20% off at Escentual and a glimpse at the Guerlain Liu Palette

I've been struggling to find a moment to post in the last couple of days. Although I've finished preparing for Christmas, I currently have three small children in the house who are all VERY excited about tomorrow, the smallest of whom seems to have decided that sleeping is for wimps. I had intended to write about the Guerlain Liu Eye and Lip Calligraphy, including a FOTD, but I shall have to make do with sharing some pictures of the palette and swatches for now.

Instead, I thought I would take a moment to point out the current sale at Escentual.com. They have at least 20% off everything (no code required) including the Guerlain Liu palette, which is currently on sale for £43.20 instead of £54. I thought this might be useful information for anyone expecting to receive a bit of spending money for Christmas, it will certainly make your pounds go a little further. I'm hoping to have a quiet browse myself once the children stop bouncing off the walls. Merry Christmas!

Disclosure: The palette was my Christmas wish generously granted by Escentual (you can see my wishlist here). It literally beats the socks off the M&S underwear that I'm likely to find under the tree tomorrow...

Rouge Bunny Rouge Eye Shadow Keepers Review Part I

I apologise in advance that this has turned into an epic two-parter. I've got too many pictures to cram into a single post. I'm conscious of the fact that most of the items I'm showing you are currently out of stock, but I hope these reviews will be relevant and helpful for those waiting for new stock to make a purchase.

First of all, the palettes themselves are as pretty as I'd hoped. They're not flimsy and there are no sharp plastic edges which you get with some cheaply made palettes. I do find it a little tricky to get it open but it's nothing compared to the nail breaking guarantee of the Guerlain 6 Ecrin palettes.

The magnetic system is the reverse of the well known MAC system: the magnets are embedded in the palette rather than attached to the pans. There are no finger spaces to remove the pans, instead there are small holes in the back of the palette. You insert a pin (or similar long thin implement) to release the pan from underneath.

Unlike I first thought, you CANNOT use these palettes to house pans depotted from the regular RBR eyeshadow pots. The refill pans for the palette are slightly smaller, 2g instead of 2.4g, but for me this isn't an issue. They cost less: the refill pans are £16 as opposed to £22 for the pots. They have a similar diameter to MAC's refill pans but contain 0.5g more products, so they're certainly not tiny. You can see a few size comparisons below.

The colours that are in my palette are, from left to right: Unforgettable Oriole, Bohemian Waxwing and Olive Violeteare. I'm really pleased with all of the colours I chose and I will come back and show you them in more detail in Part II. I have a feeling that Bohemian Waxwing is going to be a very popular shade. Rouge Bunny Rouge describe it as an 'Iridescent Bronzed Champagne' but I would say that it's more taupe than bronze, for anyone else like me that panics at the word bronze!

I bought these items from Zuneta. Well, my husband did but you know what I mean! At the moment the Trio Eye Shadow Keeper, Bohemian Waxwing and Olive Violeteare are out of stock. These items are all permanent so hopefully they will have stock back in again soon.

New Rouge Bunny Rouge Eyeshadow Keepers

Sometimes my eyeshadow and nail polish purchasing ban seems like a good thing, other times it can feel like a terrible mistake. Sharing this news whilst simultaneously not being able to purchase any of it, is probably one of the lowest points. With that little pity party out of the way, let's enjoy some pictures of the new loveliness from Rouge Bunny Rouge.

Behold the Eyeshadow Keepers. These customisable palettes will be available in two and three pan versions and there will be a choice of nine eyeshadow refill pans to fit them: six new colours and three current bestsellers. I believe more eyeshadows will be available as refills in the near future.

Although I can't be 100% certain, this looks like it will be a magnetised system so you might be able depot singles you already own and add a magnet to slot them in. That's if you can bear to deface the pretty pots of course, it sounds a lot like cosmetic vandalism to me (gives Everyday Beauty a side long look)! EDIT: The pans for the palette will actually be slightly smaller than the single pots (I knew I should have checked the weights) so you won't be able to depot.

