Comments Off on My Burberry: Craving the Dark and Depraved
Well I must say that this fragrance has grown on me, if only a little. I couldn’t stand it at first. It’s not my type of perfume at all, but it has caught my attention somehow – perhaps because it’s such a breath of fresh air at a time when many fragrance releases are on the heavier, spicier side, warming up for the dark and chilly months. Considering that My Burberry was an autumn launch, it’s incredibly light and crisp and a bit frivolous, and if I had to match it to a season then without a doubt I’d say Spring. But I suppose that’s neither here nor there, because we’re now in the depths of gloomy winter and no amount of light-hearted sweet pea and freesia and bergamot is going to convince you that the blossoms are on their way out and the baby birds are about to start twittering. My Burberry is simply for those who like to keep things light, fresh and uncomplicated whatever the season – it reminds me of a glass of fizzy Elderflower or one of those posh champagne cocktails with flowers floating on the top.
See also: Jo Malone Cricket Pavilion & Spritzer Cologne…
My Burberry has been created by Francis Kurkdjian, he of Jean Paul Gaultier fame (and his own-line fame and fame from dozens and dozens of incredibly well-known perfumes). I have to say that I was quite surprised when I found that out – I always expect a bit of a dark, sexy edge when Kurkdjian’s involved, but My Burberry doesn’t seem to have any real base to it. It’s about as safely sparkly as scents get, very airy and dancey and crisp. Those who love very light florals will adore it; women who require more guts from their perfumes will perhaps abhor. I don’t know – I’m sitting on the fence. It’s perfectly adequate as a spritz of something clean and crispy, but I can’t imagine it stopping people dead in their tracks, wondering what on earth hit them…
Thoughts? Lovers of light florals and crisp, fresh scents, give me your verdict! I have to say that I do love the bottle styling – incredibly heavy glass, lid like an oversized tortoiseshell button – but scent-wise, I’m craving some dark and depraved base notes. Mind you, if it had those then it would be a completely different perfume! Mr Bear, as you can see above, greatly approves of My Burberry. He is modelling a personalised version (made for my assistant, you can have it done for free when you order here) but it’s also available uncustomised – Escentual.com stock My Burberry starting at £45 for 30ml.
The post My Burberry: Craving the Dark and Depraved appeared first on A Model Recommends.
Comments Off on September & October Hot New Products
Hello my wonderful Makeup Geeks! Today I have my October favorites for you. I know I missed September, but I did film it. Unfortunately, it was on a day when I was not feeling well so I scratched that one because my energy that day was very low. From here on out, I am going to be more consistent ! So, let’s get started on my October favorites!
NARS Guy Bourdin Holiday Collection Limited Edition One Night Stand Cheek Palette (That’s a mouthful)
This contains 4 blushes, a contour or bronzing powder, and a highlighting powder. Each one is 0.14 ounces and retails for $65.00. Buying each item separately, this would total to be $145.00, so this is a great value. NARS has great blushes, but unfortunately I can’t wear them any longer due to my sensitive skin. These are very high quality, highly pigmented, very smooth and creamy. The only downside that I see is that the contour shade is only going to work for fair to medium skin. Any darker of a skin tone, it basically works as a highlighter.
