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AQUA LIP Waterproof Lip Liner Pencil

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The extremely waterproof texture of this pencil allows to reshape and emphasize the lip contours. Ultra long-lasting and non-transferable, it stays on for hours, even in extreme conditions.

It is water and saliva resistant. It can be used on the entire mouth, after applying a non-oily skincare on the lips (Lip Contour Skincare Pencil). The range of matte shades offers natural tone-on-tone palettes and other more intense colors.
For hygiene purposes, sharpen the pencil well with the special pencil sharpener before each use to draw a precise line. – Draw a line directly on the contour of the lips, reshaping them if necessary. – It is essential to put the cap back on after each use in order to maintain the fluidity of the texture and the product’s waterproof properties. – To cover the lips, apply the Lip Skincare Pencil, leave to dry for 1 or 2 seconds. Then color the lips with the Aqua Lip pencil. To achieve a non-transferable result, wait for the product to dry (evaporation of the volatile oils). – To remove the product, use the Sens’Eyes makeup remover (for waterproof products).

To draw a full mouth, use 2 pencil shades : a dark one on the lip contour and a lighter one on the mouth and then blend together. You can also use a dark pencil on the contours and a lighter lipstick on the lips. Do not apply any oily substance (Lipstick, Gloss, etc.) on the pencil as this would cancel out the waterproof effect. This pencil has been designed to meet the requirements of professionals: natural colors for the film and television industry and intense colors for the stage and aquatic ballets. To make a mouth bigger (very thin lips) or to reshape the contour of a wrinkled mouth, make sure that the surface of the skin is not oily (foundation or cream) and if necessary, dust with powder before using the Aqua Lip pencil. To draw a full mouth, use 2 pencil shades : a dark one on the lip contour and a lighter one on the mouth and then blend together. You can also use a dark pencil on the contours and a lighter lipstick on the lips. On the beach, after applying sun cream and powder the lips before applying the Aqua Lip pencil in order to achieve a waterproof result. Do not apply any oily substance (Lipstick, Gloss, etc.) on the pencil as this would cancel out the waterproof effect.

Makeup Treasure: The Modern Mercury Highlighter

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estee lauder modern mercury victoria beckham

In my original review post and video review of the Victoria Beckham makeup collection for Estee Lauder I mentioned that my top pick, if you were going to buy one item, would probably be the Modern Mercury Highlighter. Sort of risky to recommend it, really, as it was virtually the only product in the line that I hadn’t managed to try, but I felt safe in the knowledge that if it was a faithful reproduction of the original Illuminating Gelée, released in 2011, it would be a definite crowd-pleaser. A proper piece of makeup treasure.

estee lauder modern mercury victoria beckham

And – thank goodness – it’s every bit as lovely as the first edition. More so, in fact, with its luxurious ribbed leather compact and sleek looks. I wish that I still had my original Illuminating Powder Gelée so that I could compare old and new; the 2011 release seemed to have much more of a shiny finish in the pan than the VB version, so I do wonder whether the formulas are identical, but the tone, from what I can tell, looks the same. A soft, minky sort of shade that is a little bit darker and warmer than the traditional “whack it on the cheekbones” sort of highlighter. I think that it’s ever so slightly easier to work with if you have a deeper skintone than an extremely fair one – it needs a very light touch on fair skin, I feel. It’s almost the shade of a very pale-dusky blusher, though obviously far shinier.

Saying that: I’m quite fair myself at the moment and have been whacking this highlighter on left right and centre! So don’t be frightened by it if you’re used to those pale, cool-toned illuminating powders – I’d say that Modern Mercury is universally flattering, you just need to adjust your application to suit. I use a smallish brush to get an accurate application on the cheekbones (you don’t want it all over your face, unless you want to pass as a robot) or I dab with fingertips onto the bridge of my nose, cupid’s bow, under the eyebrows to give them a lift…

Ten Face Highlighters for Under £10…

If you missed the Modern Mercury collection the first time around (you can watch my review video here) and love that high-polish sort of skin glow, then you might want to snap up this Victoria Beckham version. At £48, it’s about fifty-eight-thousand times more expensive than the original, which is an irritation – but (as I said in my VB round-up) you’re paying for the luxury element and the branding. Whether Beckham is your cup of tea is another matter!

