Beautyfull News: Clarins Paris, L’Occitane, Aldi, Rimmel London, Nuxe Paris

CLARINS PARIS Joli Rouge Moisturizing, Long-Wearing LipstickCLARINS joli rouge
€22 Paired with their range of new, neutral Lipliner Pencils {€17.50}, this collection of 25 revamped hues is bound to be an autumnal go-to. Because I’m a divil for deleting photos on my phone and can’t be arsed to connect to the cloud or whatever, here’s a screenshot of the Insta I took on the day I wore Delicious Pink, which lives up to its name. The lipliners come in Nude Fair/Beige/Rose/Mocha, to suit the range of skin tones from fair to dark. I went for the lightest to go with the pink; it was fine, and frankly, it was nicer on its own. I imagine they’ll come in handy the further you head towards the dark end of the spectrum. I found the lipstick to be lovely: light, long-wearing, and in the case of this particular colour, as shiny as it looks in the photo. Perfect for people who’d prefer to wear their lippy, rather than have it wearing them.

L'OCCITANE hermeL’OCCITANE Pierre Hermé Limited Edition Fragrance Collections
€10-56 Speaking of delicious! Monsieur Hermé is a pastry chef, and has collaborated with the Provençal brand to create two new ‘flavourfull’ fragrances. There’s Jasmin-Immortelle-Neroli, a flowery bend for those who wouldn’t normally go for something sweet. I find you can never go wrong with Neroli, it’s really gives one’s spirits a lift. For those who like something zestier, there’s the Pamplemousse-Rhubarbe which I also like: it’s as crisp as can be, and with its cedar and vetiver notes, can shared with your fella. The range ranges from lipgloss at a tenner to €56 for the EDTs. The packaging is delightful, and the gift sets at €72 are perfect for holiday gift giving sans an in-your-face-this-is-a-Christmas-gift vibe.

ALDI Lacura Expert RangeALDI expert eye gel
€5.99 That’s the price for all the products in the line — pretty good! There’s an Expert Wrinkle Smoother, an Expert Beautifying Serum, and an Expert Double Effect Eye Gel, and all are infused with Mimox®X, an active complex that helps encourage the skin to regenerate its own collagen and elastin fibres. NGL, I don’t know how that actually happens, but hyaluronic acid is implicated, which is still all the buzz as far as anti-ageing is concerned. I have given them all a go, and am pleased with the eye gel especially: it’s cooling and soothing, and it’s also a bit of a pick-me-up of a sleepy morning. I am also impressed by the serum, which gives great coverage and absorbs like a shot.

RIMMEL LONDON Match Perfection FoundationRIMMEL match perfection
€10.29 I prefer the coverage of the 24hr version of Rimmel’s foundation range. This promises invisible coverage to create invisible pores; my skin is in excellent nick, and I feel like this didn’t really do it justice. If you have skin like a newborn baby and want to look even more perfect, then this might suit. So basically: younger skins may get loads of joy out of this; less young, maybe not so much. I also found that I feel somewhere between the two lightest hues, with neither of them being… a perfect match.

NUXE PARIS Splendieuse Radiance-Activating, Anti-Dark Spot Range
€30-38 I suspect that the word ‘splendieuse’ is along the lines ‘fabilicious’ in English; it is, in fact, a combination of ‘splendid’ and ‘radiant’. I say go for it, Nuxe: make up all the words you like, as long as you keep expanding your lines of skincare. This targets dark spots, and boosts the radiance of the complexion, all the while smelling gorgeous and feeling luxurious — far more luxurious than you might think you’d get at that price. There’s a fluid for normal skin, a cream for dry skin, a serum, and the pièce de résistance, which is the Anti-Dark Spot Perfecting Mask, an actual mask that you lay one your face and gently press against the skin. One got passed around at the launch and it felt rich with product — in fact, it’s infused with what amounts to almost the entire bottle of 30mls of serum; even holding the box, you can feel how heavy they are. As ever, all of these take their effectiveness from natural ingredients and there are no animal-origins ingredients involved. Check back here for an in-depth review of that mask! {Look at the drawing at the bottom left — I die!} CLARINS perfecting mask

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Beautyfull News: NARS, Max Factor, Rimmel London, Payot

BEAUTYFULL NEWS 02It’s mainly about colour for me this week, with a bit ‘o’ skincare thrown in.

