Category Archives: beauty look

Here it is: my verdict on the Victoria Beckham makeup collaboration with Estée Lauder. What I like, what I don’t – what I’d spend cash on and, importantly, how I’d wear it all. There’s a video at the bottom of the page, which is possibly the key element of this feature – I demonstrate the bronzer, eyeshadow (or “eye metallic”) and kajal as well as both lipsticks from the range. If you’re in any doubt as to whether you’d get on with the shades you’ve seen in images online then watch the video and pay close attention!

So, the collection. Let’s start with the packaging. Sleek and sexy with reassuringly heavy compacts and lots of fluting going on. There’s more fluting than a school orchestra. More fluting than a medieval banquet. You get the picture. The Morning Dew moisturiser-primer (here), which has a hint of shimmer to brighten and perkify* the skin, has a completely fluted bottle in gold and black. The lipsticks have ribbed cases (sorry, I couldn’t bring myself to type the f-word again) and the liquid eyeliners have lids to match.

It’s all very sexy. Understated, luxurious and sleek. I think that the whole look and feel of the collection has been pitched perfectly – though it’s definitely priced to reflect this vibe! The Java bronzer compact (with its absolutely gorgeous leather covering, find it here) comes in at £48 – the Morning Dew is a whopping £68.

But nothing disappoints – if you’re buying into this luxe collection then you can be safe in the knowledge that the quality is top-notch. Nothing is completely mind-blowing, in terms of ingenuity or innovation, but everything is wearable and flattering and high-perfomance. It’s a clever, capsule-wardrobe sort of collection that makes you think “I’d wear all of that”.

And because you can see yourself wearing every single item, it all becomes massively appealing, regardless of the price. You probably don’t need anything, because you’ll already have a good bronzer and a vivid orange-red lipstick and the perfect black smudgy eye pencil, but by Jove do you want it!

Oh – I said there were no disappointments. I lied. The Eye Foil, which is a sort of clumsy-foam-applicator liquid eye thing, completely failed to amuse me. Perhaps I applied it in the wrong way, but whether I tried it as an eyeliner or sort of sheer, glittery eyeshadow, it was wishy-washy and not that appealing. Apologies if I’ve missed the secret trick, but this one was not for me. I much preferred the traditional eye kajal (here) and the eyeshadow, pictured above and below…

As I said before, there’s nothing showstopping or magically new about an eyeshadow, but the shades are beautiful and easy to wear and add an instant spot of glamour if you’re looking for a bit of grown-up glitz. And that ribbed leather casing! Be still my beating heart…

Here’s the video – notebooks at the ready, because I pick my number one “what to buy” right at the end. You can find  the collection (except the highlighter) at Selfridges.com here.

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I promised a slightly more in-depth review of Dior’s new Ultra Gloss but then realised, re-reading my last mention, that I had already summed it up pretty well. This is gloss with attitude – a mirror-like shine and a finish that’s a little tougher than usual. Like the glazing on a doughnut, rather than a wishy-washy gelatinous sort of covering. It would be a very glamorous doughnut, of course, because this is Dior – no jam blobbing out of the side or hundreds and thousands stuck to the top.

Despite its slightly toughened exterior, Ultra Gloss is still a gloss, so it likes to slide around a bit if you eat and drink and whatever else, but that’s the trade-off with glosses; you get all of your lip imperfections smoothed over and an instantly plumper pout, the gloss gets to go travelling around your face. Weeee.

Dior Ultra Gloss is as non-sticky as you’d reasonably expect from a high-end offering; gone, I think, are the days when they were like glue, catching every last midge or speck of passing debris so that your lips resembled one of those chunks of amber with the fossilised insects inside it. Most brands worth their salt seem to have perfected the non-sticky lip-shine formulation – still slightly tacky to the touch, but nowhere near the fly-paper level of stickiness we endured in the nineties.

There’s a good dose of colour in the Ultra Gloss for those who like that “patent leather” finish rather than a glassy or translucent effect; but it’s not so pigmented that you need a magnifying mirror and a spare half an hour to get your lip-line perfected. Easy to touch up, easy to remove, just a lovely daytime hi-shine for those who want to add a dash of glamour. Nova (pictured on the right in the top picture and on my lips in the photo above) is my favourite shade – looks great with sunkissed skin and is slightly peachy, not too bubblegummy pink. There are loads of shades in the line-up, but I must say that I tend to avoid very bright or high-maintenance colours when it comes to glosses – I just can’t be bothered with the upkeep!

You can find Dior Addict Ultra Gloss Sensational Mirror Shine (and…relax) at Escentual here – it’s £23.

The post Dior Ultra Gloss: The Glamorous Glazed-Doughnut Shine appeared first on A Model Recommends.

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Caroline Hirons came over to film with me yesterday and I appropriated a lipstick from her stash. (We were filming new launches, she had gone lipstick crazy.) Behold the Burberry Kisses lipstick in Devon Sunset; a luminous peachy shade that looks almost neon in certain lights, definitely bright enough to satisfy those of you who are searching for some springtime beauty excitement. And I can imagine that it would look brilliant with a bronzed-up beach look, too.

The new Burberry Kisses lipsticks have been designed to offer various looks and finishes, depending on how much of the product you apply. One “kiss” and it’s a sheer wash of colour (must say that – with this shade, at least – the finish didn’t look so great with one coat); two or three “kisses” and the colour is more intense, the finish more solid and velvety. It’s a lighter-than-light formula that feels quite hydrating and soft, yet it does seem to have great lasting power and doesn’t slip about too much. You could compare it, I suppose, to something like Estée Lauder’s Pure Envy lipstick, though the Pure Envy is far denser and more intensely pigmented from the word go. No need to build up.

But that is the benefit of the Kisses; you can go low-key or you can really vamp up to a high intensity finish, depending on the kind of shade you’ve gone for. Devon Sunset works best after three coats – you really get that brightness and luminosity – some of the more neutral shades look better as a light wash. Like a tinted balm, almost, but with a completely weightless feel.

I can only find Devon Sunset on the Burberry website at the moment; it costs £25. Do report back on other Kisses shades and how you wear them – I’m on the hunt for the perfect nudey-neutral that’s not too pale and doesn’t accentuate little flakes on the lips! If I can get a sheer, one-coat wonder with a touch of glow…

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The post Burberry Kisses Lipstick Review appeared first on A Model Recommends.

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One to grab before it goes; Chanel’s gorgeous Tisse d’Automne eyeshadow palette. The Les 4 Ombres shadow quads from Chanel are nearly always great – flattering, wearable shade combinations with silky powder formulas that are easy to blend – but Tisse d’Automne has a bit of extra edge. Four beautifully warm and rich shadows, two with a pinkish tone (top and bottom in the photograph above) and the other two (pictured left and right) most definitely greenish. I wouldn’t usually touch a greenish shadow because it’s so out of my usual colour comfort range, but the golden green and dark, brownish olive in this palette seem to work with the pinkish shades perfectly. It’s all a bit of a pinkish, greenish delight!

There’s something for everyone here; a grungey look with the gold and the dark olive, or the classic “nude” eye using the pink as a base and the warm, bright caramel to add contour and depth. (Pretty much what I did above, but with some darker olive blended into the crease.)

You can still find Tisse d’Automne online at Boots.com 

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