Category Archives: beauty news

I think that the new collection from Jo Malone is just lovely; it’s called My Wanderlust and the scent combinations have been inspired by the travels of the brand’s style director, fashion stylist Charlotte Stockdale. There’s a Night Jasmine & Oregano linen spray that evokes memories of summer nights in Corfu, a Lime Basil & Mandarin “scent surround diffuser” (jar of twigs, as I like to call it) that’s distinctly Caribbean in flavour and Acacia & Honey soaps that “have the hazy, golden warmth” of the Australian Outback. In all honesty, I don’t really mind what the smells represent as long as they’re nice, but I do really like the whole travel-inspiration idea. And the word Wanderlust is just so romantic and evocative…

I have the Cardamom & Moroccan Rose candle which has a beautifully soft and delicate fragrance. It’s actually far more subtle than I was expecting – the colourful jar made me think that the scent was going to be a big, loud number – but it’s incredibly relaxing and, as I said, soft. I’ve had my fill with overpowering candles, thanks to the spice and pine and oranges of the Christmas period, and the Cardamom & Moroccan Rose makes me look forward to balmy summer evenings.

Ooh – as I was finding the range online I saw a product I had previously missed – the Box Hedge square scent. It’s a portable little fragrance square that you can pop into your suitcase or hand luggage and it smells – apparently – just like an English garden on a summer’s day. It’s like a Wanderlust in reverse; a piece of home wherever you go. Nice idea. It’s started me thinking about which scents would be my “wanderlust” choices. Something representing Greece would definitely be on the agenda, as that’s my most frequent holiday destination, but I’d have to have a proper think about the rest. You?

You can find the whole My Wanderlust range online at Selfridges.com

The post Jo Malone: My Wanderlust Collection appeared first on A Model Recommends.

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Oh, I did have a chortle to myself when I answered the door to a delivery man last week wearing a pencil skirt, sexy blouse, rollers in my hair and the makeup look above. Considering he’s used to seeing me in my pyjamas, it must have been quite a shock. He didn’t speak, except to ask me to sign for my parcel, but his expression was priceless. I felt like leaning against the door frame in my get-up and saying “what, this old thing? Just something I threw on…”

I had been having a morning of makeup experimentation, as I am wont to do if Mr AMR is off doing errands with the baby. It’s good to have a proper play with new things – I’m not sure you really get a feel for products if you just swatch them on the back of your hands or give them a cursory swipe over lips, eyelids, whatever… I try to use new makeup items as part of a look that I know I’ll photograph or put on video, so that the pressure is really on; if the texture of a lipstick is terrible or a bronzer is shockingly glittery or a mascara crumbles off after an hour then it simply doesn’t make the cut. I take it all off and start again.

Luckily this look did make it onto film and I’ll be doing a more refined version of it this week (eyebrows groomed, mascara more carefully applied) when I have a spare moment. I used the gorgeous YSL Touche Éclat Le Teint foundation in B20 as a base (I think I may try going a smidgen darker as I’ve been using my Hylamide Glow recently and I’m rather sunkissed) and then a bit of Max Factor Creme Puff Blush underneath my cheekbones. On my eyes, the wondrous Eyes To Kill shadow from Armani, shade 5 (more on this later on in the week, I’m having a very steamy love affair with it after a three year hiatus) and L’Oreal Paris False Lash Sculpt mascara. The liner was a chocolate brown one, I think it may have been Charlotte Tilbury but I have quite a few on the go…

Lips? Again, a separate post coming up, but this is the new Dior Addict Ultra Gloss Sensational Mirror Shine Hydra-Plumping Volume. Catchy. Actually, I’m not sure whether all of that is the product name, but regardless, this is one serious lip gloss. One coat and you get the “mirror shine”; two and you have the kind of glaze that would withstand armageddon. If you can’t wait for my review then you can find Ultra Gloss online here – I’m wearing “Nova”.

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You’ll be sick of the words ‘backstage at MAC’ before I’ve finished (I promise this is the last post on the subject), because I’m just going to pretend LFW is not happening from now! I’m going back to a range that I showed you last week…the Julia Petit collection for MAC. After the show on Friday, I managed to grab some time and some tea with her. I’ve been impressed with her range since I first saw it and it’s a big deal for bloggers because this is MAC’s first proper collaboration with a blogger. So, Julia is based in Brazil, and I guess you’d say that her site, Petiscos, is a mix of fashion, beauty and lifestyle. It’s also quite special in that she started blogging right at the beginning of the trend so has developed it into a business and a brand in its own right. It’s gone well beyond the norms of blogging, to be honest. Her background is in advertising, so she truly took a leap of faith to give that up. Right from the very beginning, she monetized the site.

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.

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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.

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