Beauty Blog - Beauty Geek UK: September 2012

EOTD: Arctic Goddess Smoky Eye

I recently mentioned that I attended Avon's Arctic Goddess event to find out more about the new collection. In this collection is the main eye palette, also called Arctic Goddess, which I had hoped to show you in more detail in this post, however, I've lost the lead to my camera which means I'll have to wait for the new one to arrive so I can lose that too, but hopefully download the pictures beforehand...

I have blue eyes which don't really go too well with blue toned eye shades, therefore I tend to avoid them, but I really wanted to find a way to use this palette, so I decided to try and create a smoky eye. In the palette there are four variants of blue (the picture below is taken from the original post about the event) so the top two shades from left to right are 1 and 2 and the bottom two are 3 and 4 for the purpose of this EOTD.

Quite simply, I used 2 all over the eye up to the socket, then I used a wet brush on 3 and blended it into the middle of the eye so that it joined with the original shade, but still showed a pop of colour. I then used 4 on the socket and outer corner and under the lower lash line. I used 1 as a highlighter which I took all the way up to the brow. I finished with a line of L'Oreal Perfect Slim, 1 coat of Benefit They're Real and Rimmel Kohl in Black on the waterline.

I think the key to this look is build it up slowly and blend! This is definitely a look I really like and the textures of the eyeshadows are fantastic, making blending an absolute breeze. The Avon Arctic Goddess palette will be available from Avon in November, priced at £8.50.

*Palette was a PR sample, liners and mascara were purchased by me.

New Clinique Chubby Sticks Intense - Roomiest Rose

I'm sure there were squeals of excitement in every beauty blogger's household when word came out that there would be new additions to the Clinique Chubby Stick family, at least that was certainly the case in this household!

Clinique Chubby Sticks Intense are pumped up, highly-pigmented versions of the original Chubby Sticks. They're still in the balm family, but they also incorporate a stain finish and come in a range of eight different shades that follow the original style of naming with shade names such as Plushest Punch and Broadest Berry.

I was sent Roomiest Rose to review which is a deep berry shade that perfectly combines the richness of red with the prettiness of pink to create a strong, wine hue. I tend to associate the colour rose with mid-warm pinks, which I'm not sure Roomiest Rose is, but in fairness, having to find eight new and novel names that didn't interfere with the original line-up of sixteen must've been quite a chore!

The original Chubby Sticks provided a sheer wash of colour, yet these new Intense versions do exactly as promised and leave lips saturated in completely opaque colour whilst thankfully still retaining the balm-like texture that made the originals such a hit.

Sold, in part, as a stain and stain they do! Without eating or drinking you could get considerable wear out of these (I would hazard a guess at 4-5 hours before you'd need a top-up) and once the initial punch of colour starts to fade, you're left with a strong stain that stays true and doesn't washout.

Without flash.

With flash.

For a bold colour like Roomiest Rose, I wanted to tone everything else down which is why I went for just a slick of glossy liner, one coat of mascara and a rosy blush to compliment the lips:

I'm thrilled that there are more members being added to the original Chubby line-up and I can't wait to get my hands on the other shades once they land in November, priced at £16 a pop.

*PR Sample

17 Mirror Shine Lipsticks

For swatches of the full range, click here

More fabulousness from make-up brand 17 comes in the shape of these brilliant new Mirror Shine Lipsticks which includes 13 new shades and a seriously good revamp of the packaging.

Since the popularity of buttery, balm-like textures for lips doesn't seem to be waning any time soon, 17's take on the trend comes in the prettiest of packaging; the new tubes are square-shaped, semi-muted black which to me does not scream "budget brand" regardless of what the price of £4.79 states.

However, where it gets really interesting is how they've housed the mirror inside the lid. Once you pull apart the lid and lipstick, a mirror extends out of the lid automatically so you can apply your lipstick on the go.

It's all very well banging on about great packaging, but if the product itself wasn't up to standard then the packaging would be a bit of a moot point (or a "moo point" as Joey from Friends says..."it's moo").

I'm pleased to report that the lipsticks themselves are gloriously creamy, pigmented and just balmy enough to still be called lipsticks and not get forced into the tinted lip balm category.

Left to right: Roasted Red, Belle, Pinked.

The shades I was sent to play around with are:

Pinked: in the tube it looks like a vinyl pink but on my lips it translates more to a baby, milky pink that would've - quite frustratingly - been amazing for summer lips....there's always next year, eh?

