EOTD - Daytime smoky featuring Body Shop and Estee Lauder

I haven't done one of these posts for aaaggggeeeesss, and I really miss doing them and seeing what people think (or otherwise) of my efforts...

So, I decided to dig out a shadow I haven't actually tried yet, from The Body Shop - the mineral eye trio in Moonlight Lustre, and tried to create a bit of a daytime suitable smoky... (nice little blemish there , on the left side hey?)


To create the look, I used an Estee Lauder Doublewear Cream shadow in Precious Jade (shade 03), as a base, applied to the lid and blended out to a fine layer. I really love using these as bases - they are stand up eyeshadows on their own, and really do stay in place on me. The paler and shades are obviously more versatile, but it never hurts to have a coloured base (or 20) in your arsenal (least thats what I tell myself)....

I then applied the green shade from the body shop trio over the lid, and blended. The lilac shade was applied to the inner corner, and used the slate blue shade as a crease colour, and blended this out with a clean MAC217. In terms of pigmentation, the colours in this shadow did not blow me away, I had to build it up quite a lot - the slate blue wasn't too bad, but the lilac in particular was not great, and I needed to wet my brush to get a decent result - has anyone else found this with these shadows? The result was pretty enough though...

I then tightlined and waterlined with an Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-on pencil in the shade "Stash", a dark brown shade.

I finished off by applying a couple of coats of Estee Lauder Sumptuous Colour Mascara in Amber (LE). I wasn't too sure about these mascaras at first - having seen Pixiwoo's video using the blue version, I was expecting major colour payoff, however in reality, the ones I have come off a lot more subtle that the blue one. On reflection though, this is probably a good thing - the result is subtle, but very nice, and the amber works very well with blue eyes.

I really like the brush and formulation of this mascara, and found it gave good lenthening results, and buildable volume without clumping. I applied two coats here, but I felt fairly confident I could have continued applying and got thicker and more dramatic lashes. Even though the coloured versions are LE (and I'm not even sure they are still available), I'd consider buying up this mascara in regular shades in the future...

I used my Clarins eyebrow palette to tidy the brows as best I could (yes, they do need plucking/threading, but I'm trying to grow out the patchy bits at the moment...) I also used the Maybelline mineral concealer as an undereye concealer. I like this product, it was one of the surprisingly good products from the Maybelline goody bags we were given at the recent bloggers event.

The Clarins Palette is a daily staple for me, and again this was given in a goody bag from the Clarins event - the powders are very well pigmented, and I can either use the dark or medium shades, depending on the result I'm after. The pink powder is supposed to be a highlighting powder, but on my skin tone, I find this just disappears - the one bit of the palette that I can happily do without. I use this most days, and I've barely dented it, so I'm happy it will last a long time.

One thing I wish I had done was line the upper lashline with a brown liquid or gel liner, as I think this would have really finished the look off, but you live and learn.

I'm really liking the few bits of Estee Lauder I have at the moment - do you know of any must haves from the range?

MizzWorthy xxx

Clarins SkinCare Review

As you know a few weeks back a few of us were invited to a fab event thrown by Clarins in Selfridges London, where amongst other things we were all given a skin analysis and sent some products to test out - you can read about the event here.

Clarins were very generous and gave us full sized products to try so we could really see how well the products work.

I personally found the skincare analysis with one of the consultants really helpful - I learned that your skin type can change with the seasons, age etc. I was told I have combination skin, which was dehydrated.

As you can see I was sent a range of products - cleanser, toner, moisturiser, night cream, eye cream and a face scrub, as well as cult beauty product Beauty Flash Balm.

The range as a whole worked well for me, and there were some definite stand out products I really liked...
Cleanser - Foaming Cleanser with Tamarind and Purifying Micro-Pearls (Combination or oily skin). This costs £15 for 125 mls. Despite using this twice a day, there is a LOT left in the tube - I'd expect a tube to last 4-6 months. Its a very fresh smelling creamy feeling cleanser which rinses easily and is not over drying on the skin. It also contains quite large "Micro-Pearls". These don't so much scrub the skin (they are too big for that), but more give it a gentle daily "polish", which feels really nice. This will not remove eye makeup - a separate remover would be needed for that, although it seemed to remove face makeup effectively. If you were wearing a particularly full cover/heavy foundation, you might need to remove with a stronger cleanser first.

