Korres Watermelon Light Tinted Moisturiser SPF 30

I bought the Korres Watermelon Light Tinted Moisturiser from www.zuneta.com a few weeks ago. I've waited until now to review it as I wanted to give it fair trial. I purchased it in the lightest shade Light Sand. As you will see below this is possibly a touch too light for me at the moment as I have a bit of a tan. It's workable though as I can put a bit of colour back with bronzer and I'm sure the colour match will be better as soon as the sun disappears!

From left to right you can see my face with nothing on; with just the tinted moisturiser; with tinted moisturiser and undereye concealer. Hopefully you can see that the tinted moisturiser evens my skin tone, getting rid of redness but it's light enough that you can still see my freckles. Similarly you can still see blemishes so you will need concealer which I think is pretty much a given for any TM. I think you can also see from the final photo that my forehead is a little 'glowy' so I should probably use a little loose powder to set this but I'm terrible at remember to do this!

So, what do I think to this? Well, I won't fib. I definitely have mixed feelings about this product. On the positive side, I think it provides a nice level of coverage. It includes an SPF of 30 which is fantastic and it feels comfortable to wear considering the high SPF protection it offers. On the downside, it is very tricky to apply. I had been warned that you had to blend quickly as it sets but honestly you have to work at lightening speed. I find it best to apply immediately after moisturising. I was told that using a primer would help. I also find it preferable to apply it in stages. You certainly can't dot this all over then blend. I made the mistake of putting too much on my face once whilst in a rush and got quite a shock. I couldn't blend it in fast enough so I ended up very patchy. Once it sets it won't budge and the the coverage it gave me was more like a full coverage foundation. For a tinted moisturiser this is actually very pigmented.

Despite the negatives, once you get the hang of applying it, it is a good base and it lasts well. I shall use this up and will hopefully remember to do a final thought post once it's finished. I should also add that it hasn't caused any break outs. I've included a list of the ingredients for those of you with sensitivities.

My New Hair

I think you may need to sit down for this. I went to the hairdressers and I actually enjoyed it!

I was very kindly invited to Eleven in Mayfair for a cut and as is often the case when I go to the hairdressers, I was more than a little nervous. After hitting London at rush hour and tackling the crowds on Oxford Street it was a relief to arrive at the salon. It was a lovely oasis of calm. I was greeted with a friendly smile and Becky , my stylist, immediately set me at ease. The first thing I noticed about Becky was her amazing style. I almost knew from that moment I was going to get a great cut. I was offered a cup of tea and we had a little chat about what style I wanted. I'd taken in the pictures that proved popular in this post, I thought it might be a little strange to take along pictures of myself but I wasn't made to feel silly at all.

Becky washed my hair and we had a chat about shampoo and conditioner brands. My immense dislike of Pantene came up and we also chatted about SLS free shampoos. They use and stock the Pureology range at Eleven, I was especially interested in this as I've read quite a lot about SLS free products in Makeup Savvy's posts. Apparently the shampoos do foam which is unusual for SLS free products. After my hair was washed, I had a wonderful head massage whilst my conditioner was on and it felt so relaxing.

Becky had quickly grasped what I was after from my photos and from what was frankly quite a vague description on my part! A choppy bob with texture and shaping into the back. We chatted about the time I spend styling my hair and how I dry it. I think this is crucial as there's little point in creating a style I can't work with day to day. I leave my hair to dry naturally most days which is why I thought a messy style would be the best option.

Whilst Becky was cutting my hair we chatted about lots of different things; how Becky got into hairdressing, skincare and ageing. We also had a conversation with one of the other stylists about Brian Dowling's late night insomnia phone in. Entertaining stuff! I was privileged to see a Brazilian blow dry in action whilst I was there as well. If you've not come across this treatment before it involves coating the hair with keratin which leaves hair frizz free and straight for up to 3 months. There are more details about the treatment here on the salon's website. As someone with hair that is very prone to frizz and very lazy styling habits, I'll admit this sounds marvellous. I will certainly be investigating this more!

When I go for a haircut I love to watch a stylist at work. I think it really is an art when it's done well. The more I saw the shape my hair was taking the more I loved it. I don't say this lightly as this has often been the point at which my heart sinks. I even noticed that my hair colour looked a lot better. Taking the length out helped the colour look less blocky and got rid of the goth edge to it after my hair dye disaster.

