Product review: Eye primers – Urban Decay x e.l.f. x NYX

It is not a surprise my eyeshadow tends to crease after a full day at work; our eyelids are the one of the greasiest part of our faces, even for people who don’t have oily skin.

Using an astringent on the lids before applying make up can help, but a good primer is the best bet to keep your peepers looking freshly made up all day.

I had used MAC’s Moisturelush eyecream, used by a MAC MUA as a primer, but I felt it was more like an eye are cream than anything else. It has a nice sheen to it though.

E.L.F. Eyeshadow primer

The first real primer I bought was the e.l.f. one; at £1.50 and alright reviews, it was a no-brainer! I was quite happy with it for a while, and although shadow durability didn’t seem to be much better with it, it really made shadow colours stronger, and that was enough for me. I bought the sheer one, and it has a wand applicator, which is quite practical. The consistency is quite nice, a bit on the thin side compared to the others I am reviewing, it applies evenly and dries colourless. It served me well for many months!

NYX Eyeshadow Base

Also based on reviews, bought the NYX primer, priced at £5. I went for the white pearl one. Its consistency is quite hard, and I found it quite difficult to use from the pot as it is small, round and quite deep. For someone like me, with long nails, it is a nightmare, so I had to use a make up spatula in order to avoid having tons of the product under my nails everyday. Again, durability wasn’t amazing. A bit better than the e.l.f. but nothing to write home about. Also did the job well on making shadows colours stronger.

Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion

Now, the star of this review has to be the Urban Decay primer. Seriously. AMAZING!!!!! I went to their counter at House of Fraser to pick up the All Nighter long lasting make up setting spray (review to come soon), which I had tried a few days before in the same counter, and the girl was sooooo nice (seriously, I cannot say this enough!), she offered me a sample of their new foundation (reviewed here) and when I asked about the eye primer, she put a little bit in an empty foundation sample bottle so I could try at home.

Next morning, I used it on my morning make up routine; went to work and went for a spin class on my lunch break. I kid you not, after sweating buckets (as you do on a spin class!), I went off to the changing room and when I looked in the mirror, to my surprise, my eyeshadow and liner were still intact. It didn’t all melt into the crease, I had no smudges; I didn’t look like a panda, as I often do after the mentioned class.

So I am sold, with no doubt, the Urban Decay is the best from this lot. I bought the product since, at £14.50 for a 11ml tube and have been so happy I cannot describe. On holidays, baking in NY and then at an outdoors wedding, the primer, used in conjunction with the make up setting spray, kept my make up in place and eyes and face looking fresh for a whole day.

I am very impressed and have now developed a love affair with Urban Decay!

Eye make-up look challenge – black and silver

Haven’t posted an eye make-up look trial for quite sometime now; but I managed to get this one out and wanted to share how it went.

My aim was to create a dark silver smokey look, with black, as I had just bought a black silver-studded crop top! I wanted it to be dramatic so I added extra big lashes!

I started with the primer (e.l.f, not shown), and brushed the silver pigment all over the lid. I then lined my upper lash line with the gel liner, extending the flick at the end, and my lower water and lash lines with the eye kohl, also extending the flick parallel to the top one. Then, I generously applied the matte black eyeshadow and smoked it, with the pencil brush for definition, just in the corner and around the crease shape, blending just a little bit towards the centre.

I applied the supracolour cream on to the inner corner of the eye and between the upper and lower flicks, as well as to 2/3 of the way of the lower lash line. I brushed the sparkles all over the lid and the highlighter on the brow bone. Finally, I applied the lashes.

Happy with the look, definitely wearable on a night out! I would however, tone down the lashes, and wear a slightly smaller pair!

Products I used:

NYX loose pearl powder pigment in silver
H&M eyeshadow in Party Silver (sparkles)
MAC eyeshadow in Carbon (matte)
Bodyshop brilliance powder (highlighter)
Maybelline Eyestudio Lasting Drama gel liner in black
Kryolan Supracolour in silver
Maybelline Volum’ Express One by One mascara
MAC eye kohl in Smolder
Duo eyelash adhesive (clear)
Eyelashes from eBay (given to me by my dear friend Gisele)
MAC brushes 219, 239, 283, 209, Maybelline eyeliner brush and Elf brush (for the Supracolour)

Difficulty level:

Product review: new foundation trial – YSL x Urban Decay

My little samples

My foundation has been purchased from MAC for a good eight years. I have been through almost every foundation they have, seriously, no joke – Select FPS 15, Face and Body, Mineralize Satinfinish, Studio Fix Fluid – and at the moment I am wearing Matchmaster, which I really like.

