Category Archives: beauty look

I have to admit that I have a tempestuous relationship with the Tom Ford brand. I rather gave up on the brand because TF always had to be called Mr Ford – I probably wouldn’t have objected in the same way if we’d always called Estee Lauder Mrs Lauder. Or Bobbi, Mrs Brown, and so on. But we didn’t and still don’t. My view is that respect is there to be earned, not given and if you demand such a thing, it often has the opposite effect. Premium never has to mean patronising.

However, I did love the thinking behind the Tom Ford Lips & Boys collection – a mini lipstick collection (and I love anything mini) named for men in Tom Ford’s past and present and it’s been a long time since I’ve been interested in anything TF. I just don’t buy the hype. I’ve popped Beau next to one of Charlotte Tilbury’s lipsticks for a size reference. I bought Beau myself via Selfridges on the one-day purchase before they go on general release on 25th December.

It’s worth noting that some of the colours already exist in the Tom Ford regular size lipstick line up. Annoyingly, I can’t remember what I paid for it but I know with the Selfridges postage, it was over £30. I checked over on Temptalia and regular size TF lipsticks are 3 grams and the small size is 2 grams – a regular size lipstick is £37.

So, can spending the best part of £30 on a 2 gram lipstick ever be worth it? There’s no doubt that they’re beautiful – especially if you love tiny things like I do. The formula is very sleek and silky with fulsome coverage but it doesn’t have exceptional last. This shade – typically – wasn’t right for me; it’s just a little bit too pale but I might get away with in summer when my skin isn’t so pasty. But, you know.. I see the attraction. The Tom Ford Lips & Boys does feel rather special; it does feel glamorous, infinitely elegant and as though you have something very luxurious. Bearing in mind I’ve been away from the brand totally for two years so I haven’t really been swayed by PR or marketing hype and I still feel I have something special – that’s quite an achievement. But, I wouldn’t buy another. One is plenty to satisfy my small-and-beautiful craving – the lipsticks themselves just aren’t different enough unless you’re an avid Tom Ford – excuse me, MR Ford, fan – you might as well spend a tenner less on a really good Estee Lauder lippie.

If budget is no object, then pile em up! I love to see any lipsticks done differently, whether it’s in the marketing or in the manufacturing and on that alone, I’m pleased to have mine. But, I don’t need any more.

The post Tom Ford Lips & Boys appeared first on British Beauty Blogger.

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I was sold on the Clinique Lip Pop Colour and Primer Lipstick the moment I first put one on – it has just the most buttery, smooth and sumptuous texture and the colours are punchy and bright. Application is almost foolproof. If ever there was a “lipstick for learners” then this, perhaps along with Chanel’s Rouge Coco, would be it.

Pre-testing, I did think that the whole “primer and lipstick in one” claim would be a bit of a gimmick, but the formula is properly smoothing, as though you’ve already applied a good, matte lipbalm underneath that’s helping everything to look that much more polished. The colour seems to skim over dry or mildly flaky patches and it’s buttery and moisturising without the slightest bit of sliding about.

A few of my favourite shades for you… Here I am before and after applying shade 04, which is called Beige Pop:

To me, this is the most perfect pinky-nude – it’s opaque but not chalky-matte, it has a modern sheen without looking gloopy or patent.

Some may prefer a more “my lips but better” kind of nude, like the one shown below. This one (shade 01) is called Nude Pop. It’s slightly more wearable than Beige Pop, probably, especially if you don’t want to have to pile on a load of mascara and eyeliner, which is often what has to happen to balance out pale nude lips!

I wanted to show you Melon Pop, second from the right in the photograph below, but I seem to have mislaid my pictures! Annoying, because it is, perhaps, my favourite of the bunch. I’ve sent most of my makeup back into storage until I can move into my house later on this summer, otherwise I’d photograph it again for you.

As it stands, you’ll have to make do with me wearing my favourite bright-bright shade from the Lip Pop collection, Poppy Pop.

If you’re looking for an easy-to-wear red then this is it. It doesn’t bleed into fine lines around the mouth, it doesn’t make your teeth look yellow and, with its little bit of juicy sheen, it helps to make thin lips look a teeny bit fuller. Which is a bonus.

Also a bonus: the £16 price tag. For a lipstick with a faultless finish, I’d say that’s pretty good value for money. Find all of the shades at Boots.com here.

The post Clinique Lip Pop: Lipstick for Learners appeared first on A Model Recommends.

