Touche Éclat Slogan

Chances are if you are into makeup you would have come across YSL Touche éclat.
 It's probably the most famous radiant enhancing cream product around (also widely miss used as a concealer). 
 Pop it onto the high points of the face or wherever you need a little brightening up and hey presto you're illuminated!
 Please don't cake your under eye in this though, it gives that tell tale panda eye that we all snigger at celebrities for.

 Anyway if you're a massive fan of this product then you may be interested in their limited edition slogan range.
 It's just a bit of fun but there are three slogans to choose from which are printed across the gold tube in black.
 All lights on me, I'm not a morning person and No need to sleep.
 We have the No need to sleep option....

 These are £25.00 and will be limited edition from 23rd March from all the usual stockists or click here.

Clinique Pop Artistry

To anniversary last years pop lip collection, Clinique have introduced a few extra products for the eyes and lips.
 Pop glaze sheer lip colour and primer are a slightly more lightweight version of the previous lip pop. Good for people who want a colour without the bold commitment.
 Shea and Murumura butter have a balmy texture which give
a moisturised slip to the lip and a sheer wash of colour. 

Top L:Sprinkle pop Top R:Licorice pop Bottom L:Fireball pop Bottom R:Melon drop pop

These lipsticks have a built in primer to help with longevity. They do last pretty well on the lips considering they have a very moisturised finished however they won't last as long as the original pop lips which had a more satin finish. These lipsticks did feel quite fragile in the tube and even though I only wound the bullet up around a half an inch it snapped off at the base. Possibly just a rouge faulty lipstick but be aware of the softness of these.

If you're after something with a bit more of a punch then the pop glaze lacquer lip colour and primer will provide this.

Top: Go-go pop Middle: Sweetie pop Bottom: Happy pop

 Applied with a cushioned petal shaped sponge wand these glossy lacquers give an intensely vibrant glossy lip.
 Liquid like shine with a full coverage finish. The added primer helps it to last which, once the glossy finish has worn, leaves the lips stained with the colour.

For the eyes there are 8 new lid pops in a variety of nude to bold shades. They are powder but give an almost cream look to the eye. Bold, true to the colour they appear in the pot and a dream to blend. The 3 shades we have are so beautiful!

The brown shade is the perfect chocolate brown, it's gorgeous and blends so well for a smokey eye.

The lip glaze lipsticks and lacquers are £16 and the lid pop eye shadows are £15.00. These will each be available exclusively at Harrods from 1st March and nationwide from 18th March.

Chroming

MAC Tanarama

 So we know it's been Fashion week when a new trend hits and this year it's Chroming. If you can remember just a few short months ago we were all talking about Strobing. If this one passed you by then read about the strobing technique here.
 Chroming is basically the same technique as Strobing, it's applying highlighter to the points of the face where you want to illuminate however it's using a different medium than the standard highlighter.
 Instead of using cream, liquid or powder highlights you use a metallic finish lipstick.
Dot and blend your metallic lipstick on the cheekbones, brow bone or wherever else you fancy a shimmer.
 Now call me a cynic but is this MAC (and other brands) way of shifting all the duff colours that hardly anyone purchases. You know those yellow frosted lipsticks that you might wear for a laugh or to an 80's party. MAC Gel and Tanarama lipsticks i'm looking at you!
 I feel like they did a global stocktake and thought we have 50 million beige frosted lipsticks which are about to go out of date, lets stick them on the cheekbones and call it chroming.
 Anyway regardless of us being all pessimistic about it, it's not really a bad trend. It saves buying multiple products, saves room in your makeup bag and it does actually look pretty. 
 It's super easy to do and photographs nicely but if you have long hair on your face or are venturing out in the wind then you may end up with half your hair and leaves etc stuck to your cheeks..maybe this will then become next years trend!!
 If you're short of time or on a budget then dig out all your old metallic lipsticks you purchased without trying first and whack them on your cheekbones. After all makeup is about having fun so lets give it a go.

