Revlon Lip Butters are finally coming to the UK!

Posted on January 31, 2012 by Briar Rose Beauty

The Revlon Lip Butters have caused quite a stir in the US since their launch, and of course us Brits have been dying to get our hands on them to see if they live up to all the hype…. well the wait is nearly over! These will be hitting the UK on the 14th March – mark the date in your diary because if these cause anywhere near the stampede they did in the US then you will want to go out and get them on launch day.

These have been proving very difficult to find for our fellow US beauty obsessives, with many of the shades constantly sold out in drugstores.

Revlon describes these as:

Buttery balm with beautiful shiny color to give you baby soft, healthy glowing lips, 94% of women felt lips were softer, smoother, and instantly hydrated.
Hydrating mango, shea and coconut butter formula boosts lip moisture by 156%
Pampering gel formula provides super charged hydration and glides on lips buttery smooth
Sheer to medium colour with buttery shine

These are often described as tinted lip balms, but from the swatches I have seen and the general feedback I’ve read they appear to be so pigmented that they go on more like very moisturising lipsticks.

There are 20 shades to choose from, and they all have really cute names which makes me want them even more, who wouldn’t want Cupcake, Berry Smoothie or Cotton Candy on their lips, yum!

Some shades are more tinted then others, but the majority seem to give a really nice colour payoff. I personally can’t wait to get my hands on Lollipop; the most gorgeous fushia shade.

I personally love the packaging of these. The quilted effect on the case has a distinctly Chanel-like feel about it which I think looks really chic. I also love the fact that the top is clear so you can quickly see the colour and how much is left.

They apparently don’t have great staying power, but then considering they are lip butters that is not really surprising. They also wear down quickly, again not surprising considering they are so soft.

These cost about $7 in the US so i’m guessing they will be around the £6 mark which is hardly anything in the grand scheme of things. I will be hitting my local Boots and Superdrug in March, and will of course be swatching and reviewing in more depth on here… Not least because it gives me an excuse to buy lots of them!

IMATS is coming…

Posted on January 28, 2012 by Briar Rose Beauty

So.. next weekend marks a very important date in the Beauty Obssessive’s calendar. IMATS London is happening on the 3rd, 4th and 5th of February 2012.

For those of you who don’t know, IMATS stands for The International Make-Up Artist Trade Show. It is the biggest gathering of make up you can find, and they hold shows all over the world through out the year. “Thousands of make-up artists, vendors and enthusiasts discuss, display and collect the best the industry has to offer. Make-up pros from fashion and film (including Oscar, BAFTA and Saturn award winners) provide education and demonstrations at IMATS, and new products often debut there.” (IMATS website)

This is held over three days, Friday, Saturday and Sunday and is open to the general public on the Saturday and Sunday. It is an amazing place to visit if you have a love of makeup, not only can you buy loads of your favourite make-up discounted from the companies stalls, but there are demonstrations and talks that are really interesting and useful. It is also a chance to meet your favourite YouTube bloggers who all like to come along. This year IMATS have already confirmed that Koren from EnKore Make-up will be a guest speaker on the Sunday, and Sam and Nic from Pixiwoo are also attending and speaking on the Sunday. Look out for Tanya Burr (pixi2woo) and Fleur (Fleurdeforce) who may well make an appearance too!

This year it has grown bigger yet again and the list of companies showing is increasing. The stalls I am really looking forward to visiting are MAC, MAC Pro, Illamasqua, Inglot, NYX UK cosmetics, OCC (Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics) Sleek MakeUP and Naked Cosmetics.
TIP: get there early if you want to shop, and go with an idea of what you want from each counter, and this is a VERY popular event and gets very busy. Last year the popular counters were 5 people deep later in the day!

