Tag Archives: Eyes

Right Now: Burberry Complete Eye Palette In Mocha

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Burberry Eyeshadow

OK it’s official. Burberry can do no wrong in my eyes. They have new eye quads that are, in a word, divine. Buttery soft, smooth and the colour combinations are just perfection.

It comes housed in a sleek gunmetal case which I am THRILLED to say, is lighter than the single eyeshadows I own. Because if I had one gripe with Burberry Beauty, it was the weight of their beautiful products. For the lady at home carrying a lippy and a blush they would be OK (still heavy, but just about manageable). But if you’re a makeup artist and you have a stack of those bad boys you want to carry, it’s just death. And then you have to choose which ones to take on a job. And then it’s MORE death because they’re all so lovely, and you can’t choose. And then you have to hack them up with a pallet knife which makes you want to stick the palette knife in your eye because it’s so sacrilegious to hack up those gorgeous Burberry eyeshadows to put in teeny plastic cases so you can carry them all. Can you tell I’ve been there? More than once?

So now the packaging feels lighter, and Burberry have given you not one, but FOUR lovely shades to choose from. I have Mocha, which is rich, yummy golden browns (you know, the browns that are surprising hard to find in other ranges? Yeah, those). There is a cream, a golden brown, a nutmeg/caramel colour and a rich brown that’s perfect for lining eyes. These babies can go natural and nothing, or very, very glamorous. What I love about the Burberry shadows is they are matte but they still have a sheen to them, so they don’t look flat on the eye.

The eye quads are called the Compete Eye Palette and come in 6 different shade variations, ranging from Plum Pink to Smokey Grey. I for one will be needing more of these new lightweight! Burberry goodies.

And here’s a video which has very little to do with Burberry, except it’s the Burberry model, Cara Delevigne, rollerskating in an elf hat. Shot by Angelo Pennetta for Love magazine, I thought it was super cute. And it’s Christmas, and who doesn’t love rollerskating elves at Christmas? Especially ones as pretty as Cara Delevigne.

www.burberry.com

In My Makeup Kit: Tom Ford Cream Eyeshadows in Gilt and Spice

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Tom Ford Cream Color for Eyes in Guilt

These are INSANE. It’s been awhile since I was this excited about an eye shadow – and let’s face it, I do get quite excited about eye shadows on occasion. Not since the launch of Chanel’s divine Ombre d’Illusions which are still in constant rotation at MM HQ have I gone crazy for a new eye product.

First off, the colours. The whole of Tom Ford’s Spring collection is all bronze-y golds, and no one does a bronze-y gold better than Mr Tom Ford (HE even looks bronze-y gold himself!) Like everything TF these eye shadows just look like money, an expensive shimmery whipped cream mousse confection that I can’t get enough of.

Gilt is a gorgeous gold cream that glides on the lid like a dream and can be used all over the lid as a wash or strategically placed for a pop of golden shimmer along the lash lines, or the tear duct. It’s not super-pigmented – there are other products you can buy if you want serious strong gilt territory (try Illamasqua, MAC or Ben Nye if you want to go a bit Goldfinger). But this Tom Ford shadow is so beautiful it doesn’t need to pack a pigment punch – it’s just the right amount of everything. Not too yellow gold, not too sparkly, it’s in a word, ravishing.

Spice is a browny-tobacco colour but warm enough to make eyes pop (not with that grey tone that makes even the shiniest of eyes look dead). It is more pigmented than the gold, and in fact they look absolutely gorgeous when worn together.

The texture of the shadows is like a whipped mousse, less spongy than the Chanel Ombres d’Illusion shadows and creamier, with more slip so they glide on easily with either a finger or a brush. I’ll be curious to see whether they dry out like most cream eyeshadows do, not matter how careful you are about securing the lids. The Tom Ford makeup range makes me think of Capri in the 70’s, private jets, hell, private islands – and hyper-real women who look like goddesses. Don’t mind if I do.

If perfection could be potted in tiny jars, TF has managed it with his makeup line. Add to cart.

tomford.com

The new Tom Ford Spring collection will be available exclusively through David Jones for a limited time from March 25th.

