Month: August 2014

Snap! Judgement: E45 Intense Recovery Lotion

/ MANY BRAVE FOOLS / 2 Comments

E45 LOTIONI gotta say. My immediate reaction to this was, ‘Oof, that is ug.” I mean, seriously. That label looks like it was designed in Word. It is so unappealing.

Well, let that be a lesson to me: what is inside is pretty darn spectacular.

So, I guess this is a one-two Snap! Judgement, because the second I started massaging this into my skin I was all, ‘Ooh! This feels amazing!’

E45 was developed by a Boots chemist back in the 50s — this is running contrary to the usual S!J, which are more like smash and grabs, just because I knew nothing about this brand — and it was only used in hospitals until the 80s.

We had some toasty weather this summer, and I do feel that I’m drier than usual. I’ll be using this, so, and I’ll never speak badly about its label again. (But srsly…)

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€4.99

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Update: Okay, this is not much of an S!J a’tall, but this stuff is great. I’ve been using it all week and my bod has been delighted. The fragrance-free part is really working for me, as it the texture and coverage — and it lasts! That silky feeling one gets upon immediately moisturising really, really lasts. Heart this.

THIS: IsaDora Flashing Volume Instant Effect Mascara

/ brightandbeautyfull / Leave a comment

This smokey eye was discussed here; were you wondering about the mascara?
MAC QUAD lo light
It’s via IsaDora. I was a bit dubious about their Flashing Volume Instant Effect Mascara, because of the odd little end on the wand — but, of course, it’s thanks to this odd little end that you get this ridic effect.

Here is it, all by itself:
ISADORA 1

That was only two coats. I know I’veISADORA mascara wand wrestled with this before, but here I go again: I consider a coat to be the first layer of mascara you put on, not the actual first brushing of the lashes. Like, you put on as much as you can, then let it set, and go back for more. Am I wrong? I don’t think so.

Here’s the wee little ‘brush’ at the end of the wand. This is spiky like the newfangled wands we’ve come to know and love or loathe in the past few years. Maybe they’re oldfangled now? Anyway, as far as spiky wand heads go, this is teeny.

It’s perfect for those hard-to-reach spots like the inside of the eye, but I was certain that it would take an age to get this on my face, just because the brush was that small.

It didn’t. The thing is, this tiny brush is hollow, so you’re getting twice as much product with every dip. And in fact, the smallness of the brush allowed for greater precision, and quicker application.

Once the first coat set, I went back for more, it was almost too much; this got a bit gunky, but that’s what they make lash combs for, right? I learned my lesson, though and did as comprehensive a job the first round.

Look: IRL. Tiny!
ISADORA WAND IRL

Good thing, small package!

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€16.25

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Pocket Smokey Eye: MAC Mineralize Quad in Fog & Mist

/ brightandbeautyfull / Leave a comment

I will admit to having had some serious boredom this past Bank Holiday Sunday. The weather was changeable in the extreme, I’d been out and back, I was avoiding doing some work, and so I whipped this little baby out.
MAC MINERALIZE QUAD
Why not spend a rainy, dull Bank Holiday Sunday working on my smokey eye technique?

It didn’t take much work a’tall, thanks to MAC‘s little quad of Fog & Mist goodness. I have been so reluctant to try to do The Smokey Eye on my own — seriously, even after all this time working a beauty journo, even after many professionally applied make up sessions — that I decided to risk it for a biscuit, and give this a go.

Those days are over. This is such an easy-to-use, quality product, that even a scaredy cat like me managed it.

The easy-to-use part comes in as regards texture and pigment: the colour is perfect and has just the correct amount of heft — and yet despite that heft, it is eminently buildable, and it glides on every part of your eye area gently but firmly. Further, as opposed to less-excellent brands whose powder either doesn’t adhere properly to the brush, much less the eyelid, it stays where you put it.

This looks like somebody else did it, if I do say so myself.
MAC QUAD sparkle

MAC QUAD pop
Some mist all over the eye, some fog in the crease, some really foggy fog under the eye, as well as some black liner on the inside lower lid, which I haven’t done since… a long time.

MAC QUAD lo light
Above, in less direct light. Even mistier and foggier! I know that quads really aren’t anything new — I’m sure I bought my first Chanel quad in art college — but having the colours all cheek-by-jowl in such a clever little compact just makes it feel even more portable. I just think this would be terrific for taking on a holiday because it’s small yet versatile. Not so terrific as you need to bring brushes along too — has anyone got a travel-sized brush set of good quality? I would very much like to know.

It lasted for the rest of that dull, rainy Bank Holiday Sunday.

Also! I swear, this increased the size of my limbal ring, which means: even more sexiness!

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€22.50

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What’s that mascara, you ask?

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Much Excite: Lancôme Visionnaire Advanced Skin Corrector *Improved*

/ brightandbeautyfull / 2 Comments

LANCOME VISIONNAIRE 2014This has been one of my favourite things since I began this blog — and I can prove it by directing you here. A part of my inaugural series of posts, Visionnaire was a big part of my night-time regime… until I had to try something else, or many, many something elses. It took on classic status, which is not bad thing, and also became something of a hoarding object. And in fairness, in the flurry of oils that had come through the post box, it got forgotten.

You can go to that link for some information about that molecule, LR2412 — or you can stay here while I report briefly that it is a creation of the Lancôme laboratories belonging to the jasmonate family. Which, okay, whatevs; the thing is, it works on the all three parts of the skin — the epidermis, basement membrane and the dermis. So this can only be a good thing.

It’s like, you’re trying to shore up the foundation of your house, but you’re only re-pointing the bricks on the façade. Not good enough. This goes all the way into the ground, as it were, and in this new formulation, they’ve doubled the amount of jasmonate, and added comb polymers which basically make the formula easier to apply, whilst giving it greater coverage.

This is all about wrinkle-smoothing, pore-reducing, and skin-refining. I very much liked what this stuff did the first time round, and I’m looking forward to putting this back in rotation to see how it works.

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€74; on counter in September 2014.

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