Nails of the Day - Nubar Risque Reds and Fortress Collections

Beauty Shed very kindly sent me samples of their new collections recently, so I drafted in a volunteer so I could swatch two colours for you this week!  First up, from the Risque Reds Collection, Torrid Red:

Lovely red jelly with a glorious gold shimmer shot through,  it's a little darker than it appears in these pics, and is all the nicer for it. Both pictures show two coats over a Mavala base, and with a Seche Vite topcoat.  I could actually have got away with one coat, but I wanted to apply two, just to see how the colour came out.  I'm glad I did.  Formulation is a bit on the thick side for Nubar, but it applied and dried very nicely.

Picture of the ring finger there is a fairly accurate representation of how the colour looks in normal light.  Just lovely!







And from the Fortress collection - which is a selection of all grey shades, which is fairly unusual in itself - I selected the one which looked most interesting, Silver Sword, which is a mid-grey metallic finish, and I got the lovely Kerry to be my hand-model for this one:

Above pic shows two coats with a top coat (think it's from No. 17) application was good, and this is a lovely finish which doesn't seem to be blighted with brush strokes.

Looking forward to trying this one myself, it looks lovely! I will bring you more shades from both of these collections next week.

Which do you prefer, the greys or the reds?

Nubar polishes are available from Beauty Shed, and cost £8 each.

The Small Print: I was sent this for review purposes, so I reviewed them.  I'm nice like that ;) All opinions are honest, regardless of the source.

Avon Calling? Liz Earle joins up ...

I don't often regurgitate press releases, but there's been a lot of talk on Twitter about this today, let me know your thoughts!

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The Liz Earle Beauty Co. announced today a new partnership with leading global beauty brand, Avon Products Inc.


Co-founder Liz Earle, said of the deal “We are very excited to be joining forces with an iconic global beauty brand like Avon. We believe the Liz Earle Naturally Active Skincare philosophy and extraordinary brand loyalty we have built in the U.K., when combined with Avon’s presence in more than 100 countries around the world, will create an outstanding opportunity for international expansion for our company.”

The deal, designed to deliver international expansion opportunities for the leading British skincare brand, will see the company remain firmly rooted in its home in Ryde, Isle of Wight. The company will continue to operate as a standalone brand, under the leadership of co-founders, Liz Earle and Kim Buckland.

“Joining forces with Avon is a dream come true for us,” said co-founder Kim Buckland. “Just as Liz Earle Naturally Active Skincare has its own ‘Precious Recipe’ which lies at the heart of all we do, Avon has a long established reputation for its high levels of customer service, its great workplace environment, and its contributions to the wellbeing of society.”

Andrea Jung, Avon’s chairman and chief executive officer, said “We are delighted to welcome Liz Earle Naturally Active Skincare to Avon and we see this new partnership as a perfect fit for both companies. Liz Earle’s tightly edited range of award-winning, naturally active skincare products is highly complementary to Avon’s anti-aging skin care and broader beauty portfolio. It also represents a long term opportunity to develop a standalone Liz Earle direct selling Representative channel.”

Terms of the arrangement between the two companies remain private and will not be disclosed.
 
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What do you think?

Lancôme L'Absolou Rouge Creme de Brilliance swatches

Surprisingly, considering my utter worship of practically any mascara made my Lancôme, I don't own a huge amount of their colour cosmetics.  I have no idea why this is, but after their recent Pop Petrol collection, which I thought was really lovely (I ended up buying half of it for Other People, and have none of it for myself!), it's obviously something I'm going have to correct.

I do, however, always spend time searching for the Chris Benz Pout-A-Porter lipstick releases when they're out, but I was told recently that they're only ever released in the US due to lack of interest in the UK! Very frustrating to hear that after you've dragged yourself around every department store within tube-distance, but them's the breaks, I guess. It's a real shame though, as I always think they look just that little more interesting than the regular releases we get over here. That said, it's nice that Lancôme are doing UK-only releases (like Pop Petrol) these days, as we very often get short-changed a little bit by the bigger brands when it comes to Limited Editions.

Where was I?  Oh yes, the latest Lancôme release is this set of  L'Absolou Rouge Creme de Brilliance liquid lipsticks, which is a very lovely set of colours indeed.  When I was at the Lancôme offices staging my recent Precious Cells sit-in, they also presented me with a set of these little beauties to get me out of the place.

Containing Pro-Xylane, which is said to be anti-aging, there are nine shades in the set (in the same order as the picture at the top of the post):

More liquid than a lipstick, but less gloopy (and they are not at all sticky) than a gloss, these are really super-comfortable to wear. I've found that they're surprisingly long-lasting for a liquid formulation, taking about four hours before requiring a touch up - even after coffee and a croissant. They also fade very evenly, without leaving you with the tell-tale ring of doom.  I'm not, in all honesty, a big fan of the heart-shaped applicator, being the cack-handed muppet that I am, but the lippies do apply very evenly without dragging, and they  leave your lips feeling beautifully soft and moisturised after a day spent wearing them, almost as if you'd been wearing a balm rather than a coloured product. One further criticism: the numbers on the labels are too small!  You will NEVER know the trouble I had trying to get them into numerical order for the product shot at the top of this post.

