Defending Eyes from Unfriendly Skies!

Let’s get real here: we moisturize & exfoliate, cleanse & prime—but we still can’t always seem to protect our skin the way that we want to. Specifically, our eyelids. They’re small, but oh, so delicate, and we’re planning on using them to protect our eyes for years to come. So, like any Benebabe would, we came up with a fabulous solution for eyelid defense! Enter, air patrol—our brand new BB eyelid primer with SPF 20!

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Our eyelids go through a lot of abuse every day: between smoke (& smoky eyes), smog & sun, there’s a lot going on in the life of an eyelid! Air patrol protects your eyes against environmental stress with EnviroDefend Complex, which combines shea extract, silktree extract & licorice root for a fabulous formula to protect, defend & soothe. As always with Benefit, it’s also all about the tip. Air patrol has a cushion calm tip inspired by gel foam found in mattresses & pillows for stress free, pressure free application that’s softer than your pinkie!

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We know your next question—air patrol will protect your lids, yeah, but will it also keep your shadow from creasing? Of COURSE, gorgeous! Have we ever let you down!? Air patrol works flawlessly on its own for color-correction & a gorgeous no-makeup makeup look, or under shadow for crease-free perfection that lasts all day! To apply air patrol, just click once & massage into the eyelid, using the cushion calm tip to blend evenly. Pro-tip: give air patrol a few seconds to dry, and once it gets tacky, blend into the area around the eyelid for a seamless look.

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So what do you think, gorgeous—are you ready to protect those peepers with some serious eyelid defense!? Air patrol is landing in stores September 1st!

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New In This Week: Pretty (Yet Practical) Makeup Bits To Make You Go ‘Ooooooh!’

You know what they say: you wait for great makeup launches to come along, and then a tonne turn up all at once! It’s taken a good long while for genuinely exciting bits and pieces to land on my doorstep this year (red lipsticks and another re-hash of a mascara are not exciting,) but can I get a whoop whoop because boy do we have lift off! I’ve pulled together an edit of nine launches I think you need to know about, all of which just happen to be more than a little bit pretty too. Here’s the lowdown, so get your notepad and pen at the ready because there *will* be a shopping list.

Benefit Galifornia Blusher (£24.50)
More well known for their box blushers than possibly anything else, Benefit have knocked it out of the park with their latest launch. Galifornia is a beautiful coral peach shade that’s infused with golden pigments to add a natural glow to cheeks, enhancing a tan or just helping to provide a touch of radiance. The gold is very subtle and catches the light to provide a beautiful highlight, but that does mean you have to apply this strategically if you’re not a fan of looking a bit too glowy! The best bit though is the fact this smells like holidays; the tropical scent ensures it’s addictive and transports you instantly to somewhere altogether more warm. I’m obssessed already – it’s my new fave.

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Cheryl StormFlower

Preparing For Cheryl

When celebville hits town, there is so much preparation to do – even last minute like the stand-in Cheryl for lighting checks above. The Cheryl Stormflower launch was shrowded in secrecy – not one leaked picture or details – and still, some of Cheryl’s fans used their spidey senses and knew where and when she’d be! I didn’t even know til a few days ago. Anyway, they were so friendly and chatty and waited a long old time for Cheryl’s arrival on the hottest, most uncomfortable London evening of the year.

Cheryl Arrives

When Cheryl arrived to launch her new fragrance, I was so surprised at how tiny she is. She’s like a flower fairy – absolutely petite. Of course, she was immaculate – beautiful dress, beautiful make-up, smiley and relaxed. If I compare it to the Kim Kardashian fragrance launch – it was a whole different vibe.

Cheryl

So, if you’re a regular reader of BBB, you’ll know I’m not in the least interested in celebrities but Cheryl looked directly at me, did the most beautiful smile – and I actually got a shiver. Whatever ‘it’ is, she has ‘it’.

Cheryl and Marvin

Marvin did a quick interview with Cheryl about Stormflower – it was really relaxed – she said all the usual things (totally involved, etc) but they had a good chemistry and it didn’t feel all that celeby in the end.

