FACE

Beauty Meets Gadgety: Sisley Eau Efficace

/ brightandbeautyfull / 2 Comments

One of my intentions on this site is to talk about gadgety things, because that is another arrow in my quiver, as it were. A long time Gadget Gal for the Evening Herald, I’ve been put in abeyance, and do miss writing about things technical.

Imagine my delight when I clapped eyes on Sisley’s Eau Efficace, which is French for Gentle Eye Make-up Remover, Face and Eyes. There is it, looking fairly innocent if sophisticatedly so, in the classic and streamlined Sisley fashion. I tend to like a little more oomph in my packaging {TWSS} — but I did a big clear out at the weekend, and my white bathroom is purely gleaming, so this bottle and its look fit right in.

So what’s the big deal, you ask? Let’s pop the top, shall we?

This is an excellent way to dispense product. So: take your cotton pad, cover the top of this yoke with it, and press. The make-up remover comes up through the white dot thing {left}. It’s silhouette is shown to better effect at right.

Easy does it, and you get just the correct amount on the pad. Me, I tend to have a heavy hand, with this make-up remover, and whisky, so I had somewhat of a learning curve.

I have only been using this as a face make-up remover at the moment — I have been letting the brows lead the way for as long as the dye lasts — and I have to say, this is as refreshing as tonic. I feel slightly dubious about its ‘efficace’ as regards the full monty of mascara and eyeliner, much less eyeshadow, but we’ll give it a go. I have to be out in public tomorrow, so I’ll fill you in.

Thing is, you’re not going to go shopping for Sisley in the bargain bin, are you? For €81.50 a go, you’re going to want to get every last drop. I’ll keep track of this one, because another one of my best arrows is the Dart of Rationalisation: if this lasts for six months and does an excellent job of cleaning yer gob, then that’s only €13 a month on make-up removal. Is that good value? It may be, if you also feel like this fulfills the remit of a toner. Then that’s two products for the price of one. Right? Right?!?

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Sisley is available at Brown Thomas.

I Love a Good Package: Benefit Lip & Cheek Kits

/ brightandbeautyfull / 4 Comments

I remember when Benetint blipped on my radar: I was going through an all-lipstick, all-the-time phase, and the constant reapplying was wrecking my head. I didn’t give a toss about touching up in public, but the constant vigilance was wearing. My pal Julie was my Lipcote mule {was still in NYC and did not have direct access to that magical, magical potion} but I wanted even more staying power. A lipstain like Benetint sounded like it would fill the bill to overflowing.

Except that I maybe have an excessively sensitive gob? Because the brushing-it-on part drove me crayzee: nails on the chalkboard time, awful, awful! Dabbing some on my finger didn’t really help, and I was so annoyed at the waste that I didn’t bother using it as a blusher. Cutting off my nose to spite my face, as usual.

So it was with mixed feelings that I received an abundance of lip and cheek kits from the San Fran brand… Continue reading →

Q: Why is This Woman Grinning Like an Eeeejit? A: HD Brows.

/ brightandbeautyfull / 1 Comment

HD Brows are the best thing ever, ever, ever.

Ever. Seriously, it’s like the rest of the face can just chill out, because the brows are doing all the work.

I just got them seen ta yesterday at Carter Beauty in Blackrock, and the world of difference it makes!

If you haven’t seen the before-and-after gallery on their site, go have a look.

Evidence: compelling.

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What else have I got going on?

> The Hair: Dermalogica Shine Therapy Shampoo & Silk Finish Conditioner {€22.20/28.65} with a few squirts of L’Oréal Mythic Oil Milk {€19.99}

> Foundation Le Teint Touche Éclat from Lancôme {€38}. I think I got too light a shade, maybe? Can’t tell from the seriously warm photo. I’m not sure this is right for me. I have to give this another go, and see.

> 10 Bronzer {€34} from Benefit because of the above.

> Clinique High Impact Extreme Volume Mascara {€21}

> NYC HD Color Quattro Eye Shadow in Queens Boulevard {€3.49}. I didn’t use the full quattro, only a duo; the palette is nicely purple-y.

> Dr Hauschka Lipstick Novum in Slow Mood {16.50}, because I was going for a neutral lip. I’m thinking it is only okay, and was sorry that I hadn’t remembered this new Lacura Beauty lippy I’m liking at the moment, from Aldi, in 419. It’s a smoky purple-y grey, and the other day? I ate an apple, and it didn’t wear off. !

Hey, that’s one pricey face…

Best Make Up Brush Ever?!? Blank Canvas Cosmetics Flat Top Kabuki Brush

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Well, I wouldn’t come out and say it if I didn’t think so.

No, but really: I think it is.

