When you start to spot things like the Free People Lace Trench, it’s a sure sign that spring is on its way. I love how Free People have updated a classic and made it into the very thing that you think you can’t do a season without! I’d wear this crochet knit with jeans, boots and t-shirt I think on days when you don’t really need a coat but it’s just a tiny bit too chilly without. I think I’d probably ditch the belt and wear it open and loose – it’s got to beat a waterfall cardigan any day!
It’s a little bit of a bank-breaker at £325, but I’ve never seen anything like it before. Remember when people just had ONE coat?
Comments Off on Youth-Infusing Foundation: Tried and Tested
Another foundation launch; this time it’s Estée Lauder with the Perfectionist Youth-Infusing Makeup. Foundations are just getting better and better; lightweight formulas, great coverage and glowy finishes that aren’t shimmery or reflective, but give the skin a “lit from within” kind of radiance. I know that many of you are keen for me to do a full review of YSL’s Fusion Ink and I promise I’ll do that as soon as I’m back from my holiday – it’s a truly excellent, weightless face base that just glides onto the skin and miraculously disappears. Well worth the wait for a review and before-and-afters!
Lauder’s Perfectionist is a completely different kettle of fish, texture-wise. It’s not a super-light liquid like the YSL or Lancome’s Air de Teint; this is more along the traditional lines in that it has a creamy formula that requires proper blending. Like Dior’s new Star makeup, it evens out skintone beautifully and gives fairly good coverage, though I think in terms of radiance Dior’s foundation just about pips Lauder’s to the post. (Read about Star here.)
Here are the (now traditional!) before and after pictures:
Now you see the darkness underneath the eyes, the odd blemish and bits of redness and discolouration;
Now you don’t. Well okay, they’re not completely concealed, but the general effect is beautiful, don’t you think? It’s not quite so “real skin” as the Dior Star, but it definitely has a sheerness and radiance to it that lifts it way above my old EL foundation pick, Double Wear Light. The longevity is good, and I think that the coverage is pretty decent if you just need your skin to look more uniform and smooth. Dark circles and blemishes don’t completely vanish (I’d say that Star has more coverage, if that’s what you need) but that’s often the obvious payoff if you’re opting for a sheerer, lighter foundation.
Read more foundation reviews…
You can see my applying the Perfectionist Youth-Infusing Foundation in the video below; do let me know if you’ve tried it and what you think. It sits very well on my combination-type skin, but I’d be interested how drier skin fares and also what the wear is like if you have very oily skin. Comments below, please!
You can find Estée Lauder’s Perfectionist Youth-Infusing Foundation online here – it’s £37. Foundation prices do seem to be climbing, but perhaps this is justified considering some of the quite remarkable makeup developments that are happening. What do you think? Would you pay extra for an amazing finish or beautiful, lightweight texture? What’s your limit when it comes to face base prices? I’m constantly on the hunt for good, affordable options but I must say that there’s often a glaring difference in formula and finish between budget bases and the pricier ones. Though I do get on very well with Bourjois…
The selling-point with Lauder’s new foundation seems to be that the formula incorporates a dose of the Perfectionist serum; personally, I like to apply my serum as a dedicated skincare product (read about serums here) but I suppose it can’t hurt to double up. Though I’m guessing you’d be applying this after your moisturiser (barrier) layer and have to wonder how much of the serum would wiggle its way down to the skin…
My wonderful A Model Recommends assistant, @AMR_Rach, would pooh-pooh that suggestion; she’s the Queen of Enthusiastic Product Application and has been known to pat on her wrinkle cream up to ten times a day! Crivens! (More on that later – she’s been testing out some retinol products for me.)