There are also some great demonstrations/talks going on this year, I’ve already mentioned Koren, but i’m also looking forward to listening to Terry Barber, MAC’s director of makeup artistry, who is giving a talk on Saturday on Technical Beauty. Another one not to miss is:

Make-Up Artist magazine presents KEYNOTE SPEAKER NICK DUDMAN and actor WARWICK DAVIS Goblin Make-up Demo -
Nick Dudman, a veteran of the Harry Potter films, is bringing his friend and colleague Warwick Davis to IMATS, re-creating a Goblin make-up live on the Main Stage.

(photo from the IMATS website)

For full schedule of speakers click here.

Tickets are pricy, but considering the saving on make-up you will make it is justifiable (at least this is what I am telling my husband!) If you are thinking of visiting it would be well worth your time and money, its a great show that good fun and interesting. If you want to get your tickets, you can buy them from here.

I will be taking my camera and vlogging so you might see me there and of course I will do a haul afterwards and show you the bargains I got.

Maybe see you there! x

Get ready with me!

Posted on January 25, 2012 by Briar Rose Beauty

I’ve put a new beauty video up,

come along and get ready with me!

For a list of all products used, please see the info at the bottom of the video :)

Urban Decay Naked 2 palette hits the UK!

Posted on January 21, 2012 by Briar Rose Beauty

Having been obsessively checking the Debenhams website everyday since the first of January, the day I had been waiting for arrived! The day they started selling the Urban Decay Naked 2 palette! I immediately ordered mine and it arrived yesterday. This has been on the top of my wishlist since it launched in America last month.

Every review I have read about it has, inevitably, ended up comparing this to the first one and this one isn’t going to be to much different in all honesty. I am going to show swatches of both and talk a little about what’s similar and what’s different and also look at the Naked 2 Palette in its own right.

The packaging is heavier than the original and feels like it could be sturdier, but I am disapointed you can’t fold the lid behind as you can with the Naked 1, as this was a feature I really liked and used every time. I don’t know why they felt they needed to change it so dramatically, as I haven’t any reports of the old one breaking or tearing or even getting beaten up in any way at all. A lot of bloggers didn’t like the material covering the original as it can get dirty very easily and picks up fluff and makeup, but I personally did. They have made the mirror bigger in the Naked 2 palette which is an improvement, it is much more user friendly now (although I have to say I could use the Naked 1 mirror just fine). Overall I prefer the old packaging, but it must be said that a lot of people are really keen on the new packaging so it could just be me.

Naked 1 palette swatches:

Naked 2 palette swatches:

The colours (in order right to left) are:

Foxy, Half Baked, Booty Call, Chopper, Tease, Snake Bite, Suspect, Pistol, Verve, YDK, Busted, Blackout.

Foxy is a very very sheer pale yellowy-beige colour. It is matte and almost looks invisible on my arm. This works well for me in the corner of my eye, as a brow highlighter or even a highlighter above my cheeks as I have very fair skin, I think people with darker skin tones might struggle to find a use for this. It reminds me of MAC’s Brule.
Half Baked is exactly the same colour as is in the Naked palette. It seems a shame to me that they put the same shade in both, and if I had had to choose a repeat it wouldn’t have been Half Baked, but there we are. It is a dark gold colour with a lot of shimmer in it. It has good payoff and looks nice over the lids. This is a permanent colour.
Booty Call is a peach tinted light beige colour with a frosted finish. It’s more peach than Urban Decay’s Virgin, and therefore slightly warmer. It has a fairly good payoff. It is similar to MAC’s Vanilla. This is a new shade for Urban Decay.
Chopper is an orangey-red brown with copper shimmer in it. This has really good payoff but also has a lot of fall out so is one you need to be careful with. It is similar to Sidecar from the original naked palette, but Sidecar is more brown where as this one is more orange. This is a permanent colour.
Tease was one of the colours I was really interested in trying. It is a browney-mauve matte shade. It looks such a lovely colour in the pan, but is a bit difficult to work with. The colour payoff isnt great, and you really have to jab at it to get it on the brush in the first place. I had to apply 4 coats to get it to show up on the swatch. It is similar to MAC’s Quarry, but Quarry actually has a better payoff and is a truer to pan colour. I personally would choose Quarry over Tease.
Snakebite is one of my favourites in this palette just because it is such a pretty colour. It is dark bronze with dark gold shimmer in it. It has a gorgeous texture which is almost creamy/buttery. You will get quite a bit of fall out with this one too. It is similar to MAC’s Tempting, but this is lighter where as Tempting in more brown. It is quite similar to Smog and Darkhorse from the Naked 1 palette, but is almost identical to the two when mixed together. It is a bit of a shame the colour can be copied so easily, but if you like this colour and only have the naked 1 at least you know you can replicate it.

