Random Pink Lipstick Swatches

So, I already admitted that I put a good deal of obsessing time into planning what to wear to the Lippie wedding. Would you believe me if I said I didn't invest a similar amount of time into deciding what makeup to wear? No, I didn't think so.

I decided I wanted to go down the matchy, matchy route and wear a pink lipstick to match my accessories. These are a couple that I auditioned for the part.

The swatches aren't an exact match for the group above. I didn't included swatch of the OCC Lip Tars but you can find swatches of Pretty Boy and Strumpet here. I decided that the Lip Tars were probably inadvisable as they do feather on me and I need to purchase something like the Lipstick Queen invisible liner to feel confident wearing them. The Kevyn Aucoin Liquid Lipstick in Aquarouge on the far left is a bit of a rogue as it's not a pink, but I love the colour.

From left to right: Kevyn Aucoin Aquarouge, Barry M Punky Pink, Edward Bess Night Romance, Butter LONDON Lippy in Snog and Hourglass Femme Rouge in Nocturnal. I've included links to previous posts which all include lip swatches.

In the end I went for a combination of the Barry M Punky Pink topped with Eos gloss from the LMdB Aurora Lip Kaleidoscope.

What's your opinion of matching your makeup to your outfit? Is it truly as naff as the magazines would have us believe?

Blog Sale Take Two

UPDATE - All the items have been posted out now and will hopefully be with you very soon. I am closing this thread for comments but if you do have any problems you can use this post to get in touch or email me.
Many thanks!

The blog sale that I did the other day went so well, that I decided it was sensible to let go of some other neglected items. As before, all of the items I am selling have been purchased by me, I would never sell samples. Wherever possible the items will come in their original packaging. Now for the boring rules bit...

* Paypal only- I must receive payment within 24 hours or the item will be re-listed. Please check that your postal address is correct on Paypal as I will not be able to keep track of requests to post to a different address.

* Postage will be £3.15 per item and I will be sending packages by 2nd class Signed For as standard. If you wish to purchase several items, I will calculate any extra postage costs by weight using RM Price Finder. Based on my experience from the previous blog sale, the price is likely to remain the same for multiple items.

* I'm happy to consider posting items outside of the UK but please get in touch so that I can calculate the correct postage for you.

* I aim to post packages within 1-2 days of payment.

* No returns or refunds - I have included pictures to show usage and also given an estimate of how much product remains in each case. Please make sure you check swatches and reviews before going ahead with any purchase.

* Either leave me a comment below with the item(s) you are interested in and your Paypal address or email me at modestybrown@googlemail.com with BLOG SALE in the subject and your Paypal address in the email.

* I will invoice you from a different email address- DO NOT PAYPAL ME until you receive my invoice!

BECCA Pressed Shimmer Powder in Princess in original box, 95% left - £10

L- Hug Me, R - Patisserie

MAC Hug Me and Patisserie lipsticks, approximately 80% left in both cases - £5 each SOLD

Rouge Bunny Rouge Delilah eye kohl - £7 SOLD
I would estimate there's at least 85-90% of this pencil left. There's a tiny crack in the pencil lid.

Illamasqua Blusher in Beg, 90 - 95% left - £7 SOLD

Laura Mercier Lip Stain in Hibiscus, 80 - 85% left - £5 SOLD

MAC Charcoal Brown eyeshadow pot - £5 PENDING
Hardly used, minimum of 95% left

L'Oreal Infallible Colour in Endless Chocolate - £1 SOLD
(I will only sell this with other items, as the postage is so expensive for single items)

NARS Rajasthan duo, including original box - £15 SOLD
Approximately 85-90% left as I've only used it a couple of times

All of the eyeshadow pans shown above (and listed individually below) are proper MAC eyeshadow pans and will be packaged in proper sleeves.

MAC Naked Lunch eyeshadow pan, 90 - 95% left - £5 SOLD

MAC Vanilla eyeshadow pan, 95% left - £5 SOLD
NB - in most lights you can't see the reflects that are visible in the picture above, this eyeshadow is listed on the MAC website as having a Velvet finish.

MAC Purple Haze eyeshadow pan, 95% left - £5 SOLD

MAC Beautiful Iris eyeshadow pan, 95% left - £5 SOLD

MAC Well Dressed blusher refill pan, 90-95% left - £7 SOLD

Edward Bess Compact Rouge in Island Rose, 90% remaining - £13 SOLD
This had a ding in it and I've also wiped the surface over with a clean tissue which you can probably see from the surface. I do not have the original box, but it does come with the original velvet pouch.