Foundation is very important for me; I have it on my face pretty much everyday, so I am quite particular: I like a medium coverage that you can build up, natural looking, hard-wearing, that doesn’t aggravate skin conditions and fells nice on.

Being a fan of Yves Saint Laurent Touche Éclat, I was really looking forward to trying their new foundation, Le Teint Touche Éclat, which retails for £28. After reading several reviews and seeing it described as “magic”, “revolutionary” and so on, I decided maybe it was time to leave MAC and venture into a new world of foundation.

So I booked myself a colour match appointment at the YSL counter and went in full of hope. Foundation aside, I was bitterly disappointed and frankly, infuriated. The beauty assistant treated me soooo badly. The first question she asked, before anything was “Do you actually intend to buy the product or are you just gonna try?” Rude. I politely replied I used another brand but wanted to try something different; if I liked it, would purchase. She looked unimpressed and didn’t even tell me about the product and the technology, criticised me for wearing powder (without explaining that you shouldn’t with this new foundation, as this is what it was taken away!) and was usually quite abrupt on her comments. And it got worse when I asked for a sample. Anyway, after insisting I left with a sample, which I tried for a few days.

Rant over, now to the foundation: it is not for me. It spreads and blends well, the consistency is medium; not too thick nor too thin. Its coverage is very, very light, so if that is what works for you, you will probably love this one. I struggled to build it up to a level that I feel good about. Also, because the formula has taken the powder finish out of it, I felt it was a bit sticky on my face,. The finish wasn’t great on me, it didn’t photograph well; as I mentioned before, my skin is far from flawless, so I wear foundation to diminish visible problems – but unfortunately you could see everything I want my foundation to conceal in the pictures!

The second product I tried in the past weeks was the new Naked Skin Weightless Ultra Definition liquid make-up, by Urban Decay, which retails for £27. The consistency of this foundation is quite fluid, and I though the coverage was going to be super light, as it is more liquid than the YSL.

I came across this sample because I wanted to buy the Urban Decay’s All Nighter long-lasting Make-up Setting Spray (which I will review soon) and the outrageously lovely girl at the counter (take a lesson here, YSL) offered me the sample (and another lesson here). I also left with a sample of the Eyeshadow Primer Potion (which will be reviewed alongside the ones I have been using) – mind you, she didn’t have any samples but she put some in a little pot so I wouldn’t leave without it. THAT’S GOOD SERVICE.

So back to the foundation; the coverage is actually a light-medium, maybe a bit too light for me, but buildable. It has a nice finish to it, they describe it as demi-matte, and I actually quite like it, it looks fresh and natural on me. A serious contender to bump Mac’s crown off, I’ll keep wearing it and will make up my mind when my current bottle is over!

A couple of things to learn here:

I refuse to be mistreated, so I put a complaint with YSL and the department store. YSL is yet to reply. The department store, even though I knew from the offset that the beauty counter staff are not their direct employees, was extremely apologetic in their response.
How important it is to try products properly before investing in them. Each skin likes different products, so always worth bearing that in mind when thinking “uh, she said it is bad” or “she said it is great!”. Try it, that’s why they have samples. Just go in and ask!

What about you? Have you tried any of the foundations above? What did you think? Or do you love another brand?

Eye make up – daywear

I could not live without make up. Really. I cannot imagine my life without the colour it, literally, brings into my face. Not that I don’t like my clean face; there was a time I had severe acne and yes, and I would never think of leaving the house bare-faced. I think this is the reason I have such a passion for make up; I had to make it work really hard to cover my problematic skin. Today, its main purpose is not to hide, but to enhance my features.

Anyway… I thought I’d share some very basic, day wear eye make up ideas; I wear it to work pretty much everyday. It is usually a variation of what you see here, with different complementary colours, different products, but I tend to stick to this for the daily grind. It is usually a 5-minute job (providing I don’t mess up the eyeliner which I occasionally do).

Super mega staple eye shadows for me are MAC’s Expensive Pink, Nylon, Vex, Carbon, Naked Lunch and Brown Down and a light gold L’Oreal one. I mean, they are amazing, have a good staying power, truly everyday shades you can mix and match, build up or strip down for neutral daywear which will not fight with your lipstick, even if the chosen shade is red (like mine, most days).

