Lancome Teint Miracle Foundation Review

I'm sure most of you have heard about this new foundation launch from Lancome. If not, let me tell you a little bit about it. Teint Miracle claims to be the "holy grail" of foundations. It claims to be super light, water based sheer texture but rich enough to give a perfect complexion.

Where traditional foundations play with the surface colour of skin using pigments, Teint Miracle has new ingredients that hope to aid the absorption and refraction of light.  With 10 times less opaque fillers and almost 40% water it seems incredible that this could create a flawless complexion and recreate skin's natural light. It certainly sounds promising, interesting and impossible! Oh and it also offers SPF of 15.

 Firstly, I love the packaging, it's a lovely glass bottle, elegant, like a perfume bottle with a pump.It goes on so easily, I've stippled, used fingers and a traditional foundation brush, all work well, although stippling is fab and is the method I used in the following pictures. It really does feel weightless on the skin, doesn't dry too quickly to work with and it looks great as I will now (hopefully!) demonstrate.
Here it is in shade and light, applied on it's own, no other make up. Please enlarge for a good look.

 And here it is set with a little powder and with my eye makeup on.

 And a close up of the finish, please feel free to enlarge.

 Well for me I really think this might be my holy grail foundation, great coverage, looks natural, fantastic match to my skin, long wearing (it lasts all day on me with no problems), it's glowy but not oily and it feels like I don't have anything on. I don't have much more to say about it than that, I think in this case the pictures do the talking.

Available from Selfridges now but available nationwide from 1st September and retailing for £25. Go get it!

Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Lip Tar in Hush

Since blogging I've heard a lot of wonderous things about the Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetic Lip Tars. Little tubes of highly concentrated colour, designed to be mixed to achieve your dream shades. For some reason they've not appealled to me at all until recently when I spotted the colour Hush and have been hanging my nose over it a little bit and in the end I had to buy it.

 It's a pretty pinky nude and I took a gamble on it as many nudes don't suit me at all. Luckily this one does. I'm going to show you it on and then talk about my mixed feelings on the product in general.

It's a beautiful colour and the first observation is that it's true what they say, the tiniest bit does go an extremely long way, although, this seems to be part of the hype and I'm not sure why, when I slick a traditional lipstick on it barely uses any product either... It goes on like a cream if you use enough and dries to a matte finish, it's not what I'd call satin, and the finish looks lovely. Matte is absolutely my favourite lip finish so thats fine by me.

However, I've now worn this twice and had two completely different experiences with it. The first not good at all, in fact dreadful. The colour seeped outside the lines of my lips which was not a good look and it was incredibly drying. Within a couple of hours of wearing my lips were chapped and grim looking.

With some trepidation I tried it again, this time there was no bleeding of the colour. As I was on my way out of the door I chucked a lip balm in my bag to help with the dryness I was expecting... except it didn't come this time. It looked good for several hours with no drying at all so I have no idea what was going on the last time, maybe I just didn't put enough on or something.

Anyway, I think the product is nice, Hush is a beautiful colour, but I'll need to try it out a few more times before I think about buying another, it definitely wasn't love at first sight! I bought mine from http://www.love-makeup.co.uk

Yesterday's Fun Challenge

I was chatting to the absolutely immense @kennethsoh on Twitter the other evening about how I rarely wear neutral shadows any more and he was saying how much he loves them but loves to add a twist, a splash of colour. I thought that sounded great and thus the challenge was issued. 9pm the next night, Twitter, post your neutral eye with a twist. It wasn't long before Modesty Brown, Beauty Maze and Get Lippie had all risen to the challenge too. It wasn't a competition, just a sharing of our ideas and it was a whole lot of fun.

I could barely sleep last night my brain was working on ideas so hard! As it happened, I royally cocked it up. I started early afternoon yesterday, thinking I had ages to work on it, but I spent so long on my foundation and sorting out Chloe (who was sat next to me doing her own "make up") that I left myself with 10 minutes to get my eyes done. I messed up my right eye but didn't have time to take it all off and start again as I had to go out (we're house hunting - yay!) so I just had to go with it and accept it was a botch job!

What I used:

Estee Lauder Pure Colour Eyeshadow in Sizzling Copper, Mac Neutral Palette from Spring Forecast (just the bottom left colour), Estee Lauder Pure Colour Eyeshadow in Sugar Biscuit and the Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess Cream Shadow in Aqua Flash.

