Right, FR.ed: Let’s See What You Said

24/11/201424/11/2014 / brightandbeautyfull / Leave a comment

Hey, this is fun! Thanks to The Perfume Society {www.perfumesociety.org}, you can use their clever fragrance editor, or FR.ed, for short, to figure out how to expand your vocabulary or scent — or possibly replace something long and lamentably gone.

It’s easy: Just type in your responses to the internet’s easiest form. I had a blast from the past and remembered how much I had loved Jil Sander from the 90s. It was, I thought, the only Jil Sander fragrance in the world, but no: there was a much longer list than I suspected possible. A quick Google, and I found that the EDP that I’m thinking of is No. 4. This perhaps points up the limitations in scent in duty free more than anything else, and also what’s available in Ireland.

And I’m also presuming that anyone anywhere in the world still carries this particular perfume. Anyway! Let’s go.

Hmmm. I actually had some Boucheron and remember it to be much sweeter than I remember the Sander to be. Also, Lancôme’s La Vie Est Belle seems a sweeter match than I would have thought… it doesn’t help, I suppose that I haven’t smelled the Sander in donkey’s.

I’m almost out of Coco by Chanel, which I haven’t worn in years. I noticed that it was almost gone and reckoned I may as well Use It All Up, and fell in love with it all over again. Here’s the results from this edit:

Cinnabar? Helllllloooo 1970s, hang on a sec, I’ve got some perfume that wants to talk to you. I’m interested in the Penhaligons simply because I haven’t ever tried anything from them — are they pricey? {Uh, whoops!} Eh. I can still buy the Coco, so no big deal.

Well, that was fun. I may try to see if I can actually get the original somewhere*, but if not, I think a visit to Macy’s ground floor goes on the holiday to-do list…

***

Play with FR.ed here.

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* Hey hey! Sold! Heart you/hate you, internet!

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Hey! Weather! I Got Work to Do, Yo.

16/05/2013 / brightandbeautyfull / 2 Comments

I know, I know — I know! But even here in Ireland, where we expect such things as hail and rain and sun and hail and rain in one hour, we are getting fed up.

It is feckin’ May, dammit. I have things I need to use and have not got much impetus to do so.

I know I am an amateur when it comes to self-tanning. I still abide by these now arbitrary rules as to when it is actually ‘summer’. Heck, I’d begun relaxing them in recent years to incorporate May, but look where we are with that. How’m I s’posed to check all this stuff I’ve got if there is not going to be A} sun to block or B} sun to illuminate the applied shine?

There’s that bottle of Clarins Splendours Shimmer Body Oil {€37}, which falls squarely in the B category. Sure, I could douse myself from head to toe, and how I yearn to do so, but then what? Cover it up with a jumper? What a waste! I also have a tub of He-Shi’s Luminous Shimmer {€12.60}, not pictured because I think it ran away from home, and is heading for climes in which it can be shown to its best advantage. Cannot believe the bitch did not take me with it.

I suppose I could use La Roche-Posay’s Anthelios XL Invisible Nutritiv Oil SPF50+ {€22} when I go horseriding, and I think I will definitely try in on my face. I found the Anthelios XL Extreme Fluid {€19.50} to come over rather Chaplinesque — not a good look.

At least I’ll get some use out of the above. But whither my massive IsaDora Bronzing Powder {€25.95}, much less my long-awaited and anticipated Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick {€42.50}? Or the new Vichy Capital Soleil Beautifying Sun Protection Compact {€19.50} — which, okay, since we’re meant to ABSPFing* I should probs use anyway.

All this moaning would be moot if I would just crack into Cocoa Brown’s Night & Day Tan {€7.99}, giving myself the proper canvas upon which to apply all the shimmer. This shows up the tan immediately, with no development time, and showers off the next day to a lovely, light tan. Or so I’ve heard.

And I guess I could work my way into the whole glow-y vibe by using the Chanel Les Beiges Healthy Glow Sheer Powder {€48}.

I am happy just to look at the lovely cream lid. I am such a weirdy, but that is actually lifting my spirits. So elegant. So… so full of je ne sais quoi. No, I know quoi — it’s an inanimate object, uneffected by the vagaries of les temps.

