Month: October 2012

Is It Okay Yet? Can I Say the ‘C’ Word?

/ brightandbeautyfull / 3 Comments

Not that I want to, really, but I’ve realised that I have always lived in the future as far as The ‘C’ Word is concerned. In high school, we’d start singing ‘C’ Word carols in September, and in my professional life, when I worked on monthly magazines, we were always two months in advance of everything. And ‘C’ WordTime is always features largely.

The daily — nay, instantaneous — nature of blogging has presented a serious challenge in the living-in-the-moment department, something I’ve never been good at it, something I hope I am getting better at, and despite this act of boldness, I’ve restrained myself.

All bets are off tomorrow! Get ready for a ‘C’ word bonanza!

This whole deal drives me crazy on another level, because it brings more stuff to my attention, and I really don’t need more stuff. Especially stuff that is so cunningly and prettily presented. *Sigh*

These posts may double as letters to Santy.

OMG The Darkkkkkkkkkness. Go Have a Bath.

/ brightandbeautyfull / 1 Comment

I never post on Bank Holiday Mondays, and I never post past 5pm, in order to respect some class of business hours which I expect the internet has already rendered artificial/obsolete, but lads: it feels like a million o’clock, and this day, despite being so short, feels like it has been gonig on forever, and even though episodes of the superlative Forbrydelsen are whispering at me, through the ether, I have to say the following.

When it is newly dark out because of the shaggin’ clocks, and it feels like a million o’clock, and you just don’t know what to do, go have a bath with Dermalogica Hydro-active Mineral Salts {€30.20}.

Is bliss.

They put it best, themselves:

The advanced complex of mineral-rich Sea Salts, natural Kelp, aromatic essential oils, spices and skin-smoothing enzymes gently exfoliates the entire body, leaving it ultra-smooth. Soothing essential oils of Sandalwood, Lavender, Orange and Clary Sage, balanced with purifying oils of Lemon, and Tea Tree, help deliver soft, silky, revitalized skin. The warming and fragrant spices of Coriander, Cinnamon and Ginger relax the body and uplift the senses for a soothing, stress-reducing muscle soak.

Plus! You can scrub it all over yourself like a… like a scrub. You know what I mean! An exfoliation/spa-type thing! Here’s a Pro Tip™: Stand in the tub and dampen yourself, and then commence scrubbing. Even then, the stuff will get all over the place, but at least in this case, that place will be the water.

You do not want to waste a single grain of it.

It smells better dissolved in the water; on the bod, there’s a bit of an odd pong. Even still, it is gorgeous, relaxing, soothing, and cleansing.

If only my water heater wasn’t so crap! I’ve almost got it figured out, the perfect ratio of cold-to-hot water, one that gets the best use out of the measly amount of hot on tap {LOL}. I may shake some of this into a baggie and bring back to Amerikay for The Christmas: land of the free and the home of an endless supply of hot water. Wow, now I’ve got even more to look forward to!

Seriously, get this, turn on the water, take a bath. It will make these dark hours melt away.

***

kudosbeauty.ie do a great line in Dermalogica products.

The Hair Meets Elnett Styling Spray; Happiness Ensues

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Three new products from Elnett are available for your follicular pleasure: Heat Protect Styling Sprays for three-day Volume, Curl or Straight coiffures.

I went for Volume on the roots and Curl on the ends:

L’Oréal Paris spokewoman/model/boldface name Cheryl Cole and I are like *that*.

This very impressive blow dry was done by Sinead from Foundation Hair Salon. No tongs were used in the creation of this hairdo. The sprays protect the hair from heating tools up to 230°, so no more fried tresses of a Saturday night.

This morning, with very little intervention. Combed out and spritzed the Volume on the roots!

Due to the fineness of my hair, I am not entirely convinced that I’ll get another day out of this, but we shall see.

Pictures of the very fancy spray bottles can be found here, as well as more pretty pictures of my pal Cheryl. Price point is in the area of €8, and I asked how many hairdos you might expect to get in a bottle, and I’ve forgotten the answer. Four months worth, I think? I bet that’s reasonable. {Updates to come on all that — couldn’t wait to post!}

***

Elnett Heat Protecting Styling Sprays are available everywhere, basically.

Oh! And the lippy in the last photo is one of the new Clinique Chubbies in Mightiest Maraschino. It is a lightweight in texture only — I already adore it.

Changing My Tune: Lancôme Génifique Sôleil SPF 50

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Or to give it its full name, Skin Youth UV Protector for the Face SPF 50.

Now that I’ve, to put it indelicately, busted my cherry re: laser treatments, I am newly converted to assiduous SPF use. I know, I know, blah, blah, blah, should have been using it all along. I’m sure I have been, via moisturisers and foundation and all that craic, but now — now I am going to be a tiresome, UV protecting evangelist. Why undo all the good work The Zap has done?