Toner - Toning Lotion with Iris (Combination or oily skin). This is £15 for 200mls. Again clean smelling and it does a good job of freshening the skin. This does also appear to remove any grime left on the skin after cleansing, which is good - it preps the skin well for moisturiser and doesn't leave it feeling tight. I'd expect a bottle to last around 3-4 months with twice a day use. I personally like to tone, as I don't feel like my skin is properly "clean" if I don't... I know a lot of people skip this step though without any skin related disasters ensuing!

Face Scrub - Gentle Exfoliating Refiner This is an expensive product at £21.51 for 50mls, which is quite a smal tube, however you really do only need to use a small amount - I'd expect this tube to last me about 4 months with use once or twice per week. The grains in the scrub are very fine, so this really gets into the nooks and crannies and clears out the pores well - I'd liken this in texture to the Body Shop Vitamin C skin re-finisher, however the grains in this are even finer. It does seem to make a difference to the pores on my nose - they appear clearer for a couple of days after using the scrub. A great product, just a shame you don't get more for your money.

Moisturiser - Hydraquench Lotion with SPF15
This is made for normal to combination skin or for hot climates, and is £30 for 50mls. I was sent this as the Hydraquench range is meant to solve issues of dehydration in the skin - in other words, you only need to use this until the skin regains its hydration levels. 1 pump of this was plently for my whole face - you can tell when you don't need to use it as it starts to feel too heavy on the skin. This took a couple of weeks before I noticed it was starting to feel too much. I still use this if I do a face mask or scrub, just to top up the moisture levels in my skin. I'd say the Hydraquench range is well worth looking into if you have dry skin. The lotion itself smells fresh, with a bit of a marine scent, but it doesn't last for long on the skin. It comes in a pump and is therefore really hygienic to use and it travels well too

Night Cream - Multi-Active Night Lotion. The Multi-active range is aimed at those of us in our thirties who are seeking to hold at bay the first signs of aging for as long as possible (sob...). In the past whenever I've used a night cream, I've always found them really thick and heavy feeling - and while that is kind of the point because your skin does all its regenerating and restoring at night, I don't want to be applying something that feels like it leaves my skin all congested. This one feels very very light, more like a serum in texture and feel - it sinks straight into the skin and is quickly absorbed. It leaves no trace of any greasy feeling on my skin at all. My skin feels softer in the morning and I look like I have slept well, even if I haven't. I really really love this product - its pricey at £40 for 50mls, which I'd expect to last for 3-4 months. I personally think it's worth this price, and its made me want to look into other products from the range in the future. Definite stand out.

Eye Cream - "Special"Eye Contour Balm - softens fine lines for dry skin. Designed for the first signs of ageing - this claims to soften fine lines, and also contains reflective pigments to give skin a more even appearance. This is another stand out product for me - I have used Clarins eye creams before and had equal success with them while I was younger - I used the eye contour balm in my 20's and did notice it made a difference, and I can say the same for this one - it worked really well for me. It won't shift dark circles as it's not designed for that, but I've noticed an improvement in the fine lines around my eyes. The area looks more hydrated and fresher, which makes this a winner in my eyes - it costs £23.49 for 20mls. You need a tiny amount each time you use it and it sinks in easily without leaving a greasy feeling on the skin. Love this one.

Beauty Flash Balm - £25 for 50ml.
Can you believe this cult product has been around for 20 years! (God this post is making me feel old!) I used to swear by this in my late teens and early twenties for a post-hangover skin pick-me-up. Then I went to uni, and could no longer afford the £25 price tag (50mls). I suppose I also started to rely more on the power of a decent concealer and foundation for perking up the skin. My mum used to top me up every couple of years with a tube and me and my sister both continue to love it. A tube lasts about 5-6 months. This is not a product I use every single day, just when my skin needs a pick-me-up - probably once or twice a week.

It can be used a few different ways. I personally like to smooth on a very thin layer - ie not rubbed completely in, but rather left on the skin and left to settle in. It can also be used as an overnight treatment when applied a bit more thickly to the skin and slept in. Basically the product brightens and hydrates the skin, leaving it feeling soft and looking well rested. Perfect for a hangover.... so perfect in fact that it didn't take long for drugstores to produce a dupe - one of which can be found in the Superdrug Natural High Range.

