swatches

For several months now I have been drooling over the Lipstick Queen Jean lipstick and gloss on my favourite American beauty blogs - I have actually had it in the back of my mind that I needed to track down a way to get my hands on it - as it turns out, it was easier then I thought it would be - The Shopping Channel carries Lipstick Queen - hurray!

I wear jeans pretty much everyday so it makes perfect sense to me that I should own lip products to match them!  The colour looks quite strong in the tube but actually goes on sheer, I had to apply quite a bit just to have some colour show up in the pictures so don't be thrown when you see it in the tube by thinking it's too bright for you - on the other hand if you like a bright lipstick, you will be disappointed.
Lipstick Queen Jean Lipstick - $20 - this lipstick has a lot of moisture to it so it would also be a great choice if you like a tinted lipbalm - it's sheer so you need to build it for more colour and if you don't like a lot of colour, you will be happy with one coat!
Lipstick Queen Jean Queen Lipgloss - $20 - the gloss has more colour and is again very moisturizing but not sticky.  The only thing I'm not crazy about is the tube - it's a squeeze tube with a brush on it - I would have much preferred a brush wand or even if they had to have the brush attached, a click tube - I'm always afraid I'm going to squeeze too hard and have a gloss explosion!  (please excuse how it looks on the upper right hand side in both pictures, it looks like I didn't apply it there but it's actually just because of the way the light was hitting it)

And here's some great news and you're like me and feel you need both - The Shopping Channel offers the lipstick and gloss as a set for $26!  You can go to http://www.theshoppingchannel.com/category/beauty.do?e=1&Ne=100025&N=100038+134038 to check it out!

Still trying out the colours from the OPI fall Swiss collection, this time it's: Lucerne-tainly Look Marvellous and Glitzerland - Love them! What is really nice about them is that 1 coat gives you a polished metallic look that is perfect if you are running out the door and need to do something fast, while 2 coats gives you a rich metallic colour - I can see these getting a lot of use by me for the holidays!
Now I'm not normally a glittery nail polish kind of girl - mostly because I hate the way chunky glitter feels - I like a smooth nail so I was pleased to discover that the two new holiday colours from the Lippmann Collection: Today Was a Fairytale and Boom Boom Pow (with real 24K gold dust inside) add beautiful shimmer without lumps! Fairytale looks blue in the bottle but the glitter is silver and I loved the effect with the OPI silver!  You can find Lippmann polished at Donato Salons in Toronto as well as Murale.

Avon Matte Nail Enamel - 12ml - $5.99 - available in 4 shades:  Black as Night, Grey Cement, Violetta and Red Velvet.  Matte polishes have been big for a while now but I have never actually used one before.  I read up on it first so I knew that I shouldn't use a base coat, definitely couldn't use a top coat and that I should avoid hand lotions or anything else that might be hard on the colour (I also took this to mean I shouldn't do any housework - I'm in!)
I quickly learnt that the application process is a lot less forgiving with matte polishes because you can't even it out later with a top coat - but this grey was my favourite of the colours, I think it has a cool edgy look!
The purple isn't showing as matte as it really was because there is a little bit of sparkle to the colour that is being reflected off the flash.

I'm still on the fence about matte polishes, I am going to have to use them some more to get my application technique down!  Any tricks or hints would be much appreciated!

I introduced you to the GOSH Fall 2010 collection last week and I don't know about you, but I really love the nail polishes in the collection!  And for $6 you really can't go wrong!  The one thing I found with the GOSH polish, is that it is a little thicker then some that I have used so I need to be more mindful about putting on thin coats and letting them dry a bit more in between because I have a little bubbling

Earlier this year, Illamasqua ran a competition, asking entrants to provide inspiration for two new shades of nail polish. As you can see from the picture above, they ended up picking three winners, whose designs will be transformed into Shrapnel, Raindrops, and Eclipse. Here are the descriptions from Illamasqua -
* Shrapnel by Loren Perry – a pink-based metallic copper inspired by the dazzling shine of a new penny.

* Raindrops by Ann Black – a creamy pale grey with a sheer silver sparkle inspired by watching raindrops running down the window while riding the monorail in Seattle.

