Deborah Lippmann - Razzle Dazzle NOTD

Christmas is just around the corner and every part of me is getting in the festive spirit...even my nails!
Nothing screams Christmas to me like glitters so I decided to add a bit of sparkle to my look with this recent nail of the day.


I got this Deborah Lippmann polish as part of last years December Glossybox. Razzle Dazzle contains lots of cranberry coloured glitters in a blackened raspberry jelly base. The base is quite sheer which did mean it took three coats to achieve full opacity. The varnish applied smoothly and drying time is super quick but when the polish dried it was a little grainy so I added a layer of Seche Vite topcoat to smooth it out.

Above photo is with flash. It was hard to properly capture the glitter and how they catch the light in these photos but I have to say I loved rocking these festive sparkly nails. Overall I really liked Razzle Dazzle and I am now very keen try some more Deboral Lipmann nail polishes.

For example check out these two lovely limited edition 2012 holiday sets!

ROCK THIS TOWN set which includes: Moon Dance (deep lavender swirl glimmer), Chain Reaction (dirty brass glimmer) and Phoenix Rising (foxy copper glimmer).

SHE'S ALWAYS A WOMAN mini set which includes: Putty in your hands (putty taupe creme), Raspberry Beret (flecked berry) and My Prerogative (royal blue creme)

Deborah Lippmann nail polishes retail at £14 each sold in House of Fraser online and in selected stores. 

Have you tried any Deborah Lippmann nail polishes before?

Clinique Chubby Sticks now more intense!

Following on from the success of their cult Chubby Sticks range (read my review here) Clinique is now releasing a new line and this time round their crayon style lipsticks will be INTENSE! The new moisturising lip colour balms will feature a new fuller coverage formula that will give you bolder colour pay off. 

Clinique Chubby Stick Intense will be available in 8 shades: Curviest Caramel, Chunkiest Chili, Heftiest Hibiscus, Mightiest Maraschino, Plushest Punch, Roomiest Rose, Broadest Berry, and Grandest Grape retailing at £16 each.

The chunky pens are perfect for applying on the go, because your simply twist up the base to dispense more product. Plus whilst now adding a more intense touch of colour to your lips the formula still contains the loveliest ingredients including shea butter, mango seed butter and jojoba seed oil to deliver plenty of moisture leaving your lips soft and soothed.

As mentioned there will be 8 shades in the range and lucky me was able to get my hands on two shades before they are released nationwide in mid-November.

Let me introduce you to Chunkiest Chilli and Plushest Punch:

 Chunkiest Chilli is a slightly brown brick red shade and Plushest Punch is a bright fushia pink shade.

I have swatched both Chubby Sticks below; first swatched normally and then swatched slightly blended out for if you prefer a softer look as a glossy balm but still with plenty of colour pay-off. 

Top: Chunkiest Chilli

Bottom: Plushest Punk

The bright punchy pink is definitely up my alley but when I first saw the brownish red Chubby stick I didn't think it would suit me at all. However I was pleasantly surprised and quite like this more brownish natural toned shade at the moment for a chic autumn look.

If you are a fan of the original Chubby Stick formula but prefer something with a bit more of a kick then I'd say definitely check out the new Intense range when it comes out in November! 

The Evelyn Lauder Dream Collection

It's that time of the year again, when Estée Lauder think PINK in honour of The Estée Lauder Companies’ Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign. And this year is no exception, as they celebrate the campaign’s 20th anniversary. This year’s theme for the campaign is Courage. “Believe in a world without breast cancer. Believe we’re here until it’s true.”

The 2012 collection is in memory of the late Evelyn Lauder, to honour Evelyn’s dream of putting an end to breast cancer and raising money and awareness for the Estée Lauder Companies Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign. Also this year’s new Pink Ribbon design features a touch of blue to represent the approximately 1% of all breast cancer cases that are diagnosed in men.

