Hourglass Modernist Palettes

This February Hourglass are launching their dreamy new collection of eye shadow palettes. Seven different palettes each containing five shades. What we love about these palettes are the colour selection. The five shades featured in each palette are beautifully complimentary and allow you to create a seamless blend of colours from light to dark.

 The eye shadows are all powder but have a finely milled creamy formula to the touch. The finish is a mix of matte, satin and shimmer. Shades are pressed into the compact in diagonal waves of colour.
 The individual wave patterns are big enough to get your brush stuck into the palette without colour transferring onto the brush from the colour next door.
 We have the palette in Exposure. This is a combination of shell, violet, pink copper, eggplant and lavender.

Exposure Palette

 On initial application these were a little crumbly and there was some drop down. Once applied though these blend into each other beautifully. It's easy to build colour depth, add in a bit of shimmer and highlight where you want it and create a defined socket..all within the one palette.
The colour intensity and shimmer is increased when used with a wet brush.
 As you can see from the swatches, the colours translate onto the skin exactly as they look in the palette.

The other six palettes include.....

Graphite

Colour Field

Atmosphere

Obscura

Monochrome

Infinity

 Each palette is £56.00 and available from February at www.liberty.co.uk www.johnlewis.co.uk www.sephora.com and uk.spacenk.com

Cowshed Pregnancy products

We get lots of emails from ladies asking which products they can use during pregnancy. There tends to be so much scaremongering online with regards to what you can use and what you can't. So much of which is totally conflicting advice. There are certain essential oils which you should avoid however most products are fine to use.
 If you are concerned with what you shouldn't be using then always consult your doctor or midwife.
 If you want to play it really safe then there are some great brands which cater specifically for pregnant ladies.

Cowshed Udderly Gorgeous is their range of products for those expecting. They also do some great products for your baby called Baby Cow organics.

The Udderly gorgeous stretch mark balm is a winner for us. It smells so divine that I'm sure not even a pregnant ladies sense of smell would be put off.
 It comes in a large 250ml pot and is made from shea butter, coconut oil, sea buckthorn oil, cranberry, rosemary and calendula. Rich in Vitamin E it gives intensive moisturisation and encourages skin elasticity.
 Stretch marks can ultimately be down to your genes however prevention is better than cure so slather this on to help give the skin it's best chance. This huge pot is £20.00.

Also from Cowshed is Udderly gorgeous leg and foot treatment. If you are suffering with swollen ankles or tired feet then this treatment is perfect. It has a cooling effect on application with  a lightweight gel texture and is instantly absorbed. Contains witch hazel, green tea and sea buckthorn oil.  Really refreshing and minty fresh.

This will be especially handy in the Summer months. Large 250ml tub and is £18.00.

What have you found effective during and after your pregnancy?

Current favourite skincare, hair and makeup products

Check out what our favourite products are at the moment. Which ones interest you?

Bobbi Brown Brightening Bricks

Remember those loose bronzing/blusher pearls? The ones which drop on the floor and get crushed into the carpet. Well these new brightening bricks from Bobbi Brown are like that but are pressed into a mirrored compact thankfully!

They start their life as a slurry of creamy paste which is then poured into a pan and left to set. It is left to air dry and transforms into a soft powder.

 
 Because of the way they are created there is no matte finish to these. Some of the shades are a soft pearl finish and some have a fine glitter to them.
 You could try and pick out the individual colours if you wanted and use as a bronzer, blusher or highlighter however it's tricky because each square is only about 3cm x 1cm. You're best to get a big blush brush and swish it all over the colours.

 The tones vary from warm and cool tones. Fair skins are best to go for the cooler shades and a darker skin tone would benefit from the brightening effect of the warmer tones. 

Colour payoff isn't overly strong (not as strong as their shimmer bricks) so you will need a good amount of building up. Some of the colours are nice to use over the lid or on the brow bone.
 The sparkle is also very fine and won't leave you looking too glittery.