In My Makeup Kit: MyFace EyeTouch Eyeshadow Trio in Whole Latte Love

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MyFace EyeTouch EyeshadowI’m going to tell you a secret – it’s probably not that exciting unless you’re a proper makeup head, but if you’re on my blog then chances are good you might be – I love a good brown eyeshadow. So much so that I have to have regular meetings with myself and get quite stern in order to cull the tidal wave of brown shadows that seems to wash up into my kit on a regular basis. I sit there, surrounded by eyeshadows and argue with myself. The conversation goes something like this:

“Really? Really Christabel? Another mid-toned brown eyeshadow with sparkle? Do you need it?” To which I reply (in my head of course, not out loud because that’s what crazy people do. Isn’t it?) “But that one is so good as a liner when you layer it with a pencil. I’ll get rid of the others.” Sure enough though, when sparkly brown eyeshadow 2, 3 and 4 roll around, what do I get but more justifications:

“This one is perfect on green eyes as it has the right amount of red”.
“I layer this one for editorial looks”.
“This is good for a quick smoky eye when I don’t have time”
“That one’s in a palette that I like so I can’t get rid of it” And so on and so forth through shades of tan and camel, mid tone and dark, shiny and matte etc etc.

And yet, with all those brown eyeshadows (in the dozens, I’m ashamed to say, although I have my reasons to love all of them) I have a new one that I can’t get rid of either. It’s MyFace EyeTouch Trio eyeshadow in Whole Latte Love. It has a neutral matte cream colour (always handy in your makeup kit), and a great nutmeg-y colour which is perfect as a base shade, and then the piece de resistance which is a shimmering brown/plum taupe. It’s delicious on all eye colours although I’m yet to bust it out on a very dark skin tone. However it’s been in pretty heavy rotation in my makeup bag lately on private clients and beauty shoots.

This little gem has not had to justify my love. And just as an excuse to slide in a bit of vintage Madonna, here’s the clip for … well you know what it is.

myfacecosmetics.com

 


 

Trend – Maximal Lashes

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Eyelashes Valentino Gucci

One of the best looks from the recent Autumn/Winter 2011 catwalks was courtesy of the ever-inventive supremo head honcho patron saint of makeup artists, Pat McGrath. I call it Maximal Lashes.

Big doe-eyed dolly lashes like Twiggy on acid with her eyes hairsprayed. It’s the opposite of what we’re told lashes should look like – neat, ladylike, elegant and flirtatious – these new dudes are downright trash mama Valley of the Dolls lashes, completely 70’s and subversive, and that’s why we love ‘em.

Seen at major shows like Gucci and again at Valentino, this felt totally new and unexpected.  Trust Pat to pull a new (old!) trick out of the bag.

For this look you just need a heavy-duty mascara and the patience to put on about 50 coats. And the clumpier the better!

I like to prep first with an undercoat – either Lancôme Cils Booster XL or MAC Prep and Prime are two good choices. Then go hell for leather, piling on multiple coats both top and bottom until you have the desired spidery effect.

The best mascaras for this look are ones you can build without it getting too crunchy straight away. Favourites of mine for this look include Diorshow, Lancome Hypnose, CoverGirl Lashblast (which I’ve seen supermodel Lily Donaldson use to great effect on a shoot before), and Becca The Ultimate Mascara. This is brilliant as it has a tubing formula allowing you to get serious length AND heft, so you can clump at will.

False lashes are optional, although I prefer the look with just your real lashes – it looks cooler that way, not trying too hard. And with lashes this gorgeous, all you need is great skin, a juicy mouth and a smile.

So get clumping!

 

The. Best. Eyeshadow. Quads. Ever. Chanel

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Chanel eyeshadow quadThis post is slightly cheating – really it should be “Best Eyeshadow Ever”, but I just couldn’t pick one brand. I have too many eyeshadows that I like – MAC and Dior and NARS and Illamasqua and Chanel and my old Stila ones and Myface and Laura Mercier – oh, and Bobbi Brown! It would be like Sophie’s Choice but with about 50 kids to choose from. Horrible, and too distressing to contemplate. So instead I decided to cheat and start with Eyeshadow Quads. Chanel win those hands down. I was doing makeup for a private client at the weekend and I got seriously back into them.

I have loads! I have at least nine that come with me on every job. Old ones that have been discontinued for years, and newer ones (like last year’s delicious Kaska Beige), and they all get a regular work-out. The colours are super-flattering and can be mixed beautifully, either from within the quad or with others in the Chanel range – or if you’re feeling crazy, from other brands!

Yes I know, the pigment pay off on other brands can be superior, but the finish is so beautiful! And the colour ranges are gorgeous, and go together so well. And yes they are expensive, but you wouldn’t expect to get a discount Ferrari would you?

One thing I have found though is that I much prefer the US versions of the quads – I just prefer the texture, and the texture is markedly different to their UK/European/Australian versions. But sill I love all of them, no matter where I bought them from. And the packaging, well, there is no substitute for that elegant black lacquer.

The only downside is that they have terrible tendency to encourage you to want more – as in new ones every season, as every new collection is more delectable than the last. Ombres Perlees de Chanel for Spring? Don’t mind if I do!

www.chanel.com

In My Makeup Kit: Lancôme Color Design Strasse eyeshadow in Dazzling Steel

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Lancome Color Design Strasse eyeshadowHappy New Year! I hope you all had a fun and festive holiday season and are returning to every day life bright eyed and bushy tailed (as opposed to hungover and broke, which is the other, less attractive option).