Benefit Shy Beam

We had the huge contouring craze and then we had the strobing trend (read about that here) now we are seeing products which highlight without the shine! Confused, well it's basically like using a light coloured matte powder as a highlighter, except this is a liquid.

 Shy Beam launches in April and applies the same as their alternative product, High Beam. The bottle looks unnervingly like a nail varnish and I even double checked the instructions before I applied it as it looked and felt exactly like a nude nail polish being applied!

 It's a liquid but not a runny liquid, it has a thick and creamy texture. The bottle says it's baby pink but it's more salmon toned I would say.
 It lightens and brightens the skin it is applied to but would only really be suitable for a very fair to light skin tone. Any skin tone which is medium through to deep would look ashy and overly white after applying this.

Applied and un-blended

Blended

 You can wear it on the cheekbones but it performed particularly well as an under brow highlighter.

This will launch in April and will be £19.50.

Elemis Omega - Rich Cleansing Oil

 This is the perfect lazy persons cleanser (that's us too). A pump action cleansing oil which is light and gentle enough to use over the eye lids but effective enough to remove even the heaviest of bases.
 Suitable for all skin types including oily (fight oil with oil!) this light cleanser will gently massage off makeup and dirt but leave the skin feeling thoroughly cleansed with no stripping and certainly no greasy residue.

 

Key ingredients include Winter Rose oil which is packed full of Omega-9 to soothe and maintain the skins balance. Pomegranate extract refreshes the skin and Chia seed to nourish, Chia seed is not only good on your porridge but it's great topically too!

One pump is enough for the whole face but if you have heavy makeup on then you may need to go in with a second pump. 
 Lemon, orange, bergamot, rosemary and frankincense provide a gorgeous warm citrus scent.
 It leaves the skin comforted, hydrated and thoroughly cleansed.

This cleanser launched this month and is £29.50 and available here.

Barry M Sunset Nail Paint

Barry M launched their Spring nail colours on the 10th February at Superdrug and last week in Boots.
 The new daylight curing nail paint are a collection of pastels and brights which when combined with the daylight curing topcoat will leave your nails with a long lasting gel finish.

Pinking out loud

Bug a blue

Empire state of mint

All the things she red

Barry M love a pun inspired name!!
Vibrant colours which provide a solid pop of colour and glossy finish. Adding the Daylight curing topcoat definitely added extra shine and increased the longevity. 

 Nail polish lasted up to a week before it begun to wear at the edges which is pretty good considering it isn't actually gel!
 These are £4.99 each and available now.

Bobbi Brown Illuminating powder

 If you're a fan of Bobbi Brown shimmer bricks but find that they are too intense for your highlighting needs then check out the new illuminating powders.
 In 6 different tone options to cater for the very fair through to those with deeper skin tones.

 Each brick contains 6 swatches of complimentary nude hues which are subtle enough to be used all over as a finishing powder or built up on the high points of the face as a sheer highlighter.

 We have the shades in Bare and Nude.

Bare is great for a fair skin. It has a mix of soft beige and oatmeal tones in a satin and shimmer mix.

Bare

The illumination from these is a sheer healthy radiance, doesn't look fake or metallic.

Nude combines slightly warmer apricot tones. great for a medium skin tone or for those who find their skin looks ashy or dull. The peach tones really do lift the skin tone and give you a healthy glow.

Nude

 Again they provide a very natural finish and also look beautiful on the eye lid for a natural socket contour or brow highlight.


Contain mulberry and grape to assist in the brightening effect and Sodium Hyaluronate to attract moisture to the skin and prevent a caking finish.

These powders are available from March for £39.00 from all your usual Bobbi brown location.

Evolve Organic Beauty

Evolve is created by a small team of three ladies who have a passion for skin care containing organic ingredients which are also vegan and cruelty free.
 Everything which goes into these products are sourced from superfoods around the world to bring you a line of skin care containing a list of familiar ingredients rather than a science lesson.
 Products are handmade from their studio in the UK and are stocked in an impressive amount of countries around the world.
 Products are packaged in brown glass bottles to protect the delicate ingredients from light and are labelled with directions and a complete ingredients list.

