NARSissist Blush, contour and lip palette

The new NARS palette is a great capsule compact for cheek fanatics. Usually palettes focus on the eyes but this compact is purely face and lips.

The palette box could easily fit into your bag or kit without taking up too much room.
 I love that that the lid to the palette is mirrored so you can check your makeup without tipping the contents of the palette out. There is a mirror inside also.

Open up the lid and in the first layer are three blushers and a gloss.

Top: Enrapture Middle: Enthralled Bottom: Roman Holiday

NARS blusher shades are really pigmented and are true to how they look in the palette. The first and third shade are a matte finish but the centre colour has a fine gold glitter running through it.

The lip gloss is a mini 4ml in the shade Istria. It's an almost translucent baby pink with a high gloss finish.

Istria Gloss

Lift up the blusher layer to reveal a highlighter and bronzing powder.

The highlight is called Albatross and has a gold reflective finish. On a fair skin it translates quite yellow onto the skin but on an olive to deeper skin tone it would be a beautiful golden shimmer.

 The bronzer is Laguna which we are not crazy about. It's a soft golden bronzer however it has a golden glitter pigment. Almost like a gold foil effect. Would be beautiful used as a highlighter on a deeper skin tone but you may risk looking like you're made of copper if you were to use it all over.

This palette is good for the Summer when you can then use the darker shades as your skin tone changes in the sun.

This palette is £35.00 and available from SpaceNK at this link http://goo.gl/VI1jxK

Neal's Yard Beauty Book

We often get asked our favourite books and this one from Neal's Yard is great for a bit of ingredients knowledge.

256 pages of information on ingredients derived from plants, trees, herbs, nuts and fruits including what it is good for and what it treats. There is also sections on recipes to recreate for cleansers, masks, lip balms etc as well as the best regimes depending on your needs.

 
 Clear and concise this book breaks each ingredient down to make it simple for you to understand what is in your beauty products.

 If you fancy having a go at making your own remedies then there is a section of recipes for simple treatments.

If you suffer with a particular hair or skin problem there are ideas on what you can do to rectify.

A good, interesting read which will loose you hours in your day!
 Available from Neal's Yard for £16.99 http://www.nealsyardremedies.com/books

 
 

YSL Volupte Tint in Oil

We are loving the latest wave of oil based lip colours. Especially during the eternal Winter we are having at the moment.
 The new tint in oil from YSL includes eight shades of lip oil.

The applicator wand is the typical curved YSL leaf shaped wand with the hole in the centre.
 The shape of the wand caresses the lip and allows precision application.
  The texture of the oil is between an oil (obviously) and a balm but without the sticky texture.

The colours are a unique tint. They look vibrant on the wand, go onto the skin in an almost transparent wash and then develop into their own bespoke finish as they work with your own natural lip tone.

They give a moisturised sheen to the lips as you would expect from an oil. The colour they produce is very subtle and just softly enhances your own lip colour.

These smell heavenly. Apparently it's a mango scent but we think it's more like a Water melon fragrance. It's very nice regardless.

Each shade is infused with apricot, macadamia, coriander fruit, jojoba and passion flower. 
 The moisturising sheen that these ingredients produce gradually wears after an hour or so but the colour has a slightly staining effect so lasts much longer on the lip.

We have three shades to show you..
No4 I rose you
No5 Cherry my cherie
No6 Peach me love

 These are available now and are £23.50 each.

http://www.yslbeauty.co.uk 




 


 


 

Red Carpet/ Black tie Makeup

It's award season and if you follow us on Instagram (@Pixiwoos and @Nixiepixi1 ) you may have noticed we were super lucky and went to the BAFTA's.
 Nic has already created her tutorial on the makeup she wore a couple of videos back....

Lots of you said you wanted to see what I wore so I re-created it for you here... Hope you enjoy!

Amazing Concealer

We have heard a lot of buzz around the Amazing Concealer. It's been around for quite a while and finally we have our hands on some to give our opinions.

 It claims on the box to be the world's best concealer, that's quite a statement!
 For the worlds best concealer the packaging is quite uninspiring. But I guess it's not the packaging that counts hey!

The actual product itself comes in a tiny 6ml tube or a 15ml tube. You may think this will not last you long but you need the most tiniest amount of this product.

Available in ten shades....

 This concealer is for people who like a heavy coverage. It's not a natural, barely there product. This is a serious concealer. It gives you the effect of having used a face tune filter all over!
It's a liquid/cream texture. The best way to use this is to apply a tiny amount and buff into the skin with a fluffy or duo fibre brush. If you need more then build it and blend between layers.

It's a good product for people with flat scarring, pigmentation, uneven skin tone or blemishes (so long as the blemishes do not have dry skin).
 You can use it around the eye and it will most definitely cover dark circles but we found it to be a little too heavy to use in this area. It creases and settles in any texture or fine lines.
It is good for someone who likes to use concealer to contour with or for male makeup and drag.