Suspect is frosted champagne colour which with a soft metallic look to it. It has a good payoff to it. Good for the inner corner of the eye, on the lid and below the eye too.
Pistol is a grey-brown colour with shimmer to it. I think looks quite taupe ( but like a taupey-brown if that makes sense?). It has a lovely smooth texture to it and has good payoff. I struggled to find a dupe for this, but Nars Bali is similar, just matte.
Verve is a pale greyey-beige with a slight pink tint to it. I can’t really find a dupe to this, possibly MAC’s White Frost, but this isn’t really greyey or pinky enough. Good colour payoff and a nice smooth texture.
YDK is my other favourite colour in the palette. It is a warm reddy/pink frosted brown with a hint of copper in it. It has good payoff and again is smooth. It can have quite a bit of fall out. This is such a lovely colour, it is quite smilar to Toasted from Naked 1, but less pink and with a slightly better payoff.

Busted is a burgundy tinted brown with gold shimmer in it. It is a warm colour with a soft frosted finish. Again it has a good colour payoff and a smooth texture, but it is a very light colour which needs building up to fully appreciate. It is very similar to Hustle from the original Naked palette, though it does apply a lot smoother.

Blackout is an incredibly intense deep black with a matte finish. This has an amazing payoff and goes on very very black. It is similar to Make Up Forever’s Black in matte.

The Naked 2 palette also comes with a double ended brush. One end is a dense, hard bristle brush for patting on colour and the other end is a fluffy brush for blending. This is a great addition as it really means you could travel with just this palette if you had to. It makes it extremely convenient. The brushes are both really good quality that I am happy to use, the seem comparable to the MAC and the Sigma brushes. For my review of the Sigma brushes click here. This is a great addition to the palette. I love having the fluffy there as well as you can just finish off your eye makeup so much better with a little bit of blending.

The last thing it came with was a Lip Junkie in the shade Naked. This has a minty taste to it and make my lips tingle slightly when it’s on. I have to say I don’t love this, I am not a fan of the taste or the way it feels on my lips, and I also think it is kind of a random thing to put into the set, as it doesn’t really go with the other items. Something else for the eye would have been a much better idea in my opinion. I would have been much happier to have some more primer potion or an eyeliner pencil again and this would tie in better.

I didn’t really notice a plumping effect with it, and as I said I found it tingled more than it cooled and I wasn’t a fan of this anyway.

Overall this is a great palette in its own right. I don’t know whether you would need both (I personally wanted both) as they do kind of the same thing, but I am glad I have both and I think I will end up mixing the colours from both to create more looks. I am really happy with this palette and you can’t really fault the price, it’s such good value for money! ($204 worth of eyeshadow, $24 worth of brush, $6 worth of lipgloss so $234 in total) and I think I am going to get just as much use out of this one as I get from my Naked 1, which I use constantly… so overall the Naked 2 gets a thumbs up! from me, but not as big a thumbs up as the Naked 1 got.

How do you apply liquid foundation?

Posted on January 21, 2012 by Briar Rose Beauty

There are 3 ways that I apply my liquid foundation. Brushes, fingers, or the Beauty Blender. The Liquid foundation I use is Chanel’s Vitalumiere Aqua in B10 (lightest shade).

Over the last month I have been alternating what I use inorder to rate each of the ways and see how they compare with each other.

Up until a few months ago I always used my fingers to apply foundation. It is quick and convenient because you don’t need to hunt for anything else other than your foundation, and had always served me fairly well.