The colors in the palette are:
Laguna – Brown with a golden shimmer
Deep Throat – Sheer peach
Orgasm – Peachy/Pink with a slight golden shimmer
Mistinguette – Bright pink
Goulue – Medium pink
Devotee – Highlighter
Price: $65.00 Where to Buy: (Sephora) (eBay)
NARS Guy Bourdin Fling Lip Kit
I love the packaging on this. It comes in a cute set of bright red lips. How great is that? This palette contains 2 lipsticks, a mini matte lip pencil and a mini velvet gloss lip pencil. I love both their lipsticks and pencils. Normally, a NARS lipstick retails for $26.00. This set is cheaper than purchasing two lipstick individually, and you get 2 lip pencils as well. For the packaging and the price this is a great value. Shades Include:
Lipstick in Roman Holiday – Sheer Pastel Pink
Lipstick in Damage – Muted Purple
Mini Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Dolce Vita – Rose
Mini Velvet Gloss Lip Pencil in Baroque – Raspberry
Price: $49.00 Where to Buy: (Nordstrom)
Pouches
I love this idea. There are 3 different “pouches” each one with a different type of makeup inside. Once again, the packaging and idea behind these are wonderful and the products inside are just as great. NARS Promiscuous Lip Pencil Set A black pouch embellished with a set of blue lips. This set includes 5 samples of NARS favorite existing shades.
Shades Include:
Velvet Gloss Lip Pencil in New Lover – Golden Strawberry Pink
Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Never Say Never – Lilac Pink
Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Sex Machine – Pink/Mauve
Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Dolce Vita – Dusty Rose
Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Cruella – Scarlet Red
Where to Buy: (eBay) (Sephora) Price: $45.00
NARS Larger than Life Eyeliner Coffret
This is a black pouch embellished with a red and black heart. This contains 5 mini eyeliners along with the pouch. Each eyeliner is creamy, glides on smooth and evenly, and are very highly pigmented. Shades Include:
Via Veneto – Black
Via Applia – Copper brown
Santa Monica Blvd. – White
Blue Dahlia – Deep violet
Most Wanted – Blue
Price: $49.00 Where to Buy: Nordstrom
Leather Pouchette
Made from Italian Leather, this Pochette is embellished with a red and black heart. It measures 7.75 inches in width and 4.75 in length. Price: $75.00
Where to Buy: NARS
NARS Splendor in the Grass Check Palette
This is a smaller and less expensive version of the other cheek palette. It contains 4 blushes and a highlighter. I prefer this palette more than I do the previous one. This palette has typical NARS packaging and is very sturdy. The blushes, like all of NARS blushes, are very creamy and smooth.
The colors contained in this palette are:
Albatross – Luminous Glow (Highlighter)
Dolce Vita – Dusty Rose
Sex Appeal – Soft Peach
Angelika – Soft pink with gold and silver sparkle
Price: $49.00 Where to Buy: NARS
Marc Jacobs Lust for Lacquer Lip Vinyl
I purchased 3 of the lip glosses from the Marc Jacobs line. I love the packaging on these and the smooth round design. It gives it a very sleek and elegant look. The wand that comes with the lipgloss is a flat doe foot, which is by far my favorite. These make it easy to swipe on color on the go, without the mess and hassle that brushes and standard wands make. There are 12 in the collection, 6 of which are on the Sephora site. The price is a bit steap for these lip glosses.
Shades Include:
#208 Truth or Dare – Berry – (Amazon) (eBay) (Sephora)
#310 Studded Kiss – Shimmery Berry Lavender – (Amazon) (eBay)
#312 Lust for Life – Shimmery Red Raspberry – (Amazon) (eBay)
Price: $28.00
Maybelline Color Sensation High Shine Lipgloss
These may not be brand new, but they are new to me and that still counts. 🙂 I absolutely love everything about these glosses. The packaging is very sleek and classic. The container is clear so you can see the color of the lip gloss. These lip glosses have the flat doe foot wand I love for applying on the go. These are very highly pigmented and are glossy without being sticky.( We all know I hate a sticky lip gloss. 🙂 ) And for the price you just can’t go wrong with these. There is a wide selection of shades to chose from. I bought “Raspberry Ablaze” which was a limited edition, but I will list the other shades for you as well.
Bewitched – Medium cool-toned purple – (Makeup Geek Store)
Blitz – Copper brown – (Makeup Geek Store)
Price: $6.99 Where to Buy: Makeup Geek Store
MAC Divine Night
As always with MAC products, the packaging is wonderful. These eye shadows are good quality and apply smoothly. The eye shadow that stuck out to me was “Exquisite Ego”. Personally, I am not a fan of having 2 shades in one eye shadow, unless they work together and can be mixed.
