More New Things, feat. MUFE and Stila

Subtitle: "Natural Light, What Natural Light?"

Let me introduce you to Make Up For Ever Mat Velvet + foundation in shade 15 Alabaster, and Stila Convertible Colour in Lillium, my latest purchases.

I acquired the foundation from Precious About Makeup. Miscellaneous influences: rave reviews on Youtube, such as Tiffany's; noticing it on Cami's wish list; promisingly pale swatches on Glossed in Translation. It wasn't cheap, but I kind of impulse bought one evening. Very pale, pink undertones, matte - this had potential. And I'm pleased to say I am in love with it.

This is only the second foundation I've ever had that I can apply straight from the bottle AND IT MATCHES (the other being the Illamasqua Light Liquid Foundation in LF115). Immediate plus. I applied it on top of the Murad mattifying primer (double whammy) in a morning rush as I was leaving for a weekend in Oxford - I know, sensible timing. But this stuff went on like a dream (I used my fingers to apply it), looked great - and more importantly still looked great by the evening. No powder required at all, and it didn't look cakey. My friend couldn't tell I was wearing foundation at all - which isn't to say this doesn't even out the skin and look pretty flawless (hideous cliche but it's true). Genius. So far, worth the price tag. Now if only MUFE was a bit easier to come by, I think we'd be entering Holy Grail territory here.

And in Oxford, I bought more makeup. Obvs. Specifically, this Stila cream blush. Well, the Boots on Cornmarket had a new Stila stand, next to the Orly stand (I bought Rage, though I haven't applied it yet!), and I gravitated towards these. I do love me a good cream blush, and Anna had mentioned this one a few times on her blog, so I had a swatch and went for Lillium, a warm pink.

The packaging is a winner - fairly small and light, but substantial-feeling and cute (with a mirror, always a plus since I use cream blush to touch up during the day). The formula is very different to my favourite cream blushes by Topshop, which are cream-to-powder and set matte - this is almost sticky, and never dries completely matte. "Dewy", I believe, is the relevant makeup cliche buzzword here! When I first applied this I didn't realise how pigmented it was and had to rectify the situation with foundation and powder, so beware. I found this a tad tacky to blend with fingers; it works better with a brush, like the MAC 188. So I don't think I'll be trading in my Topshop blushes anytime soon, but this is a delightful addition to my horde of blushes!

If you have any recommendations for cream blushes do drop me a comment, as I'd love to try some other brands (any excuse!). I have my eye on Illamasqua, but am open to suggestions!

Till next time,

Josephine x

PS. Speaking of Topshop cream blushes, there's a new one in town: a pink called Prime Time. I need.

My NARS Collection

I hesitated to use the word "collection" in the title, since I only have seven products from NARS (I know, "only"), and I'm determined not to let this spiral to a ludicrous number (see: my issue with MAC lipsticks and eyeshadows). I have my eye on a few more shades of blush - namely Mata Hari, Douceur, and Deep Throat - and perhaps the Sheer Glow foundation (in Siberia, naturally), but that's about it.

So here are the products I've accumulated thus far:

Two blushers, a single eyeshadow, a lipstick, and three Pure Matte lipsticks. And what shades did I plump for, I hear you cry?

Desire (L) and Sin (R) blushes; Lhasa single eyeshadow

Sin has already featured in my "everyday face" post, and it's still the resident blush in my daily makeup bag. It's a gorgeous shimmery plum colour, with a smooth buttery formula, which looks surprisingly natural on my pale pink skintone - especially lovely for cold weather.

Desire is a straight-up matte pink, leaning on the cool side. It has good colour pay-off, though it's not as smooth as Sin when swatched (probably due to the matte formula). I can't say I've used this anywhere near as much as Sin so far; I do love a good dolly-pink cheek, which this delivers when applied with a light hand, but I'm not in love yet. I shall persevere! I also managed to resist buying the new Gaiety blush from the Spring collection, after swatching it and finding it was just a cooler, less pigmented version of Desire. Sad face. Fingers crossed NARS isn't heading down the MAC "selling you the same colour three times over" road...

But that's not to say the Spring collection didn't have its redeeming features. Far from it, since it features my new favourite eyeshadow, Lhasa. I knew as soon as I saw the promo pictures online that I HAD to have this. Lavender grey? YES. (This is a situation for capitals, shouty and obnoxious though they are, trust me.) I haven't been seriously tempted by any eyeshadows from the brand before, as all the neutrals looked a bit warm for my taste/face. But this is a stunning heathery/misty grey (which clearly brings out the lame poet in me), just perfect for a subtle smoky daytime eye. It is also destined to be partnered with MAC Vex, which is possibly my all-time favourite MAC shadow. Success.

[Edit: Sabrina at The Beauty Look Book has a lovely post with swatches of Lhasa and other NARS shadows, including the new 413 BLKR eyeshadow which looks suspiciously similar. Why, NARS, why??]

