Category Archives: beauty news

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.

Continue reading →

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…

More makeup posts…

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

Continue reading →

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 

More makeup posts…

Continue reading →

I’ve been raving to anyone who’ll listen about my new brow discovery: Benefit Gimme Brow. I find it very difficult to get excited about eyebrows and I must say that I think the nation/world’s obsession with these perfect, drawn-on mega-brows is just weird, but I do like to keep mine groomed and – if I’m doing something snazzy with my eye makeup – I’m partial to a bit of shaping and darkening and “filling in of the gaps”. But whatever I do, it has to be easy – I can’t be faffing about with pots and brushes and five different waxes. If it takes more than a couple of minutes then sorry, I just can’t be arsed.

Which is why I’ve been raving – RAVING I tell you! – about Benefit’s Gimme Brow. Previously I’d been using Speed Brow, which is just a tinted gel, to add a bit of oomph, but when I tried Gimme I was utterly taken aback. Not only did it neaten out my brows and keep them in a nice shape, it actually thickened them slightly, filling in any sparse bits, and gave them just a smidgen more depth. Take a look at my before:

and now my after, in which I look as though I’m doing a kind of Sean Connery impression, but I promise you that most (most) of the lift just comes from having shaped and perfected the left eyebrow!

How spectacular is the left one compared to the right? Gimme Brow is just absolutely brilliant stuff – a total eyebrow makeover for people who are either lazy or complete fools or both. (I pretty much fall into both categories at the moment.)

You just brush it on with the teeny brush (careful to wipe it off a bit on the neck of the bottle, as the bristles get quite loaded up and I’ve had a few smears happen!) and then mess about until you kind of glue your hairs into an acceptable shape. The “volumizing fibre gel” (I have no idea either, but it works, so…) clings to your existing brow hairs and makes everything look fuller and a bit thicker, which I think is a lot more believable and realistic than drawing in hairs with some wispy flecks of powder.

Most impressed. Cost? £18.50. You can find it FeelUnique.com (free delivery here) and Debenhams.com – I use the lighter of the two shades. This month, if you book a brow wax at any Benefit store, you get a free full-size Gimme Brow, so perhaps worth booking in for a quick shape if you’re thinking of investing in the fibre gel? Also, 100% of the profits from your wax will go to charities supporting women and girls (part of Benefit’s Bold is Beautiful project) so it’s a win-win situation!

Find out about the rest of my makeup…

The post Perfect Brows for Lazy People: Benefit Gimme Brow appeared first on A Model Recommends.

Continue reading →

**Apologies to those reading this by email; I wrote the post and then forgot to schedule it, so you’ll be reading this on a Monday! If you’re not subscribed to the email then you can do so here.

1) Top tip: never watch Channel 4’s Supervet on the same day that you’ve had to drop your dog off at the pet hospital. Oh my God, I cried more than I have for months! There was this little Bulldog puppy and it had to be put down and the owners were in absolute pieces and I was bawling for about a full five minutes! Phew. I don’t think that pregnancy hormones mix well with dramatic, heart-rending television programmes. I had burst into tears already that day, when I dropped Dexter off at the vets, because the lady in the waiting room had just had her cat put down and was weeping into a hanky. I wanted to give her a cuddle but then I just loss all sense of self-control and started to cry and had to run out and sit in the car. I am avoiding potentially emotional situations for the rest of my pregnancy. (You can keep up with my pregnancy diary here.) I have a full eight weeks to go yet, so it may prove difficult, but I’m thinking that if I avoid all television that hasn’t been pre-approved (ie I’ve read the synopsis or blurb or whatever it is) and only read happy books….

2) Talking of books, I found myself being incredibly irritated by the ending of Simon Mawer’s The Girl Who Fell From The Sky. Look away now if you’re currently reading it or about to read it (if you’re not then you can find it here online), but for those who have finished it: WHAT THE HELL? What was going on with the ending? I didn’t sit through hours of tense espionage and radio-parts-hidden-in-fannies for that kind of ending! I was bitterly disappointed. I kind of knew that something abrupt and bad was on the cards, but it was all just such an anticlimax. I almost threw my Kindle across the room in frustration. If you’ve read it then let me know what you thought – the rest of the book was top-notch, I was totally absorbed. My new book for this week is Elizabeth is Missing; came highly recommended but I’m only three pages in so I haven’t read enough to comment on it yet! If you want to read along with me then you can find the book at Amazon here.

3) I’ve been a little bit slow with getting my post recently, so I’ve probably missed the boat with this one, but I really liked this “Super Hero” edition subscription box from Parisian brand My Little Box. They do beauty boxes with a difference; each one has a theme or “guest host” and includes a selection of carefully curated non-beauty items as well as a little cloth bag filled with skin, makeup and body treats. It all looks very stylised and cute and I can see why the service has become so popular – it’s more of a lifestyle box than a beauty box.

Some of the things that come through aren’t really my particular cup of tea (what do I do with sheets of stickers now that I don’t have school books to cover?) but then I’m not sure whether I’m slightly out of the age range, at 34. There’s no denying, though, that My Little Box are doing something a bit different and they seem to have built up a really strong identity which can’t be the easiest thing to achieve in the overpopulated beauty box market. Everything is so carefully planned and “on brand”: beautiful web photography, gorgeous product illustrations and a dedicated magazine with interesting content. You can find out more about the My Little Box service here.

The post Sunday Tittle Tattle: Sick Dogs and Superhero Boxes appeared first on A Model Recommends.

Continue reading →