I prep my eyes with the e.l.f or the NYX primers. Sometimes, I just brush Vex or Nylon on eyelids and brow bone and apply an eyeliner, across the whole lash line of just under half, for more sultry but at the same time lighter eyes.

I usually wear Vex (an iridescent pale silver, goes fabulously with blues and greens, but also with pinks) or Nylon (a shimmery very pale gold – and this my friend, goes with everything!) as bases, they look great on the brow bone.

Then from the outer corner of the eye and the crease, blending towards the inner corner, I apply the “middle” shade – this could be the golden L’Oreal, Expensive Pink or Smoke ‘n’ Diamonds. Most of the time, I stop there but sometimes, I use a darker shade, if dealing with warm tones, Brown Down (when I use Silver Ring, I don’t add anything darker, it is dark enough!) in the outer part of the crease and the corner, to give a subtle smokey effect.

When lining my upper lid, I sometimes do just 1\3 of the eye, leaving the inner corner clean and bright; sometimes, I do the whole thing, most of the times with a flick at the end – I am really into them now, I think it help flatters my eye shape.

Slap on the mascara on top lashes and eye liner to the water line. Now, depending on my mood (again!), I might do it just a third from the outer corner or the whole line; sometimes I add it to the lower lash line too and smoke with a pencil brush to make it less harsh, but any combination will look good! Promise!

At the moment, my favourite liners are Collection 2000 felt tip pen liner (amazing, and great value), MAC gel liner and Maybelline’s Lasting Drama gel liner, all of which I find easy to apply and long lasting. I love eyeliner, really do.

For the more grungy look coming for A/W12-13, I have been trying a chubby liner, from Miners, it is great for smoking after applying, with a pencil brush, but it smudges quite a lot, and its staying power is rubbish, sadly, as the effect is ace!

For mascara I am currently using Maybelline’s Falsies (one of my favourites).

So, what are your tested, quick day to day eye make up routine? It would be nice to know what works for other people!

This week’s outfits – 23/06/12

Hello all, this post should really be called “last week’s outfits”; I was so ill with flu that I wore pyjamas over two whole days of last week, so I only have three outfits to add!

Monday

Black bodycon skirt (H&M), black and white stripey blouse (Primark), prince frog ring (New Look), animal rings (Miss Selfridge), bracelets (all from Topshop), tri-colour shoes (Zara), MAC lipstick in Lady Danger (IN LOVE with it!!!).

Tuesday

Black trousers (Zara), mint green top with sheer back (H&M), believe ring (Disney Couture), tiger, leaf and birds rings (H&M), spike bracelet (New Look), mint green with silver toe cap shoes (Topshop), MAC Viva Glam lipstick in Nicki.

Wednesday

Green flower print dress (Primark), white embroided bolero (a shop in Brazil), gold leaf hair clip (Primark), triple snake ring (New Look), pearl ring (Primark), birds ring (H&M). nude sling back peep-toes (Topshop), MAC lipstick in Lady Danger (told you I am obsessed!).

And this is it for this week, you’ll be glad to know I won’t be posting any pyjamas pictures!!! I will soon be posting the latest! What about you? Excited about anything you have been wearing lately?

Product review: MAC Prep+Prime Skin Brightening Serum

I went for a makeover at MAC last week; I do this quite often, every time I need to buy foundation of powder, as the £25 booking fee, redeemable against products, is just the right amount to get these two beauty staples. Obviously, being me, I can never stop at that amount and damage is always done!

On this occasion, I had a wedding to attend, so nothing better than to have your make done and your lashes put on for you!

I was introduced to another product from their Prep+Prime range. I am no stranger to them; I have used them for ages – from primers and fix+ (another saver) to the setting and fixing translucent powder. But this is different.

The Prep+Prime Skin Brightening Serum is described as a “serum formulated to instantly brighten, smooth, firm and hydrate the skin while providing a plumper, more evenly toned finish to the skin. Natural anti-oxidants help to strengthen the skin against UV-related damage while MAC charged water ensures deep, long lasting hydration.”

At a first glance, what really appealed to me was the serum consistency – it is quickly absorbed by the skin and leaves a lovely sensation. It spreads well and you don’t need a lot to cover the whole face. The make-up artist described it as a treatment as well, as it will contribute to general skin brightening over time, with constant use. Another thing that drew me to it is that you use it before your primer.