The Victoria Beckham x Estée Lauder Collection Review…

You can find a few highlighters left at Harrods online here – they seem to be out of stock at Estée Lauder, though it’s always worth checking.

The post Makeup Treasure: The Modern Mercury Highlighter appeared first on A Model Recommends.

© 2016 A Model Recommends®: all opinions are my own and any sponsored or paid posts will always be very clearly marked. I accept press samples and receive product and services to review as part of my job. Outward links to retailers will usually be affiliate links. Please see here for full “about” section and disclaimer.  A Model Recommends and Ruth Crilly are registered trademarks.

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Chanel Summer Makeup Collection: My Top Picks

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ruth crilly model beauty blogger

I’ve been playing about with the Chanel Summer 2015 Makeup Collection – Méditerranée – and am completely head over heels with pretty much all of it. But especially – and this was something of a surprise to me – the “Stylo” eyeshadows, which are basically very lightweight cream eyeshadows in a stick. I have a love-hate relationship with cream eyeshadows because although they look glam on the lids and usually have the most intense (often metallic) shine, they can be a bit messy to apply and blend. Especially if you’re the kind of person (me) who just jams their finger into the pot and hopes for the best.

stylo eyeshadows chanel

Not so with Chanel’s little eyeshadow numbers; you just take the lid off and scribble. If you want to, you can use a finger or brush to blend out the edges (I did in the pictures on this page), but the ends of the Stylo Eyeshadow are actually quite small, making application reasonably neat and precise.

chanel makeup summer 2015

I used the gorgeous Laurier Rose on my lids – the most flattering coppery-pink – and then Caroube, a shimmering bronze-cocoa, to define the lashline and add some drama to the outer corners of the eye.

chanel stylo eyeshadow caroube

I didn’t blend Caroube at all – just drew it on and left it to set. Which takes all of about two seconds. So that’s a warning to those who do want to blend: you need to have finger/brush ready to go as you’re applying the shadow. If you try to go back and blend after ten seconds – even five! – everything is set in place and the deed is done. Brilliant, because this is makeup at its fastest and most convenient – no dirty fingertips, no pots to fumble with, no brushes gathering fluff in the bottom of your handbag. Not so great for the disorganised, but – as I said – the tips of the shadow pens are really precise, so you can just scribble away sans blending if you want to. (Find them here online.)

chanel lumiere d'ete illuminating powder

I’m also rather enamoured with the Lumière d’Été, which is labelled an “Illuminating Powder” but works best (on me, at least) as a light, luminous bronzer. It’s too dark to be a highlighter and actually, even as a bronzer you have to tread carefully as tone-wise it’s on the warmer side… But swept lightly over cheeks, temples and decolletage it imparts a beautiful summery glow. And man is it pretty to look at! (Find it online here.)

chanel coco shine reveuse

I’m wearing the Lumière d’Été in all of the photos on this page – you can hopefully see how it warms the skin up. It’s a very soft and fine glow. And you can see in the photograph above my last favourite pick from the collection; the Rouge Coco Shine in Réveuse. A sumptuous, buttery nude with just the right amount of peachy-pinkness. So chic, so easy to wear and a great place to start if you want a “my lips but better”, balmy-textured lipstick to see you through the summer. Find it online here.

You can find the whole collection of Chanel Makeup Summer 2015 at House of Fraser here.

The post Chanel Summer Makeup Collection: My Top Picks appeared first on A Model Recommends.

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What to Wear This Spring…

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spring lookbook video

Ah, ’tis finally here: the Spring Lookbook. I’ve collected together some of my favourite outfits and put them on video. It’s a bit like a moving photoshoot and I really hope that you like it – it took me a whole day to film it and another entire day to edit! If you can bring it upon yourself to give it a “thumbs up” or tweet it or share it or whatever it is that floats your boat, then please do. If this one goes down well then I’ll do a Lookbook video every season and perhaps some extra little trend features in between.

