FACE

Sweet Sixteen: Karaja Super Longwear Semi-Permanent Soft Eyeliner

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Aw! All done: here’s the last entry in the brightandbeautyfull.com Sweet Sixteen Sweepstakes. The sixteenth and final product was only slightly influenced by the discovery that I had very little make up in the running.

I went and got a makeover at a counter in a fancy department store — Dior in Brown Thomas — before heading the launch party for my first novel*, and among the many cool things the make up lady did was to line my upper inner lid in black.

Now, I am capable enough to just about poke my own eye out putting on shades, so the notion of going anywhere near my eyeball with a pencil-shaped object made me extremely nervous. I got the hang of it, though, because it looked so good, and on days when I can’t be arsed to do the whole mascara-and-eyeshadow thing, a little bit of a line in the inside of my upper lids is all I need to feel like a slightly vampy all-natural girl.

My first favourite was Origins Automagically ™ Eye Lining Pencil, but I ran out and then couldn’t buy it in Ireland anymore. {This is true, right?} Then, it didn’t matter anymore because I got Karaja’s Super Longwear Semi-Permanent Soft Eyeliner, and haven’t looked back since.

Oh, wow, didn’t even see what I did there. <– And there! Okay, enough with the cleverness. I love this liner, and I am using it down to the nub. I’ve consulted my archives, and am stunned to discover that I have only been using this for little over a year. Stunned! This is such a big part of my regime, that it feels as though I have been using this forever, if not two years at least.

I will admit to being a bit freaked out by the semi-permanent aspect of this. It does have amazing staying power, but it also does require at least one touch-up in the day. On the other hand, it is a bit of a bitch to remove. I have gone through more than my normal allotment of cotton pads. But then, on the other other hand, even when I blink like a … a bunny? Do bunnies blink really fast? Even when I blink really fast when applying, it never ends up on my bottom inner lid, never mind the rest of my face.

It’s also sort of been my gateway product as far as The Smoky Eye is concerned. I have always been afraid of TSE, which is silly, because it is totally hot, and using the Karaja pencil eased me into the whole look gently, easily, and unsmearingly.

Next long-from feature: Desert Island Sponge Bag {or Wash Bag, or Toiletries Bag, depending upon from whence ye hail.}

€10/£9.99/$13-ish, plus P&H via euro-products.co.uk

*which is also available on Kindle.

If You Ever Get Kicked By a Horse…

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… and the bruise is not going away, then I highly recommend Cicaplast, by La Roche-Posay. If you want the whole story, it’s here.

This is not blatant blog-rolling on my part, I’m just too pressed for time to get into the details. Condensed version: got kicked by a horse, a glancing blow to the shin, very lucky I had been turning my mount away or else God knows what would have happened {or been broken}, it stung like m***erf***er for a couple days, was sore for a few more, and then… nothing much. Some discolouration, but no real bruising.

Then, two months later, it started to itch like a double mofo, and I grabbed the Cicaplast. I hadn’t used it before, as I don’t have sensitive skin, and this stuff seems to be for those who do. I read up on it, noticed on the website that there were images of other parts of the body besides the face, and slapped this on the dent in my leg.

It cleared it up in no time a’tall. The itching stopped within moments of contact –>foreals,  and the discolouration faded in days. A cursory wander round the web reveals that it is good for all manner of skin complaints, from nappy rash to use as primer by make up artists to the healing of scars. The tiniest bit of it works like a charm, it is light, fragrance-free, and I think it made by the fairies under the full moon, because it is pure magic.

Now, if only there was a topical that could do something about that dent, which is still apparent, almost a year later…

€12.50/£13.00(NI)/$36.50 list price on Amazon, down to $12.50, but still?!? See here, in the comments, for recs on where to buy Stateside.

Haiku Review: Avon ANEW Clinical Resurfacing Expert Smoothing Fluid

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Microdermabrasion!
A more perfect haiku word
Has never been known.