We have three of their products to test out including a body butter, body polish and lip treat.

 The tropical blossom body polish is a extremely gritty sugar based scrub. This body polish means business! There isn't a patch of dry rough skin which could survive a massage with this scrub. I'm a lover of an abrasive, no-nonsense body scrubs but if you don't particularly like a hardcore scrub then you may want to apply on damp skin rather than dry as recommended. This smells A-MAZ-ING. Infused with coconut oil, sweet almond, Tahitian Monoi (perfume-oil made from soaking the petals of Tahitian Gardenias)and orange.
 My bathroom smells like a Polynesian spa! Skin is ridiculously soft and smooth. This really gets your circulation going so a great detox for your skin too.

 The body butter is a hard formula but instantly transforms into an oily texture once it warms up on the skin. Shea butter base mixed with the same oils as the body polish. Smells delicious and feels very balmy and glossy on the skin.

My lips are ravaged this Winter so I immediately covered my lips in the Lip treat. Cocoa and shea butter provide a solid balm similar to the body butter. Orange essential oil gives a zesty scent and promotes blood flow to heal dry, cracked lips.
 Colourless but provides a soft moisturised sheen to the lips.

Evolve have a bunch of other products including facial skin care and body treatments so be sure to check them out. I particularly want to get my hands on their satin leg gloss spray for the Summer.

 Check Evolve out here.  

  

Our Star products

We are so lucky that we get sent amazing products from tons of really great brands to review. It's good to get a heads up about new launches and to test out shades we wouldn't normally go for. Sometimes we get sent products we absolutely love and then go on to re purchase these for ourselves again and again.
 We thought we would share with you our list of products which we always repeat buy for ourselves...

Here are Sam's all time favourite products...

YSL Volume Effects Mascara
 Separates, creates volume and is great to build up.
Shavata Castor oil for brows
Strengthens weak brow hairs which continually fall out.

Bioderma H20 Micellar water
Allows you to remove even the heaviest makeup without irritation.
Chanel Bio-phase eye makeup remover
Lifts off extreme eye makeup, even waterproof products.

Kiehls Ultra cream
Intensely moisturising for a dry skin and creates a great base.
Tom Ford Red Lipstick (Narcotic Rouge in particular which was limited edition)
Moisturising, full bodied rich colour.
My Burberry fragrance
All time favourite fragrance for day or evening.
Elizabeth Arden 8 Hour cream
Great for all areas of dry skin even the lips.
MAC Face and Body foundation
Versatile foundation which evens the skin and looks radiant.
Eucerin Body lotion
Leaves a moisturising sheen to the legs whilst deeply moisturising. MAC Cream colour base in Pearl
Perfect natural cream highlighter for a fair skin.
MAC Extended play mascara
 Great for bottom lashes or the tiny lashes in the corner of the eyes.

Here are Nic's all time favourite products..

Lilash Lash and brow treatment
Over time it strengthens lashes and allows them to grow thick and long. 
Hourglass Veil foundation
Flawless finish, photographs well and leaves skin looking radiant.
YSL Volume effects mascara
Dramatic volume and length.
MAC Cream colour base in Hush
beautiful cream highlighter in a soft peach.
Cow Shed Shampoo and Conditioner
Smells amazing and leaves hair conditioned and soft.
Garnier gradual tan
Gently builds colour whilst looking natural.
Tom Ford Lipstick in First time
My ultimate nude lipstick.
Shu Uemura Brow Pencil in Seal brown
Firm brow pencil that has a perfect ashy tone and lasts well.
B-Brow pencil in Cardamon pod
Adds in the warmth to my brows with natural precision.

DKNY Woman fragrance 
Fresh and zesty. 


What are your must have beauty products?

