Category Archives: beauty look

I’m not a great believer in face wipes, but these are face swipes, not face wipes, and that makes them a-ok. I jest of course; but there’s far more to this little packet of beauty tissues than just a jazzed-up name. For a start, they’re nothing like your run-of-the-mill wipe; some of the versions out there are just hideous. Quite handy for when you run out of loo-roll, or if you need to clean your makeup brushes on-the-go, or if you want to make it look as though you’ve cleaned the bathroom when unexpected guests come over, but for face care? Nah. Not on a regular basis, anyway.

Mama Mio’s new Gorgeous Glow Balancing Facial Swipes are nothing like your usual wipe, though; not laden with harsh, drying ingredients or stripping cleansing agents. They’ve been formulated for delicate, temperamental pregnancy skin and are infused with aloe to soothe, antioxidants to protect and a blend of oils to help moisturise and nourish the skin. What I find interesting about these swipes is that they’re not all namby-pamby; they’ve been designed to give the skin a really deep and thorough cleanse (as much as a wipe can do that) and they have lactic acid to gently exfoliate and keep blemishes in check. A nice emergency option, then, for anyone with hormonal or temperamental skin. Breakouts with sensitivity, breakouts with dryness, grubby PMT skin, grubby festival skin, grubby mid-flight temperamental PMT skin… You get the picture.

I decided to do a bit of a test with these last week; I wiped my face all day with Gorgeous Glow swipes and didn’t follow up with any moisturiser. (Crazy! I know!) With pretty much any wipe I’ve tried previously, my face would have been almost inside-out with dryness – these? A great feeling of freshness and cleanliness but with absolutely no dryness. Wonderful. I’d never recommend a wipe as your main cleanse, just because I think that it’s a good habit to be going in there with something more substantial and then rinsing all of the residue and crap away with water, but when it comes to emergency cleansing these are brilliant. The packet says to avoid the eye area; I didn’t, because I’m a daredevil like that. My eyes didn’t fall out or anything but you’d probably want something different to take your mascara off with.

Mama Mio Gorgeous Glow Balancing Facial Swipes are £14 for 30 wipes with free delivery here.

Continue reading →

Over the last year or so, I’ve seen more and more rave reviews of the Michael Kors beauty range but until recently, I’d never tried anything from the range myself. The Michael Kors beauty range is stocked at Debenhams, and consists of the different Michael Kors fragrances and body products. I have the Michael Kors White Eau de Parfum, which is available in 30ml, 50ml and 100ml bottles priced between £39 and £79. Michael Kors White is the newest fragrance in the collection, and like the name suggests, is based on white flowers. The top notes consist of aldehydes, freesia, ylang-ylang and violet leaves, the heart contains notes of tuberose, white peony, gardenia and Egyptian Jasmine, whilst the base is made from white musk, amber, tonka, vanilla and cedar.

The bottle is unlike any other bottle within my fragrance collection, with its rectangular shape, and chunky silver lid complete with a button encompassed within it. In all honesty, its not the prettiest perfume bottle I’ve ever seen, but I quite like the angular design. Scent wise, it’s a very strong fragrance which needs only one spray as it can be very overpowering, especially as it’s so longlasting.. I’d describe White as being the white floral version of DIOR’s Poison in terms of potency, longevity and silage – when you walk into a room, everybody is going to be able to smell your perfume, which some might not like. I typically prefer more woody and sweet scents, but White has been a nice addition to my perfume collection. I do wish the atomiser would dispense less fragrance than it does, as a lighter mist would be much better for such a strong fragrance. If you like white floral scents, you’d love Michael Kors White as it’s smells so fresh, and crisp.

In addition to the White Eau de Parfum, I also have the Michael Kors Indulgent Body Crème 175ml £42, which is packaged within a gorgeous white and gold box. The Body Crème itself is packaged within a stunning, weighty glass jar with a gold metal lid, and it looks so luxurious on my dressing table. I thought the fragrance of the Body Crème might have been similar to White, but they’re quite different. White is a strong, white floral scent whereas this cream has a more warmer and woodier scent thanks due to the tuberose. I do prefer the scent of the Body Crème to the White fragrance, but they do compliment eachother as they’re both floral based but when I wear White layered over this cream, it does become a little muskier than when I wear it alone.

This cream is very thick, and rich with a little going a long way, but even though it’s very rich, I find that it absorbs into the skin quickly without leaving my skin feeling sticky or greasy like some body butters tend to do. Due to the price, the Michael Kors Indulgent Body Crème is obviously an high end item but it would make for the perfect gift, especially if you know someone that has everything and are difficult to buy for.. it’s just so luxurious, and stunning both in appearance and scent, that anyone would be thrilled to own it.

*This post contains a PR Sample or gifted item.

The post Michael Kors White Eau de Parfum and Indulgent Body Crème appeared first on Miss Makeup Magpie.

; ; ; ; ; ;

Related Stories

• Soap and Glory Sugar Crush 3 in 1 Body Lotion
• Appleyard London Bellini Bouquet
• Lookfantastic August Beauty Box #LFBeautyBox

;

Continue reading →

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 →