It is very late for me to be pitching up to the make up brush party, but better late than never. I have always had so much stuff all over the place, that the thought of having to figure out how to keep brushes nice, and of having the numerous brushes needed to put all that stuff on my face — blush, foundation, lips, brows, and the eight million varieties of eye shadow brush! I ask you! — it was all very overwhelming

I’d been lazy, I admit, and have always just gotten by with what is provided by the manufacturer. Then I started working for U magazine back in the mid 00s, and I remember somebody, if not all of the bodies, yelling at me because I didn’t have any make up brushes. So, duly chastened, I started collecting them, and finding them to be… eh, only okay.

Cut to 2012, and I’ve got a couple of lovely looking, illuminating pressed powders, one from Elizabeth Arden {Pure Finish Highlighter in Rose Illumination} and 10 from Benefit. The former comes sans brush, and the latter with a teeny flat one that looks like miniature version of a dandy brush. I use that one for both, and then go through my collection of brushes for the face, and decide that the products are rubbish. They are making no impression whatsoever.

And then I used Blank Canvas Cosmetics’ Flat Top Kabuki Brush, and it as though night became day. BCC is an online Irish cosmetics brand, and the brushes have been developed by Úna Tynan. Drawing on her skills as a professional MUA, there’s a whole range of synthetic brushes to choose from, as well as gorgeous, colourful palettes of eye colour and blush…

Sorry, got a bit distracted. Anyway: this brush is brilliant. It really picks up the product and holds it fast until you actually get it onto your face. It’s my new go-to, and I wish there was a version that I could slip into my handbag? A teeny one, for touch-ups? Sure, I’m only wondering…

Since the tan is fading, I’m going to give this a go with foundation very soon. My hopes are high, and I have every expectation of them being happily fulfilled.

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The Blank Canvas Cosmetics Flat Top Kabuki Brush is €14, see www.blankcanvascosmetics.com for more info. They ship pretty much everywhere, apparently!

Ooookay, A Bit Much for Daytime, But Still: Smokelicious Eyes from L’Oréal

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Sometimes I don’t think ahead. I was sitting here, taking a break from work-work, and I reached down into the box that lives at my feet, down to the right. This is the box that contains all the new stuff, stuff that needs to be to hand, but is to foot because I am trying to keep the top of my desk from being too cluttered.

I reached down, and my hand hit this, one of L’Oréal’s new eyeshadow palettes for autumn, in the Colour Riche Les Ombres line. Hmmm, I thought. Green. I always think that green will make my eyes bluer, but it makes me look like I am due to be carried out of my gaff feet first. Eh, whatever, I like the look of the plummy bit, and after squinting, even with my specs, at the wee diagramme on the back, I laid it on myself. Continue reading →

New Fixation: Lush Liquid Lipstick Update

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As planned, I wore some Lush Liquid Lipstick out to dins last night.

Drinking: okay with a straw. {Made even okay-er because they were mojitos at Green Nineteen.}
Eating: um, no.

In fairness, any lippy is going to get all over everything. With red, though, and with the way that Decisive is so RED, you have to wipe the whole lot off entirely. Which wrecks your look. Which, so: what’s the point of wearing it at all?

And then, you have to hop up and run to the loo to reapply. You can’t reapply at the table because — well, I do top up gloss at the table, or even a light colour, but this red is too bold to re-do in company. It would just be wrong. Also, red is so fiddly, and everybody would be watching you do it, and there’s always the same spot that I mess up, the right side of my upper lip, and oh! the pressure!

Moral of this story: don’t wear red lippy to dinner.

How’s that for decisive?*

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Unless you are getting an entree that you eat in little bits with a fork. I got the burger, which was delicious, but worst choice ever as regards interfacing* with the lippy.

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LOL.

New Fixation: Finding The Perfect Lipstick for Autumn 2012

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Subcategory: the perfect red lipstick. I’ve already begun this investigation, here, and sub-sub category is a fixation on the Liquid Lipsticks from Lush’s Emotional Brilliance collection.

This is Power.

Excellent, and slightly freaky photo!

I am generally not a fan of orange-based reds, as they don’t suit me, but this one? I find it a little confusing. It is orange-y, and even has a gold shimmer, but it is not entirely orange? I didn’t fiddle with this in Pshop, so what you ‘see’ is what you ‘get’ {inverted commas = the vagaries of the calibration of everyone’s individual monitors, much less mobiles.} It has a touch of blue in there somewhere, it must.

The Pros v Cons:

Con I’m still not entirely reconciled to the dryness this leaves behind. I’ve tried it both ways — with lip balm on first, as a base, and with it as a top coat, for lack of a better term — and the latter is better. A bit of a blot on a tissue + a touch of balm sets you up nicely for several hours.

Pro Several hours could = forever, if you don’t eat or drink anything. Which is a big ask, okay. Maybe drinking would be okay, if there was a straw involved.

Con The product itself is somewhat slippy, meaning, it gets all over your teeth. Which is gross. Do that supermodel thing, where you purse your lips around your finger and pull it out < OMG, I have tried writing that to be less dirty and naughty and I just can’t figure out a way! Your finger gets all the excess lipstick off your lips.

Pro I love the wee bottles. I just do.

