LONG LASTING

Oh, Hello My Darling: Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush Palette

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I add my name to the ever-expanding list of bloggers who have fallen under the spell of this little beauty. And I don’t even care about blush all that much.
HOURGLASS AMBIENT BLUSH TRIO
Now, I will admit that when I saw the images on Teh Intertubes, I thought that the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush Palette would be bigger, in terms of the compact-size itself {rather an oxymoron, I know} and that the pans were much larger. I wasn’t impressed when I opened it, and wasn’t sure that the brush I usually used to apply blush was even going to work. And if I had to use a smaller one? What is worse than stripey-looking blush? Not much.
HOURGLASS AMBIENT BLUSH ACTUAL SIZE

Ah, but these are to be filed under Perfectly Formed, because as small as they are, the quality of the powder is such that it distributes evenly on the brush, and the pigment is so rich and has such depth that it goes on like a dream. And it stays on like a.. like something that stays on forever and ever until you take it off yourself.

From left we have Luminous Flush, Incandescent Electra and Mood Exposure: or rose, peach and plum. My favourite of all these faves? Unexpectedly, the plum: it is muted, but so flattering. The veins of goodness are the caches of Ambient Lighting Powder, which reflects light to the exact perfect degree that conveys youth and dewiness.

This is perfect and I love it. I am so in love that I keep it in its box when its sleeping. No fraternising with the rest of the cosmetics, who knows what it’ll get up to, and what the others, in their jealousy and spite, will do to it!

Oookay. I was thinking about how much I want the Ambient Lighting Trio, but that might just get me a date with the men in the white coats…

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€72/£56/$56 — Hmmm. Not a price point differential to enjoy, from a euro point of view…

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Pocket Smokey Eye: MAC Mineralize Quad in Fog & Mist

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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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How’d It Do? Maybelline SuperStay 10H Tint Gloss

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O brave new world, that has such gadgets in it: here I am, taking pictures of me sporting Maybelline’s SuperStay 10H Tint Gloss, right in the middle of Deansgrange’s Public Library — which is a lovely library, very octagonal. {Those who know are laughing, I know it.}

Anyway:

My eyes look a little weird, like one of these yokes, but that lip gloss? I applied that well over five hours ago. I think this is pretty darned impressive. And! I ate a pretzel from Lidl, just moments ago! {Not in the library, I’m not that much of a heathen.} Look at that pigment!

I had brought this out with me last Friday night, and after the mumble-th bottle of wine, I lost track of how the gloss was doing. I vaguely remember touching up at one stage, but with all the talking and laughing and drinking and eating, that’s no less than I expected.

I woke the morning after the night before and was delighted to see that the tint had made it through the wee hours; it had softened down to to a lovely light rose. In fairness, I got maybe a half a night’s sleep, but I am still impressed.

This does feel a little sticky, and it dries out the lips a tiny, tiny bit, but nowhere as near as badly as any of the previous long-wearing lippys I have tried. I liked the fruity flavour/scent, and the applicator — which I have just learned is called a ‘doe foot’ — is perfect: easy to manage, it distributes the tint gloss evenly.

This is a keeper!

On Trial: Maybelline SuperStay 10H Tint Gloss

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Tint Gloss? This means a tint, i.e., lip stain that is also glossy.

I have long wished for a lip product that lasts without extracting every ounce of moisture from the lip.

Oh, I’ve tried them all, and all have involved the application of the colour, and then that of a moisturising top coat, which hydrates for about a second and then you’re left with a colourful, but markedly dry kisser.

They have all claimed to last through drinking, eating, and nucelar holocaust, and: no, not really. You do end up with a nasty ring of colour round your gob, and that’s the thing that lasts for days.

Maybelline aren’t claiming that their 10H Tint Gloss will survive a six-course meal and a few nights in an bomb shelter, but they are promising almost half a day of glossy long-lastingness.

I’ve got a night of eating, drinking, talking and laughing ahead of me, so we’ll give this a go. Pictured here is Lasting Pink, which is actually red, which is fine by me — but if you were wanting pink, I’d say you’d be annoyed. There’s a Forver Fuchsia that may be closer to the mark, but I haven’t got that one to test.

I do like the look of the applicator!

Plus, at €11.49/£6.99/$8.99, if this works, it’ll be cheaper than the department brands that make similar claims.

We shall see…