* Eclipse by Dami Lawal – a deep grey/purple blue that reflects the theatricality of a lunar eclipse 

Yesterday I finally tracked down some of Superdrug's new "everything's a pound" MUA range after scouring London's streets for the last week. It's only available in 84 branches nationwide - helpfully, there's a list here. (Wouldn't you know, I eventually found it in my own local branch.)


MUA stands for "Makeup Academy", which sounds a bit posh for such a budget line. But as it's likely to be a first makeup purchase for many young people, I guess the element of learning does tie in with the name. It features all the basic essentials you'd expect to find in a makeup range - colours for lips, eyes, cheeks and nails.

Lipglossiping's review had helpfully pointed me in the direction of the eyeshadows as the best product from the MUA line-up, so I avoided the other bits and picked up 3 eyeshadows - 9 (purple), 7(green) and 12(brick/green duochrome). I chose the brightest and most pigmented-looking shades I could see.


They're well pigmented and pick up smoothly. However the reason for that is their high mineral oil content (4th on the ingredient list). They're almost cream shadows, in fact - there's a real greasy feel to them. And they're prone to staining (as I found out when I came to remove the swatches from my arm). For £1 though, not at all bad, and the greasy-but-pigmented outcome is at least a change from the gritty talc-fest you get with most cheap eyeshadow powders.

I thought my three eyeshadows looked like they'd be easily duped, and expected them to match various shades in my collection. I was surprised to find that none of them did exactly, although the duochrome is very similar to a lot of other colours which employ the same colour-shift micas/pigments.

Click through for comparison swatches.

Disclosure - this is a PR sample

The name says it all - Daniel Sandler Watercolour is a thin liquid formula with a dose of colour mixed in - much like watercolour paint when it's mixed and ready to use.

I was instantly charmed by this neat, unique-looking little product, which is one of 12 Watercolour shades available from Daniel Sandler.

It's suitable for use on eyes, lips and cheeks, but for me there was no question about where to apply this shade, Cherub. It's a dusty neutral pink that makes a perfect spring blush.

The little screw-top bottle contains 15ml of product. That's about the same as an average bottle of nail polish, and given how pigmented this product is, it should go a very long way.

Watercolour can separate during storage, so it needs a vigorous shake before use. It spreads very smoothly on the skin when applied with fingertips, giving effortless even coverage. I found that its high-pigmented nature made this application method a poor option though as it can easily leave a noticeable colour on the fingers.

It's also very long-wearing (the package says "easily removed with waterproof eyemakeup remover", to give an indication) so a brush is probably best unless you have time to cleanse your hands thoroughly after application. The nozzle of the bottle is quite small and precise so you could just dot it straight on and then blend out. Daniel Sandler make a "Waterbrush" specifically for this purpose.

Here's the product applied to my face. This is two drops, blended with fingers. It sets matte and is impressively waterproof.

Daniel Sandler cosmetics and brushes are available at Harrods, or online at beautique.com. Watercolour is £11 (and well worth the price!)

Disclosure: These are samples provided for review

Well there's nothing like a product with a snappy name, is there?

Ms Kidd's makeup line has just made the move over to QVC, where it joins two other favourites of mine, Smashbox and Philosophy.

This product is exclusive to QVC, and will be available from 18th April (that's today) via QVC's website.

I was lucky enough to get hold of two of these for a bit of a preview, and I can tell you they're absolutely cracking products.

Things to love:
1. Fantastic packaging.
The lipstick is housed in a sturdy outer case with an attractive contrast-finish foliage design. To get the goods out, you click the end like a biro, and about 1/2 inch of the tube itself pops out for you to grab and pull free. After use, just push it in, and it snaps back into place. Forget clicking your pen for amusement during boring meetings - this is way more fun, and produces a highly satisfying audio-tactile "snick".

The design also passes my handbag-turbulence test; tubes stay securely closed even during the carnage of London rush hour commutes.


2: Square-ended design.
This makes application both easy and satisfying. "Chisel bullet", the press release calls it. "Square end", I feel, is more descriptive, if a bit less clever-sounding. In either case, it goes on very nicely.

3: SPF15 and moisturising formula.
Ideal for summer, and feels lovely on the lips. Also fragrance and flavour free, so should be acceptable to most people.

4: Sheer, wearable colours.
Having carried these in my handbag for the last week, I've found them to be ideal for retouching or adding a bit of colour ad hoc. They're also light enough to apply freehand, like a balm, without resorting to compact mirror or (if shy) ladies loos. Orange/coral (I typed "corange" there - could that be a new trend?) is "Sugar Cane", and pink/red is "Hibiscus". There are 3 more shades available.

