Clarins Rouge Prodige - a lipstick that actually lasts!

Nothing and I mean nothing excites me more than lipstick.

I may already own a trillion nudes, lilacs and baby pinks (my kinda colours FYI) but as soon as I see a new one I have no restraint and have to have it.

The Clarins counter called out to me last week '24 new shades Holly and long lasting colour' - sold, who can say no to a lipstick that lasts and a nude!

Introducing my latest lip loves from the Rouge Prodige range, I walked away with two in the end number 101 Tender Rose (left) and 122 Nude (right).

Clarins promises a true hold colour with intense shine and that is exactly what it delivers.

I was shocked at first by the formulation, after being used to the likes of the melt on your mouth YSL RV's and Cremesheen lippies, the Clarins formulation is thicker and feels almost waxy on the lips but not in an unpleasant way.

The lip life of YSL's are barely ten minutes with Mac's being not much better at around half an hour but these babies are still going strong hours later all thanks to the texture.

Cue vacant/surprised expressions, will I ever get the hang of blog photos?

This is 101 Tender Rose, a really gorgeous baby pink which looks amazingly natural on unlike some other synthetic, candy floss milky pinks I own.

I'm usually disappointed when I turn over the lipstick labelled nude at most counters, a dingy beige often stares back at me but Clarins you did good with your example. I love it!

122 Nude is a very wearable peachy nude, when swatched next to my other neutral colours it is almost identical to Mac's Creme d'nude but a tincy bit darker in shade.

I'm a lazy make-up wearer I hate touching up, I like to apply once and forget about it so I really love these lipsticks.

If your looking for something that stays put and looks great for hours then Clarins Rouge Prodige are worth taking a look at.Oh and they smell/taste like the strawberry creams you get in boxes of posh chocs!

Are you tempted or been sucked in by the range already?xxx

Gaga for Gogo

I have a love/hate relationship with Topshop.

I love the clothes but hate the prices, so I tend not to go in often.

My point was proven yesterday when I spotted a pretty no doubt made out of polyester one shouldered top expecting it to be around £28 as everything in toppers always is but when I turned over the label - £45, no thanks!

Moving on, my disapproval of high-street jewellery is no secret, they may look pretty but do they last? Well not in my experience, a handful of wears and it's time to chuck.

But Topshop's new guest designer Gogo Philips had me going gaga for his vintage designs in store yesterday.

Gold plated (check), simple but chic (check), good quality (check) and affordable (check) whats not to love!

Here's some blurb on the history of Gogo.

I just wanted everything on the stand but had to restrain myself as had just purchased two new lippies (next post) so walked away with one long pearl and gold chain (£6), some hoop earrings (£4), two bamboo bangles (£4 each) and these gorgeous thumb rings.

The rings are my favourite thing in the whole range, so delicate and sweet, they look great stacked on top of each other and were £3.50 each which is pretty damn cheap for gold plated jewellery.

I hope it's not a case of you get what you pay for with these, no one likes the green finger look. If you like the look of Gogo here's where to gogo for some!

Has anyone else gone gaga for Gogo?

xxx

Holiday snaps and style

Can't believe it's been almost two weeks since I got home from my mini break. I've had a bit of a stressful six months and jetting away was just what I needed.

La Rochelle, a beautiful harbour town just west of Paris was my destination of choice.


Forget the false glitz of St.Tropez and Cannes with their commercialized glamour, La Rochelle is a little gem unspoilt by designer clad women and fake tan.

Every cobbled street corner ouzes french glamour and cries 'tres chic', it boasts street after street of boutiques (and two Sephora's for us beauty lovers), amazing restaurants and a bucketfull of charm and culture.

La Rochelle itself was gloriously hot and had nice beaches but if you were thinking of a taking a trip there you must go to the nearby island Il de Re which is just beautiful and boasts golden sands.

Although the toll over to the island is a hefty £15 it's well worth it, beautiful vineyards line the road, amazing beaches stretch the length of the isle and the heritage town Saint Martin is overflowing with parissiene wealth.

The only negative thing I would say about La Rochelle is there is a distinct lack of good quality hotels, let's just say the french starring system is not the same as ours.

We moved twice but eventually found the most charming old hotel in the centre, it was beautiful but it was very shabby chic with the emphasis being on the shabby!

The saving grace was the pretty courtyard pool which Lily basically lived in, she's a regular water baby.

I just love this picture, green Hollyhocks and leopard print - fabulous!

A few examples of my holiday outfits, keeping it simple and stylish!

- Handbag - Miu Miu Vitello Lux

- 3/4 skinny jeans - Topshop

- Cardigan - Topshop

- Top/Dress - Love this Chanelesque tunic by Topshop

- Necklace - Monica Vinader

- Sunglasses cue bug eyes - Sweet Years from TKMAXX

- Day dress - Zara, love this too simple but pretty

- Watch - Micheal Kors

- Handbag - Miu Miu

- Bangle - Raffia and Bossa

- Sunglasses - same as before

If your looking for style, culture,history, french charm, golden beaches, great cuisine and shopping of course La Rochelle is definitely worth a visit this summer.

Where are you jetting off to?

xxx

A glossy Ripe Peach

Don't be fooled by first impressions, these two products are an unlikely dupe.

On first glance Nars's new multiple tint in Turks and Caicos looks unwearable. I mean who wants neon orange cheeks or lips for that matter but oh when swatched do you get a surprise.

It literally translates as Mac's coveted Ripe Peach, a gorgeous peachy pink but in stick/gel form which leaves the skin with a healthy looking glow rather than a powdery finish making it the perfect summer blush.