I was somewhat taken aback by the price point of this one — €28.50 — but taken with:
> The light texture
> The super speedy absorbancy
…and then taken aback again by:
> Its extreme whiteness
> Its scent — which fades quickly, but not quickly enough?

The thing is: the lightness. This is going to be the thing that influences my choice of daily SPF. See, I equate SPF with sunscreen. This is possibly {probably, definitely} erroneous. Sunscreen = heavy, gloopy stuff that you put on at the beach. The last thing I want to have to do is apply something that is going to take forever to dry. This is because I am not efficient in the mornings.

Basically: I don’t want an SPF that’s going to require that I get up early in the a.m.

This is a good candidate for daily use. I’ve got a few others up my sleeve, however…

***

Lancôme is available at all good department stores.

Confident Liquid Lipstick from LUSH: How’d it Do?

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In contrast to the other Lush Liquid Lipsticks I have reviewed, this onewas not as drying. Behold: Confident

It was rather more… liquidy, which made it a little more difficult to apply. It was like a weak gloss with super high pigment. Kind of weird, but in the end, it looked well.

I must say that whilst I felt confident in its form, I wasn’t quite as to its function. This is a going-out-to-meetings-in-which-I-will-decline-the-cup-of-tea lipstick. The sort I’ll wear when I’m moving around town and not alighting in one place for long.

This is hummingbird lippy.*

***

Lush Liquid Lipstick is part of the Emotional Brilliance line. Go to lush.co.uk and play the cool interactive game!

*Er. Wha’????

Sparkletacular Twinkly Toes from Sally Hansen

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Love!

Here’s Gem Crush Nail Colour from Sally Hansen, a flock of new glitter varnishes. Behold, the perfectly named Blingtastic.

I don’t bother with a base coat on my toes, and I expect that this will go on much more smoothly with one. The mass of glitter makes it sparkle like Rockefeller Center at Christmas, but it also makes it difficult to apply as quickly as one might wish. You’ve got a couple of coats to do here until you get total coverage.

Once total coverage is achieved, though, the look is spark-tacular. Sparkletacular? Eh, whatevs. Shiiiiiny!

***

Gem Crush come in eight shades and retail for €8.95.

Laser Virgin Loses It, Via LivingSocial

/ brightandbeautyfull / 5 Comments

I joined one of those group coupon things about a year ago, and became annoyed something rapid: none of the offers were in any way convenient to where I was living. I am a public transport enthusiast — okay, ‘enthusiast’ is not exactly correct, ‘user because why run a car in a city?’ is probably more like it — and even with my extensive knowledge of the bus, tram and DART systems, it was a huge pain in the arse to get to some of these places. I’d be spending any savings on fares! Pointless.

And then I discovered LivingSocial and found a deal right in my own front garden as it were. [Plus, this site seems to have deals on stuff as well as hairdos and paintball.] Funnily enough, I had only noticed that there was a place called We Love Laser right there on Georges Street, just the other day, and then, they were offering a Laser Facial on the LivingSocial site.

Laser! Anytime I think of laser, I think of this, which I know isn’t remotely correct. Is it? I don’t know, man: The Fear. I love technology, but I also love my face the way it is, and the idea that anybody’s going to get all Darth Vader up in my grill…

Let me show you The Fear. Continue reading →

Yesterday’s Face: What it Was

/ brightandbeautyfull / 2 Comments

Yesterday’s make up — which, like yesterday, is gone! Take off your make up, women, for the love of God! — and as ever, will be keeping my day job. I am very sloppy about the picture-taking.

From left:

> No. 7 High Shine in Pink Veil
> Hourglass Opaque Rouge Liquid Lipstick in Rose
> That Karaja Waterproof Eye Pencil that I am wearing down to the nub.
> Bourjois Paris Smoky Eyes in Rose Vintage
> Clarins Instant Definition Mascara in Intense Plum
> Bourjois Paris Flower Perfection Translucent Smoothing Primer
> Stila Set & illuminate Baked Powder Trio
> L’Oréal Paris Nude Magique BB Cream in Fair Skin Tone
> Also L’Oréal Paris, the LumiMagique highlighting pen
> Yves Saint Laurent Dare to Glow No 2 in Fatal Red
> My beloved brow duo, the AVON Glimmerstick Brow Definer in Dark Brown, and BeneFit Speed Brow

I am very much loving the Hourglass lippy: it really does last, and I counteract the dry-feelingness with a top coat of gloss — ooh, and the No 7 is super shiny! I am also very impressed with the Bourjois eye palette, less so with the primer, as it is such a small container, I don’t imagine I’ll get many faces out of it, if you know what I mean. The YSL illuminator was a little rosier than I wanted to go, but if you are feeling that pale-and-interesting is not working for you, this will warm you right up.

Stila! Completely into the this illuminator, but keep forgetting I want to use it, so I am all dressed, and the danger of illuminating my frontage is, I am afraid, about 200% guaranteed.

I would not normally be interested in a non-black mascara either, but I find myself reaching for the Clarins Plum these last few days.