Anastasia Brow Definer

Brow queen Anastasia Soare has developed a retractable brow definer which holds a sharply angled brow pencil in one end and a spooley brush in the other end.

The twist up nib of the pencil is triangular shaped which enables you to create a variety of stroke sizes.

The widest section of the tip creates broader strokes and is useful if you have a larger area of brow to fill in. The tip is much finer and enables a a slim hair-like stroke.

The spooley end is a firm brush with well spaced bristles to separate the hairs and soften the finish of the product.

The texture of the product is very hard and takes a little pressure to build up the colour. This is good for longevity due to the need to layer the product to get any kind of coverage but it also means that you get through this product very quickly and also that the point of the tip becomes quite flat after a few applications.
 There is around an inch of product to twist up. Disappointingly  one of the shades in Taupe (the best shade for us) didin't twist up anymore after one use so that went into the bin! All the other shades have been fine though so it may just be a one off fault.

 Available in 10 shades...

 Colour choice is good with a nice selection of ashy and warm tones. Nice to see a granite in the mix too for those with a greyer hair.

All of the shades are available for £16.00 from Beauty Bay.

Lady Gaga Super Bowl Tutorial

Image Courtesy of Getty Images

This look from Lady Gaga at last weeks Super Bowl has been requested so much that we just had to re-create it for you. It's super easy and has such a strong impact. Glitter doesn't have to be just for Christmas...

Elemis Spa light Candle

A blog post never does a candle justice, maybe one day we will have smell-o-vision and then you can all experience the scent with us.

You know when you visit your local beauty salon or spa they seem to have this aroma which instantly calms and relaxes, well this candle is reminiscent of that.

The 230g candle is presented in a weighty silver glass holder. The single wick has around 40 hours burn time.

 Now for the scent....

 It has a vanilla base along with orange and cinnamon, it's the cinnamon which is most apparent but not in an overbearingly festive way.

 It smells warm, relaxing and slightly sweet. Beautiful to burn on a cold winters night whilst relaxing in the bath or to add a spicy aroma this Valentines weekend
 Once you have burnt this candle the holder makes a beautiful plant pot, i'm putting a cactus in mine!!

 This candle is £25.00 and available here.
 

Bobbi Brown perfect couple

This collection has been out since the end of January (it's still available) but Bobbi Brown are giving it an extra promote as Valentines looms upon us.
 They have selected classic red and pink shades for a lip gloss and nail polish.

L: Pink Peony R:Cherry Tomato

L: Pink Lily R: Hollywood red

We got our mitts on the pink selection...

The lip gloss is the classic Bobbi Brown gloss formulated with Jojoba and avocado oil. Very sheer wash of cool toned pink which softly enhances the pink of your own natural lip tone.

The nail polish has a very watery texture but after two coats it gives a lovely glossy finish in a coral pink shade. Definitely one to keep by for the toes this summer.

The gloss is £19.00 and the nail polish is £12.50. Both are available here.

Valentines Day at Lush

Lush always embrace the seasonal events and have a selection of Valentine themed soaps and bath bombs to get you smelling delicious!
 Some are new for 2016 and some are old favourites.

 1. Tisty tosty special edition bath bomb for Valentines. They look so beautiful on a dish next to your bath. Pale pink heart bomb infused with dried rosebuds which float out into your bath. Sicilian lemon oil and jasmine leave your bath water fragranced with a zesty fresh scent.

2. Lover lamp limited edition bath bomb. Packed with organic cocoa butter and vanilla for a moisturising bath soak.

3. New Heart throb bubbleroon. Features a golden glitter Shea butter layer sandwiched between two red hearts fragranced with Frangipani and Sicilian lemon.

4. Moisturising lip balm, great for dry winter ravaged lips. Leaves the lips with a moisturising sheen.

5. Sex Bomb is an old favourite at Lush. Scented with mood enhancing Ylang Ylang and Clary sage. fizzes up and leaves your bath water baby pink.

