Category Archives: beauty news

1) I was temporarily reunited with Mr Bear this weekend when I went up to visit my parents. He spent much of the time looking incredibly grumpy and the rest of it sleeping. Though when I think back, those are his usual default modes, really, so I mustn’t get paranoid about it! We had a good few cuddles, too, and he jumped on my face at 7am and headbutted me so hard I thought that he might have broken my nose. Happy days – I can’t wait until he’s home for good, though I think that my parents will miss him. They have turned into fully-fledged crazy cat people, carrying him around in shopping bags and “conversing with him” using a little series of squeaks and miaows…

2) I do hope that everyone is doing something nice over the Easter weekend; my idea of nice, at the moment, is lying in a pile of big cushions with a face mask on and my feet raised, reading my Kindle. I’m currently reading The Girl Who Fell From The Sky by Simon Mawer (£4.31 on Amazon here) because my Mum recommended it to me. It’s very good – as is The Glass Room, also by Mawer (find that here). Both set in World War 2, but very different books – The Girl Who Fell follows a spy-in-the-making who parachutes into France to deliver a special message to her ex-crush, and The Glass Room follows the story of a house – built for newlyweds but then occupied by many different people once the Jewish family are forced to flee and the World War takes grip on the country. Great (if poignant and sometimes sad) reads. I must do a big book update soon because I’ve been racing through them recently! Enjoy your long weekend – if you’re bored and stuck for something to do, you can read all of the previous Sunday Tittle Tattle posts here! 

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I’m back with another Beauty Reviews video after a little bit of a gap. I really enjoy making these –  capturing my reaction to new products when I use them for the first time, watching on the little camera screen as the makeup works its magic (or not!) on my face. This video was supposed to be all about YSL’s Fusion Ink foundation which is, quite frankly, a marvel and one of my most-requested reviews ever. But I can’t for the life of me find it; it was on my desk and then it wasn’t. No doubt the cat has pawed it onto the floor and the dog has then picked up the baton for his part of the “let’s hide stuff” relay and deposited it inside a boot, or beneath the sofa, or in one of the waste paper baskets.

So anyway, Plan B was my next most-requested review: the Chanel Vitalumière Aqua Loose Powder Foundation. Now for me, the words “Aqua” and “Powder” don’t really belong in the same sentence – unless this powder foundation is actually made of water. Which it’s not. It’s decidedly dry and…powdery. I don’t actively dislike it, but as you’ll see from the video, it doesn’t hold a candle to my favourite Chanel base (Perfection Lumière Velvet) and although it does give alright coverage, it’s probably not a product that I’d use on its own. I’d layer it over the top of a sheer base, a BB Cream or some kind of complexion enhancer.

Which would all be well and good, this use of the powder as a “supplementary” kind of product, if it didn’t cost a whopping great big £55. With the beautiful, glowy, creamy, velvety Perfection Lumière coming in at £33, it seems rather a tall order. (You can read a full review of Perfection Lumière here, with close-ups of my skin before and after application.) If we were to compare another powder base then Eve Lom’s mineral foundation is, I think, slightly heavier on the coverage than Chanel’s powder and it has more of a “lit from within” glow (read that review here). But it doesn’t come with a cute little marshmallow-soft mini Chanel kabuki brush, so…swings and roundabouts, my friends, swings and roundabouts!

Read more foundation reviews…

Take a look at the video, see what you think. The Loose Powder Foundation does appear to give off a lovely sheen, and I didn’t find it particularly drying, but I can’t really imagine a scenario in which I’d be desperate to use it. As a setting powder, I have always thought that Chanel’s Poudre Universelle Libre was one of the best (and used loads backstage) and if I wanted a “top coat” of something, then I think that Chanel’s Les Beiges is simply unbeatable. I use it almost daily to add a bit of life and healthiness to my skin (shade 20) or to give a really pale bronze sheen on my cheeks and temples (shade 30).

See more Beauty Review videos…

(The other two products in my video are knockout: I really like Benefit’s new blush and Jane BritishBeautyBlogger‘s lip pencils for M&S are juicy, pigmented and a dream to apply!)

Chanel Les Beiges: http://tidd.ly/816257c3

Chanel Loose Powder Foundation: http://tidd.ly/c3293459

Chanel Perfection Lumiere Velvet: http://tidd.ly/7833e124

Benefit Majorette Blush: http://tidd.ly/d1fce33a

British Beauty Blogger Lip Colour Trio: http://tidd.ly/914eaa6

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The beauty world, as you will have realised by now, has gone contouring crazy. I mentioned in my previous post that my preferred contour method, for a really soft and subtle look, was simply a sweep of matte bronzing powder beneath the cheekbones. None of that “snail trail” of illuminator across the top, no harsh lines, no muddiness. With that in mind, I decided to give the Clinique Sculptionary Cheek Contouring Palette a go. Much more “up my street” than the Chubby Sticks, which, despite having received a unanimous round of applause online I still can’t get the knack of. (The illuminator stick is very weak-willed, for a start – it barely shows up on my skin. Then there’s the dark contour stick, which only comes in one shade and can get a little muddy and messy upon blending, as can all cream contour products. Seems foolproof, with its chunky child’s crayon-type appearance, but I’m still struggling to get it looking as good as a powder.)