The Clarins original has a soft, comforting yet still clean smell.

So there you go - well done if you have made it to the end of the post - hope this has been useful!
Any recommendations for products in the range are always welcome too!

MizzWorthy xxx

FOTD - Featuring Clarins and Illamasqua...

As you know after the recent Clarins event I recieved a huge amount of products, and today I finally got to put some of them to the test - The pieces we recieved were from a the "Nude Inspirations" collection, and I was a little unsure how to make these work for me - regular followeres will be aware of my love of colour, but the great thing about nudes is that they obviously allow you to play up other areas of the face - here I clearly went for it on the lips front!

I used the nudes quad palette from the collection to create the neutral style smoky eye here, and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by how easy the shadows are to use - the quad is beatifully packaged (the only thing I didn't like was the inclusion of one of those sponge applicators... but I guess it mught be useful for touch ups?), and the lid has a decent mirror which is great.

I used MAC painterly paint pot as a base, blended the matte nude shade (3rd from the left) across the lid and up towards the brow bone, added the shimmery gold shade (far left) across the centre of the lid, blended the pale brown (second from the left) into the inner corner and below the inner part of the lower lid, and then used the darker brown shade (far right) to define the crease and smoke out the eye - I also used this shade below the eye on the outer corners. I also used the new wonder perfect mascara from the range in the shade 01 wonder black on the lashes (I was really impressed with this actually - gives great length and volume without clumps - very good mascara!)

I also recieved a parcel from Illamasqua today which I've been stalking the postie for - I ordered a few bits, and my little haul included the lipstick in the shade "Resist" from the sirens collection, which I basically could not wait to use, and I thought you might like to see...

Products Used;

FACE

RMK Creamy foundation

Illamasqua pressed powder in PP115

Illamasqua Illuminator in the shade Halcyon used on cheekbones

Illamasqua powder blusher in the shade "Lover"

Clarins concealer stick in the shade 01 used under eyes (again this is a great product, in a perfect colour for me - very impressed!)

EYES

Clarins Nude Inspiration palette (palette number 110) - see above

Urban Decay brow box

Illamasqua eye pancil in Erratic on the waterline

Rouge Bunny Rouge (stay tuned for a big review of this brand tomorrow!) devotion ink quartz eyeliner in shade 036 - tiger eye escence - to create a flick and line the upper lid.

Illamasqua liquid Illuminator in the shade halcyon to highlight the browbone.

LIPS

Illamasqua lipstick in "Resist" (from the sirens collection)

So, what do we think? I like this neutral smoky eye look to showcase the more vibrant shades in my lip collection... (as much as I try to conform, I can't allow myself to do a totally nude look - I like my colours too much lol)

How do you add a bit of interest to nudes?

MizzWorthy xxx

MizzWorthy let loose in London...AKA the Clarins Event.

Yesterday I was invited with Olivia and LipsAndLashes to an event in Selfridges in London by Clarins - ButtonSoph was also invited but her car broke down on the way! Lovely Olivia met me in the station and we navigated our way to Oxford Circus (all of two stops on the tube - we truly were explorers of the unknown lol!)...

When we arrived we were met by a couple of lovely PR peeps from Clarins, including Alexandrea who sent us the invites. We had a look at the new Autumn range called "Nude Inspirations", and a look around the new skin spa. At first I thought the idea of the skin spa in the middel of Selfridges seemed a little strange, but believe me, when the door is shut, that place is like a little have in the middle of London - blissful... I wanted every treatment in the book lol! They apparently have achair that scans your body and does a massage tailored to you while you have a facial - I want some of that!

We also each had a skin consultation and then went off for breakfast - We were told to expect a parcel by special delivery this morning, but I have to say I felt very sorry for the poor post lady who kindly lugged a huge pack of goodies up to the flat for me this morning;

I was totally bowled over when I opened it and saw all this!
So we recieved our skincare regimes (further posts and reviews to come about this as I am still testing another skincare regime at the moment!) - but yep, thats Beauty Flash Balm in there!
And on top of that we received absolutely loads of makeup!