And look, I did swatches! Crappy crappy swatches, but still. Taken in daylight, no flash.

Top to bottom: Lhasa, Sin, Desire

 Sin isn't looking particularly inspiring here, particularly because the shimmer doesn't translate well onto my freakish giant hand (and it isn't this brown in person, more cool plum), but it's definitely worth a look next time you're at a NARS counter.

And now for the lipsticks:

L-R: Schiap, Carthage, Valparaiso, Vesuvio

And on my luminously white arm (these are literally one swipe each, that's how pigmented they are):

Top to bottom: Vesuvio, Valparaiso, Carthage, Schiap

Schiap was my first ever NARS purchase, which I bought in Selfridges after an assessment day last summer. Hot, sticky, and knackered, I made a beeline to Oxford Street as soon as the last hideous business analysis exercise was over, and bought the brightest damn lipstick I could find. Hot pink lip products are my weakness (okay, one of my weaknesses!). This is a fabulous example of my particular favourite, the matte blue-pink lipstick.

Carthage is a recent acquisition from Charlie's blogsale. I'd been eyeing it up for a while, but couldn't justify it full price given its similarity to Schiap - then when I came across it in a blogsale I couldn't resist! It's a slightly warmer, lighter pink than Schiap, perfect for summer. And of course it's in the truly excellent Pure Matte formula, which swipes on in seconds, is completely matte, and wears for an age - what more could you need?

Valparaiso also comes from the Spring collection, though why they thought this gorgeous, dramatic purple-berry shade was appropriate for spring I do not know. But I love it for the wintry weather we're having at the moment. The sales guy tried to entice me to buy a matching lipgloss, blasphemy! I would never sully its matte perfection with a tacky gloss.

And finally, Vesuvio - because much as I love pink lipsticks, you can't go wrong with a classic neutral bright red. You can see I'm not a big fan of subtle lip colours, let alone the dreaded nude lip - which looks great on some people, but makes me look absolutely terrible. (That's not to say I didn't purchase a few paler lipsticks, like the raved-about Hue and Creme Cup, during the first flush of my MAC addiction, but they now sit completely unloved in my makeup drawers, oops!)

So, if you enjoy bold matte lip colours, I highly recommend the Pure Matte line - and there are some pretty-looking more natural shades as well, if that's more your bag. However, I've got to say my recent lipstick acquisitions have somewhat cast these into the shade (shocking, I know!). Yes, I am the proud owner of three(!) Rockalily lipsticks, which I've been wearing nonstop since I got them. Definitely a blog post in the making!

Till next time,

Josephine x

My Blush Collection - Illamasqua

[EDIT: Swatches coming shortly!]

Yesterday was another thrilling day at law school. Today, I'm taking a break from revising EU law to bring you another instalment of my blush collection: Illamasqua.

L-R, top to bottom: Katie, Lover, Sin, Hollow Cream Pigment, Morale, Hussy

As you can deduce from its dusty state, Katie is definitely a favourite. I ordered this shade and Hussy from the Debenhams website one day last summer while bored to tears in the library, hunched over an essay on early modern theatre and legal culture. Katie was the success story of that order: she's a pale baby-pink, fairly neutral in tone, with a matte finish (as always, Temptalia has clearer pics of the product in the pan, but on this occasion I think KarlaSugar's swatch is more helpful on colour). I think it's pretty pigmented, but obviously since it's such a light pink it's unlikely to work well on darker skintones. On me (cool-toned, lighter than MAC foundations - srsly MAC?) it can be built up to a fairly noticeable pink flush, or kept very subtle. Perfect for spring, but I wear this all the time anyway. It has the distinctive Illamasqua blush scent, which is a bit like cake batter. The packaging is OK, a bit bulky and can be fiddly to open but it's nice to be able to see the colour through the lid.

And then we have Lover. This was purchased in Selfridges after I walked in in search of a peachy blush. I never go for peach, so I was interested to try one. This is a delightful fairly pale true peach colour, again matte (see KarlaSugar again - I should really learn to master this swatching business, but there's never any natural light - excuses excuses). I'm still not 100% convinced it works on my colouring, but it makes for a fun change in spring/summer with a peachy lipgloss like Revlon Super Lustrous Coral Reef.

Next up, the colour formerly known as Sin. At least, I think that's what it's called - there's no name on the back. [A quick trawl through my email inbox reveals it is indeed called Sin.] I picked this up in Illamasqua's summer sale for £10, since I was looking for a purple/plum blush. When it arrived I was a bit disappointed it wasn't more blue-toned - it's definitely more plummy than purple - but I've since grown to love it, and wore it for about a month straight in November. It looks terrifying in the pan, in the way of most Illamasqua blushes, and it is very pigmented, but with my trusty MAC 188 you get a surprisingly natural-looking cheek, which of course can be built up for more drama. I don't know if this shade is still available, but it's worth a look if you fancy wintry, plummy cheeks - don't be put off by its vampy appearance in the pan, as it does blend out to a pretty raspberry colour!