What we don't like about it...

The first three ingredients are mineral oil, talc and lanolin.
 I wouldn't use this if you have blemish prone skin or sensitive skin. 
 Mineral oil sits on the skin so you can understand a little why it would be used but it's not the best ingredient for the skin. The Lanolin will also help the product blend but tends to be an allergen for lots of people.
If you are susceptible to milia (milk spots) around the eye area then the mineral oil in this will not help at all.

I can understand why a lot of makeup artists love this concealer. It would be great to use on a shoot to get a flawless finish, it photographs well and minimum effort gets a maximum result.Used sparingly you can get a good result but take your time applying it and blend as you go.

It dries off to a matte finish pretty quickly so you need to work relatively fast with it. Because of the matte finish and it's waterproof finish it would cover areas on the body such as scarring, tattoos or birth marks well.

The colours come up a little darker than you would think so go lighter than you may normally wear.

It's not cheap, it's £19.50 for the 6ml tube or £29.50 for larger 15ml tube. It's sold in selected Marks and Spencer stores if you want to test before you purchase. www.marksandspencer.com
 You can also purchase online from www.sephora.com www.ulta.com http://www.lookfantastic.com  
http://www.feelunique.com


Have you tried this? What did you think of the results?

Nars at NY A/W Fashion Week

It's Fashion Week time again. New York fashion week is coming to a close and there have been some beautiful looks we thought you may enjoy.
 All of the images are from the various shows which NARS created the looks for. 
 Here are a selection of our favourites....

Show: Rodarte A/W '15
Lead Artist: James Kaliardos for NARS
Look: Look is inspired by delicate beauty. Swarovski crystals were used on the eye lids and lower lashes. The lips were light and glossy.

SKIN
NARSskin Luminous Moisture Cream
NARSskin Total Replenishing Eye Cream
 COMPLEXION
NARS All Day Luminous Weightless Foundation
NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer 
BROWS
NARS Brow Gel 
NARS Brow Perfector
 CHEEKS 
NARS Tribulation Blush (New for Fall 2015, for now try Nico Blush)
NARS Left side of Fervor Blush (New for Spring 2015, for now try Deep Throat Blush)
 EYES
NARS Audacious Mascara (New for Fall 2015, for now try Larger than Life® Volumizing Mascara)
NARS Right side of Craving Blush (New for Spring 2015, for now try South Beach Multiple)
NARS Rue Bonaparte Larger than Life® Long-Wear Eyeliner 
 LIPS
NARS Chelsea Girls Lip Gloss (New for Fall 2015, for now try Chihuahua Lip Gloss)
NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer 

Show: Naeem Khan a/w '15
Lead Artist: James Boehmer for NARS Cosmetics 
Look: Dark, sensual and glamorous. An architectural eye, softly smokey without mascara or brows. Deep matte lips in chocolate red.

SKIN    
NARSskin Luminous Moisture Cream, RRP £43.00
NARSskin Total Replenishing Eye Cream, RRP £38.00
 COMPLEXION
NARS Sheer Glow Foundation, RRP £31.00
NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer, RRP £22.00
NARS Soft Velvet Loose Powder, RRP £26.50
 BROWS
NARS Oural Brow Gel, RRP £16.50EYES   
NARS Ashes to Ashes Eyeshadow, RRP £18.00
NARS Bali Eyeshadow, RRP £18.00 
 LIPS    
NARS Mysterious Red Velvet Matte Lip Pencil, RRP £19.00
NARS Mambo Eyeliner, RRP £19.00
NARS Jungle Red Lip Liner, RRP £18.00

Show:Thakoon A/W '15
Lead Artist: Diane Kendal for NARS
Look: inspired by the northern lights. Skin was reflecting and light.

COMPLEXION
NARS Pure Radiant Tinted Moisturizer, RRP £29.00
NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer, RRP £22.00
NARS Soft Velvet Loose Powder, RRP £26.50
 CHEEKS
NARS Tribulation Blush (new for Fall 2015, for now try Nico Blush, RRP £26.00)
NARS Left side of Craving Dual-Intensity Blush (New for Spring 2015; for now try Copacabana Multiple, RRP £29.00)
 EYES
NARS Right side of Craving Dual-Intensity Blush (New for Spring 2015; for now try South Beach Multiple, RRP £29.00)
NARS Left side of Fervor Dual-Intensity Blush (New for Spring 2015, for now try the right side of Hula Hula Duo Eyeshadow, RRP £25.00, layered over Seduction Blush, RRP £23.00)
 LIPS
NARS VIP Red Lipstick (New for Fall 2015, for now try Mysterious Red Velvet Matte Lip Pencil, RRP £19.00)


 Show: Tome A/W '15
Lead Artist: James Boehmer, NARS Director of Global Artistry
Look: Natural, glossed with a masculine brow. A defined eye, with lots of mascara.

