Bobbi Brown Lip Crayon - Wild Rose

Given all the lip pencils I’ve been showcasing this week, I thought I’d wrap the week up with another lip product!

Bobbi Brown Lip Crayon – Wild Rose

Description
This amazing lip formula combines the luxurious feel of a lipstick with the ease and convenience of a jumbo, crayon-inspired pencil. Includes a complimentary custom-sized sharpener.

This is essentially a creamy lip stick in a pencil format. It is very hydrating with a high sheen finish. Although scentless, there is a slight peppermint taste that fades after 15 minutes or so.

In a thick pencil format- it seems to give better precision with application although there is the need to sharpen when the product gets blunt. Luckily, this custom sized pencil comes with a fitting sharpener so there is no hassles of looking for one separately.

It feels ultra luxurious upon application, is very moisturising (thanks to the shea butter) and perfect item for dryer lips as it is very forgiving and don’t highlight flakes.

Wild Rose is a mid warm rose pink. I thought it might look similar with MAC Dervish lip liner but when swatched side-by-side, you can see that dervish is more beige based and cooler in tone than wild rose.

R-R: Bobbi Brown Wild Rose, MAC Dervish

 I really like the shade on my lips and another office friendly hue. This shade will compliment all but the darkest skin complexions to bring shine and colour into lips. This is yet another beautiful colour and product wise from Bobbi Brown.

2.49g RRP A$44 | US$22 at Bobbi Brown counters. Available in 6 shades.

Bobbi Brown Lip Liner - Red

Continuing on from yesterday showcase of lip products, today I'll show you a red that Akisa recommended to me for when I want to have pure red lips.

Bobbi Brown Lip liner - Red 

Description:
A naturally flattering way to define lips. Lip Liner is long-wearing and non-drying, applies smoothly and evenly, and helps reduce feathering. Each liner includes a sharpener.

This lip pencil comes with a metallic lid that closes tightly so you know its secure in your makeup bag if you carry it around with you. I also like the fact that Bobbi includes a sharpener in the box so you don’t have to go looking too far for one after a few uses and you don't have one at hand

Bobbi Brown - Red on NC30 Skin indoor white light

Against my skin, this is a true brick red that brightens up my face. It is a very pigmented. Goes on easily without tugging althought not as smoothly as the MAC lip liner. It's still quite hydrating as it didn’t dry my lips.

The best thing with this shade and the lip liner is the the colour lasts. And by that I mean for over 2 hours, the colour didn't fade  Even with eating and drinking  where the intensity of the red falls away, there is still plenty of punch left on lips to go that few extra miles.

I do find lining lips a must with red lips as you want to define the cupids bow to create that seductive fullness and prevent any feathering of the bright colour around the edge of your lips. If used for filling in lips as well, be sure to condition them first as any flakes and dryness will be accentuated with this pencil.

RRP AU$43 | US$20 at Bobbi Brown counters and Bobbi Brown online. This is very expensive for a lip pencil but you are getting a sharpener as well. Still, it would be great to see Australian Bobbi Brown products align closer to US pricing. I bought this at the Estee Lauder Staff shop for around A$26.

FOTD: Party Time Look

The silly season is coming up. This means plenty of parties, school formals, weddings, BBQs and social gatherings. To help get into the festive spirit, I’ve created a look to inspire you this week.

This is a soft look that is both chic and glam and actually quite easy to achieve. The curls are a sure fire way to add to the soft feminine look

Key Products Used 

Eyes & Brows

• Bobbi Brown Ultimate Party Palette* RRP A$130
• Shu Uemura Glittery Mascara (LE holiday collection by Wong Kar Wai)* RRP A$55
• Kiss Me liquid eye liner US$12 from Sasa & reviewed here
• Three Trees Faux lashes  #112 （set of 10) US$5 from Ebay
• Dollywink eyelash glue US$10.20 from Sasa
• Illamasqua brow powder in Motto RRP A$27

Face

• Illamasqua Skinbase #9* RRP A$55
• Illamasqua concealer in UC200* RRP A$33
• Bobbi Brown powder blush in Apricot RRP A$58

Lips

• Cover Girl Smoother lip liner in pink velvet RRP A$13.75
• Tinsel (pink shade) from Bobbi Brown Ultimate Party Palette* RRP A$130

Tools Used

• Bobbi Brown foundation brush RRP A$68
• Shu Uemura Wong Kar Wai  Flashing Gold 4 piece mini brush set with pouch* RRP A$98 (featuring goat hair blush brush, sable hair eye shader, synthetic eye shader, sable eye/lip liner brush)
• Shu Uemura eye lash curler RRP A$39
• Mac #263 angled eyeliner brush RRP A$39

