Clarins Ombre Eye Shadow

Who doesn’t love an ombre eye shadow? Clarins have developed 3 new-textured eye shadows that pack a punch when it comes to pigment and longevity.

 Ombre Velvet, which consists of white, pink and black shades, has a cream to gel texture. They contain polymers, which help the product to glide over the skin and blend out with ease (although you do need to work fast). 

Create a solid block colour which is super longwearing or use it as a base under your powder shadows. The finish is completely matte and very intense. Ombre satin consists of the purple, blue and green and has a slight sheen. Easier to blend than the velvet texture but with an equally strong pigment. 

 Ombre sparkle are three shades with a gel to powder texture. The glitter shards are suspended in the texture and don’t spread across the skin. 

 They look beautiful over a naked eye lid or for a dramatic finish, press over the other ombre shades. The ombre eye shadows from Clarins are £20 each and available now here.

Items in this blog were gifted

Estée Lauder Perfectionist Pro UV Fluid

Image:www.esteelauder.co.uk

We all know we should be using an SPF daily, especially during the summer months but I believe it’s still an area that a lot of us are still poor at incorporating into our daily skincare routine.

 When hitting the beach we tend to slap it all over and douse our children in it at the first glimpse of summer but often forget about ourselves on a day-to-day basis.

 Gone are the days of heavy thick creams that feel like you’re applying a layer of Dulux emulsion. The majority of skincare brands will now offer an SPF that works well with makeup without affecting the performance or look of your foundation. Yes you still need to wear a sunscreen even if your moisturiser or foundation contains SPF, and another thing to remember is always test how your makeup looks on camera with a flash if you are wearing an SPF for photographic events such as your wedding day, they will often flash back.

A daily SPF, which I have incorporated into my skincare routine, is the Perfectionist Pro Multi defense UV Fluid in SPF 45. This comes in a 30ml squeezy style tube but is very milky and thin so a little goes a long way. This isn’t a product for sunbathing in but a product to wear under your regular makeup, or indeed on bare skin whilst going about your daily business.

What I love about it is that it sinks into the skin immediately and has a dry finish. There’s no tackiness, no residue, no white hue and no piling under makeup. I didn’t find it flashed backed either but definitely check this for yourself if you’re purchasing for a special day.

It’s a Physical or mineral based sunscreen, which means it sits on top of the skin and reflects the rays. It’s less irritating and has added ingredients such as Tiger lily, Green Tea as pollution defense.

It’s beautifully lightweight and undetectable on the skin. Shake bottle well and apply after your final moisturistion step and before your foundation. You won’t even need to give it time to melt into the skin as it absorbs immediately.

It’s not cheap at £36.00 however it will give your skin great protection and fits nicely into your routine without affecting the performance of your makeup.

 You can check this out here.

Items in this blog were gifted

Ulla Johnson X Bobbi Brown Cheek palette

So this is something a bit different that I haven’t seen before from Bobbi Brown. Forgive me as this has been out a few weeks but I’ve only just located it in my inbox of products to review.

 Bobbi brown have collaborated with Fashion designer Ulla Johnson to bring you a beautiful cheek and eye palette.

Ulla Johnson is renown for her dreamy feminine designs, which has been reflected in the beautiful packaging she has created for Bobbi Brown.

 The cheek palette is beautiful and although it may not be something everyone would want to use, I can see that it would be a wonderful product to have in your kit as a makeup artist or for those who favor a moisturized sheen to their skin. It's a great product to experiment with if you would like to incorporate skincare into your makeup routine.

The nude packaging holds a golden pink cream highlighter and beige pot rouge for lips and cheeks. There is also a vial of face oil to complement the glossy hydrated finish that the combination of these products will produce.

How to use

The face oil which contains Neroli, Patchouli, Lavender and Sandalwood and not only smells divine but adds a shot of hydration, soothes and adds a glossy finish to the skin. This oil would not really be suitable for those who are sensitive to essential oils or who have a very sensitive skin or an oily skin. A dry or dehydrated skin will love it.

 Apply one to two drops depending on skins moisture needs into palms of the hands. Warm between palms and then push into the skin and massage the facial muscles in an upward motion. I like to also cup my hands over my nose to inhale the relaxing aroma too.

