Chanel Joues Contraste Blush: Orchid Rose

Chanel’s Orchid Rose is the first Chanel blush I’ve purchased in quite a while. In fact, I’ve only ever owned one other blush from the brand, which I bought many years ago. I don’t remember which shade it was or even what type, but I do remember being completely unimpressed with both the colour and the formula. For that reason I’ve not paid any attention to Chanel’s blush or eye palettes for a long time, but recently, I suddenly had the urge to purchase one their Joues Contraste powder blushes.

After looking through the available shades and reading reviews, I decided to go with Orchid Rose. I had trouble finding swatches of the Euro version of the shade online, and had read that the US and Euro versions were remarkably different in colour, but going by the reviews I’d read, the shade sounded like something I’d like. 

Chanel Joues Contraste Blush: Orchid Rose

Chanel Blush: Orchid Rose

The US version looks like a complex mix of rose, mauve and peach, the Euro version is much peachier and contains quite a lot of multi coloured micro shimmer. The shimmer is visible on cheeks, but actually looks quite subtle, doesn’t accentuate pores and creates an almost sheen like, glowy effect. 

Chanel Orchid Rose

Chanel Orchid Rose Joues Contraste Blush. Left: Without Flash & Right With

As I mentioned, the last Chanel blush I tried was quite a big disappointment, so I was unsure of what to expect in terms of formula, texture and colour pay off. When searching for swatches and reading reviews, I’d seen a lot of bloggers comparing the US and Euro formulations and describing the non US, baked formulas as being quite hard to apply and less pigmented. I’m pleased to say that Orchid Rose is actually quite soft texture wise, and I’m able to easily pick up an adequate amount of product with a light swipe of my brush. The shade imparts a beautiful, peachy hue on my cheeks and looks incredibly natural on my NC15 ish skin tone. I’ve also found lasting power to be pretty good. Orchid Rose holds up well on my combination skin throughout the day with only a minimal amount of fading. 

I’m really pleased I decided to give Chanel blushes another go. I’m impressed with the formula, the pretty colour, and the beautiful glowy finish Orchid Rose gives me. The packaging and tiny dome of powder are a real thing of beauty, and I love the delicate rose scent. I have my eye on a couple of other shades which I spotted when searching for swatches, and after trying Orchid Rose, I will definitely be picking them up. 

Chanel Orchid Rose

 

Orchid Rose, Becca Enigma, Bobbi Brown Graphite Gel Liner & Ballet Pink Lip Pencil & Chanel Jersey Rose

Some of the products I've been wearing with Orchid Rose, Becca's Enigma palette, Bobbi Brown Graphite Shimmer Ink Gel Liner and Ballet Pink Lip Liner, and Chanel's Jersey Rose lipstick.

Puffy Eyes & Dark Circles: A Few Favourite Products For Reducing & Concealing

Puffy eyes and dark circles weren’t really much of an issue for me until a few months ago when I changed contraceptive pills. I’ve always had slight dark circles beneath my eyes, and have occasionally experienced a few problems with puffiness through lack of sleep, but had never had any major problems with either. When the hormone related puffiness kicked in, I found my regular eye cream and concealer weren’t really helping much to de-puff and camouflage, so I went on a hunt for products and treatments to help to sooth, reduce inflammation and conceal. I read through quite a lot of information on various different sites on how to reduce puffy eyes and picked up quite a few handy tips which have really helped, so I thought I’d share some of them along with the products I’ve been using. 

As I mentioned, my puffy peepers are due to fluid retention, which was a result of a change in contraceptive pills, but lack of sleep, allergies and excess salt in your diet can contribute to puffy eyes. As well as reducing salt intake and trying to get more sleep, I’ve also been giving the following tips and tricks a go: 

Elevate your head while sleeping. My puffy eyes are always worse first thing in the morning when I wake up, but I’ve found sleeping with an extra pillow has helped to reduce swelling. I’ve also read that sleeping on your back can help to reduce puffiness. Sleeping on you side or stomach can encourage fluid to collect under your eyes. 