Shades Include:
Eyeshadows
Exquisite Ego – Bronze base, the small part is a champagne color – (eBay) (Amazon) (MAC)
Gilded Night – Bright gold, the small part is black – (eBay) (Amazon) (MAC)
Past Midnight – Frosted Purple with soft white/pink – (eBay) (Amazon) (MAC)
Other Shades:
Captivating – Bright white gold base, the small part is deep gold – (eBay) (Amazon) (MAC)
Until Dawn – Soft gold base, the small part is purple taupe – (eBay) (Amazon) (MAC)
Tonight’s Temptation – Black, the small part is a true royal blue – (eBay) (Amazon) (MAC)
Price: $23.00
Lipsticks
As with all of MAC’s lipsticks, these are highly pigmented, smell great, and glide on smoothly. I love the packaging as they swapped out the standard silver tube for a classy gold one. Shades Include:
Private Party – Plum mauve – (eBay) (Amazon) (MAC)
You’ve Got It – Pink with a gold frost – (eBay) (Amazon) (MAC)
Exclusive Event – Taupe brown – (eBay) (Amazon) (MAC)
Prepare for Pleasure – Magenta red – (eBay) (Amazon) (MAC)
Price: $16.50
Divine Night Cremesheen Glass
If you like MAC “Cremesheen” Lipstick, you will love these. I was not a fan of “Private Party”, because of the small particles of glitter. Other than that, these are great glosses. Shades Include:
Private Party – Plum mauve with small glitters – (eBay) (Amazon) (MAC)
Flair for Finery – Nude – (eBay) (Amazon) (MAC)
Other Shades:
You’ve Got It – Nude taupe with green pearl – (eBay) (MAC)
Prepare for Pleasure – Red with blue undertones – (eBay) (Amazon) (MAC)
Price: $22.00 Eyeliners
Orpheus – Intense black with gold pearl – (eBay) (Amazon) (MAC)
Mystery – Intense black with green pearl – (eBay) (Amazon) (MAC)
Other Shades:
Raven – Intense black with red pearl – (eBay) (Amazon) (MAC)
Feline – Intense black with black pearl – (eBay) (Amazon) (MAC)
Price: $17.50
I hope you enjoyed this review! Keep watching because at the end of November, I will be starting my Holiday Smack down for the Holiday seasonal palettes.. Until next time, I hope you all are enjoying this fall weather! Stay happy and healthy!!! 🙂 XOXO, Marlena
Comments Off on Sunday Tittle Tattle: Brace Yourselves.
1) Could this be the last Sunday Tittle Tattle for a while? Brace yourselves: it’s entirely possible! I’m 39 weeks pregnant tomorrow and so really, Baby AMR could emerge at any time. (I like the word “emerge” rather than “pop out” – it sounds gentler and far less painful. Like the head will just serenely appear and we will all smile and coo and I can play The Circle of Life from The Lion King through my iPod speakers. Brilliant.) Anyway; as always I will endeavour to provide you with regular, brilliant quality (ha!) content, and I have loads of interesting posts and videos scheduled in advance, it’s just the Sunday Tittle Tattles that may prove to be a pain. I like them to be current and so I write them only a day or two in advance – that may not be possible if I’m simultaneously trying to learn the art of breastfeeding and trying to press frozen sanitary pads onto my sore bits. If you miss me and you want to find out what’s going on (mostly with my breasts and sore bits, I’d imagine) then please do bookmark my other blog, The Uphill. You can subscribe to the email feed and it’ll notify you when I’ve written something worthy and original.