And so move over Chubby Sticks, enter stage left the Sculptionary Palette. I used the Defining Nudes version. Three shades – one highlight, one colour, one contour – for painstakingly creating that sucked-in-cheek look with your various contour and blush brushes. Or, if you’re lazy like me, three shades that can be swirled together with one massive brush (Chanel Powder No.3, perhaps) and applied slap-dashedly all over for an instant healthy glow. Behold my before:

And after.

Who needs lengthy contouring methods when you can lightly bronze beneath your cheekbones and be done with it? Marvellous. Clinique’s Sculptionary Cheek Contouring Palette costs £28 here.

I seriously doubt that this will be the end of my contouring investigations; I have become slightly obsessed with it, recently. Not with actually doing it, but just observing others who have. I enjoy bearing witness to the various levels of contour ridiculousness, but also having a genuine admiration when it is done really convincingly, when it becomes kind of like a weird optical illusion. I did a Max Factor video last week (don’t think it’s out yet, I’ll give you a nudge when it is) where I did a softer contour using the new Creme Puff blushers (which are properly lovely, by the way) and I really liked the effect. It was far stronger than I would ever wear in real life, but that’s the problem with this whole contouring craze: most of the demos you see are in online video tutorials, and you have to pile on loads of makeup so that the effect is dramatic enough. In an everyday situation, you need – and want – far less. Tread carefully, use the lightest touch!

The post Contouring Makeup Products Continued: The Sculptionary Palette appeared first on A Model Recommends.

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Space NK are running their brilliant £15 “try something new” discount again*, which means it’s a great time to do your stocking up if you’re running out of your favourite products. Or, if you’re particularly organised, a good time to do a bit of Christmas shopping! Space NK are giving every shopper £15 off when they spend £60 or more – just use the voucher code EXPLORE30 here.

The idea is that you use your £15 saving to explore different brands and discover something new, so I’ve done some quickfire reviews of new and interesting things just to whet your appetites. (Lies: a couple of the products are old favourites. But equally as interesting.)

Kicking off with some skincare, the fresh-as-water Hydraskin serum from Darphin. A recent discovery, this lightweight serum feels cooling and soothing and really helps to boost moisture if you’re feeling dehydrated in the facial department. It’s £43 .

OM is a new brand on my radar – I haven’t had a good go with the whole range yet, but it all looks and feels delicious. The Revitalising Beauty Booster is a gorgeous little bottle of antioxidant goodness – a few drops can be massaged neat into the face or mixed with moisturiser. I think this could be a great travel product for frequent flyers and those who repeatedly burn the candle at both ends! It’s £22.50 .

Omorovicza’s Elemental Emulsion is an old favourite – so wonderfully light but so incredibly hydrating. If you’ve got oily skin but want something rich and decadent that won’t feel greasy on the skin then this is it. Ditto if you’re on the dry side and want a moisture boost to layer on before your thicker cream… The price makes me want to weep, but if you’re in the market for a luxury skincare buy then this is a top choice. It’s £90.

Read my original review of Omorovicza’s Elemental Emulsion…

Diptyque Baies: where has THIS been all of my life? How have I reached thirty-five (thirty-six next month but let’s brush that under the carpet) and not ever burnt a Baies candle in my house? This smells like being trapped in an underground fairy grotto – there’s something of the woodland about it, fresh and green, but it’s also rich with berries. Difficult to describe, just know that you need this scent in your world. Candles start at £20 for the small size

Christophe Robin’s Volumising shampoo and conditioner with rose extracts have become my top hair treats. They seem to add bounce and life back into my hair when it’s limp and flat and the smell when I use them is so beautiful that it’s like a little uplifting mood boost. I’ll admit that the prices are extremely steep (I seem to have done a bit of a fantasy shopping session on this page I’m afraid!) but – again – if you’re after something decadent and take your haircare very seriously, this is a great brand. Find it online

Another brand that seems to be making waves (ha!) on the hair scene: Ouai. Now look; I don’t love the Ouai shampoo and conditioner quite as much as the Christophe Robin, but it is, price aside (another wince-inducing £20+ tag) very effective and, long-term, my hair does feel better and stronger after a stint with the “Smooth” range. I have the “Clean” products to test out (shampoo pictured above) and I’ll report back on those – I do like a thorough, non-stripping shampoo – but you can browse the entire Ouai offering

Here’s an easy way to wear blue around the eyes without looking like a five year old in a beauty pageant: a few coats of mascara wiggled right into the roots of the lashes, top and bottom, so that there’s almost a haze of colour defining the eye. It looks great on an otherwise quite neutral face – good base, touch of complexion enhancer or light bronzer, brows groomed with a brow gel – or, if you’re on holiday, it looks really striking against sunkissed skin.

YSL Beauté have launched a new line of mascaras called Vinyl Couture, with a jet-black lash lacquer (I’ll try and use that in a video soon) and a range of top-coats and coloured mascaras in the most vibrant shades. Some coloured mascaras tend to act more like tints, and they only really show up in a certain light. My favourite blue before the Vinyl Couture, which was, incidentally, an older YSL one, looked amazing on the wand but wasn’t quite so noticeable on the lashes. The new Vinyl Couture in 05 looks just as intense in real life as it does in the tube – no chalkiness, no fading. It’s really rather zappy.

Zappy! Good God. I’ll be saying trendy next.