However, there are downsides to using fingers. If your fingers are not completely clean then you run the risk of spreading bacteria across your face which leads to breakouts. It is also difficult to get a completely even coverage using just your fingers as to blend well you have to apply a lot of pressure, something inadvisable as it is not very good for your skin. When I use my fingers I dot foundation all over my face and then mix and blend the dots together until it is evenly spread, and then pay close attention to my jawline to make sure that blends well in to my neck.

When I ordered from Sigma I made sure that I would be receiving a couple of brushes specifically designed for liquid foundation so I could see if the results were any different. These were the Duo Fibre – F50 and the Foundation – F60.

The F50 is meant to be “specially designed to generate an airbrushed finish when used to apply liquid foundation, blush and highlighter. [It is made of a] blend of synthetic and natural bristles.”
The F50 is “perfect to apply liquid or cream foundation. Can also be used to conceal large areas. [It is made of] synthetic bristles.”

The F50 does indeed give an “airbrushed finish’ to my skin, due mostly I think to the larger head and the densely packed bristles . I use a “stippling motion” to apply it across my skin evenly then brush across my nose, cheeks, forehead and jawline to make sure everything is blended. I also then take whatever is left on the brush and run it up and down my neck to further blend the look together.

I like using this brush, but the one I received does seem to shed a lot which ruins it a little for me, as I am forever having to pick tiny bristles from my skin. I don’t know whether this is a problem with all of Sigma’s F50 brushes, or if I just got a bad one.

The F60 is a much harder, more precise brush, so is especially good at blending right in the creases around my nose and lips. It also allows me to get right up close to my hairline without getting any foundation in my hair, something that I have found I do with the F50. Because the F60 is a harder brush, I feel that it is not so gentle on my skin as the F50, which feels feather light when brushed across the skin. The F60 requires a bit more force to really get the product into the skin.

To get the best look on my skin using brushes, I tend to use a mixture of both, starting with the F60 to work it into the precise areas and then using the F50 to give a better overall finish by stippling.

Which ever brush I am using I always tip a pea-sized amount of foundation on to the back of my (clean) hand and then take a small bit on to part of face and blend a section at a time, rather then dotting and blending all over at once.

The Third method of applying my foundation, by far my favourite, is using my Beauty Blender.

This is a sponge type applicator that you wet and towel dry and then ‘bounce’ across your skin to even out your foundation. This little sponge can be washed with shampoo after use, (I use Johnson’s baby shampoo as it’s gentle for my skin) or simply squirted with makeup remover and worked in to clean (I use MAC).

The larger, rounded side is great for general coverage over the cheeks, along the jaw and down the neck, and the pointed smaller end is great for getting right in the creases in the nose. It is also really good for using under the eyes, as the sponge is so soft it won’t damage the delicate skin there. I also use this for applying my concealer as well as the pointed end gives really accuracy and ‘bounces’ the product into the specific areas I need. Again as with the brushes, I do sections of my face at a time with this, and then once my face has been covered I go back over the entire surface smoothing. The side of this sponge can be used for sweeping along the jawline to remove any ‘yellow/orange line.’ The finish I get with this is amazing. My skin genuinely looks flawless, and I have had many comments about it from people after I have used it. It looks much more airbrushed’ than either of the brushes and ridiculously more so than with my fingers. It is outstanding and I am in love.

There are only 2 downsides I have found with the beauty blender, and both are relatively minor.
Number 1 is that you have to remember to wet it first, which I never do, so always have to get up and take it to the bathroom, wet and towel dry before going back to my vanity. This is really just a minor inconvenience, and is really more about my own absentmindedness then anything else.
Number 2 is that these do not last forever. Once you have purchased a brush, although this is a big expense in the beginning, you then have the brush for years and years if you look after it properly. Each beauty blender will only last a few months before disintegrating. A duo pack of beauty blenders will cost you around £22, approximately the same price as a brush and will probably only last you 6 months in total. I personally feel that the finish received from it more than make up (pun intended :) ) for cost and this is something I will be repurchasing again and again.