On to the new eyeshadow colours...

Trumpeter Koel - Dark lead-grey with lilac-blue iridescence

Umber Firefinch - Iridescent dark umber chocolate

Bohemian Waxwing - Iridescent bronzed champagne

Golden Rhea - Iridescent pale gold

Lilac Reef Curassow - Pale lilac with iridescent effect

Olive Violeteare - Smoky olive with satin finish

The new colours that really grab me are Olive Violeteare and Bohemian Waxwing. I'm sure that Trumpeter Koel would look great as a liner too.

The three current eyeshadow that will be available in pan form are: Abyssinian Catbird, Solstice Halcyon and Unforgettable Oriole. I already own Abyssinian Catbird and Solstice Halcyon which allowed me to check the accuracy of the promotional images. They look pretty spot on to me so I feel confident that the new colours will look as shown above.

L- Abyssinian Catbird R - Solstice Halcyon

L- Abyssinian Catbird R - Solstice Halcyon

Direct sunlight

Shade

As excited as I am by the new colours, if I was able to make a purchase, Unforgettable Oriole would definitely be on my list. It's rare that I buy light shimmery colours but I like the RBR formula very much and I feel this is something lacking in my collection.

Unforgettable Oriole

When they do roll out more of the eyeshadows in pan form, I hope that they include some of the matte eyeshadows. I think that would be perfect for making a really versatile custom palette. Of course, when and if that happens we'll all be demanding bigger Eyeshadow Keepers!

The Eyeshadow Keepers will cost £12 for the duo and £15 for the trio. The eyeshadow pans will cost £16. All of these items will be available from Zuneta from tomorrow. Are you plotting a purchase?

New BECCA Products & The Beauty Spotlight Roundup

Those of you that are signed up for the Zuneta newsletter will probably have seen this video already but I couldn't resist sharing. BECCA have released some special palettes and sets to celebrate their 10th Anniversary. I spotted the Anniversary palettes on the BECCA website the other day and was instantly smitten. The palettes contain a creme blusher, lip & cheek creme, creme highlighter and a lip gloss. The Dusty Rose palette used in the video includes one of my favourite colours, Turkish Rose as well as the popular Tuberose Lip & Cheek creme. The Vintage Jewel palette looks very pretty too. As there are no eyeshadows in these palettes, I feel pretty safe lusting after them!

Zuneta presents BECCA ¬ Dusty Rose Anniversary Palette from Zulu Beauty on Vimeo.

Anyway, enough of the drooling! This week the Beauty Spotlight Team previews Spring makeup collections, finds some must-have drugstore treasures, keeps your hair looking great and one member channels her inner Supermodel for a day!

Marcia from Beauty Info Zone continued her search for L'Oreal Infallible eyeshadows and found more to love.

Little cat paw print embossed lipsticks, now what could be more fun… Visionary Beauty shares the lipsticks from the cat themed Paul & Joe collection for Spring.

At Everyday Beauty, Zuzu's Petals dishes about beauty and the aging process.

Modesty Brown reviews the L'Oreal Super Liner in Black Amethyst. It might be designed for hazel eyes but this pretty liner is sure to appeal to purple fans no matter what their eye colour.

Guarantee yourself a good hair day! Pammy Blogs Beauty loves No 4 High Performance Hair Care's Lumiere d'hiver Reconstructing Masque.

Lisamarie from Beauty Crazed starts swatching the OPI Holland collection - wooden shoe like to see it? Then check it out!

Over at Pretty in Dayton, it's Story Time! A Fairy Tail come true - Styrch makes a surprising transition from "customer" to "model" for Sittella, by Althea Harper

Paula, from Older Girl Beauty, shows us one of her foreign beauty faves - this time it's Hissyfit Body Double Sunscreen Lotion from Australia.

Perilously Pale finally satisfied her craving for Fyrinnae and shares with us her first set of swatches of the incredible eyeshadows!

At Lipstick Musings, Shannon's falling in love with Laura Mercier all over again, all because of Shimmerplum Sequin Eye Color.