I have to say, I wasn't expecting too much from these eye-shadow mono's as the last time I swatched them at a counter (a couple of years ago...), I thought they were poorly pigmented and the colour choices were a bit... safe? I have to say though, they have definately improved in terms of pigmentation and although the colours are still fairly safe, you could create a lot of different looks - nude, smoky and coloured. I'll be trying to create a few looks over the coming days and weeks to see how versatile these are! These retail at £12.73 each and also have a mirror in the lid which is always useful for us cosmopolitan girls on the go (well at least thats how I like to think of myself....)

They also sent this nude quad palette out - I can see this one being popular too! I'd personally use this with a fierce black winged liner and a bold red lip to get that classic pin up look, but I know a lot of people will be relieved to see such an easy to use combination of colours...This retails for £25.44.

We also recieved 6 shades of "Joli Rouge" Lipsticks. These are a lot better on than they look in the tubes - the one that looks brown (4th from the left) is actually a lovely sheer plummy pink. They have a lovely fruity scent (Blackcurrant with a touch of liquorice and vanilla apparently!) and are supposed to be extremely kind to the lips with skin loving goodies such as mango butter and vitamin e - stay tuned for a review!

We also recieved three tubes of their reformulated "Wonder Perfect" Mascara in three shades - Wonder Black, Wonder Brown and Wonder Blue - Coloured mascaras seem to be rocking right now! In fact though these are quite subtle - the blue is almost navy and not 80's at all - I tried it this morning in bed to see if it matched my PJs (as one does) and it makes the whites of the eyes look very clear... I still need to try the concealers too - they sent me three shades and I'm hoping one will be pale enough for me!

Finally we received a face an blush duo (retailing at £28) which is a lovely two tiered affair containing a face powder and illuminating powder on the top layer;

... and a peachy blush (this reminds me of NARS orgasm!) and a bronzer embellished with a golden powder section - very pretty! Can all obviously be used swished together or seperately...

The other great product in the collection they showed us was the eye brow pro palette - which I really liked the look of - it had three brow powders in good ashy colours (ie no red undertones - a giveaway in a bad brow powder!) - black, brown and blonde shades, a setting wax, highligher powder, mini tweezers, spoolie brush and sponge applicator - thats going to retail at £28, and I can see myself making a purchase...

My initial thoughts? I'm surprised by the improvements in quality in the Clarins makeup range, and I'm looking forward to the challenge of giving this neutral collection a MizzWorthy twist!

So, how did I spend the rest of the day? I met up for lunch with Alex from Illamasqua and had a good gossip about the next competition which we'll be launching soon! I was great to see her again for a catch up as I didn't get to speak to her at the Illamasqua masterclass - she was too busy being the model for Alex Box, so can't really blame her lol!

I also met a couple of lovely PR ladies - Jen from FuelPR and Lisa from Immediate PR, who have also furnished me with loads of other goodies to review including Sun Labs fake tan which smells of baby powder, (this is never a bad thing in my opinion), an anti acne range for Mr MizzWorthy to test, some new hair products and some BarryM - I am pleased to announce I finally have the lip paint in Peachy Pink - and I agree its a lovely colour - here is the obligatory lip close up!

I also made a trip to the Selfridges beauty hall (rude not to!) and picked up a couple of OPI shades - "I'm a Princess and You're Not" and "Done Out in Deco"... I also popped to MAC to get one of those Naked Honey Skin Salves and some clean up tips, and I was actually amazed by how bad the service was there - One girl behind the counter just ignored all the customers and the one who did eventually deign to serve me called me "babe" several times in a very patronising manner, and actually asked me "what colour" salve I wanted! Proof positive that they are bringing out too many collections - the poor dear clearly couldn't keep up. Poor service aside though, I am liking the salve...

I then had to hang about for my train so I painted my nails with OPI's "I'm a Princess and You're Not", which is a pretty colour but I fear it makes my hands look a bit dead... opinions please?

I have no idea what to play with first though, so please feel free to make requests etc!

MizzWorthy xxx

Haul!

Hi guys - hope you are all well!

Just loaded these vids up - recent hauls I got since being paid LOL!

I had to split this into two parts due to you tube time allowances - Incidentally, does anyone know how to transfer vids directly from you tube ont the blog? I've tried using the embed thing but it doesn't work for some reason...

Hope you enjoy!

Love Mizzworthy xxx