 






 


 

FACE
NARSskin Aqua Gel Luminous Oil-Free Moisturizer
NARSskin Total Replenishing Eye Cream
NARS Pure Radiant Tinted Moisturizer
NARS Soft Velvet Loose Powder 
BROWS         
NARS Brow Gel
NARS Triple X Lip Gloss CHEEK                   
NARS Tribulation Blush (New for Fall 2015, for now try Nico Blush)  EYES   
NARS Audacious Mascara (New for Fall 2015, for now try Large Than Life® Volumizing Mascara)
NARS Triple X Lip Gloss
LIPS    
NARS Chelsea Girls Lip Gloss (New for Fall 2015, for now try Chihuahua Lip Gloss) 



Pleased to see some really wearable looks for this Autumn/Winter!

Giorgio Armani Eye Tint

Some products arrive in our office and we instantly know they are going to be a hit. I don't know if it's just because we are more excited about them so our passion rubs off on you guys!
 Armani is one of those brands which just excel in everything!
 We are yet to find a makeup product from them that we haven't loved. 
 I know the price tag can be a little off putting but if you are already a consumer of the more luxury end of makeup brands then these are not too much more. 

Check out these babies......

Opening this box was like opening a treasure chest on a desert island. All that was missing was a ray of gold light streaming out of the box.
 They are not sold in the box like this unfortunately, each shade is sold individually.

What are they?
 These are cream eye tints. The applicator is a sponge wand style pad. The applicator pad is slightly angled so it rests neatly onto the eye lid.

  The cream colour easily transfers onto the eye lid and the fine tip of the wand makes it easy to get close to the lashes.
 The colours are a mixture of shimmering and matte finish. The darker colours tend to be the matte shades.
 These dry seriously quickly so you need to work fast. Once they dry they will NOT budge. They are so long lasting it's crazy!
 Colours can be mixed and layered so just apply one, blend it and leave it to dry before blending in your next shade. You can obviously wear them and blend them with other brands and products too.
 The lighter colours give beautiful silky colour washes and the bold darker colours are perfect for an intense smokey eye or as a base.
 I recommend applying and then using a fluffy brush to blend out. 
 The colour is buildable and as the lighter colours are quite sheer you may want to layer these up a little more.

From Left: 1 Obsidian, 2 Minuit, 3 Jade, 4 Emeraude, 5 Onyx, 6 Green Iron

 

From Left: 7 Shadow, 8 Flannel, 9 Cold Copper,10  Senso, 11 Rose Ashes, 12 Gold Ashes

This product would be perfect for those with oily eye lids who find nothing stays put. Great for when you want a quick wash of colour which will not need touching up all day.
 Remove these gently with an oily eye makeup remover.

Available in twelve shades, Giorgio Armani Eye tints launch 1st March and are £26.50 each.

www.armanibeauty.co.uk

Bobbi Brown Hot Collection

I can't tell you how happy it makes me feel to have Spring/Summer products land on my desk. Bobbi Brown's latest is the quintessential Summer collection.
You must have seen the gorgeous Kate Upton representing Bobbi Brown recently? Well the latest collection is inspired from her hometown in Florida.
 The collection compromises an eyeshadow palette and beautiful (if you like pink) cheek palettes.

 We have a selection of the lip products to show you. 

The Art sticks are awesome. Essential handbag and travel bag products. The three shades in this collection are shade extensions to their current lineup.

Hot Orange Art Stick

 If you haven't tried the Art Sticks they are thick chunky pencils. Their formula is creamy and smooth and gives a fantastic bold colour payoff. The good thing about these pencils is the nib can be sharpened to a fine point which fits into the corners and shape of the lips. You will need a large chunky pencil sharpener to keep the fine point. 

We have two of the shades in Hot Orange and Hot Pink.

Hot Orange and Hot Pink Art Sticks

 No need to build this colour up. One sweep and you have an intense lip colour. These feel comfortable on the lip with no dryness. They give a satin finish to the lip. The colour does transfer  easily but it's not a massive drama to whip it out of your bag and touch up quickly.

The lipsticks are from the Sheer Lip Colour range and again are shade extensions. These still have the bold undertones but the moisture in them sheers them down. Good if you want a colour but without the intensity.

Orange and Berry Lipsticks

 All of these products are £19.50 each. The Hot Collection is available exclusively to Selfridges from mid February and nationwide and online from 27th February.

Sass

Feminine hygiene products have always had a certain stigma attached to them. The sort of products you loiter around for five minutes pretending to look at the shelf above. At the very moment you select one from the shelf you can bet your life you will bump into someone you know!! Maybe this is just a British embarrassment!
 You can worry no more! New brand Sass have launched a range of intimate care products for woman. These products look so much like regular skin care that Sam actually came into the office today and started massaging the moisturiser all over her face before I explained to her what it was!

