Sample Sunday – Shu Uemura High Performance Cleansing Oil Classic

I was so excited to try this sample out and I desperately wanted to love it. The idea of a cleanser that removes everything in one go (yes even your eye makeup) whilst being non drying is very appealing. Sadly I do not get on with this at all.

The oil itself is relatively light weight, it isn’t thick or goopy. It does have a scent but it’s quite faint, just a sort of clean medicinal fragrance. You simply massage in onto dry skin including the eye area and then add a little water to let it emulsify. Then just rinse off and voila! Makeup is gone! If I’ve worn particularly heavy eye makeup that day I sometimes have to go back with a little extra for the eyes but it’s still quicker and easier than using a separate eye makeup remover.

It doesn’t sting my eyes, it doesn’t dry out my skin. It’s so quick and easy to use. Sounds perfect doesn’t it?

No.

This sample lasted me about 2 weeks. After day one I had a huge spot on the side of my nose (I only ever normally get spots on my chin). Day two it had a little friend on my jaw line. It continued on like this until eventually I had to concede it was the cleanser to blame. As soon as I stopped using it the blemishes disappeared again. Le Sigh.

I have a sneaking suspicion that the culprit may have been the mineral oil which appears first on the list of ingredients. This is a little surprising for a product that costs £28 for the full 150ml bottle. I still love the idea of using a cleansing oil and will be trying out the MAC version (it’s mineral oil free) in future. But this product has disappointed me. I won’t be purchasing the full size x

Sugar Pill Chromalust Loose Eyeshadow in Goldilux

I have seen this on so many blogs described as molten gold on the skin that eventually I knew it would have to be mine. I bought this for £8.25 from www.love-makeup.co.uk . The packaging is very cute isn’t it?

You get 5g of incredibly finely milled pigment, more than I will ever be able to use. It is a bright yellow gold. I honestly don’t own a shade quite like it! For me it applies best wet though as with all lose pigments you do get some fall out if you apply it dry. Look at the sparkles! (I could not get my camera to focus for love nor money... the sparkles sent it mad)

You certainly achieve an intensity of colour that is hard to get from a pressed shadow. My one little niggle is I thought it would be a little bit smoother. Instead of the liquid gold I was expecting you get a slightly grittier, more sparkly effect. It’s still very pretty and I’ve used it a lot (it makes a wonderful liner used wet!)

Sugarpill isn’t a brand I’ve tried anything else from but I do like this product. The quality is good, the colour is very special and the packaging is quirky. I’m curious to see what else they produce! X

*Bought by me*

Look of The Week

Er actually this was what I wore to a Chinese New Year party way back in January. This pics were also taken post party so apologies if I look a little smushed. I tried to do something red and gold for the evening so I used the Wet ‘n Wild Night Elf palette with Sugar Pill Goldilux used wet as a liner. I can’t for the life of me remember what else I used but I know it was Sleek Scandalous blush... So it’s mainly made up of limited edition items we can’t get any more. Sorry!

I liked doing a bit of a different shape than I normally do. Most of the time I start with lightest colour in the inner corner fading out to darker shades in the crease and outer corner. Using the black on both the edges was a small change but something totally different and in real life made my eyes seem a little rounder than normal. Ramble over, have a good weekend! x

Going Nude

Calm down folks, I’m keeping my clothes on. I wouldn’t do that to you (I couldn’t afford to pay for your therapy for a start). This is strictly a lip product post. For a girl who isn’t really into nude lips I seem to have acquired a fair few nude lip products.

Do bear in mind that I have naturally very dark pigmented lips so a fair few of these products look awful on me unless applied correctly. By correctly I mean smushed in with a finger rather than applied directly from the tube (hello corpse lips!) and often topped with a slightly warmer gloss. I won’t be reviewing things here as I simply don’t have the time or the space in one blog post. Everything has been reviewed before though (I think) so just shuffle on over to the search bar to your right and you will be able to read more on individual products if you should so wish.

Shall we begin with the glosses?

Collection 2000 Love Your Lips Gloss in Delight. I love these glosses and have almost used up my other shades, not a massive fan of this one on me though.

Missguided Lipsplash in Missled. This smells exactly like tablet (it’s a kind of Scottish confection a bit like fudge but not quite) and is just delicious. I wear it more for the smell/ taste than the colour. This was free in a mag!

Revlon Peach Petal. I tend to wear this over bright pinks to tone them down a bit as it is too light on its own on me. It’s a bit *ahem* porno on its own no?

Jemma Kid Makeup School gloss in Shell. Another magazine freebie! It’s a nice enough gloss but I don’t like the sugary scent.

And now some pinkier nudes...

L’Oreal Color Riche in Taffeta. A surprisingly wearable cool toned pink beige.

MAC Lazy Day from the To The Beach collection. Limited edition I’m afraid. This works better for me over a bright pink lip liner to make the colour a little stronger. On its own it has a tendency to go a bit patchy and let my natural lip colour through.