And this is what I came up with for "neutral with a twist":

 You can see how I cocked it up.. the right eye (left on the pic) liner is so much thicker than the other eye. Just didn't have the time to fix it... especially since those cream shadows don't budge once on. Which generally speaking is a good thing.

So, at 9 last night we all put up our pics to see what we'd all come up with. Everyone had done something beautiful and subtle except me who wouldn't know subtlety if it hit me with a sledgehammer... I was most envious. Still it was great fun to do and I'm hoping that we'll do it again soon with a different theme because it's good to really think about make up and plan a look, and fantastic to see how other people translate the idea.

I'm interested to know, given the details of the challenge, what would you have come up with?

Small Models Own Haul & Green Flash NotD

I've had a thing about Models Own. Not a good "thing" either. I've looked at the site so many times and something has always put me off buying. For some reason I put them in a bracket in my head with Barry M polishes, people love them but I don't.

Anyway, with the current 50% off and free delivery offer on I decided now was the time to give them a whirl. Four polishes to my door for a tenner, oh go on then.

 I bought Green Flash, Lilac Fantasy, a chunky silver glitter the name of which escapes me right at the moment and what I think is Peacock Feathers. I have no idea why I bought Green Flash, it doesn't look especially nice in the picture on the site or in the bottle. So that's the one I tried first and well, I'll show you.

 It's surprisingly lovely. I'm not sure what the finish is, I suppose it's metallic, but when you look at it really closely it's just incredibly incredibly frosty!

I made a bit of a mess of my index finger but otherwise it applies like a dream. Far nicer than my China Glaze metallics, and with the exception of the index finger, not streaky, it looks lovely, very eyecatching and pretty! I'm really looking forward to trying the others I got now. What do you think and did you buy any in the sale?

St. Tropez Festival Gift Set - Special Offer!

I know I know. the weather is vile and the likelihood of you going bare legged at all is slim but in case you are going bare legged anytime soon, you might be interested in the latest offer from St Tropez.

For the next 7 days only you can get the Festival Gift Set which includes the Gradual Tan Every Day Perfect Legs worth £20, the Bronzing Powder, and a powder brush, all for £35 including free delivery. At the time of writing I've not tried these products but that should be remedied soon and I'll be able to bring you my thoughts!

Available now from http://www.st-tropez.com/festival-gift-set and the offer finishes Midnight on the 31st August 2010.

Shan Rahimkhan True Volume Hair Products

I've said it before and I'll say it again, my hair is fine. Sure, there's plenty of it but now I'm rarely hitting the straighteners, I'm on the quest for as much volume as possible, So when I was offered the chance to try out a new range launching in the UK especially for fine hair, I leapt at the chance.

The Shan Rahimkhan True Volume range is fairly extensive, catering for fine but varying types of hair, dry, normal etc and has several shampoos, treatments and conditioners. Shan Rahimkhan is a huge deal in Germany and is now hoping to make a name for himself in the UK.

I was sent the Shine Shampoo with Tamanou Oil and the Double Phase Leave in Treatment.

Neither are cheap at £20.45 for 250ml and the Double Phase Leave in Treatment is £26. Is it worth the  extremely hefty price tag? Well, the plus points are, my hair is VERY shiny, super soft, and smells delicious, however, I don't think it's terribly volumising on me, although I should mention I'm not styling my hair at all. I think, on reflection, I would have been better with the Repair Shampoo, as this isn't quite moisturising enough for my barnet, so not the product's fault, just perhaps not the right product. I must tell you though that the Double Phase Treatment smells out of this world. I can't describe it, it's very perfumey, but it's gorgeous.

So no, for me, the price isn't right but I strongly suspect that had I had the other shampoo I might feel very differently indeed. And if you are looking to add shine to fine hair then you absolutely can't go wrong with this stuff, the shine is fabulous, far better than any other product I've used in the past that claims to give you shine. This is almost mirror like whilst not looking greasy.

If you're feeling flush then definitely check out this range, only make sure you pick the right products for your hair type, I have a feeling they do exactly what they say they should!

Available from the 1st September.

