Veruschka- Eyes To Mesmerise by Charlotte Tilbury

I love Charlotte Tilbury's Colour Chameleon Eye Shadow Pencils so much that when I saw she was bringing out Eyes To Mesmerise in cream eye shadows, of course I had to have one.


Eyes to Mesmerise in Veruschka

After much deliberation on which colour was going to be my first purchase it ended up being Veruschka.

I wanted something a little different to what I already had in my collection, yet a colour that would be wearable for both day and night.

Now I must say I am a little on the fence when I comes to this product, there are elements of it I love and elements I, well lets just say, don't love.


First of all lets talk about the loves. The colour is very unusual it is like a greeny grey, the exact words they use on the website is a, "minky-mossy golden grey-green" which I guess it is. It does have beautiful golden shimmer throughout it and mines definitely more a grey than green. But a very apt description.

A truly unique pretty colour.

So I love the colour but I also love how there is no fall out as it is a cream eye shadow, probably didn't need to say that and my sensitive eyes also love it, another bonus.

So with all these loves why am I not head over heels in-love with it.

Well, personally for me it creases, really badly within a few hours of wear. I have tried using it with my MAC Painterly Paint Pot as a base and it helps out for a good few hours but inevitably it creases on me.

Although I must say I do have very oily eyelids, so a lot of things do crease on me. But I am slightly more disappointed as I got on so well with her Colour Chameleon Eye Shadow Pencils that I thought I'd be on to a winner here but alas not.

I also find it actually quite time consuming and messy to use, I put the majority of it on my eyelid with my finger and then have to go and wash my hand or rub the excess off somewhere and then grab a pencil brush to get into the inner corners of my eyes, where my fingers don't fit and then under my lower lash line. I guess I just wanted it to be as easy to use as an eye shadow pencil.

That being said I could just use a brush for the whole application, so perhaps I am just being picky. But I do think that you get a better colour pay off when applied with a finger.

An overall round up from me would be, love the colour and the feel of it on my eyelids but unfortunately it creases really badly on my lids and I find it quite time consuming to apply.

But if you don't have a creasing issue and are a dab hand at applying cream eye shadows for sure give them a go, all the colours look absolutely stunning.

Pink Makes The Boys Wink



Far left- Dainty, Far Right- Tenderling Forefront- Orgasm, Brush- MAC 168

I love MAC cosmetics blushes, well lets face it, I love a lot of MAC's products. 

But I do have a little sweet spot for NARS blushes as well, especially, of course, Orgasm.

For my every day make-up looks I seem to go between the following three blushes, MAC's Tenderling and Dainty and of course NARS's Orgasm.

Left- Tenderling, Centre- Orgasm, Right- Dainty

Dainty is a mineralize blush which is has a very powder pink colour to it. Very girlie and young. It has a very small amount of gold shimmer to it and I love it for when I need to look a little more alive but don't want to draw too much attention to my blush shade. Although all of the shades are long lasting, with the mineralise blushes they don't seem to last as long on me as the next two, but I do love the colour, so onto my list it went.

Tenderling is a sheertone blush and for my skin tone it is the perfect shade of blusher for an extremely natural look. Even though my natural blush is a lot pinker than this shade it works so well on my skin. So I grab this one when I want all the attention to be on either my eyes or lips and just want an everyday quick make-up look, that can be applied in seconds and you definitely won't look like Aunt Sally. I also find that this shade blends fantastically with any contour shade as well. It has absolutely no shimmer or sparkle to it.

Orgasm by NARS, I think most people have heard the hype or knows someone who owns it, but here's my take on it. Firstly I love it and I seem to grab it all the time. I use it when I want that healthy, I have seen sunlight/been for a lovely walk kind of glow. It's a pinky coral and has the most beautiful gold shimmer in it. Too much for some people but I love it. Buildable, blendable and fantastic.

I find some of the NARS blushes to be less pigmented than the MAC powder blush shades but this can be both a positive and a negative. On one hand they are slightly easier to work with as you are less likely to put on too much but then I guess eventually you will end up having to use more, but not enough for it to bother me at all in the slightest.

I absolutely love both brands and my husband seems to love the packaging of all the NARS products, maybe this will allow me to buy more.. Maybe..

For all three the staying power is pretty dang good, but the mineralize one falls behind slightly but I never think..  Did I put blush on today? Or even worse, where has half of my blush gone? Which has happened in the past with other brands.

I just love my trusty three for my everyday blush!

Matte Revolution

When Charlotte Tilbury launched her make-up line I was pretty, ok VERY, excited and went overboard and purchased lots and lots of goodies but one goodie I feel like I completely overlooked was her Matte Revolution lipsticks.

Charlotte Tilbury, Matte Revolution Lipsticks
Left- Sexy Sienna, Right- Lost Cherry

They are gorgeous.

Unlike any other matte lipstick I've tried, they don't actually feel matte when they are on the lips. They actually feel, dare I say it, moisturising.

Swatches, Left- Sexy Sienna, Right- Lost Cherry 

They wear beautifully, like an absolute dream. No dodgy ring left around the outside of your lip after you've eaten or had a drink.

