L’ORÉAL PARIS

Beautyfull News: Elvive, Nuxe, Skinician, He-Shi and Image Skincare

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Beatuyfull new things that are worth knowing about…

BEAUTYFULL NEWS 28 04

L’ORÉAL PARIS ELVIVE Nutri-Gloss Luminiser Miracle Shine Booster, €14.99
Elvive is one of my fave budget brands, and this is a pre-blow dry treatment that sprays in and stays in, and imparts high shine. There is a suite of products that go with this {shampoo and conditioner, 250mls, €5.84}, and depending upon the texture of your hair, you can spritz a bit of it on your dry hair, too. I’m finding the latter to be working well, in my case, by YMMV. It smells gorge. Available at your local pharmacy.

NUXE PARIS Prodigieux Huile de Douche, €12
Speaking of gorge-smelling things: huile de douche, lads! Between this, the body oil which I could not love more if it was my own child, and the perfume, this amazing frgrance now is fully inducted into the layering corps. Drumming my finger on my desk waiting for the shampoo and conditioner…! Available at Arnotts and selected pharmacies.

SKINICIAN Pro-Radiance Enzyme Peel, €31.50
I’ve been acquainted with the Skinician line for a while, and haven’t really become BFFs with it. There was a serum that I tried that I liked well enough, and there’s a cleanser that I like too, that foams up on contact and does a good job. I have high hopes for anything that has ‘radiance’ in the name, so am looking forward to giving it a go. Available in Harvey Nichols and select salons.

HE-SHI Overnight Ageless Tanning Balm, €28
As a fan of the brand, both the self-tanning products and the salon spray tan, I have a lot of time for this. Applied beforebed, this gradually tans your face whilst also giving it a lovely anti-ageing balm. There is hyaluronic acid in it! TheÈ whole blend is eco-friendly, too, created using sustainable methods and full of plant-based ingredients. I’m feeling a bit ambiv about tanning on my face this year — I’m feeling like a flat tan is too ageing — but this might convince me otherwise. Available in selected salons, Harvey Nichols, and McCauley Pharmacies.

IMAGE SKINCARE Intense Brightening Eye Crème, €63.50
The American brand has been residing on our shores from years, but I’ve only had tiny little samples of their work to try in the past. Not terribly helpful when one is getting to grips with a product! Happily, founders Janna and Dr Marc Ronert were in town recently, and generously produced full-sized samples for us journos and bloggers. I’ve been using this eye cream and adore it even after less than a fortnight. I’m using it mainly before bed, and am becoming rather more delighted every morning…

O.M.Fibrology: In Word and Deed

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L’Oréal Paris’ latest launch, Elvive Fibrology Thickening Haircare Range, is very science-y. It would have to be, I s’pose, to be able to back up claims that your can increase the follicular volume of fine hair just by washing it. So: there’s this thing? Called Sol-Gel Technology? They use it to fix cracked windscreens? {Windshields, to you Americans!} What it does is, it makes a liquid turn into a solid, and in the case of this product, there’s also these Fixollane molecules that bond with proteins in the hair shaft, and they stay and grow when the hair dries, making it thicker, and more able to hold a style.

OMGGGGG. Here, just look:
FIBROLOGY 02 day2
Did not style — as in, did not use any ‘big hair’ drying devices, did use any root-pumping-up product, no spray, nothing. Not much ‘fluffing’ either, just enough to drape it about the shoulders.
FIBROLOGY 01 day2
SRSLY.

I have a lot of time for the Elvive line in general, and here, I couldn’t be more impressed. There’s your standard FIBROLOGY BOOSTERS&C, as well as a Thickness Booster, which is a tube of serum that you mix in with the conditioner, or put directly on the hair before using the Intensive Texturising Mask. The tube is little bit fiddly, and there’s no way to balance it properly, tub-side, but you’ll get over it, as I did. It’s not for use everyday, and the tube contains about four applications, so save it for days when you need to guarantee good, big hair.