Oh, words: I love words, and one of my favourite words is ‘slough’. Oh wow, I am saying it over and over to myself and it is just the most amazing feeling. Slough slough slough. It’s the owwwwwwww part, and the visual of the silent ‘gh’ that gets me. {This is turning out to be a week of strange posts…}

Oh, but it is so satisfying. Other faves include: waft, bedizen, and smooch.

I’ve been researching microdermabrasion, and that’s how I came across slough, as in: sloughing off dead skin cells. I went a’googlin’ because I got some Avon ANEW Clinical Resurfacing Expert Smoothing Fluid {whew! What a mouthful!} yesterday and was immediately taken by the notion of being able to self-treat my complexion in a microdermabrasional kind of way.

I don’t think I’ve ever had a clinical treatment — surely I’d remember? It involves machines, which is both scary and thrilling; one can go so far as to buy oneself a machine for at-home use. I have worked professionally as a gadget reviewer, and I am a techno-magpie: I use stuff for a while, and then I get bored, so I can’t imagine that a machine would do me any good in the long run. So in Avon’s offering we’ve got a little bit ‘o’ complexion transformation in a bottle, which seems as simple as could be.

Too simple?  The whole point of microdermabrasion {I am getting tired of typing that word} is to SLOUGH off those dead skin cells, in turn reducing the appearance of fine lines, increasing the softness of your skin, and eradicating acne. Can a mere lotion deliver the same benefit?

We’ll see, because I would very much like this to work. According to one of the Avon R&D bods, the product ‘mimic[s] the physical action of microdermabrasion treatments, with less irritation.’ Or, to hark back to my favourite word, less owwwwww.

Will keep you posted.

€32.50/£28/$38

Clarins Skintime Rundown

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Remember this totally free thing? I just wanted to let you know, step by step, what you can get for nothing at your local Clarins counter.

Here are the eight steps that incorporate Clarins Skintime, each one totally libre:
1> Eyesadow gently removed
2> Skin cleansed using the suction procedure as explained
3> Exfoliation, in a process that is exactly not what I do: the product was swept from left to right, rather than rubbed in circles. I feel like this is important.
4> Quick mask. There wasn’t the time for the usual 10 minute time period, but it was still refreshing.
5> Toning
6> Moisturiser
7> Neck and Decollete: mositurise using the light pressure application thing
8> Eye cream

I can personally recommend the Hydra Quench Mask {step 4} and Eye Contour Gel {Step 8}. I’m in the process of testing the Gentle Eye Makeup Remover Lotion and will share my thoughts anon.

And I’m still pondering the lymphatic drainage craic, may be writing more about that…

Haiku Review: Beauty Trimmer

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Let’s face it, ladies:
As we age, the hair does grow,
Not just from the scalp.

It all started on the chin, I think. Or maybe it was the upper lip. As I mentioned here, I had hit the waxing scene rather early, so unwieldy facial hair has always been a thing. Once it started to look like I was going to give those dudes from ZZ Top some serious competition, I started to look for some equally serious epilatory solutions.

Okay, so it wasn’t as bad as all that. And the hair itself was and mostly continues to be light blonde. This is great because one learns not to sit in the windows of cafés in direct sunlight, for example, and one therefore can stretch out the time between the employment of epilatory techniques. It is not great when one is a beauty journo/blogger, with many opportunities to review laser hair removal, only to be told that one’s hair is too light for it to work.

Grrrrrr. <A sound appropriate to my hirsuteness.

There were several approaches to solve this problem: I got the lip and chin waxed. I got the at-home waxing strips. I quite like this, from Boots, only it takes planning. Do not even suggest putting a tweezer anywhere near my lip, my eyes have just started watering.

When the neck hair got really out of control, I bit the bullet and started using the Braun Silk Epil 7. Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! It took some seasoning of the skin, but once I became inured to all the little spinning razors yanking the hair out, I wouldn’t be without it. Some of the finer hairs haven’t grown back!