6. Sugar scrub and tiny red hearts (edible too) will polish away dry skin. A great prep for your lipstick.

7. Unicorn Bubble bar with Lavender and Neroli leaves your skin with a lustrous sheen.

8. A great choice for your bedtime bath. Pure Lavender oil clears the mind and relaxes ready for a restful nights sleep.

9. Rose Jam Bubbleroom is a rose infused bath product with a jam of lemon, rose and geranium oil. 

A nice selection of affordable little treats for this Valentines Day all available here.

First date/Valentines Tutorial

Try out this soft romantic look for a first date or for this Valentines day...

YSL Fusion Ink blush

Fusion Ink blush is a new launch as part of the Boho Stones collection (launched in January).
 Tubes of gel blusher which are squeezed through a plastic applicator similar to a lip gloss.
 The gel texture feels cool, fluid and as light as a feather on the skin. 
 Looks like a lip gloss as you squeeze it onto the skin but smoothes out into a sheer tint which dries off to a matte texture and finish. 
 The shades look very vibrant in the tube but translate to a fresh, very natural tint on the skin. They need to be applied and blended immediately otherwise they tend to stain the skin and leave a patchy finish.
 The sheer wash is very blendable. Apply, blend and then re-apply for a stronger finish.
 Performs well on all skin types but is especially effective on a combination to oily skin due to the matte finish.
 Each shade leaves the skin looking naturally flushed. Great for people who wear no foundation or a very sheer foundation but still need a little colour on the cheeks. 
 Best used before any powder application as it may cause your powder to streak during application. If you wear a full cover foundation you may find the gel texture of this blush will move your base a little.

Available in four shades. We have two to show you.....

  
Fusion Ink blush is available here for £35.00

W3ll People

W3ll People is the collaboration of makeup artist Shirley Pinkson, cosmetic dermatologist Reneé Snyder M.D and Tree hugger(in their words) James Walker. I think this is why the brand name features the number 3.
 They wanted to create a range of cosmetics which uses organic ingredients which are cruelty free and contain no fillers, propylene glycol, petrochemicals or petroleum by-products.
 The products are each hand crafted and have been performance tested within the W3ll People studios.
 The range ingredients includes a botanical complex of organic aloe, organic chamomile and organic green tea.

We tested out some key pieces for the blog for you.

 There are a selection of loose powder products.  


 

 The Bio Brightener powder is a colourless powder in the pot although it does have a lightening effect on the skin. Great on a fair to medium skin tone but would look too ashy on a darker skin tone. Zinc oxide, Titanium oxide and Mica give the skin a light reflective finish. These ingredients are the main culprits for flashback so dust lightly over the skin rather than packing it on.

The foundation powder feels very lightweight but provides a surprisingly good cover, you can achieve a light-medium cover depending on your application method. A velvet finish with a soft satin finish. Sits nicely on a combination-oily skin but a little clingy on dry or textured skin. Contains Kaolin which is a great oil absorbing ingredient but may be too drying on a dryer skin.

The Setting powder is a translucent powder made mainly from Cornstarch. The texture of this powder is strange. It feels a little granular and squeaky, I guess that's the cornstarch. Does the trick though and mattes the skin nicely.

 The Bio Bronzer in Natural Tan provides a golden tan finish. It is infused with a fine golden shimmer. Wouldn't really be suitable for a very pale skin tone.



For the face there are a few stick options....

  We loved the foundation stick. It's easy to swipe onto the face and buff into the skin. It feels silky to the touch and gives a soft satin finish. The coverage is medium to full and it doesn't feel too emollient on the skin. Eight shades in the line up which also cater for light and darker skin tones.
 The Universalist stick is another winner for us. We had the shade in Dusty Rose which is a light terracotta peach. This cream stick blends easily and can be used as a blush, contour, over the lids or on the lips.
 The Bio Brightener is a cream silver pearl highlighter. Use it over the high points of the face for a shimmering silver pearl which doesn't look too false or metallic.  

These products and more from the range are available from Cult Beauty.