However, what really made me fall in love with it were the visible results: used in conjunction with another new discovery (yeah, I may have gone a bit overboard), the Fortified Skin Enhancer in adjust, which works as a primer and has SPF 35, my skin looks more radiant, brighter, and the make up definitely lasts longer, looking good, hydrated and fresh.

So, I am sold. I have already incorporated it into my daily make up routine!

And just for the sake of it, here is the whole lot purchased; yes, I need to start exercising self-control!

Do you have any skin prepping products you swear by?

Stylist Beauty picnic

I was lucky enough to get one of the 100 tickets to the Stylist Magazine Beauty picnic which took place in Manchester Square gardens, in central London. The picnic was part of several events hosted by the weekly free magazine in the run up to their “London edition”, where they will give a fabulous insight into the capital we love so much.

I attended the event on my own, and I am used to going to this kind of functions solo, but I wasn’t very sure what to expect from the event, where you should take your favourite beauty product and you might be featured in the magazine.

The experience

Overall a delightful experience, just my type of event; I felt pampered, valued and special; the slogan on their massive, pretty sign, in the middle of the garden, really couldn’t sum it up better: “the art of the perfect picnic”. Indeed.

Check my pictures below!

The picnic

Manchester square is a beautiful garden in the centre of London, just behind Oxford street. Upon arrival, some extremely hospitable members of staff would welcome you, hand you a goody bag and a drink – M&S cava, Bucks fizz or juice – and offer you some picnic food: sandwiches, mini sausage rolls, quiches, cocktail sausages and later profiteroles and mini sweet tarts; all provided by Marks & Spencer.

The sight of the tent was glorious; and the fact the had a harpist playing throughout the event just made it even more special.

Treating the readers

Inside, a relaxing yet sophisticated atmosphere, created with flowers, candles, soft seating, mini manicures by Rococo, hand massages and make overs by Space NK. Everyone giving you the beauty treats was very nice and chatty, and so the Stylist magazine team – what a lovely bunch!

My first treat was a blissful hand massage with a beautiful red-head therapist who is also a ring designer (and she designs mermaid themed rings – mind you, she was the picture of a mermaid herself) and followed by a mini make over, with smokey eyes. Fell in love with a brow pencil from a brand I didn’t know, Kevyn Aucoin, so will have to check it out at Space NK.

The queue for the mini manis was quite long (can you blame the girls for going crazy over the amazing shades?), so I decided against it to appreciate the harpist and chat with other attendees, who seemed to be enjoying the event just as much as me.

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The goods

The good bag was expensive and in-line with the event’s caliber; it contained a lipgloss from Lipstick Queen (RRP £20), a nail polish from Rococo (RRP £12) and a bath/shower gel from Beautannia (RRP £30), all available to purchase from Space NK. Sadly, the lipgloss is not my colour and I haven’t really worn lipgloss for ages; the nail polish is a lovely hot pink, but I have too many of very similar shades, if not the same. Bath/shower gels are just not my thing, I don’t get excited by them (mainly because I cannot have a bath, as my already low blood pressure plummets and I faint, but I might try, it smells great!). Having said all that, I wasn’t expecting to get a goody bag, and it was very thoughtful of the organisers and sponsors to offer one, so the fact that I might not use all the products doesn’t even count for me as a minus. Also, they could make lush gifts, as they are very nice, luxury products on their own right – just unlucky I got the colours I did.

I absolutely love this type of events and wish I attended more; you always hear they happen, but I suppose it is just a matter of keeping our eyes peeled. And I shall.

Thank you Stylist magazine; I had a FAB time!

Eye make-up look challenge – purple and gold

This week I am trying something a bit more elaborate. A great friend of mine, Gisele, is doing a make up course in Brazil. She posts her practice eye make up and I decided to choose one and do my own version. I used the similar colours but made some changes and ended up with something a bit more dramatic and less subtle.

I started by applying a primer, then spreaded the gold pigment across the lid. Using a pencil brush, I outlined the shape with the purple shadow, blending the line closer to the inner corner into the gold and filling the shape at the outer corner. I added a couple of shades of purple to give it depth . I then blended the purple into the gold. The pigment was quite thick, so kinda “contaminated” the purple, it goes everywhere, so the purple became less intense! Eyeliner was applied, with an exaggerated flick on the outer as well as in the inner corner, creating a slick line.

