Collection 2000 Lasting Colour Lipstick in Berry Blast

After creating all of those Illamasqua looks with the Fundamental palette, I was feeling really creative! As you may recall, this look was my favourite from the whole 'Human Fundamentalism' storyline:-


However, it was only after I had put away my Fundamental palette to give it some rest, that I realised I have a lipstick rather similar to the one used on the model in this picture. I wasn't sure just how similar it really was, so there was only one way to find out: swatch it and blog it! Ha.

I therefore present Collection 2000 (now known as Collection) Lasting Colour Lipstick in Berry Blast. I'm not sure if this shade has survived the repackaging of these lipsticks since the company's name change, but you will probably still be able to find it somewhere.

And here's how it looks on my lips:-

I used my hard angle brush to get a sharp, neat line. I then mattified the lipstick with the purple powder eyeshadow in the Fundamental palette. I then highlighted my cupid's bow like the model's in the Illamasqua pic using Surge liquid metal again, from the Fundamental palette.

So what do you think? I think this is pretty similar to the one used in Illamasqua's picture, but I'm such a sucker for their products, that I'd probably still buy their version anyway!

I promise this is now my last post on the Fundamental palette!

....for now, anyway!

Illamasqua Fundamental Palette- Three Different Looks

As promised, here is my in depth review of the Illamasqua Fundamental Palette. I try not to do what a lot of other blogs do, which is swatch products on my hand/arm. I know as a blog reader, the thing that I want to see the most, and find most useful is actually seeing the product in action. Therefore, I am going to show you three eye looks I created with tbe Fundamental palette, so you can see just how the four shadows inside work together:-

As a reminder, here is the palette again:-

Without flash

With flash

From l-r clockwise: Powder Shadow in Hype, Liquid Metal in Surge,

Powder Shadow in Inception, Cream Pigment in Bedaub.

So, I was playing around with the palette and I knew straightaway I wanted to recreate something akin to the look Illamasqua created here:-

(source)

 

I absolutely LOVE this look, it's by far my favourite look of the Human Fundamentalism story, and probably the easiest to wear at daytime. Here is my interpretation of it:-

I started by building up Inception powder eyeshadow up and above my cocket crease, building iu up even higher into a flick at the outer corner of my eye. I then used Surge metal pigment to trace a line on top of where I had blended Inception. I took this line up to the outer tip of my eyebrowand then back down to the outer corner of my eyesocket and lined all the way underneath my lower lashes. I then took Bedaub cream pigment and built this up above where I'd lined Inception with Surge, thus 'sandwiching' the Surge line. I took Bedaub right out towards the outer corner of my eye, near to the tip of my brow. Finally, I connecting all the lines, by using Surge to highlight under my brow arch. I connecting this line to the other Surge line at the inner corner of my eye. I topped this look off with a set of Eyelure Girls Aloud eyelashes (the Nadine ones) I hope this long description makes sense!

I then created this colour clashing look:-

So here I used Surge liquid metal to line underneath my lower lashes. I then used Hype in the inner corner of my eye, blending upwards above my socket crease. I then blended Inception in the outer corner of my eye and then blended upwards and over Hype. I then continued my line of Surge to just flick up the outer corner of my eye next to Inception. I used some No 7 false eyelashes (Intense Volume) here, and I think they look pretty good, by complimenting but not overpowering the look.

And finally, I wanted to show everyone just how versatile the Fundamental palette is by creating an easy to do daytime look. As part of their Human Fundamentalism collection, Illamasqua have created a beautiful neutrals palette, but I created the look below using the Urban Decay Naked Palette:-

Here I used Virgin from the Naked palette to highlight my brow arch. I then blended Hype in the inner corner of my eye blending outwards and up over my socket crease. I then blended Naked powder in the centre of my eyelid, which I then went back and blended more Hype into, so there was no obvious line where the two eyeshadows met. Finally, I took Buck from the Naked palette and winged this up from the outer corner of my eye, and blended above Naked to give a smoked out effect. I finished the look off with Zero eyeliner and another set of No 7 false eyelashes (Natural Volume)

So there you go, those are the three looks I'm currently experimenting with using the Fundamental palette. Hopefully I have shown you just how versatile this product is! Have you tried anything from the Human Fundamentalism range? If so, let me know what, and how have you used it?!?