Anyway, as I watch the rain piss down from the heavens, I feel a rebellious urge begin to stir within… Let the tanning begin! Weather bedamned!

***

*Always Be SPFing

***

Colourful Claws: Ten Shades, Ten Thoughts

16/08/2012 / brightandbeautyfull / Leave a comment

First off: I am mainly rubbish at applying nail varnish, so take that into consideration, plz.

Also: my splitting nail, herein dubbed ‘Auld Schplitty’ is the really stubby one on my left hand, ring finger, so do give it some slack for being so abbreviated.

I had vowed to paint all the nails because I was feeling out of sorts, and then something happened, I don’t know, I had a sambo or something, and then I felt in sorts; then, I didn’t feel bothered to do the nails, but I had said I would, so I did, hurriedly, and well, yeah. Not the best manicure ever.

Surely the most colourful, though! Bright side.

The following replicates, as near as dammit, my first thought upon completed application of each colour.

>LEFT HAND {Clockwise from thumb}
LA Splash Glitter Nail Lacquer in Fire Siren
OMGGGGGGGGGGG awesomest glitter ever ever ever.

L’Oréal Paris Colour Riche in Wild Purple
Gloopy. This is not — yeah, too thick.

Avon Nailwear Pro+ in Cherry Jubilee
Ooh, love — bit thin, maybe?

Max Factor Max Effect Mini Nail Polish in Ruby Tuesday
Eh — this brush, so small. Too fiddly.

Lancome Vernis in Love Long Lasting Nail Polish in Madame Tulipe
Perfect! Perfect — one coat, flat brush, yesssss.

>RIGHT HAND {Clockwise from pinkie}
Chanel Le Vernis Nail Colour in Frenzy
Best. Neutral. Ever. Deffo needs two coats, though.

Yves Saint Laurent La Lacque Couture in Taupe Retro
Bit thin. Three coats? Yikes.

Avon Nailwear Pro+ in Lucky Penny
Another Avon, don’t care: shinnnnnny!

Max Factor Max Effect Mini Nail Polish in Fantasy Fire
Yeah, the brush is too small. So streaky!

Lacura Beauty in 171
Now, that’s excellent pigment. kinda thick, though…?

OVER TOP OF THEM ALL: Sally Hansen No Chip Acrylic Top Coat. This = great.

Underneath, I did an extra coat of Dr Lewinn’s Renunail Nail Strengthener. I wonder if it is what is making most of the varnishes look crackly? Because there are fault lines showing up on almost all of them. This is not a good look.

The keepers? Chanel, Lancome, Avon, and especially: LA Splash. Wowweeeee it is fabbbbalis. I feel some fear about removing it, though, and will be following the advice found here, via CherrySue, Doin’ the Do.

***

I still have my toes to do, and I’ve got a whole range of Avon Nailwear Pro+ with which to do them…

Post-Olympic Slump: I Haz a Sad. Is There a Cure?

15/08/2012 / brightandbeautyfull / Leave a comment

I’m not even supposed to be sitting here: the Dublin Horse Show kicks off today, and I really am supposed to be there. But even I am not about to go out in this hurricane.

Dammit. The show is my yearly visit to what is, for me, a mash up of Heaven/Nirvana/Valhalla < the latter minus the burning bark. Not that I can be at all spendy, but I really do need new jodhs. And a couple of pairs of those cotton gloves with the sticky bits on the palms.

The show is also meant to be a way to get over the great void left by the Olympics, which is of greater depth than I would ever have guessed. I have become less interested in the event the younger the athletes have gotten. Like, when you’re a child, even as unathletic a child as I was, you can still dream, you know? Not so much, the older you get.

Although! There was yer man Ian Millar from Canada: 65 years old and still jumping! Yeah, well, never mind, not much of argument, as I wouldn’t even feel able to hold the lead rope of any of those Olympic horses. So whilst the dream is well past its sell by date, I got all into the Games this year, and it took me a few days to realise that I really did miss them.

Sigh. I actually have work-work to do, which is grand, but I just feel so blah.