The scent is lovely, the texture of all the products is great, and there is a Double Serum styling product that can be used wet or dry; haven’t tried that, but I’m guessing it’s in the same line of country as all those new BB hair creams. {BB hair creams, you ask? Stay tuned!}

Second day hair — always an important consideration — is good, with the usual application of dry shampoo at the roots the evening before. The thickening of the follicles helps them stay that tiny bit less greasy, which for fine hair is always an ish.

All in all, a total scientific success, and I for one am happy to never have to think about the ‘why it works’ ever again — I’m quite satisfied with the ‘what it does’. It does good.

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Shampoo (250mls) €5.84/£2.89
Conditioner (250mls) €5.84/£2.89
Thickness Booster €9.19/£5.99
Intensive Texturising Mask €8.49/£5.49
Double Serum €10.79/£6.99

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Red Alert! Things That Are; Not Just Lippy

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Because I like red. Loads.

SALLY HANSEN Right Red Fred
It’s been ages since the World Famous Super Model Thumbnail™ has made an appearance on this page. Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in Right Red Fred {RRP€8.95} is warm red, and that is the brand’s vaunted one coat > meaning, one coat will get you salon coverage. Perfect for us lazy arses who are bad at polishing their nails.

RIMMEL As You Want Victoria
Rimmel London Moisture Renew Lipstick in As You Want Victoria {€6.49} is purely luscious. It feels as soft as a balm, but the pigment! Not what you’d expect from something stuffed full of moisturising vitamins. It isn’t the absolute best for long-wearingness, but blot a couple of times and reapply and you’ll get some mileage out of it.

ARMANI red
And here she is again! Giorgio Armani Nail Lacquer in Four Hundred {€24} is a one coat application as well, and a bluer red, which I tend towards. It is so shiny, you’ll be tempted to eschew a top coat; do use one, if only to make it last even longer.

LOREAL
I have been going-to my L’Oreal Paris GlamShine Stain Splash in Juliet {€12.29} since I got it, and it may be the first lippy installment in I Used It All Up. As shiny as gloss, as light and yet not nearly as drying as stain, this is a spectacular red, and the look will last through hours of talking and drinking. I did quite selflessly put that to the test — anything for you lot.

LOUIS VUITTON Capucine £3250
There is a smaller version of the latest It bag, Louis Vuitton Capucine {£3,250*} that does not look as if Michelle Williams could fit her entire self in it, with room to spare for her keys and cell phone. This snap of the page of Vogue is likely as close as I’m going to get to this, but oh! The silhouette! The brazen redness of it! I die.

FITFLOP FLAME
‘Why is everyone staring at me?’ I wondered grouchily — then I looked down. I had forgotten I was walkin’ around in my FitFlop Super T Sneaker in Flame {£34.99 via clogg.co.uk}. Red shoes make peeps very starey! {These are, in fairness, very much an orangey red…} I had a pair of red patent leather Doc Martins that inspired New York drivers to shout ‘Nice shoes!’ out their windows as they passed.

I got these in a larger size than my usual, as my previous pair of Super Ts still has not broken in properly. I am not super mad, as it’s not really that FitFloppy in terms of support, not old school FitFlop, in any case. Still, it gives good sole, and had I bought the Gogh Moc Snake clogs in Snake Jam (red) instead of Choclate (self explanatory), they’d be featured here to much greater acclaim. Nice wedgy sole, great to walk in, and they make my ankles look skinny!

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*AHHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA

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Start Spreading the Nudes: L’Oréal Paris BB Blush

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Information and an ear worm. You’re. So. Welcome.

I fell in love with Nude Magique BB Cream this time last year,and it is still my go-to when I want light but comprehensive facial coverage.