I'm not a fan of the original multiples, the consistancy and formula just don't work on my skin but the new limited edition tint versions couldn't be more different.

The tints which come in three gorgeous shades have a very light gel consistancy which makes them fuss free to apply and a dream to blend.

I find the best way to apply Turks and Caicos is with my Mac 131 brush by stippling it along the top of my cheekbones and then gently blend around the edges with my fingers.

I'm not really into obvious Aunt Sally cheeks, I prefer more of a natural hint of colour and the tint is perfect for this. The colour payoff is good but can also be built up easily too.

If you have oily skin and tend to steer clear of cream blushes don't be put off the tints they have great staying power unusually and don't slide off during the day.

If your lucky enough to own Ripe Peach or its close copies by Estee Lauder and Sisley then I find using a little over the top helps to conceal some of the glossiness if you don't like the shine.

The multiple tint's are a little pricey at £27 but in my mind well worth it, I've used it every day since I purchased it from Liberty's around six weeks ago. The formula is unique, the colour gorgeous, it is multi-purpose and you need so little on application that the tube will last for ages!

If you like the look of Turks or Caicos and it's other multiple tint siblings they are limited edition so I'm not sure how long they will be available. I know Space NK and Nars.com still have them.

Have you seen the multiple tints? What did you think?

xxx

Beauty agnostic?

Are you a bit of a beauty agnostic? Do you look at products and think I'll believe it when I see it?

I am.

I don't know how but when buying beauty products or tools I am both incredibly gulable and scepticle all at the same time. I buy with hope, sucked in by high claims and pretty packaging but always have the little niggling feeling at the back of my mind asking 'Will this work?' .

I'm an instant gratification kinda gal and find it hard waiting for results but six weeks on using Boot's I-Pulse Skin Smooth I'm starting to see the proof I've needed.

I hate underarm hair and used to shave daily so it's pained me to grow them for photo purposes but it had to be done.

The above photo shows my left arm after six days of letting them grow, as you can see in some places the hair has grown back but there are also visable patches of little or no hair!

I apologise for the clarity or lack of in the next picture but for some reason I couldn't get macro for my right pit.

Wow, right! It may be a bit fuzzy but you can still see how hair free my right armpit is.

How random that one side would work more effectively than the other? I'll just have to give the left side a little more zapping!

So fellow beauty sceptics as you can see the pics are proof that miracles really can happen, I am on my way to fuzz freedom and now I'm seeing I'm believing!

Do you have faith or are you a bit of a beauty agnostic like me?

xxx

Subtlety went out of the window

There is really no subtle way to ask you this so I'm not going to beat around the bush, I'm going to come right out and ask you all loud and proud.

Please, please,please with cherries on the top vote for YM in the Cosmo Blog Awards 2010 if you think 'I'm worth it' she says flicking her glossy locks!

I wasn't going to blog about this but I voted for a few of my fave blogs yesterday (i hope, just been informed one per person but will try again) in beauty and fashion and thought hey why not!

Thank you to everyone who has already voted for me and the kind e-mails letting me know why, I was on the verge of tears I tell you reading them (damn weak tear ducts).

How to vote:

Click on the link RIGHT HERE.

Select relevant category - Beauty.

Paste in my URL - http://www.ymbeautyblog.com/

And then simply say why!

Merci Beaucoup xx

Must Have Jazz and it's perfect partners

Left to right - Dressmaker, Dressmaker, Jazzed and Ever Hip

Surprisingly for a fully fledged Macaholic I had no idea what collection Mac were coming out with this month and returned from France last night faced with hundreds of posts raving about their newest offerings.

How In The Groove hype or promo images passed me by I'll never know as I love mineralised products especially the eyeshadows and blushes which are silky smooth, extremely pigmented and give a lovely glow to the skin.

So what did I do this morning? Do my holiday washing or perhaps unpack my case? Did I hell, I hot footed it down to my Mac counter of course with two products on my wish list, Stereo Rose and Jazzed.

Stereo Rose was long gone but I did quite literally do *jazz hands* when I managed to snap up the last Jazzed lipstick, a gorgeous and very wearable coral with clear pink undertones.

Top to bottom - Ever Hip, Jazzed and Dressmaker, Dressmaker.

I love my corals, I also love my cremesheen lipsticks so I had to have it. My thoughts were confirmed when I swatched it, it was love at first sight and when applied I almost swooned.

At first I was instantly reminded of Dressmaker, Dressmaker lipstick from Pret a Papier and Ever Hip from the Liberty collection but when compared the former is a darker, apricot coral and Ever Hip is a beautiful, unique mix of pink and peach with slight blue undertones.

Jazzed is definitely a lovely summer lipstick to have, the formula is creamy with a glossy finish and the colour is a pretty and bright but very wearable pinky coral.

Jazzed's perfect glossy partners.

Left to right - Perennial High Style, Prescriptives(Yummy Mummy) and Smile.

As soon as I arrived home with Jazzed I went through my lipgloss drawer to find it's perfect peachy partner or three.

On the recommendation of Tali/GlossGoss I picked out Perennial High Style which matches perfectly, my custom made Prescriptives gloss and Mac's Dazzleglass in Smile which looks lovely over the top for a sparkly pout.

Top to bottom- Perennial High Style, Smile and Prescriptives

As much as I love my coral collection I'm often scared to wear some of them, they are gorgeous and bright but the orange tones sometimes look a little unnatural.

Jazzed is a coral that has a clear pink undertone and will definitely be making it into my makeup bag this summer along with Perennial High Style.

Jazzy lips!

I'm making a In The Groove order tomorrow, what do I need ladies (apart from Stereo Rose)?

xxx