Roasted Red: a strong yet fairly neutral red. It 'might' lean ever so slightly blue but the blue tone is negligible.

Belle: a warm, pinky-brown shade with a teeny, tiny hint of red.

Left to right: Roasted Red, Belle, Pinked.

When the shades first arrived I would've though my favourite would be Pinked (obviously, as it's pink), followed by Roasted Red, followed by Belle. However, having tried them on I'd say it's the complete reverse as I absolutely love Belle. It's such a flattering and easy to wear shade, and as I'm currently enjoying bolder eyes for day time, this shade will compliment that look perfectly. My least favourite is Pinked as pale pinks tend to struggle with the intense red pigment in my lips. I think over a base of foundation, Pinked would fulfil it's true potential.

All in all I'm very excited about these lipsticks as they're purse-friendly, beautifully and functionally packaged with lovely colour payoff and great shades. Another fabulous offering from 17!

These will launch in Boots on the 3rd October priced at £4.79 each.

Disclosure: PR samples.

JinnyLash Promotion

JinnyLash are currently running a promotion until this Sunday (for some reason all the good things are ending this Sunday!) where you can purchase two sessions of Express Lash Extensions for £100, which equates to a saving of £100 - therefore 50% off which is a huge saving.

The voucher doesn't expire until March 2013, although you won't be able to use it during December.

You can redeem the voucher at either the Bond Street or New Malden stores and the voucher can be purchased here.

BrandAlley GHD Flash Sale

Until Sunday 30th (so this Sunday!) there's a pretty impressive flash sale on GHD products over at BrandAlley.

There's up to 40% off a lot of the brands top products including the Pink Orchid Classic Styler (down from £129 to £96), the Scarlet Deluxe Gift Set (down to £90 from £149) and the Style and Protect Gift Set (down from £39 to £23), so if you fancy trying out a set of the cult GHD straighteners then now's a great time to invest.

Netflix Bollywood Event

So I mentioned how I've tried to cull 'event posts' from the blog and then I post about two in less than a week...However, in my defence, I did say that I'd only post about events if I really thought there was something worthwhile for my readers to read about and there definitely was at the Bollywood Netflix event I attended shortly before my holiday.

The event itself was a celebration of all things Bollywood with the most mouthwatering Asian nibbles being passed around (I sunk into a brief yet deep depression when the plate of chicken sticks was emptied just before it came to me for the second time in a row...sad times), Radio 1's Nihal on the decks (I'm not down enough with the kids to know who he is but he was very funny) and shortly after arrival, all us beauty bloggers were whisked into our own little room to have a make-up tutorial with Ruby Hammer.

Ruby talked us through a typical Bollywood make-up look and said that the focus is usually on drama and colour. There is no such thing as natural in Bollywood films (if actresses are dressed in natural make-up then they're perceived as arty, alternative types) and it's all about big and bold use of colour with strong brows, large lashes and bling.

The look Ruby created was a very basic, simple and doable approach to Bollywood make-up consisting of strong eyes, a pop of colour on the cheeks and muted, wearable lips. All Bollywood stars have killer eyebrows, so Ruby emphasised the importance of having regular threading treatments (which I do..not that I'm thinking I'm heading to a Bollywood film near you any day now..just sayin') and keeping brows immaculate with a good brow kit. For this look, Ruby used Bobbi Brown's Brow Kit, but a cheaper alternative would be ELF's Eyebrow Kit.

Next up was a wash of shimmery, creamy gold eyeshadow all over the eye area. In this look, Chanel's Illusion D'Ombre in Vision was used, but a blend of NYX's Cream Eyeshadow in Gold and Suede would create a similar effect.

Thick Eyeliner stops the look being too washy and Ruby is a fan of Gel Liners. Elf and 17 both have cheaper alternatives on the market, but Ruby's favourites are Bobbi Brown, Nars and Mac. Lashes are big and Ruby thinks you can't go wrong with Benefit's They're Real which I'm inclined to agree with!

Hair needs to be huge and as most of us aren't blessed with big bouncy hair, Bollywood stars invest a lot of money in extensions and regular hair treatments. Finishing touches include lots of statement jewellery to keep everything looking as bling as possible.