So, I won't keep you waiting any longer. Here is the final result.

I absolutely love it and can honestly say I've never been so happy with a cut. Also, as I saw the shape before it was blow dried, I can tell it's going to look great when it's left to dry naturally. Becky did an amazing job and I've already received compliments from my husband and friends.

I would thoroughly recommend a trip to see Becky at Eleven. Great cut, lovely salon and friendly atmosphere. I look forward to a return visit!


Eleven Hair can be found at 11 Blenheim Street Mayfair. Prices range from £55 to £85 for a cut and blowdry. Full details are available on their website www.http://www.eleven-hair.com/.

YSL Rock and Baroque at Selfridges

I spotted the new YSL nail duo's during my visit to Selfridges on Saturday. I was intrigued but as a manicure inept I wasn't sure how I'd get on trying to apply them! British Beauty Blogger posted yesterday with some guidance on how to apply them for a perfect finish.



Selfridges will be celebrating the launch of the Rock and Baroque collection with a Pop up Nail, Eye and Lip Bar and I think this would be the ideal time to give the nail duos a try. The collection, which is available now, also includes six Rouge Volupté Perle Lipsticks. You can see pictures of the entire collection here on www.temptalia.com. The pop up bar will be running from 5-18th August and costs £15, which is redeemable against any purchases. To book a visit you can call the YSL counter on 020 7318 1358.

What do you think to the nail duos, do you think you'll be giving them a try?

What's in my Make Up Bag?

After my joking about the auxiliary make up bag, I thought it might be fun to show you the current contents. I do tend to add things all the time but I'm less diligent at returning them to my main stash. I also thought it might be interesting to do it as a video. It is a bit of an epic I'm afraid, but it's probably worth it even if it's just to watch all my face pulling !

If you don't have time to watch the video here is a photo and list of the items. It's surprisingly without lipsticks you might notice. This is because I keep the ones I'm using either in the bathroom or my nappy bag (not my nappies you understand and I assure this is not as unhygienic as it sounds).




MAC Prim & Proper blush
Shu Uemura H9 Seal brown brow pencil
NARS Laguna
Benefit Eye Bright
L'Oreal Voluminous mascara
MAC Select Moisturecover concealer
RMK Super basic liquid concealer
Korres Watermelon light tinted moisturiser
Edward Bess Compact Rouge in After Sunset
Rouge Bunny Rouge Solstice Halcyon eyeshadow
Bobbi Brown Taupe eyeshadow
Ellis Faas Creamy Eyes in E105 - This is missing from the photo as I was trying to use it!
MAC Painterly paint pot
Guerlain Loose Eye Kohl in Oriental Metal
Hourglass Extreme Shine lipgloss in Origami
Stila Convertible Colour in Orchid
MAC Studio Finish concealer
Urban Decay 24/7 liner in Zero
Rimmel exaggerate lip pencil 18 Addiction
TBS Rich Brown eyeliner
Chap Ice lip balm
TBS dual Sharpener
Ruby + Millie dual ended eye brush

The hairstyles of Modesty B

Be gentle, some of these are truly horrific and I almost didn't post. But I thought it might help demonstrate why I'm so fringe averse! I have in fact liked some of the cuts. I particularly like some of the shorter styles but I'm nervous about getting much taken off these days.

Anyway, here are some of the hits and misses of the past 20 years!

I quite liked having short hair for the most part but at the point when it started giving off the wrong signals to the boys, I grew it long and lost my nerve about cutting it this short ever again!

This photograph was taken after a ball (where's the make up madam, what were you thinking?) and despite the smile, or perhaps it's a grimace, I'd had the most horrendous hair day. I'd booked myself in for an updo. Part way through the styling I realised the message about french pleat had been misinterpreted and I was going to end up with a Bet Lynch-esque curled sculpture. I cut my losses and escaped the salon and went scouring the streets of Norwich for another hairdresser. I eventually found somewhere in a slightly dubious part of the city and half a can of hairspray and a tonne of hair grips later I had a french pleat. Albeit a completely rock hard one! Obviously by the time this was taken I'd given up altogether and brushed it out. The days events also landed me with this fringe. I've learned to stop saying C shaped layers as it invariable ends up with layers so short it looks like I'm rocking a pair of curtains. I resorted to cutting it into a proper fringe and then spent the next year growing it out, only to do the same thing over again.