Top-bottom: Illamasqua Under Eye Concealer, Bobbi Brown Ultimate Party Palette, Shu Uemura eye lash curler, Bobbi Brown foundation brush, Shu Uemura WKW mini brush set, Illamasqua Skin base, Bobbi Brown Apricot blush, Cover Girl Pink Velvet lip liner, Illamasqua Motto brow powder, 3 Tree false lashes #112, Dollywink eye lash glue, Shu Uemura WKW glitter mascara

Look Breakdown:
This look is focused on having playful and precious looking smokey eyes and the feature product to achieve this is the new LE Bobbi Brown Ultimate Party Collection Palette. Its double decker compact palette features a collection of cool metallic and shimmer shades to ensure your eyes sparkles in the light. It also comes with 4 glitter lip glosses underneath which are all very pale in colour pay off and work best when layered over a richer lip colour.

1. Start by framing the face by filling in any area of sparse brows with a brow powder for a soft natural look. Motto is a greyish taupe shade that is natural looking on dark coloured brows and doesn’t look drawn on like some brown or red-brown based powders

As the eye colours were quite sophisticated, I only had to use 3 shades from the palette to achieve the look. 

Bobbi Brown Ultimate Party Palette

2. Apply Navajo (metallic champagne -A) as a highlighter on the brow bones,  Pewter (a silvery olive -B) on lids and along the lower lash line, the crease was darkened with Plum Steel (black purple plum -C).

3. Dolly eyes are created by lining the top lid with liquid eye liner and are glammed up even more with false lashes and this season’s hottest gold glitter mascara by Shu Uemura. This clear gel mascara won’t volumise or lengthen but its fine iridescent glitter particles means that your lashes will sparkle and glisten through all hours of partying.

Tip: curl natural lashes first before applying false lashes so they have a curl and blend in with the false lashes.

Shu Uemura KWK Glittery mascara

Face1. After applying skincare (a must before any makeup application to protect and hydrate the face), dot some Skin Base and blend with a foundation brush into skin with short quick patting strokes. 


2. Apply undereye concealer to hide dark circles and other marks on skin (applying concealer after foundation ensures that you don’t blend away the concealer while blending in the foundation).  
 
3. The cheeks are swept with Bobbi Brown’s Apricot (although it looks like a bright warm pink in the pan, it’s a pinky peach on my skin and the perfect spring shade) before a light dusting of NYX loose powder to set everything in place. 
 
4. Finally for a long lasting lip colour, use a light pink lip pencil to lightly shade in lips and blot away the excess and then apply a light shimmer gloss (Tinsel - D, a soft glitter pink from Bobbi Brown’s Ultimate Party palette) for soft fresh lips.

Hair

KMS Freeshape Hot Flex Spray*  RRP A$31.95
KMS Silk Sheen Styling Crème * RRP A$31.95
KMS Curl Up Wave Foam* RRP A$36.95
Remington Tribal Compact Tong* RRP A$33.95

1. Prep hair with a heat protectant (KMS Freeshape Hot Flex Spray) and some curling mousse (KMS Curl up wave foam) to help enhance curls when using with curling tongs.

2. I used the Remington Tribal Compact Tong, which is a mini version of its bigger sister that gives smaller ringlet curls and is exceptionally handy for travelling. The only downside to its size is that it takes longer to complete the look, particularly if you have lots of hair like me – the plus side is pretty tight curls! To prevent too much volume, I only curled the hair from below the ears.

3. Finish with KMS Silk Sheen Crème to lightly smooth away any flyaways on top of head and added some gloss into hair and provides a softer more natural shine than silicone based serum products.

You can also pop on a floral headband for a cute youthful look. I picked mine up from Forever New.

Shu Uemura, Bobbi Brown, Illamasqua are all available on counters now.
KMS products are available at Hairhouse warehouse, Petra Hair and selected salons.

Products marked * were provided for consideration or received at events. All other products were purchased.

Bobbi Brown High Shimmer Lip Gloss: Pink Sequin

I'm a sucker for all things bling and that doesn't preclude lip products.

So when I recently passed by my local Bobbi Brown counter, I couldn't help but notice the newly released high shimmer lip glosses they had on display.

Just look at the promotional image for these lip glosses below. How could one not fall in love with such gorgeous shimmery colours?

