Blush: Blushbaby

Ok Girls, do you remember Blushbaby?

I think I have written about it before. Blushbaby was my first and is my only MAC product that I use for Blush.

As the pictures above show, the colour is hard to define. It does not look particularly exciting in the pan. It looks sort of old and functional. It kind of falls inbetween peach and pink. I personally see it as neither/or. I’m not that familar with MAC blushes yet but I have read reviews that suggest it is a darker version of Tenderling. Somebody said it was a rose blush and I thought yes, it is but then I looked at the pan and thought it too peachy to be a rose. I think Blushbaby is often referred to as a beigy pink.

Beige? Eurgh, that doesnsn’t sound very inspiring. I don’t want Beige on my lips so why would I want it on my cheeks?!

This was not even on my list when I walked in to MAC unlike Well Dressed, Pink Swoon, Style and Dollymix but this was what the MUA strongly suggested. I wasn’t very excited by it but he made it seem like the wise choice and yeah, when he swatched it on my cheek, it looked okay.

When I got home, I kept comparing this to Coralista. Coralista seemed a bit more obvious on me and needed less building up but you know what, I actually think for a day to day blush that I prefer Blushbaby.

One good point is that it seems to glide on to the cheeks and give an evenly distruibuted finish. However, you may need to build this finish up slightly so you can see it.

Blushbaby is a sheertone so designed to go on gently and be built up. On the first swipe, Blushbaby is certainly very subtle and more is needed. On the second, you can see a hint of blush and it does look pretty (I think this is where the rose connotations may be coming from, I guess it kind of give the cheeks a subtle rosy flush). So pretty that you think I’ll add a bit more but be careful once you can see it, the colour does seem to build quite quickly.

I hope you can see where I have swiped it on my (strange) hand in the picture above. It is a nice colour on the cheeks. A very natural blush. To somebody not in the know, it may not even look made up just like a healthy flush or glow. Maybe more flush then glow as this product has a matt finish and no shimmer.

So Blushbaby which seems to last pretty much as long as the day decrees is the perfect compliment to neutral looks and has earnt my love in a similar way that Ambre Rose did.

I am quite pale and did I mention, I like this blush a lot on my cheeks but after a little research, it seems that Blushbaby is reported to suit skintones from Nw15 to NC40.

I purchased this product in February. It costs £16.50 but this seems to go a long way. I use this blush four or five times a week and can not see a dent in the pan yet. I just ran my fingers across the top (incidentally it feels very soft, I like the idea of soft powder grains coating my cheeks) and I can feel a very slight hollow but I would imagine this blush will last me almost a year, if not more.

You can read a little more about Blushbaby here https://essjay23x.wordpress.com/2010/02/13/fotd-mac-london

Most people seem to have a MAC blush, what is yours? What do you think of Blushbaby? Have you heard of it before?

X

My Summer Scene!

Hey Girls

So I’m feeling all summery today and it is raining, typical!

I think my summer feeling is a little bit down to the sun we had earlier this week, the fact that it is a bank holiday (and therefore should be sunny) and a whole lot down to the fact that my fake tan break is over.

Oh yeah!!!

I am loving the combo of St Moriz and Boots Body Butter.

I took a fake tan break because I’m rubbish at it. I get streaks, patches and very funny looks but no more!

Everybody says that St Moriz goes on smoothly but isn’t that easy for tanning whizzes to say?!

Except this time, they are right. I’m very late on this bandwagon but St Moriz does go on seamlessly even when I mix it haphazardly in with my moisturiser. I am loving it!

The only self tanner that I have ever found to apply so well is Make Believe but that costs so much more then my darling St Moriz.

Now I have a tan to flaunt and I’m skipping around. I feel so full of life that I might have to go puddle jumping later to celebrate my new tan.

Isn’t it funny how a simple tan (no foundation or concealer required, yay) can change the way you feel?! I even added lots of colour in to my look today. St Germain on my lips, that gorgeous Claires Acc Nail Varnish on my nails that I have raved about before, a slick of All That Glitters across my lids.

So simple and with all the time that I saved today, I even tried waving my hair with a concial wand but aherm, might need a bit more practise there and today, it had to be straightened out.

Ooh and then time to accesorise. No black today, absolutely zero which is pretty amazing for me.

Nope, it is tan and colour all the way. Here is a little pic. Sorry it is a bit blurred but honestly like I said, I’ve got the summer bounce today and I couldn’t stand still long enough to take this properly. I actually don’t look too tanned in the pic but this is about as tanned as pale old me should go. I’ve learnt from my mistakes hence the moisturiser add in.

Now all I need is a little sunshine and my summer scene will be perfect!

Hope you’re having a nice bank holiday and maybe a sunnier one then mine. Made use of my look today and added a couple of videos to You Tube. Check them out if you get a chance. Don’t forget, it always makes my day (even a rainy one!) if you follow or comment on my posts or videos! Would love to see your OOTD or hear about your fake tan experiences so leave me a link to your posts or comment here.