Another ball, another bad 'do'. At least I can see a smidge of make up this time! This was another, "I'm going to give you a Rachel" episode. It looks more like Andy Pandy with a wonky fringe to me, ta.

More fringe. It's difficult to believe that I was 20 when this picture was taken. There's something about a this cut that makes me look about 12. So unflattering.

This is how my hair looked from about the age of 22 to 30. My weight went up and down but my hair stayed the same. I had occasional forays into more styled looks but I would always end up growing them out.

These last two are perfect examples of the mumsy cuts I started to get as I hit 30. Yes, I'm a Mummy but I don't want to look like a frump just yet, thanks. On the top one I was about 6 months pregnant and I'm pretty sure I spy another fringe growing out!

The pictures above and below are I think my most favourite style. I much prefer a messy, choppy style on me.

And finally we're back to the present day. I will be getting it cut this week so I face my usual dilemma, a little tidy up or something more radical? After seeing this little line up, what do you think? Play it safe or brave a shorter style? I'd love to know what you think.

It's alright, you can stop laughing now!

My Personal MU Shopping Experience

I had the tremendous privilege of going on a beauty counter visit yesterday with my very own personal shopper aka Louise from Get Lippie. If you've ever read my blog post about my beauty counter fear you'll know why I needed an escort!

We started off by having a *cup of tea and a little chat about what I'd like to look at, I'd been organised and written a list to take with me. We'd also had a bit of a chat via email beforehand. Normally Louise would ask a client to bring along her make up bag to help get a picture of her likes and dislikes and possibly some of colour mistakes they might have been making. We skipped this part as the traincase would have needed a separate seat on the train and I've bored you all often enough to know what's in there!

First up was a wander round the Beauty Hall in Selfridges. One of the must do's on my list was to look at NARS blushers. I have wanted to try one of their blushers for such a long time but thought I needed to see them in person before purchasing. As it turns out I was right to wait, we looked at Deep Throat and Mata Hari, ones that I had been interested in from my online research. Swatched on my skin I wasn't sure they were right for me. However, Lokoum, a cream blush that I've been doing the basket dance with for months, was a clear winner. I didn't buy it yesterday but hope to rectify this very soon.



We browsed Laura Mercier, Illamasqua, Bobbi Brown, Trish McEvoy, Armani and Suqqu to name a few. It was wonderful to look at these ranges in detail and have opportunity to swatch and chat with Louise about which colours would be good choices for me. Louise also did a fabulous job of preventing the Sales Assistants from sending me running for the Exit. A very handy thing if you get THE FEAR like me!

I did brave a consultation at RMK. Another range that I've only ever seen online, I was intrigued to give it a try in person. I remember Pixiwoo mentioning the RMK super basic liquid concealer in a youtube video some time ago and I was interested to see how it would tackle my dark circles. The SA that looked after me was adorable, I didn't feel pressured and honestly, I could have let her put make up on me all day long! The super basic concealer was one of my purchases of the day and I was excited to get a sample of their cleansing oil and liquid soap to try.

I also have to mention the trip to the Chanel counter. Louise introduced me to their bi-phase liquid eyeshadows/Ombre d'Eau. I have never come across these before and was astonished at how stunning they are. You know when you look at something, don't buy it and then spend ages regretting it? Well that's how I feel about the Ombre d'Eau. I fear that my Boots Advantage card is going to take a battering to make one of these lovelies mine.

Next we moved to Liberty and my much anticipated first look at Ellis Faas and Le Métier de Beauté. I made my second purchase of the day at Ellis Faas. I was delighted by the feel and weight of the packaging of these products and the colour range is just superb. I picked up Creamy eyes in E105, a beautiful taupe colour. I'm just as interested in how I get on with the packaging as the colour.