Prime Beauty fell hard for the Burberry Spring/Summer Collection, a beautiful assortment of neutral and brights perfect for the over 40 woman!

A stain that's glossy? Isn't that an oxymoron? Londonmakeupgirl sees if YSL has managed to make it a reality, when she buys a YSL Glossy Stain.

My Eyeshadow Palette Collection

I've had the pictures for this post for what seems like ages. I took them back when it was still light at 4pm and warm enough to be outside without hat and gloves. Somehow the idea of sitting down to write about this collection seemed a little daunting, hence my delay. I've included links whenever possible to previous review posts.

I seem to have come full circle with my palette buying. In my 'not quite as obsessed' makeup days, palettes were always the biggest draw. Especially around this time of year. Then as I became more interested in makeup buying I decided that buying single eyeshadows was preferable that way I wouldn't end up with shades I wouldn't use. The MAC palettes are from this era. In the last year or so I have returned to buying and loving palettes. These days I tend to avoid the palettes with mixed products. I know it's very rare for me to use the lip products from a palette plus it can get messy when powder transfers to lipgloss and lipsticks pans. It doesn't stop me fancying the beautiful Edward Bess palettes of course!

1. KANEBO KATE BR-4 PALETTE

2. BECCA ENIGMA PALETTE*

3. MAC SMOKING EYES QUAD

4. GUERLAIN RUE DE PASSY

5. ARTDECO CUSTOM PALETTE

6. BECCA LOST WEEKEND PALETTE*

7. LANCOME BLONDETTE FATAL PALETTE*

8. CHANEL TOPKAPI QUADRA

In the neutrals palettes above, I don't think I have a single dud colour. Most of them contain a mixture of finishes which I think is important for a palette to work as a complete look. Of the two BECCA palettes, I think Enigma is still my favourite. I love how you can create a sultry look form just these three colours. It took me a while to warm to the charms of Rue de Passy. I think I expected more of it because of the high price but I wouldn't be without it now. I think one of the newer quads contains some quite similar colours. Both the Chanel and Lancôme palettes are lovely, Chanel is more bling to Lancôme's more versatile but I reach for both often.

1. INGLOT FREEDOM PALETTE

2. CHANTECAILLE SEA TURTLES PALETTE

3. YSL CHROMATICS #3 PALETTE

4. GUERLAIN RUE DE RIVOLI

5. SUQQU EX-07 LILAC ALLURE PALETTE

Here are my not-so-neutral palettes. I suppose with the exception of the Inglot palette they are still mostly neutral. The Chantecaille Sea Turtles palette contains that dark green shade for a bit of interest. If I'm honest my most favourite colour in the Turtles palette is the blusher and I use this often whilst ignoring the slightly too warm for me neutrals. YSL Chromatics #3 contains two 'safe' colours, the gorgeous dark blue liner and then that icy blue that I studiously ignore. It doesn't make me as nervous as the fuchsia colour in Rue de Rivoli though! I stand by my original comment about Rivoli that I get most use from this palette using the individual shades rather than as combined look. The Suqqu is a lovely palette. The colours don't apply quite as you would expect from the pans but they are delicate and layer very well.

1. LE CIRQUE, 2. SILK ROAD*, 3. PENELOPE*

Talking of layering, here are my Le Métier de Beauté Kaleidoscopes. They've increased in number by one since I took this photo. Le Cirque was my first Kaleidoscope and probably still remains my favourite. Silk Road and Penelope were both PR samples and I'm not sure I would have picked them out myself if I had seen them at a counter. However, as I often find with Le Métier combination, the 'Couches de Couleur' technique creates something that is even more beautiful than the sum of it's parts. I would say these are probably the most daring items in my collection.

