Chanel Summer Makeup Collection: My Top Picks

ruth crilly model beauty blogger

I’ve been playing about with the Chanel Summer 2015 Makeup Collection – Méditerranée – and am completely head over heels with pretty much all of it. But especially – and this was something of a surprise to me – the “Stylo” eyeshadows, which are basically very lightweight cream eyeshadows in a stick. I have a love-hate relationship with cream eyeshadows because although they look glam on the lids and usually have the most intense (often metallic) shine, they can be a bit messy to apply and blend. Especially if you’re the kind of person (me) who just jams their finger into the pot and hopes for the best.

stylo eyeshadows chanel

Not so with Chanel’s little eyeshadow numbers; you just take the lid off and scribble. If you want to, you can use a finger or brush to blend out the edges (I did in the pictures on this page), but the ends of the Stylo Eyeshadow are actually quite small, making application reasonably neat and precise.

chanel makeup summer 2015

I used the gorgeous Laurier Rose on my lids – the most flattering coppery-pink – and then Caroube, a shimmering bronze-cocoa, to define the lashline and add some drama to the outer corners of the eye.

chanel stylo eyeshadow caroube

I didn’t blend Caroube at all – just drew it on and left it to set. Which takes all of about two seconds. So that’s a warning to those who do want to blend: you need to have finger/brush ready to go as you’re applying the shadow. If you try to go back and blend after ten seconds – even five! – everything is set in place and the deed is done. Brilliant, because this is makeup at its fastest and most convenient – no dirty fingertips, no pots to fumble with, no brushes gathering fluff in the bottom of your handbag. Not so great for the disorganised, but – as I said – the tips of the shadow pens are really precise, so you can just scribble away sans blending if you want to. (Find them here online.)

chanel lumiere d'ete illuminating powder

I’m also rather enamoured with the Lumière d’Été, which is labelled an “Illuminating Powder” but works best (on me, at least) as a light, luminous bronzer. It’s too dark to be a highlighter and actually, even as a bronzer you have to tread carefully as tone-wise it’s on the warmer side… But swept lightly over cheeks, temples and decolletage it imparts a beautiful summery glow. And man is it pretty to look at! (Find it online here.)

chanel coco shine reveuse

I’m wearing the Lumière d’Été in all of the photos on this page – you can hopefully see how it warms the skin up. It’s a very soft and fine glow. And you can see in the photograph above my last favourite pick from the collection; the Rouge Coco Shine in Réveuse. A sumptuous, buttery nude with just the right amount of peachy-pinkness. So chic, so easy to wear and a great place to start if you want a “my lips but better”, balmy-textured lipstick to see you through the summer. Find it online here.

You can find the whole collection of Chanel Makeup Summer 2015 at House of Fraser here.

The post Chanel Summer Makeup Collection: My Top Picks appeared first on A Model Recommends.

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What to Wear This Spring…

spring lookbook video

Ah, ’tis finally here: the Spring Lookbook. I’ve collected together some of my favourite outfits and put them on video. It’s a bit like a moving photoshoot and I really hope that you like it – it took me a whole day to film it and another entire day to edit! If you can bring it upon yourself to give it a “thumbs up” or tweet it or share it or whatever it is that floats your boat, then please do. If this one goes down well then I’ll do a Lookbook video every season and perhaps some extra little trend features in between.

Now I’ve been sneaking little fashion teasers onto the website since last week so you’ll have had a preview of some of the outfits already – others will be a big and glorious surprise! Let me know which your favourite is in the comments; my personal favourite is Look 1 with the sport-luxe trousers and the gorgeous cashmere cardigan (above), but closely followed by the outfit with the teal-coloured shirt from Hush and the floral print skirt (below).

style blog how to wear pencil skirt

I’m getting really into clashing patterns and wearing a bit of colour – an attempt, I suppose, at dragging myself from the “black and grey and neutrals” rut. Not that there’s anything wrong with black or grey or neutrals, it’s just that I can be an incredibly lazy dresser and it’s quite refreshing to be doing a bit of fashion experimentation.