At the Le Métier counter I made a beeline for Tenne blush and the Kaleidoscopes. I've had Tenne on my wishlist for months, in person I was less excited. It looked much more muddy in person than I was expecting. However, I had the swatch on inside of my arm and I kept looking at it (it lasted till bedtime) and I think I was too quick to judge. This one remains firmly on my list for another occasion. Louise gave me a little bit of a lesson in how to apply the Kaleidoscopes and after a little play myself I completely fell for Violaceous Splendor. The colours layer together to make the most beautiful shades. The only thing that made me hesitate was the cost, at £55 the Kaleidoscopes certainly aren't cheap and I've already treated myself to lots of beautiful things recently (yes, I'm looking at you Edward Bess). So, I showed some restraint and this will probably end up on my Christmas list. I did spend a couple of hours admiring the gorgeous effect I had created on my hand and I would really recommend checking these out in person if you get the opportunity.



Now, I have to share with the you the pièce de résistance of the day. Whilst we were looking at the Le Métier counter Louise spied a folder of articles and went for a little look. On the opened page there was none other than a printed blog post written by Get Lippie herself. How fabulous is that? I urged her to sign it but ever modest she wasn't having any of it.

As you can see I didn't buy much on the day but I have come away with a huge list of items that I want and know that I won't be disappointed with. Some of the things I haven't already mentioned are a Suqqu blush and Armani's Face Fabric. I've also quashed some long time lemmings which to me is just as valuable as finding things to buy. One of the best parts of the experience was having someone with me who could give a genuine opinion as to whether something was going to suit me or not. I love my husband but honestly he's not up to the job! Finding new things like the Ombre d'Eau and suggestion for different shades to try was excellent. Louise's SA defending skills are awesome too, great stuff if you're nervy like me.

If you're in need of shopping assistance, whether it's to overhaul your make up collection, or you simply need an experienced chaperone, Louise offers a professional service which I can highly recommend. Details are available here on Get Lippie or you can email louise@getlippie.com for further information.


*We were very lucky to be joined by the fabulously funny girls from Facegoop at this point. Needless to say it was an hilarious half hour or so! Unfortunately Facegoop aren't available as part of the standard personal shopping package ;).

Inglot Palette and Lip Paint

I'd been interested in trying out Inglot cosmetics for some time. As they only have one store in the UK, in the Westfield Shopping Centre in London, I knew I wasn't likely to get my hands on them for some time. Fortunately for me, I realised they have a counter close to My Mum's where my Mum used to love in Muscat. I was lucky enough to talk my Mum into doing a little shop for me before she returned to England.

It's always difficult to get someone to shop for you but I think my Mum did a sterling job here. I got an AMC Lip Paintin shade no. 59 and a Freedom palette with three eyeshadows. I'd specifically asked for the lip paint (having spotted it on Vex and the City's blog) but the eye palette was something Mum thought I might like. I love purples so this was certainly no disappointment.

Here are some swatches of the eye palette and lip paint.

I was particularly keen to try the lip paint as it seemed very similar to MAC's Up The Amp which I love. I've included a swatch of them side by side as a comparison. MAC Up The Amp is at the top of the frame and Inglot Lip paint in 59 is at the bottom. The swatches are a little pinker than they are in the flesh but hopefully you can see that the lip paint is a very similar but glossier version of Up The Amp. It's also nicely pigmented and opaque.

I put together a look using all of the colour. I was extremely impressed with the quality of the eyeshadows. I applied the lightest shade all over my lid blending out above the eye socket and noticed how creamy it was and nicely pigmented. They were easy to blend too. I was really pleased with the lip paint, it's nice to apply and has left my lips feeling quite moisturised with no tackiness.

I'm really happy with these items. I do wish that Inglot was more accessible though, in particular I'd like to see them add an online store to the Inglot website.

Haircuts: A little poll

I've added a little poll in the sidebar. It's just a bit of fun as I'm a self confessed hairdresser-phobe. Things haven't been the same for me since the advent of the Rachel cut. Since then most trips for a trim result in ridiculously short layers and the undesirable mushroom head! Consequently my visits are irregular at best.

I will be going for a hair cut next week, it'll be my first proper cut for over a year. The trip to the walk in, no appointments necessary chop shop doesn't count. They didn't even wash my hair for goodness sake!

I'd love to hear about your hairdresser habits. Are you a lover or a hater? You can answer the poll or leave me a comment below. I look forward to seeing if I'm alone on this one.