2) Random beauty mention, just in case I don’t manage to test this out pre-baby-madness; NEOM’s new Intensive Skin Treatment Candles. Now these “beauty” candles aren’t a new concept – Oskia do a gorgeous Rose de Mai one and I’ve seen a couple of others about, but…HELLO! Look at the packaging on this beauty! Absolutely knock-out. Very luxe and impressive and I can imagine that the product itself won’t disappoint; the Scent to Sleep version has been formulated to soothe and nourish very dry skin and there’s the highest possible concentration of essential oils blended in to give the ultimate aromatherapy hit. A sleepy hit, I’m guessing from the name of this treatment – I can’t wait to try it. You can find more details on the NEOM website here.
Everyone’s favourite vlogging duo, Sam and Nic Chapman of Pixiwoos, has exciting news! Two limited edition make-up palettes are heading our way.
First up is Night Owl with everything you need for spectacular smoky eyes – smoky is a Pixiwoo speciality – with three long last shimmer shadows, a matte shadow, a dark gel liner, a perfect finish blush and a highlighter. Added to that, you’ll find two lip glosses. Almost a whole look in box, basically.
Modern Natural
The second palette, Modern Natural, has the same number of contents, but different colour-ways – rich and sumptuous browns for velvety eyes and cheeks. It reminds me a little of Kim Kardashian’s smoky-milky-peachy daytime look.
The Real Techniques Make Up Palettes are both totally wearable and user-friendly palettes and a gorgeous entry into the colour category from Pixiwoos. Currently, these are only available in the US (but they will ship) so I’m hoping it’s part of a test-run for a fuller make-up range to come in the future. On the currency conversion, each palette is about £15 and you can find them HERE. Exciting times!
Shipping (from what I can tell on the site it looks like it’s only £1.04 to ship from US to UK in 4-10 working days – but do double check because that seems remarkable low).
The post Real Techniques Make Up Palettes appeared first on British Beauty Blogger.
Comments Off on OTT Nails: Pink Latex and Powdery Blue Glitter!
This week’s nail art challenge with @NailArtistMartha was to create a look using Nails Inc’s Queensgate Gardens Floral Polish. It’s not a polish that I would ever pick up – it looks headache-inducingly complicated with its matte glitter and its flower pieces – but I really like the finished effect. You wouldn’t probably catch me parading about with daisies stuck to my nails, but I’d definitely work that pale blue matte glitter if I could master the application technique! (Martha said that it’s actually relatively easy to create the “fade”; just keep adding product to the free edge of the nail and it will build up naturally into that sprayed-on effect.) I imagine that you have to go digging to get those flower pieces, as they’re all mixed up with the glitter and the clear polish inside the bottle, and you’d probably want a little pair of tweezers to position the daisies if you were the pedantic kind. It’s quite difficult to remove the polish, apparently, so you’ll need to really soak the cotton wool pads in acetone and be quite patient.
Martha applied Queensgate Gardens over Nails Inc’s Latex Polish in Portobello Road, below. I think that this more-than-matte finish is amazing and I love the pale pink shade. They look like plastic doll fingernails! Totally OTT, totally Vegas! Martha has applied it to falsies to show the full-on effect but I think that it would look great on shorter, natural nails. I shall give it a try and let you know. Martha said that it dries very quickly, so you have to be fast with your application to get the perfectly smooth finish that she’s achieved. And you definitely need two coats, so again, apply carefully because the polish is quite thick. (This all spells trouble for my untrained, clumsy hands.)
I’m not sure whether the Latex finish will be permanent – I hope so. I think it’s a really unusual look, almost cartoon-like. For the moment, you can find Latex Effect here and Queensgate Gardens here. There are other shades available, but I think that these would be my pick of the bunch. Thank you once again to the lovely Martha – you can find her on Facebook here and on Instagram here if you’d like to ask any questions. And please, if you have any looks you’d like to see, fire away with your suggestions. We could do some more in-depth step-by-steps; I for one would love to know how to paint the perfect dark nail and also how to trim my cuticles!
Eyeliners