what to wear this spring blog

A couple of things to note: the amazing French 65 court shoes from Whistles (featured in “Look 2″ above) are actually on sale at the moment, reduced from £135 to £94.50. They are incredibly chic and actually quite alright to walk in – not as comfy as the black and white “Jennie” shoes from L.K. Bennett, but getting there. Find them in the sale here. The other thing is an apology; there are a few bits and bobs that are no longer available online. It took me so long to collect my clothes together and then film and edit the video that the fashion world moved on without me! Things went into the sale and then promptly sold out. So the lovely duck-egg blue Topshop jumper (below) is nowhere to be seen (unless you find it in-store, which is a possibility so do check!) and also the silky Topshop Unique printed shorts seem to have disappeared from the face of the earth. Which is perhaps a blessing, in a way, because they weren’t the easiest little blighters to wear.

ruth crilly topshop

Right. Are you sitting comfortably? Grab a cup of tea or whatever it is that you like to have handy and we shall begin! If you can’t see the video player at the bottom of this page then please click here to view the Lookbook in a new window.

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Estee Lauder Little Black Primer

Little Black Primer

The time is going to have to come soon when I give up on my lash extensions – much as I don’t want to – because I think I need to start trying mascaras again. There have been a couple of mascara launches this year where I’ve felt I’ve missed out by not being able to try them properly. I can always use mascara on my bottom lashes, and do, but I think I want the full mascara experience again, even temporarily. So, everything lashes is piquing my interest at the moment, especially the Estee Lauder Little Black Primer which heads our way in January.

Little Black Lash Primer (can you see a whole new Little Black… franchise starting here?) works as a lash boost, a tint and a waterproof top coat. I like the sound of the waterproofing best – but naked lash days will definitely be improved with a very natural finish tint.

I don’t have the price to hand but I’ll flag it up when it launches towards the end of January 2015 and will hopefully have guinea-pigged it out or even tried it myself by then.

The post Estee Lauder Little Black Primer appeared first on British Beauty Blogger.

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Spotlight: Ere Perez Makeup is My Favourite.

In the past couple of months whilst taking a break from all things blogging, I’ve really got my whole beauty routine down to a fine art – I think it must be something to do with not reading other blogs and keeping up with the new releases, it’s been cleansing for my SOUL and also kinda great for my skin.

If I’m putting makeup on my face, I’m probably using something, if not several items from Ere Perez. Over the past couple of years, I’ve grown to really love the brand. (Check out this post from 2016!) The clean minimal packaging is gorgeous and I love that everything (EXCEPT for two of the mascaras at the time of writing, boo) is vegan.

It’s not just the makeup though, having branched out into skincare too, the brand has really gone all out and carried on their minimalist, millennial approved aesthetic perfectly. I had to get the micellar water ASAP and obviously followed shortly after with the toner (not pictured in this post).
So what have I tried and loved, or maybe not so loved?

1) Quinoa Water Foundation in Haze

I hate starting on a negative, but trust me the only way is UP after this. Unfortunately, this foundation just didn’t sit well on my skin and the colour was (this is the lightest shade) still a little too dark. I found it tricky to blend and it would gather in all the areas you don’t want a foundation to gather. A real shame.

2) Ginkgo Micellar Water

My favourite & a repurchase! This simple micellar has been fab for my skin. The bottle is 200ml so thankfully lasts a good while! Even when used nearly every day (I’d say about 3-4 months but that depends on your personal usage!). I went through a stage recently where I just couldn’t be bothered to do any sort of cleansing routine to remove makeup in the evenings, but of course, you can’t sleep with makeup on!! even if you’re not going to moisturise, let your skin breathe! So micellar to the rescue – no stinging eyes, every scrap removed, no tight skin sensations and I’m ready for bed, good night x

3) Oat Milk Foundation

I love oat milk to drink, and it turns out I also love it in a foundation! What a multi-tasking little grain.
I actually don’t use this as a foundation, as I found the lightest shade ‘latte’ just a touch to ghostly pale for my whole face. Instead, I use this under my eyes and around the centre of my face where my skin is pretty red, plus dabbed over any spots before I apply my mineral foundation. It’s sort of like my concealer and primer in one. It really brightens and evens everything out so that I don’t have to use layers and layers of mineral foundation.
It sounds like a farce but this is a routine that really works for me. On its own, it’s too pale and maybe a touch too glowy, and my mineral foundation can be too dry, so together??? it’s a match made in heaven.