But there was no. way. in. hell I was going to run that over my lip. Of all the whiskers, I dislike these the most. So when the Beauty Trimmer landed on my desk, and purported to be more than able to deal with hairs other than my brows (for which I had requested this, initially), I though, ah, sure why not?

I liked its sleekness, right off the bat. It’s something that you could easily slip into your make up bag, as easily as a pair {set?} of tweezers. There’s only one setting — gentle buzz — and to be honest, it didn’t feel like it was doing anything as I stroked it over my lip, until I realised I was stroking it over a clean, hairless lip. ! It’s also fairly good on the goatee, but it really is all about the lip area for me.

Painless, quick, easy… the longer hairs around the edges of my mouth tend to grow in darker, where they didn’t before, but bright side! I can go get those zapped now.

The pink thing in the picture is a thing to put on the end to use on your brows? I haven’t gone there yet, mainly because I haven’t figured out in my head how it could possibly work. Combing? There’s a video, but I don’t feel enlightened. And oh yes she did at :53.

€11.99/£9.99, via jmldirect.com

This is a Totally Free Thing: Clarins Skin Time

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I am a pushover. I go for a makeover, say, at the beauty hall of a big department store, and think to myself, ‘Well, Suzu, this time we will just pay the €20 or whatever and not get hijacked into buying any product.’

But, then, the thing is, you actually don’t have to pay anything if you spend that much on product, and seriously, you walk away with something that has been used to create that amazing face, and doesn’t it make more sense to have spent the money on something you can use in future?

Yeah. So, you can imagine what transpires. Although it does make sense {it does!}, it would be nice to rock up to a counter and say, ‘A free treatment, please!’ and have it actually be free. Clarins Skin Time is totally free, and you won’t be hectored into buying any of the myriad product that is utilised, and you will learn something. Continue reading →

Sweet Sixteen: Too Faced Carribean in a Compact Snow Bunny Bronzing Powder

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People often ask me, ‘Sue, do you ever buy beauty products anymore, and if you do, what would they be? ’The first one that always springs to mind is this cutie-pie compact from Too Faced: Carribean in a Compact Snow Bunny Subtly Sun-Kissed Bronzing Powder.

That looks very ‘yum’ to me, like Neapolitan ice cream, which, as I suspected, is almost entirely an American construction. Here, you’ve go the bonus fourth flavour, which is probs the one far right, to swirl all over your face in order for it to look sun-kissed and glowy.

I was a bronzer loser when I started down the slippery slope of self-tanning, and this one was my salvation. Even I couldn’t mess this up. A perfect combination of lowlight and highlight, of gold + white + pink + fawn, this flows over the face like the sun itself, and during the Tanning Times, I never walk out of the door without it.

Imagine my distress when I began to run out of my trial version. It didn’t seem to be available anywhere in Dublin, and the brand no longer seemed to be represented by anyone in the PR world. So, on a trip to NYC, I lunged into a Sephora and grabbed up two. This number now seems optimistic: I’ve gone through the first one, and occasionally look at the other one in my drawer, with relief and trepidation.

At the time of this writing, I’ve rung all round town, to see whether a shop in town is carrying the brand, to no avail. Ah, well. There’s always online shopping… although as outlined here, it’s a rather ornate undertaking. It can be done, if you care enough, and I must admit, I do.

€ price is whatever the conversion is, plus shipping/£22/$29

Let’s Talk About Those Eyes

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Just gotta post that picture again:

The lashes!

Lyndsey Cavanagh is Ireland’s Max Factor Celebrity Make Up Artist, and you can find out more about her, and see samples of her excellent work over here.

The smoky eye is, to me, what that whale was for that guy in that book. Oh, how I try to achieve it! Oh, how I have to adjust the mistakes so that I don’t look like someone’s just planted me a facer!

When Lyndsey suggested that we go for a smoky eye when I enjoyed my makeover at Dublin’s Wella Professional Studio, I was all for it. I thought I might learn something. I did. I learned:

> That having my eyes close interfered with my ability to understand what was going on.
> That Lyndsey is really good at what she does.
> That it takes time and patience to get the eyeliner to go on correctly
> That individual lashes are THE BIZ.