Smoky Green FOTD

Yes, it's another green eye look. I had to look at last weeks FOTD to check that I hadn't accidentally recreated the same look with different eyeshadows. It is similar but fortunately not identical. You will probably spot several favourite products that used in both looks, such as the Perricone concealer, Shu brow pencil and the Kevyn Aucoin eye pencil.

The new item I used here is the Laura Mercier Shimmer Bloc in Pink Tourmaline Mosaic*. This was a limited edition item released with the Summer Jewels collection, but unfortunately I can't it anywhere online to provide a link. It is possible you can still find it in Selfridges. I used the Shimmer Bloc as a highlighter on the tops of my cheeks and didn't apply any blush as my natural colour seemed to provide enough flush. I really liked how this looked in the mirror but it was interesting to see how it photographed. In the photos it definitely looked like I needed more colour on my cheeks and the highlighter seemed to accentuate my crinkles. Maybe this accounts for my moody face below!!

Here's a complete breakdown of the items I used:

Face
Perricone MD No Concealer Concealer*
W3LL People Narcissist Foundation and Concealer Stick (01) blended on cheeks, around nose and chin
Laura Mercier Pink Tourmaline Mosaic Shimmer Bloc* applied with Hakuhodo medium pointed Yachiyo
Shu Uemura brow pencil

Lips
Lancome Rouge in Love in Rose Boudoir* blotted on as a stain. I still don't think this is a great colour for me but I fancied experimenting with application techniques.

Eyes
Too Face Shadow Insurance - not pictured
MAC Brule all over the lid
Edward Bess eyeshadow in Dusk applied from lash to crease
MAC Club eyeshadow on the outer corner
MAC Vex pressed onto the centre of the lid
(Brule, Club and Vex all feature in my favourite MAC eyeshadow post)
Kevyn Aucoin Eye Pencil in Basic Black* on the outer corner and on the upper waterline
Clinique High Impact Extreme Volume mascara*
I used a MAC 239 brush to apply the colours and the 224 to blend.

I was really happy with the eyes but I'm not sure that the lipstick worked to compliment the look. I'd probably go for a more peachy colour next time. What makeup have you been wearing this weekend? Do you ever find that your makeup looks different in person to how it photographs?

* PR Sample

A Lazy M(B)um FOTD

Despite owning all the lovely brushes I showed you the other day, I must confess that quite often I will put on a full face without once reaching for a brush. Yesterday was one of those days. It's the school holidays and I spent the day pottering around at home with the children. As I failed to put my makeup on until late morning, I thought simple (you can read lazy) was the way to go.

I skipped foundation and instead opted for a layer of Olay Regenerist Wrinkle Relaxing Complex*. I've been trying this for a little while now and I'm still a little undecided about it. It makes a nice base to apply makeup and does seem to have a softening effect but I find I end up with a shiny T-zone whenever I use it. My skin is normal to combination and it doesn't seem to take much to throw it off balance. I suspect that if you found Nanoblur too drying, you would probably get on well with this.

I used the Perricone MD No Concealer Concealer* on my undereye area and to cover the redness around my nose and chin. I still need to review this properly. Overall it gets a thumbs up from me but I suspect the tint may restrict the range of colourings that it is suitable for. I keep threatening to test it on Mr MB!

On my eyes, I used another very neglected item from my stash. I can't remember the last time I used Chanel Ombre D'Eau in Splash and it needed a really good shake to get the pigment back into suspension. It was well worth it though. I applied the colour directly onto my lid using the doe-foot applicator, let it dry a little and then blended along the crease using my index finger. It had creased a little by the end of the day, but I'm impressed that it held up so well considering I put it through a 25 minute run in the drizzle.

Here's a complete breakdown of my lazy face.

Face
Olay Regenerist Wrinkle Relaxing Complex*
Perricone MD No Concealer Concealer*
Edward Bess Compact Rouge in After Sunset
Shu Uemura Brow Pencil H9 Seal Brown

Eyes
Too Faced Shadow Insurance
Chanel Ombre D'Eau in Splash
No.7 Lash Adapt mascara*

Lips
Clinique Chubby Stick in Super Strawberry*

Disclosure: PR samples are indicated with an asterisk. As ever, none of the links are paid for and are provided for information only.

Rouge Bunny Rouge Part II: Unforgettable Oriole, Bohemian Waxwing and Olive Violeteare

My apologies in advance for this being such a picture heavy post. I had a request for a comparison of Bohemian Waxwing and Solstice Halcyon, so I thought it might be useful to do the same for Olive Violeteare and Unforgettable Oriole too.

Unforgettable Oriole

Unforgettable Oriole is a pale creamy gold with iridescent finish. It's a lovely highlighter shade and I like it best for use on the inner third of the eye or just the inner corner. It's perfect for brightening the eye.