They are buttery, yes seemingly a matte can be buttery, and doesn't show up any dry skin that you might have on your lips. Very forgiving.

Wearing Sexy Sienna

Whilst being long lasting they are not completely indestructible but you can easily top it up without your lips becoming thick and cakey. Don't get me wrong they are long lasting, a good few hours of gorgeous wear.

Wearing Lost Cherry

I personally don't even wear them with a lip pencil. With no bleeding out from your lip line.

I find the formula and level of matte-ness very wearable. Day or night. And of course, like everyone I, love the packaging, kind of reminds me of original gold Estee Lauder lipstick packaging, from way back. Love. And the unusual shape of the bullet, makes for easy application.

Her colour selection is pretty amazing and will definitely be adding more to my collection soon.

Constructivist

 

My new favourite thing to wear on my eyes has to be MAC's Pro Longwear Paint Pot in the shade Constructivist. It was a recent purchase of mine whilst on holiday and I must say there has been a rare day since that I haven't put it on. I have numerous other shades of MAC's Paint Pots but this one and of course Painterly has to be my favourite.

They go on like a cream eye shadow, it blends really well and doesn't go patchy on me. You have some play time with it but once it's set it's tricky to rework it. They make amazing bases for your eye shadows as well, so if you have an eye shadow that has bad fallout or creases easily try one of these bad boys underneath them, it works a treat.

MAC Constructivist Paint Pot blended out, from intense to light. Love!

This colour is so versatile, you can layer it up to create a deep gorgeous brown or blend it out for a lovely daytime smokey look, which is how I have been wearing it most days.

It blends so well with any powder or cream eye shadow as well. I have been using it with either my new Armani Eye Tint in the shade 11 Rose Ashes or Charlotte Tilbury's Colour Chameleon in Champagne Diamonds.

I put either shade above all over my eyelid. Then I just pop my MAC brush 213 in my constructivist paint pot and start at my top outer lash line and blend up and out into the outer V corner of my eyes and up into my crease. Then just take the remainder on the brush under my lower lashes.

Done. A super simple look, or when I'm in a super rush I just use constructivist by itself. 

MAC's Constructivist Paint Pot on my eyes

It sits so well on my eyelids and for someone who has oily eyelids it makes a really good attempt at staying put all day and if its not too humid I have no creasing! Which is pretty impressive as most things crease on my eyelids. 

It is such a wearable colour, the versatility of this product is fantastic but be warned you must close the lid tightly after you've finished using them as they do dry out if the tub isn't sealed properly. A risk we run with all cream eye shadows I guess. So lets just give that lid a good old twist shut and we will be sorted.

I just love them, a product I keep going back to time and time again, la trusty paint pots!

The Perfect Red

I have written about this brand (Melt Cosmetics) before but I thought their red lipstick deserved a post dedicated all to itself, actually all their lipsticks probably deserve their own post, but for now lets concentrate on Belladonna 2. 

The formula is perfect, as I've said before Melt Cosmetics lipsticks are indestructible, they last all day and if and when you need a little touch up, no cakeyness, no rough bobbly bits appearing when reapplying, minimal/no smudging and well lets talk about the colour..

It is to die for.

MAC Cherry on the left and Belladonna 2 on the right

It looks sooo delicious it makes me want to eat it! And for a red it is an extremely versatile colour, just change the lip liner your using and you can adapt it to be more orange or more pink if that's your thing. Dab a little on for a less full on look or mix it up with plums or pinks and create the most beautiful ombré lip ever. My go to lip liners for Belladonna 2 are MAC's Cherry or Dynamo. 

Every single time I wear it people always stop me and ask where its from, guaranteed. It is such a pretty red that looks great on everyone. These lipsticks give you the confidence to wear a bright bold lip, and its down to the lipsticks formulation.

I have every faith that it wont be smudged down my face or half rubbed off after I've eaten or had a drink because like I said Melt Cosmetics lipsticks are indestructible and amazing!


Kissy kissy- Belladonna 2 with MAC's Cherry lip liner

After I've taken it off, or should I say tried to take it off, the stain it leaves on my lips is super pretty as well, I just go with it. A little bit of Lucas' Papaw Ointment on top and off I go. I am always pleasantly surprised at the amount of compliments I get with that lip combination, even after its off. Not quite as many as the full blown red colour but who doesn't love a compliment.

I just love this brand and dare I say it, I love their trusty lipsticks even more!

Bye-Bye Dry Eyes

This stuff is amazing! I genuinely want to tell everyone about it, it's the best thing ever! What is it? I hear you ask, well, it's lubricating eye drops, that are suitable for use with all contact lenses!! Aahhh *angels sing* Honestly I love this stuff!! 

After wearing contact lenses for over a decade I know the troubles of finding eye drops suitable to use with contact lenses. You either have to chuck them out after four weeks of opening or you can buy those individual sachets, which you can never find when you need them, scratchy to use and impossible to get open. 