Pink Sequin (bottom left in above photo) caught my eyes and within one swipe of it on my skin, I was hooked like a crack addict.

In the end, I just couldn't walk away from the counter without doing damage to my credit card by bagging one home (and another blush in Apricot for good measure as well).

Pink Sequin High Shimmer Lip Gloss - 7ml 
What Bobbi says:  Rose pink with gold pearl

• To me, Pink Sequin is a peachy pink shade packed full of of fine pink glitter particles and golden sheen.
• With a tapered sponged applicator and highly emoillient formula packed with vitamin C & E, there is no stickiness with this highly conditioning gloss that gives lips a slight tingling sensation upon initial application (which disappears within minutes).
• The gloss itself is quite sheer and gives a light  pink overlay of colour to my medium pigmented lips. But it's the shimmer that makes this gloss magical.
• The universally flattering pink micro-shimmer and golden pearlescent sheen catches light at different angles to make your pout glistens and shine with brilliance.

Honestly the photos below does not do this gloss justice as you only get a one-dimensional view and don't see the shimmering effects.

I don't think I've ever loved a lip gloss so much as I have with this shade and formula. Seriously, it's making me want to burn an even bigger hole in my wallet and pick up half the high shimmer lip gloss collection!

What are your favourite glosses?

Available in 16 shades. RRP A$42 at Bobbi Brown counters or Bobbi Brown Aus online. The lucky people in the US get to bag this for a relative bargain of US$23.

Bobbi Brown Extra Repair Foundation SPF 25

I love Bobbi Brown foundations for their colour match, coverage and finish and have previously used the Luminious Moisturizing and Natural Finish Long Lasting Foundation SPF 15.

So when Bobbi released the new Extra Repair foundation last month, I had high expectations.

Bobbi Brown Extra Repair Foundation SPF 25

Extra Repair Foundation in warm beige (3.5)

• Is a multi-tasker being makeup, sun protection and skncare in one. With sun protection of SPF 25, it's one of the higher SPF foundations in the market. 
• It also contains shea butter, vitamin A & C from willow herb extract, sodium hyaluronate, evening primorose oil, rosemary extract and geranium flower oil, vitamin E to sooth and hydrate and protect. Being more than your average foundation,  skin feels soft and moisturised for hours after use. 
• Has a unique texture – it isn’t a cream nor liquid type foundation. Rather it is a rich moisturising cream consistency. It instantly brings to mind the East-Asian coloured skincare Blemish Balm product which is like a thick tinted moisturising cream. 
• Provides buildable light to medium coverage. It won’t hide serious imperfection but it does a fabulous job of evening out skintones and covering light marks and pigmentation (see photo below of covering my pigmentation and darkness around the eye area). It also provides good coverage from redness.
• Gives a dewy finish that gives skin a healthy glow. It may be too dewy for some but a little loose powder should be able to adjust the sheen level. 
• Has a sparkling citrus scent thanks to the bitter orange oil and is very pleasant to my nose. Upon application the scent fades away within minutes. 
• Best applied with fingers as you would a moisturiser. It requires a bit of blending for the product to spread evenly onto skin. Ditch the brush as it gave a streaky finish and sponges soaked up too much of the product and didn't give a better finish than fingers. 

skintone is evened out around the eye and mouth area. Notice the dewy glow 

Cons

• Doesn’t like to play nice with some skincare products and can cause pilling with serums and moisturisers when blending into skin (I’ve tried unsuccessfully to make it work with Olay Regenerist, ASAP Super C serum and Vitacreme B). It also doesn't like the Clearasil cream so I would advise applying any blemish cream after applying the foundation. Patting the foundation into skin rather than blending it seems to help alot as well. Good thing that it's also a skincare product as it is best used on bare skin or with light water based serums/moisturisers. 
• Doesn't suit dry patchy skin types as it accentuate the flakiness more than liquid type foundations do. Be sure to exfoliate your skin regularly to keep those dry patches at bay and also use a primer to help prep the skin so the foundation sits more smoothly on top of skin for a better finish. 
• At A$132 for a 30ml jar, this is luxury item and sits in the realm of nice-to haves rather than must-haves. Perhaps the price is more justifiable with the rationale that it's skincare and makeup in one?

This is the ultimate foundation for dry (but not patchy) skin types who love a light dewy finish. I’m still not sure it’s won my heart as the other Bobbi Brown foundations seem to work better for me. With its temperamental nature with my other skincare products, I reserve this foundation soley for days when I’m on a minimal skincare routine.