Bohemian Waxwing

Rouge Bunny Rouge describe Bohemian Waxwing as an iridescent champagne bronze. It's actually a bit of hard colour to describe but I think bronze might be a bit misleading as this certainly isn't as brown as you might anticipate for a bronze. It's more taupe than bronze and the iridescent finish makes it very pretty. It is a very welcome addition to my neutrals collection.

Olive Violeteare

I was a little nervous about whether Olive Violeteare would work for me but I'm pleased to report that it's a thumbs up. It's a smoky olive green with no brown tones. I've used it all over the lid, in the crease, as a liner, and I find it looks good however I use it. It pairs very well with Unforgettable Oriole.

The pigmentation of all three colours is good but not as intense as Abyssinian Catbird, for example. All of the swatches are several passes of colour over the skin. Unforgettable Oriole and Bohemian Waxwing have a similar refined iridescent finish and are very smooth to apply. Unforgettable Oriole is a little more sheer than Bohemian Waxwing. Olive Violeteare has a satin finish and isn't quite as smooth as the other two shades.

Here we can see Olive Violeteare compared to Edward Bess eyeshadow in Dusk. Dusk is more grungy brown that Violeteare and it has a more complex finish. I think Violeteare looks more 'clean' in comparison.

Colourwise, I suppose that Solstice Halcyon and Bohemian Waxwing are quite similar but I think the biggest difference is in the finish. Waxwing's iridescent champagne glow makes it look lighter than Solstice Halcyon. Solstice Halcyon also has a mauve undertone which Bohemian Waxwing does not. I wondered whether Caress of Mink Loose Glitter pigment might be similar to Bohemian Waxwing but I think Caress of Mink looks a lot more brown when compared to the other two colours.

I struggled to find any singles in my collection that were similar to Unforgettable Oriole. In the end, the closest I could find was the highlighter shade from the Dior Smoky Nude palette (#571), which incidentally is my favourite powder highlight, it has the most amazing creamy smooth texture. The Dior is more cream coloured and opaque when compared to Unforgettable Oriole.

And lastly here's a group shot, just because.  Do let me know if you have any other colours you would like me to compare to these Rouge Bunny Rouge colours, I am always happy to oblige.

The Rouge Bunny Rouge Eye Shadow Keepers and refill pans are available from Zuneta. I believe all of the colours are back in stock now but both palettes are currently out of stock.

Edward Bess Radiant Lifting Serum

This post is so overdue, I feel a little embarrassed. I try and use any new skin care product for 28 days before reviewing. In this case, I 'tested' the Edward Bess Black Sea Radiant Lifting Serum for a month, started a new cycle with another serum and I'm almost ready to review the new one. So, if it seems like I'm reviewing a lot of skin care all at once, I am but I promise I'm not cheating on my 'rules'. I'm just slow!

Anyway, with that confession out of the way, let's talk about the Black Sea Radiant Lifting Serum. I'm rather taken with the packaging, it's stylish in a masculine kind of way. The pump dispenser makes it easy not to waste product too. The texture is like a slightly milky gel which becomes more watery on contact with the skin. The more watery texture allows it to glide on the skin and it feels pleasantly cooling. I do find that it sometimes feels slightly tacky as it dries: I like to wait for a minute or too between applying serum and moisturiser to allow it to absorb and minimise dilution of any active ingredients. This sticky feeling disappears as soon as I apply my moisturiser. 

I wouldn't say this serum made my skin more radiant. I think you either need something with a slight peeling effect or light reflective particles to do that. However, what it did do was hydrate my skin sufficiently to plump out my fine lines so that they looked less obvious. It is perhaps unsurprising that the only active ingredient that I really recognise on the ingredients list is sodium hyaluronate, which does help skin hold onto water.
 
The benefits of the Black Sea Serum are transient but I like how it feels and, as someone that suffers with dehydrated but not dry skin, I really appreciate a product that hydrates my skin without leaving me with a greasy face.  I also like that it doesn't include any silicones, instead they use ethylhexyl palmitate as an ingredient to provide slip. I do think it is a little on the expensive side at £50 but on a positive note, it is £50 for 47ml so the bottle will last quite a while.

It's hard for me not to feel the urge to compare the Black Sea Radiant Lifting Serum to the Dr. Perricone Advanced Face Firming Activator that I'm currently using but this is an unfair comparison. The two serums have quite different functions. The Perricone is a lot more active, refining the skin and improving existing signs of ageing whereas the Black Sea Serum is good for hydrating the skin and cosmetically improves the appearance using 'natural' extracts rather than refined active ingredients*. In fact, I have started to use the Black Sea Radiant Lifting Serum on the days which I do not use the Advanced Face Firming Activator and this seems to suit my skin well.