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I’ve spent a fair proportion of the week trawling the internet for the best winter jumpers – ordering them, trying them on and (in 90% of cases) sending them back. My ideal jumper, this year, has a high neck (or cowl neck, turtle neck, whatever) to detract attention away from my middle, and it has a pleasingly chunky knit that feels and looks luxurious. Here are my top three…

The cable-knit cowl-neck jumper from New Look, £34.99. What a total bargain. Everything about it is chunksville and I love it – a huge neck to hide in (though you have to arrange it properly otherwise it looks like a neck brace) and oversized cable knit that makes this look loads dearer than it is. Find it online here – I’m wearing a medium.

The contrast roll-neck from Hush, £99. Made from the softest wool, this is the ultimate cosying-up jumper and Mr AMR’s top pick because he says it makes me look a bit “punky”, whatever that means. Looks great with black jeans and boots, so it’s a very easy “throw it on” kind of knit that’s perfect for casual weekends. Find it online here.

Patchwork Roll Neck Jumper from Abercrombie & Fitch, £78 here. Gorgeous snowy wool, very soft, and a sloppy cowl neck that sits just right without any need for faffing. It’s more fitted on the body than the others which you may or may not like, but it’s still far from tight. Cosy, comfy and just passable as a “Christmas Jumper” if you’re getting roped into that business… Find it here.

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My top winter palettes, on video for your viewing pleasure; perfect picks if you like to treat yourself to a little glitzy makeup number before the party season. Or, y’know, at a push, give people presents, but I do feel that these are too nice to earmark as gifts! All contain wearable shades and gorgeous glowing finishes and the packaging isn’t half bad either…

You’ll get a good look at all of the makeup morsels when you watch the video below. I also demo a few of them, including the – shock horror! – Ombres Lamees de Chanel, which apparently should never be touched by bristle nor flesh. It’s the law. Look at it, bow down to it and its majestic detailing:

I sort of wish that I hadn’t gone in with a brush and completely massacred it (the photo was taken pre-brushing frenzy) because actually, the gold didn’t have a hell of a lot of pay-off and there was quite a bit of murky brown going on by the time I’d dispensed with the overspray. The palette looks incredible, a real thing of beauty, but if you’re actually planning on using it (say what?!) then there are better golden shadows. Including ones from Chanel. Humph.

Check out this little treasure chest, above – the Météorites Perles de Légende from Guerlain. Little radiance-boosting powder pearls that set makeup without flattening the skin and give a bit of a glow without making you look robotic. 

The actual pearls make me quite murderous because they go all over the place when you bash your makeup brush into the pot, but such is the way. They smell amazing (Parma Violet fan here) and really do give a good, ethereal sort of finish to your face. They’re here at Escentual.com.

Also in the video, my two purse-friendly favourites: the Cleopatra’s Kiss highlighting palette from Sleek (£9.99 here) and Fortune Favours the Brave eye palette by British Beauty Blogger from Makeup Revolution (£9.99 here, pictured above). And a bumper highlighter edit from Hourglass, a lovely Shimmering Nudes palette from Givenchy and the amazing Winter Soleil clutch from Tom Ford, sadly sold out.

I’ve long been a fan of Vita Liberata’s Capture the Light skin perfector; it adds a tint, a touch of glow and somehow seems to blur imperfections, leaving your legs looking as though they are clad in some sort of invisible miracle tights.

Capture the Light has been relaunched as Body Blur Instant HD Skin Finish, and it’s every bit as brilliant as the original incarnation. Easy to apply (it’s easiest with a mitt, so that you don’t get it all over your hands), this air-brush-effect body cream gives your skin an instant lift and sunkissed glow. No self-tanner required – no potential for streaky disasters, no hanging about in your knickers with your arms in the air waiting for your tan to dry. It’s body makeup, basically, but with an extra bit of pizazz.

Here’s one leg with and one leg without, because I know you like to see these things in action:

There’s quite a tint going on, and a lovely glow, though the finish is most definitely matte. And here’s the baby, dressed as a cow, crawling over my newly Body Blurred skin – amazingly she didn’t have great big brown streaks all over her:

That’s a good point, actually; transfer is minimal, with regards to the colour. I mean I wouldn’t want to roll about on my brand new Egyptian Cotton (1000TC, Kelly Hoppen at QVC, amazing) bedsheets, but guess what? I just accidentally did. I completely forgot that I was wearing the Body Blur. I can tell you that there was no colour transfer from just lying there and wriggling about and stretching to get the TV remote, but when I knelt up to rearrange the duvet and scraped my shin across the bed there was a bit of a mark. In real life, as in, out and about, I think you’d really have to go some to get it on your clothes – street dancing in a thunderstorm, etc – but I’d avoid bright white outfits if you’re the cautious type.