I felt it would be remiss of me to go through another week without writing about the new Juicy Shaker lip gloss/oils from Lancome. I did include them in my March Favourites, but they deserve a bit more applause than that, for the concept and packaging at the very least. I love it when a beauty product launches that’s just completely and utterly crackers, especially when it’s as fun to use as this. Who would have thought that Lancome would be the ones to bring out a miniature cocktail shaker filled with a bi-phase, glossy-finish, juicy-coloured lip oil? Who would have thought that Lancome would provide us with an applicator that looks – and feels – like one of those foam strawberry sweets? It’s like applying lipgloss with a marshmallow or a teddy bear’s nose.

As you can see from the photograph above, I took the opportunity to use some of the objects from my dolls house to “bring the products to life”, but I’m not quite sure that even the very best cocktail shaker could make a decent tipple from milk, Evian, Pepsi, San Pellegrino and a dodgy-looking bottle of red wine. Sorry, it’s a very random photo, but I’ve been desperate to put some of my miniatures into a still life for ages, so. There you go.

I’d say that Lancome’s Juicy Shakers are most definitely beauty things that you want rather than need; none of them have a particularly bright pigment and you do have to shake-shake-shake and dab-dab-dab quite a lot if you want to achieve any depth of colour. But I think that they’re supposed to be far more frivolous than that, anyway – each has a different flavour (reminiscent of the Juicy Tube glosses of my late teen years) and because the applicator is so soft, it’s actually a joy to reapply the lip oil frequently throughout the day. The finish is glossy but non-sticky, oily but non-greasy – sort of the perfect shine, really. Very plumptious and flattering.

There are thirteen shades in the shaker line-up as well as a limited edition in minty blue. My favourite is Freedom of Peach, pictured above – I find that it gives a lovely pastel sheen. Not so keen on the “juicier” pink and red shades, ironically, but then that’s just personal preference. Lots of them are so sheer that they look quite similar anyway, so it may be a case of resorting to trying out the different flavours and seeing which one you like best! It’s all very juvenile, but a nice change from the more serious collections and launches with their long-lasting this and twelve-decades-in-the-making that. And the bi-phase formula really does feel moisturising, so it’s not at all a silly purchase, if you’re after a non-sticky lip sheen.

Lancome’s Juicy Shakers cost £18 – you can find them at Boots.com

*the melon wrapping paper in the background of the photograph is from Ohh Deer.

The post Lancome Juicy Shakers appeared first on A Model Recommends.

Continue reading →

From Clinique’s perfectly formed Pop Matte lipsticks (yesterday’s post, read here) to a decidedly more cheery and cheeky matte offering: Tanya Burr’s Soft Luxe Matte Lip. I came across the one I’m wearing in the photo below, which is called Puppy Paws, completely by accident: searching for a pale, summery pink lip gloss I whacked this one on and discovered, to my absolute delight, that it was in fact a brilliantly chalky matte with the most intense nearly-neon colour.

Not a gloss at all, despite the description on the Superdrug site, but a (very nicely formulated indeed) liquid lipstick with, I must say, quite phenomenal staying power. This needs a strong eye makeup remover if you want to get it off without having to rub like a maniac – those looking for a good, opaque, matte lipstick with excellent longevity  should definitely give the Soft Luxe a try.

Puppy Paws is the sort of shade that makes a bold statement: it’s almost comically bubblegum (my photo doesn’t do it justice; for some reason if I saturate the picture to show off the lip colour then my skin turns oddly red!) and it looks superb with tonnes of bronzer and just a lick of mascara. It’s like painted-on strawberry milkshake.

Above, I’m wearing a little bronzer and (because I was on an “experimenting day”) some aqua pastel blue eyeliner in my waterline. Not, perhaps, my most-recommended look, but you can see how dense the lip colour is and how strikingly pink.

So, Soft Luxe. A great option if you’re on the hunt for a matte lipstick liquid that packs a punch. There are three shades – the other two are more sensible and neutral – all at a very budget-friendly £5.99. Find them at Superdrug here.

The post Soft Luxe: Strawberry Milkshake for the Lips 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.

Continue reading →