These are the methods that I have been using to apply my foundation, and in my opinion go in this order:

Beauty Blender
Combination of Foundation Brushes
Fingers

Why not leave a comment below letting me know how you apply your foundation, what methods you use and what works best for you?

Golden Globes 2012: My Favourite Looks

Posted on January 19, 2012 by Briar Rose Beauty

Late Sunday night (in the Uk) the 69th Annual Golden Globe Awards, held at the Beverly Hilton hotel in Beverly Hills, was aired.

Now, obviously everyone is interested in who is going to win what, But the real reason people watch is, of course, THE FASHION!

In this post i’m just going to talk about some of my favourite makeup looks as well as some of my favourite dresses.

One of the major trends on the red carpet this year was the blush dress. This was worn by so many celebrities; Kate Beckinsale, Sarah Hyland, Jessica Alba, Jessica Biel, Heidi Klum, Charlize Theron, and Guiliana Rancic to name just a few; and looked stunning on all of them. What I loved was to see how many different ways they were all embellished. My three favourite blush dresses were seen on, Kate Beckinsale, Charlize Theron and Jessica Alba, with my best dressed of the night going to Charlize Theron.

I think all three looked absolutely beautiful, and a lot of that was due to the way they paired their makeup and hair with the dresses to perfect their overall look. All these three women went with a very nude lip to match in with their dresses, and often played up the eyes, leaving the rest of the face looking very natural and flawless. Charlize’s makeup was by Shane Paish for Dior. “The look was all about polished, effortless glamour,” said Paish. The make up used was:

Skin: Dior L’Or de Vie La Creme, Diorskin Airflash Spray Foundation.
Eyes: Dior 5-Couleurs Eyeshadow in Garden Roses #841, Diorshow Extase Mascara.
Cheeks: Diorblush in Pink in Love #889.
Lips: Rouge Dior Lipcolor in Tulip Pink #448, Dior Addict Ultra-Gloss in Beige Tweed #227.

I personally am really having to resist the urge to rush out for the Dior 5 eyeshadow palette, Garden Roses, which just have the most gorgeous colours in it, or even the other palette from the collection, Garden Pastels which is just as pretty. I also love the roses in the eyeshadow too which just look so lovely. These are available to buy here.

The trend of matching lip to dress was also seen on some people wearing red dresses, paring them with a classic old hollywood style red lip. Angelina Jolie and Diana Agron were the two who really pulled this off.

One of my favourite make up looks of the night, for just simple classic beauty, was Sarah Hyland, who looked gorgeous, very young and flawless. Her make up and hair matched her dress and she just looked really well put together and absolutely beautiful. Neither her hair or her make up were over done, it was a very natural look that really suited her, and she didn’t accessorise with too much jewellery which kept the rest of her from looking over done as well.

She went for brown and gold eyes, fairly full eyebrows, nude lips and just the hint of bronzer on the cheeks. Her hair was up in a side bun with tendrils left out.

The other stand out look of the night for me was Rooney Mara, who chose more dramatic make up to compliment her very structured dress.

Her skin is perfect here, it looks completely flawless and is the most beautiful creamy colour, which is the perfect backdrop to make the dramatic cats eye make up stand out even more. She chose a brown cats eye with a lot of eyeliner and false lashes. She also has very strong dark eyebrows here which I have to say I am kinda envious of! There is a hint of either bronzer or a brown blush which makes here cheekbones look so sharp and she has finished the look off with a matte reddy-brown lipstick. Really beautiful.

One for the men: Chanel Allure Homme Sport

Posted on January 15, 2012 by Briar Rose Beauty

Whilst I was my local Chanel counter being shade tested and picking up my Perfection Lumiere my poor long suffering husband was hanging around the counter waiting for me. While he waited he came across the Chanel fragrance section, and realised that Chanel made men’s fragrances. My husband is a bit of a fragrance-acholic, he loves to find and try out new scents, so of course he dived straight in and started trying them out. It turns out that he actually really liked most of them, and got quite excited (well as excited as a man can get) over the Chanel Men’s range. His absolute favourite was Chanel’s Allure Homme Sport.

