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Category Archives: Wanted!
Beauty Wish List: Bobbi Brown Natural Finish Long Lasting Foundation in Alabaster
My foundation supplies are starting to run a little low, so I’ve been looking around for my next purchase, and think I may have found it: Bobbi Brown’s Natural Finish Long Lasting Foundation in Alabaster – a shade paler than pale!
This particular shades is actually available across all of Bobbi Brown’s foundations (I picked this one to add to my Wish List because it has a matt finish, and promises to soak up moisture – perfect for my shiny t-zone!), and is the main reason for my interest in this product. I’ve written before about the difficulty of finding foundation pale enough for my skin, but this shade is designed with us palefaces in mind. In fact, my only concern is that it may actually be too pale: I have a Bobbi Brown concealer in Porcelain, which is the next shade up (and used to be the palest Bobbi Brown offered. It’s actually about to run out too. Why must all of my products choose to die simultaneously?), and it’s very pale itself, so I’m both very impressed that the brand has thought to release a shade even paler than that, and a little worried that it might be pure white!
I don’t have a Bobbi Brown counter near me, unfortunately, so it may take me a bit of time to get round to testing this. Anyone else tried it and care to give me your opinion?
(Click here to buy it for £29)
‘Wash Your Face’ Wash Bag by Kiki’s
Happy new year, everyone!
I’m starting 2011 with an item that’s going straight onto my Wish List: this ‘Wash Your Face’ washbag, by Kiki’s. I’ve spoken about my love of products designed to look like mail (well, everyone likes mail, no?) many a time here, but this is a particularly nice example, and each one is a slightly different shade, and with subtly different markings, so no two are ever the same.
Although it looks like an old paper parcel, this is actually made of hard-wearing faux leather, and has a waterproof lining. If only I’d discovered it before my holiday last year!
This is £28: click here to buy it.
Beauty Wishlist: Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick in Fire & Ice
As a lover of all things (well, OK, most things) retro, I’d probably always have been interested in the re-launch of Revlon’s iconic ‘Fire & Ice’ lipstick: the fact that it just so happens to be that perfect shade of red is just an added bonus!
The shade was originally launched in 1952, and makes a limited edition comeback this year, as part of Revlon’s new ‘Fire & Ice’ collection. This is what they, rather endearingly, refer to as a “lips and tips” collection, as it features matching shades of the brand’s Super Lustrous Lipstick and Nail Enamel, in ‘Siren’, ‘Temptress’ and ‘Demure’.
It’s the re-issue of the original Fire & Ice, which comes in a vintage look silver case, however, that really interests me: I’ll have to see it in person to be sure, of course, but doesn’t it look like that perfect “red” we’re always searching for (and by “we”, I mean “I”, of course)?
I also like the ad campaign, featuring Jessica Biel:
This is available from now until January, so look out for it at Revlon stands everywhere, and bear in mind that it’s limited edition, so if you want to try it, you better act fast!
Clinique Repairwear Laser Focus Wrinkle & UV Damage Corrector
I can’t seem to pick up a magazine at the moment without reading a glowing review of Clinique’s new Repairwear Laser Focus Wrinkle & UV Damage Corrector, and the more I read, the more I start to foresee a £35 skincare purchase in my near future.
Actually, though, if this product lives up to the hype, I think £35 will be a bit a of a bargain. Essentially a serum, the difference with this one is that they’re claiming it performs almost the same function as a laser resurfacing procedure. True, the Clinique product is only about 63% as effective as a laser treatment, but when you consider the difference in price (laser treatments can cost hundreds, this is just £35), that’s still sounding fairly compelling to me.
The serum takes a three-pronged approach to making skin look younger: there are anti-oxidants to neutralize free radicals and allow the skin to repair itself naturally, peptides to boost collagen production and hep smooth fine lines, and repair enzimes to help make the skin stronger and more able to heal itself. Put all of this together and you get a product which, Clinique say, will start to make a difference to the skin after four weeks of twice-a-day use: give it 12 weeks, however, and you should start to see results comparable to laser resurfacing.
Now, I really, really want to believe that all of this is true, and most of the reviews I’d read so far do seem to be positive. As someone whose spent a lot more money than I’m prepared to admit to over the years on so-called “wonder products”, however, I’m naturally a little cynical. Somehow, though, I doubt that cynicism will stop me giving this a try at some point as the price seems reasonable for a serum, and downright cheap if it really DOES do everything it claims to.
Want to give it a try? Click here to buy it direct from Clinique: and if you do, I’d love to hear what you think of it!
(P.S. In a bid to simplify my Twitter accounts and make it easier to keep track of mentions, etc, I’m in the process of merging the Dollface Twitter account with my personal one, so please follow @foreveramber to continue to be notified about new posts here. And if you do, please say hi, so I can follow you back!)
Benefit The POREfessional minimizes the appearance of pores
I’ve been meaning to write about this product for ages now, but better late than never, I guess!
For most of my life, I’ve been plagued by open pores. As a teenager, I always assumed this was one of those temporary, teenage thing (like acne, say) that I’d one day grow out of, and be left with perfect, pore-free skin, but that day never came, and those pores are just as large and as open as they’ve ever been. To be honest, I’ve not really tried to do much about this, as I’ve always had more pressing beauty concerns on my mind, like trying to work out which mascara will make my eyelashes actually reach the ceiling, and that kind of thing.
The appearance of this product on the market did pique my interest, though. Its full title is “The POREfessional: pro balm to minimize the appearance of pores“, and that really tells you almost everything you need to know about this. The most important thing to note, however, is that it’s designed purely to disguise those open pores, not to treat them, so if you want rid of them forever (or to minimize them, rather: if you get rid of your pores altogether you won’t be able to sweat, and that won’t be pretty) this isn’t the product for you. If your content just to hide them a little better than foundation alone can generally manage, however, it’s a clear balm which can be applied over or under makeup, and which you can use throughout the day for top-ups as needed.
