Palette, Roza Polish and Lipglosses 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

Bobbi Brown 20th Anniversary Lip Palette

I was shocked - shocked - when I realised that Bobbi Brown was celebrating the 20th Anniversary of her iconic lipstick line, not least because I realised when I bought this that I actually owned at least three of the original shades, and I hadn't realised I'd been buying designer cosmetics for that long ...

I digress, the original line of lipsticks from Bobbi caused a bit of a stir when they first debuted in the early 90s, as I recall, they were different because there were just ten of them, and they weren't at all dramatic, merely good lipshades.  This palette includes samples of those original ten shades, alongside ten shades which date from this year.  Let's take a look:

Now, even without the headings, it'd be fairly easy to see which side was which, don't you think?  All those (slightly rusty) neutrals compared to the brighter (bluer) shades on the left!  It gets easier to see which side is which when you add in the names of the shades too:

The 1991 shades all have simple colour names red, beige, orange etc, and the 2011 are all Atomic this, Party that, Cosmic the other, [sigh].  Now, I have to say that I've grown less interested in Bobbi Brown as a brand as she's moved away from her initial launch of wearable neutrals to suit everyone and started throwing glitter into absolutely anything and everything, but I think I'll actually get more wear out of the 2011 range of shades.

What say you?  Any shades you want to see swatches of? And can you guess which three shades I owned when I was a student?

The Fine Print: Purchase.  A nostalgia trip I couldn't resist.


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

In a rush!

I mentioned yesterday that I'm lazy, and I'd rather spend an extra minute or two in bed than spend time using two products when I can use only one.  So I thought I'd tell you my favourite "two minute face" products.

For my base, I'd use Bobbi Brown Tinted Moisturising Balm, it has SPF 25, and works well for evening out skintone (taking the place of foundation) and also works exceptionally well as a moisturiser in it's own right.  This, essentially, takes the place of three products!

Eyeshadow, probably something taupe (the one above is Chanel's taupe grise, not, strictly, a taupe, but lovely nonetheless).  Taupe because it goes with everything, suits almost everyone, and it's hugely versatile.  I'll either pat a darker taupe into the crease, or a lighter one all over the mobile lid.

Trish McEvoy High Impact Mascara in Jet Black.  I love this stuff, it doesn't budge throughout the day, and I find that it volumises my lashes to the extent that I can go without liner (normally a total no-no chez Lippie) once in a while.

For my cheeks, I'd either use Daniel Sandler's Watercolour Blush in Cherub (a pale rosy pink) or, if I want a little more colour, I'd use

Edward Bess Cream Rouge in Island Rose.  Both of these are ideal for adding a little fresh colour to my pale and sallow mug in the mornings, and they're both a real pleasure to use, too.

As for my lips, I'd cheat and use either of the blush shades on my lips.  Four products, two minutes and groomed perfection.  In my dreams!

What's your two-minute routine?

My Current Skin Care Routine

I've tried a lot of skincare this year - and I'll bring you some reviews of some of those brands soon, but I thought it would be nice to talk about what I'm using at the moment, as I'm really happy with it, and my skin is about as good as it's been in the last few years, so I thought people might like to know about it!

First of all, the Clarisonic.  I swear, this has been the single biggest difference I've made to my skin this year.  I, like many people, initially thought it was a bit of a gimmick, after all, it's essentially a giant toothbrush for your face!  But the difference it's made to my skin is amazing.  It's dealt with my troublesome forehead dry patch that I've been plagued with for years, and I've been able to use less product, and need to rely less on heavy foundations as a result.  Truly, the Clarisonic is a habit-changer, and I'm glad it's appeared in my life.  I use mine twice a day, and it's one of those products that you can really tell the difference if you've skipped a day.

A couple of months ago, I bought a collection of Alpha H products from QVC (it contains cleanser, moisturiser, eye cream, liquid gold and a mask - it's the five piece smoothing collection on this page here) and these have formed the basis of my routine ever since.  In particular, I'm a big fan of the balancing cleanser and the Liquid Gold itself.

In the morning, I use the Balancing Cleanser - alongside the Clarisonic, and I find it cooling and refreshing on my skin. I'm not, ordinarily, a fan of cream cleansers, but this doesn't leave any residue, and leaves my skin feeling clean and smooth.  There's no real scent to it, and I've had no breakouts whatsoever since I bought it. I have a massive 200ml tube which has lasted me two months so far and I estimate I'm about half way down it so far. However, I do not double cleanse, I find that on my (sensitive, and temperamental) skin, double cleansing is just a recipe for dryness and redness, personally.

I follow this with the Alpha H Age Delay Lip and Eye cream, and then I've been following it with Murad Active Radiance serum, which provides a massive vitamin C boost for the skin, and helps repair sun damage.  I like that is absorbs quickly, and it gives my skin a little tingle in the mornings when I use it.  I follow that with either Murad Sheer Lustre Day Moisture (SPF 15), if I'm planning to wear foundation that day, it's a nice, very light lotion that leaves my skin with a nice sheeny glow and provides a great base for some of the foundations I've been trialling recently. There's a golden sheen to it in the tube, which just adds a little radiance to my skin, and I like it a great deal.