 If you are spending £33.00 on these the chances are you are into makeup and probably already have a blusher, bronzer and highlighter(which is what these effectively are)that would give you a similar finish. They are however nice that they house all three products in one making this a good choice for holidays. 
These are available from February and are £33.00 each.

www.bobbibrown.co.uk 

 

Lush Valentines limited editions

It's coming up to that time of year again that either fills you with dread or excited anticipation. Valentines! We think we should be kind to our loved ones all year round but if you fancy treating yourself or someone special then these cute products from Lush can't fail to put a smile on your face.
Lush always have seasonal goodies but Valentines does seem like the obvious time of year to get cosy in a warm bath with maybe a few candles scattered about.

  
1.Cupid's Love soap
I'm not sure if cupid washed his peachy bum with this soap but i'm happy to believe that. Fruit based soap containing passion fruit (obviously), fig and bergamot oil. For me the scent I can smell the most is cinnamon. You can smell the warming undertones of it. £4.25 each.

2.Floating Flower bath bomb
Seriously floral, like almost over powering for me but not unpleasant. Jasmine, cypress and ylang ylang give the fragrance. this bath bomb will fizz up and release a rainbow of colours. £3.50.

3.Heart throb bubbleroon
Crumbly red heart with golden glitter which gives you lots of moisturising bubbles.Packed with essential oils and shea butter. £3.65


4.The kiss Lip scrub
  Buffing lip scrub which won't sting if your lips are already split and sore. Made from caster sugar this tastes yummy (try not to eat it though). Contains edible red hearts, mandarin oil and cocoa butter. £5.50

5. Prince charming shower gel
 Marshmallow root and vanilla pod along with almond oil and cleansing pomegranate gives you a zingy fresh shower gel. Small 100g bottle makes it a great product to slip into your travel wash bag. £4.75

6. Unicorn horn bubble bar
 Sparkly pink bubbles and candy stars scented with neroli and lavender essential oils. £3.25

These are limited edition over the Valentines period.

www.lush.co.uk




















5.

Ted Baker Nails

Stick on nails seem to have made a bit of come back now that next seasons trend has a 70's vibe to it.
 Being a makeup artist long nails have always been a no-no so these are kind of fun for a special occasion or one off. I'm not sure they are not something I could wear frequently.

Ted Baker's latest faux nails are perfect for Spring.

•  Botanical blooms are a nude pink featuring roses and daisies.
• Nude oil painting is a cream base with delicate red and yellow flowers.
• Sorbet orange base with a rose gold tip.
• Soft pink with a rose gold tip. 

Each set is sold individually and are £8.00 each. Each box contains 24 artificial nails and the adhesive glue.

 

File and buff your nails, push back your cuticles. 
 I like to measure up which nail I want for each finger first before I get gluing. Apply the glue to the artificial nail and gently lay it onto the nail bed. Press on, leave for a few minutes and then you're good to go.

 To remove soak the nails in acetone and gently tease them off. Don't pull at the artificial nails or you may damage your natural nail.
 Available from http://www.boots.com and
www.tedbaker.com 

What do you think about artificial nail? Is it a trend you like ?

Noble Isle Rhubarb Rhubarb Reed diffuser

I know we are still technically in winter here in the UK but we are allowed to dream of Spring aren't we?
 I grew up in the Norfolk countryside and regularly used to steal sticks of rhubarb growing in my neighbour's garden. We would dip it straight into a bowl of sugar and eat it raw! That is so terrible isn't it! Heaven knows how I managed to keep all my teeth from falling out!
The scent of rhubarb evokes these childhood memories so I was so happy to see a new reed diffuser from Noble Isle fragranced with this.

Noble Isle is a brand we have blogged about previously. They take all of their aromatic inspiration from all over the British Isles.  It's a brand for British people to get sentimental over and a brand for people overseas to get a slice of the UK at home.