The products arrived in a very glam box.

The only way you can tell where they are for is the small 'Intimate' printed on the box.

Everyday soaps and shower gels can disrupt the natural PH balance of your most delicate area. Sass offers you a huge range of intimate care products which will not irritate or alter the PH. The ingredients help promote good bacteria whilst neutralising any unwanted odours.
 All of these products are safe to use during menstruation and pregnancy.

What are the products.. 

Intimate Purifying Cleanser-£7.00
 Think of this as the replacement for your normal shower gel. Can be used daily in the shower or bath and rinsed off as normally.
 This soothes and calms if you have any razor burn or sensitivity to waxing.

Soothe and Smooth Shave Gel-£10.00
No more stealing your partners shaving gel or using a harsh shower gel. This squeezy clear gel is purposely designed for use in the intimate area although you could also use it under your arms. It is water based and contains salicylic acid and fruit enzymes to delicately exfoliate and prevent ingrowing hairs. Aloe, and orange extract calm and soothe the skin during shaving.

Perfect Skin Concentrate-£12.00
Initially I was a little confused as to why I would need this. This is good for those of you who wax your bikini line. It has the same exfoliating ingredients as the soothe and shave however it also contains an ingredient called Kelisoft which helps to prevent hair regrowth.
 This lightweight moisturiser should be applied after waxing or shaving to reduce razor burn and to prevent the skin from becoming dry or itchy.

Sass have other products in their line up so if you have specific needs then check out what else they have to offer.
 I think it's great that these products are packaged the way they are, making it less of a taboo or embarrassment for ladies to purchase.

Sass is launched on the 9th March 2015 and will be available from www.boots.com or
www.wearesass.com

MAC for Disney Cinderella Collection

Every year MAC join forces with a person or brand and collaborate for a collection. They have teamed with Disney a few times now but this year Cinderella finally gets to go to the ball.

Regardless if you like the collection colours, if you are a Disney fan then you'll love this I'm sure.

 The packaging is the classic MAC packaging but in a baby blue opalescent and lilac. The packaging reflects the collection theme however it does make it more appealing to the younger market.
 The colours are very safe but they are definitely shades which Cinderella would have worn!

We have five key pieces from the limited edition collection.

  The eyeshadow palette is safe but none the less beautiful. Totally wearable, suitable for all and a good mix of light and dark shades for day or evening.
 The shades look quite taupe and brown in the palette however they translate much more of a heather tone onto the skin.

There is actually only one new shade in this palette. The shades are Vapour, Phloof, Omega, Quarry and Satin Taupe which are all regular colours from MAC which you can always buy. The only new shade is the darkest shade called Stroke of Midnight. It's a black infused with plum, gold and silver fine sparkle. Unlike some of the MAC shades (Black Tied, I'm looking at you) the glitter in this shade does actually show up on the eye.
 A really good combination of colours (Omega and Quarry are two of our favourite colours from MAC) but if you already have most of these shades then you might not want to splash out £38.50 just to get the new darkest shade.

Something a little different though is the Studio Eye Gloss. We have the shade in Lightly Tauped.

A thick, heavy gloss tinted in a taupe infused with tons of super fine glitter sparkles in bright pink, baby blue, gold and green. 
 On the skin the taupe isn't apparent. It looks like an ultra glossy transparent sheen with highly reflective 3D glitter.

Would look great on a nude lid. Feels really sticky though and your hair will definitely stick to it!
Studio Eye Gloss is £18.50.

The Iridescent Powder creates a delicate pink cheek with golden glitter. Use as a highlighter or dust a little on the apples of the cheeks.

The Iridescent powder in Coipe d' chic is £23.00.

For the lips we have the limited edition lipstick called Royal Ball. It is a nude flesh pink in a lustre finish. It goes nicely with the Lipglass in Happily Ever After. This is a similar nude flesh but has an interesting blue pearl running through it. The blue is really natural and compliments the pink nicely.

 The lipstick is £17.00 and the lipglass is £16.00.
  The collection comprises some limited edition pigments and reflects glitter also.
 

The collection is available from 6th March in Harrods and from 13th March at all other MAC locations.

Leighton Denny Valentines Nails

Okay so what colour is everyone painting their nails for this Valentines weekend? Even if you're not going anywhere special it's nice to treat yourself to a themed nail varnish.
 Leighton Denny do a great selection of shades to fit the romantic trend. 
 We have selected these three from their High performance nail colours.....

Make the boys wink also makes you look particularly tanned which is a double bonus!
 These are great colours to do some nail art with if you are feeling creative.
These shades are in the standard Leighton Denny line up and are £11.00 each.
http://www.leightondenny.com