Here is a rundown of the products that are part of the collection this year. First up the Evelyn Lauder and Elizabeth Hurley Dream Lip Collection.

This lip-loving duo includes a full-size Pure Color Lipstick in Candy, a shade chosen by Evelyn Lauder and a Pure Color Gloss in Pink Innocence, chosen by Elizabeth Hurley, all featured in a chic pink snakeskin-printed clutch.

Candy is a pigmented and slightly shimmery pink lipstick. As all Estée Lauder lipsticks the formula is smooth, long lasting, creamy and has a nice lovely smell. The Pink Innocence gloss is a light, more frosted pink gloss that glides on easily. I love the design of the container!

The rest of the Evelyn Lauder Dream Collection includes:

♥ Evelyn Lauder Dream Compact - The compact is filled with Lucidity Translucent Pressed Powder. Estée Lauder will donate £55.00 (the full RRP) from every sale in the UK of the Evelyn Lauder Dream Compact to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation®

♥ The Evelyn Lauder Dream Pin design sparkles with contrasting soft pink and hot pink enamels, accented with 2 stones – one BCA pink stone and a blue stone to represent the approximately 1% of all breast cancer cases in the United States that are diagnosed in men. Estée Lauder will donate £10.00 (the full RRP) from every sale in the UK of the Evelyn Lauder Dream Pin to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation®.

♥ Perfectionist CP+R Wrinkle-Lifting Serum with Pink Ribbon Keychain.
"This powerful anti-wrinkle serum is proven to significantly reduce the appearance of lines and wrinkles with exceptional speed." I've read a lot of good things about this product so this might be a good time to try it out, because it's supporting a good cause at the same time! Estée Lauder will donate £10.00 (RRP £68.00) from every sale in the UK of Perfectionist CP+R with Pink Ribbon Keychain to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation®.

Is there anything that has caught your eye from this collection? I think it is fantastic how Estée Lauder continues to raise awareness and funds for this very important cause. If you want to make a contribution you can also choose to make a small donation here to their Breast Cancer Research Foundation. Every little bit will help to put an end to this terrible disease.

The Evelyn Lauder Dream Colection is available from Estée Lauder counters nationwide and at www.esteelauder.co.uk from October 2012.

Bourjois Paris Flowers - Summer Trend look+

Back in June Bourjois launched their 2012 summer collection inspired by the beauty of tropical flowers from Latin America with a palette of bright blue teamed with spicy orange.

They created the above look using the following new products from the collection:

Bourjois round pot eyeshadow in no.16, a spicy orange

Bourjois round pot eyeshadow in no.02, a vivid blue (blue canard)

Bourjois 3D effet lipgloss in no.53 Corail artistic (one of my favourite glosses this summer!)

Bourjos Volume Glamour Max Waterproof mascara

I liked this colourful summery look, so I decided to recreate it myself :)

I applied the burned orange eyeshadow (16) all over the lid and into the socket line. Then I dampened the eyeshadow applicator and applied the bright blue shade (02) close to the top lash line for that fun splash of colour!

Other products used in his FOTD:

Clinique stay matte foundation in #9

Vichy dermablend ultra-corrective stick (review here)

UNE BB cream bronzer (review here)

NARS blush in the shade Orgasm

 

What do you think about Bourjois new summer collection? Is this look something you'd ever wear?

 

The full Bourjois Paris Flowers collection is available now at Boots & Superdrug stores nationwide and online.

Summer statement lips: MAC So Chaud

Recently while catching up on some of my favourite blogs I spotted the stunning Linda, from PS I love Fashion, blogging about this new red lipstick she'd gotten at MAC. I pretty much fell in lust as soon as I saw it on her! Unable to get this lippy out of my mind I wondered over to the MAC store and treated myself to this little beauty....

Introducing you to my favourite new red lipstick for summer: So Chaud!

So Chaud is an 'intense reddish-orange' (matte) from MAC's permanent line.