I'd struggle to pick a single favourite from my eyeshadow palettes. It's probably clear that I'm a fan of neutrals. There is a noticeable omission for a beauty blogger of course; I don't own the Urban Decay Naked palette nor am I likely to buy Naked 2 when it comes out next year. I can't quite put my finger on why I've taken against Naked: it may the number of warm shades, the fear of glitter fallout or possibly because I already own enough neutrals to paint the whole of my town taupe. Who knows?! What I am looking forward to next year is the release of Rouge Bunny Rouge eyeshadow palettes. Custom palettes, eyeshadow refills and new shades are all like music to my ears. As a lover of palettes AND Rouge Bunny Rouge that's my birthday present ideas for next year sorted!

Are you a fan of eyeshadow palettes or a lover of singles?


*PR Samples

Stila Autumn Collection

I know, I know, Autumn collections are so last month and I'm supposed to be writing about Christmas. Well, I confess I'm usually a little rubbish when it comes to the Holiday collections. I've no problems with being festive but I don't have any parties to go to and glitter and big lashes would be a bit over the top for the school run. So, I'm still enjoying the Autumn/Winter collections whilst I can.

A couple of weeks ago I went to Boots in Milton Keynes and spent a little while browsing the Stila stand. There were two lipgloss trio sets, one warm and one cool. I purchased the cool set and you can see the swatches below. Although the lipglosses don't look particularly small they aren't full size, containing 1.5ml of product each. I'm very happy with this as I don't wear lipglosses often and I find they're one item of cosmetic that does go off quite quickly. I've been wanting to try the Stila lip glaze formula for a very long time unfortunately I find the formula feels quite sticky on the lips. I find it more sticky than say a MAC lipglass. I do like the colours in this set very much. Especially Seashell and Raisin.

Top to bottom: grapefruit, seashell and raisin

Left to right: grapefruit, seashell and raisin

The other thing that caught my eye was the palette of neutral eyeshadows. There are actually two palettes available: In the Light and Natural Beauty. I only spotted the In the Light Palette at the Milton Keynes stand. I know that everyone has gone crazy for the Urban Decay Naked 2 palette but I believe it isn't released until January in the UK. If you're looking for a neutrals palette and can't wait till January, I would recommend taking a look at this. In the Light costs £25 and contains ten eyeshadows, including the ever popular Kitten and a Smudge Stick eyeliner in Damsel (a matte chocolate brown). Why didn't I get this palette? Partly because I couldn't justify anymore neutrals and partly because I was accompanied on this shopping trip by my husband. I know you know what I'm saying here!

I think the Custom Colour blush in Coral might also have been released as part of this collection. I only saw the pink version on the stand but I spotted the Coral blusher is available on Beautybay.com. I was really taken with this blusher when I attended the Stila event earlier this year. The colour apparently adapts to your skin pH to create a unique colour (does anyone else remember the trend for the green colour adapting lipsticks of the 80's?). I was quite surprised to see these blushers cost £13 which is less than I had expected. In fact, overall I think that Stila is pitched at a lower price point than it once was. The lipgloss set cost £10 and I was surprised that the Convertible Colours costs £16 rather than the £20+ I had assumed. It seems that Stila is one of the few things that has been unaffected by inflation!

What have you been swatching on your shopping travels?

Stila Week: Striking in South Beach Palette

This is the third and final Stila Beach Palette that I will review. Striking in South Beach was definitely the hardest of the three to photography. Both of the 'blue' eyeshadows on the left hand side (Wave and Cabana) seemed determined to evade a fair representation. Wave is lavender although it photographs as blue in the pan and Cabana is a smoky indigo. The depth of colour is accurate but both have more of a purple undertone than is represented in my pictures.

The silvery Ocean Drive and the shimmery black Nightlife look just as they appear in the pan. Although strangely, when swatched, Ocean Drive appears quite blue so that there is a graduation of colour moving from Ocean Drive to Wave to Cabana. All of the eyeshadows have some shimmer, with Ocean Drive being the most shimmery of the four colours.

As with the Living the Life in Laguna palette, I found the eyeshadows a little tricky to work with. The colour pay-off isn't great and I struggled to get an even application. Packing it on resulted in fallout so this is definitely one to apply before foundation. Again, the application guide recommended applying some of the colours wet and no doubt this would make for a better result. I'm going to be forced to wet my brush at some point aren't I?