 This will leave an oily residue on the skin for a short while. You can either apply your makeup straight on top if you feel comfortable with this texture however most will likely want to wait 10 minutes for it to absorb. It will give a subtle glow to the skin and a nice boost of moisture.

To compliment the skin, apply a little of the pot rouge to the apples of the cheeks to create a fresh pop of colour and buff over the golden highlighter onto the high points of the face.

 This little palette will give you just enough product for a fresh complexion on days when you require a low-key look. You could team it up with a layer or mascara and clear lip balm if you want a little more definition.

This palette is £30.00 and can be purchased here.

Items in this blog were gifted

Kim Kardashian Met Gala Tutorial

The Ordinary Squalane Cleanser

Image from www.theordinary.com

If your skin is particularly dry and sensitive it can be tricky to know what cleanser to use.  Foaming cleansers tend to be too drying and heavy rich balms can feel occlusive.

 I switch up my skincare depending on how my skin feels on that particular day so this has been a cleanser that I have been using on days when my skin is dry or dehydrated.

 The texture is very pleasant. Applies with a thin balm texture but after 30 seconds of massaging it turns into an oil. Firstly, I love that it takes a little while to transform to an oil as it encourages you to really work the skin and massage well, something that greatly benefits the skin.

 The balm to oil texture makes makeup removal easy and even lifts off waterproof eye makeup. 

 It feels very comforting, nourishing and hydrating without feeling heavy and feels like a luxurious treat to use.

Squalane is a great ingredient to use if you very sensitive or allergic skin. Derived from plants and absorbed easily by the skin due to its molecular structure, it’s a pretty safe product to use in terms of adverse skin reactions.

The only negative I have to say is the size. It’s almost like a travel size product but if you only use it as a cleanser for the days you require a hydrating and calming cleanser for, then it’ll last you a good few weeks. Use it every day and evening and it’s not going to last long. On the plus size, it’s good for when you are travelling.

Check out The Ordinary Squalane cleanser here for £5.50.

Make Beauty

A new brand (new to us anyway) has landed in the office this week so I thought I’d share with you. Make is from New York and is made up of a mix of colour cosmetics, skincare and tools. They have a vegan section and are It 100% cruelty free. 10% of the sales also go towards the We see beauty foundation, which supports women-led, worker owned cooperative businesses.

 Their ethos is Slow beauty. Creating everyday products that suit every day needs rather than being fashion or trend led.

 We have a few pieces to share with you…

For the skin we have the Marine Salve.  It’s a topical balm that has multi area use. Massage some into cracked lips, dry cuticles or rough skin. It protects against environmental aggressors. 

Its main ingredient is petrolatum (mineral oil) so it’s not something I would personally slather over my face but on small areas it will moisturize and protect. It also contains marine algae, shea butter and squalane so it’s super hydrating.

Sea Salt exfoliator

 This is a duo pot for the lips. One is an exfoliator containing gritty sea salt in a balm of olive, shea butter and jojoba.

 The lip balm is a nourishing mix of shea, beeswax, jojoba and grape seed oil.

The colour

We have are the Universal stick. This is quite a unique product in that it looks pretty uninspiring when you first apply it but as you blend, the pigments release and transform into a totally different colour.

 We have the shade Cedar which, looks mauve in the tube but warms to a soft peachy taupe on the skin. The universal stick is a lightweight balmy texture which feels slightly oily on application.

You can use it as a blush or on the eye lids. You can even mix it with lipstick to give a more jewel toned shade. This is really nice to use under your eye shadow to increase colour pay off.

Dew pots and blot pots are similar in that they give a soft flush of colour with a moisturized finish. Best used on the slightly higher parts of the face as it reflects a radiant sheen. Pigment is set in a base of lanolin so not a product for the oilier skin. The blot pots have slightly more colour pigment to them.

I’ve only seen a very small collection of products from Make and I think they may be a nice brand for editorial or to create an evening looks with, I feel some of the ingredients within are a little disappointing though. Lots of allergens and cheap ingredients such as mineral oil, lanolin and talc and for the price point that this brand is set at, I would expect higher quality ingredients.

You can take a look at the brand for yourself here