INDIVIDUAL LASHES. Lyndsey just popped a few along my lid line, and wowee, the difference that made. I understand that I could have kept them on longer than just one night, but I was travelling on my hols the next day, and am pretty certain that between sleeping and air travel, I would have turned up at my parent’s house looking like a vampire. Not wishing to alarm the elders, I had to send the lovely lovely lashes down the drain.

I’ve had a couple of false eyelash sets hanging around that I have been meaning to test, but I was a-skeered of them. Of the glue, of the bigness, of poking my eye out. I think I may be able to woman-up and give them a go, now, just because the change is so impressive, and yet so simple < she says now. I mean, it was simple when Lyndsey did it… Well, I’ll give it a go, stay tuned.

Wella Professional Studio, Dublin, is located on Chancery Lane in D8; see here!

Haiku Review: Perricone MD Cold Plasma

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Eek: it does feel cold
Plasma: that’s to do with blood…
Why’s it smell like fish?

Whenever I try a product for the first time, I always assume it’s a new thing entirely. Like, never been seen before on this earth. Tiny bit arrogant, I’ll admit, but since the existence of this site pretty much declares my obsession with beauty products, I can kinda see why I’d be so surprised to know that Perricone MD has been around since 1998. I’d never heard of them before!

Uh, maybe I didn’t know about them because their products are not exactly going to be found in the bargain bin. I recently got my paws on a serving of Cold Plasma, and as you’ll see from the prices below, this stuff ain’t cheap.

It is perhaps worth reiterating that it lasts longer than most products that come in a jar that holds 1 fluid ounce/30mls. It’s a truism, and I think I said it yesterday, too, but stuff that costs more lasts longer. Having said that, I quail at the thought of having to buy this for myself.

The thing is, though… it feels good on my face. You get a wee scoop with which to apply the prescribed amount; the coverage is is perfect, and it really does feel cold, every single time! The product is purported to be something of a miracle worker and is designed to tackle ‘wrinkles, enlarged pores, dryness, redness, discoloration, uneven skin tone, impurities, loss of firmness, loss of smoothness, and loss of radiance.’ Whew! if it cooked my dinner, I’d marry it.

When I use it, I have to chase it with moisturiser immediately. As the label recommends this anyway, I don’t see that it’s problem, or a flaw in the product. Despite earnest googling, I can’t find out why the stuff feels cold, or why it smells slightly fishy. The latter may be because it’s natural, and natural products smell a bit funky, because of the lack of chemical intervention. I’ve also used the brand’s No Foundation Foundation SPF 30, which is terrific, but also has a bit of a pong. {It is terrific because it is the sort of foundation that makes it look like you are not wearing any foundation at’all. I am inspired to go into depth on this at a later date.} Anyway, the unique fragrance takes some getting used to. I’m not sure about the plasma part either, something to do with the Universe and ionic suspension? Here’s a link to Vanity Fair that may help. My takeaway from that is the everyone’s cells will use the product to its best effect, which is super cool.

The philosophy behind the brand is a sensible one: you can’t improve the quality or your skin, or indeed your ageing process, by topical alone. Perricone’s got a whole system, including healthy eating, and supplements {hmm..} Honestly, self-care doesn’t make sense unless it is holistic. I’m personally interested in these ideas, and if you are too, can read all about the good doctor here, and on his blog, thedailyperricone.com.

Plus! If you like quizzes and flawless interface, go take the quiz here!

^See what I did there?

€150/£120/$150

Amazing Face: How Sweet!

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Emma Hardie is UK-based facialist and and skincare specialist, and those of us who haven’t got the dosh to fly over and get a session from the woman herself {and one of those would be me} can dig into this: her Amazing Face Professional Cleansing System is a fantastic treatment-in-a-box, and even though it comes across as complicated, it really isn’t. Continue reading →