 Shoeperwoman |
 Dollface |
 Fashion Police |
 Follow Us |
 Become a Fan |
 Subscribe |
 Follow |
 Subscribe Via Email |
Monthly Archives: February 2010
Friday Face: End of February
It’s been a while since I last did a Friday Face post, and technically I’m not doing one now either, because this is actually my Thursday Face. Whoops. I’m not going to have time to post on Friday, though, so this one is actually a blast from the past, so to speak. Anyway, I’m wearing:
Philosophy ‘The Present’ Clear Makeup Primer
I hardly ever use this, but every now and then I’ll get it out and give it a whirl. Today I left plenty of time for it to soak in, which is the key to using this product, and I was pretty happy with it. Still not a patch on Smashbox, though.
Maybelline Pure Makeup Foundation in Porcelain Light
Definitely my favourite foundation of the moment, which means they’ll probably have discontinued it by the next time I’m in the States and able to re-stock.
Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer Kit and Under Eye Corrector PLUS a touch of Urban Decay’s 24/7 concealer, which is totally not designed for the under-eye area, but which is really thick and really pale, and, combined with the Bobbi Brown products, just about hides the shadows. (Although, that said, I’ve managed to get a little more sleep over the past couple of days, and have made an effort to drink loads of water, and they’re definitely looking better than they were at the start of the week.)
Jelly Pong Pong Nude & Improved Eye Shadow Base - I have this in ‘Au Naturel’, which is definitely not “nude” on my skin, but it is a pretty good base – my eyeshadow hasn’t budged all day.
MyFace Cosmetics Band of Gold Eyeshadow Trio and Blusher in Paradise Pink.
Urban Decay Glide-On Eye Pencil in Bourbon
Lancome L’Extreme – of COURSE.
Urban Decay Lipstick in Buzzkill and Lip Pencil in Wicked.
Oh, and please excuse the hair - it’s overdue a trim and is going through one of those “impossible to deal with” stages.
What makeup are you wearing today?
Clinique All About Eyes Serum De-Puffing Eye Massage
Like Clinique, I’m “all about eyes” at the moment, but sadly for me, my obsession with eyes is because in the ongoing battle of Dollface Vs Dark Circles, the dark circles are most definitely winning. More on this next week, when the Secret Weapon I’ve ordered to vanquish my foes (hopefully) arrives, but for now, here’s Clinique with a secret weapon of their own: their new All About Eyes Serum De-Puffing Eye Massage rollerball.
As the name suggests, this is primarily designed to de-puff the eye area, but it also claims to help with the dreaded dark circles. It’s a cooling, refreshing fluid which will soothe tired eyes, and the rollerball pen will also deliver a gentle massage.
Lately I swear I can actually FEEL the dark circles gathering under my eyes, a bit like stormclouds on the horizon. I’m possibly imagining this, but towards the end of the day it’s like I can feel the skin around my eyes thinking to itself, “Right, that’s it, I’ve had enough of staring at this screen all day, I’m going to start looking like ass, and I’m going to do it RIGHT NOW.” In fact, I can feel it happening as I write this. This product, then, sounds mighty good to me right about now. Anyone tried it? If you haven’t, but you want to, it’s $25.50 (if it works, I’d pay double that. I’m not joking.) at Sephora.
Dollface Reviews: Jelly Pong Pong Shadow Taffy – melted-down eye-shadow
Look, everyone, a present! But who is it from?
Well, it’s from Jelly Pong Pong, and it’s a box of their Shadow Taffy, which they describe as “Melted-down eye shadow in a unique taffy texture. Thicker than a cream, more long-lasting than a mousse, one smooth glide is all you need to coat your lids in superb colour. Infused with iridescence so that it doubles as a highlighter.”
Isn’t this the cutest packaging ever?
I love this little guy. I think I’ll call him Frank.
Dollface Reviews: Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser and Instant Skin Boost Tonic
Well, it may have taken me a long time to get round to trying Liz Earle’s famous Hot Cloth Cleanser, but I’ve now been using it for just under a month, and I’m happy to say it’s been worth the wait!
I was sent this by the folks at Liz Earle, along with the Instant Skin Boost Tonic from the range, so I’ve been using both products together, as a double-whammy for my skin. The Cleanse & Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser was the product I was most interested in out of these two, having read lots of glowing reviews of it over the years. It came with two muslin cloths, and the idea is that you massage the cleanser onto your face, and then dampen the cloth with hot water (it should be damp rather than wet), before using it to massage off the product.