The whole look is soft:

Brows and lips, betches. It is all about them.

I’ll deffo do this again. Ah, yesterday!

***

OML*: Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream Lip Protectant Gloss!

/ brightandbeautyfull / 1 Comment

*Oh My Lips!

The latest addition to my stable of lip balms is one that Eight Hour Cream fans are going to die for.

‘Stable’ is not merely a canny way to allude to my other blog: the original Ms Arden did in fact base her miracle cream on a treatment that was used routinely on her horses.

Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream Lip Protectant Gloss is a sort of a cross-breeding between lip balm and lip gloss, with emphasis on the latter. It is shiny, which is the cause of much joy in B&B! HQ, but with balm-like qualities, so that one ends up being both attractive and virtuous. Even better: it’s the first make up product in the Eight Hour line, so one will be beautiful, virtuous, and cutting edge.

And, magpie that I am, I loved the equally shiny packaging.

Is the eight hour aspect merely a connection to the brand’s most famous element, or is this meant to last eight hours? Not in my world, it won’t: between talking, eating, talking, drinking, and talking and talking, there’s no way. Most importantly, the habit of applying, which may indeed be the root of my lip balm addiction? It’s too ingrained, and automatic. Go eight hours without reapplying? You must be joking.

How will I use this? I’d count the ways, but I think this is a going-out kind of jawn, the sort that I use on top of my long-lasting but slightly-drying new fave lippys, and then as the evening wears on and I get tired of touching up, I’ll just apply this and leave it. So, great companion to The Smoky Eye, as well.

It feels light, and has a light, citrus-y scent, which is unexpected? It’s fine with me — it doesn’t taste like oranges or anything, which may be a disappointment to some, perhaps.

This is too fancy to use when just sitting around, catching up on Homeland. It’s part of a limited collection that includes Skin Protectant and Moisturzing Hand Treatment. Those look good, but for me, as ever, it is all about the balm — and so far, so good.

***

€22.50/£20/$17

You, Only Better {And Me, Too!}: Hourglass Cosmetics

/ brightandbeautyfull / 3 Comments

‘I love make up,’ I sighed as MUA and Hourglass Cosmetics European training manager Mel Leonard put the finishing touches on my face.

Always have, always will, and this love results not only in this blog, but also in an unending quest to try out new things. The Venice CA-based cosmetics company is chock full of new things, and many of them ended up on me gob — not that I knew it. The defining characteristic of the products are their lightness of texture; paradoxically, they very much punch above their weight in terms of what they can do for your complexion.

Founded by Carisa Janes, the collection features anti-aging and sun-filtering ingredients that contribute to the health of your skin, as well as making it look beautiful. As Janes says herself, “I just want to look like me—only better.”

So: me, only better?

Yup.

At left, that post-facial face. At right, a full complement of Hourglass, professionally applied. And by full complement, I mean: two primers, foundation, eye concealer, face concealer, blush, bronzer, illuminator, eyeshadow liquid liner, mascara and lip rouge.

The leading lights of the brand are the primers: No. 28 Primer Serum and Mineral Veil Primer. As to the former, the number in the name refers to the ingredients — fourteen essential oils, ten plant oils, and four vitamins. The latter is water-resistant, minimises pores and fine lines, and feels like you are applying liquid satin to your face.

Plus? This stuff lasts for hours and hours. Hence, I reckon, the name. The sands may have been flowing through the glaSs, but you’d never know it by looking at me.

Eh, so, you know: iPhone. But still.That is some class of consistency, when you consider, clockwise from upper left, we are covering the hours from 4.30 pm to midnight.

Mel did such an extraordinary job on my eyes, right? I must get my paws on that Calligraphy Liquid Liner: also waterproof/smudgeproof, I can use it on my upper inner eyelid, and one blink will not make me look like a panda. That’s the part of my ‘look’ that I find the most high maintenance, and I’d like to minimise the reapplication in that department.

Also, four words: Film Noir Lash Lacquer. Mel painted this on my lashes after one coat of mascara. It is exactly what it says, lacquer for the lashes, making them look thicker and richer than any mascara could possibly hope to achieve. She did warn that it would make my whole face black when I went to wipe it off, and suggested an oil-based eye make up remover — and it disappeared with no fuss, and no more muss than conventional lash stuff.

Lips! Opaque Rouge Liquid Lipstick in Empress. I had to goose it a bit with some lipgloss as I found it slightly drying, but it didn’t budge an inch in over six hours.

I had a long day yesterday. I was all over town in that blustery, awful rain, and my feet hurt. I had meetings, I went from home to town to Dundrum to town to theatre and all I kept thinking about at one stage was going hoooome. Hourglass helped me put a brave face on it — and if we have the winter it looks like we may be having, I’m going to want the means of making this brave face myself.

***

Available in Ireland at Harvey Nichols; in the USA at Sephora and Bergdorf Goodman; and from Liberty in London.