NUDE MAGIQUE BB BLUSHImagine my delira when I received this today! Despite my love for the above, which has a turns-colour-to-match-your-skintone quality about it, I am not certain I am convinced by this alchemy. I have come across a Smashbox lippy ting that I liked… hang on… ah, right: O-Gloss Intuitive Lip Gloss. Yeah, I think I liked that, I am really reaching into the wayback machine on this one. Anyway! Haven’t been sure, because I don’t really know how it works, and also know that if someone tried to explain it to me, I’d zone out as soon as someone mentioned a molecule, or whatever. I could google it, I suppose. Ugh.

Well! The internet doesn’t seem to know! Unless how does intuitive makeup work is poor SEO. It’s to do with Ph, is as near as I can get. That’s when you put the paper in the liquid, right, and it changes colour? Is that chemistry? Did I even do chemistry? Oh, Walter White, are you dying right now, yo?

Whatever the Science, I immediately dabbed a dot onto my left paw.
BB BLUSH 2

First off: use a brush to apply, or do it the old-fashioned way and use your finger. Now, in fairness, you are not likely to dab the tube directly onto your face {or are you?} I dabbed straight from the tube, and the blending, it was a little difficult. < I don’t know that there was any point in all that, but there you go.

I’m just sayin’: blending may be an issue, so be prepared.

Other than that? A lovely, Victorian-valentine-esque rosy rose, the colour of which I think defines ‘in rude health’*.

Today, so far, is not a makeup day — that may change if the courier I am expecting comes sooner rather than later. Contrary to what you may believe, I rarely sit around the house sporting a full face of slap. So, we’ll just have to wait and see what it looks like on my cheekbone area.

I have high hopes!

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Nude Magique BB Blush: €11.99/£7.99

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*Which is British English for being very healthy, in which ‘rude’ = ‘robust’ .**

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**And it was no hardship to google that.

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The Hair Meets Elnett Styling Spray; Happiness Ensues

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Three new products from Elnett are available for your follicular pleasure: Heat Protect Styling Sprays for three-day Volume, Curl or Straight coiffures.

I went for Volume on the roots and Curl on the ends:

L’Oréal Paris spokewoman/model/boldface name Cheryl Cole and I are like *that*.

This very impressive blow dry was done by Sinead from Foundation Hair Salon. No tongs were used in the creation of this hairdo. The sprays protect the hair from heating tools up to 230°, so no more fried tresses of a Saturday night.

This morning, with very little intervention. Combed out and spritzed the Volume on the roots!

Due to the fineness of my hair, I am not entirely convinced that I’ll get another day out of this, but we shall see.

Pictures of the very fancy spray bottles can be found here, as well as more pretty pictures of my pal Cheryl. Price point is in the area of €8, and I asked how many hairdos you might expect to get in a bottle, and I’ve forgotten the answer. Four months worth, I think? I bet that’s reasonable. {Updates to come on all that — couldn’t wait to post!}

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Elnett Heat Protecting Styling Sprays are available everywhere, basically.

Oh! And the lippy in the last photo is one of the new Clinique Chubbies in Mightiest Maraschino. It is a lightweight in texture only — I already adore it.

Yesterday’s Face: What it Was

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Yesterday’s make up — which, like yesterday, is gone! Take off your make up, women, for the love of God! — and as ever, will be keeping my day job. I am very sloppy about the picture-taking.

From left:

> No. 7 High Shine in Pink Veil
> Hourglass Opaque Rouge Liquid Lipstick in Rose
> That Karaja Waterproof Eye Pencil that I am wearing down to the nub.
> Bourjois Paris Smoky Eyes in Rose Vintage
> Clarins Instant Definition Mascara in Intense Plum
> Bourjois Paris Flower Perfection Translucent Smoothing Primer
> Stila Set & illuminate Baked Powder Trio
> L’Oréal Paris Nude Magique BB Cream in Fair Skin Tone
> Also L’Oréal Paris, the LumiMagique highlighting pen
> Yves Saint Laurent Dare to Glow No 2 in Fatal Red
> My beloved brow duo, the AVON Glimmerstick Brow Definer in Dark Brown, and BeneFit Speed Brow

I am very much loving the Hourglass lippy: it really does last, and I counteract the dry-feelingness with a top coat of gloss — ooh, and the No 7 is super shiny! I am also very impressed with the Bourjois eye palette, less so with the primer, as it is such a small container, I don’t imagine I’ll get many faces out of it, if you know what I mean. The YSL illuminator was a little rosier than I wanted to go, but if you are feeling that pale-and-interesting is not working for you, this will warm you right up.