This fragrance was created five years after the launch of the original Allure Homme. It a fresher, sharper fragrance then the original with notes of water and aldehydes. It has a woodsy, spicy character to it, but is not overly heavy due to the luminous vetiver note. Overall it is a light, translucent smell. The base is created using white musk, tonka beans and amber. This was created by 2004 by the Jacques Polge, described as the ‘nose’ of the Chanel house.

It’s a very masculine sent, and impressive light considering how many different notes are combined within it. It is certainly a new favourite with my husband and one well worth checking out for the significant other in your life!

It is available from all Chanel counters, as well as most high street stores selling fragrances, such as Boots etc. It retails for around £43 for 50ml.

Perfection has hit the UK: Chanel Perfection Lumiere

Posted on January 13, 2012 by Briar Rose Beauty

C day is here.

Chanel, in a brave choice, decided to launch their new foundation, Perfection Lumiere and their new concealer Correcteur Perfection on Friday the 13th of January. So far it has seemed to escape the day’s curse, as my local Chanel counter told me they had been extremely busy all day and had received generally positive feedback on both.

I had heard very mixed reviews about this foundation, and I think a lot of that comes from the fact that Chanel have discontinued two extremely popular foundations, the Pro Lumiere and the Mat Lumiere to make way for this.

As these two foundations served very different purposes it seems strange to many, (me included!) that Chanel feels this one foundation will fill the hole left by the other two. It is suppost to be semi-matte, which I suppose is how they are thinking it will fit both, but fans of the Pro Lumiere will be disappointed. It’s much much more matte than the Pro, so if you are a lover of the luminous dewy look that the Pro was famous for this will not be one for you. In fact, as I write, there are people scouring the web for as many bottles of the of Pro as they can find to stock themselves up for years to come!

I take the lightest shade B10 Beige in the winter in all the other Chanel foundations, so when I went along today this was the shade I was expecting I would need in this too. However, as the Perfection Lumiere comes in so many different shades, far more than a Chanel foundation to date, the lovely lady tried a few on my skin just to make sure this was the best for me. As it turns out the Perfection Lumiere does come in B10, but there is an even lighter shade called B12 Rose Beige, which works even better for me. As always I need the lightest shade available :)

When it was applied, I initially didn’t love it, it seems slightly too powdery as it dried and settled into the fine lines around my eyes and nose, making then more noticeable. However, I’d seen other bloggers talking about this, saying that it doesn’t look great as it first goes on, but needs some time to sink in and adjust a bit. This is atcually true, and as time passed today I liked this more and more.

It gives an incredibly flawless finish, to the point where I actually look like kind of dead with just this on, there is such a lack of colour to my face, but once it was finished off with the tiniest bit of bronzer on my cheeks I really loved it. It just makes my skin look so beautifully even. I’ve found myself catching my reflection in glass windows and mirrors every since and smiling to myself because I feel good with this on.

Some people have said that they find this a bit much for during the day, too much coverage, and too much of an ‘airbrushed’ effect and would be better for evening wear, but I personally just love how it looks so much I would probably wear it all the time quite happily :)

This foundation has quite a heavy perfume to it. This didn’t bother me to start, it seems quite grown-up to me somehow and reminds me of the perfume you would expect a ‘lady’ to wear, but after a while I really wasn’t keen. It seemed a bit cloying, and make me feel a touch queasy as I was in the car on the way home. However the perfume very quickly fades, and here I am, 4 hours on, and I can’t smell anything. On the plus side of this, my husband actually quite like the smell, and it certainly something I can live with for the finish.

