BEAUTY

What I Put on My Face Yesterday

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Just make up-wise; skin care is a whole ‘nother post.

>POREfessional by Benefit. It is the biz. I think it is made of feathers and velvet, it’s so soft.

>That Perfection Lumiere foundation from Chanel {more on that later}

>Umm… I knew I should have done this as I was doing it, if you know what I mean, because I forget what — oh, of course! My last year’s LE of MAC Beauty Powder, in Passionflower.

>More MAC: a few swipes of Penultimate on the brows because the dye is dying, oh nooooo. The pen is dying as well! Ach!

>The Blush Horizon de Chanel, and more on that anon as well.

>That Karaja black eyeliner that I adore. It is harder to use now it’s getting shorter, just because my eye thinks I am trying to poke it out.

>I’ve been very pleased with the new technology that has made liquid eyeliner easier to apply. Ir maybe practice does make perfect. Anyway, I love L’Oréal’s Super Liner Luminizer for Blue Eyes. It lasted through my very long yesterday, and that applicator is top class.

>Benefit High Brow Glow, which I always look at and go, ‘Eh?’ and then I just stroke some in the arch of my brow and go ‘Oh!’ the pearlescent sparkle really does make a difference.

>Yesterday it was… yet another Benefit product! Mascara: They’re Real! 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.

>The Clarins Gloss Prodige in Papaya. I think this has magic in it? because it feels light like a gloss but looks like a shiny, shiny lipstick. Me likey.

That took me longer to write than it did to actually do. Ten minutes, tops? Maybe fifteen? That’s just regular-day-face, as shown. I’m going to be playing with false eyelashes over the long bank holiday/Paddy’s day weekend… something tells me that’s going to screw up the curve…

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.

Ooooh, Pretty: V Day from Lush

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I love Valentine’s Day. People seem to get really angry about it? I think it’s all about perspective. If you feel like you have to go out and spend a bomb on a meal that would normally be kinda cheap, then yeah, you are going to be annoyed.

If you want to observe the event chez nous, then I can’t imagine a better accessory than this: PS I Love You, a box of sensual delights from Lush. From bottom left:

> Soft Coeur Massage Bar
> It’s Raining Men Shower Gel
> Silky Underwear Dusting Powder
> Sweetheart Soap

I have first-hand experience with the Raining Men, and it is gorgeous. I am also familiar with massage bars of the past, and have always found them to be fun and easy to use {TWHS}. Woo, I am losing the plot!

As far as the dusting powder is concerned… hmm. I’ve dipped into this sample, and I think it may be a goer. We’ve been warned off powders containing talc, which is a good thing because, hello, talc is related to asbestos and is completely toxic. I vaguely remember a time in which powder felt like an integral part of my post-shower routine; I’ve smoothed some this on and I don’t know, maybe. We’ll see.

What else? Oh, the soap. It smells like candy. I better put it in the soap dish before I take a bite.

Also: the box! This was the inspiration for the title of this post. I mean, seriously, so pretty. I will empty it, and reuse it, with pleasure.

So, if you’re a heart day fan, I can’t think if a better treat to ask for. Because you should always ask for what you want.

€23.50/£16.95/will let you know if this is avail in the States> it is! $34.95

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!

Sweet Sixteen: L’Occitane Almond Line

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WHAT IS THIS ABOUT, AGAIN? There’s a full explanation here; in short, I wanted to do a Personal Top Ten Beauty Products of All Time, but found the list sneaking up to Top Twenty; then it fell short at Eighteen, which is like, what is Eighteen, so I decided that Sweet Sixteen was the way to go.

It’s good to be queen.

Ahem. Here is number — hang on — lucky number Thirteen, ladies and ladies. Continue reading →

My World of Shampoo, Part III: John Freida Sheer Blonde

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{Speaking of shampoo!}

Here’s me, with freshly highlighted hair, and I am all out of this stuff <.

Sheer Blonde, by John Freida, was my go-to combo when my lights were fadin’ fast. It says it right there on the tube, Highlight Activating, and yes indeed, both the shampoo and conditioner totally activated my highlights. Thing is, I would like to have been able to use this on the enlivened lights, just to see how well they would look.

I’m betting they would be lightin’ up my head, in an off-the-charts fashion, because Sheer Blonde did an amazing job on my hair when it wasn’t at it lightest and brightest.

Bummer.

The other thing is, sometimes I find that these ‘specialised’ S&Cs don’t do such a great job making your hair look great. Like, your highlights might look highlighty-er, but the general texture and healthiness of you hair might suffer. In this case, I got a freshened look and a good hair day.

At the prices below, I’ve no excuse. Great hair, great value.

€6.19 for both/£5.49 for both/$6.49 (shampoo), $6.99 (conditioner)

Having Said All That About Dry Shampoos…

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… I gave this stuff a go. It works rather differently than a powder. While this may not, technically, be a dry shampoo, it does the same business: it lets you off the shampooing hook.

As it says on the tin, the Ojon™ Full Detox Rub-Out™ Dry Cleansing Spray has Ojon oil in it. I am a fan of the Ojon range, in particular the Restorative Hair Treatment, a little tub of goodness, of which more will be spoken at a later date.

Despite the interesting advice that one should dry shampoo one’s locks the night before the day you’re going to skip shampooing, I shook this up on the skip-a-day morning and gave my head a spritz. Hmmm. I was pretty impressed with the first first impression, and so really went at my roots and scalp. I have to say, if I was the type of person to walk around with bed head {I am so not} then just spraying and massaging it through my hair would result in bed-head extraordinaire.

As it was, I was pretty happy with the result, even once I brushed everything back into order. My hair combed down rather flatly, but it actually felt clean. I was having an unwashed pony tail day, but my hair looked sleek rather than hauled-back-and-greasy. In fact, it looked like a magazine pony tail, which is pretty magical.

The thing about Ojon™ oil in general is that it gets right down there into the shaft of the hair and protects it from the wear and tear of sitting around exposed on the top of your head, day after day. Plus, it helps prevent future damage — look, I went for a walk the other day, in the sunshine, and even as weak as the winter version of the sun is, I felt like my hair had gotten a bit blasted. Not quite as bleached as a week in Ibiza would have made it, but still. So anything that helps me keep things right and tight up there is going to go into my good books.

Just so you know: whilst the Ojon oil is sourced in a section of the Central American rainforest, it is done so responsibly, and the indigenous people who harvest the natural ingredients are paid an income. I wouldn’t countenance this is this wasn’t so.

All of the above is serving to make this my new thing. And for someone who loves shampoo as much as I do, that’s saying something.

£18/€20/$24

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 →