NARS Christopher Kane Violet Atom Multiple {€40}
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Lips and cheeks and general highlighting are covered by a multiple, and NARS are well known for their contributions to this cosmetic enhancement. I have to say, I don’t know where I’d be without my Orgasm — but what gal would, in fairness? This is an iridescent tube of purple-y/silvery goodness and it’s all I can do to not draw all over my face with it. I find it wears away more quickly than I’d like, so be prepared to reapply often. This is a limited edition!

MAX FACTOR Creme Puff Blush {€11.49}
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I reach for this more often than not — and I’ve got an Hourglass trio of Ambient Blush sitting right there. This is effectively a dupe for said Ambients, and has equal pigment and durability. I don’t know, I think because it is less spendy, I feel like I can use it on a daily basis? I have nothing bad to say about this at all, although it could use more impact in the highlight. Otherwise, this is produces a rich, expensive glow to the complexion.

RIMMEL LONDON Oh My Gloss! {€4.99}
****
Enriched with Argan Oil and Vitamin E, this is the perfect treble-purpose lip gloss. It applies (and reapplies) like a lip balm, shines like a gloss, and fades with aplomb. I found the lighter shades to be too light, but the ones that have got decent pigment — like Rebel Red (shown) and Twinkle Twinkle (not) — truly take you from desk to disco. There’s a good balance matte and sparkly choices, too.

PAYOT Élixir Idéal Skin-Perfecting Illuminating Serum {49.50}
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I am currently motoring through a Payot moisturiser, which never happens — I never finish a moisturiser. I’ll be writing about that soon, but until such time, I got stuck in to this. I love a good serum, and this is pretty good. I’m finding it absorbs that bit too quickly — I don’t think my skin is suffering from unusual dryness, but it is ‘summer’ after all. I’m not giving up on it, just saying that it’s not been an immediate ‘love’.

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I Used It All Up: Rimmel London Gentle Eye Makeup Remover

There’s something of a mea culpa to this, too.
RIMMEL IUIAU
But only a little one: last year I reviewed this in The Herald and gave it a paltry two stars, as I didn’t find that it did a good job on a full eye of make up. It still doesn’t — and I must be wearing less eyeshadow than I was in 2014 — but it does a super job on an eye adorned simply with mascara and a lick of black liner.

I’ve had the misfortune of having to try eye make up removers that require more than two passes of product to take away even the littlest amount of macquillage, and this is not one of them. Since I used less every time, this lasted much longer than most, which = great value.

There it is, all gone, and every time I pass a chemists, I mean to go in and get some more…

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RIMMEL LONDON Just Let It Go… Gentle Eye Make Up Remover, €3.99 on feelunique.com

I Try Before You Buy: Comb v Brush Mascara

The battle is on. In my own head, at least. I remember being afraid of the first spiky-ended mascara applicator I encountered, fearing putting said spikes anywhere near my eye balls. Now? They are my favourite mascara-conveying device.

On the other hand, there were a couple of new, and new-to-me mascaras that I wanted to try, but came with brushes at the business end. Would they sway me back to the old fashioned mode of application.

Em: no.

SPIKY applicators
MAYBELLINE NEW YORK Lash Sensation Lash Multiplying Mascara {€12.99} is my fave at ***** and it is to this I turn when I want super spiky, perfectly defined lashes. Everybody asks me if I’ve had extensions when I wear this. Use a primer beneath and just knock it out of the park.

CLINIQUE High Lengths Mascara {€21.50} and RIMMEL LONDON Scandaleyes XX-Treme {€8.99} both get ****. The Clinique applicator has a helpful curve, and low-level spikes for those who still have the fear. I find that I need to get as much on in the first round as possible, because the second round gets very, very clumpy. The Rimmel is a close second the Maybelline, but I’m not finding it to be as dependable. It’s the bargain of the lot, though, and if Boots are having a 3-for-1 Rimmel sale (not that I know of, just pondering) then go for it.

BRUSHY applicators
All of these are **, sad to report. CHARLOTTE TILBURY Full Fat Lashes 5 Star Mascara {€29} disappointed me in the extreme because I actually bought it with my own money (gasp!) The counter woman, who applied it over my existing mascara, very generously gave me a flicky eyeliner treatment as well; I suspect this was cover up the fact that the mascara got allll over my eyelids, even though it was professionally applied. Same goes for the ELIZABETH ARDEN Beautiful Color Maximum Volume Mascara {€26} and the YVES SAINT LAURENT Mascara Volume Effet Faux Cils {€31}: no matter how slowly I went, nor how far back I tipped my head (really far), the mascara made a mess of my lids.