Cold spoons. This is definitely one of my favourite tips and actually one of the most effective. I pop a couple of teaspoons in the freezer for a few minutes, leave them to chill, and then gently hold them under my eyes. This really helps to reduce swelling and feels really soothing, too. 

Gently tapping the under eye area. According to the Eye Doctor Guide website, a gentle tapping motion can help to release pressure in under eye tissues and allow any built up fluids to drain naturally. I’ve been trying this when I apply eye cream, using my ring finger to very gently tap product into my skin, and I really think it helps to reduce swelling. 

Drink plenty of water. This helps to reduce fluid retention and flushes excess salt from your system. Drinking more water during the day, but avoiding fluids right before bed has definitely helped to reduce puffiness.

As well as the above tricks, I’ve also found a few different products, which have also helped to reduce swelling and generally make my eyes feel a bit better. 

First up is Liz Earle’s Eyebright Soothing Eye Lotion, which contains a whole host of naturally active ingredients (eyebright, witch hazel, organic aloe vera and cornflower). It’s described as a light, non-oily lotion which soothes and refreshes tired eyes.

I first tried this last year when I was sent a sample to review and have repurchased it quite a few times since. I normally soak a couple of cotton pads with the product, place over my eyes and let the lotion do its work. It feels lovely and cooling (even more so if you keep it in the fridge), as the name suggests, soothing, and although it doesn’t claim to help puffiness, I think it does help to reduce it slightly, as well as leaving my eyes feeling calm and revived. 

Liz Earle Eyebright Soothing Eye Lotion

I’ve tried quite a few different eye creams which claim to de-puff and eliminate dark circles, but Alpha H Absolute Eye Complex is by far my favourite. It’s a clear gel which contains a cocktail of hibiscus flower, beech tree, olive leaf and cucumber extracts, and promises to eliminate puffiness, dark circles and fine lines. It feels cooling and refreshing and has a slight tightening effect as it sinks in and dries. I’ve definitely noticed an improvement in both puffiness and a slight improvement in dark circles since adding this to my routine. 

Alpha H Absolute Eye Complex

To camouflage dark circles, I’ve been using Dior’s Sculpt Lifting Smoothing Concealer. It provides a decent amount of coverage, feels light weight but creamy, and best of all, it doesn’t settle into fine lines. A few dabs of this applied and blended over dark circles and set with La Mer’s Loose Powder disguises discoloration really well and stays put all day. 

Dior Sculpt Concealer

I’ve also been using Eyeko’s Powder Pink Skinny Eyeliner on my waterline to brighten up my eyes. It’s not the longest lasting eye pencil I’ve tried, but the pale pink shade does do a pretty good job at opening up my eyes and making me look more awake.

Eyeko Powder Pink Skinny Liner

And finally, for an extra bit of brightening, I apply a dab of highlighter to the inner corners of eyes. Like the pencil trick, I find this helps to open up my eyes and makes me look a bit more awake, taking the emphasis off of any puffiness or darkness that I have going on. I normally use a pale, slightly shimmery shadow, but NARS Copacabana Multiple also works quite well, as does Becca's Eye Tint in Vicuna, which looks more natural and subtle.

So there we go, my current favourite products and tricks for reducing puffiness and dark circles. While none of them have banished my puffy peepers or dark circles completely, they've definitely helped to minimize and sooth them. Do you have any de-puffing tips or tricks? Or any favourite eye creams or gels?

Le Metier De Beaute True Colour Eye Shadow: Fig

Le Metier De Beaute is a brand I’d not really paid much attention to until fairly recently, because the products were a bit tricky to get hold of here in the UK. I had read a lot of positive reviews on various different products from the brand though, and a few items in particular had really caught my eye. It wasn’t until just before Christmas that I noticed BeautyBay had started to stock LMDB products and were offering free postage on orders, so I decided to grab a couple of shadows that I’d had my eye on.

Here’s what Le Metier De Beaute say out their true colour eye shadows: 

A full range of complimentary and highly-blendable shades, used alone or in combination to give radiant dimension to the eyes. Superior fine-pressed quality gives true buildable color—smooth together for subtle gradations or layer colors on, one atop another, in semi-translucent layers for a perfectly dimensional effect. Goes on perfectly even. Our quadruple milling process transforms pigments to luxurious weightlessness, strong coverage and their truest, most vibrant color. 