I was actually slightly dubious about this at first. I’m used to dampening my skin BEFORE applying cleanser, and I tend to like products that you can work up to a nice lather, purely because they make you FEEL like you’re really doing a great job of cleaning your skin (whether you actually ARE, of course, is another matter altogether). So I was a little concerned that my skin wouldn’t feel properly clean after using this – a concern which turned out to be totally unfounded, because of course the application of the “hot cloth” does leave the skin feeling fresh and clean, although it’s very gentle on the face, and doesn’t make your face feel “scrubbed”, like some harsher products can.
I also really liked the muslin cloth, the state of which provides an easy way to tell how clean your skin is: no more makeup on the cloth means no more makeup on your face, either!
The fact that this product is so gentle is one of its big plus-points, and the time you spend massaging it in and then “polishing” it off is also a nice circulation booster. It does a pretty thorough job of removing makeup, too: I’m still using an eye-makeup remover to get rid of my waterproof mascara, but Cleanse & Polish gets rid of the rest very easily, including the residue of that mascara, some of which always ends up under my eyes when I’m removing it, no matter how thorough I think I’m being!
As I mentioned at the start of this review, I’ve been using this cleanser for almost a month now. In that time, I’ve had no breakouts at all, my skin has felt smooth and soft, and looks brighter. The other thing I’ve noticed is that the dry patches I tend to notice in the winter, particularly under the eyes, and around my mouth and nose, seem to have cleared up, and my skin feels healthier: this is probably the best thing about these products for me, because at this time of year my skin can look very dull and dry, which obviously isn’t a good look on anyone!
Bobbi Brown’s ‘Pretty Powerful’ campaign uses “real” women rather than models
The phrase “real women” is one that’s bandied about a lot at the moment in the world of fashion, with an increasing number of magazines choosing to use non-models for their shoots, in the belief that readers will find them easier to relate to.
Bobbi Brown has used a similar approach for her latest campaign, which is called “Pretty Powerful” and which also uses “real” women as opposed to professional models. Bobbi says:
“Pretty Powerful symbolizes my belief that all women possess natural beauty, and with the right tools, are empowered to a higher level of pretty: Pretty Powerful. After so many years of seeing similar ‘cookie-cutter’ beauty and fashion images in the media, I do hope that we will start to see a cultural shift towards a more realistic potential for all women.”
I will admit to having some issues with the phrase “real women” as it’s currently used in fashion magazines, where “real” is often just synonymous with “curvy”, and fails to acknowledge that women come in ALL shapes and sizes, but I do love the idea expressed here that we can ALL feel beautiful, and find something to celebrate about ourselves, regardless of our age, size or perceived flaws.
There are some more images from the campaign under the jump. What do you think?
NOTD – Barry M Nail Paint in #47 – Black
I don’t generally do Nail of the Day posts, because, well, most of the time it would be the SAME nails, EVERY day. I did, however, pop a sneaky little Barry M Nail Paint in with my Boots.com order this month, and I’m wearing it today, so I thought I’d show you.
This is #47, which, as you can see, is pure black. It goes on a little more watery than the other Barry M polishes I’ve used, so it’s definitely not a one-coat polish. A second coat makes it perfect, though, and there’s no dragging or streaking, so it’s easy to apply, even for nail-polish challenged people like me.
Like the other Barry M shades, this only cost me £2.95, and the polishes always seem to last well, with minimal chipping, so I’ll probably find myself tempted by another one in the not-so-distant future. Any recommendations?
Collection 2000 Big Fake Mascara
The blurb being used to market Collection 2000′s new ‘Big Fake’ mascara describes it as a provider of “flirtatious forties glamour”. Now, I love false eyelashes, and I also love all things 40s (I’m sure I don’t even need to mention that I love mascara, do I?) so this sounds almost as if it was designed just for me. There’s more, though: “This marvellous mascara will double your lash length in one fell swoop!” says the blurb. And even although, for some of us, that would mean eyelashes that reach our hairline, never mind our eyebrows, I’m pretty much sold.
I’m slightly out off by the fact that this is apparently Collection 2000′s biggest brush ever: I tend to prefer narrow mascara wands to big fat ones, but at just £4.99, I could be willing to give it a whirl, anyway. If you are too, it’s available from March 17th at Tesco, and from April 12th from other retailers.
Dollface Reviews: John Frieda Luxurious Volume Collection
A couple of weeks ago I was sent some of the products from John Frieda’s new Luxurious Volume range, which, I’m sure it’ll come as no surprise to find out, is designed to help make your hair look fuller, thicker, and just better.
Now, this was interesting to me, because while my hair isn’t particularly thin, it IS very fine, fairly long, and poker straight, which means it can have a tendency to look a bit lank. Add in some lovely, greasy roots, and you get that attractive “plastered to the head” look, which these products are designed to help combat.
I’ve been using the Thickening Shampoo, Thickening Conditioner and Blow Dry Lotion from this range: I don’t tend to use styling products, but for those who do, there’s also a hairspray, mousse and thickening texture paste to try. The shampoo and conditioner are pretty much self-explanatory: they’re both very lightweight, and the shampoo is designed to strip away product build-up (which can weigh down your hair and make it look flat), while the conditioner strengthens, repairs, detangles and reduces static.
This last point was particularly interesting to me, because I’ve been having a huge problem with static recently, as I quite often do at this time of year, and I’m pleased to say that these products have really helped tackle it. I wouldn’t say they make my hair look thicker, but it does feel much smoother after use, and there are no tangles at all. The greasiness that’s the bane of my life is also much more manageable when I use the shampoo, so so far, so good.
The real triumph of this line, however, is the Blow Dry Lotion. This is sprayed onto the hair (concentrating on the roots) before blow-drying, ideally with the head upside down. I’ve used it several times now, and each time I’ve been really impressed with the results: as soon as I flip my head the right way up, I can see a definite improvement in volume around the roots – so much so, in fact, that the short bits of my “fringe” are generally sticking straight up in the air, and I have to put some water on them or get out the straighteners to make them sit flat.
Because of the aforementioned greasiness, I generally avoid using anything AT ALL on my hair after washing, especially on the roots, because I always worry it’ll just weigh the hair down and make it look even greasier. That hasn’t been the case with this product, though: like the shampoo and conditioner it’s very lightweight, and can’t be seen in my hair at all – whew!
This range is available from all of the usual suspects, and Superdrug are currently selling it with prices starting from £3.99. Take a look here for details.
Product Review: Garnier Caffeine Anti-dark Circles 2-in-1 Roll-on – Fair
[Today's post is a Guest Post by Dollface reader, Laura, who shares my issues with dark circles under the eyes, and tried out Garnier's Caffeine Anti-dark Circles Roll-On to find out if it could provide a solution. Thanks, Laura!]
Laura writes:
For as long as I can remember I have had problems with dark circle and bags under my eyes. I spend a considerable amount of time in the morning trying to cover them up and use products in the evening which claim to make them disappear. This is why I was intrigued to try this product as it could potentially cover dark circles and help reduce bags, sorting out both of my problems! I bought it on a whim, having not realised that a 2 in 1 version of the caffeine roll on product even existed, and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised.
The product itself when applied to the under eye area is cooling and soothing and really helps to wake up sleepy eyes. It is easy to apply thanks to the roller ball mechanism and it is not messy or gloopy. I think the consistency is perfect as I find some other creams for this type of problem can be very thick and make under eye areas shiny until they fully sink in- not a good look for anyone!
Initially I was apprehensive about buying the roll on as it contained tinted moisturiser. I have very fair skin, which does not tan and tends to show flaws such as bags (etc) much worse than if I was olive skinned. Many tinted moisturisers simply do not suit my skin tone and leave me with an orangey glow. But I am pleased to say that the lighter version of this product blends into my skin and suits my tone very well, it is a nice surprise to have a product like this work on my fair skin, especially as it is only made in two shades, fair and medium.
Now for the most important part of the review, does it shift the bags and dark circles? I’m pleased to say that for me it has made a significant difference to my under eye bags and dark circles. I have used it for two weeks and found that I look more refreshed and awake as well as reducing the appearance of my dark circles. I only hope it continues to work its magic further as the results after 2 weeks has been quite wonderful, I might even look perfectly airbrushed after 4 weeks! I wish!
I very rarely feel the need to write a review of beauty products but this is just too good not to recommend. It is just what I’ve been looking for and is doing a wonderful job. The price tag is somewhere around the £9.99 mark and for a tinted moisturiser and anti dark circle serum it is a bargain. If I didn’t know it, I may even believe it to be a more premium beauty item. I am so impressed that I have bought the original version of this to apply at night time! (no point wasting the tinted version going to bed!)
If your still not convinced of how good it is, let me tell you that I no longer feel the need to wear my YSL touch éclat during the day anymore as the product is just as good if not, dare I say it, better!
You can currently buy it at Boots online and in stores for £9.99 (15ml)
Benefit launch “Take a picture…it lasts longer…” glimmering body balm
Another new launch from Benefit! This is called “Take a picture…it last longer!” and is described as “shimmering, glimmering body balm [which] adds a seductive golden-pink sheen to legs and body.” So it basically sounds like a kind of High Beam for the body, then.
That’s just fine by me: I can’t really imagine using something like this anywhere other than on the legs, but a bit of well-placed shimmer can really help define the leg muscles, and bring dull, pasty skin to life. It sounds like the kind of thing that might come in handy on those days (or nights) when you don’t want to wear tights, can’t be bothered to apply fake tan, but do want to give your skin a little bit of a glow.
It comes with a ‘Bathina’ velvet puff for application, and costs $28.