This foundation is meant to have a 15 hour staying power but this something I am not going to be able to confirm or deny tonight, as I probably will only have it on for 6 hours at most. However, they gave me a sample of this which I will wear tomorrow and will let you know. So far it hasn’t faded or creased at all, which is impressive with my normal/combination skin. I usually go shiny around the nose pretty quickly if I do not set my foundation with powder, and I haven’t done this with the Perfection Lumiere, and so far it’s stayed fine.

While I was having this applied I mentioned to the lady that I sometimes have trouble concealing under my eyes as I have very dark circles, (blame 3 years of no sleep thanks to my sons!) so she suggested I try the new Correcteur Perfection while I was there. The shade that suited me best was (of course) B10 again, the lightest, and I was actually really impressed with this as well. It covered the blue easily, without having to be too salmon, which doesn’t suit my skin tone at all.

The foundation retails for £36 and the concealer retails for £26, so it is going to be an expensive day for me at the Chanel counter soon, but I have to say I might even like this one more than the Vitalumiere Aqua, which is my go to foundation. This is high praise indeed coming from me, and overall I was really happy with Chanel’s new offering.

In other news, I ordered my Urban Decay Naked 2 palette today from here, so keep an eye out for my review of that in a few days! Update: My Naked 2 is palette is here! to read my review click here

My December Carmine Beauty Box Review

Posted on January 11, 2012 by Briar Rose Beauty

My Carmine Beauty Box arrived just before Christmas (early christmas pressie yay!), so i’ve had it for around 3 weeks now – long enough to properly use all the products and know my feelings and opinions about them. So, I thought I would write a post sharing my thoughts.

In my December box there was:

MyFace Cosmetics – BlingTone in sp”ice”y
Japonesque – Smudger Brush
Benito Brow Bar – free eyebrow threading session
Weleda – Pomegranate Creamy Body Wash
KMS California – Freeshape Quick Blow Dry
Institut Esthederm – Time Technology Cream

I got the eyeshadow shade in sp”ice”y (the brown one at the back). At first glance this looked a really good product, its a mid-brown colour with gold flecks in it; a really pretty colour. This is exactly the type of colour I love. I am really in to brown colours and I also love anything with some shimmer in it (I am a real magpie). When I swatched this on my hand I was a little disappointed, as the colour payoff didn’t seem too great. I needed a lot of building to get a great colour, and the glitter seemed a little chunky. However, after using it on my eyes with some other browns I was really pleased with it. It is VERY shimmery, so be careful a little goes a LONG way (each time i’ve used it my hands have ended up covered), but it looks very lovely on, and the shimmer catches the light in a really pretty way. I wouldn’t recommend using this on its own on the eyes, it wouldn’t show up too well, but blended with other colours it does indeed give a touch of ‘bling’ to your look. This is an eyeshadow that also benefits from being used wet. They cost £14.99 for three and pick up yours here

The Japonesque Smudger Brush is one of the products that ties for top place of my favourites list this month. It is a great little brush, that is excellent for (as you would hope given the name) smudging eyeliner or colours out. It stops you having a harsh line, giving a lovely ‘smokey’ eye look. I love that it is travel size as well. Since its arrival it has permanently lived in my purse (its EXACTLY the right size) and has gone everywhere with me. If my eyeshadow begins to crease or my eyeliner smudges I whip this out and blend everything and have sometimes made my eyes look better then they did when I originally applied it! Carmine also enlisted the help of everyone’s favourite blogger FleurdeForce to show you how to get the most of out it, also using the Blingtone eyeshadow I talked about above. Watch that vid here:

This one retails for £14.97, and all their brushes are currently on buy one, get one half price, a bargin! Grab yours up here

The free eyebrow threading session from the Benito Brow Bar isn’t something I can comment on yet, as there isn’t a Bar anywhere very close to where I live, and as I haven’t been north since receiving my box I have been able to use it :( However I have been keeping an eye on Twitter, and a lot of the Carmine recipients have been raving about it, having gone and had it done (JEALOUS!). “Just been to have my brows threaded courtesy of my December box. Really impressed they are very neat and tidy. Thanks Carmine” - jayesophine85. The Benito Brow Bar is Vogue recommended and you can find a location near you here