If it's a day where I just want a tinted moisturiser, then I'll break out my tried and trusted Bobbi Brown Tinted Moisturising Balm in Light-to-medium. I love this product, and have been using it for at least five years now, it's pigmented enough to even out your skintone, but it's also, let's face it, a damn fine moisturiser. It's also one of the nicest smelling cosmetic products I own, I love the stuff, and this must be my fifth or even sixth jar now, it's a summer staple.

In the evenings, I once again cleanse with the Balancing Cleanser (or, if it's an OTT makeup day, I use Nude Cleansing Oil), again with the eyecream, and then follow with the  Alpha H Liquid Gold.  Initially, I thought this was a toner, but it's actually a glycolic acid-based treatment that gently helps to resurface your skin overnight.  I love this stuff, it's one of very few products where you can actually see the difference in your skin the morning after.  Your skin will just glow, and you'll look like you had at least ten hours sleep.  My only issue with this product is that you have to apply it to cotton wool, and it turns out that I really don't like applying things with cotton wool.  Yes, I'm a bit odd.  It's fine, I'm used to it.

It's not really recommended that you use Liquid Gold every night (you'll resurface yourself into oblivion if you do!) so on aternate nights, I use the Rejuvenating Cream as a night treatment.  Meant for daily use on mature skins, this is a little too rich for me to use all the time, but I find every other night as a boost to the Liquid Gold, it's perfect as a night cream.

This has been a very long post for what is actually a pretty simple routine!  I'm currently swapping in a couple of new products (changing the night cream, and the serum, basically), for review purposes but this is what I've been using for the last couple of months, and I've loved it.  What's your current routine, and what wonder products have you found and enjoyed recently?

The Fine Print: Some of the products mentioned in this post were provided by PR for review purposes.  Others I bought.  It doesn't matter which is which.  I like what I like, and it matters not in the slightest under those circumstances how I came by the product.  So there, how's about them apples?

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!

Highlighters that double as blushers

When I was featuring (some of) my highlighter stash recently, I mentioned that I owned a few that doubled up as blushers, and I thought I'd show you those too. If you've followed my makeovers in any great detail, then at least one of these will be very familiar to you!

This is my Physician's Formula Shimmer Strips in Natural Glow which I won in a giveaway over at London Beauty Review quite recently. on the peachy side of natural, this gives great glowy definition where you want it, and is great for pure highlighting when you just want sheen.  The swatch on the right shows all the shades swirled together, but the darker two strips at the bottom are ones that I've used very successfully as a blush shade too.

Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick in Apricot.  This isn't one I use much, as I think it needs a bit of tan to make it work properly, so it's one I'm going to make massive amounts of use of this summer, being coral is massive this year!  It's the same quality as my BB Beige shimmer brick, which I never miss an opportunity to use, and I'm sure this one won't let me down either! It's a little more on the gold-y side than the Physicians Formula above, not too sure if that's visible in the pics.

Finally, what is probably my favourite highlighter of all time, Cargo Plant Love Illuminator in Wind.  A swirled (baked) mix of bronze and two shade s of pink, this is something that I find never fails to lighten and brighten even the dullest of complexions. Plus, mad packaging aside, it's also very pretty to look at.  Applied with a light hand, it gives a very pretty flush of colour to the cheeks, but you can also use it to give a sunkissed look, as in this makeover here.

Do you have any multi-purpose blushers and highlighters?  What are your favourites?

Makeover: Helen S

 Gosh, it's been a few weeks since I posted a makeover, I'm really sorry! I hope you'll all make Helen very welcome, she's a great friend of mine, and we've been makeup shopping A Lot over the years. Mainly because it took me a very long time to cure Helen of her frosted mauve lipstick fetish .... Here she is, all fresh-faced, and only slightly apprehensive about what the day is going to bring.

Helen popped along on Valentines Day for some chocolate, a girly gossip and a brand new look, we've worked on her "polished neutrals" for work before now, but this time Helen wanted something completely different and dramatic, suitable for a night out.  Having a look through both our makeup collections, we thought grey would be a great option to bring out the beautiful brown of Helen's eyes.  But, as always, before that, we started with the base, which in Helen's case was a mix of Bobbi Brown tinted moisturiser, and Mac Studio Fix powder:

Initially we had decided on Bourjois Liquid eyeshadow in Platinum Gris, but once it was on the skin, I realised that although it was certainly dramatic, it really wasn't dramatic in the right kind of way. So, immediately after applying it, we took it back off.

We replaced it with Benefit Creaseless Cream in Skinny Jeans, which has long been a favourite eyeshadow of mine, it's slightly more pewter, and as such tends to be a little more flattering on pale-olive skintones.