Stila Convertible Colour in Orchid

I received this in a swap I did with Soulful Suga recently. I don't think I've ever owned any Stila before but I'd always been interested in the convertible colour so I was really pleased to get it.

The swatch at the top is the colour blended and the bottom shows a couple of layers unblended. To me this is a deep pink berry type colour. It isn't quite as creamy as say an Illamasqua creme blush or the Edward Bess compact rouge but it's easy enough to blend it out. A little goes a long way so it's best to start with a very small amount and build on it as required. I can see it would be quite easy to overdo this and look a bit clownish!

I've included a couple of angles so hopefully you can get a proper idea of how it looks on the cheek (there's also a picture of it in yesterday's post as the 'other' colour I was wearing!). It definitely comes out as a pinkish shade rather than red on my cheeks. I also managed to keep it quite sheer with blending as you can still see my freckles underneath. I've really enjoyed using this colour and I think I'll be reaching for it quite a bit. It's also lasted very well, I put it on this morning and it's still going strong. My only gripe about this product is the packaging. It's quite tricky to get it open, even more so than the Illamasqua blushers. I can see you could easily wreck a manicure trying to get into it.

Do you own any of the convertible colours? Do you like them or have any particular recommendations of other colours to try?

Edward Bess FOTD

This one is for the very lovely Michelle at Lipstick Rules. I've actually got pictures from two separate occasions as for today's photo session I went for a natty combination of a different creme colour on each cheek. It turns out this isn't the time saving genius that I thought it would be!

Anyway, on to the faces! The pictures are to demonstrate how Forever Yours lipstick and After Sunset compact rouge (both from the Edward Bess collection) look on the face. In the last two photos After Sunset is on the left of the photo. I'm wearing Stila convertible colour in Orchid on the other cheek, more about that very soon.

With flash


With flash

Without flash

After Sunset is a subtle cheek colour but it is buildable. In the pan it looks a little dark but I think it's a very pretty natural cheek colour and for me provides a nice flush without looking over the top. Forever Yours is a lovely rosy coloured lipstick. I think this particular pair go together quite well.

Thanks for looking.

OPI Dulce de Leche

I finally have a nail swatch of this polish to share with you. I confess it's still not great but I know it's as good as I'm likely to capture.

I think Dulce de Leche gives a beautiful pinky nude nail. I'm particularly enjoying it as I don't think the tip wear and minor chips show up as much as darker colours. Which is handy for when I'm trying to keep treatments on for as long as possible.

I have started using the Mavala system that I mentioned here. It's too soon to say if it has made any difference but I'm ever hopeful!

MAC and Rodarte Statement

MAC Cosmetics and Rodarte have issued the following statements in response to the concerns about the colloborative collection:

STATEMENT FROM M·A·C COSMETICS ON THE M·A·C RODARTE COLLECTION

We understand that product names in the M·A·C Rodarte collection have offended our consumers and fans. This was never our intent and we are very sorry. We continue to listen carefully to the comments we have received and have the following plans to address concerns:

We are committed to donating $100,000 to a non-profit organization that has a proven, successful track-record helping women in need and that can directly improve the lives of women in Juarez in a meaningful way.

We are changing the product names in the M·A·C Rodarte collection.

As we have done in the past, please be assured that we will communicate details regarding our progress in this matter.

STATEMENT FROM RODARTE ON THE M·A·C RODARTE COLLECTION

We recognize that the violence against women taking place in Juarez needs to be met with proactive action. We never intended to make light of this serious issue and we are truly sorry.

Helping to improve the conditions for women in Juarez is a priority for us and we are thankful for all the comments calling attention to the urgency of addressing this situation.

(From www.temptalia.com)

I'm not sure that I'm entirely appeased by this. It's great that they will make a donation and I read a very interesting point in londonbeautyreview's post, that if they followed through with the calls to pull the line entirely there would be no donation at all. I agree that something is better than nothing. I'm still not particularly comfortable with a cosmetics line drawing inspiration from such a tragic situation and the imagery is still lacking in taste in my opinion. I was also interested to read in Sparklz & Shine's piece that the Rodarte girls are obsessed with horror as genre. Knowing this it's hard to escape where they drew their inspiration.

How do feel about this statement? Do you think it's enough?