No7 and Poppy King Rain Drops Lip Crayons

Well, rain drops is appropriate for the weather here in Birmingham!

Complaints about the weather aside, I'm here to talk about this new range of lip crayons designed by the Lipstick Queen, Poppy King for No7. These were released about four weeks ago, but I've just been so snowed under with Open Uni work, that I just haven't got round to even opening them until today! There are five lip crayons in this range, and I picked up two of them. Let's take a look:-

Cute packaging with 'raindrops' pattern on the

box and lip crayon itself.

As you can see the lid itself is a sharpener for the crayon.

I like this, as it means I don't have to carry any additional

sharpeners just to accomodate the product. I hate that.

When a company brings out a fab product, but ho!

You have to buy the product specific sharpener too! Gr.

I like how the colour of the of the lip crayon's tube is

the same colour as the product inside.

Makes it easier to spot the right one in a busy make up bag!

The Poppy king signature on the tube is a nice touch.

I also like how the shade name is also on the tube.

Shade names:- left: Singing, right: Playing.

And here's how they look on my lips:-

Singing

Playing

As you can see, Singing is a soft fuchsia pink colour. It isn't as bold on the lip as it looks in the tube, and the colour you see in the picture above is fairly built up. This is a shame, as it means I'm probably going to get through the tube pretty quickly.

I had to build the colour up on Playing too, but not quite as much. The consistency of Playing is thicker than Singing, and unfortunately at one point, part of the caryon just kinda smushed onto my lips in a big lump. I might pop the in the fridge to firm it up a bit before I next use it. The colour however, is beautiful. It is a orangey apricot colour with a slight shimmer to it. It looks great on my skintone. I can't wait to do a look using this and a lavender eyeshadow on my eyes.

What I liked:

• great texture- the Lip Crayons feel wonderful on the lips. Balmy, non-sticky and don't dry lips out.
• The built in sharpener in the lid is great! No mess, no extra weight and more hygienic.
• The colours are awesome. The other three colours in the range are pretty, too.
• The packaging is both attractive and functional. I can see clearly which colour to pick in my make up bag .
• I like how No7 have teamed up with Poppy King- it means I can own a product by the Lipstick Queen for about half of what her own brand range of lipsticks cost. (Aptly named Lipstick Queen)
• No7 often have the £5 vouchers on, making these an absolute bargain when you redeem one of the vouchers against them! (These retail at £11.50)

What I didn't like

• Not much to be honest! The range could possibly be bigger, I would not say no to more shades!
• The formula on Playing was a bit thick. This is easily remedied by popping it into the fridge for a while to firm it up a bit.

So, have I tempted you to try one of these Lip Crayons? Let me know your thoughts!

• 

Saint George's Day mani

Happy Saint George's Day everybody! I created this super simple mani using Barry M nail paints and a Rio Beauty nail art pen.

On the ring finger I used Barry M nail paint in Matt White. Once thoroughly dry, I then used the Rio nail art pen to draw a simple cross. I then used Barry M nail paint in Red Glitter to make it 'pop'. On all my other nails is Nails Inc in Milan, topped with just one coat of the Barry M Red Glitter. I love the glitter varnishes by Barry M, they apply really well and are packed with sparkle.

In direct sunlight to show just how sparkly this Barry M

 nail paint really is!

Non-direct sunlight. I just love this nail paint!