I’d be really interested to know how much of a difference this actually makes. Anyone tried it?
It costs $28, and you can click here to buy it from Benefit.
Smashbox release Photo Finish Luminizing Foundation Primer
I know, I know: I talk about Smashbox’s Photo Finish Primer A LOT here (and, just to give you fair warning, I have a version of this en route to me as I type this, which I’ll be reviewing soon), but in my defence:
1. It’s awesome.
2. They’ve just released this new “Luminizing” version.
Now, Sephora don’t give a whole lot of information about this product. From the description, I can see that the formula itself is the same as the other Photo Finish Primers, so we can expect it to feel like skin, and make our faces smooth, soft and ready for foundation. What’s different about this formula, however, is that it’s a colour described as “sheer golden beige”, which will apparently give skin a “beautiful luminous glow.”
I’m all for the beautiful luminous glow, but I suspect the “golden beige” bit will be a problem for my not-even-remotely-golden-or-beige skin, so this sounds like it’ll be much better on those of you who have that kind of skin tone naturally (or get it from a bottle). Either way, it’s always great to see new incarnations of my favourite primer: the more, the merrier, right?
This is $38 at Sephora.
Bourjois Rouge High-Tech Liptint
Bourjois Rouge High-Tech Liptint
As someone with naturally pale lips, lip tints always appeal to me: they can look and feel more natural than lipstick or gloss, and if you’re lucky enough to find one that’s long-lasting, they can stay put for much longer, too. It’s finding that perfect tint that’s the problem, obviously, but I’ve been reading some very good things about Bourjois Rouge High-Tech Liptint, and think it could be worth trying out.
This is water-based, and is designed to feel just like bare lips: in other words, you shouldn’t even know you’re wearing it. It should give you a natural-looking “bitten lips” look, and if the reviews I’ve read are to be believed, it should last for several hours at a time, too.
I’ll need to see this in person to decide which colour to go for, but if you want to buy online, it’s available at ASOS.com. where it’s £7.10.
BaByliss Professional 20 Piece Roller Set
Heated Rollers
So, I really want to buy some heated rollers.
At the moment, if I want to curl my hair, I generally just do it with my straighteners. I do have a set of curling tongs, too, but they have a fairly small barrel, which means it takes absolutely ages to do my full head, and, well, that REALLY hurts my arms. (Woe!) As does the straightener technique, actually: while the results aren’t bad, it’s all a bit fiddly and time-consuming, and what I’d really like is so be able to put in some rollers and leave them in while I do my makeup (and maybe walk around the house with a scarf on my head, like a 1950s housewife).
This search has led me to Amazon, where I discovered this 20-piece set by BaByliss. (They also make a 30-piece set, which I’d prefer, because I have a lot of hair to curl, but it’s currently out of stock unfortunately.) They look like more or less what I’m after, and other than the bright colours, are virtually identical to the rollers my mum used to have, and which I would regularly steal from her. These are £26.67, which isn’t too expensive either, but I’m still shopping around: anyone have a brand they’d like to recommend?
Beauty Wish List: NARS Orgasm Illuminator
It’s a little bit worrying that it’s only January 5th and I already have an “Absolutely-Must-Buy-ASAP” product to add to my Wish List, but when I tell you that the product in question contains the words “NARS Orgasm” and “illuminator”, you’ll probably understand why!
I’ve already talked a lot (ahem!) about my love from NARS Orgasm blusher: I have both the powder version and The Multiple, and I love the colour so much that it’s pretty much the only cheek colour I wear these days. (Note to self: be more experimental in 2010!). This new release from the brand takes that “suits everyone” pinky-peach, and uses it as an illuminator. Now, illuminators are one of my favourite products, so naturally this is a killer combination for me. It’s not cheap at $29, but I have a feeling it might just be worth it.
Like most products of this type, it can be used alone, mixed in with foundation, or to highlight the cheekbones (or anywhere else), and NARS say it will transform lacklustre skin. Sounds great to me: has anyone tried it? If you haven’t, but you want to, you can pick up a tube at www.sephora.com.
Wanted! Remington Spin Curl Hairdryer
A few weeks ago, my hairdryer decided to give up the ghost and breathed – or rather, blew – its last. Yes, it was very sad, but there was no time to dwell on it because I can't live without a hairdryer, so I quickly jumped onto the Boots website and ordered the cheapest one I could find, with next day delivery.
And almost straight away, I regretted it: not because there's anything wrong with the dryer I bought – there isn't- but because it was about a week later that I first heard about Remingston's Spin Curl Hairdryer.
Like almost every girl I know who has naturally poker-straight hair, I have spent much of my life wishing it was just a little bit curly, and doing everything in my power to MAKE it that way, right down to the disastrous teenage perm. (Note to Self: Never again.)
Nothing works. Or, to be fair, the things that DO work tend to be a little bit fiddlier than I like, so for the past few years I've just learned to love my straight hair. But now there's this.
This, as I said, is the Remington Spin Curl, and the idea is that you feed sections of your hair into that funnel bit by bit, where they will be "spun" until they finally emerge both dry and – get this – CURLY. Well no, not curly, exactly. Almost every review I've read of this suggests that they emerge looking a little bit like dreadlocks, but once you've separated them and combed them out, they are, indeed, curly.
The process does take a little longer than a straightforward blow-dry, and I suspect it's not as foolproof as it sounds, but one thing's for sure: I'd love to find out, wouldn't you?.
Buy: Remington Spin Curl Hairdryer, £29.14