I think I will paint all my nails. In individual colours. I have many, many nail varnishes all of a sudden. I have a shedload from Avon, I’ve got to try & test a bunch for the newspaper, amongst which are samples from Yves Saint Laurent, Chanel, Lacura, Lancôme and L’Oréal Paris. Also, just got a couple from Max Factor, and also from new-to-Ireland brand LA Splash. And I can finish it all off with a Sally Hansen top coat.

Yes. Can’t think of a better use of my time. Apart from the work-work, of course.

BRB.

***

Snap! Judgements: Scents and Sensibility

01/06/2012 / brightandbeautyfull / Leave a comment

Loads of stuff came in, in the last couple days/weeks, and let’s try and catch up, shall we?

Snap! I haven’t really been all that fussed about not having a boyfriend, but I got a wee sample of Chanel’s Allure Homme Sport in the post, and um, yeah, okay, I’ll have one now, please? Because I would like to douse him in this. It smells sexy and delicious. It’s €81.50. Nope, still want to just bathe a dude in this stuff.

Snap! I am intrigued by Pukka Ayurveda, which is available in The Health Store (locations across Dublin.) I like the idea of tailoring your diet and lifestyle according to your body type, and wonder if it really works. I am also into face oils right now, so the combination of the ayurveda and the Nourishing Face Oil (€36.66) was really appealing. Smells great, absorbs perfectly, but I couldn’t tell if this was dosha-related or not, and then a few hours later the skin around my nose — the only sensitive area on my whole face — started feeling itchy. Hmm.

Snap! Do you want to smell like a piña colada? I didn’t think that I did, either, but I gave The Body Shop’s Coconut Body Mist a spritz and was immediately transported back in time to summer vacations Down the Shore, and suddenly all was right in my world. Time travel for €11.95! Not bad.

Snap! On the other hand, I took a look at the Wonder Waterproof Mascara in Wonder Mint by Clarins (€24.40), and went “Whoa, hey, 1981 just rang and it wants its mascara back!’ See the colour of the tube? That is the colour of the product. it was with great trepidation that I applied it and… it’s not all that aqua-y when you put it on. Here’s another Photo Booth special:

It creates a vibe of aqua without it looking like you’ve painted your lashes greeny-blue.

So, not the snappiest of judgements, but see? See what happens when you make a decision based on reaction rather action?

Let this be a lesson to us all.

Snap! Judgements: Clean Your Face and Smell Good

27/04/2012 / brightandbeautyfull / Leave a comment

Among other things.

Snap! Ah, the sheer joy of opening up something from Chanel. It’s not just that the signature black-with-gold box is so evocative — I think it’s the little black velvet sleeve that everything comes in? It’s little a little tiny posh sleeping bag. After having enthused over the elegance of the packaging, I gave my face several well-placed swipes of the Luminous Bronzing Powder in Sable Beige (€42.70). It seems a bit… subtle, which is not my usual self-tanned-mode, but it takes more to be a Chanel Woman than simply having the stuff around the house. Am I up to it? Time will tell.

Snap! My supermodel thumbnail is threatening to get an agent. While she dithers, I gave her a dose of Sally Hansen Complete Care Extra Moisturizing 4-in-1 Treatment (€10.95). This claims to do all the things that my manky, manky nails need to demankify themselves. It’s meant to smooth the ridgeyness, strength ’em, grow ’em, and when applied as a top coat, protect ’em, too. Initial application looks good, and the ridges have been noticeably minimised. I need to grow ’em a bit before we move forward with this product.

Snap! Are you getting married? Aura by Swarovski Collection Mariage Eau de Toilette (€56) is really pretty. It looks pretty: very shiny and with a lacy detail, and the Swarovski crystal on top, oh wow! And it smells pretty: powdery, but not too light, it’s actually got a bit of a bite to it, like, ‘Okay, dude, I am pretty, but I am also fierce, in case you haven’t figured that out by now!’ I am imagine this little internal monologue happening just when the bride arrives at the altar, and the groom turns to her, and he picks up this thought psychically, which would be amazing. You light like to get this if you want to get married, and the dude who infers all the above and totally gets it, then he is the man for you.