I will be sticking with the comb, thanks!

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Yippy! More Lippy for 2014: Glosses, Mainly

MAC mineralise Vibrant Vibe
MAC Mineralize Glass Lip Gloss in Vibrant Vibe, €22 This absolutely luxurious, lightweight, highly pigmented stuff. I want many, many more of these, and have my eye on Lovingly Yours and Wake Up! as well… and there’s a baby pink one that looks cute as a button.

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Rimmel Rumour Has It
RIMMEL LONDON Colour Rush Long Lasting Intense Colour Balm in Rumour Has It, €7.99 Honestly, Rimmel are playing a blinder with these balms. They feel light, look intensely pigmented, and stain the lips juuuuust a tiny bit so that you don’t need to keep reapplying. I consider this to be a good thing.

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Catrice made to stay Megan Fuchsia
CATRICE COSMETICS Made To Stay Smoothing Lip Polish in Megan Fuchsia, €5.49 I googled that a couple of times just to make sure that was the name, which it is, and which I find a bit awk, TBH. Not awk: the bluey-red that I love so much, and pretty good staying power. Awk: the applicator has no give, and will have to break it in. Until such time, I have to go really easy on the curves or else I look like I’ve had wonky collagen!

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KARDASHIAN in the nude
KARDASHIAN BEAUTY Au Naturel Lip Kit in In The Nude, €18.99 Okay, this is my third go-to nude. Whatever! Can’t have too many go-to nude lip things! I used the thin liner part of the kit, so I must have really wanted matte. There’s a nude gloss that accompanies it, just in case I change my mind and want a bit of shine. It’s win/win!

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Pür lip gloss stick in Fling|Adventure
PÜR MINERALS Lip Gloss Stick in Fling|Adventure, €22 I do like this tone quite a lot; I find the texture of this to be a bit plastic, and the price a bit much, considering the rest of the category. I do like it, though — just not head-over-heels.

Below: because this is such a crazy way to take a picture, and because it shows the taupe-ness of it to greater effect:
PUR 2
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And then I was going to on about how excellent I have found GIORGIO ARMANI’s 505 to be, and couldn’t remember the full name, and also got annoyed as usual about Il Maestro’s numbering system, and googled it, and found myself.
OOPS ARMANI
I FOUND MYSELF. Google knows everything, including enough to remind me that I did in fact talk about Lip Maestro Intense Velvet Colour {€28.50} before.

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Face of the Yesterday: Eyes! Because: Brushes!

Not my usual spot at the back of the 46A; here, I am waiting for the 7. So: out-of-doors, environmental, natural lighting — always trying to mix it up here at Bright and Beautyfull!
BUS STOP FACE
Lots of Rimmel London on the face: their Stay Matte Liquid Mousse Foundation has become my go-to for days in which I’m going to be out and about for hours; I gave their Scandaleyes Lycra Flex Mascara a spin, and was happy with the result, but find the brush to be awfully massive. Given that I routinely get mascara alll over my lid {I cop to operator error}, I don’t know that it will go into regular rotation. But! I am loving loving loving the brand’s Colour Rush line. The Long Lasting Intense Colour Balms are in fact long lasting and balmy, and intensely pigmented. I am wearing Rumour Has It — love love love it!

Brows are the ever-reliable HD Brows via Carter Beauty.

Eyeliner! Ooh, the eyeliner! I’ve gone a bit 80s lately and been drawing on the waterline, and Smashbox‘s new Always Sharp Waterproof Kohl Eye Liner is just fab. Here, in Navy, I used it all round the inner eye, and like it says on the tin, it stays sharp, thanks to having a sharpening thingie in the lid {Lid? Top? Closey thing?} You just twist it a couple of times to the left, and there you are, pointy and ready to go.

The thing that made me happiest, however, is Clinique‘s all about shadow 8-pan palette in neutral territory 2.
CLINIQUE PALETTE
In the past, I was intimidated by palettes — what to use where, and how much? I’ve gotten over it, and just use my common sense; I do feel that I tend to do the same thing over and over, and hope to go wild some day and try something different. Here, even though I did my samey thing {light on the lid, medium in the crease, dark at the outside edge} I was really happy with the way it came out.

