Category Archives: Uncategorized

Urban Decay’s Eyeshadow Primer Potion is generally considered to be one of those ‘Holy Grail’ beauty products, and with good reason too, as far as I’m concerned. It’s actually the only one of their primers I’ve tried, although I’m a huge fan of the brand in general, and am now really keen to try all the ones in this special edition set. (So if someone would just buy it for me, that would be great, thanks…)

The set contains:

- 1 oz Complexion Primer Potion – Brightening
- 1 oz Complexion Primer Potion – Pore Perfecting
- 0.34 oz Eyeshadow Primer Potion
- 0.3 oz Eyelash Primer Potion
- 0.07 oz Lip Primer Potion SPF 15

I’m – predictably – particularly interested in the eyelash primer, which adds tiny fibres to your lashes in order to help build length and volume. The two complexion primers sound right up my street too, though.

This is $114 worth of products for $65, so although it seems like a bit of an investment, if the eyeshadow primer is anything to go by, I’m sure it’ll be a good one. Get it at www.sephora.com.

I guess it’s fitting that my favourite mascara so far of all the brands in the Sephora Lash Stash pack should be the Sephora brand mascara itself.

That doesn’t mean it’s about to replace Lancome in my affections of course, because this product didn’t win the Mascara War, but as a good, everyday kinda mascara, I liked it: and I liked it a lot better than many of the “name” brands I’ve used, too.

This is Sephora’s Atomic Volume, and as you can tell from the name, it’s designed to create, well, volume. And it does. Here’s what Sephora have to say about it:

“An innovative tubular brush applicator with a lash-lengthening comb perfectly separates lashes for a full, sexy flutter.”

Now, I can’t comment on how “innovative” this actually is, but for me at least, the brush is definitely the best thing about it: the picture here doesn’t really do this product justice, because I felt it did a great job at fanning my lashes out and separating them. It’s one of those long, narrow, rubbery wands (my favourite kind), and it was also great on the lower lashes, which is where a lot of mascara wands fail, being either too thick or too thin to target those fine hairs.

The mascara itself can be prone to a little bit of clumpiness, but overall it’s easy to apply, and only needs a couple of applications to make the lashes look thicker and fuller. I didn’t bother curling my lashes in the first picture though, because the first couple of times I used this were enough to tell me there was no point – this won’t hold in curl, and that’s the thing that would stop me buying it, but if curl isn’t too important to you, you can pick this up for $16 at www.sephora.com

Along with its friend, mascara, foundation primer is one of my beauty obsessions, so even although I'm sure I've already found the Holy Grail of Primers, that doesn't mean I'm not capable of having my head turned by a new kid on the beauty block.

Today, that new kid happens to be Bare Escentuals 'Prime Time' oil control primer, and the product description speaks of shine free, non-greasy skin that's smooth, soft and flawless, and just perfect for foundation.

Well, to be completely honest with you, there are days when you could see your face in, er, my face, so that all sounds good to me. It's not really claiming to go to places other primers don't, but it is "clinically proven" to control shine all day. Fancy!

BUY: Bare Ecentuals Prime Time Oil Control Foundation Primer, £21

I'm sure I've mentioned my upcoming vacation often enough for it to come as no surprise that I'm here to bid you adieu for a couple of weeks, as I head off to the sun to recharge my batteries and shop at Sephora.

I have an early flight on Thursday morning, so I'm taking tomorrow off to pack and, er, sleep. Stay beautiful everyone, and I'll see you (through the computer) when I get back - or possibly sooner if I can't resist showing you my Sephora haul!

I’m getting ready for my vacation today, so I leave you with a couple of guest posts from makeup-artist-in-training, Kerry Walker. Kerry writes…

One of the best discoveries I made while studying to become a make up artist, is foundation primers. Prior to this, I was strictly a ‘moisturiser only’ type of girl. “These fancy primer potions are just a have”, thought I. Having not used any, I wondered what kind of a difference a primer could possibly make? But once I did try them, it was a bit like that scene in The Wizard of Oz, where everything suddenly becomes colourful (but without the singing little people and the ruby slippers. *Sigh* ruby slippers…).

 A primer acts as base coat layer to help your foundation go on more smoothly and stay put for longer. It fills in fine lines and large pores and makes skin silky smooth and lovely and matte. Just like you wouldn’t paint your house without a base coat, if you want a long-lasting, flawless looking foundation application – you should use a primer. But be warned, not all primers are created equal. Some are quite drying and some are just glorified moisturisers. The ones I prefer contain a small amount of silicone and look like a gel. Smashbox Photo Finish  is a good example of this – however, it’s very pricey. Shop around, some make up companies make very good “photofinish-like” primers for a fraction of the cost.

You can apply a primer with a sponge, a brush, or just your fingers. If you do use a sponge or a brush, make sure you only use that one for primer and use a different one for your foundation. Foundation and primer don’t mix very well. Similarly, after you’ve applied your foundation, you should wait until it has fully dried before applying foundation. Once the primer has dried, you can apply your liquid, mineral, or powder foundation and your beautiful Dollface is good to go!

[Kerry Walker]

Beauty confession time: does anyone actually do that whole "apply foot cream then wear socks to bed" thing we're all supposed to be doing to keep our feet nice and soft? Because trust me, I've tried, but at this time of year even Dollface Towers is too warm for bed socks, so I always end up putting it off until "tomorrow", which, as we know, never actually comes, does it?

These 'Heal-a-Heel' socks by Go Girl, however, are designed to address this very problem, allowing you to heal your cracked heels without having to sacrifice your comfort in bed. As you can see, they're minus a toe, which means they'll probably look a little "surgical" when you wear them, even despite the pink colour, but at least they won't make your feet too hot. The heel also contains a "moisture zone" in the heel, which helps to lock in moisture – just slather on some of your favourite foot cream before you wear them for best results. Apparently this moisture zone will last for around three months, and they can be hand washed in soapy water.

BUY: Heal-a-Heel Moisture socks, $24