X

Another pearlie update!

If you remember about a month ago, I started using BlanX https://essjay23x.wordpress.com/2010/05/07/blanx-intensive-whitening-treatment/ . I used the Intensive Whitening Treatment which was basically an intensive whitening toothpaste. I was meant to use it twice a day but to be honest, sometimes I would pick up my tube of Aquafresh and start brushing with that before I remembered my regime. I probably did this three or four times.

So when I remembered, I was using my BlanX treatment instead of conventional toothpaste and the tube lasted me exactly two weeks. I finished using BlanX about two weeks ago but bad blogger I am, am only updating today.

So here are my teeth before

And here are my teeth after.

This pic was took about two weeks after I finished the BlanX treatment but you know what, I think you can still see a difference and I’m sure my teeth were even whiter just after I’d finished the treatment.

I think BlanX worked. Probably by only a shade or two but there was and still is a definite difference. I am convinced of this.

So it has to be a thumbs up for BlanX, it was easy to apply and reasonably priced. The product also lasted long enough to do the job it was designed to do (unlike my earlier RapidWhite treatment, see my earlier posts).

I know that the intensive treatment is only designed for occasional treatment but I see no reason not to buy it again in a few months if a big occasion was coming up and my teeth needed a bit of a boost.

I’m currently using up my normal toothpaste, Aquafresh but I think once that tube has finished, I may either buy Blanx everyday toothpaste or Beverly Hills Formula Toothpaste (Sarah raved about this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEcxOCuK73U ) to maintain my new whiter teeth. I would also be very interested in a toothbrush that Sophie of Sophie Is Made up (http://www.sophieismadeup.com) reviewed earlier in the year.

For now though, I am just happy that even though some of the products out there may not perform miracles, they do deliver near enough what they claim.

So, what whitening solutions have you found? Have any of you had professional teeth whitening?

X

PS Don’t forget you can now follow me at

https://essjay23x.wordpress.com

http://essjay23x.blogspot.com

http://www.youtube.com/user/essjay23x

Hard-earnt love!

Okay so one thing that I have learnt on my mission is that first impressions do not necesarily mean everything especially when it comes to make up.

Some of you may remember that I was not very excited when I first brought All That Glitters yet it is now my go to shadow or BlushBaby yet everyday I find myself sweeping it over my apples.

Pretty much the same can be said for Ambre Rose from Maybelline, the memory of its purchase lost in a fog of MAC this, MAC that and a little bit of Gosh. Yet despite all the fuss I made when I got St Germain; Viva Gaga and Barry M 101, it is Ambre Rose who I most often call on and has earnt it’s special place in my heart.

 

I think Ambre Rose is a pale peachy pink with a hint of shimmer about it. I don’t know why but I think of the 1960’s when I look at the swatch on my hand.

 

I personally think the colour indicator on the bottom of the tube has more of a mauve tinge then the lippie itself.

 

A lot of people compare this lippie to MAC Angel. I get that. Looking at the tube, Ambre Rose does not seem particularly pink. Soft or otherwise.  My instinct is to place this lippie closer (and maybe rate it over) MAC’s Patisserie when it is in a tube. Even painted on the lips, Patisserie and Ambre Rose look quite similar.  They are both pinker then they look in the tube. Indeed in my swatch, Patesserie looks very brown. In the photos above and below, we have Angel, Ambre Rose, Patisserie and then Barry M No 53.

Ambre Rose is quite pale and I’m tempted to say quite sheer. It was very difficult to photograph but I feel in reality, there is a certain peachiness among the pinkness about the gorgeous Ambre Rose. I saw that one Make Up Alley reviewer said that it washed her out. Now I’m very pale but I don’t have a problem when I wear this lippie. However, as I’m now succesfully (three cheers) laying off the fake tan and suchlike maybe I just can’t be any more washed out!!!

This Maybelline ColorSensational lipstick has very few reviews on MUA but the three reviews that are there are not very positive or inspiring. Hmm, I might have to submit a review. This lipstick deserves more love!

Don’t get me wrong, some of the MAC (such as St Germain and even Snob!) and Barry M pinks are very, very special but their place in my heart was already secure the moment I heard about them when I heard the rave in that video or saw the swatch on that blog. I like to think I know my own mind but to be honest, there are very few lippie (or make up products generally) that I have brought because of the said rave and then wondered what all the fuss was about. Instead they all instantly strutted in to my heart. 