Stormflower

So, finally, here’s StormFlower in its rose gold packaging. It’s a fruity-floral that’s suprisingly clean and fresh smelling. The intitial spray is quite heavily fruity, but the dry down is very wearable – it doesn’t wear you, I suppose I am trying to say. The blurb says that it contains vanilla (not heavy), white musk, sandalwood, mandarin and nectarine, freesia and peach blossom. I would have to say it’s a pretty scent – it won’t rock the fragrance world but it’s right for its audience I think and a very welcome change from the usual youth market fragrances that smell of boiled toffee and roses.

There were plenty of flower shaped fragrance spills spritzed with StormFlower so I pocketed lots of them and gave them to Cheryl’s fans on the way out – I’m not sure why this isn’t done as standard – they were waiting in boiling heat for such a long time so it seems such a small thing to do; and I only learned to do it at the Kim Kardashian fragrance launch when I accidentally had some extras and gave them away there and they were just so pleased to smell the scent. Not that I’m at many celebrity fragrance launches, but if I am I always do it.

I’m also wondering if the bottles had to be re-done in light of Cheryl’s secret wedding. Imagine the panic!

The post Cheryl StormFlower appeared first on British Beauty Blogger.

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Fendi Furiosa

Fendi Furosia

Woo! There’s a name – Fendi Furiosa. Despite such a strong name, the fragrance is very feminine – it’s powerful with some big blossomy notes in the form of gardena and jasmine absolute, and the centrepiece, the Violaciocca flower (scented stocks). Like the name suggests, Fendi Furiosa isn’t for wallflowers! It’s unapologetically sexy and meant to be so – down-notes of woods and amber ensure a base that’s enveloping and heady.

Fendi Furosia

The bottle is such a mercurial design; basically an ‘animal’ print that could be anything from a butterfly wing or leopard spots, to alligator markings or even, I guess a giraffe print. I think it is so, so clever. Fendi Furiosa is all about evenings – I wouldn’t mark it for myself as a day fragrance, but as the last part of a glamorous going-out ritual, it’s spot on. As you might expect, it’s rather a ‘luxury’ price, too! You can find it at Harrods for £63.50.

The post Fendi Furiosa appeared first on British Beauty Blogger.

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YSL Sahariennes: The Ultimate Bronze

YSL Sahariennes Bronzing Stones Review

If you watched the June Favourites video then you’ll already know that I’ve totally fallen for these silky, buildable bronzers from Yves Saint Laurent. I love everything about them, from the way that the powder has been pressed so that it looks like rippled sand right down to the luminous, creamy finish when applied to the skin.

I have to say that the glamorously-named Sahariennes Bronzing Stones nearly got passed over in the testing queue – I thought that they’d be like those annoying pots of powdery beads that you can get. Blasted little spheres of bronzer or blusher or illuminating face powder that bounce out all over the place and go everywhere except onto the makeup brush.

But they’re not. The cream-powder is pressed into a compact, just like a traditional bronzer, albeit one that’s far lighter, brighter and smoother. The Sahariennes use ultra-fine pigment that sits so beautifully on the skin, so seamlessly, that it’s difficult to tell whether you’re actually wearing any bronzer at all.

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I mean that in a good way, obviously; nobody wants to fork out on a bronzer for it to make absolutely no difference! I suppose what I’m getting at is that the finish is so lightweight and non-powdery, so fine and smooth, that it’s a subtle and believable bronzing effect that you end up with rather than anything brash or “done”. Definitely one for people who like makeup with a light touch, though both shades of this that I’ve tried (1 and 3) are supremely buildable for a more dramatic look.

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In the photograph above I’m wearing a light dusting of shade 1 with a bit of shade 3 in all of the usual places – below cheekbones, temples – so that you can see the overall effect. I can’t get enough of these Bronzing Stones: bright but non-shimmery, light but generously pigmented… Well worth checking out on counter if you’re on the hunt for an easy makeup bag update – you can also find them online here. They are £35 each, come with a smart-looking brush and are lightly scented with the most delightful, fruity sort of smell. Just delicious.

The post YSL Sahariennes: The Ultimate Bronze 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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