A dramatic evening look seems to demand lots of eyeliner, so we took the skinny jeans around the eye, and used a little black liner to define the top row of lashes.  Next stop, mascara:

We used Bourjois Ultra Care mascara - which is one of my all-time faves for makeovers -  and here we also added a pop of Bourjois Rose Coup de Foudre blush to Helen's cheekbones. Helen had never worn mascara before, but I'm reliably informed she's been out and bought one now!

 Breaking all my own rules (I wouldn't normally put pink with this look, but we were going for different) a slick of Lipstick Queen's 15 Minutes of Fame gloss in Minute 3 finishes off the look,and Helen's all ready to party!


















Here's the before and after:

Highlighters - Pressed Powders

Whoo, got here eventually!  Now, pressed powders are my favourite kind of highlighters, I just find them easier to apply, and they're more forgiving when you accidentally overapply.  first off, let's take a look at a highlighter I recently rediscovered as a result of my rummaging:

Trish McEvoy Blush Highlight: Oh, this is a pretty one.  Yes, it's a bit sparkly in the pan, but it applies very silkily (is that a word?), and it adds a very nice hint of colour to your cheekbones.  This one is especially good swirled over your blusher, or over a bronzer to bring it to life a little. Now I've rediscovered it, I'm going to use it more and more often.  I love the colours in my charger, and digging it back out has reminded me that there are a couple of slots free, and I'm thinking I might fill them with some more eyeshadows.  Trish McEvoy is a great brand - if you can avoid being sold the ENTIRE RANGE whenever you step near their counters - and I'll talk to you more about the rest of the things I have from her soon.

I've posted about this one before: YSL Y-Mail Palette.  Shall we play a game of spot the swatch?  It is there, I promise you, first one to tell me where it is gets a prize! Ironically, even though it hasn't photographed at all well, I do still like this one a lot, as you can tell from where the lettering has been wearing off! It's a subtle (if you avoid the glittery bit) brightening powder that just adds a hint of glow to your finished makeup, and stops your foundation looking too cake-y, in the same way a spritz of toner is meant to.  I don't do the toner thing, being a non-believer in it, and also, having a mild paranoia about spraying things on my face.  But yes, be wary of the glitter if you go for this one.

Saving what is probably my favourite for last: Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick in Beige. I don't know if you can tell from the pic but this is one battered piece of kit!  Several of the strips have fallen out over the years (and it is several years old), have been pushed back in, it's been dropped - a lot - and it was used practically every day for about three years, as a highlighter and an eyeshadow (can't do that with a liquid illuminator, alas!), and it's still going strong.  I thought it wouldn't be versatile when I bought it, but I was very wrong - I remember thinking "Urgh, beige, how boring!"  at the time, but it's great on most skin-tones, and the addition of the more pinky-golden shades mean you can use the individual strips as brow, cheek or eye colours, should you want to.  Highly recommended.

I'm away this weekend, so there won't be any posts - sorry! - but I'll be back on Monday with some Illuminators that double up as blushers.  Have a wonderful weekend!

Makeover: Kerry

After a bit of last minute confusion with one of my other volunteers, the lovely Kerry stepped in to have a makeover, and I'm glad she did, as this is one of my favourites!

Meet Kerry:

Kerry is really very pretty already, with enormous green eyes.  Sometimes Kerry thinks she looks a bit young (never an issue as far as I'm concerned!) so was looking to create a sophisticated "grown-up" look, that was hopefully a bit glamorous too.

As always, we started with the base.  Kerry has beautiful porcelain skin, so we used Bobbi Brown liquid foundation in "porcelain" as the main base, and Benefit's You're Bluffing as a concealer on the birthmark on her upper lip.  I decided against using Bluffdust as a powder because Kerry is so pale, and we used ELF HD Powder to set the look instead:

Then, to make the most of Kerry's gorgeous eyes, I made use of a Bobbi Brown palette I have that features mainly chocolate shades, I applied a shimmer wash of colour over Kerry's lids, then defined the crease with a darker shimmery brown shade:

Once they were in place, I lined the eyes with "coffee, and applied just a little more shimmer to Kerry's  lids:

 

 

Once that was in place, I darkened Kerry's brows just a little (with Smashbox brow powder kit), and added a single layer of Clarins Wonder Perfect Mascara, the difference was amazing!

A light touch of Cargo Plant Love's Wind (please note no schoolgirl jokes today, thank you) around the cheekbones and temples to warm the look up a bit, and then I used NARS Sex Machine on Kerry's lips, and finished with a tiny slick of Dior lipgloss (the name of which has worn off, but is a very pale pink with a hint of green iridescence.  Nicer than it sounds, honest!)  Here's how it looked when it was all put together:

And here's the before and after:

Many thanks for stepping in Kerry, hope you liked your new look!