Just looking outside my window now and the Irish weather is back to form! It is bucketing down with rain. When I started writing this post I had the summer in mind as it was gorgeous and sunny, but this sudden turn has put paid to that
As you may have seen on twitter and facebook I was recently flown to Marbella for a photoshoot for the tanning brand Cocoa Brown. The make-up had to be really bronzed and glowing indicative of the summer feeling, which would compliment the models Cocoa Brown Tan.
I find that I am always putting something on my lips, be it lipstick, lipgloss, lip stains you name it. Sometimes though your lips just need a break, the build up of all these products can leave them dehydrated and gasping for some TLC.
I have found just the product for such times! The Clarins Intant Light Natural Lip Perfector gives you the best of both worlds, a little bit hydrating, a little bit of colour and best of all a lot of plumping. I have been trying this out for the last couple of days and it has left my lips feeling great, also if you have any dry skin the thick formula helps to disguise it.
I was given 04 Petal Shimmer and this shade is definitely one that I would recommend for the office or school. It is nice and subtle and at €17 it is a bit more reasonable than some of the lipsticks out there.
Let me know what you think, will you be trying this when it comes out in April?
Another make-up artist that I love is James Kaliardos I first came across his work about 4 years ago when I entered a competition run by Elle Magazine in association with L’oreal. He was the creative consultant for L’oreal Paris at the time, he was the first makeup artist to hold that position in the company. The competition was to win work experience with James, which I obviously didn’t win but since then I have been a huge fan of his work.
James was born in Detroit, USA. His mother was a hairdresser and encouraged his creative side. At the age of eighteen he attended the Parsons School in New York, where he studied Art, Design, Fashion, Photography, Theatre, History and Film. It was there that he met the photographer Steven Meisel and showed him his portfolio. Steven was particularly impressed by James’ make-up ability and helped him to develop his talent.
After this time he decided to go to Paris and become a make-up artist. In Paris he worked with photographers Stépahane Sednaoui and Ellen Von Unwerth. He moved back to New York and has since worked with every well known photographer out there including Annie Leibovitz, Steven Klein, David Sims, Steven Meisel, Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott, Mario Sorrenti, Peter Lindbergh, Mario Testino, Paolo Roversi, Bruce Weber, and the late Richard Avedon, Irving Penn and Helmut Newton.
James brings a unique combination of glamour and chic minimalism to his work. His style is clean and he prefers to focus on making one feature really pop. One of my favourite things about his esthetique is the clean glowing skin that features heavily in his work.
His work can be seen in American, British, and Italian Vogue, Allure, W and V magazines. He has created looks for campaigns and runway shows for Balenciaga, Chanel, Hermès, Fendi, Versace, Jean Paul Gaultier, Yves Saint Laurent, Rodarte, Dior Homme, Y-3, Rochas, Preen, as well as campaigns for L’Oréal, Revlon, Shiseido, Cover Girl, and Victoria’s Secret.
Some of the celebrities Kaliardos has also worked with include: Beth Ditto, Gwen Stefani, Madonna, Julianne Moore, Beyonce, Nicole Kidman, Angelina Jolie, Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslet, Jennifer Connelly, Tyra Banks, Drew Barrymore, Sarah Jessica Parker, Björk, and Chloë Sevigny.
So it is time to talk about this lovely little gem I was sent the other day. It is no secret that I absolutely love lippies. The reason I now know for certain that I am a little obsessed is this: I found the following four lipsticks and three glosses in my handbag. In my car I found three lipglosses in my cup holder and two lipsticks in the side panel of my car. Then I have my stash beside my bed and then I have my professional kit, which had last count had over 100 lipsticks in it…heaven forbid one might have the urge to top up one’s lippy and can’t find a lip product!!
I was quite delighted to receive this baby in the post the other day. I just adore the packaging, so intricate, the detailing on it make me not want to use it and keep it as a collectors item. Alas too late for that I broke the no.1 rule as learned from the comic geek on The Simpsons…don’t open it
As you know I am a huge fan of products that smell nice. It is one of the first things I do when trying something new, I apply a swatch to my hand and then I smell it! I was really pleased with the smell of this lipstick, it is fruity, much like their lipglosses which I love.
I was sent the N°7 Rose Infinite which is a rosy pink colour which looks alot darker in the pan then it actually is. he coverage of the lipstick is quite sheer yet buildable, so it is the perfect product to bring with you and top up in the evening for more drama. It is nice and moisturising and keeps your lips looking luscious and they feel great too!
This Yves Saint Laurent Beaute Rouge Volupte Shine Lipstick will be available from counters nationwide from mid-March, with a RRP of €31.50
If you happen to try this yourself, let me know what you think. I thoroughly enjoy a good makeup chat. Until then!
This is a great week for all my fellow animal-loving-makeup-wearers! The European Union has finally banned the sale of animal tested cosmetics. This means that all cosmetic products and ingredients in the EU and more importantly outside the EU can no longer be sold here.Testing finished-cosmetic-products on animals has banned in the European Union since 2004, as with animal testing of ingredients since 2009. In addition to these prohibitions, from March 2009 there had been a marketing ban on selling cosmetic products within the EU containing ingredients that have been tested on animals after this date, irrespective of the place of testing. However, because of some very complex tests for which there was no alternative method available (apparently) they were allowed to continue in certain cases until a later deadline the 11th March 2013 which was yesterday! Happy Days
I thought I would share the following image with you to demonstrate why this is SO IMPORTANT, I really am sorry if you are disgusted by this, but there is just no reason that I can sugar coat what actually happens when companies test on animals.