5: RTFM. Thoughtful instructions and hints are included inside each box in French and English. Perfect for beginners, and great if you're giving these as a gift to someone new to makeup.

You can buy Jemma Kidd Makeup School Hi-Shine Hydrating Glosstick SPF15 from QVC, priced at £20,92 for a set of two. The RRP is £13, although I can only see these duo sets on the site at the moment.

Another Cherry Culture sale, another London Beauty Review NYX haul... here are six new Round Lipsticks modelled by moi.


Hades (517) - not a very fitting name for this mild-mannered neutral beige.


Fig (640) - a cheery creme pink.


Twist (663) - a punchy red-coral shimmer, very wearable.


NYX (507) Flagship shade? Deep orange shimmer, instant favourite.


Electra (513) Another of these bright cool-toned reds that NYX seem to favour


Chaos (511) An almost psychotically well-pigmented red with fuchsia overtones. Kaboom!

Nicole by OPI launched 13 new shades exclusive to Shoppers Drug Mart in February which you may have missed out on as they seem to have just mixed them in with the regular stock.  On my regular pilgrimage this week, I noticed that they had a special display of all the new colours so in honour of that, here are a couple of my faves from the collection!
Looking at it in the bottle, I would have expected Shell Me The Truth to be a lot pinker but this duo chrome is very peachy/gold on me - and so pretty!
On the other hand, what you see is what you get with Daffy Dill! I'm still not sure how I feel about green fingers - I'll have to give this a try on my toes!

The new Dior Addict Lipsticks are here and I was excited to try them and compare them to the ones I already have! I have to say that I find them moister feeling and they have a lot of shine for regular lipsticks.  I wouldn't say they were highly pigmented though, even seemingly bright colours like the ones above did not show up as strongly on my lips as I would have expected but since I like a sheer lipstick anyhow (less work to put on)  I'm very happy with them!

864 Couture looks bright in the tube and is a beautiful berry pink on me
652 Tango looks pinky coral in the tube but more pink on me - this has quickly become a favourite everyday colour for me!

Have you checked out the line yet?  What other colours do you think I need?

For the last in my series on cream blushes I decided to veer away from the pink and try some peach - GOSH Natural Touch Cream Blusher in 003 Fluffy Peach and Hello Kitty Apple Cheeks in Blushing.
GOSH is on the left, Hello Kitty is on the right and as you can see, they are very subtle - my poor husband went crazy trying to get them to show up on the camera at all!
GOSH 003 Fluffy Peach - is super subtle on me - so much so that it barely shows on film and I had about 3 layers of it on!  On the bright side, it would be a hard one to screw up or wear too much of!  Just make sure you keep the pot closed, I noticed the testers at Shoppers didn't have lids on them and they were drying up!
Hello Kitty in Blushing from the Hello Kitty collection at Sephora - I love the stick applicator it makes it easy to put the blush exactly where you want it and then blend it and it doesn't seem any less sanitary to be sticking something on your face then dipping your fingers in a pot but I suppose if this is of concern to you, it would be easy enough to wipe it off with an alcohol wipe after each use.

GOSH is available at Shoppers Drug Mart and you can find the Hello Kitty line at Sephora.

I love the pretty, natural glow that both of these products gave me. If you are fair to light skinned and like a subtle look these are both great colours but I have no idea how or if they would show on darker skin! And be sure to check out my other cream blush swatches they are all great spring colours:

Givenchy Blush Gelee
Yves Saint Laurent Creme de Blush No 2 Powdery Rose
The Body Shop Tailored Cheek Tint Hot Pink
Stila Lip & Cheek Stain Coconut Crush

Here's Vintage, which came in the post today from the fantastic Makeup Artist Boutique (who are currently having their first ever sale with 15% off everything). I've swatched in in full-on-lipstick mode, and sheered-out-stain mode (see below). As you can see it has a red base, and with time it fades down to a lovely cherry-coloured tint.  You could actually apply just a touch of it as a stain for daytime. Very versatile shade.

NB if you're thinking of purchasing from Makeup Artist Boutique and are a new customer, use the code LBRNEWCUST to get yet another 5% off your order.