EDIT: I've brooded on this one overnight and really wanted to come back and add a few more thoughts. This serum is OK but the ingredients list is not really worthy of a £50 price tag. I was also really disappointed to find the Made in Taiwan sticker on a product from a luxury brand. I think you can find better products in this price bracket. 

The Edward Bess Black Sea Radiant Lifting Serum is available from Zuneta and costs £50.


Disclosure: This items were sent to me without cost for review purposes.

* I really hesitate to use the word natural. I desperately need to find an alternative as I think the word natural is frequently misused in the beauty industry. In this case, I'm referring to the fact they use extracts rather than purified chemicals. It is worth noting how far the ingredients list these extracts appear.

Edward Bess Quad Royale in Monte Carlo

Monte Carlo is the darkest, and possibly warmest, of the three Edward Bess Quad Royale palettes. I naturally veer towards more cool toned or neutral colour palettes, so I was intrigued to see how I would get on with this.

Unlike many of the other Edward Bess cheek products, the Quad Royale palettes are not scented. The powder is finely milled and all four of the colours in the Monte Carlo quad contain shimmer. The shimmer is very refined and imparts a subtle sheen so you're not going to look like a disco ball mixing all four colours together. A light sweep across the whole pan can be used for a subtle glow or you can pick & mix from the four colours to create the perfect highlight or cheek color. You can also use the individual shades on the eye. Although the colours are quite sheer they are buildable .

When I uploaded my first batch of swatch pictures, I realised the lightest colour (#1) was invisible in the images. I took some further pictures with heavier swatches but I included one of the original images so that you can see a less intense application of the colour. NB. I used my fingers for the blended colour swatch. If you sweep the brush included in the compact across all four colours, you can get a much lighter application of colour.

I had a go at using the colours as eyeshadows. I get on fine with the top two shades (#1 and #2). Although the lightest colour barely shows up on my arm, it works well as a base to even out redness on my lid. Using these top two colours, I get just a hint of shimmery colours which works well with a bit of liner and mascara. I tried adding the darker two colours but I didn't feel it suited me. I'm generally nervous of peachy shades on my eye anyway.

On my cheeks, I get the best results if I use a light hand and a loose fluffy brush. On my fair skin, this palette is dark enough to wear as a blusher on it's own but it is also possible to apply over a matte blushers to add a sheen.  To pull off such a warm colour, I find I need to keep everything else warm. It doesn't really go so well with my trusty taupes so instead I need pair with warm browns.

Clockwise from top left: MAC Golden Lariat, Monte Carlo, Orgasm Illuminator and Smashbox Silhouette

From left to right: Smashbox blusher, Monte Carlo, MAC Golden Lariat and NARS Orgasm Illuminator.

I wondered if I had any similar colours in my collection. I thought Golden Lariat from the MAC Wonder Woman collection might be a good match. Side by side, I think Monte Carlo is more of a peachy coral to Golden Lariat's golden tan. Smashbox Blush Rush in Silhouette in definitely more tan and obviously contain no shimmer. NARS Orgasm Illuminator is probably the most similar in colour although I feel it's more pink toned than Monte Carlo.

I think the beauty of the Quad Royale palettes is that you can adapt them to suit your needs by selecting the most appropriate brush and also customise the colour by selecting more or less of particular quadrants. I think that Monte Carlo would be well suited to medium to dark skintones and also those who enjoy warm, peachy tones. I think of it as having a very sunny beach holiday feel and I imagine it would be handy for enhancing summer skin. 

The Edward Bess Quad Royale in Monte Carlo costs £35 and is available from Zuneta. If you're interested in reading about the other two palettes, I can recommend Visionary Beauty's review of South of France and the Beauty Look Books review of Summer in Capri.


Disclosure: This item was sent to me without cost for review.

My Apologies and a Sneaky Peek!

I hope you will forgive me a little rambly post but I feel like I've been a terrible beauty blogger recently. After a week of Groundhog Day style entertaining, refereeing and tidying up after three small children, it definitely feels like someone needs to hit my reset button. It's been hard to find as much time as I normally would for blogging, so proper reviews have had to take a bit of a back seat.

I just wanted to re-assure you that there are still plenty of good things to come. Once I've managed to re-charge my batteries a little of course. I thought it would be nice to give you a sneaky peek at what's coming up as thanks for sticking with me. At least you can nag me if I continue to dawdle!

Dolce & Gabbana Fabulous Quad

My Haus of Gloi Valentine's Haul

Edward Bess Monte Carlo Quad Royale Palette

Guerlain Les Fumes

Bellapierre Deja Vous

Complete Bliss Travel Candle

Smashbox Girls on Film Collection

W3LL People Narcissist Foundation Stick

W7 Purple Comparison

Have a good weekend everybody!