I just really feel strongly that it is not necessary to test on animals for the cosmetic industry, I don’t care if it means that the best anti-wrinkle cream or lipstick will never be invented. How we look and the products that we use to make ourselves feel better pale in significance in comparison to the value of an animal’s quality of life.
I would like to give a shout out to the many companies that paved the way against animal testing and that have had it in their ethos from the very start even before it became mandatory. The Body Shop, Urban Decay, ELF and OCC Cosmetics.
The other good news is that the European Commission is not going to stop there. They intend to continue supporting the development of alternative methods and to engage with third world countries to follow our European approach.
So how do you guys feel about this issue? Is it something that is important to you?
THE BODY SHOP REVEALS LEONA LEWIS AS NEW BRAND ACTIVIST
February 28th2013. Ethical beauty retailer The Body Shop is proud to reveal today that British singer and global superstarLeona Lewis has become its new Brand Activist.
Seven years since her triumph on The X Factor (UK), Leona has twenty million album sales and a glittering collection of awards and award nominations, yet remains grounded and true to her beliefs. An animal lover and long-time vegetarian, Leona is the perfect partner for The Body Shop and its unique vision of cruelty-free beauty.
As part of the partnership, one of Leona’s first activities is to help The Body Shop and NGO Cruelty Free International in their joint, global campaign to end animal testing for cosmetics forever, building on the EU ban on animal testing for cosmetics which comes into effect on March 11th this year.
Leona has also put her name to an exclusive cruelty-free make-up and fragrance collection, the Limited Edition Collection by Leona Lewis. Featuring 100% vegetarian cosmetics in fashion-forward shades, the Limited Edition Collection by Leona Lewis features quirky packaging with a floral deer motif, celebrating the fact that The Body Shop was one of the first beauty brands to use cruelty-free, man-made musk instead of musk derived from the musk deer. The Limited Edition Collection by Leona Lewis is available at selected stores from Thursday, 4th April 2013.
To celebrate the partnership, Leona will also be holding an exclusive gig for fans which will be live streamed on March 26th 2013. For more information on the gig, follow The Body Shop Ireland on Facebook.
Leona Lewis says: “I’m passionate about beauty and I’m all about animal rights. As a result, I’m really conscious of where the products that I use come from. The Body Shop sells cruelty free, ethical products containing amazing Community Fair Trade ingredients. The collaboration is a natural fit!”
Sad news today as I learned that Wojciech Inglot, Polish chemist and founder of the global cosmetics company Inglot, died Feb. 23 at age 57.
It is relatively new to Ireland, but the Polish brand has been around a long time and was an international success with nearly 400 stores in 50 countries.
Inglot died unexpectedly Saturday after suffering internal hemorrhaging, a longtime friend of Inglot’s and associate of the company, Mariusz Ziomecki, told The Associated Press. Inglot was rushed to a hospital in Przemysl, the eastern Polish city where his cosmetics are produced, but doctors were unable to save him.
Inglot was born in Przemysl on June 11, 1955. He studied chemistry at Krakow’s prestigious Jagellonian University. After graduation he began his first chemical manufacturing operation in 1983, when Poland was still under communist rule.
After Poland began its transition to a market economy in 1989, Inglot turned to producing cosmetics, finding success first at home and then internationally with a range of nail polishes, eye shadows and other products. Today the Inglot logo can be seen large-scale at Times Square in New York City and the cosmetics are sold in nearly 400 boutiques and malls in some 50 countries, including at Macy’s.
I hope that his legacy continues on, even though his life was cut short so young. RIP.
I have some news from the lovely folks at Benefit Cosmetics for you. They have organised a University Tour all to support Women’s Aid.
They will have a bright pink “Benebus” that will tour across Ireland to the major colleges in the lead up to Mother’s day and International Women’s day. They will be visiting Limerick, Dublin, Cork, Galway and Belfast.
On each campus they will hold female focused events during the day on site and in the evening ticketed events in the students’ union bars to raise money for Women’s Aid. The events will be light-hearted, with games, competitions and make-uppers, touching on issues highly pertinent to young women, abusive relationships and domestic abuse, self-esteem etc. to name a few. During the evening event a Women’s Aid representative will give a short presentation on their 2in2u campaign. (http://www.womensaid.ie/campaigns/2in2u.html)
As I told you previously MAC Cosmetics have been kind enough to send me the facecharts from New York Fashion Week. Again I thought I would share them with you so that you can see what will be in fashion this coming season.
I love this smokey smouldery grey eye from Donna Karan, which was designed by Charlotte Tilbury.
How amazing are these nails!!
What do you think of them? Are you going to give any of them a shot?
So I am back from my whirlwind trips to London and will have some more time to get blogging again. There were just not enough hours in the day last week with weddings, tv shows, fashion shoots, awards ceremonies and a make-up competition to judge! More on all of them in other posts…
I know this is a bit late in the day, but isn’t the Andy Worhol Pop Art collection from Nars absolutely gorgeous? It is on my wishlist for sure. What got me thinking about the products is this video on their Youtube page:
I love the way that brands have started to take notice of all aspects of social media and are producing informative videos, so that we can re-produce the looks from their visuals.
The Silver Factory-inspired beauty look with pops of strong blue and green really work well with the models warm skin tone. I was hoping to pick up this product when I was in London at Nars UK, but I spent waaay to much money in Charles Fox so had to be disciplined. Will post another time about what I got.
What do you think of the Nars collection? Is there anything that you fancy from it? Have you seen any good video tutorials of late that you would like to share with me?
Sad news today as I learned that Wojciech Inglot, Polish chemist and founder of the global cosmetics company Inglot, died Feb. 23 at age 57.