Stockist: Hari’s Salon, 305 Brompton Road, London, SW3
Tel: 020 7581 5211
Email: truevolume@harissalon.com
Web: www.harissalon.com

Susan Lucci Youthful Essence Microdermabrasion System

I'd never heard of Youthful Essence nor tried Microdermabrasion before when I was offered the opportunity to try the Susan Lucci Youthful Essence Microdermabrasion Home System. I had to try... I have a tendency towards dull, congested skin and millia, so the thought of polishing all that away is appealling. So what turned up in the post was the following kit:

There's a Facial Warming Cleanser, Vitamin Enriched Resurfacing Cream, Skin Enhancing Serum and then there's the resurfacing tool with a variety of attachments to choose from, circular and triangular sponges for using with the resurfacing tool, and then in addition there's a Spa Cleansing Brush (for the face), a large circular sponge for the body, a pumice attachment and lastly the massage attachment. It says in the paperwork that this is for facial massages. I've not tried it but all "personal massage" tools make me laugh, and the less said about that the better. I've not tried the large body sponge either, everything else I'll review below.

The Warming Cleanser. Does a great job of cleaning the face but unfortunately the warming isn't something I want in a cleanser, I just used my own in the end.

The Cleansing Brush does a great job too, whatever cleanser you use, and skin is left feeling immaculately clean. I'm sure it's no clarisonic, but it's fine and I use it two or three times a week.

So onto the main event, the resurfacing tool, sponges and Vitamin Enriched Resurfacing Cream. There are two sponges included as I've already mentioned, they are identical except in shape, I've only used the triangulr one as it's better for getting into awkward areas like around the nose. The resrfacing cream looks is an orange coloured thick cream full of sand type granules andI must admit that this would seem to be a bit of a rip off, as there is a platform half way down the pot so you only get half the pot full, despite this, you don't need a lot and I have loads left after a couple of months of use.

The idea is you use the tool 3 times the first week, take 5 days off, and then continue for 2 or 3 times a week. So how was it, well, easy to use, I've always loved a good scrub and this is very scrubby of course. After rinsing off in the shower my was a bit sensitive feeling but this was immediately stopped with an application of the Skin Enhancing Serum. You get a very small pot of this but a little goes a long way and it's reassuringly soothing.

I must apologise for the lack of before and afters pics, it's not like me I know but I just forgot! This product has really helped my skin, my milia has gone completely and the day after using I am positively radiant. I don't notice less lines (but I'm still using miracle lotions so would more likely put any softening of lines down to those) and nor to I notice smaller pores but I'm still more than happy with the results.

Buying this kit isn't quite as straightforward as you might suspect unfortunately. You buy from http://www.youthfulessence.co.uk/ and the full kit, as shown in the above picture is £29.95. Which I think is incredibly reasonable actually, BUT you can't buy it without signing up for membership. You automatically receive a new kit every 3 months at £16.65 a month (totalling £49.95) plus £5.95 P&P for as long as you are a member (although you can change the frequency to suit you). It's not so bad though as you get a 60-day guarantee. You can return the system within 60 days of receipt and they will cancel your membership and refund the purchase price (less P&P), even if the containers are empty! (This does not affect your statutory rights).

If you cancel your order within 7 working days from receipt of the kit, your refund will include P&P.  In these circumstances, they ask you return the kit to us. 

All in all though I do think this product is well worth checking out for it's milia busting merits alone!

My Current Manicure

I love Revlon's Minted varnish so very very much. In recent months it's the only colour I go for over and over again. But these days, once I've worn a colour alone and enjoyed it, the next time I wear it I struggle to not embellish it in some way, well, if it's a creme finish.

So I decided to embellish using water decals from Viva La Nails as I hadn't tried them yet. You can read my thoughts on Viva La Nails over at Dainty Dollymix where I did a guest review for her, but at that time I hadn't tried any of the water decals and I have to say they are by far the most successful product I've tried from them. I love them. Easy to use and very effective. So anyway, here is the finished result:

 So pretty. But actually, when I say finished result, its not quite... I had to just go and add a little something extra. Green crystals!

 There! That's more like it. I love this manicure, its my second favourite manicure I've ever done. You may also notice I've changed the shape of my nails... I do this very often, I can never decide which shape I like best, stylish squoval or classic oval!

Anyway, I'm off to look at the Viva La Nails and get more of those water decals. Very impressed!

I'm totally into doing my nails at the moment and I fancy building up myself a little nail art kit :) What do you think of these?

Chanel Kohl in Clair & Taupe Gris Eyeshadow EotD

Well, I wanted to show you the products I bought in action. I have never ever claimed to have application skills, so they're not shown to their best advantage on me but there you go! Practice makes perfect! In all these pics I'm wearing the Clair eye pencil, Taupe Gris eyeshadow, Revlon Grow Luscious mascara, Lancome's Teint Miracle foundation (review to follow), Mac MSF in Petticoat and a Chanel lippie that I forget the name of. I'm mainly trying to show you the eyes though.
 