Le Metier De Beaute True Colour Eye Shadow

Fig is a shade I’d seen reviewed and swatched a few times on different blogs, it’s a beautiful, deep, rich, burgundy colour, and seemed like a good option for creating a winter, smoky eye. 

Le Metier De Beaute Eye Shadow: Fig

As I mentioned, Fig is actually the first product I’ve tried from Le Metier De Beaute. I’ve heard nothing but good things about the brands pigmented, silky smooth eye shadows and I have to say, I completely agree with all the positive reviews. They are rich, buttery and exceptionally smooth, and they apply brilliantly. The colour pay off with Fig is rich and intense, but the silky smooth formula blends incredibly well.   

Le Metier De Beaute Fig

  

Le Metier De Beaute Eye Shadow: Fig

I attempted a quick photo to show what Fig looks like applied. In the picture, I'm wearing the shade alone with a little bit of liner and mascara. Although the colour does look pretty applied all over the lid, I've mainly been using fig as an outer v/crease shade along with a couple of colours to create a slightly less dramatic look.

Le Metier De Beaute Fig Applied

And swatched on my NC20 ish arm. 

LMDB Fig

Fig really is a beautiful shade and I’m glad I’ve added it to my collection. I’m extremely impressed with how pigmented and smooth Le Metier De Beaute’s formula is, and with how well their shadows apply. I imagine I’ll be adding more shades from the range to my collection in the future, and after trying the brand’s shadows, will definitely be giving some of the other lovely products from the line a try, too.

 

 Available from Beautybay & Zuneta (£25.00).

Laura Mercier Signature Colour Essentials

Laura Mercier Signature Colour Essentials Kit

I was lucky enough to pick up this fabulous little set in a recent Space NK sale where it was reduced from £25.00 to £12.50! The Laura Mercier Signature Colour Essentials kit for face, eyes and lips contains four products, a palette and an eye shadow brush – pretty much everything you need to create a full face of make up. 

Laura Mercier Signature Colour Essential Kit For Face Eyes & Lips

Included in the kit: 

- A 3 well custom palette which includes a full size second skin cheek colour in Vintage Pink, an eye colour duet in Morning Dew /Primrose and an eye colour duet in Topaz/Kir Royal. 

- A mini Full Blown Volume Lash building Mascara in Black 

- A deluxe size foundation primer (30ml) 

- A full size Caviar Stick Eye Colour in Twilight 

- A full size Lip Glace in Sweetheart 

- An All Over Eye Colour brush 

I was thrilled to pick it up for such a fantastic price, but I have to say, I’d have happily paid full price as there are some great products in the set. 

The palette contains four eye shadows in the shades, Morning Dew, Primrose, Topaz and Kir Royal. Morning Dew is a great all over lid shade, and creates a nice base for both the other colours in the kit and eye shadows generally. I've found myself reaching for the shade quite a bit as a base for other eye colours too. Primrose is a pretty, iridescent pink, which again works perfectly with the shades in the palette. Topaz is a gorgeous shimmery taupe and Kir Royal is a lovely rich aubergine colour.

Laura Mercier 3 Well Custom Palette & All Over Eye Colour Brush

L-R: Laura Mercier Topaz, Kir Royal Morning Dew & Primrose

All of the shadows are soft, pigmented and apply and blend really well, as does the blush which is also included in the palette. Vintage Pink is a pretty, natural pinky peach shade and contains tiny gold shimmer. 

The powder shadows included in the palette & the Caviar Stick

Laura Mercier Caviar Stick & Volume Lash Building Mascara

As well as the powder shadows, there was also one of Laura Mercier's Caviar Stick Eye Colours included in the shade, Twilight, which is a metallic grey colour. I'd heard lots of good things about these and I have to say, I completely agree with all of the positive reviews. The shade is pigmented, incredibly soft and applies and blends perfectly. It works well used alone, as a base for other colours and as a liner. The formula also holds up well and I've had no issues with creasing, which is great. 

Laura Mercier Caviar Stick: Twilight

The mini Lash Building Mascara I've only actually used a couple of times. It applies nicely, doesn't clump and doesn't flake or smear. It's not the best volumising mascara I've tried, but it does separate and darken lashes well, creating quite a natural look.

Laura Mercier Foundation Primer & Lip Glace

The deluxe size Foundation Primer is also something I've only used a couple of times so far. I'm kind of undecided on this one at the moment and feel like I need to experiment with it some more. It does feel nice after it's been applied, and it does create a nice base for concealer and foundation, but I can't say I've noticed my base make up lasting any longer when I've used it.

The Lip Glace included is an exclusive shade, Sweetheart. It's a sheer, shimmery pink which only adds a tiny hint of colour to my pigmented lips. I'm not a big fan of lip gloss, but this one's actually really nice. The formula is non sticky and feels comfortable and lasting power isn't bad either. 

The blush & Lip Glace

Overall, I'm really impressed with the kit. As I said, I'd have happily paid full price because the items included are excellent.  I've purchased similar kits/sets in the past from other brands and usually find myself using just a couple of the products included, but everything included in the Colour Essentials Kit is being used on a regular basis at the moment (apart from the primer which I need to play with some more). 

Although everything included in the set is lovely, the stand out products for me are the powder shadows and Caviar Stick. I'd not tried either beforehand, but will definitely be checking out some of the other shades on offer after trying the colours in the set. In fact, another Caviar Stick (Cocoa) has already been ordered and is currently on it's way to me. I don't think the kit is still available on the Space NK site, but there are still plenty of bargains available in the sale section. I've currently got my eye on a few Chantecaille goodies which are half price or less, and the Laura Mercier smoky taupes trio palette, which has been reduced to £10.00.

Do you have any favourites from Laura Mercier?
Did you pick up any bargains or goodies in the sales?

A Few Favourite Winter Nail Colours

A little picture post of the nail colours I've been wearing a lot over the past few months.As soon as the weather started to change and winter kicked in, the vibrant, summery shades were put away and the darker, vampy shades were fished out of the stash.

L-R Leighton Denny Crushed Grape, No Comment, Rebel, Steel Appeal & Vamp

I became slightly obsessed with Leighton Denny nail colours last year and added quite a few of the shades on offer to my collection. Crushed Grape, No Comment, Rebel, Steel Appeal and Vamp have all been firm favourites over the last few months.

Nails In Piccadilly Circus & Deborah Lippmann Razzle Dazzle

Nails Inc Piccadilly Circus and Deborah Lippmann's Razzle Dazzle have also been firm favourites throughout autumn and winter. Piccadilly Circus is a pretty, creamy berry shade, and Razzle Dazzle is a raspberry jelly with lots of red and magenta glitter. I'm normally not a big fan of glittery nail polish, but Razzle Dazzle really is a beautiful shade and works really well with quite a few of the other wintery colours I've been wearing.

Deborah Lippmann Razzle Dazzle

I've used Razzle Dazzle to brighten up a tatty manicure on quite a few occasions and even attempted a bit of nail art with the shade too. It looks pretty applied over a darker colour on tips and works quite well paired with berry and vampy shades to create a half moon manicure.

OPI Can You Tapas This? & Manicurist Of Seville

OPI's Can You Tapas This? and Manicurist Of Seville are both colours I've had in my stash for a while. Can You Tapas This? is a deep burgundy brown creme, and Manicurist of Seville is a smooth, creamy, berry red.

A few swatches of Razzle Dazzle applied alone, over Chanel's Rouge Noir, and over OPI's Manicurist Of Seville. Paired with Rouge Noir is how I've been wearing the shade the most, the two colours seem to work together perfectly.

Swatches of Piccadilly Circus, Can You Tapas This?, Chanel's Rouge Noir and Manicurist of Seville. Two coats of each and photo taken indoors. 

Leighton Denny's Crushed Grape, a soft creamy burgundy. Rebel, a really rich purple shot through with tiny micro shimmer, which is only visible in certain light. No Comment, a deep iridescent plummy shade shot through with tiny red shimmer. Steel Appeal, a deep, dark grey with tiny silver shimmer. And Vamp, a dark glossy red, which is very similar to Chanel's Rouge Noir.

Chanel Rouge Noir, Nails In Piccadilly Circus & Deborah Lippmann Razzle Dazzle

And some swatches of the shades taken outdoors in direct sunlight. You can just about see the red shimmer in No Comment and the fine silver micro shimmers in Steel Appeal.

Manicurist Of Seville and Piccadilly Circus both look much more vibrant in direct sunlight. Manicurist Of Seville becomes more of bright, red berry shade, and Piccadilly Circus looks like a creamy, deep cerise pink.

 

And another picture of Deborah Lippmann's Razzle Dazzle applied alone (2 coats) and over Rouge Noir and Manicurist Of Seville. Both are pretty combinations. 

Do you change your nail colours with the seasons?

Any particular shades you've been favouring this winter?

Nars Blush: Douceur

I thought my first post of the year should be on one of last year's favourite products, NARS Douceur. I have to admit, I’ve never really been a big fan of NARS blushes. I’ve actually purchased quite a few of the shades over the years and while I’ve always found pigmentation and lasting power to be excellent, the shades I’ve bought have never been quite right for me. I do have a couple in my stash which I find myself reaching for often, Zen, which I find works really well as both a contour shade and a Winter bronzer, and Cactus Flower, which leaves cheeks with a really pretty hint of sheer, poppy red colour. There has however been one particular shade which I’d had my eye on for quite a while, Douceur.

NARS Douceur

Douceur is described as a “soft pink brown” on the NARS site, and I’d say the description is spot on. It’s a pretty, wearable pinky brown shade – perfect for adding a natural flush of colour to cheeks. In fact, since purchasing, it’s become my ‘go to’, everyday blush, because it works so well at adding a pretty and believable colour on my NC15-ish skin tone, and it goes with a variety of different eye and lip shades. 

NARS Blush: Douceur

Like other NARS blushes I’ve tried, Douceur applies and blends brilliantly. Unlike other shades I’ve tried from the range though, I do find it to be slightly less pigmented, which is fine with me. I tend to be a bit heavy handed with blush, so I like that Douceur applies quite sheerly and I can build the colour on my cheeks without looking overdone. As with other colours I’ve tried from the brand, I also find lasting power to be great. The colour sticks around for most of the day on my oily/combination skin type with only a slight amount of fading. 

NARS Douceur with flash

Douceur without Flash

Douceur swatched next to Zen and Benefit's Dallas, a similar shade which I found myself reaching for quite often before purchasing, Douceur. Although similar, Dallas is slightly more red than Douceur, contains more shimmer, and the formula is softer and more powdery, so I find it more difficult to apply and achieve a natural finish. Zen is more of a straight up, shimmer free, soft brown, which works well as both a contour shade and as subtle bronzer on my skin tone.

NARS Douceur, Zen & Benefit's Dallas Powder

Overall, Douceur is a fantastic blush which has become a firm favourite since I purchased it. It’s an excellent ‘go with everything’ shade, it’s easy to apply, and the perfect mix of pink and brown is really flattering on my NC15 skin tone, and I imagine it would work for a variety of other different skin tones too.

Available from the NARS site (£21.00) and from HQ Hair, where you currently receive a complementary NARS Tinted Moisturiser (I'm not sure of the size) with NARS purchases. 

Do you have any favourite shades from the NARS Blush range?

A New Year's Resolution

Wow, I can’t believe it’s been 8 months since I last posted, I really am a crap blogger. I was going through a bit of a hectic time again when I stopped posting and just couldn’t find the time to sit down and write anything. I kept on planning to take photos and put posts together, but I guess other things got in the way and it just never happened. I also went through a little stage where I kind of lost interest in make up for a while. Not such a bad thing really, as it meant surplus money was spent on other things and I was able to appreciate the products I already had. I actually rediscovered quite a few items that had been pushed to the back of the make up drawer.

I have missed blogging though, and one of my New Years resolutions was to start posting again. While I have been rediscovering some of the products I already have in my stash, I have also discovered new ones and new brands over the past few months, so there will be plenty of posts coming up on those. 

I hope everyone’s ok, and I hope you all had a lovely Christmas and New Year.