I have a thing tonight, involving food, so I’ll really put this to the test this evening. Will let you know what happens.

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Liquid Lipstick: €17.95

Completely Genius Move, Benefit: They’re Real! Anniversary Special

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I wrote briefly about Benefit’s They’re Real! Mascara back in March:

The result is amazeballs, but one must get as much on in the first coat, because it dries hard, and it’s difficult to get another coat on. You know what I mean? It kind of sets in stone? Which is grand — if you get the first coat correct.

I do love the look that I get from this, and think of it as ‘special occasion’ wear; I also tend to save the use of this for going on holiday. Anyone else? Save ‘looks’ for when you go away or for weddings and stuff? Cue tumbleweeds or…?

Anyway, imagine my delight when I saw the mum-and-child version of this product! That wee one is perfect for saving to bring along to the Med or to NYC, or when you’re planning any kind of, er, overnighter.

So, help celebrate the first birthday of They’re Real! with this really useful package. I still do find that you’ve got to get it right the first time, but when you do, the lashes stay fresh looking the live long day.

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€26.50/£18.50/$23

Inexplicable Marilyn Moments: Or Are They?

/ brightandbeautyfull / 2 Comments

I was going through some bits and pieces I had torn out of magazines, fodder for future collages and vision boards, and there was Marilyn, big as life.

I would not be a … I was going to say huge fan, and I wouldn’t be, but I think by that I also mean an obsessed fan of her persona. You know, because I don’t get ever get obsessed about anything. Ha, ha.

Or by that I think I may mean that I absolutely recognise that she was talented — and funny! — but I don’t know that she was any more tragic than many women walking around out there, living lives that are markedly less glamorous, sure, but with their own brand of pressures.

But, lordee, that woman could rock the red lipstick. Continue reading →

A Scent is Worth A Thousand Words: Nuxe Crème Fraîche de Beauté

/ MANY BRAVE FOOLS / 3 Comments

Sometimes, my approach to testing products is less than scientific. When my long-suffering postman handed over a package of the new Crème Fraîche de Beauté collection from Nuxe {he’s got to be dying to ask me what is up with all these parcels}, I opened it, had a quick look, and put it to the side. It had to join the queue, and to be honest, some of the packaging out of France is way overdone. Why all these words, French package designers?

Exhibit A. This is the inside of the box. The inside of the box! Plus there’s the usual foldy-uppy-multi-lingual palaver wrapped around the container. The outside of the box is pure carnage. And ultimately? There is nothing to tell me why this stuff smells so gorgeously fantastic. Because it does, it smells like the freshest, most invigorating line of beauty products I have ever smelled.

Back to my less-than-laboratory environment. I was sitting here the other day, stumped for a word or phrase, so I reached into the Nuxe package and came up with the Masque Crème Fraîche de Beauté. Ah, sure, thought I, let’s just lash some of this on, why not? Why not, indeed. Might be a good idea, oh, I don’t know, to cleanse and/or tone before applying a mask {or masque.} I tend to think, well, if it’s gonna work, it best be workin’ on skin that is in rag order, right? So, I liberated the tube from its tomb of text, peeled off the annoying but sanitary little foil protective thingie, slapped some on —

And was immediately transported into a sunlit meadow, its grasses freshly cut. The scent of flora is everywhere: not just flowers, but trees as well, and I swear I can smell the cool water of a bubbling brook. All I wanted to do was to lie down and breathe and breathe and breathe —

Cut to me lying on the floor of my sitting room. Nah, just kidding! But I felt inspired to forgive the brand its unnecessary packaging verbiage — well, almost. What is in this?!!? Not that I reckon I can reproduce this myself. I tried to do that once! With a base cream from Atlantic Aromatics! I gathered together my lime, basil, and mandarin essential oils, keen to make up my own Jo Malone scent, except it came out smelling like broccoli.

I’ve learned my lesson there. I’m only curious, is all. I looked it up, of course, and came up with Lupin, Pea, Green Tea, Acacia, Almond, Coconut, Oat, and non GM Soya. Yeah, no. What is acacia, even? {A flowering shrub/tree.} So maybe acacia and lupin are the cornerstones of this evocative fragrance. Soya? Please.

In further bad practice, I’ve just now slathered on some of the Crème Fraîche de Beauté Enrichie, which is for Dry to Very Dry Sensitive Skin {see what I did there, French copypersons?} on skin that has not been properly prepared to receive it. I don’t care. It feels good, cooling and soothing — just like it says there on the label.

As to the 24 hour thing: these products are meant to continually moisturize for a full day/night cycle. I’m not completely certain how that works, and will ask around. I don’t know that I believe it, frankly. I do believe that the brand continue to do what they say they will, in a lovely and uncharacteristically simple portmanteau-ish way: Nature and Luxe = Nuxe. I can certainly vouch for that working well — sure, it’s as plain as the nose on my face.

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Nuxe’s Crème Fraîche de Beauté collection ranges from €20 to €32, and is available in chemists nationwide.