However, I think Ambre Rose was one that I brought through a Lollipop26 FOTD. If this was not the case then I certainly dug it out because of one of her mentions and I liked it, thought it was ok and then went back to my Barry M 101 Baby Pink. I only started wearing Ambre Rose really because of work. If it had not been that I wanted a wearable lippie for work then I doubt I would have reached for this beauty very much. However, I reached for Ambre Rose when I wanted to go to work and it worked. In fact, it delivered quite a nice pair of lips. So I wore it again and again and then I started reaching for it to wear when I wasn’t working and now my little Ambre Rose gets a whole lot of use and I have to give something to the Rose.

The accolade that so few of my other make up items have yet to gain.

The accolade, that it worked and then earnt the very special place in my heart. Okay so Ambre Rose is now in my heart as is St Germain and Snob et al, they are all there so you might ask does it really matter how they got there.

Yes, maybe!

Whenever something, even a lippie, is in your heart, you hold it dear and probably can not imagine life or your make up collection without it. However, nearly all of my lippies are in my heart and I’m hoping to carry out on discovering new ones so really, it may not be viable that all of these lippie loves will always be in my collection but surely it makes sense for the ones who earnt my heart to always be there.

Have any products earnt the place in your heart rather then just strutted right on in and claimed it? Share your love and journey here in the comments.

X

 

Flora by Gucci.

Gucci Rush is ok. Gucci Eau de Parfum 2 is lovely. Gucci Rush 2 is amazing. So I guess it is fair to say that I am quite partial to a perfume from Gucci! I lusted after the latest addition to their perfume family, Flora, for what felt like the longest time.

 

The name Gucci was enough to draw me to the perfume counter within hours of hearing of the perfume for the first time (I do like my perfume!) and once there, I had to literally shake myself to walk away from the counter empty handed.

The little gold bottle with it’s cute little bow sat there tempting me, calling to my hands as the fresh, pretty, floral scent filled my nostrils. It smelt lovely but then most perfumes do at the counters and I did have more then enough perfume so with heavy feet I dragged myself away from the beckoning bottle.

However, it was impossible to forget this perfume. The tester that I had squirted lasted all night and made me feel like a lady. So all I could do was add it to my birthday list and yay, Mum read the list and a few weeks later, the fragrance was mine. Thank you, Mum and Dad!

I wore it straight out to b’day dinner and maybe once or twice after that. It smelt gorgeous. Almost too so and I started saving it. It became ‘My Special Perfume’ but with few days special enough for Flora, I instead found myself wearing Princess, Diesel or simply body lotion instead.

However, I have now ran out of Princess and as Diesel is not so summery, I’ve found myself wearing Flora a lot again. Every day is special, right?!

I really like Flora.

It contains Sandalwood, Patochuoli and Pink Pepper (I think!) but it is different from the other Gucci perfumes which I would say are maybe slightly younger and more casual. Flora is not purely musk but there is a certain tinge of darker, heavier notes intespersed amongst the floral flashes and the more subtle hints of fruit. The perfume has something of an assurance about it. The scent lasts a long time and does not really change much over time. Maybe in the first five or ten minutes, it settles down a bit but after that it stays pretty much the same. Sometimes I think a perfume that only smells good when you’ve just sprayed it cheapens itself when the good has worn off and you are left with the cheap undertones. I would prefer a perfume that only lasts 2 hours if it remains true over that period then one that lasts a whole day but 22 hours of that is just cheap smelling residue.

Nothing about Flora is cheap and I’d imagine most grown up girlies would be comfortable wearing it. It seems to muster some class about it in the way that Chanel No 5 does but it is more contemporary and subtle. I actually prefer it to how I remember my New York scent, Chanel Allure, used to smell. Flora is a very, very pretty scent which I find hard to imagine could nauseate or offend anybody but hey, tell me if I’m wrong. We are all different.

Of course, perfumes come in bottles of all shapes and sizes. Well, the prettiest perfumes deserve the prettiest bottles and I do think Gucci have delivered here.

The bottle is simple and rectangular with a nice little Gucci tie around it’s neck. This is very fitting as Flora is actually named after a very popular Gucci print.

The design was used to produce a custom scarf for Princess Grace (the Princess of Princesses) of Monaco about 50 years ago. The design was so loved by Princess Grace and ladies everywhere, that Gucci have produced many other Flora products such as handbags and glasses over the years and now we have the Flora perfume which does it predecessors more then proud. I think if you look carefully, you will see the pattern in some of the ads for the perfume.

And yes, I am still very curious about some of the summery scents springing in to the shops at the moment-Daisy In The Air, Ghost Captivation-but I’m also really, really enjoying my Flora (and of course, Stunning is still on stand by) so just maybe I will be able to resist.

Er, yeah . . !

30ml of the Eau de Parfum currently costs £35 from Boots online.

So Girls, what scents am I missing out on? And, don’t forget the details. I could talk about perfumes for hours even though to talk about it in a way that makes sense to others is quite hard to do. I hope you  have got something out of this post. In my long winded way, I guess I am just saying Flora is certainly worth testing next time you are at the perfume counter and from there on in, it is up to you!

X