Les Jeans de Chanel: Swatches, Review and Comparisons

This is a collection that I have been looking forward to for ages! Les Jeans de Chanel is trio of varnishes in varying shades of blue to reflect different washes of denim. Check them out:-

Thumb and Index finger:- Coco Blue

Middle and Pinky finger:- Blue Boy

Ring finger:- Blue Rebel



I absolutely loved the manicure I did with the Jeans trio- hence the amount of pictures! I think that all three shades work really well together. My absolute favorite varnish out of the three is Coco Blue- check out the subtle silvery shimmer in the bottle and on my nail. The application on these varnishes was good. The formula was not too thick or too runny, and the brush was standard- long and thin bristles. I will say try not to rush with these varnishes, otherwise you will end up with air bubbles. I also used a good basecoat under these varnishes- they WILL stain your nails otherwise! I also used my topcoat to give these the glossy shine you see in the pictures- they tend to dull quite quickly otherwise.

When I removed this manicure, I had the intention to redo my whole hand in just Coco Blue. It was just as I was reaching for it when I realised that I had some other veeery similar varnishes in my collection. Check this out:-

Index finger:- No7 Minty Fresh

Middle finger:- Revlon Blue Lagoon

Ring finger:- Chanel Coco Blue

Pinky finger:- Maybelline Ceramic Blue

As you can see, the closest shade to the Chanel Coco Blue is the No7 Minty Fresh varnish. However, Minty Fresh is a block colour whith no shimmer or glitter particles. Revlon's Blue Lagoon has very fine silver glitter in it, not too unlike the shimmer in Coco Blue, but Blue Lagoon's shade is a lot lighter than Coco Blue. Maybelline's Ceramic Blue is an absolutely beautiful shade (with perfect application, I might add), but it learns toward being a very soft lavender shade. It has a very subtle blue shimmer to it that is obvious in the bottle, but very difficult to see on the nail. So, even there are no exact dupes for Coco Blue, there are cheaper alternatives that are just as pretty.

I took this next picture under the artificial light in my kitchen because you can see the shimmer in the nail varnishes better:-

So what do you think? Will you be buying any of the Jeans de Chanel collection? Or having seen the comparisons of Coco Blue next to cheaper alternatives will you be choosing them instead? I'd love to read your thoughts!



My Nail of the Day #3 Max Factor Max Effect in Dazzling Blue

The blogosphere has been awash with swatches and reviews of Max Factor's Fantasy Fire. I think this os hugely down to the fact that Fantasy Fire has a lot of similarities to the now discontiunued Clarins 230. Blogging pals in the US have gone wild for this polish, now that Max Factor is now longer available in the States.

However, while this Fantasy Fire storm has been roaring on (geddit?), I have been looking at the other 40+  shades Max Effect collection. And thats how I found Dazzling Blue:-

I have taken pictures of Dazzling Blue in a couple of rooms in my flat where the lighting differs. Some of these shots are taken in my front room where there's plenty of natural sunlight and others are taken in my corridor to try and capture some of the glow in this varnish.

You can probably see in the well lit pictures that Dazzling Blue has a beautiful shimmer to it. You can also see in the bottle that the turquoise has a purple duochrome, but this is not so obvious once its on the nail. You can see it in some of the pictures, but you may wish to enlarge the pictures to see it better.

Formula wise, this is a nice varnish to work with. However, I would recommend that you do take your time with it, otherwise it will bubble. Also, ensure you use thin coats, as it can be prone to streaking. Unfortunately, Dazzling Blue is rather sheer, and I used four coats to get the colour you see on my nails, as at three coats I could still see my nail outline underneath. The brush on this varnish is pretty decent, despite it being a mini. Much better than the OPI mini brushes, which are the bane of my blogging existence!

Anyway, I hope you all liked my swatches and review of Dazzling Blue! (Hey, I rhymed!) Do you prefer this of Fantasy Fire? Are any of my transatalantic readers wanting to try this varnish? Feel free to e mail me if ever you should want to do a bottle swap!