Red lips always provide a classy look but I love that the orange tones in this lipstick give it a slightly modern twist. It's a really unique colour and makes quite a statement when worn. It fits in perfectly with this season's trend of bright orange and coral colours which makes it the ideal red lipstick for warm and sunny days. Even though they label So Chaud as a matte lipstick, I find it very creamy and no where near as matte as say Ruby Woo, which is one of MAC's most best selling red lipsticks. The lasting power of this lipstick is impressive and it's not at all drying. 

I also think it makes my blue eyes POP! 

Other products used in this FOTD:

Clinique Stay Matte Foundation (loving this at the moment!)

MAC Warm Soul Blush (review here)

MAC Wedge eyeshadow (all over lid)

Clinique's new super-balanced powder bronzer (link) 

Verdict....So Chaud is definitely So Hot!! And as Gwyneth Paltrow once said; “Beauty, to me, is about being comfortable in your own skin. That, or a kick-ass red lipstick”. I couldn’t have said it better myself! 

What do you think of So Chaud....hot or not? :) xoxo

Chanel Les 4 Ombes in Mystic Eyes

Last year for my birthday two of my lovely friends got me some Chanel makeup as a present (see my birthday presents post here). All my friends know me well enough to know that with a gift like beautiful makeup they pretty much can't go wrong ;)

The Chanel eye palette they got me was the Les 4 Ombres Palette in Mystic Eyes and it's been one of my favourite quads ever since! I never got round to reviewing it on the blog so only about a year late (woops) here is a recent face of the day using this versatile and gorgeous eyeshadow palette!

Now let's look at the palette a little more up close shall we?

As to be expected from the luxury brand Chanel; the packaging is gorgeous, compact and easy to use.

The palette comes with four eyeshadow shades in a smudge-proof formula, that can be applied dry for subtle shading, or dampened for more intense colour. 

Colours clockwise from L-R:

♥ Neutral deep chocolate brown with tiny gold flecks

♥ Light shimmery vanilla pink 

♥ Silvery shimmery grey taupe

♥ Warm shimmery light gold brown 

The pink and silver shades are a bit more sheer but the light brown and dark brown shades are both very pigmented. The whole quad is quite shimmery with the pink and silver being the most shimmery of the bunch. And as with all Chanel eyeshadows (I also have their Les Ombes Enigma Quad) the staying power is superb, and the colour payoff is excellent.

I love how you can play with these seemingly neutral colours to create a natural or dramatic smokey look. The shimmer in this quad just seems to make my eyes sparkle that little bit more! Here a slightly closer look at my neutral 'Mystic eyes' face of the day:

Products used:

Bourjois 123 Perfect Foundation (review here)

Stilla brighten and correct concealer (link)

Bourjois Delice de Poudre Bronzing Powder (review here)

Estee Lauder Goddess Sea Star Bronzing Blush (as seen here)

Chanel 14 Mystic Eyes - Silver shade applied to tearduct and inner 1/3 of eyelid

Chanel 14 Mystic Eyes - Light brown shade applied to outer 2/3 of lid and in the crease

Chanel 14 Mystic Eyes - Pink shade applied to the brow bone as a highlight

Chanel 14 Mystic Eyes - Dark brown applied along lower lashline

Blink + Go Mascara (as seen here)

On my lips I am wearing the other Chanel present the girls got me last year...

Chanel Rouge Allure Extrait de Gloss in Imaginaire (56) 

Imaginaire is a semi-sheer, milky medium pink colour with a hint of coral and some tiny tiny gold sparkles. This is one of my favourite lip glosses. The colour pay off is very pigmented and rich on my lips whilst still showing a hint of my natural lip tone. And the formula is smooth and glossy, without being tacky or sticky - just how I like it! When I wear this gloss I always feel girly and sophisticated :)

I absolutely love both these Chanel items so am very grateful to my friends for buying these for me! What do you think of the Mystic Eyes palette or the Imaginaire lip gloss? xoxo