I'm hoping with the first two that you can see the Clair Kohl on my waterline, it's subtle, but that's the point, I wouldn't want it to be too bright.

So there we have it, the shadow is beautiful, it's full of shimmer but not overpoweringly so, in fact in the second from last pic it looks positively matte. Very pleased I went back for these products :)

Chanel Fall 2010 Kohl in Clair & Taupe Gris Eyeshadow

I hit up the Chanel counter today. Again.

Having seen these two products on a few blogs, especially http://getlippie.blogspot.com/ and I had to nip back and see if my local counter still had them in stock... they did.


So I picked up the Eye Kohl Pencil in Clair. This a flesh coloured pencil designed to go on the waterline to give a natural but brightening effect to the eye. I have also read that it can be used around your lips to emphasise your pout... can't see me trying that but maybe I will in the interests of blogging. The pencil also comes with a sharpener which is handy.

 I also picked up the single eyeshadow in Taupe Gris. Those who know my thoughts on "taupe" may well mock, but this taupe is decidedly purple. Dirty purple. It's lovely actually. Excuse the blurry pic, but if you enlarge it you'll see it does at least show off the sparkles...

Swatches:

I'm looking forward to trying these out tomorrow.  I still fancy the Cassis liner and the Purple Inimitable Intense but I can't justify the liner really because it's very similar to the very budge-proof Clinique Quickliner in Plum Intense...but my will is weak...

Anyway, thats enough for today. I'll try and do an eye of the day post with these in action to show you at some point soon.

Chanel Jade Rose Nail Varnish

I've been umming and ahhing about whether or not to bother with this post at all since all the billion pics I have taken have failed to do it any justice at all. But in the end I thought I'd show you anyway as it's general appearance is accurate.

Its a hard colour to describe. It's a nude, a bit patchy with two coats but passable, perfect in three. The bottle is full of pink shimmer and as with Paradoxal, the shimmer is all but invisible once on your nails but what iot does is lift this polish to something... a bit different, pinky and pretty. I've found the wear on these ok, three days, no chips, with Seche Vite.

Just to remind you, here's the bottle shot.

 I love it, so classy. I don't know if really it was worth the money, but you pay for the brand and I don't mind.

Les Khaki De Chanel Ltd Edition Nail Varnish

Firstly, sorry for all the Chanel related blog posts at the moment but I thought this bit of PR was worth sharing since I know a lot of you are nail varnish addicts like me. (I know you've not seen many Chanel posts but the following three are all Chanel...). Available from the 10th September in Selfridges and Chanel Boutiques you will find Les Khaki De Chanel varnishes.

Created by Peter Philips, Global Creative Director of CHANEL Makeup for Vogue’s “FASHION’S NIGHT OUT ”, the fashion event not to be missed. Three shades you can wear alone or together.

 Khaki Vert, Khaki Rose & Khaki Brun. I've got my eye on them all, especially the Khaki Vert. Sadly for me, much like my beloved Noir Et Or Paris Shanghai Collection I doubt I'll get my hands on them since I'm nowhere near Selfridges or a Chanel Boutique. I'm still upset about the Illusion d'Or Nail Varnish in particular so I won't be setting my heart on these. They do however look like perfect Autumn colours and super stylish. I'm asuming that the finish is creme but I could be wrong.

If anyone does get these, please let me know so I can live vicariously through you!

A very dull EotD but something new to me!

I'm sorry about this post. It's a very dull FotD but I did something with it that I've never ever done before so it was worth blogging about from my perspective. I have never ever fully lined my eyes before. Usually I do along the top 3/4 of the way although sometimes all the way, and the bottom line is never ever lined all the way into the inner corner, only ever 3/4's of the way, never to the inner corner. I don't know why I've always done this, I just felt it never looked right it if I went all the way round, or that it was just too full on. Also, when I've tried in the past it was with black which is definitely full on! Today, I don't know what posessed me but I was using my favourite pencil of the moment (Clinique Quickliner Intense Plum) and just carried on going. I then used the smudger on the end to smudge it all out and hey presto we're done.

It does feel pretty full on to be honest, and it looks more full on than the pictures would have you believe but actually, I quite like it. I'll put a bit more care and attention into it next time! 

So, my question to you is, how do you line your eyes? All the way round? Was it just me being a freak doing it only 3/4 of the way or is that normal?

PS: although the pictures fail to demonstrate it well, this pencil is beautiful, and absolutely budgeproof. Review Here