I’m going to kick off the year by declaring a new love, although it’s one that’s been around for awhile. And alright, I’ve been crushing on it for a bit as well, most of last year in fact, but still! Let’s put it in the New Year, New Love category.

It’s Lancôme. My interest in this brand goes from strength to strength. I used to just like their skincare – their Bi-Facil Eye Makeup remover has been in my kit for years as it removes even the toughest eye makeup with one gentle swipe, and I love their Hydra-Zen moisturisers. I had a few makeup bits of theirs floating around, but nothing major. By the time I got to Lancôme I felt I had really built my kit and there wasn’t much room for anything else. In the last couple of years though it feels like it has really become more interesting as a brand – the formulations are the same high quality they have always been, but with Aaron de May now as Global Creative Director it feels like it’s breaking new ground and this grand dame of French cosmetics is loosening up a little, getting a younger, fresher image.

So just before Christmas I found myself SQUEEZING in a new Strasse eyeshadow (and I do mean squeezing – that kit is TIGHT). The colour? Dazzling Steel, which you would expect to be a rich pewter but is actually an unusual khaki grey colour. Why is it getting crushed into my kit? It’s sparkly, and I’m still loving metallic makeup – it’s not just for the holidays you know!

I like the way the shine catches the light but still looks elegant, not like some 15 year old let out of a school disco. This is sparkle for grown ups, and whilst it’s lovely as a liner I’m looking forward to letting this sparklepuss out of the bag and rocking it with a smoky eye combo for some true sexy evening allure. And Lancôme? I have a feeling we ain’t heard nothing yet.

Secret Weapon: MAC Brow Gel

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Mac Brow GelLet’s talk about eyebrows for a moment. This is one of those products that is so mind-bogglingly simple and effective that you think everyone must know about it, but I’m always amazed when I do private clients and they have never even heard of it.

Brow Gel is a tube like a mascara wand and tube that has a clear gel inside it, and when you run it through your brows it invisibly grooms them, gives them an oh so subtle sheen, and most importantly, holds them in place. Why is that so exciting I hear you ask? Well if you have to ask that, you apparently don’t need it. Some brows need it more than others. For those with sweet, tame little arches that look the same year in and year out and never need plucking, tending, pencilling or re-arranging, you can just stop reading now. I know there are a few of you lucky people out there. I am however, not one of them.

From having gigantor brows in the 80’s that needed a hedge trimmer to tame them, through to the 90’s when my brows all but disappeared when I plucked them all away (curse your elfin beauty in those CK Calvin Klein ads Kate Moss, it’s all your fault!), and now to the noughties when my brows have valiantly struggled to grow back but in sexy patches, I am one of those people who need brow help. Lots of it. Of the grooming and pencilling kind, every day, or else I look like a mad woman.

So brow gel is always in my kit, both personally, and professionally – and the one I love the most? MAC. They also do fancy coloured ones which I have, but to be brutally honest I don’t really use. Clear looks good on every brow colour, holds it in place and a tube will last you forever. So no more mad woman brows. The hedge trimmer is optional.

www.maccosmetics.com

Bag It: NARS Larger than Life Volumizing Mascara

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NARS Larger than Life Volumizing MascaraWay back in the mists of time I wrote one of my first posts for MM, and it was telling the world how crap I thought NARS’ old mascara was. (There was also something about Huey Lewis and the News in there, but Lord knows what that has to do with mascara, crap or otherwise).

However I am thrilled to report that after extensive testing, NARS new Larger than Life Volumizing mascara is proving itself to be a winner. The brush is a bit bigger than normal but not jumbo oversized like Diorshow mascara or Benefit’s Bad Girl Lash, and the main thing I like about it is that it doesn’t get goopy or overload the lash. Thus you can build a few coats with it still looking lovely and fluffy, and it really is quite volumizing.

One thing I would say is that sucker is staying on once it’s on! Make sure you have a good remover because it has the staying properties of a waterproof mazzie, without the crunchiness – which if you live in a hot climate or like a badass, long last mascara, this is for you.

In the mascara stakes Monsieur NARS, you have well and truly redeemed yourself.

BAG IT!

Top Shop – Ultimate Smoky Eye video

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Just when I think I couldn’t be any more in love with Topshop, they go and produce these lovely videos for their new makeup collection, Heavy Duty. It’s a rockin’ London eye, fabulously cool makeup artist Hannah Murray (who is the Creative Director for Topshop makeup) is on beauty duty, and they have one of my favourite singers, Sia, providing the tunes. All r-i-i-i-ight.