Also, I know this is so obvs, but using proper eye makeup brushes helps loads. My current faves are the definer and blender brushes from Dr Hauschka‘s Dear Eyes line. These are limited edition, and if there are any to be had, have at ’em, they are great. They hold the shadow really well, and don’t drag on your skin. Plus: super soft!

Forgot to put on blush. Scarla’! {LOL}

Also, due to brushes and the superiority of the product, the shadow didn’t move, and saw me through the eventual bus journey, two longish walks, and two launches, with no touch up. A total of five hours — that seems pretty good? And I was gutted to have to remove it, because it held up so well, the eyeliner included.

And just for fun:

World's Largest Forehead

World’s Largest Forehead

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RIMMEL LONDON Stay Matte Liquid Mousse Foundation, €7.95; Scandaleyes Lycra Flex Mascara, €8.95; Colur Rush Long Lasting Intense Colour Balm, €7.95

SMASHBOX Always Sharp Waterproof Kohl Eye Liner, €19

CLINIQUE all about shadow 8-pan palette in neutral territory 2, €39

DR HAUSCHKA Limited Edition Dear Eyes Brushes: Definer, €22; Blender, €26.50

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Lucky Thirteen of 2013: Lippy, and the View From Below My Nose

WARNING: clicking through these links may result in PTND*.

I was into lipstick this year! I say that like it is news, like I haven’t posted this picture:
ALL THE LIPPYs
These were just the ones that were by the place where I keep my going-out-the-door stuff: my purse, the thingie with my Leap Card in it, my sunglasses.

Lots of lippys — thirteen, in fact — lots of pictures of my nose from an… interesting angle.

I reviewed eight shades of lipp-ay here, which alerted me to the proboscis problem — and then I clearly just chose to ignore it because: here I went again, and again, and… yeah. Um, and this one. And then also.

Sheesh.

The main issue I see is that I have not been wearing nearly enough purple/mauve lipstick.

There’s my new year’s resolution sorted!

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*Post Traumatic Nostril Disorder

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Tried & Tested @ The Herald: Foundation

This week, I worked with several different brand’s foundations. How’d they do? Here’s the link!

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HELLO! WOW!Speaking of which, I recently revisited BeneFit’s Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow Brightening Foundation. I hadn’t liked it a’atall when I first tried it, but now? I love it loads! Will get back to ye with a proper review, but I mention it as a case, which happens occasionally, in which I revisited a product and liked it better. Pro Tip™: using a foundation brush really, truly does make a dif. A true life case of ‘do what I say, not what I do,’ unfortch — I even remember the brand’s lead make up artist, LIsa Eldridge, showing us at the launch that using a brush is best. Tcha! Have I finally learned my lesson?!? Stay tuned…

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Red Alert! Things That Are; Not Just Lippy

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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The Eyes Have It! And Boy, Do They Need It: New Fave Mascaras

Just for the sake of argument, here’s my naked lashes.
BYE BYE EYELASH EXTs 2

And so:

CLARINS Length & Curve Mascara, €26
They look pretty clumpy in the first photo, which they really weren’t. The second image shows them to better advantage. That is Intense Brown, which you may not have thought. They look nice and black to me!
CLARINS 3
CLARINS 1

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RIMMEL LONDON Scandaleyes Retro Glam, €8.99
So fake looking, in the best possible sense!
RIMMEL 1
RIMMEL 3

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BOURJOIS Volume Clubbing Blackjack Mascara, €10.49
I heart this a lot because it is so seriously thickening.
BOURJOIS 1
BOURJOIS 2

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LANCÔME Hypnôse Doll Lashes Mascara, €28
We’ve seen this one before; in this case, I only had time to do one coat, and I think it looks pretty substantial.
LANCOME doll eyes

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Finally, here’s a reminder about the Electric Blue stuff via Maybelline Colossal Color Shock Mascara, €10.75; I wore it out into the world, and it was noticeable in ‘Ohh, like yer blue lashes’ way.
MAYBELLINE COLOR SHOCK 1

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Finally, finally, a shot I like to call Daft Noir Selfie.
DAFT NOIR SELFIE
I am especially proud of the daft shadow of my phone, and my hands holding it.

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