The Weleda Pomegranate Creamy Body Wash went into my shower from the moment it arrived, and has been used by me, my husband and my brother who is staying with us. Men hey, they nick all our good products! It is made with organic pomegranate seed oil, and is infused with pure essential oils of sandalwood davana and neroli [that is meant] to stimulate the senses and bring balance to your body and soul. It is certainly is very invigorating, and reminds me a little of Original Source’s Pure Lime Shower Gel, it has that same hit of fragrance that I associate with their products, but it is not quite so “slap you round the face” as the Original Source’s range is, its definitely more subtle. I do feel more awake after having used this, and both my husband and my brother have mentioned to me that they like it. Pomegranate isn’t one of my favourite scents, but having been on the Weleda website I have discovered they do a Wild Rose version, which I will definitely be getting once we’ve all used this one up, although i’ll be hiding it in between showers from now on! This only costs £8.95, so isn’t much more than normal drugstore or supermarket brands so is definitely worth the cost. You can buy it here

OH MY GOD! This is one of those products that completely changes the way you have always done something once you’ve tried it. My hair is about 18 inches long and, although I have quite fine hair, there is LOTS of it, so it normally takes me somewhere between 20 and 25 minutes to blow dry. This is always a major chore that I hate doing, so only really do if for a special reason. I was really skeptical about this product which claims to reduce drying time by up to half, but IT REALLY DOES WORK! The first time I tried this I used the timer on my phone to see exactly how long it took me, and was amazed that in only 9.57 minutes! That is unheard of with my hair and utterly wowed me. I have used this 1/2 a dozen times since and it consistently cuts the drying time down to around ten minutes. WOW. I have even tried it on towel dried hair and it dried that it 4.36 minutes! I am totally in love and have a feeling I will be going through many many bottles of this from now on. It means I can dry my hair much more often, which makes it look so much nicer, i’m so happy! :) Find a salon that stocks this near you here, only watch out, because if it’s a salon near me I can guarantee there wont be much left soon!

Fleur and Carmine have also done an instructional video showing how to use these products which you can you watch here:

I have to say I love these videos Carmine does, it’s really nice to see different ways you can use the products and as always it’s great to see Fleur!

The last thing I received was the Time Technology Cream by Institut Esthederm. This was a (generous) sample size cream that should be used on the face and the neck in the morning and the evening. The texture and smell of this reminded me of the Nivea Visage Q10 Night Cream, except that the Time Technology Cream has a slightly subtler scent to it, which I like. This feels so smooth and soaks into the skin really quickly. It has left the dry skin I get on my forehead much softer and has been a product I have really loved using this month. It has left my whole face feeling much more moisturised and my skin looks a lot healthier for it. It is meant to eliminate toxins, optimise the cell’s energy efficiency and make you look refreshed, containing gold and violet mother of pearl minerals, this is the one-step regime to a sublime complexion. Try smoothing a bit of this cream on tired skin (apply more generously to darker areas) to get rid of fatigue and restore your skin’s radiance. It’s like a little pot of perfection! It really has seemed to make a big change to my skin, although of course I have only been using it for 3 weeks, and I really feel you need to use a skin product for at least 6 weeks to 2 months to really see the difference. At £69 the price made me weep a little, but it honestly is a really lovely product and you can understand the price tag once you tried it. I dont know if i will be able to justify the price, but I hope it can! If you can, it is available here.

How to: Lacebraid Headband Tutorial

Posted on January 9, 2012 by Briar Rose Beauty

A way I like to wear my hair is in a lacebraid across my hairline, creating a ‘headband’ effect.

The reason I like this style is because, first of all it looks cute, and secondly it gets my long fringe out of my eyes. I get bored with forever tucking my fringe behing my ears and I don’t think it looks very good, this is a quick easy way to hold your hair away from your face that just looks a little nicer.

Watch my video tutorial here: