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Monthly Archives: March 2010
Friday Face: Beauty on a Budget
Just for fun, I thought I’d make today’s Friday Face a budget production, so all of the products I’ve used are available from your local supermarket or chemist rather than from specialist beauty counters, and most are under £5, although I think the lipstick I used is closer to the £10 mark, making it the most expensive product of the lot.
Next week I’ll try out these products’ high-end sisters, but for today’s face, take a look under the jump for the product details!
Sephora Favourites Eye Studio: Get The Look – Cat’s Eye
I love this idea from Sephora, who’ve basically grouped together all of the products you’ll need to create a specific look – in this case a cat’s eye, with flicked eyeliner. Sure, if you’re a beauty addict you’ll probably have everything you need to do this already, but as with all of the Sephora sets, I find them a nice way to try out some new products I might not otherwise have picked up – and this would also make a nice gift for a makeup-loving friend.
The cat’s eye look is one of my favourites, so this kit was of particular interest to me, and it also contains one of my favourite product’s – Anastasia’s Go Brow, which has an eyebrow pencil on one end and a highlighter on the other. (I find this pencil is the perfect colour for filling in my brows, although the highlighter is a little dark for my skin). Along with that you also get Sephora’s own Long-Lasting Eyeliner in black, Stila’s Kajal Eyeliner in Pearl and Too Faced Mini Lash Injection in Pitch Black.
This costs $35 for the lot, and there are also versions which will help you create a Smoky Eye and a Natural Eye, too. Get them all at Sephora.
Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation, with fruit therapy
We’re used to seeing fruit extracts used in skin and hair products, so why not use them in a foundation, too? That seems to be the thinking between Bourjois’ Healthy Mix Foundation, which uses fruit to deliver a “radiance boosting” formula, and eight hours’ worth of hydration into the bargain.
The fruit’s not just in there for novelty value, though. Bourjois say they’ve used apricot for radiance, melon for hydration, apple as an antioxidant and ginger for energy. Sounds more like a smoothie than a foundation to me, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing, and apparently this has a bit of a fruity fragrance too, which would appeal to me, although perhaps not to everyone.
This comes in eight different shades, and retails for £10 at ASOS.com and anywhere with a Bourjois stand. There’s also a concealer to go with it, to make your face that little bit more fruity!
Dollface Reviews: Jelly Pong Pong Mascara and Lash Extension Set (a.k.a. false eyelashes)
“Lash extension set?” I hear you ask. “What’s that when it’s at home?” That’s what I asked, anyway, and the answer is that it’s our old friend, false eyelashes, which, in this case, come complete with a small tube of mascara, should you want to make them look even longer and darker than they already are!
These were sent to me by Jelly Pong Pong, and I had lots of fun trying them on today: it’s just a good job no one arrived at the door, though, or they may have wondered why I was so very overdressed for an ordinary Tuesday afternoon! These are easy to apply (or as easy as false lashes get, anyway: they’re always going to be a little bit on the fiddly side) and I love the look of them when they’re on. One word of warning, though: they don’t come with adhesive, so you will need to purchase that separately if you don’t already have some.
The kit is £15 and you can buy it here.
Celebrity Beauty: Nicole Richie at the 2010 Oscars
One of my favourite looks from the 2010 Oscars so far: Nicole Richie always looks effortlessly stylish, and her high-necked gown, up-do and flicked-out eyeliner gave her a bit of a retro look which really suits her. What do you think?
(See her dress here.)
Celebrity Beauty: Deborah Ann Woll at the 2010 Oscars
I love to see my fellow redheads on the red carpet, although I must admit, it’s not often I look at ANY celebrity on the red carpet and think how easily I could replicate their hair and makeup! True Blood star Deborah Ann Woll, however, went for a super-simple look at this year’s Oscars, with her hair pulled back into a low pony tail, and her makeup fairly neutral, other than the red lipstick. Simple, but stunning.
Celebrity Beauty: Kelly Brook at the 2010 Oscars
I really love this photo of Kelly Brook heading off to the 2010 Oscars: doesn’t she look beautiful? I’ll have lots more celebrity beauty shots from the ceremony for you soon, but in the meantime, head over to The Fashion Police to see what the stars are wearing on one of the biggest nights of the year!
Make Up Forever HD Microfinish Blush
Make Up Forever is one of the brands currently sitting right at the very top of my Things To Buy In Sephora This Year List. (It is available in the UK, but nowhere near me stocks it, and I’d rather see the colours in person before buying them online.) I had thought it was mostly the foundation I was interested in from this brand, but nope, it turns out that I’d actually quite like some of this High Definition Blush, too, thanks very much.
“High definition” has been one of those beauty terms that’s been floating around for a while now, and basically refers to products that create a flawless finish that will look good in extreme close-up, or “high definition”. Most of these contain light-reflecting particles for that soft-focus effect, and this one also contains mattifying powders, so it won’t look too shiny on.
As you can see from the image, it comes in a pump dispenser, and has a creamy texture. I’ve been using powder blush almost exclusively for the past couple of years, but I do like creamier products too, which I find can be easier to blend, and look more natural on. This comes in 14 different shades, so is definitely one I’ll want to see in person before ordering: if you can’t wait, however, it’s available at Sephora, where it’s $25.
Dollface Reviews: Lacura Beauty Volumising Mascara
No, that’s not a typo on the image: this mascara really does only cost £2.39, which has to make it one of the most affordable mascaras around, if not the most affordable. It’s by Aldi’s brand Lacura, which, you may remember, caused a bit of a stir last year with its Wrinkle Stop serum, and which has gone on to produce many more skincare and cosmetic products, some of which I’ll be reviewing here soon.
For now, though, the mascara, which Aldi sent me a couple of weeks ago, and which I’ve been putting through its paces ever since. This bills itself as a volumising mascara, but unlike most similar products, it comes with a slim brush rather than a thicker one. Perhaps because of this, I didn’t actually notice a whole lot of volumising, but I did find it easy to use and accurate, and the product goes on smoothly, and without any clumping.
As regular readers will know, my preference is for mascaras that lift and curl, as opposed to ones that add volume, so I’m always slightly biased when testing ones that don’t give me huge, spidery lashes! This is definitely more of a daytime mascara, and the look it creates is subtler than I would usually wear, but I was impressed with how nicely it goes on, and how long it lasts. I almost always wear waterproof mascara, which this isn’t, but it does a good job of staying put all day, and I haven’t had any running or smudging with it. I particularly like to use it on the lower lashes, because the shape of the brush is ideal for that, and there’s always just enough product on the brush to coat the lashes without making them clump together.
Overall, not a show-stopper, but definitely a good budget buy if you’re looking for a product to emphasise the eyes without spending a fortune. It’s available at Aldi.
NOTD: Bourjois 1 Seconde Nail Polish in shade 7
I know I said I’d probably buy another Barry M Nail Paint as my next nail polish, but I was in Superdrug earlier this week, and found myself headed to the till with this in my hand instead. I just can’t seem to give up red polish just yet, and I liked this one because it has a nice, cherry shade to it (it’s actually a little more pink than it looks in this photo) than most of the brighter reds I’ve been wearing recently.
I’d also been meaning to try Bourjois’ 1 Seconde polish for a while. As the name suggests, this claims to allow to you to paint each nail in just one second, and it has a wide, fan-shaped brush to help you do it. It didn’t quite take one second for me, but that’s probably because I fail at life nail polish application, and need to take more time than most. I also tend to go for narrower brushes, because they make it easier for me to stay within the “lines”, so to speak, and avoid painting skin as well as nail, but I was pleasantly surprised by how easy this was to use, and I’d imagine that if you’re a nail-polish pro, you’d probably find it even easier.
As for the polish itself, I’m wearing just one coat in the picture above, and was happy with that: it goes on fairly thick, but isn’t too gloopy, and there was no streaking or dragging. It had, however, started to chip around the edges of the nails by the end of the day, so I’d probably want to use a top coat with it next time to make it last a bit longer, but if you’re looking for something quick and easy, with a nice, deep colour, I’d definitely recommend it.