Although the application was uneven, I really liked the smoky indigo effect. I wasn't really sure how the blusher and bronzer shades would work with the eyeshadows. I'm still not convinced of Sobe as a bronzer (it pulls rather orange on my skin) but the Art Deco pink is prettier and less bold than I had imagined.

As with the other palettes, there is some variation in the quality of the eyeshadows and blushers but I want to point out once again that these palettes cost a rather bargainous £10 each. That's £3 less than a single Stila powder eyeshadow. So although they might not be perfect across the board, they are a great way to experiment with colour.

The Stila Beach palettes are available from Escentual.com and Beautybay.com, as well as several other online retailers.



Disclosure: PR Sample

A Quick Look at Come One, Come All Kaleidoscope

I'm really aware that there's been a lack of makeup posts these last few days. I was hoping to catch up a little over the weekend but I spent yesterday in Milton Keynes buying a new laptop (amongst other things, even a new MacBook can't totally distract me from looking at makeup!).

A new laptop isn't the only new shiny thing in my life at the moment. I returned home on Friday to find a much anticipated parcel. Charleston Girl from Best Things in Beauty helped me to get hold of the limited edition Le Métier de Beauté Come One, Come All Kaleidoscope.

It's even prettier that I had hoped and I can't wait to try the top two eyeshadows in particular. No doubt this week I shall be waiting for a break in the clouds to take pictures in daylight.

So, what have you been up to this weekend, have you made any new beauty purchases? What's new with you?

Stila Week: Living the Life in Laguna

Living the Life in Laguna is a palette of warm, pinky neutrals. As with the other beach palettes, it contains four eyeshadow and two cheek colours: one blusher, one bronzer.

Bright sunlight

Overcast lighting

I shall start with the eyeshadows. Sand Dollar is a medium pink with quite a lot of shimmer. Although it's quite pigmented it is possible to sheer this one out to use as a wash. Sunset is a shimmery russet colour. Of all of the eyeshadows this has the best pigmentation and the smoothest texture. Cove is a mauve taupe colour and contains a discrete amount of shimmer. Bonfire is a chocolate brown with russet shimmer.

L-R: Sand Dollar, Cove, Sunset and Bonfire

I had expected to really like both Cove and Bonfire. Unfortunately their texture means they are tricky to work with. The powder is tightly packed, it picks up on a brush or a finger with a bit of effort but I find it hard work to transfer the colour to the lid (I tried the back of my hand too with a brush and had the same problem). In the placement guide inside the palette it suggests using Bonfire with a damp brush. It's possible that it would work ok like this as a liner. It might be a bit fiddly though if you were using this as a travel palette.

Flash

The cheek colours have been my surprise favourites in this palette. Although Pacific Coast Highway is supposed to be a bronzer I find it pulls quite peachy on my skin rather than tan. I think both of these make nice cheek colours. You can see how Pacific Coast looks when worn as a blusher at the bottom of this post.

I had a go at creating an eye look with the palette today. I'm very sorry to say that I failed to execute something I was happy to share because of the issues mentioned above. I found I couldn't get Cove to transfer onto my lid and Bonfire was too patchy to use as a crease colour. I tried with a variety of different brushes but had no success. Unfortunately the standouts shades, Sand Dollar and Sunset, are not flattering on my colouring without using other colours alongside them. If you would like to see how all of the colours look when applied, I can recommend taking a look at Lipglossiping's beautiful look.

I think how much value you would get from this palette depends on your colouring and also somewhat on your patience when it comes to applying dampened eyeshadow. If you enjoy pinky neutrals and could wear Sunset with confidence, I think this would be a worthwhile purchase. If you gravitate to more cool neutrals or wanted it just for the mauve and brown eyeshadows, I think you might want to pass on this.

The Stila Beach palettes are available from Escentual.com and Beautybay.com, as well as several other online retailers.


Disclosure: PR Sample.