Moving on to the next row, we have Hollow cream pigment. Not a blush, but it crept in there any way because I originally bought it for contouring purposes. It's a pretty good colour: a cool brown/taupe, with no hint of red, with a completely matte finish. Certainly closer to the shade I want than MAC Harmony blush. Quite a stiff cream formula, which makes using a brush a bit tricky - fingers are probably best with this, for application if not blending. Charlotte from LipGlossiping has also tried it out as a contour, and wasn't completely convinced. Contouring is definitely something I haven't got the knack/face for personally, and I rarely bother with it on an everyday basis. I also use Hollow alone on the eyes for a very neutral, polished look, if I'm wearing bright lips/cheeks, and it's a pretty good base for other shadows if you so choose.

Morale is one of the brand's two non-matte blushes, released with the Theatre of the Nameless collection last year. The other one is Ambition, a neutral pink, which I don't own (yet). Morale is a very blue-toned pink, almost violet when swatched heavily, which may make it less than ideal for warmer skintones which suit gold/peach shades. This kind of colour has my name written aaaall over it, however, and it's very pretty on the cheeks. The finish is shimmery, not glittery - much as I love Illamasqua's main line of matte blushes, I think this finish is a great variation. I find it very pigmented; however, when my mother used it, she complained it didn't show up on her cream foundation. Since she's also pretty pale, I find this bizarre - in my experience, blush usually sticks more to foundation, especially of the dewy/cream variety, and refuses to blend. Maybe best to get an MUA to apply this over your usual foundation before purchasing. I also find that you get A LOT of powder kicking up when you swirl a brush in this (also true of Katie, but not to the same dramatic extent), which is a shame. Though in my opinion the gorgeous colour alone makes this blush worthwhile!

Lastly, Hussy. Weirdly, I think I've barely worn this since I acquired it. It's a bright, very warm pink, which KarlaSugar aptly describes as "watermelon". Looking at it now, I'm mentally resolving to WEAR THIS when summer comes around - it looks rather lovely! I think it was overshadowed by the more demure Katie when both arrived last summer. It does blend out more red than pink, which is a bit of a shame since the colour in the pan is stunning, but since I wear MAC Frankly Scarlet this shouldn't put me off. Must use more, and see if I can fall in love with it.

While I definitely have no plans to acquire any more matte blushes from the brand (though you know what they say about the best-laid plans), I do have my eye on Ambition, the other shimmery blush. I'd also like to try a colour from the cream blush line - I'll have to pop by Selfridges/the lovely Beak St store at some point to try out the cool pinks (naturally), and maybe the famous Rude. Lies, the pearlescent pink, also looks like it'd be worth a swatch.

And now I will stop fantasising about blush and get back to work! Next up: my two (oh yes, I now have two) NARS blushes.

Till next time,

LL x

My Blush Collection - mainly Topshop and MAC

Let me start by saying that I absolutely love blush. It's probably one of my favourite makeup items, both to buy and to wear. I'm very pale with very dark hair, so generally without a bit of colour to my cheeks I can look a bit Twilight-esque (if you'll forgive the reference).

So here are all the blushes I own, on my delightful rumpled duvet (I should really iron more often). In common with a lot of makeup addicts, I don't intentionally "collect", but have somehow ended up with far more blush than I could probably get through in a lifetime (worrying thought). And I still have lots of blushes on my "to swatch with a view to purchasing" list (catchy) - see previous post on this topic.

For years I owned only one blush at a time. I know, I know - those were the days. I think the inaugural blush was one of the Bourjois pot ones, possibly in Rose d'Or or similar, and I actually used the horrible little brush it came with. A good look, I'm sure. I then moved on to the L'Oreal Blush Delicieux, one of which (in the shade Bois de Rose) has survived and is pictured above (small pink square, next to the lonely NARS). I didn't buy a new one until I'd used up the previous one - what kind of crazy talk is that? Anyway I'm pretty sure L'Oreal don't make these any more, so I'll spare you a picture of the dregs I have left.

Then my friend gave me Benefit Posietint for my birthday, which I adored, and which I still think is a good product. It's not everyone's cup of tea - if you don't blend pretty speedily you end up with radiant and unshiftable pink dots on your cheeks, for one thing - but I find it gives a gorgeous natural pink flush which lasts for ages. I don't reach for it much except when it's hot (so that'll be never), but I did finish my original one and repurchase. Another downside: the pink shiny layer on the container does flake off extravagantly with use, leaving the product looking distinctly grotty. I also have the mini samples of Posietint and Benetint which came with Glamour sometime over the summer - can't say I'm overly enamoured of Benetint, a bit too ferocious and ink-like even for my blush-loving tastes.