Estee Lauder Perfectionist: http://tidd.ly/737c1b77
Laura Mercier High Coverage Concealer: http://goo.gl/sQFegr
Comments Off on Glossybox September 2015 Unboxing and First Impressions
The Glossybox September 2015 box is a ‘Style Edition’ box which claims to ‘celebrate all the new season has to offer’, and contains an impressive five full size products. I always love the Glossybox Collectors boxes, as they’re always so pretty and September’s box is one of my favourite designs they’ve done with a super pretty pastel design which I’ll definitely be reusing as it’s simply too pretty to throw away. I really do think that Glossybox are a roll with their boxes.. it’s been a long time since they’ve had a dud box, and the September box is amazing…
The first product within the box is a set of three Invisibobble Hair Rings worth £4. Inivisibobble Hair Rings are coiled plastic rings, a little like an old school telephone cord but they claim to be traceless, so they don’t leave pesky bumps in your hair once you take them out like normal bobbles do. I think these will be a hit with everyone, especially as they’re clear as they do some very bright colours but these have a slight pearlescent shine to them. Continue reading →
There’s a bit of a bronzer review “run” at the moment, so do bear with me! I wanted to get them all tested out so that I was ready for the summer – you saw the Guerlain ones yesterday, and there are still a few more to go. Unless Baby AMR emerges before the end of the week, in which case maybe I’ll take a break.
Although I’m very partial to a fairer bronzer for a more subtle, daytime look, nothing beats a deep, full-on St Tropez hue for really getting into the summer spirit! This KIKO bronzer is part of the Modern Tribes collection and comes in an enormous wooden box. Random packaging note, but it reminds me of what you’d find the soap/ear buds/cotton wool rounds stored in if you were in one of those really swanky hotels in the Maldives. You know when everything in the bathroom is all dark wood and “natural materials”?
The packaging is actually quite excellent because there are no edges containing the bronzing powder, so you can use a massive brush, if you fancy it, to sweep the powder over legs and arms and chest. It all just feels very usable. As for the shade itself, Sienna Melange is a warm, terracotta bronze – very Guerlain, very High Summer. There’s nothing subtle here. Face before KIKO Maxi Bronzer:
Face after one incredibly light application:
You could easily go cray-cray with this stuff and make yourself look like someone who got lost in the Sahara and managed to limp their way back to civilisation, but if you haven’t yet developed your “summer skin” (bit of a sunkissed glow, whether it’s natural or faked) then you’re wise to take it easy. You don’t want to end up with dark pools of bronze that are in stark contrast to your paler, unadorned skin. There’s another shade option for this powder but I’m afraid I haven’t tried it – I’m not sure whether it’s lighter or has a different undertone, but it looks equally as lovely!
Read more bronzer and face powder reviews…
You can find KIKO’s Maxi Bronzer online here – it’s £17.50. There’s also a flagship store on London’s Regent Street which is something of a beauty-lover’s paradise, do stop in if you’re ever passing, they have just about everything and anything you can think of!
The post KIKO Modern Tribes Maxi Bronzer appeared first on A Model Recommends.
A combination of raging PMT and the four day Easter break has rendered me completely useless in the writing department; I’ve tried to draft this post seven times, now, and each version has been virtually incomprehensible.
So I’ll keep it short and sweet. I’m doing a new series of videos (New Way to Wear) all about finding bits of makeup you already own and wearing them in a fresh and exciting way. Digging out old stuff and giving it a new lease of life.
Take, for example, the classic red lipstick. I usually wear my red lipstick with a slightly heavier foundation and for some reason, the red always makes my skin look really pale. So in this first New Way to Wear video, I’ve bronzed up my skin and then used a tinted moisturiser instead of a foundation to try and keep things juicy and sheer. And I’ve used a bronzey cream shadow all over my eyelids with no hard lines around the lashline so that the look is rather more Ibiza than Old Hollywood.
I hope you like it – I’ll be following this video with other classic makeup finds, but if you have any requests or suggestions then please let me know. The idea is that the products used in the looks are the sort of thing you’ll have lying about already and that you’ll be inspired to have a muck about with your makeup and create something new. (You might not have a “bronzing base” like the one I’ve used below, but obviously swap it for a cream bronzer, liquid bronzer or non-shimmery powder bronzer if that’s what you have. Everything is “swappable”!)
