Butter London Sweetie Shop Swatches: Cuppa, Jasper & Fruit Machine

Another post on some more of the shades I picked up recently from Butter London's Spring 2013 Sweetie Shop collection. I've already posted about some of the colours (Molly Coddled, Kerfuffle and Fiver) here, and managed to photograph the other three pretty pastels from the collection over the weekend.

Butter London: Cuppa, Jasper & Fruit Machine

In my last post, I mentioned that some of the colours from Butters Spring collection have been a bit difficult to apply and that I've had a few problems getting used to the stubbier and slightly wider than I'm used to brush. I did have a few problems with a couple of these shades too, but as I've already said, these are still some of the best pastels I've tried in terms of application and finish, and I'm really quite pleased with how well Butter's formula wears.

Butter London Cuppa

Cuppa - A clean, light beige nude creme. I found Cuppa the easiest to apply out of the six shades from the collection. I had some slight streaks going on with the first coat, but managed to get an even, streak finish with a second coat of colour.

Butter London Jasper

Jasper - A bright, buttercup yellow. Jasper is actually the first yellow polish I've tried. I've heard that yellows can be a bit difficult to apply evenly and I did have a few issues with this one. The first and second coats left me with some streaks, so I added a third coat of colour and topped it off with a coat of Seche to even everything out.

Butter London Fruit Machine

Fruit Machine - A bright and punchy baby pink creme. Like a few of the other shades from the collection, I found Fruit Machine to be on the thick side. I applied 2 coats of colour, but found I still had a few streaks, so added a third. 

Butter London Sweetie Shop Collection. Photo taken outdoors in shade

Overall, I really am pleased with all of the shades from the collection, despite the few application issues I've had with some of the colours. They're all very pretty, cheerful shades and I'd definitely recommend checking them out if pastels are your thing. I've been sporting Jasper and Cuppa on my nails over the past couple of weeks and I imagine I'll be reaching for the other chirpy colours a lot over the coming months.

L'Oreal Mousse Absolue: The First Reusable Hair Colour

I've dyed my hair at home for years, and over the past couple of years, I've become quite a big fan of foam colourants, so I was quite excited to see L'Oreal have launched the first reusable permanent foam hair colour. I've been using John Frieda's Precision Foam Colour for a while now and while I'm happy with the results I get, it pains me when I sport out a tenner for a dye for root touch ups and half of the bottle goes in the bin. 

Unlike regular dyes and foams that you mix up yourself, Mousse Absolue comes packaged in a nifty, gold bottle which contains two chambers (one for the colour and one for the developer). The two formulas are mixed as you dispense using the built in precision diffuser and the foam/mousse is applied like a regular dye. The separate chambers obviously mean the dye can be kept unmixed and therefore reused for multiple applications.

According to L'oreal, there's enough product in one pack to do an all over application and 1 root touch up on mid-length hair, 2 all over applications on short hair, and 1 complete application on long hair. So I suppose you might be able to squeeze a few applications out of one pack if you're literally using the mousse for roots, which sounds pretty good to me! 

12 of the 14 available shades

The mousse is available in 14 different shades grouped into blondes, browns and reds, and is available now from Boots and Superdrug at a special introductory price of £8.99. I have a bottle of John Frieda to use on my roots this time, but I think I might give Mousse Absolue a go next time my roots are in need of a touch up.

Butter London Sweetie Shop Swatches: Molly Coddled, Kerfuffle & Fiver

I picked up the shades from Butter London's Spring 2013 Sweetie Shop collection a couple of weeks ago, but have been waiting to swatch them for a couple of different reasons. The first is that the weather's been cold, dreary and miserable lately and not very Spring-like, and the second is, I'm still getting to grips with Butter's formulation, which is slightly thicker than I'm used to.

Butter London Molly Coddled, Kerfuffle & Fiver

I've been favouring Leighton Denny nail colours lately, which are much thinner than the Butter shades I picked up and easier to work with. The Butter brush has also taken a bit of getting used to, as it's stubbier and slightly wider than the Leighton Denny brush, and I find it a little bit more difficult to control. Anyway, some swatches of three of the shades from the collection...

Butter London Molly Coddled

Molly Coddled - A creamy lavender. This is one of the shades from the collection that I found to be slightly thick. I got the best, most even application when I applied two, thin coats of coats of colour. 

Butter London Kerfuffle

Kerfuffle - A soft creamy peachy/pale coral. Again, I found the formula to be on the thick side and did find Kerfuffle slightly difficult to apply, but I did get an even, opaque finish with two coats of carefully applied colour. 

Butter London Fiver

Fiver -  An icy mint green. I managed to get an opaque coverage with two coats, but the finish wasn't as smooth as I'd have liked, so i added a third after taking the photo above. I do absolutely love the colour, though!

While I've had a few application issues with some of the shades, I'm still completely in love with all of the colours from the Sweetie Shop collection. I'd been lusting after a minty green polish for quite a while, so Fiver is definitely my favourite of the bunch. They're all very pretty, though. 

I think the formula/brush problems I've been having are maybe more down to me than the formulation, as I'm used to other brand's formulas that I find slightly easier to apply. Overall, I've not had any major problems with any of the shades, and I have to say, they're probably the best pastels I've tried in terms of application and finish. The shades I've done full manicures with seem to wear/last well too. I got a good 4 days of wear with Fiver and Cuppa with Orly's Bonder used as a base and Seche as a top coat, which isn't bad at all. 

I did attempt to swatch the other three shades at the same time (Cuppa, Jasper & Fruit machine) so I could put them all in the same post, but the sun decided to disappear half way through swatching, so I'll post some photos of those in the next couple of days.

Fekkai Essential Shea Ultra Rich Hair Mask

Fekkai Essential Shea Ultra Rich Hair Mask

Frederic Fekkai’s Essential Shea Butter Mask is a product I discovered last year. My shoulder length, fine hair was suffering the effects of daily use of straightening irons, and the ends were in horrible condition. I spent a small fortune on hydrating masks and treatments to try and soften and hydrate my frazzled ends, and found a few masks which really seemed to help improve the condition of my hair. Fekkai’s Essential Shea mask was one of them and it’s something I’ve used ever since as a weekly treatment.

It’s described as an intense conditioning treatment, which replenishes, course, dry or unruly hair, leaving it soft and manageable. It contains sweet almond oil and Shea butter and it’s supposed to be used as a weekly treatment, on clean, damp hair. 

The mask is really quite thick in consistency and can be a little bit hard to spread. I find it’s much easier to apply if you warm it a little in your hands before applying. A blob around the size of a fifty pence piece is enough to sufficiently cover the ends and mid lengths of my hair. I don’t take it up any further than this as my roots tend to get a little bit oily, so stick to just the bits which need extra hydration. The instructions suggest leaving it on for 5-7 minutes, but I normally slather it on, clip up my hair and leave it on for a good half an hour before rinsing out.

Fekkai Essential Shea Ultra Rich Hair Mask

 What I’m left with after rinsing is really soft, silky smooth, hydrated hair, which smells delicious. The mask adds moisture and tames frizz without weighing down my fine hair or leaving it feeling heavy and the lovely scent lingers for quite a while after using too. In fact, I can still smell it in my hair the day after washing.

Fekkai Shea Hair Mask & a couple of other hair products I'm currently enjoying, Tigi's Moisture Serum & Fekkai's Glossing Conditioner

Fekkai’s Shea Butter Mask does exactly what it promises and the delectable scent makes it a pleasure to use. I have repurchased on a number of occasions now and will continue to do so. It’s a fantastic weekly treat, and I love the results I get after using. My only slight complaint is with the packaging. The masks thick, butter like consistency makes it a little bit hard to squeeze out of the tube when product’s running low. It’s only a slight complaint though, as the tube is soft enough to cut, allowing you to get to every last bit of product. 

Available from Lookfantastic (£25.00 for a 198g tube)

All Set For Spring With Butter London's Sweetie Shop Collection

Butter London Sweetie Shop Collection

For Spring, Butter London have released a collection of 6 soft, creamy pastel nail shades inspired by the 50s. I have to say, I've never really been a big fan of pastel shades (application issues), but Butter's collection really took my fancy, and seeing as I had no similar shades in my stash, I nabbed the set of pretty colours.

Butter London Sweetie Shop Collection

The Butter London description: Flaunt your femininity with our new, bespoke collection of pastel nail lacquers. Inspired by the 50s, these soft shades will conjure up images of cotton candy, milkshakes and macarons. So go ahead, show off your sweet side! 
 

Butter London Molly Coddled, Kerfuffle & Fiver

Molly Coddled - A pretty, creamy lavender. I find the formula slightly thick, but did get a nice opaque finish with 2 coats.

Kerfuffle - A soft creamy peachy/pale coral. I had a few application issues with this one and find I get the best results with 3, thin coats of colour.

Fiver - An icy mint green shade. Possibly my favourite of the bunch colour and application wise. I got a smooth, opaque finish with 2 coats.

Butter London Cuppa, Jasper & Fruit Machine

Cuppa - A clean, light beige nude creme. I managed to get a streak free, even application with 2 coats.

Jasper - A bright, buttercup yellow. I also find I get the best results with this shade when I apply three, thin coats.

Fruit Machine - Bright and punchy baby pink creme. No application issues with this one. I get a smooth, shiny, streak free finish with 2 coats of colour.

Butter London Cuppa, Kerfuffle, Fruit Machine, Molly Coddled, Fiver & Jasper

All 2 coats of colour in the nail wheel swatches apart from Kerfuffle and Jasper, which are 3. I managed to completely nubbinize my nails recently (a reshaping session that went horribly wrong), so decided to leave the nail swatches for today, I'll post some photos of what the shades look like applied in the next few days, though.

The shades from the Sweetie Shop collection are the first colours I've actually tried from Butter. I'd heard lots of great things about the brand, but wasn't sure what to expect with the formula. I must admit, I do find application to be a tricky and the formula a tiny bit thick with a couple of the shades, but overall, I am quite impressed. All of the colours dry to an incredibly glossy finish, and the two shades I've done a full manicure with (Fiver and Cuppa) both wore really well. I personally love all of the colours from the collection, and the names actually, and I imagine I'll be reaching for the shades a lot over the coming months.

Base Products I'm Currently Loving

After writing a post on Vichy's Dermablend Corrective Foundation a couple of days ago, I thought I'd have a go at a post on the rest of the base products I'm using at the moment. I have oily/combination, acne prone skin and I've worn full coverage foundations for years to cover up blemishes and scarring. Thankfully, blemishes are less of a problem for me at the moment, but I still have quite a bit of redness and a few scars that require camouflaging. To be honest, I could probably get away with a lighter coverage foundation at the moment and have been testing out a few different tinted moisturisers and foundations that offer slightly less coverage, but I'm finding it hard to give up full coverage bases. I suppose after wearing heavier foundations for so long, I feel a bit naked without it.

Anyway, on to what I'm using at the moment....

Primer - I've always had a bit of a love hate relationship with primers, and until fairly recently, I skipped the whole priming step completely. I purchased quite a few different types last year from various different brands and while I liked some of them, none of them really wowed me. I received a deluxe sample size of Laura Mercier's original primer in a kit a few months ago, though, and I have to say, I'm really liking the stuff. I think what I've disliked about most of the other products I've tried, is the texture and feel of the product. Laura Mercier's actually feels lovely though - very light-weight and easily absorbed, and it doesn't leave that velvety/silicone-y feel on skin.

I must say, I haven't noticed any huge improvements in how long my make-up lasts since I started using the product, but I really like the lovely, smooth canvas this creates for foundation and concealer. Base products seem to glide on much easier with the primer underneath, and it seems to hydrate any slightly drier areas nicely and stops foundation clinging to them. 

Foundation - As I said, I'm still favouring fuller coverage foundations at the moment and two of my current favoruites are Clarin's Everlasting and Vichy's Corrective. I originally bought the Vichy to use as a concealer but have been using it occasionally as a base, too. It covers well, looks and feels surprisingly natural, and seems to hold up well throughout the day. On days when I feel like I need slightly less coverage, I use it to camouflage and cover up any blemishes that I have going on, and on bad skin days I use a teeny tiny amount of it with the Everlasting to completely conceal any nasties that have popped up.

I've been using the Everlasting for years now and have repurchased lots of times. It doesn't provide quite as much cover as the Vichy, but it still covers blemishes and redness brilliantly. It also applies and blends well, and unlike other full coverage foundations I've tried, it doesn't feel heavy or look cakey. While it doesn't quite hold up as long as Clarins promise, it does also wear really well on my combination skin when set with a loose powder.

Undereye Concealer - I was quite a big fan of Dior's Skinflash Radiance Booster pen for quite a long time, but decided to switch to their Sculpt concealer last year when I needed something with a little more coverage. The lightest shade seems to match my NC15ish skintone well at the moment and it does a fantastic job at concealing dark circles and reducing the appearance of any puffiness I have going on. I find the concealer applies and blends really well, holds up well throughout the day, and it doesn't settle into fine lines either, which is an added bonus.

Powder - Without a setting powder, my face tends to turn into a horrible shiny mess within a few hours of applying make up. I used NARS Loose powder to set for years, but last year when my skin changed and certain areas became slightly drier, I found the NARS wasn't really doing me any favours. It started to emphasize dry patches and began to generally look a bit heavy and cakey, so I decided to switch and gave La Mer a go, and I'm so glad I did. It's without a doubt the most natural looking powder I've tried and it feels amazingly soft, smooth and light weight. Unlike other loose and pressed powders I've used before, La Mer doesn't look flat or powdery at all, instead it leaves a beautiful glowy finish. 

I must admit, it doesn't do quite as well as the NARS at keeping the oilies at bay, but I do still find it does a pretty decent job at controlling shine, and the finish and feel more than make up for what it lacks in the oil controlling department. It's pretty expensive stuff at £55.00 a tub, but after 6 months of quite heavy use my tub is still going strong.  

So, those are the base products I'm currently using and liking a lot. As I said, I think I'm going to try and give a lighter coverage foundation a go as the weather warms up, but the rest are definitely keepers.

Are you a full coverage foundation fan? Do you change your base products throughout the year or stick with the same ones?

Vichy Dermablend Corrective Foundation

Make Up For Ever's Full Cover has been my concealer of choice for the past couple of years, because it does a fantastic job at covering blemishes and the shade number 4 is a near perfect match for my NC15 ish skin tone. However, when my current tube started running low, I decided to try something different, as MUFE is not only difficult to get hold of here in the UK, but expensive, too. I'd heard lots of great things about Vichy's Dermablend Corrective Foundation, and after watching this excellent video from Lisa Eldridge (Acne/blemish Covering Make Up), I decided to give the foundation a go.

Vichy's description: A smooth blendable texture that glides on evenly leaving the skin with a natural, lightweight flawless finish. Recommended for minor to moderate skin imperfections such as redness, acne scars and pigmentation disorders. Moisturizing all day long. With the soothing properties of Vichy Thermal Water. 12 hours of long-lasting flawless wear (16 hours with Setting Powder). It's also non comedogenic, paraban free, and SPF 35.

Vichy Dermablend Corrective Foundation

In the Lisa Eldridge Video, Vichy's Corrective Foundation is used like a concealer as opposed to being used all over like a foundation, and that's mainly what I've been using it for, too. I have actually tried it as a foundation as well, though, and find it works brilliantly used in both ways. I assumed the product would actually be quite thick and heavy and create a mask like effect used all over, but the liquid feels surprisingly light weight and blends incredibly well.

Consistency wise, the product is quite runny and I've found that used as a concealer or an all over base, only a tiny amount is needed. Used as a base, I only need to use half or slightly less than I do with my regular foundations (Clarins Everlasting & Armani Lasting Silk). The pigmented liquid applies and blends nicely and covers redness, blemishes and even dark circles ridiculously well. I've used similar products in the past that have provided a similar level of coverage, but I don't think any have felt or looked as natural as the Vichy. Whether I use to it to camouflage problem areas, or as a full foundation, set with a bit of La Mer's Loose powder, I get a near on flawless finish that doesn't look heavy or caked on.

Vichy Dermablend Corrective Foundation: Opal

Vichy claim that their Corrective Foundation will hold up for a good 12 hours used alone, or 16 if set with powder. I have to say, the foundation doesn't last quite as long as that on my combination skin, but it does last for biggest part of the day when set with loose powder. I do need to touch up/blot oilier areas throughout the day (this is the case with all foundations for me), but I've found that the base does generally wear pretty well, doesn't settle into pores or fine lines and I've had no issues with oxidation. I've noticed no problems with breakouts or blocked pores since I started using either and find the foundation fairly easy to remove at the end of the day.

Unfortunately, the shade range is quite limited with only 5 different shades available, luckily though, I've managed to find a pretty good colour match with the lightest shade, 15 Opal. I imagine the shade may be slightly too light come summer and some mixing might be required, but for now, the colour matches my NC15 ish skin tone really well.

Clarins Everlasting: Nude, Armani lasting Silk: 4, Vichy: Opal & MUFE Full Cover: 4

I've swatched Opal next to Make Up For Ever's Full cover Number 4, Clarins Everlasting Nude and Armani's Lasting Silk 4 to give an idea of colour.

Clarins Everlasting: Nude, Armani lasting Silk: 4, Vichy: Opal & MUFE Full Cover: 4

All in all, I'm incredibly pleased with Vichy's Corrective Foundation. The coverage it gives is fantastic, and I really am quite surprised at how natural it looks and feels. As I said, I purchased mainly to replace my tube of MUFE Full Cover and I must say, I do prefer the Vichy, which provides similar coverage, but is much easier to blend and in my opinion, more natural looking. It doesn't hold up quite as well as the Full Cover on my combo skin, but still does pretty well and is much cheaper than the MUFE, which is a bonus. 

My only slight gripe with the base is the tube. Because the consistency is fairly runny, I find the squeezy tube sometimes dispenses a little bit too much product, so there has been a bit of wastage. It's not a major complaint, though and overall, I really am impressed with the foundation and would definitely recommend checking it out if you're on the hunt for a full coverage base, or concealer that covers brilliantly and holds up well.

I purchased my tube from Escentual where you can currently pick up a 30ml tube at the reduced price of £10.33 (normal price £15.50).