Category Archives: beauty products

Well I must say that this fragrance has grown on me, if only a little. I couldn’t stand it at first. It’s not my type of perfume at all, but it has caught my attention somehow – perhaps because it’s such a breath of fresh air at a time when many fragrance releases are on the heavier, spicier side, warming up for the dark and chilly months. Considering that My Burberry was an autumn launch, it’s incredibly light and crisp and a bit frivolous, and if I had to match it to a season then without a doubt I’d say Spring. But I suppose that’s neither here nor there, because we’re now in the depths of gloomy winter and no amount of light-hearted sweet pea and freesia and bergamot is going to convince you that the blossoms are on their way out and the baby birds are about to start twittering. My Burberry is simply for those who like to keep things light, fresh and uncomplicated whatever the season – it reminds me of a glass of fizzy Elderflower or one of those posh champagne cocktails with flowers floating on the top.

See also: Jo Malone Cricket Pavilion & Spritzer Cologne…

My Burberry has been created by Francis Kurkdjian, he of Jean Paul Gaultier fame (and his own-line fame and fame from dozens and dozens of incredibly well-known perfumes). I have to say that I was quite surprised when I found that out – I always expect a bit of a dark, sexy edge when Kurkdjian’s involved, but My Burberry  doesn’t seem to have any real base to it. It’s about as safely sparkly as scents get, very airy and dancey and crisp. Those who love very light florals will adore it; women who require more guts from their perfumes will perhaps abhor. I don’t know – I’m sitting on the fence. It’s perfectly adequate as a spritz of something clean and crispy, but I can’t imagine it stopping people dead in their tracks, wondering what on earth hit them…

Thoughts? Lovers of light florals and crisp, fresh scents, give me your verdict! I have to say that I do love the bottle styling – incredibly heavy glass, lid like an oversized tortoiseshell button – but scent-wise, I’m craving some dark and depraved base notes. Mind you, if it had those then it would be a completely different perfume! Mr Bear, as you can see above, greatly approves of My Burberry. He is modelling a personalised version (made for my assistant, you can have it done for free when you order here) but it’s also available uncustomised – Escentual.com stock My Burberry starting at £45 for 30ml.

The post My Burberry: Craving the Dark and Depraved appeared first on A Model Recommends.

Continue reading →

1) Could this be the last Sunday Tittle Tattle for a while? Brace yourselves: it’s entirely possible! I’m 39 weeks pregnant tomorrow and so really, Baby AMR could emerge at any time. (I like the word “emerge” rather than “pop out” – it sounds gentler and far less painful. Like the head will just serenely appear and we will all smile and coo and I can play The Circle of Life from The Lion King through my iPod speakers. Brilliant.) Anyway; as always I will endeavour to provide you with regular, brilliant quality (ha!) content, and I have loads of interesting posts and videos scheduled in advance, it’s just the Sunday Tittle Tattles that may prove to be a pain. I like them to be current and so I write them only a day or two in advance – that may not be possible if I’m simultaneously trying to learn the art of breastfeeding and trying to press frozen sanitary pads onto my sore bits. If you miss me and you want to find out what’s going on (mostly with my breasts and sore bits, I’d imagine) then please do bookmark my other blog, The Uphill. You can subscribe to the email feed and it’ll notify you when I’ve written something worthy and original.

2) Random beauty mention, just in case I don’t manage to test this out pre-baby-madness; NEOM’s new Intensive Skin Treatment Candles. Now these “beauty” candles aren’t a new concept – Oskia do a gorgeous Rose de Mai one and I’ve seen a couple of others about, but…HELLO! Look at the packaging on this beauty! Absolutely knock-out. Very luxe and impressive and I can imagine that the product itself won’t disappoint; the Scent to Sleep version has been formulated to soothe and nourish very dry skin and there’s the highest possible concentration of essential oils blended in to give the ultimate aromatherapy hit. A sleepy hit, I’m guessing from the name of this treatment – I can’t wait to try it. You can find more details on the NEOM website here.