Snap! The round gold thing is Maybelline 24 HR Colour Tattoo Eyeshadow in Eternal Gold (€7.99). I love me some sparkly, and this is sparkly, and when I opened it and rubbed some on to the back of my hand, I thought: You know, I’d like to use this as a highlighter. And so I did! Blended some on the cheekbone area (because I don’t have discernable bone structure) and it worked. It was good on the lids as well, but I am looking forward to using this all over my face, like an escapee from Cirque du Soleil. Will get back to you re: 24 hours.

Snap! I just used this VOYA Cast Away Facial Wash (€26) in the shower, so I can’t really say at this juncture whether it effectively cleanses away all the make up and grime one applies and collects on one’s face (hopefully in that order!) It’s a nice soothing gel that feels cool, literally and figuratively. I felt it was a bit slippery, and almost lost the palmful of product down the drain. This is unique in my experience, and those prices, be careful!

Hello, Holiday!

20/04/2012 / MANY BRAVE FOOLS / Leave a comment

Well, that is simply, fantastically orange.

In real life {not via iPhone} the pigment of that orange is so dense, it’s like paint.

And, that’s just one coat on the supermodel thumbnail, which should probably have its own Twitter account at this stage.

I rang Brown Thomas to find out the price, and then forgot to write it down, and now I don’t want to ring them back, because, you know, my voice is so unmistakable — yeah, okay, Conley.

So here I am, holding for Harvey Nicks… hmm… wow, really? I’ve lost track of the number of rings… well, fair play to them, being too busy to answer the phone…

Okay, House of Fraser! Ring, ring. Ring, ring. Ring, ring. Ring, ring. Return of the operator… who put me through to some poor girl who just happened to pick up the phone — okay, €22.

Once I get my cuticles seen to by a professional, I am going to do all my nails in Holiday! {Wait, I’ve said this before, haven’t I? This time, it’s for real!} Or maybe I will just bring this bottle with me to said professional, which makes more sense.

This colour launches at the end of May.

Haiku Review: Chanel’s Perfection Lumiére Longwear Flawless Fluid Makeup

26/03/2012 / brightandbeautyfull / 2 Comments

Once upon a time,
Shine was banished from the face.
Now, we call it glow.

‘You look about 11,’ remarked my friend and colleague last week, or even the week before — who knows, time is over. I won’t mention her name or even her initials, because she would maybe kill me, and that would be a pity because I now have the capacity to look youthful and dewy whenever I wish.

I remember fighting shine to the death, in my teenage years. The pressed powder compact was never far from my grasp, but it was really all about the foundation. The thicker the better, and wow, it is amazing that my pores didn’t just clog up and die.

Now, however, with age and wisdom, a nice light-reflecting face is the goal. Because then, paradoxically, you look youthful and dewy.

I got the vibe that Chanel’s Perfection Lumiére was pretty special from the first moment of application: light and yes, flawlessy fluid just as it says on the tin, but also excellent coverage, which I find to be essential when a product is a little more expensive than one might be used to. A pump and a bit expertly covered my roundy face, so those among us with less acreage and more angles will probs get even better mileage than I do.

The glow, it was blinding! Okay, not really, but obviously remark-able, as evidenced by the feedback from my friend, who is also a noted beauty expert. I remember that day {whenever it was} was a long one, but by the time I got home, well into the night, I looked as fresh-faced as I had when I’d first made up that morning. In fairness, I also use an illuminating face powder, but girls, if the base layer is questionable, forget about piling anything on it.

I have just realised that I wrote about using this here, so there’s the proof on my pudding-gob. Hey, even for a not-so-great iPhone self-portrait, I think that the quality of this foundation shines through. Or glows on. Whatever! It is fabulous.

What I Put on My Face Yesterday

16/03/2012 / brightandbeautyfull / 2 Comments

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…

Bright & Beautyfull!

Beauty | Fashion | Lifestyle

CHANEL

Right, FR.ed: Let’s See What You Said

Hey! Weather! I Got Work to Do, Yo.

Colourful Claws: Ten Shades, Ten Thoughts

Post-Olympic Slump: I Haz a Sad. Is There a Cure?

Snap! Judgements: Scents and Sensibility

Snap! Judgements: Clean Your Face and Smell Good

Hello, Holiday!

Haiku Review: Chanel’s Perfection Lumiére Longwear Flawless Fluid Makeup

What I Put on My Face Yesterday

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