Stila! Completely into the this illuminator, but keep forgetting I want to use it, so I am all dressed, and the danger of illuminating my frontage is, I am afraid, about 200% guaranteed.

I would not normally be interested in a non-black mascara either, but I find myself reaching for the Clarins Plum these last few days.

The whole look is soft:

Brows and lips, betches. It is all about them.

I’ll deffo do this again. Ah, yesterday!

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What I Was Going to Put on My Face Yesterday

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And what actually got there.

I suspect that a lot of people who don’t like to wear make up are put off by how much you have to put on. I totally get that! I’d argue about the ‘have to’ so much as ‘choose to’, and particularly with the advent of BB creams — more about them, someday, hopefully before they get replaced by something else even more allegedly magical — you don’t really have to trowel on the slap to get a look that is ‘you’, just all shined up.

And yet. Even I was rather appalled when I laid out everything I thought I’d put on my face yesterday afternoon:

In the words of my very first Mac Classic: Eep! We’ve got your Bourjois 123 Perfect Foundation, which is on tap to review for my tried & tested column in the Herald; Sisley Instant Primer, which I didn’t fancy so much the first time I tried, but wanted to give it a second chance; new Maybelline Colossal Smoky Eyes Mascara; a gorgeous palette from Yves Saint Laurent, as seen on new representative Face, Jessica Chastain — this will make me look just like her; a YSL illuminator pen thing, for around the eyes; Sisley lipgloss, with the option of the NYC lipstick; Dr Hauschka Illuminating Powder, even though I am not a huge fan of loose powder… And a whole bunch of eye pencils that I can’t even see what they are. And an AVON lipstick I found in a coat pocket. And the Shine So Bright from Lush.

No blush, I thought, since it was going to be all about the Smoky Eye.

Also not pictured, the combination I am using on the brows at the moment as the HD Brow dye wears off: Speed Brow by BeneFit, and the super excellent AVON Glimmerstick Brow Definer in Soft Brown.

Then I lost my nerve.

See, I had to go to the theatre to review a show, and it was opening night at the Abbey, and there would be loads of people I knew, and I didn’t want to pitch up looking like Morticia Addams. I don’t have a lot of confidence in my Smoky-Eye-creating ability, so I ditched the entire plan, and feel back on the one I am liking so much at the moment:

Red lipstick. Can’t put much else on the face when you are working that, IMHO. Went with everything as planned, primer-foundation-powder-wise, used the Maybelline mascara > LOVE, and then plucked up my old-faithful eyeliner, L’Oréal Superliner Luminizer for Blue Eyes, which, in fairness, seems to luminize. I also ended up using a Wella concoction on The Hair, I think it is so old it is not even on eBay. Still works though!

I am very impressed by the Bourjois foundation, judge as best you can from the pixilley iPhone image. I was underwhelmed by the Dr Hauschka, and ended up giving myself a going over with a new Clarins palette, Odyssey Face Palette, which: more about that later, too.

Now. The thing is, I don’t carry all this around with me in the course of a day. For an evening out at the theatuh, one bring only one’s powder, black pencil to touch up the liner on the upper inner eyelid, the brow pencil and, of course, the lipstick/gloss. One means, come on! Don’t need to lug around the whole face, as it were.

I’m going to declare a Smoky Eye Day, and stay in and practice. There will be pictures to prove it happened…

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Colourful Claws: Ten Shades, Ten Thoughts

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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.

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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?

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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.

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