We all know how reed diffusers work so I'm sure I don't need to explain. It comes in a luxury box with six natural reeds to help transport the frangrance into your room. The rhubarb colour tinted glass is etched with the bath and flower symbol for Noble Isle.
 Infused with the scent of rhubarb (obviously), juniper berry and rosemary. Smells luxuriously fresh and fills the room with fragrance.
 This 100ml bottle will last a good few months. Just turn the reeds upside down every few days to refresh the fragrance.

£39.00 from http://www.nobleisle.com

Anastasia Liquid Lipstick

Lip gloss style application with pigment that packs a punch. One dimensional, totally matte bold colour with one application. The angled sponge doe foot ensures colour can be applied to all the corners and curves of the lips.

20 shades are in the line up and we have 5 of the colours available.

Not ideal for dry lips as they cling to every texture on the lip. If you like to have a bold lip with a matte finish then add these to your shopping list.

  The colours translate onto the skin exactly as they look in the tube.

 

This is after one slick. You could layer them over a lip pencil or primer to increase longevity but worn alone they provide hours of wear. They don't dry out the lips but may feel a little strange if you are used to a more moisturised finish.

$20.00 ( around £13.00) available from http://anastasiabeverlyhills.com

Which shade will you be wearing this Spring?

Rachel Goodwin Makeup Artist and Emma Stone

Who saw Emma Stone at the Golden Globes last week? We thought she looked particularly gorgeous with her sharp edged shadow and raspberry lip.
 Her makeup was created by makeup artist Rachel Goodwin pictured below.

Photo from mybeautymuse.com

 Rachel Goodwin has been a makeup artist for 20 years and after working for prestigious brands such as Shisheido and MAC in San Francisco she relocated to New York. After assisting a few key makeup artists she was recommended to David La Chapelle as a possible makeup artist to work with.
 Since then Rachel has gone on to create the red carpet looks for a huge list of celebrities including Penelope Cruz, Cindy Crawford and Diane Kruger. Her work has been featured on the front covers of Cosmopolitan, Elle, Harpers Bazaar and more.
 Check out some of Rachel's work on her website www.rachelgoodwin.com
  or follow her via Instagram @Rachel_goodwin or see what she is up to via her Twitter @rachel_goodwin

Take a look at some of Rachel's fabulous work ....

 

 

































 



































We asked Rachel how she created the beautiful look for Emma Stone at this years Golden globes seen below.

Here is how she created it....

Starting with a waterproof shimmering black pencil from Chanel Rachel created a cat eye shape on the top lid up to the crease and buffed it out to soften the edges. Layering on a Chanel powder shadow in navy blue from the Tisse Riviera compact she blended over the pencil to create a seamless blend.
 The inner bottom corners of the eye were lined with a pale silver shimmer. Lashes were curled, 2 coats of volumising black mascara and a few individual lashes were added for fullness.
 Brows were filled with a medium brown pencil and set with a clear brow gel.
 Skin was kept super translucent with minimal foundation and just a hint of concealer around the eyes and under the nose.
 A soft pink powder blush on the apples of the cheeks was applied and then blended out with a damp beauty blender sponge.
 Lips were lined with a waterproof lip pencil, buffed out with a Q tip and finished with a matte lipstick from Revlon HD Lip colour in the shade Iris.
 Rachel's secret weapon was a dab of Elizabeth Arden 8 hour cream on the cheek bones and brow bone to catch the light.


We loved the look so much that Nic has recreated it below....

Estee Lauder Double Wear Pencils

New from Estee Lauder are the Double Wear stay in place pencils. Following in the success of the other products in the double wear range these pencils do not budge!

Available in 12 continuous shades and 4 limited edition jewel toned shades in a mix of matte and metallic finishes.

 The pencils have a rounded nip which you can sharpen with a regular pencil sharpener.

