Monthly Archives: September 2016

I really quite like W7 as a brand. Their products are all super affordable, and I’ve tried quite a few of their products and I’ve only ever been disappointed a couple of times. I spotted the new W7 releases on Twitter, and when I saw their new Bronze Queen eyeshadow palette I immediately hunted it down online and ordered it, as it looked absolutely gorgeous. I managed to find it on eBay here for only £3.95 with free delivery, and it arrived within two days which was very impressive.

The new W7 Bronze Queen Eyeshadow Palette is made from brown plastic and is a narrow rectangular shape with gold writing on the top. I have a few W7 palettes, and none of them look as nice as this one does.. it looks like a luxury palette which crazy for under £4. Inside the palette, there are seven eyeshadows alongside a dual-ended brush and sponge tip applicator as well as a mirror. When I saw the inside of the palette I knew it had been ‘inspired’ by the Bobbi Brown Eyeshadow Palettes, as the layout and design/shapes are identical. I couldn’t put my finger on which palette it looked like but after searching online it’s definitely a dupe of the Bobbi Brown Warm Eye Makeup Palette which retails for £37.50 which is pretty pricey compared to the £3.95 I paid for this W7 palette.

When I swatched the first shade I was a little disappointed as assumed that the palette was a letdown, but it drastically improved from the second shadow onwards. I’ve looked online at swatches of the Bobbi Brown Palette, and amazingly the swatches are on par quality and pigmentation wise but seeing as I don’t own the Bobbi Brown equivalent, I can only make visual comparisons. The W7 Bronze Queen Eyeshadow Palette contains five matte shadows, one shimmer and one glitter shade. All of the shades are buttery soft except the glitter shadow, which is a little gritty like glitter shadows tend to be. I’ve been really impressed with their blendability, and with how easy they are to work with and the only issue I’ve had is with the glitter shade. I’ve found the best way to apply the glitter is with your fingertip, or by dampening your eyeshadow brush but once it’s on your lid it really is a beautiful shadow and would be amazing for nights out or special occasions when you want a little sparkle.

I remember lusting after the Bobbi Brown palette when it launched last year, but in my opinion you’d be crazy to pay £37.50 for a palette when this £3.95 alternative is so similar in terms of pigmentation. Obviously the packaging isn’t on par with Bobbi Brown, but I can overlook that especially when the packaging is still really nice and it certainly doesn’t look or perform like a £4 palette.. I’m very impressed W7.

The post W7 Bronze Queen Eyeshadow Palette appeared first on Miss Makeup Magpie.

; ; ; ; ; ;

Related Stories

• Rodial Instaglam Compact Deluxe Translucent HD Powder
• Benefit The POREfessional Agent Zero Shine
• Lily Lolo Laid Bare Eye Palette

;

Continue reading →

For those of you crawling out of hibernation, having a good old stretch, wanting something fresh and light or sunny and new to scent yourselves with: my pick of the Spring Fragrances 2015. Although I have my year-round perfume favourites (Jo Malone’s Oud & Bergamot, Lancome’s La Vie Est Belle, anything dark and rosey) I do quite like a little change when the days start to get brighter and the trees begin to blossom. I also think that since I’ve been pregnant, I’ve been gravitating towards fragrances that are a touch greener, a little sharper, perhaps somewhat sparklier than my usual choices. And there are plenty out there to choose from, this season, but I’ve narrowed them down to just the few that have really grabbed my interest: White Rose & Lemon Leaves from Jo Loves, Geranium & Verbena from Jo Malone, Ostara by Penhaligons and (actually this isn’t at all new, or even seasonal, but I have recently rediscovered it and it’s love at second sight) Flagrant Délice from Terry de Gunzburg.

Let’s start with the (relative) oldie; Terry de Gunzburg’s Flagrant Délice. As I said, this was a rediscovery – I was actually searching out figgy, greenish spring scents for a completely different post and this stood out as one of the most complex and lovely. Often figgy scents seem to disappear quite quickly on me, but this one has good staying power and the fig is slightly sweeter and softer than your run-of-the-mill version. It’s not by any means a sharp and fresh springtime scent, but it has a lovely gardeny feel to it that makes me think of new buds and warmer evenings. You can find it at House of Fraser online here.

If Flagrant Délice is a warm evening then Ostara, from Penhaligons, is pure sunshine in a bottle. It’s heady, with a real floral hit that’s at once pleasing and very unusual; it’s hard to know what to make of it at first, but it definitely gets your attention. Ostara has been inspired by daffodils and that in itself has to be pretty rare – it’s not a flower I’d have previously associated with perfume making! It’s a blend of loads of different floral, fruity and greener, woodier notes – it’s hard to untangle them to identify them separately, but you do get this wonderful feeling that the whole daffodil – leaves, bulbs and flower – is being described. Definitely an interesting one for fragrance enthusiasts, it’s £110 here.