The event definitely made me think a lot more about make-up choices, techniques and ways we can all play around and experiment with different looks and colours. Also, the finished look Ruby created was stunning and the fun and vibrance of Bollywood left me much more inclined to check-out a Bollywood film on Netflix...even if it's just for make-up inspiration.

Disclosure: I was invited to the Bollywood event as a guest of Netflix, but all views and opinions are my own.

17 Eyeliner Studio: First Look

17 are a brand who have come on leaps and bounds with regards to creating innovative and affordable make-up, especially with their recent introduction of their Eyeliner Studio products. There are FIVE different types of eyeliner in the range.

From left to right: Lacquer Liner, High Drama, Smoulder Gel, Tattoo Me and Make Your Mark.

All shades are black and there really is a finish for everyone; Lacquer Liner gives a glossy, wet look, High Drama is an intensely pigmented liquid, Smoulder Gel is a rich, gel liner that comes with a teeny tiny brush, Tattoo Me is budge-proof and Make Your Mark is a felt tip liner for precision application.

As with all 17 products, the prices are ridiculously good with all of them priced at £3.99 other than Tattoo Me which is £4.99. So for the price of a single high-end liner you can buy all five and completely update your kit.

I'll review the liners shortly and in the next few days I'll be posting about the new look Mirror Shine lipsticks which are really something to get excited about...just need to fact check then I'll post!

All available now from Boots store and online.

Disclosure: PR samples.

Erno Laszlo Blue Firmarine Eye Serum

I've mentioned this quite a few times over the past couple of months and I'm still using it every night as it's just such an easy eye treatment to use; it soaks in quickly and leaves eyes feeling adequately moisturised without any greasy residue. I also love the fact that you only need the tiniest amount (the picture below shows how much you need for both eyes, upper and lower lids) and it spreads beautifully, yet doesn't feel greasy or silicone-y.

I've been using this for probably around two months now, but it was about a month into use when I was applying make-up under my eye that I realised the whole area looked lighter and less lined. Obviously I still have fine lines, but my crows feet especially are much less obvious and the whole eye area appears brighter. It was strange because I wasn't actually looking to see if it was working, I just became aware of the fact that my make-up wasn't sinking into the lines on the outer corners of my eyes!

All-in-all this is beautiful, light, gentle and effective eye treatment, so if you're in the market for a luxury eye treatment then this is a great choice. It isn't cheap at £125 for 15ml, but I would guess that it'd last you for yonks considering you need so little. I'm also a little bit in love with the packaging and the way it's dispensed; the button function is depressed in the lid, so you push it down into the bottle and out comes the serum from the front spout. Seriously cute!

Available from Erno Laszlo's online store.

Speaking of Erno Laszlo, I have one 'ell of a competition coming up soon so keep your eyes peeled for that as it will contain some *amazing* Laszlo prizes!!

Disclosure: PR sample.

Avon Arctic Goddess Event (picture heavy!)

I've tried to cull event posts from my blog and instead focus on the products that the events are about when posting as most events tend to follow a fairly similar pattern and I don't fancy boring readers with the same post over and over again! However, I will occasionally post about an event if there's lots of fun stuff worth talking about and a good example of this is the Avon event I attended last week.

The event was the launch of Avon's Arctic Goddess collection which is a range of nine products including two gorgeous new eye palettes, three lipglosses, three nail varnishes and a new mascara. What was great about the event was the fact that the whole Avon make-up range (I think!) was on display, and as I'm pretty much unfamiliar with the brand's make-up it was fab to be able to see everything and get a good idea of what's on offer whilst also snapping some pictures so you can check it out too. Here are the pics:

What was also very exciting was the presence of three very cool people who are tied-in with the brand. Alesha Dixon - Avon's ambassador and easily the most charming celeb I've met yet who spent the evening going up to people and striking up conversations; usually it's the other way around! - and Sam and Nic who are the Pixiwoo sisters and they are at least fifty times more beautiful in the flesh than their pictures suggest....it was hard being in the same room with these three women without wanting to runaway and hide!

The Arctic Goddess collection, as modelled by Alesha in the pictures above, is a collection of strong sea greens and blues for the nails and eyes, with more natural peach and brown-based nudes for the lips.

It's a very pretty collection that is reasonably priced and definitely worth checking out when it launches in November with prices starting at £6.