30ml RRP A$132 | US$55 (ex tax) 

Available in 12 shades at Bobbi Brown Counters now or BobbiBrown Online.
This product was provided for consideration.

Look of the Day: Cabaret Girl

Over the weekend, I attended a costume party for a girlfriend's 30th birthday and went as a Cabaret Girl for the evening. The costume itself took relatively little time to put together as I was lucky enough to have various pieces of clothing that went together to give the sexy show girl look (thank you Celina for the satin gloves) and all I had to do on the evening was concentrate on my hair and makeup.

The Hair 
For the hair I decided on soft curls. My straight hair was prepped with heat protectant Moroccan Oil's latest Curl Control Cream to give it a bit more texture and so that the curls would last when used with VS Sasson's Magic Curl styling wand.

Hair was sectioned in 6 parts - bottom, mid and top layers and left and right of each layer. I then put the VS Magic curl stying wand to work at the highest temperature setting for maximum hold and created medium size ringlets by twirling the hair around the wand.

Working from my way up from the bottom layers, I proceeded to curl the hair below the ear length to ensure they didn't become too puffy at the top. When all the hair is curled and brushed into place, copious amounts of hair spray was used to keep the fly aways and curls in check for the night.

Hair Products Used
Frizz-Ease Heat Defeat Protective Styling Spray
Moroccan Oil Curl Control Cream*
Schwarzkopf Strong Styling Hairspray

Moroccan Oil curl control cream is designed to give defined curls for those with curly and wavy hair, add shine, volume and control. It did an amazing job with helping to hold the curls in my normally (permanently) straightened hair throughout the night and the whole of next day, it even survived being slept on - now that's impressive!

The Makeup
I went for a heavier coverage base for a flawless look to allow me to emphasise the eyes and lips. Thick false lashes and firey red lips helped to sex up look whilst keep keeping the rest of my face fairly simple and neutral.

Face 
Dermablends Cover Creme in Chroma 2.13 Natural Beige
Bobbi Brown Concealer in Warm Beige
Milani Minerals Blush #203 Mai-Tai
Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick in Rose
MAC wedge eye shadow as contour powder
Kryolan Anti-Shine powder
NYX loose powder #07 transparent medium

Eyes 
Face of Australia Oppulent Eyes in Endless Nights*
3 trees false lashes #6 design 
ColourSoft eye lash glue
Kiss Me Heroine Smooth Liquid eye liner

Lips 
Illamasqua Box *(layered underneath)
Rimmel London 230 Red Fever applied with a lip liner for precise definitions.

• Moroccan Oil Curl Control cream A$44.50 is available at all good hair salons
• Dermablend Cover Creme A$49.95 is high pigment waterproof makeup and is available at selected Priceline and Pharmacies.
• Kiss Me Heroine Smooth liquid liner is an amazing Japanese smudgeproof eye liner that can be purchased from Sasa.com
• Milani is a US drugstore brand and can be purchased from CherryCulture.com

Products marked * were provided for consideration

Bobbi Brown Rich Lip Color - Plum Rose

Bobbi Brown recently put out a new line of lip colours called 'Rich Lip Color' that claims to be a "new lightweight, colour-saturated formula for lips."

I decided I had to check them up myself and see if they stacked up to their claims when I saw the words 'lightweight, rich, full coverage, SPF" used to describe this latest offering.

Rich Lip Colour - Plum Rose
Plum rose is a slightly cool rosey plum colour with a blue base; it's a cheery and vibrant shade and would suit most complexions. On me it comes off as a medium blue plum shade.

Plum Rose on NC30-35 arm - indoor white light

• True colours of pigments as they are created with a clear base - tick. These are definitely true to colour on lips as it is in the tube. The colours are vibrant and intense which is really great as I usually choose colours based on their tube colours and sometimes it just doesn't turn out right. With these, I won't have such problems. 
• Creamy and emollient - I would say the formula gives a satin finish that is quite creamy for the light-weightness they exhibit. Obviously they are not as creamy when compared to the hydrating lipstick varieties but then again, those are not as lightweight. Over time, this does loses its creaminess and does dry out a bit so I'd slick a gloss over it after an hour or so to continue to get some moisturising properties. 
• SPF 12 - I'm loving the fact that cosmetics are increasingly incorporating skincare properties as well. Although not as high of an SPF as I personally prefer, anything to protect your lips from the sun from your normal lipstick is definitely a plus. 