Or maybe you will.  Hey ho ...

Now, would you like lip-swatches?  Which colours stand out to you? My favourite (surprisingly) is number 11 Rose Nature, which has an almost duo-chrome finish in the tube and is a lovely warm brown-rose shade on the lips.  I'm not normally known for my love of brown, but it is absolutely gorgeous on the lips!

The small print: I was given these as a bribe to leave the Lancome office and never darken their doorstep again. No PRs were harmed in the making of this post.  As always, reviews are honest regardless of the source.

Organic Wednesday - Organic Surge, the return

I'm delighted that another of my very favourite bloggers, Helen from the lovely Just Nice Things site has offered to guest blog for me this week. If you're interested in nails - and other cosmetics! - then you simply have to make Just Nice Things a port of call on the internets!  Helen won my first ever blog giveaway way back in November last year, and she's reviewing on the prizes I gave her, Organic Surge Eye Gel.

Take it away, Helen:

Isn’t it strange the way that wonderful ageing issues that suddenly become a factor when you hit 30-something? Like the fact that the extra half stone you put on every Christmas just doesn’t shift? Or the fact that you still have the marks on your face left by the seams of your pillow at 9am because your skin hasn’t sprung back? Puffy eyes? Well, not only do I have to contend with all these concerns, I am also blessed by having chronic psoriasis.

For those of you who don’t know, psoriasis is a non-contagious skin condition that affects approximately one in every one hundred people. No-one knows what causes it, but we do know that it is essentially the same as having super efficient skin that just renews too quickly, pushing the old skin cells to the surface, where they gather and flake off. This can be incredibly painful, itchy and sore, not to mention unsightly. I’ve lost count of the number of people that have gone “Eurrrgghhh! What’s wrong with you?” to me, or people who haven’t wanted to shake my hand because of it.

What this also means is that I have to be extremely careful with what I put onto and into my skin. I don’t smoke (any more), I drink plenty of water. I have found out, over many years, what the triggers are. Fizzy white wine, chillies, strawberries and tomatoes are likely to have me clawing at my skin in agony. The same goes for beauty products. Anything containing sodium laureth / lauryl sulphate, perfume, or parabens is anathema to me. I don’t wear foundation, and I can’t get overly excited by the Sleek palettes that everyone loves, because they contain parabens. Once a week or so is fine but if I were to use something daily that contained any of the above ingredients, I know I’d be flaring, itchy and irritable. I haven’t narrowed it down precisely – for example, despite all their claims to be nasty-free and hypoallergenic, I can’t use either Jergens or Simple products. Don’t know why, I just know they hurt like hell when I apply them.

Similarly, I was a bit scared to try Organic Surge. Usually the only skincare I use is Liz Earle as I know from trial and error that it doesn’t have any sinister effects on me. I had an Organic Surge handcream a while ago and I don’t know what was in it but it set my psoriasis ridden paws on fire. However, the lure of a free lipstick is too much for any beauty blogger to deny, and so I entered one of Luce’s Get Lippie reader competitions, and won! I couldn’t believe it. The only thing I’d ever won before this was the odd £10 on the lottery, and a very classy silver plated after dinner mint tray at a school fete once. The Get Lippie prize bag contained several Organic Surge products, and so, with some trepidation, I reached for the eye gel.

I love eye gel. I used to nick my mum’s elderflower and vitamin E eye gel when I was little (and certainly in no need of it). I remember liking the way it felt on my skin and immediately made me feel brighter and more awake. So, I couldn’t resist trying this one out. I usually approach new products with a cynical “what reaction is this going to get then?” , so imagine my glee when it did….nothing. As in, I had no reaction at all. Brilliant. No stinging, no itching, just that lovely tightening and smooth feeling. Fantastic. I haven’t been over egging it and using this daily as I know my skin can sometimes get fed up with certain items, but I’ve been using this eye gel a couple of times a week since Christmas with no ill effects.

 
OK, so it doesn’t banish the dark circles (perhaps I need to look into drinking less wine…but then again, nah) but it does make the skin around my eyes feel smoother, look brighter and generally feel zingy. A little goes a long way here, hence the reason that this little 15 ml pot has lasted me since December. So as far as I am concerned, it’s a hit. It makes me feel nice and just perks me up a bit. And anything that can do that without rendering me like the Elephant Man deserves to score highly in my book.

Oh and I apologise for the slightly soft focus Wheel of Fortune “modeling the prize” photos. As you can tell from the product shots, I’m a nail blogger and you don’t get to see my face all that often. Mainly because it’s usually covered in creases from my pillow…

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Thanks, Helen!