 
The colour transfers so easily. Zero pressure is needed to create a super strong pigmented finish.
 These pencils are infused with jojoba and vitamin E to moisturise and help the product to glide.

 At the end of each pencil is a silicone, angled smudger. The silicone tip does really help to blend this rather than a brush. It moves the product around without removing it. I love the bevelled angle of this smudger. It allows you to get right into the creases of the eyes.

You need to work quickly with this product. Apply and blend. If you leave it for a moment and then try to blend it then you will fail! Once it dries it seriously stays put.
 You can use these pencils as a liner around the eye or buffed over the eye as a base for a powder eye shadow.
 Now there is always conflicting advice on if you can use pencils in the waterline of the eye. A lot of brands will so no to cover themselves but if we are honest then the waterline of the eye is exactly the place where we want a long wearing eye liner.
 We tested these in the waterline, it didn't irritate the eye at all and it also stayed put even when out in the windy weather this week. Just take care when removing it in this area. You will need to use an oil based eye makeup remover to get this off. Wet wipes or water based removers just won't cut it. These are waterproof.

We had three pencils to test out in black and jewel toned violet and emerald.

05 Night Violet, 01 Onyx and 07 Emerald Volt

These look particularly gorgeous smudged under the eye and blended out Cheryl Versini-Fernandez style!

These are available from 21st January 2015 for £16.50 each.
www.esteelauder.co.uk

Clarins Lip Essentials

Am I the only one who's lips are absolutely ravaged at the moment. I don't know if it's the weather, the central heating or lack of fluid intake...probably all three.
 Lipstick looks awful on me at the moment because it gets caught in the dry patches and lip gloss just feels uncomfortable.
 Thank goodness for Clarins!!
 As you will know if you watch our tutorials, we LOVE Clarins Instant light natural lip perfectors. The perfect combination of moisture, sheen and natural colour. Well lo and behold they have launched some exciting new lip products to rival our love.

Drum roll.....

Instant light lip comfort oil




I was only thinking the other day as I massaged my night face oil over my lips, why is there not an oil specifically for the lips? Regular face oils taste disgusting on your lips!
 This new lip oil from Clarins comes in their typical gold lid packaging which contains 7ml of product.
  I adore the application wand.

 It's like a a plush, padded cushion with a soft spongy texture. Hard wands drag the skin on the lips and make them feel sore when the skin is already irritated. 

This wand is like rubbing a kitten over your lips. Massive high five to Clarins for thinking of this detail.

The product inside is made from plant extracts suspended in selected essential oils. The preservatives in this have been replaced with Hazelnut oil (be aware of this if you have a nut allergy). Mirabelle oil and Jojoba oil give deep, nourishing moisturisation. The texture is similar to gloss but a little thinner. A little bit of tackiness to it but nothing that would cause your hair to get stuck in it. It has a high sheen finish but obviously no glitter or pigment.
 This product comes in 2 choices of 01 Honey (seen above) and 02 Raspberry (available online only).

The honey shade is pretty much clear, it doesn't look as caramel toned on the lips as it does in the bottle.
A great natural treatment for the lips that will secretly benefit your lips whilst giving a soft gloss finish. I do wish it was slightly less shiny so that more men would be keen to wear.
 Available from February for £18.00.

It doesn't end there....

Instant light lip balm perfector

Twist up, slimline balms with angled tip for easy application. Available in six shades all which are softly pigmented to flatter all lip tones. The perfect amount of colour to give you a bit of colour but not so much that you have to worry about it drawing attention to a dry lip.

They feel creamy on the lip and leave a tint of colour with a soft moisturised sheen rather than a gloss finish.

   Contains mango, Shea and our old favourite ingredient hyaluronic acid. 

Sorry for the lack of numerical order

The shade in 03 My Pink is pretty colourless but works on the PH level of your lips to create a unique colour for you.

A great handbag product or holiday essential.
 These are available now and are also £18 each.

Get in store and online www.clarins.co.uk