Then came the release of Topshop makeup (in May 2010, I think - in the run-up to my finals, which of course led to copious amounts of time spent browsing the internet in mild panic). I bought the much-hyped Neon Rose cream blush, and now own four:

L-R: Neon Rose, Pinch, Flush, Nutmeg
These are lovely! Cute and convenient packaging, though it does get a bit dirty with use; handy mirror for touch-ups (I've had Flush in my everyday bag for the past month); great cream-to-powder formula which is matte (I love a matte blush) and blends easily. I just apply and blend with my fingers, mucky pup that I am, as I think using a brush like the MAC 188 would be more hassle than it's worth with these.

Neon Rose and Flush are both listed on the Topshop website, but I'm pretty sure more shades are still stocked in the larger stores. Neon Rose is a brilliant spring/summer colour, which can be a bold, vivid coral or worn blended and (fairly) subtle. Pinch is the one I wear least, since it's easy to overdo this intense raspberry shade, but with the right application it's a lovely pink. Flush is a toned-down version of Neon Rose, a bit more pink and milky, which gives a great day-to-day healthy glow (cliche ahoy), easy to slap on on the train in the mornings! And finally Nutmeg, which as you can see from the pan has had a lot of love in the past - a browny-rose shade, which I imagine NARS Douceur to be like. Very natural, if the slightest bit muddy on my skin tone (this is probably just personal preference, as I like dolly-pink cheeks!). I would definitely buy any new shades released in this formula, especially since they're only £6 each - bargain!

I'll spare you my deeply amateurish swatches taken with flash, and instead direct you to the excellent Delicate Hummingbird, who not only has the blush collection of my dreams but takes better photographs too.

Next up we have MAC.

Clockwise from top left: Something Special; So Sweet, So Easy; Frankly Scarlet; Harmony

Before I get started, I should point out that the frankly awe-inspiring KarlaSugar has amazing swatches of pretty much all MAC blushes known to man/woman. I'm sure you knew that already, but there it is again. As you can see, I actually don't have many MAC blushes. Which is especially surprising, given the sheer volume of MAC lipsticks and eyeshadows I own. To be honest, the appeal of MAC blushes somewhat eludes me, and I'm not keen to change that if I can help it. I did once have a flirtation with the freakishly bright Pro shades, but couldn't face the prospect of buying (and inevitably filling) a palette. Long may this abstinence last!

I think Harmony was my first purchase out of these, ordered online (never a wise move) because I fancied trying my hand at contouring. Having a round face without much definition (which is a nice way of putting it), cheekbones were always the dream, so I was prepared to spend some cash in pursuit of them. Harmony is a decent contour colour for us pale girls - fairly cool in tone, and not overly pigmented. The beautiful Julie uses it to great effect in lots of her looks. However, I've never quite got on with this, and have since taken to using the Illamasqua Cream Pigment in Hollow whenever I have a stab at contouring (which is rarely). Then came Frankly Scarlet, bought after an MUA in the Covent Garden store applied it, which I do love and use. With a light hand and a 188. For wintry Snow White cheeks, or blended even more for a dolly flush.

The two other shades are the new-formula Cremeblend blushes. I bought Something Special on a whim in Debenhams one grey, rainy "summer" day last year, and it really is rather nice: a milky pink coral, for a peachy cheek that's perfect for spring. So Sweet, So Easy was out of stock at the time, so of course after playing with the tester I had to order it online. Less essential than Something Special (but of course), it's a very pale cool-toned pink, not overly pigmented but fun for a subtle, fresh girly look. I will definitely be breaking out both of these colours when (if) the warmer weather rolls round.

A couple more MAC cheek products:

L-R: MAC Lightscapade MSF and Azalea Blossom Blush Ombre

I didn't own a powder highlighter, so I picked up Lightscapade from a recent collection, the name of which escapes me, after hearing lots of good things about it. I do use it daily, and it's a pretty highlight - not too gold for my skintone, which is a plus - but I can't help thinking MAC Dazzlelight eyeshadow does much the same thing for less. Ah well. And then we have Azalea Blossom, which I bought in a blog sale from the lovely Kelly, because Cami had raved about it and it looked purdy. It is purdy - a delicate lilac/pink, which puts it squarely in the realm of Blush-I-Must-Have - but somehow I'm not quite as love with it as I thought I would be. If you fancy picking it up, it's currently available in the Daphne Guinness collection.

So, having written over 1000 words on blush (the mind boggles), I will take a break here, probably have a cup of tea, and cover Illamasqua, my single NARS blush and a few odds and ends in another post.

And finally, I now have a renewed desire to wear a different blush every day, as well as buy several new ones. Success.

Till next time,

LL x