ELF Mineral Lipstick in Run Way Pink. A slightly less pink version of Lazy Day, it benefits from being smushed (technical term dontcha know).

Some more traditional nudes...

No7 Nude Rebellion is my favourite nude lipstick on me but sadly it was limited edition. I need a dupe...

Revlon Nude Attitude... fabulous formula but the colour is terrible on me. Patted in with a finger it looks ok but the yellowy beige is just too flesh toned for me when applied directly from the tube.

L’Oreal Color Riche in Nude. A more beige nude which works for me thanks to it being a little darker.

17 Mirror Shine On lipstick in Bee Hive. Everyone seems to love this. On me it’s just ok. Again I benefit from a lighter application.

And finally....

MAC Viva Glam V. A peachy beige nude with gold shimmer. It’s quite sheer, very wearable and one of those lipsticks you can just throw on sans mirror.

Estee Lauder Beige. This is slightly cool toned and shimmery but still pretty wearable.

17 Shine On lipstick in Toffee. It’s a slightly bronzey toffee shade, perhaps a little deeper than some people would class as a nude but to me it counts.

Well I don’t think I need any more nude shades for a while! What’s your favourite nude lippie? Do you rock full on nudes or do you struggle to pull them off like me? 

Benefit Some Kind-a Gorgeous (Crap Foundation, Pretty Good Bronzer)

There is very little that pisses me off quite so much as ‘one size fits all’. No it bloody well does not! Ahem, pardon my ranting. This ‘foundation’ comes in a measly three shades. I believe the one I have is in medium (a sample size from the ‘Tan About Town’ gift set). It’s a cream base product with sheer coverage that is supposed to blend into your own skin tone.

Despite the sheer finish it is still a few shades too dark for me. It’s a little greasy too despite being oil free and lasts only a couple of hours on my oily nose. Where it works a lot better it the hollows of my cheeks. Now I would love the infamous Bronze Universal from Chanel but I cannot justify spending that much on a cream product that would dry up long before I hit pan on it. So in my mind (I have an active imagination) this is my substitute. As a cream contour it is more forgiving than any powder product I own. Apply it before you powder your skin and it melts seamlessly into your foundation to create undetectable shadows.

*It doesn't look too dark in the photo's but I assure you in real life it is. The sheen is pretty evident. This is not for those of us who prefer a matte finish. 

Ok so this isn’t the best review in the world as I am not really reviewing it as a base product. Perhaps what I’m trying to say is this, if you have a base product that is too dark don’t write it off. Try mixing it with lighter products. If that doesn’t work as a last resort you have yourself a brilliant cream contour. Likewise a concealer that is too light? Well it will make a subtle day time highlight then won’t it! X

*ought by me*

Disappointed by Nars?

I have to confess NARS it a brand I haven’t ever gotten to get to grips with. I think it’s the glitter. I know they have plenty of non glittery products but every time I see a shadow or a blush shade I fancy it comes with chunks of glitter or heavy shimmer. Mekong eyeshadow disappoints me for a different reason though. Isn’t it just gorgeous in the pan?

It’s a rich coffee brown with bronze shimmers through it. It looks lovely in the swatch too. Just as pigmented and rich as it should be.

But see that grey in my crease?

Yeah, that’s Mekong. For some reason it doesn’t matter how I apply it, what primer I use, what sticky base. As soon as I apply brush to shadow Mekong disappears and I’m left with a cool grey. It’s a magic colour changing eyeshadow... and I don’t like it.

So I’m asking you my lovelies to give me some suggestions of Nars products that really do live up to the hype. All I have is the Only You Cheek & Eye palette in which I love the other 3 shadows, like (don’t love) Orgasm blush and dislike Honey Lust highlighter. Thoughts? X

YSL Rouge Pur Couture in shade 09 Rose Stiletto

Baby lipstick! Check out the cute! It’s a perfect little replica of the full sized lipsticks except more adorable. The packaging looks gorgeous but feels flimsy and lightweight. I’ve found this in my only full sized YSL lipstick too actually, looks great but doesn’t feel as expensive as it is. Also you only get a shade number not a name on the label which annoys me.

The lipstick itself is lovely though. It has a very strong floral scent, a little bit old lady cosmetics, but no real taste. The shade Rose Stiletto it a deep neutral pink, very wearable and nicely pigmented. It feels smooth and creamy on the lips. It is very comfortable to wear which, combined with the wearable shade, makes it a great work lipstick.

It doesn’t last particularly well and I get perhaps 3-4 hours of wear from it but it is such a little luxury to reapply. Now is the full size worth £23.50? I actually think the formula and shade is nice enough, it looks lovely enough. I’m 90% sold but the lightweight packaging would make me think twice (hasn’t stopped me purchasing a full size in the past though).  Thoughts? x