From sunshine in a bottle to a breath of cool air: Jo Malone’s Geranium & Verbena Cologne (£42 here), which is part of the new Rock the Ages line-up. I’ve seen lots of raving about Tudor Rose & Amber (from me, included – see here) but not so much on the Geranium & Verbena and I must say that this little cologne is far more spring-like than the rose. It’s sharp, almost sparkly, reminds me (weirdly) of homemade lemonade, and though it does have some deeper and more serious notes, for me it’s the “light and frivolous” option. It won’t be to everyone’s taste, and it doesn’t have the lasting power of the Tudor Rose & Amber, but if you’re after something fizzy and fresh with an unusual twist (it’s the “Edwardian” representative in the Rock of Ages series) then do stop by and try it.

Read more fragrance posts…

Last in my little collection – and possibly my overall pick – is the White Rose & Lemon Leaves fragrance from Jo Loves. If you love pure, sweet, feminine rose then you’ll find this to be absolutely exquisite. The lemon peel note just makes the rose sing: it freshens it and keeps it beautifully light and delicate. You know how a squeeze of lemon juice over a salad can just bring everything alive? That’s how I feel about White Rose & Lemon Leaves – the lemon is the perfect sidekick for the rose, sharpening it but at the same time making it seem all the sweeter. If you love White Rose by Floris then you’ll love this even more. You can find it at Jo Loves here, from £45.

More rose-scented reviews…

**UPDATE: this little number from Radley (above) almost slipped through the fragrance net. I only have a sample bottle, the real deal looks a lot more appealing, but the perfume itself has really hit a note with me (if you’ll excuse the pun) because it reminds me of a body spray I had when I was a teenager. There’s a real peachiness to it – though the guide says no peach, so it must be a combination of the bergamot and the florals – and it has the kind of musky, woody undertone that will never cease to woo me. It’s like my teenage body spray, but all grown up. You can get the eau de parfum as a set with body lotion included, it’s £37 at JohnLewis.com here.

The post Scents for the End of Hibernation: Spring Fragrances 2015 appeared first on A Model Recommends.

Continue reading →

By Terry‘s Hyaluronic Sheer Nude Hydra-Balm: get on my lips! I’ve been waiting for something like this for months; juicy, plumptious and peachy, sheer enough to be absolutely foolproof to apply, but with just about enough colour to make the whole thing a worthwhile endeavour. Because some tinted balms are so subtle as to be virtually pointless. Or not pointless, just…uninspiring. Or not uninspiring, but more suited to an “at home” day. By Terry‘s Hydra-Balm Lipstick definitely polishes off a makeup look nicely – instant grooming, with the sheen of a lipstick but the soft texture of a hydrating balm. Something you can easily reapply throughout the day to feel as though you’re wearing proper makeup, but without any real commitment.

Shade 2 “Innocent Kiss” is my kind of peach: it’s neither too orange nor too pink. It is, as Goldilocks would say, just right. [Make sure you take that sentence out and replace it with something less sick-makingly-cringeworthy. Don’t forget. ed.] I do enjoy wearing peach and salmon-toned lipsticks – I went a bit crazy for them last year when I was pregnant, have a trawl through these posts – but the shade has to be spot on, otherwise terrible things happen in the face department. For some reason, getting your peach wrong can throw everything completely off-kilter: dark circles look darker, skin looks sallow, upper lips develop a sort of dirty shadow that looks annoyingly like a moustache… I suppose it depends on the texture of the lipstick too – a soft, peachy-cream is going to be perhaps more forgiving than an opaque matte.

No problems with “Innocent Kiss” (apart from the rather strong soapy taste); it’s more peach sorbet than peachy-cream, sheer enough to be flattering on pretty much any skintone, I would have thought. The formula is incredibly hydrating, as you’d expect from the name, and I do actually see something of a plumping effect, which is a bonus. So many lip things are labelled “plumping” and do nothing – there’s a cushiony appearance to my lips when I use the Hydra-Balm. Whether from the hyaluronic acid or simply the sheen making things look fuller I’m not sure, but the effect is definitely there.

It is, however, a pricey little number. I lust after many things from By Terry – the foundations I have always found to be exceptional – but they are very firmly in the “life’s luxuries” category. I have about a dozen friends and friends-of-friends who will never forgive me for getting them hooked on By Terry makeup!

Continue reading →