4) Cacao Lip Colour in Wander

Described as a “creamy cool blackberry lip colour” this lip tint/balm is one of my favourite lip colours lately. I’m pretty nervous of lipstick, especially dark lipstick, but I love berry colours! This balmy tint is actually quite pigmented and can be built up to an impressive blackberry shade (much darker than the models pictured through the link). It doesn’t last too long through eating or drinking, but as it’s more of a balm with lots of hydrating ingredients I really don’t mind.

Also, the packaging is just lovely, it feels high quality and weighty, plus, has a satisfying click!

Also pictured: Beetroot lip & cheek tint in the OLD PACKAGING. This now has a new formula and easier to use packaging so I can’t really comment on this old one much – other than to say holy moly! So pigmented and bright!
An old eyeshadow which I can’t find online. Ere Perez seem to have scrapped these old duo eyeshadows for upgraded palettes that look dreamy! I’ve only heard good things.
NOT PICTURED BUT I REALLY LOVE: Carrot Colour Pot in ‘Holy’ This little colour pot is a top favourite contender! The only reason it’s not pictured is because Oliver ran off with it & I couldn’t find it for a few weeks. Toddlers, man!
What do you think of Ere Perez??
xo

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Bardot, Beach Hair and a PhytoPlage Giveaway

phyto phytoplage hair care

My failsafe summer hair-saving trick used to be to smother the lengths and ends in a deep conditioning mask before going out in the sun. Then, at the end of the day, I’d simply rinse out the conditioner and all would be silky and well.

There were a number of problems with this approach, however, the biggest of them being the fact that the hair mask would set like concrete by lunchtime, making it feel as though I was wearing some sort of papier mache helmet. En route to the concrete state, the mask-saturated hair would pass through several phases, including “squidgy” and “fly-paper” – a very specific kind of stickiness that attracted flies, sand particles and bits of broken shell and invited them to take up residence in my slicked-back ‘do, turning me into a sort of human A-level art project.

Anyway, helmet-head no more, for this summer I have discovered PhytoPlage Protective Sun Veil from excellent hair brand Phyto. It’s a brilliantly lightweight, transparent hair mist that protects against the effects of excessive sun exposure, salt water, chlorine and whatever else is knocking about when you’re on holiday. (Or out in the garden, which is about as exotic as my life is getting this year.)

phyto phytoplage hair care oil

I have been a fan of the original PhytoPlage for years – it’s an oil with quite heavy-duty effects, protecting coloured hair from UV damage and keeping it smooth and shiny even when you’ve been frazzling your head under the Ibizan sun. But the oil was always just a tiny bit too much for my fine hair, weighing it down if I wanted to use it anywhere but on the very ends, so the Protective Sun Veil, the non-oily little sister, is just perfect for me.

phyto phytoplage hair care

Prices for these moisture-saving, hair-smoothing wonder sprays? The oil is a very decent £16 here and the veil, £15 here. However, I have FIVE sets of PhytoPlage to give away to UK readers (sorry world readers, issues with sending sprays overseas, apparently), each including the oil, the veil and a very special bag featuring the Queen of Beach Hair, Brigitte Bardot.

bardot makeup bag

To be in with a chance of winning a special set, leave a comment (one per person) before noon next Friday (12th August 2016) and tell me where you’re going on holiday. (If, indeed, you are going on holiday at all.) All the details, please – go on, make me jealous!

The post Bardot, Beach Hair and a PhytoPlage Giveaway appeared first on A Model Recommends.


© 2016 A Model Recommends®: all opinions are my own and any sponsored or paid posts will always be very clearly marked. I accept press samples and receive product and services to review as part of my job. Outward links to retailers will usually be affiliate links. Please see here for full “about” section and disclaimer.  A Model Recommends and Ruth Crilly are registered trademarks.

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