Revisiting Club

I know I did a face using MAC Club eyeshadow not too long ago but I couldn't resist sharing these pictures with you. Lipstick Rules reminded me of the reason I had wanted to get this eyeshadow in the first place, the look that Pixiwoo had done using Club as the only eyeshadow blended to look like a separate lid and crease colour. I thought I'd give it a go and I was so happy with how it turned out.

As well as Club, I used Guerlain Oriental Metal on the waterline and a little bit of MAC Brule on the brow bone. I have MAC So Ceylon MSF on my cheeks and it's either RBR Irreverence or Bourjois Cannelle Rosée lipstick that I'm wearing. I'm afraid I can't recall.

MAC Rodarte Collection

As I've been away this weekend I haven't had chance to write a post about this particular issue but I wanted to draw attention to it for those that haven't already read about the MAC Rodarte collection.


The MAC Rodarte collaboration is due to be released in September in the States and the official line is that the collection was inspired by a trip in Texas and 'the ethereal nature of this landscape' (www.colorlines.com). The names MAC have given the shades, such as Juarez and Factory and the eerie promotional pictures paint a much more macabre picture. I urge you to read some of the excellent blog posts on this issue (listed below). I feel this is such an ill-conceived idea and that the plight of the women in Juarez was not a suitable source of inspiration for make up. There are certainly better ways to draw attention to the situation than to glamourise femicide.

www.beautymouth.com

www.mizzworthy.com

www.britishbeautyblogger.com

www.bangsandabun.com

www.ladyofthelane.com

www.bigfashionista.blogspot.com

www.vexinthecity.com

www.sofarsochic.co.uk

www.londonmakeupgirl.com

www.lesalondebeaute.com

www.getlippie.com

www.londonbeautyqueen.blogspot.com

www.kraseybeauty.com

www.makeuploveer.blogspot.com

www.sparklesandbows.blogspot.com

www.healingbeauty.co.uk

www.reallyree.blogspot.com

www.just-nice-things.co.uk

www.musicalhouses.blogspot.com

www.lilooblog.blogspot.com

www.ditzymake-up.blogspot.com

www.perfectly-polished-nails.com

Edward Bess lipstick in Forever Yours and Compact Rouge in After Sunset

Well, I didn't have to wait long for my Edward Bess order to come from Zuneta at all. It arrived yesterday and my lovely postman caught me on my way home so that I didn't have to miss my package. I could have kissed him!

I've included a couple of gratuitous shots of the packaging just so you can see how beautiful and sophisticated it is. I love that the Compact Rouge (above) comes in a little velvet case to protect it from smudgy finger prints.

On the night of the launch I picked out these items, an Ultra Slick lipstick in Forever Yours and a Compact Rouge creme blush in After Sunset.

With the lipsticks I was torn between Tender Love and Forever Yours, they appear very similar when swatched on my skin the only obvious difference was the finish as Forever Yours is a frost. I've no doubt that I'll give in to temptation at some point and get Tender Love as well.

On the Zuneta website Forever Yours is described as a cool frosted rose which I think is a pretty accurate description. I'm not usually a fan of frosts but this is very subtle and just adds a pretty shine to the lips. As with all of the Edward Bess lipsticks, this has a fig scent which I find quite pleasant. The feel on the lips is very light and moisturising, and just like the Secret Desire lipstick, I find the colour and lovely balm feeling last a long time.

Above is the Compact Rouge in After Sunset. There are three shades of Compact Rouge and I find this the most neutral. This is described as a warm bronzey rose and I really like the muted, brown tone to it. As I mentioned in my previous post I love the texture of these, they're not greasy but have a good amount of slip to them. I found it easy to create a naturally flush without overdoing it. I also found when swatching that it's quite easy to layer if you find you need to add more colour.

Swatches from top to bottom: After Sunset blended, After Sunset heavily swatched, Forever Yours

I wanted to include this second picture as I think it captures the sheen of both the blush and lipstick nicely.

I am extremely happy with these choices. My only regret is that I didn't get the Luminous Eyeshadow in Dusk as well now that I have seen A Model Recommends post and video. I will hopefully do a Face of the Day with both of these very soon so that you can get more of an idea of how they look.

Both products are available from www.zuneta.com. The Ultra Slick lipstick in Forever Yours is priced £24.01 and the Compact Rouge in After Sunset is £30.