Continue reading →

This week’s nail art challenge with @NailArtistMartha was to create a look using Nails Inc’s Queensgate Gardens Floral Polish. It’s not a polish that I would ever pick up – it looks headache-inducingly complicated with its matte glitter and its flower pieces – but I really like the finished effect. You wouldn’t probably catch me parading about with daisies stuck to my nails, but I’d definitely work that pale blue matte glitter if I could master the application technique! (Martha said that it’s actually relatively easy to create the “fade”; just keep adding product to the free edge of the nail and it will build up naturally into that sprayed-on effect.) I imagine that you have to go digging to get those flower pieces, as they’re all mixed up with the glitter and the clear polish inside the bottle, and you’d probably want a little pair of tweezers to position the daisies if you were the pedantic kind. It’s quite difficult to remove the polish, apparently, so you’ll need to really soak the cotton wool pads in acetone and be quite patient.

Martha applied Queensgate Gardens over Nails Inc’s Latex Polish in Portobello Road, below. I think that this more-than-matte finish is amazing and I love the pale pink shade. They look like plastic doll fingernails! Totally OTT, totally Vegas! Martha has applied it to falsies to show the full-on effect but I think that it would look great on shorter, natural nails. I shall give it a try and let you know. Martha said that it dries very quickly, so you have to be fast with your application to get the perfectly smooth finish that she’s achieved. And you definitely need two coats, so again, apply carefully because the polish is quite thick. (This all spells trouble for my untrained, clumsy hands.)

I’m not sure whether the Latex finish will be permanent – I hope so. I think it’s a really unusual look, almost cartoon-like. For the moment, you can find Latex Effect here and Queensgate Gardens here. There are other shades available, but I think that these would be my pick of the bunch. Thank you once again to the lovely Martha – you can find her on Facebook here and on Instagram here if you’d like to ask any questions. And please, if you have any looks you’d like to see, fire away with your suggestions. We could do some more in-depth step-by-steps; I for one would love to know how to paint the perfect dark nail and also how to trim my cuticles!

Find more nail looks here

Continue reading →

Two makeup posts in a row? What is happening to me? Well, funnily enough, my new years resolution was to buy less skincare and more makeup instead – a real challenge 😉

I was recently introduced to the Ere Perez makeup range thanks to Naturisimo now stocking it, and they kindly sent me over a couple of pieces to try. With a mid-range price point (ranging from £13-£24) Ere Perez isn’t going to break the bank but it has a cost that means you’re hopefully getting something that’s high quality. I was sent a highlighter, mascara and powder blush, and after wearing them a few times I’ve got the low-down on what you need asap, and what you don’t.

Starting with my favourite, the Versatile Vanilla Highlighter in the shade Falling Star (£17), this creamy highlighter was an instant winner for me, as you can see, it’s rose gold! A possible dupe for the RMS Master Mixer? It’s quite difficult to describe the colour is real life, I did try very hard to photograph it but I wasn’t happy with the outcome, the colour is a pinky golden silver, it’s warm toned but when it catches the light it does glimmer a little silvery. Very, very pretty. The formula is easy to use, it’s very creamy and has a great pigment payoff when tapped onto cheekbones, browbone and cupids bow, etc.

The Natural Almond Oil Mascara (£16.50) is a simple, black mascara. It isn’t going to knock your socks off with incredible length and volume but it does give the pretty, natural lash effect. It’s best quality is that it doesn’t smudge or flake at all, it’s long wearing and doesn’t irritate – you can’t even tell it’s there to be honest. It does clump the lashes together a little, especially if you apply more than one coat but a quick brush through can sort that.

They also have a volumising waterproof formula that sounds interesting, which perhaps would be better if you’re looking for something with more wow-factor.

Lastly we have the Pure Rice Powder Blush (£20) in the shade My Blush, a neutral colour described as “a neutral soft tan”. I’ve been using this as a bronzer to warm up my complexion more than a blush, though it also looks nice dusted on the cheeks, too. This isn’t the most pigmented blusher but actually that makes it perfect for me, it’s hard to be heavy handed here and end up looking more tango-luxe than tan. I use a fluffy brush to apply the powder wherever the sun would naturally hit and hel-lo have I just got back off of holiday? I actually look alive! Is this what bronzer is always like? Because if so I should apply it way more often.

All in all, I am quite impressed with Ere Perez, they have a lovely natural approach to makeup, nothing in your face, no bright colours, it’s all about perfecting and enhancing your already beautiful self. The plastic packaging is slightly flimsy and bulky, but because it’s all white it redeems itself by looking a little more luxe than it is.

TL;DR? Get that highlighter in your basket immediately.

Continue reading →