Kat Von D - swatches

I've been doing some swaps with my international readers, and last month, I managed to get hold (in return for a truckload of Barry M) of a set of Kat Von D shadows and lipglosses from Sephora. These are so pretty!

I'm not sure if you can pick it up in these shots, but each of these pans has two different textures of shadow, one shimmer, and one matte, meaning you actually have six different shadows, rather than just three.

Here's how they swatch on skin, primer at the top of the swatch, and bare skin at the bottom:

As you can see the two textures are very similar in shade, and intensity, but the shimmery shades do have a more glittery appearance.

The lipglosses are rather unusual too, being one in orange, and one in black.  Black lipgloss is pretty cool, but these swatch out on the sheer side:

They're really shimmery, and feel very light, but not gritty on the lips.

Do you own any Kat Von D?  What else should I look out for in Sephora when I have someone passing by? I have some Tarina Tarantino on the way, and I can't wait for it to arrive!

Eyeliner Masterclass featuring MakeUpByKaty

I'm always being asked how to do eyeliner, so, I thought rather than have you deal with my rambling thoughts on the matter, I'd ask an expert on your behalf!  Please welcome the astonishingly talented international makeup artist Katy, from Make Up By Katy, (who also blogs under the same name, which you can see here).  Take it away, Katy:

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Hi Girls,

I've been asked by a few people to take them step by step through my eyeliner technique. I do try and show this on my video tutorials but will admit that I often skip over it so as to get to the fun part which is the colour! However, this is a very important part of all my looks so I think it's a good idea to go through it, step by step.

Firstly, I use a cake liner, this works better than a gel liner and especially safer than kohl. This is a Kryolan cake liner, the very best that I have found. It doesn't smudge, flake or run and it's a true black. It's also available in other shades such as brown and navy which are worth getting for a softer look. The brush needs to be synthetic, tightly packed and totally flat. No slants, no domes and definitely NO points. The cake liner needs to be mixed with a small amount of water to create a paste. Think of the texture as being similar to runny mascara.

Let's start by going through application of Step 1.   This takes a steady hand so it might be worth sitting down and resting your elbow to create a pivot. You can use your free hand to lift the lid slightly, or, as shown just place the brush under the lashes and press and wiggle right into the roots. Start in the centre and work outwards, then from the centre inwards. The end result should look like the 3rd picture along. Ideally there won't be any liner on the inner rim. If there is, simply take a cotton bud, dampen and gently run along to remove. I take the liner from lash end to lash end. Going right into the inner corner is much more dramatic, so probably best saved for evening.

Step 2 is similar to Step 1, although the brush now sits on top of the lashes. This is not to create a liquid liner effect. This should be placed in the same point as before, in-between the lashes. As you can see, the lashes are pulled down and the end of the brush is hitting the same spot as from underneath. This helps to darken the roots of blonde eyelashes, as often mascara won't reach this part. The end result of this is a clean, defined look. If mascara is put on, this line disappears and all that is left is the impression of fuller, thicker lashes. Nice!

This eyeliner trick can be worn alone, or with a soft shadow for a natural look. I'm going to take you through how to create a smoky eyeliner look using just a kohl pencil and one brush.

Above are 3 brushes, from left to right: Shu Uemura Kolinsky Brush 10F, Laura Mercier Corner Eye Brush and Laura Mercier Smoky Liner Brush. These would all be suitable to use for this step but would give different finishes. The longer and larger the brush head, the more smudged the liner would be. I wanted a reasonably small smudge so I used the Smoky Liner Brush.

I used my favourite Kohl pencil. Prestige Total Intensity Pencil. I urge you to give this a try. It's under £5 from Boots! I'm just doing a line along the top in this demonstration.

Note how I have the pencil on its side. This is the easiest way to run the pencil along the lashes as you can almost use the lashes to rest the brush on. The issue of wiggling the pencil in-between the lashes to darken the roots is no more as the cake eyeliner is already there, creating a base for your kohl.

I start in the centre, above the iris and work outwards, coming to the inner corner at the end. I wanted to open my eye up with this technique so I have lifted the liner in the centre as opposed to creating the width at the outer corner.

Before smudging

To smudge I take the brush and run gently along the edge of the line, pulling upwards as I go as I'm not looking to pull the line outwards. Note how I'm holding the brush at the same angle as the pencil. I'm using the long edge of the brush as opposed to the fine point.  The end result should look soft, blended and subtle.

Below is the end result, sans Mascara. For an evening transformation, I'd simply take the pencil, dot very subtly under bottom lashes and use the Shu Uemura 10F brush to work right into the lashes. To intensify further, I'd line the inner rim too.

I hope this has been helpful and interesting!

Until next time,

Katy

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Don't forget you can see more of Katy's beautiful and helpful tutorials on her blog at http://makeupbykaty.blogspot.com/ Thank you so much for creating this masterclass for us, Katy! I hope my readers find it useful.

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: