November Empties

I managed to use up quite a few products throughout this month, including make up and nail polish which is almost unheard of for me!

Hair

Joico K-PAK Reconstructor: This protein based intensive reconstructing treatment has really changed the condition of my hair for the better. This is used after shampoo and before conditioner. I use twice weekly and will be repurchasing.

Lee Stafford 'For Hair That Never Grows Past A Certain Length': This is also a treatment that is used post shampoo and pre conditioner. Smells divine and leaves my hair silky soft - can't actually say it has helped my hair grow any longer though. Undecided if I will repurchase.


Batiste XXL Volume: What can I say - a dry shampoo that not only disguises greasy hair but provides bouncy volume too, will definitely repurchase.

Skincare

Sanctuary Pore Refining Toner: I love that this toner comes in a spray bottle, I think all toners should. This is a nice refreshing spritz but the toner itself nothing special. I have about 10 other toners to use up, so no need to repurchase just yet.

Clarins Water Purify One Step Cleanse: Love love love this stuff. I bought this for lazy days when I am not wearing make up and just need a quick cleanse in the morning or at the end of the day. This has been a lifesaver for me this month. I suffered a particularly nasty bout of flu earlier in the month and the last thing I could do was cleanse/tone/moisturise. A quick sweep over the face with this kept my skin fresh, clean and blemish free. It has the consistency of a toner, but offers a deep cleanse. Will definitely repurchase.

Clinique Take The Day Off: I tend to rotate three favourite make up removers and this is one of them. My favourite type of make up remover, this is a dual phase that removes every last trace of make up, even waterproof. A long time staple of mine, I've been repurchasing this since my late teens.

Neutrogena Visibly Clear Spot Stress Control Ultra Light Moisturiser: This is a cheap, effective and amazing product that I discovered when googling certain ingredients in skincare. I was particularly interested in salicylic acid (bha) and in a nutshell learnt that salicylic acid works most effectively at a concentration of 1-2% and at a pH level of 3-4. This light gel moisturiser has exactly that and all for under £4. Said to be a cheaper alternative to items from the paula's choice range (I don't know, I haven't tried them) Will definitely repurchase this (this is my third tube!)

Make Up

Chanel Le Vernis - Rouge Noir: Possibly the most famous Chanel cosmetic item, this blackened red nail polish is another long time staple of mine. I've had this bottle for around 8 years and whilst a little still remains, it has totally dried up and become unusable. People say Chanel's polishes are expensive (currently £17.50 I'm sure I paid around £14-15 for this back then) but  years of usage makes it very economical! Definitely going to pick another one of these up asap.

Christian Dior Diorshow Blackout Waterproof Mascara: Not necessarily one of my favourite mascaras, I couldn't wait to use this one up. I am a big fan of the original Dior show mascara so thought I would try the 'blacker than black' version. I don't find this any more effective than the original Dior Show and it is 10x more difficult to remove! Won't repurchase this particular one, but still love Dior mascaras.

YSL Singulier Mascara: My HG mascara is YSL's Effet Faux Cil so I thought this might be in the same league. I was wrong! I don't get on with the oddly curved, spiral rubber brush and I don't find this to be as lengthening or volumising as EFC. It's nice, just not WOW enough for me. Won't repurchase.

Other

Dove Original Roll on Deodorant: Cheap, pleasant smelling and works. Don't need to say anymore, really! Would repurchase in the future but also have another 12 or so to try first!

Blistex Intensive Moisturiser: I picked this up in error, I actually meant to pick up the original Blistex Relief Cream. Don't rate this nearly as much and don't find it offered much in the way of moisture for my lips. Upon further investigation this contains petrolatum (hate HATE petrolatum) so no wonder it doesn't work. I refuse to put supposed 'hydrators' that contain petrolatum on my lips. Won't repurchase.

Lipstick Du Jour - MAC Impassioned

I seriously debated whether to post this or not. This lipstick did not work for me at ALL. I don't know if it's the shade or tone, or undertones or whatnot... but as soon as I swipe this on my lips my entire face changes - for the worst.

 I have seen several bloggers wear this striking shade of pink and look amazing. I recently read posts over on pixielashes.com and makeupandmacaroons.com - these ladies look seriously hot in impassioned - alas I look clown-esque and just wrong.

So here it is, MAC's Impassioned. An amplified finish, MAC call this an 'Amp-ed up Fuchsia' and they aren't wrong. This lipstick is LOUD. I have seen it described as 'Neon Watermelon' and I agree.

 

L: Natural Light  R: Flash

I felt like the lipstick was wearing me, rather than me wearing it. I don't usually shy away from a strong lip colour but this was just too much and the colour was all wrong for me. I am pale this winter (MAC NC20, Chanel 20 etc) and I wonder if this would suit me better if I slapped on some fake tan? Sadly I think Impassioned is heading for eBay.

It's a shame because this lipstick is so long lasting yet still creamy on the lips. It also stains like crazy, so could be worn as a lip stain with a layer of gloss on top.

L: Flash  R: Natural Light

These photographs don't even portray just how wrong this lipstick looks on me, trust me, it's not a pretty sight!

What is the brightest lip colour you have worn? Have you worn Impassioned?

NOTD - It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

This blog post is a bit of a cheat because I did blog about it on the now deceased WelshBeautyBlog, and this polish is by no means new, but it still remains a firm all time favourite nail polish and perfect for this time of year.

Tomorrow I am taking my 2 year old to a local Santa & Reindeer parade and I wanted a nice festive manicure.

It was a decision between OPI's Glitzerland and one of my all time favourites...China Glaze Ruby Pumps.

Here it is in all it's sparkling red glory...

This is an absolutely stunning ruby red polished infused with an abundance of tiny red glitter particles.

The above is two coats of Ruby Pumps and a layer of INM Out The Door topcoat. Shiny, sparkly nails - perfect for the festive season. I am mesmerised by my manicure tonight.

Currently Wearing [2]

Make Up: Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua B20, MAC Mineralize Skinfinish Natural (light medium) Chanel Illusion D'Ombre Illusoire, YSL Effet Faux Cils Mascara, Daniel Sandler Waterblush 'Cherub', Nars Deep Throat Blush, MAC Angel Lipstick

Manicure: Chanel Paradoxal. I am still so in love with this over a year after it was released. A dusky grey/lilac/mauve shot through with subtle iridescent shimmer. It's so beautiful and a possible all time favourite. I won't even comment on longevity. Chanel aren't exactly famous for their awesome nail polish formula, are they? Doesn't stop me obsessing over them/hoarding them. Enough said. 

Pedicure:  NARS Jungle Red. One of my favourite red lipsticks is NARS' Jungle Red, so I just had to have the matching nail polish. A deep, blood red this just compliments my skintone perfectly (much like the lipstick) It is incredibly glossy and holds up well as a pedicure with no chipping.

Perfume: Chopard Wish. I've had this for so long now, I was worried it may have gone off, but thankfully due to being kept in a dark drawer away from light and heat this perfume is still as lovely. Said to be a warm blend of vanilla, chocolate and caramel with patchouli and amber in the past comparisons have been drawn to Thierry Mugler Angel. I personally can see similarities in the notes, but I detest Angel and the mere smell of it causes headaches and nausea (seriously) yet I love this. It is softer, more 'girly' and less cloying than Angel. The bottle is so gorgeous too.

are you currently wearing and loving?

Lush Christmas...Mini Haul

A longstanding traditon of mine is to indulge in some Lush bath products around Christmas time. The infamous and much loved Snow Fairy and the limited edition bath ballistics are firm favourites of mine.

I popped into Cardiff today and here is my Lush Christmas mini haul...

Clockwise from left: Golden Wonder, Snow Fairy, Satsumo Santa, Magic Wand

Golden Wonder is a gift box shaped bath bomb, covered in gold glitter and smelling of sweet orange oil. When you shake the present you can hear something rattling inside...I cannot WAIT to use this one.  

I probably can't tell you anything about Snow Fairy that you don't already know. Released for Christmas every year this beautiful pink body wash smells like sweets in a bottle. It also contains the most subtle little blue glitter particles. 

Satsumo Santa was is a gorgeous citrus smelling, santa shaped bath bomb. The smell is so beautiful I just had to have this one.

The Magic Wand is Snow Fairy in solid form, on a stick. This is a bubble bar that can be reused several times. I just love that with the ribbon, bell and handle this looks just like a magic wand. Makes me feel very Glinda The Good Witch! Girly, gorgeous and smelling of Snow Fairy. Perfect.

I'll be posting about these in more detail once I've had chance to use them all...I cant wait!

Boots Star Gift - Ultimate Sanctuary Pamper Case

I'd like to draw your attention to the Boots Star Gift this week...introducing the Sanctuary Pamper Case.

If you are not already aware, every year in the run up to Christmas, Boots offer up a series of 'Star Gifts' each week - usually for less than half of it's usual price, for one week only.

This week is a gorgeous Sanctuary Pamper Case - a vanity case filled with the following:

• Body Wash - 250ml
• Body Scrub - 250ml
• Body Butter - 300ml
• Foaming Bath Soak - 250ml
• Body Lotion - 75ml
• Intensive Rescue Heel Balm - 75ml
• Shower Cap

For the bargain price of £19 (usually £40) this is an ideal gift for a lucky lady in your life, be it wife, girlfriend, sister, mother, best friend - this pampering treat would be highly appreciated.
These popular Sanctuary products have featured in my bathroom and most of the females in my family for as long as I can remember. The smell is one that is all too familiar to me and instantly reminds me of comfort and relaxation. 

I will be looking at some of the contents of this Star Gift a little closer over the coming weeks, but  as this launched on Friday November 18th and is only available until Friday November 24th, I urge you to get yours quickly before they sell out!

You can purchase the Sanctuary Ultimate Pamper Case in store or online here.

Disappointed by Rimmel Exaggerate Liquid Eyeliner

I had heard a few great things about this eyeliner that encouraged me to pick it up on a recent trip to boots. The liner was also on offer for a bargain £3.79 instead of £5.29.

I am constantly on the hunt for the perfect liquid or gel liners but I'll be honest, I generally overlook drugstore or high street brands in favour of high end.

In my experience it is rare to find drugstore make up that compares to high end ranges - of course there are exceptions and they are true gems when you find them - so when this was recommended to me, I had high hopes.

I found this liner to be distinctly average. Just a run of the mill black liner that takes a bit too long to dry and has less than average staying power. I generally use liquid liner to do a classic winged line, something I find incredibly quick and easy to do, usually. However this liner seemed to make the process longer and more difficult to achieve.

The thing that totally lets this liner down is the brush/applicator. This has a  felt tip style applicator, that is shaped to a point. Whilst this style of applicator is usually great for creating either thin lines or thicker ones, the Rimmel brush fails. The applicator is far too scratchy and dragged on my eyes. I found it impossible to create a neat line due to the dragging - as you can see in the close up above* (I apologise for the bad quality photographss, I am currently without DSLR)

 I found myself having to go back over the line several times to fill in gaps where the pigment hadn't dispersed and to straighten up and attempt to make the edge of the line neater.

The applicator itself was rendered useless after the first ever application as you may be able to see from the picture below - small fibres seemed to loosen from the applicator. I thought it was just a stray hair at first, but no, these little fibres are part of the brush, still attached and incredibly irritating to my eyes.

Staying power is average - I did notice little cracks appearing throughout the line after prolonged wear. I couldn't capture this on my eye, but it is just about visible in this hand swatch...

Although a bargain price, this liner did not work for me at all. Both the formula and applicator are not what I am used to in a liner and I would definitely not repurchase.

So, send forth your recommendations for black gel and liquid liners!

*For those interested...eyeshadow is the NARS Tokyo Duo.

Currently Wearing...

I'm going to try and regularly complete this 'tag' - I like to break up the product reviews on my blog and this is a quick and easy way to do so. Hopefully future versions will be a little more exciting!


Make Up : I am currently typing this totally sans make-up. This is my how my face looks right now

It's not easy being green.

Queen Helene Mint Julep face mask. Basically like smearing your face in toothpaste. I LOVE it. It's also incredibly cheap and it keeps spots at bay. I like to apply this in the mornings before I apply make up.

Manicure: Chanel Quartz. From the A/W '11 collection, I couldn't get my hands on Graphite so Quartz is having to fill the gap for now. (If you see Graphite on a Chanel counter, or have a spare - GRAB it for me, please? I'll love you forever )

Pedicure: I keep swapping between OPI Russian Navy and this - the first OPI I ever bought way back in 2000- Big Apple Red. Not my favourite red polish for manicures, but I love it on my tootsies. A bright, vibrant and super shiny red. Not too pink/blue/orange/coral based. Just pure, bright femme fatale RED.

Perfume: Dior Addict EDP - this sexy, sensual oriental by Dior is one of my all time favourites. J'Adore. This is incredibly long lasting also - I like to apply Addict when my skin is warm after a bath or shower, it gives it a much warmer edge.

I'd love to see my readers do this 'tag' too!

Take a walk on the wild side with Batiste WILD

I am a long time fan of Batiste dry shampoo, for as long as I can remember there have always been several cans within my reach. This is just a little snapshot of my current collection (all bought for and paid for by me)

You see, I have very fine, greasy hair. I am not one of these lucky people who can wash their hair the night before, sleep on it then wake up and style - I wake up with greasy bed head that needs re-washing in order to look decent. However, with Batiste I can wake up, spray my hair and it is instantly refreshed and ready to style - it does an excellent job of mopping up grease (nice) adding volume and helping my fine hair hold a style. I'd be happy with this alone, but the fact that each different can offers a different scent is a welcome bonus.

When I received Batiste's latest offering I was delighted to see the leopard print can - readers of my blog know I am partial to a bit of leopard print (okay a LOT) this looks fab out on my dresser or in my handbag.

When the postman knocked on my door with this my hair hadn't been washed for 2 days. I know, shame on me. So i busily got to work spraying my roots. I was pleasantly hit with the most gorgeous scent, most unlike a dry shampoo.

Even with some of the scented dry shampoos, they still have a distinctive powdery smell - but not this one. This smells like actual perfume.

I have spent all morning wondering what perfume this smells like but I cannot put my finger on it. It reminds me of Thierry Mugler's Angel, Chopard Wish and another I just cannot think of. Definitely a softly spicy and oriental fragrance which will work with 95% of my perfume collection.

The scent isn't overpowering but leaves my hair smelling beautiful.

I will definitely repurchase this one when I am finished with it - I only wish that they had created a 'Wild Brunette' and 'Wild Blonde' version of this, because if I spray too much on my dark brown hair it can leave a slightly white-ish cast. This one is best used sparingly on darker hair.

Batiste Wild is available exclusively in Boots and retails at £2.99 for 200ml

This product was a PR sample provided free of charge for review purposes. The review is honest and unbiased.

NOTD: Revlon Facets Of Fuchsia

I picked up this glitter-tastic polish in a blog sale a month or so ago- a supposed dupe of Deborah Lippmann's 'Bad Romance' and at a bargain price, I had to give it a try despite not being the biggest fan of glitter nails.

I am yet to try any Lippmann polishes because the two I am lusting after have been out of stock every time I visit House Of Fraser, so I cannot comment how close of a dupe this is but from what I have seen on other blogs, it's not a bad dupe at all.

In the bottle this appears to be big hexagonal pieces of pink glitter and smaller pink glitter suspended in a deep, black base. On the nail it's another story. This is a jelly polish and the black is sheer - I really wasn't at all keen on it after the first coat was on my nails. Even after a generous second coat, there were still patches on my nail that showed the sheer black base.

I was so dissapointed that I removed all of the polish and started again - this time applying Revlon's Lunar polish (a jet black creme) and then using Facets of Fuchsia as a glittering top coat. A MUCH nicer finish, in my opinion. The solid black base allows the glitter to really shine.Not a massive difference, I'll be honest, but something about it just looks...neater?

I cannot comment about the longevity of Facets Of Fuchsia because I wore it more as a topcoat than a standalone polish - but over Revlon's Lunar it lasted well over 3 days (when I removed it out of boredom) with no tip wear or chips. I also found this particular glitter fairly easy to remove, unlike most.

I am generally a one-colour, creme polish kind of girl but I really enjoyed wearing this polish and I cannot wait to get my hands on some Deborah Lippmann glitter polishes - they make a nice change to my hands, especially at this time of year.

Revlon's Facets of Fuchsia is £6.29 from all the usual stockists Boots, Superdrug etc.

NARS Arabian Nights

Despite wise advice to leave this limited edition trio well alone, I couldn't resist. Under the glittering lights in John Lewis it was just too hard to leave it there. Sparkling, glittery pinks, purples, deep blues and black - it had to be mine.

I am sad to say I have been disappointed with it. Not only is it an absolute nightmare to capture the beautiful colours and sparkle on camera (my photographs do it no justice whatsoever) it is equally troublesome to actually use.
Swatches and actual application turned out to be just a sooty black mess on my eyes, face and hands. The fallout of glitter and shadow is unbelievable but the worst thing for me is that the colours in the palette did not seem to translate on to the eyes. Those beautiful, rich and sparkling pinks and purples are totally lost as soon as this shadow leaves the pan.
Here is how the shadows look swatches on bare skin. Bottom row is swiped once, top row is a heavier two swipes.

I should know better than to assume that all NARS products are created equally. They are not. Pigmentation varies greatly from one product to the next.

This is one of the tricky, temperamental NARS products. Do not even attempt to blend this one, or you'll probably just look like you have to two black eyes.

Then from the very beauty blogger that advised me against this trio, the fabulous Helen, came a great piece of advice. Apply an initial wash of these shadows wet on to the lid then pack on the dry shadow.

Not one to be easily defeated, I applied as Helen suggested and hey presto - we had colour! Still nothing like in the pan, but sparkly nonetheless.
Essentially this is a palette of black shadows with added glitter as you can see from the swatches below. These are on bare skin but applied using Helen's method as linked above:

A few days passed and whilst happy with Helen's method, as she mentioned herself in her blog post - nobody should have to work that hard with eye make up. I couldn't really imagine a situation where I would have the time/inclination to employ this messy, time consuming process. Then it struck me, I tried this trio over a base of MAC's fluidline liner (all over the lid) which acts as a great adhesive base. The liner has a very silky, fluid feel to it despite being a solid gel liner and somehow seems to work perfectly as a primer/base rather than just a liner.
The intense purple colour also brings out the pink and vibrant purples and blues of the first & second shadows in the trio and they look almost as they do in the pan.

Much easier and much less fuss (and fallout) The key thing to remember with these shadows is that you must. not. blend. Don't even attempt it. Use your base then pat pat pat and pack on the shadow. I use a flat, stiff brush to apply (I used the ELF studio line concealer brush for this) in order to pack the shadow on well. Soft, tapered brushes will NOT work.

Even though this is limited edition for Christmas 2011, I wouldn't suggest rushing out for this one. At £33 It's not a must have and it is more than a little tricky to work with until you find an effective method. I'd be interested to know if you have tried this and managed to make it work? I hope to post some of my eye looks using this trio in the next few days.

My Current Nail Favourites

I keep a little cosmetics bag filled with my current favourite/most used nail products just because my nail polish collection, much like my make up collection, is housed in over 10 seperate drawers in my bedroom and there isn't much in the way of organisation - it can be a nightmare to find anything in a hurry. So as and when I use/require certain products I pop them in this little Chantecaille bag and as it's so small, can keep it in my handbag and replace as needed.

Here is what I am currently using:

Leighton Denny Intense Manicure Oil 50ml=£22 12ml handy size=£6: I use this a little differently than directed. I apply little drops to my bare nail bed and surrounding skin and massage in. I previously used solar oil but find this much thicker and more moisturising. It is lavender scented (I despise lavender) but it won't put me off using because it is such an effective product. Works wonders on very dry skin (hands, feet, elbows etc) also - a very versatile product.

Leighton Denny Remove & Rectify - £11: a two in one cuticle remover and conditioner. This is the most attention I pay to my cuticles. No pushing/cutting - just apply this every time I remove polish/treatment. It seems to work, because I don't suffer with problem cuticles at all.

L'Occitane Hand Cream - free with magazine ages ago: I love these little magazine freebies. So much easier and lighter than carrying round a full size hand cream tube. This is quite strongly scented but lovely and moisturising. I wouldn't necessarily use this particular scent again, but would definitely return to L'occitane for hand cream.

Orly Bonder Base Coat - £5 for 5ml mini: This isn't actually a current favourite, but it had just been delivered so was put straight into my little nail bag! A product that I am yet to try but have heard good things about. A 'rubberised' base coat said to increase the lifespan of a manicure up to two weeks. I shall keep you updated on this one...fingers crossed!

Mavala Nail Polishes in New York, Minsk & Elle - £2.99 each: I love these dinky little Mavala polishes. The formula is great and I love their colour ranges. BeautyBay.com are the cheapest retailer of these polishes at just £2.99 (compared to £4 in John  Lewis)
These are three of my all time favourite polish colours. Gorgeous thick, opaque creme consistency - the above swatches are just one coat of polish.

INM Out The Door Topcoat - Around £5: My alternative to Seche Vite (hate hate hate that stuff, ruins my nails) This is far kinder to my nails and nearly as fast drying. I was willing to compromise and wait an extra few seconds drying time to preserve my nail health. Also does not cause shrinkage and chipping as Seche Vite is prone to.

OPI Rapidry Topcoat - £13.25: Another Seche Vite alternative. I'll be honest, I am a bit ambivalent towards it. I find it is very over priced and the results are average at best. I use it mostly for pedicures as a nice shiny top coat. Trying to use this one up, hence its inclusion as 'most used' rather than favourite.

Nailtiques Formula 2 Plus - £9.95

I'm currently investing a lot of time into my nails. I am fed up with them growing to a nice length only to split, peel or break. I have tried so many remedies over the past few years, to no avail. OPI Nail Envy, Sally Hansen Diamond Strength, using no polish, supplements, you name it i've tried it. And it doesn't work.

My last ditch attempt comes in the form of Nailtiques Formula 2 Plus. Technically I should have started with Formula 2 and then if that didn't work move to Formula 2 Plus. But I am impatient and want nice nails now. So let's just pretend that the previous months of using Nail Envy etc substitute the use of Formula 2. It didn't work, so on to 2 Plus we go.

In just over one week of use my nails feel stronger and have grown a fair bit too. Seperate post coming soon about this.

Escentual.com Nail File: These come free any purchase from Escentual so I have built up quite a collection of them! They are very useful and good files, not too rough. Prefer them for my toes as opposed to nails but do use on both.

All for Eve Crystal Nail File - £12.95: This is, or was, an All for Eve Swarovski Crystal Nail File. The photo above shows the remnants of my crystal nail file after a nasty accident where it fell on to my tiled bathroom floor.

This is how it should look, so pretty:

I am still using the file, despite it missing the gorgeous bejewelled handle because it is a truly fantastic nail file. So gentle to my nails and glides over them leaving them really smooth.

What are you currently using on your nails?

Tom Ford Lipstick - Spanish Pink

Tom Ford is one of the few brands in life I simply cannot resist. I am drawn to anything and everything branded with TF like a moth to a flame.

You can imagine my delight when recently Tom Ford expanded his signature lipstick line (of which I had 4) to an entire make up collection. You can also imagine how I almost cried with delight to find that of the limited stockists - House of Fraser (Howells) in Cardiff was one of them.

I spent a while last week chatting with the Tom Ford MUA in Cardiff (wonderful, knowledgeable lady - highly recommend her. We are both equally as excited by the impending Tom Ford nail polish launch) and perusing the new line. Santa, I've been a very very good girl this year, and umm...you might want to remortgage.

There are probably more things on my 'want' list than there are on the list of things I wasn't interested in.

I'll share my wishlist with you another time, but for now here is how restrained I was.

Tom Ford's Spanish Pink lipstick. Pink is slightly misleading, this lipstick is a soft nude peach shade with only the gentlest hint of pink. There is slight shimmer noticeable in the tube, with flash, but this is not detectable on the lip, only a natural sheen.

I love that the new lipsticks are housed in a dark brown and gold compact instead of the white and gold of the previous lipstick TF lipsticks. The packaging looks chic and feels so luxurious.

The formula doesn't feel any different to the original TF lipsticks. Still just as creamy and comfortable on the lips.

 Here is how Spanish Pink compares to two of my original TF lipsticks in the same sort of nude family; Blush Nude & Pink Dusk.

 L: Blush Nude C: Spanish Pink R: Pink Dusk

You can see that Spanish Pink is definitely peachier than both Blush Nude & Pink Dusk. 

Here is how Spanish Pink looks in context with the rest of my make up. Please excuse the stray hairs over my face, I only noticed these when uploading them!

 

I know this is going to be the first of many purchases from the new line of Tom Ford cosmetics. These lipsticks retail at £36. I'm not even going to attempt to justify the cost. Either you wouldn't look twice at make up this expensive, or like me it's an addiction, weakness, whatever you want to call it!

Suqqu Liquid Eyebrow Pen

This innocuous and plain little black pen is surprisingly to some, total HG material to me. This is one of my 'absolutely-cannot-live-without-or-imagine-life-without' items. Sounds a tad dramatic, but it's true.

I (embarrassingly) used to shave my eyebrows off and draw them back on. I kid you not. My teen-goth phase was not only about teenage rebellion, wanting to marry a rockstar with tattoos who wears make up and live a hedonistic lifestyle*, it was also very much about the make up. It was ghostly pale, flawless skin, boot polish black hair, black liquid liner drawn on brows, lots of heavy black eye make up, big lashes (Diorshow) and red lips (MAC Russian Red) This lady was my total inspiration, make up and otherwise and I tried (and probably failed miserably) to model myself on her:

 

 

I still love a more wearable version of this look (sans drawn on eyebrows) but obviously it's not every day wear.

Anyhow, in a roundabout way what I am trying to say is that my eyebrows are naturally less than perfect now. I was lucky that they did grow back eventually, although they are very sparse and thin. 

I have continued to grow them and maintain them with (not regular enough) threading treatments and minimal plucking but they are still horrible, less than perfect brows.

Then I discovered the Suqqu eyebrow pen via the wonderful make up artist Lisa Eldridge. 

A water and oil resistant liner style pen that defines and and enhances my eyebrows in the most natural way possible.

I do often use other methods of 'filling in my brows' - whether it be with a powder shadow closest to my hair colour or the Shu Uemura Hard Formula brow pencil, but I often feel that these look very obvious on me and you can tell i've filled in my brows.

With the Suqqu liner, the colour is so subtle and the line so small, it almost gives the impression that you are 'drawing' on individual fine little brow hairs. I use shade 02 Brown which is a very versatile shade. Depending on how much pressure you apply with depends on the depth of the shade. I would say this would those with blonde to dark brown hair. You can also purchase this in shade 01 Moss Green. Hmmm. Not seen this one but I believe it is aimed at very dark/black hair . With chocolate brown hair, 02 Brown suits me just fine and when I went a lot lighter in the summer, used with a lighter hand it still looked natural.

The fact that this is water and oil resistant is a wonderful bonus. This stays in place all day long and outlasts all other make up. I have to do a very thorough cleanse to remove all traces of the liquid eyebrow pen.

Here is the difference this makes to my brows. On the left hand side we have my eyebrows 'after' using the suqqu brown pen and on the right hand side is my eyebrows in their natural state:

As you can see, the suqqu eyebrow pen makes my brows look thicker, neater and well defined. I love a strong brow and love the effect the suqqu pen gives. The pen costs £20 and is well worth every penny and more. Mine is on it's last legs at the moment and I need a replacement pronto. I just begrudge paying selfridges £5 p&p for something so tiny...

Here is how the brows look fully filled in:

Somebody please remind me to book myself in for a major brow threading session asap!

* In reality, I married a tattoo-less civil servant. I have more tattoos than him.We couldn't be less hedonistic if we tried.