TO get to this point everything was really smooth, and quicker than I thought. The final touches, however, took a while. I then applied eyeliner to my water and lower lash line, creating a very long flick, and applied some gold from the inner corner. Finally, I put some supra colour cream to fill the gap between the top and bottom lines flicks. Pigment was added to the brow bone for highlighting.

I had problems with my false eyelashes; this set was a new one I tried, and it was quite cheap, it was quite stiff to mould around the lash line. Plus, I couldn’t find my duo glue and used something else, it didn’t go in properly, so i removed the lashes and took ages looking for my glue. Found it, but my patience was gone. Then lash wouldn’t sit well, and I had to re-touch the liner, and it is a bit thick. So my lash application was far from perfect and I apologise for that, but I couldn’t deal with it anymore.

However, I was pleased with the results, and see many colour combinations working with this one. It is quite exaggerated, and I am not sure I would wear it out anywhere, but I liked the end result it. It was particularly good training defined shapes and lining techniques. And learning to always go for good quality eyelashes – mind you, I have applied those in four friends (I bought one of those packs with ten pairs) and managed to do it beautifully; it is only when applying on myself.

Products I used:

NYX loose pearl powder in Oro
Lancome purple eyeshadow (sorry, I cannot read the name!)
Coastal Scents purple eyeshadow from the 88 original palette
MAC pigment in Vanilla
NYX eyeshadow base in pearl
Smashbox Photo-op under eye brightener
Maybelline One by One volum xpress mascara
Kryolan supracolour in copper
Maybelline Studio gel liner and its brush
Duo waterproof eyelash glue
MAC brushes 208, 211, 219, 231, 239 and 275
A cheap pair of eyelashes (which I may avoid in the future!)

Level of difficulty:

Eye make-up look challenge – black glitter

This is bold! And sparkly…

So, knowing me, you would probably believe I love it and think it is perfect for me, right? Nah-ah.

Don’t get me wrong, I love the look, but I don’t think it is the best for my eye shape when looking at both eyes open, from the front; I played with it for a long time, made it thicker, thinner, higher, lower….and still didn’t quite look right, and I wasn’t going to post, but looking at the single eye pictures I thought that it was quite pretty.

It was very simple to put together, the problem was the mess – even though I was wearing the base plus glitter combo, it went everywhere… when I looked to the light, I could barely see, only sparkly reflections, which is pretty, but not very practical.

I first applied a primer and drew the desired shape faintly with a black eyeliner. I smeared a part of the shape with the base then applied the glitter with the wand, and did bit by bit until the whole shape was filled. If you have the glitter, you can use an old brush and eyelash glue to replicate this look. The mess will certainly be the same!

After that, I cleaned the area around my eye, with a cotton bud infused in eye make up remover. I use this to define the shape in the corner of the eye too, in any smoke, if you want it clean-cut.

Finally, I applied a light metallic eyeshadow and pigment to the brow bone to the beginning of the glittery shape. I was going to apply a set of lashes, but I tried and it was a bit too much, so I removed it!

It is sexy and striking (trust me, two qualities I love), but didn’t quite go my way and I will put this one down to experience!

Products I used:

Collection 2000 Glam glitter in black
MAC pigment in Vanilla
Sephora cream eyeshadow from palette
MAC eye kohl in smoulder
MAC brushes 239 and 208
Elf eyelid primer
Smashbox photo-op under eye brightener

Level of difficulty:

I am just giving two wands because of the mess! Blimey! To remove, it was even worse!

Eye make up challenge: lilac

I really like lilacs and lavenders on my eyes. It is a great colour for brown eyes and a great trick for the morning after that heavy night – it really helps brighten up tired peepers.

This is a look I find quite discrete, although the darker line gives it a little something of “special” occasion to it.

I first applied a primer and a light eye shadow on the brow bone, inner corner of the eye and halfway the lower lash line, from the inner corner. I swept the lilac across the lid generously and applied plain white eyeshadow just in the middle of the lid, for extra luminosity.

Then I drew the line following slightly above my eye socket with a darker shadow using a pencil brush, then blending it with a small shader brush. I also used this brush to apply the darker shade on my lower lash line, one-third from the outer corner and on the upper lash line, just below half from the outer corner too.

To finish off the look, I applied mascara and a set of lashes and put some light coloured pigment on my brow bone topped off with some sparkle.

Quite an easy look to achieve, it looks very pretty and, in my opinion, not too over the top.