Plum Rose did indeed provide full coverage and feels great on with its amazing lightweight formula. It lasted a good 2 hours before fading off evenly. I'm definitely a fan of this new range and can't wait to try the other colours in this line, especially Soft Coral and Bikini Pink.

RRP A$44 / US$22 at Bobbi Brown counters now.

This product was sent for review.

Top Gifts for the Holiday Season III

This third edition of holiday gift giving ideas will be a showcase of findings from the hours of online and instores scouring I've done in the last week in search for the ultimate beauty gifts that would make any girl happy on Christmas day.

GHD Midnight Set - RRP A$309

I haven't come across a single girl who doesn't like the GHD hair straightener styler. I've had mine for many years and if it was broken, I would definitely upgrade to this one. This deluxe set comes with a hardcase clutch to store the styler, 2 sectioning clips, a cute little mirror and a mini multi voltage hair dryer for travelling - super convenient, all of which come in a big black chest that you can use as a storage box. 

Available at selected salons nation wide and ry.com.au

L’Oreal Professionnel Serie Expert gift pack - RRP A$55

This great value gift pack comes in 3 variants.

• Serie Expert Vitamino Color for long-lasting radiance
• Serie Expert Force Vector for breaking hair
• Serie Expert Absolut Repair for fragile hair.

My personal favourite is the Absolute Repair set for fragile hair with a shampoo, conditioner and hair masque. It is just magic at preventing split ends and breakages in hair as well as boosting hair's hydration levels to keep it soft, silky and shiny.Available at Price Attack, Hairhouse Warehouse and other selected hair salons

The Aromatherapy Company - White Lily & Cassis Gift Set - RRP A$24.95
This pack from NZ contains 2 candles in glass jars and a 50ml reed natural essential oil diffuser set in the lucious Lily scent - it's heaven on earth for floral lovers like me.
Available in David Jones and selected Pharmacies.

Elizabeth Arden Prevage Total Protection Introductory Collection - RRP A$275/US$155
Having used the Prevage serum and day cream (review coming soon), I'm absolutely in love with the product but am crying poor at the prices. This set whilst still pricey is amazing value and the 50ml serum alone is arleady worth $265. So for a mere $10 more you get a 15ml face cream and 7.5ml night recovery cream. It is to date my holy grail anti-aging skincare and keeps face hydrated and protected all day long.
Available in limited quantities in Myer and David Jones.

Bobbi Brown Modern Classic Lip & Eye Palette - RRP A$160/US$75
Bobbi brown does a modern twist to her classic palette; the colours are all very wearable and the texture is just amazing and silky as to apply, it comes with a mini eye shadow and lip brush and have been on my Xmas wishlist for a whole month now...
Available in David Jones and selected Myer stores. 

Lanolips Christmas set - RRP A$19.94/$A24.95
There are 2 variations of these going around. Myer has the $24.95 set with 3 items (Rose balm hand cream, 101 ointment and lip ointment) while David Jones is hawking the $19.95 version for 2 items (Rose balm hand cream and 101 ointment only), both of which come presented in a pretty pink cosmetics bag for you to re-use. My tip would be to pick the Myer set as that gives you more bang for your buck .

Elizabeth Arden Luxury Beauty Hamper - RRP A$99
Contains a wide selection of eye makeup, lip colours and fragrances as well as a set of travel makeup brushes, all beautifully presented in a quilted red cosmetic case.

Revlon Foundation Holiday Set - RRP A$39.95
This pack contains the much raved about PhotoReady foundation (in shade Natural Beige) and 2 nail colours as well as a lip colour. Valued at over twice its selling price, it is a good time to try this foundation out if you haven't gotten a hold of it yet.
Available exclusively at Priceline

Mecca Cosmetica Metals Molten Shine Nail Set - RRP A$40
This limited edition duo will set your nails sizzling with a metallic coppery bronze that looks great against your (faux) bronzed skin and a lighter silvery taupe shade for muted but equally dazzling molten metal finish.
Available at Mecca Cosmetica counters and Mecca Maxima (Melbourne).

Estee Lauder Gloss To Go Set - RRP A$65
This limited edition of 6 pure colour glosses will bring shine, colour, shimmer and sparkles to lips, keeping your puckers soft, smooth and totally kissable on Christmas day.  These are new colours brought out especially for the holiday season and comes presented in a beautiful gold box. Get them while they lasts
Available at Myer and David Jones

Happy Christmas shopping everyone - the car parks are starting to fill up very quickly so be sure the go early in the mornings if you plan to do your shopping on weekends.