Daniel Sandler Escape to Hollywood Eye Shadows: Burnt Sand and Lava

As mentioned in my intro post to Daniel Sandler's Autumn/Winter 2012 collection - Escape to Hollywood - the line focuses on wearable shades that evoke a modern take on 50's and 60's Hollywood glamour. As soon as I heard about the collection I knew it would be something I'd love and I was happily proven right. I've waxed lyrical about the Matte Lipstick in Red Carpet already, so now it's time to turn my focus to the two eye shadows in the collection: Polychromatic Eye shadow in Lava and Sheer Satin Eye shadow in Burnt Sand.

Left Lava, right Burnt Sand.

Starting with Burnt Sand which is a very wearable, muted gold shade with a slight metallic finish. It works well on its own but is also neutral enough to work as a base for stronger eye looks. It can be intensified and turned into a highlighting shade when applied with a damp brush. It's also soft enough for a day time look (applied as a wash all over the eye) but again can be built-up for a night time look with a bit of liner and/or kohl.

Next up is Lava which is the shade that excited me most as I've been on a hunt for a flattering red shade that was red enough to add colour, but not so red that it'd end up leaving me looking like I'd developed an allergy. This is the Goldilocks of reds for me as it's exactly what I needed. It's a tricky shade to describe but I'd say it's kind of a smoky burgundy with a hint of gold that stops it looking flat. Again, it's wearable and very easy to work with; it blends like a dream and is perfect for creating a colour-based smoky eye.

In the press release, Daniel suggests using Burnt Sand over the entire lid and blending Lava on the outer corner, socket and under the eye. On nights out I always default to various shades of brown smoked up with eyeliner, but last night I was feeling adventurous so I tried these shades instead, and here's the finished look:

I lined the upper lash line with liquid liner, used a brown kohl pencil on my lower water line and finished with one coat of Benefit They're Real on the upper lashes and as you can see, for blue-eyed girls like me, these shades make eyes pop. The three products I was sent have been an amazing introduction to the Daniel Sandler range as I've found them all incredibly flattering whilst being exciting and enjoyable to use and wear.

Escape to Hollywood is available now and both eye shadows are priced at £10.25 each.

Disclosure: PR samples.

Mac Fix+

I've not really bought into the idea of products that you spray over make-up to make it stay fresh for longer, not because I don't think they can work, but because I don't think they'll work for me. I have very oily skin that has to be treated at a skincare level and there's no magical product on the planet that'll be able to stop the oil appearing on a surface level other than large quantities of powder applied at regular intervals.

However, the reason I wanted to buy Mac's Fix+ was to stop heavy make-up looking heavy. A while ago I got back into mineral foundation to finish off and set my face make-up (I've tried lots of variants but still tend to go back to Everyday Minerals for their coverage and shade match) and if you're heavy handed with your application when trying to build up a high coverage then you can be left with a build-up of make-up that looks incredibly unnatural. Therefore, I hoped that something like Fix+ would soften that look and I'm pleased to report that that's exactly what it does.

So I use Fix+ to soften and set heavy make-up and stop it looking too OTT and for that reason I'll continue to repurchase it; it also doesn't break me out or make spots worse. I have no idea whether it keeps make-up in place and to be honest I haven't really paid enough attention to whether it does or not, but I'll try to do so and report back!

Mac Fix+ is available in two sizes 30ml for £7.50 and 100ml for £13.50 although I believe that the smaller version is only available at certain Mac shops and online.

Disclosure: purchased by me.

EOTD: Organza Eyes

Not very original; I named this EOTD after the name of the eyeshadow palette I used....

This was a seriously quick EOTD as the textures of the No7 Organza palette are like silk, meaning I can blend with ease and as the colours are all complimentary, they merge together really well.

In the palette there are three shades; a silvery lilac, a true lilac and an ice blue and all the finishes are metallic.

For this EOTD I used the silvery lilac all over the upper eyelid up to the socket and all the way under the lower lid too.

I then used the true lilac on the socket and outer corner followed by the blue on the inner corners of both the upper and lower lids.

I finished with a skinny line of L'Oreal Super Liner Perfect Slim and one coat of Benefit They're Real.

Due to the blendability and metallic finish, this whole look took a few minutes and I think the results are really pretty and gentle. To turn this into a night look, I'd make the lash liner thicker and add black kohl on the waterline.

Disclosure: palette from a goody bag, the rest purchased by me.

Pages - Menu