Now I’ve been sneaking little fashion teasers onto the website since last week so you’ll have had a preview of some of the outfits already – others will be a big and glorious surprise! Let me know which your favourite is in the comments; my personal favourite is Look 1 with the sport-luxe trousers and the gorgeous cashmere cardigan (above), but closely followed by the outfit with the teal-coloured shirt from Hush and the floral print skirt (below).

style blog how to wear pencil skirt

I’m getting really into clashing patterns and wearing a bit of colour – an attempt, I suppose, at dragging myself from the “black and grey and neutrals” rut. Not that there’s anything wrong with black or grey or neutrals, it’s just that I can be an incredibly lazy dresser and it’s quite refreshing to be doing a bit of fashion experimentation.

what to wear this spring blog

A couple of things to note: the amazing French 65 court shoes from Whistles (featured in “Look 2″ above) are actually on sale at the moment, reduced from £135 to £94.50. They are incredibly chic and actually quite alright to walk in – not as comfy as the black and white “Jennie” shoes from L.K. Bennett, but getting there. Find them in the sale here. The other thing is an apology; there are a few bits and bobs that are no longer available online. It took me so long to collect my clothes together and then film and edit the video that the fashion world moved on without me! Things went into the sale and then promptly sold out. So the lovely duck-egg blue Topshop jumper (below) is nowhere to be seen (unless you find it in-store, which is a possibility so do check!) and also the silky Topshop Unique printed shorts seem to have disappeared from the face of the earth. Which is perhaps a blessing, in a way, because they weren’t the easiest little blighters to wear.

ruth crilly topshop

Right. Are you sitting comfortably? Grab a cup of tea or whatever it is that you like to have handy and we shall begin! If you can’t see the video player at the bottom of this page then please click here to view the Lookbook in a new window.

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Creme Puff Blush: Understated Nude

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best budget blusher

After mentally compiling a “best of 2015” list but then completely forgetting to actually write up a post, I thought that I might work my way through and do some standalone reviews. At any rate, the Creme Puff Blush from Max Factor deserves its own page here on A Model Recommends; I probably use it more often than any other face powder product. (Or it definitely ties with Chanel’s Les Beiges!) Partly because it’s incredibly petite and compact and therefore a permanent fixture in my makeup bag, but also because the shade I use – Nude Mauve – is the most perfect “do-it-all” part-bronze-part-blush powder.

Max Factor Creme Puff Blush in Nude Mauve

If you’re a fan of the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush then you’ll know the joy of a non-shimmery, maximum glow cheek colour. We’re talking subtle luminescence, here, and not full-on highlighting, but the final effect is one of a beautiful wash of colour that somehow lifts and brightens the complexion. Max Factor’s Creme Puff Blush powders have the same multi-tonal idea; Nude Mauve combines swirls of a flattering bronze with a kind of Bonne Mine shade. Healthy glow. The overall effect is just that, though it’s slightly too dark for me to use as I would a complexion enhancer – I either sweep it over my cheeks for a sunkissed look or build it up beneath the cheekbones for more of a sculpted effect.

Read about the best nude makeup products…

For me, Nude Mauve is just one of those shades that you can’t go far wrong with. The hint of mauve stops it from being too flat and adds the tiniest bit of outdoorsy flush, but if you want to use the powder strictly to sculpt (in a low-key way) then the warmth doesn’t interfere. Here I’ve used it beneath the cheekbones (Bobbi Brown’s Face Blender brush for this):

And you can (hopefully) see that the wash of colour is just gorgeously nude and understated. If you like to look polished rather than obviously “done up” then it’s a great little blush/bronzer to have in your bag.

Equally, if you’ve been lusting after the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blushers in the pinkier/coral tones then you could do a lot worse than to check out Alluring Rose and Seductive Pink from the Creme Puff range. When I find them in the quagmire of makeup that litters my office floor I shall take some photographs – in the meantime, you can find them all online here.

Max Factor Creme Puff Blush in Nude Mauve is £8.99 from Boots.com

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