So you can imagine my absolute delight when I discovered HYLO-FORTE^®  (also know as HYLO^® -GEL)  This my friends, is the answer to all your dry eye nightmares!

What makes it different to all the rest? It has the super cool (patented) pump thing at the bottom, which you press and it releases the perfect amount of drop right into your eye, so no tears running down your face or that horrible anticipation, waiting for the drop to eventually reach your eyeball.

The nifty container keeps the solution completely sealed, so no bacteria can get in there, making it preservative free and suitable for all contact lenses, hurra!!! As it's normally the preservatives in eye drops that react with most contact lenses, damaging the contact lenses.

You can keep it for up to 6 months after opening after that it is recommended to be discarded.  Although it normally lasts me around 4-5 months, so perfect timing. There is said to be around 300 drops in each packet.

When I put this in my eyes, I have immediate and long lasting relief, no more burning or dryness, it is aaamaazing! You can't actually feel it go in, it doesn't sting, burn or make your eyes cloudy.  It just kind of soothes your eyes, making them all happy, I guess once again living up to its name and lubricating your eyes!

I have definitely noticed a reduction in the little red veins in my eyes, thank goodness!  And of course I also use it on my beloved puggies if their eyes are looking a little dry or if they have something in them, and it is really easy to get in their eyes with the cool pump dispenser thing it has.

Now we have established that they are amazing and if you suffer from dry eyes and wear contact lenses, you have to get this, but here is a fun fact!  The ingredient that's in it to make it all silky and delicious on your eye ball is sodium hyaluronate also referred to as hyaluronic acid and is one of the most abundant components of your skin and is proven to help reverse and counteract the signs of aging caused by UVB. Ooo interesting.

If you look closely you'll find this ingredient in a lot of the expensive eye and face creams. So after using it in my eyes during the day, at night I pop a bit around my eyes, in-between my eyebrows and round my mouth, basically where I can see those lovely fine lines starting to appear. Funny thing is it actually feels lovely on my face as well!! Multi tasking product or what! 

Now it is expensive for an eye drop, around $32 (NZD) or £15 (GBP) but oh so worth it! I just get it from my local pharmacy and I have never regretted any money I've spent on this and you never know you might have even found yourself a less expensive anti-wrinkle cream! Bonus!! 

My Loyal Friend

When I was first introduced to Aveeno Active Naturals, by my Mum, oh at least 6 years ago if not more, I totally pooh-hoo'ed it. The packaging isn't pretty, it's got oatmeal in it, has no smell and was just kind of boring. Why would I get this when I could get soo many other prettier smelling/packaged moisturisers?

Well to answer the question of my vain self all those years ago, you'll get it and use it for years because it is simply AMAZING!  Time and time again, I've tried a different moisturisers, something else that has been advertised that will be amazing, smell better or that will promise me and my skin the best 'moisturisation' of it's life and I always feel slightly cheated.

So recently I have vowed to stay loyal to my dear friend Aveeno Daily Moisturising Lotion that has always been there to keep my skin moisturised, loving it, treating it kindly and actually doing what is says with the whole 'moisturises for 24 hours' spiel.

My super sensitive skin always feels softer, definitely smoother and genuinely more moisturised, it doesn't sit on top my skin, it sinks in and my skin kind of just drinks it up. Best thing ever in a  moisturiser! 

Ben attacking the sponge!

And more recently I've purchased it's friend Aveeno Daily Moisturising Body Wash and I'm in love with that as well!  It actually feels like it moisturises my skin in the shower, which is weird but extremely handy as when I'm in a rush and don't have time to moisturise my whole body, I at least feel that it's had something on it to keep it happy in the meantime. 

I just love the Aveeno products and I am embarrassed at my younger self for dismissing them in the first instance, but thanks Mum for the persistence and introduction, my skin and I still absolutely love it! 


Zeus and Ben discussing who is going to get the sponge!

How I curl my lashes

 

Now when people talk about what one make-up/beauty item they'd take with them if they were stranded on a Desert Island, I think mine would be, dare I say it, eyelash curlers..?  I could make mascara from squid ink or charcoal and coconut oil.. you know as you do...

But the point that I'm trying to get across here, is that they are that vital to my make-up routine and I kind of take them for granted. 

Curling my lashes every day is a must, as mine are so straight they actually have the tendency to hang down below my eyes (imagine an elephants eye lashes) and curling them instantly opens my eyes and makes my lashes look longer as more of them can be seen in contrast against my eyelid. 

My current eyelash curlers are by Shu Uemura. I've had them for well over 2 years and their still going strong. They fit my eye socket perfectly which is very important as you do not want to nip and damage any skin on your eyelid, cos that's just darn right painful and unnecessary.

They also don't damage my lashes by cutting them whilst curling and they manage to feather the lashes beautifully. 

How I curl 'em

The way I curl my lashes is to start by taking the lash curler as close to the eye lid (lash root) as possible and curling for around 10 seconds.

The pressure applied to the curler should be quite firm but not painful. 

Then I release and take the eyelash curlers a couple of millimetres out from where we just curled and curl again, for maybe 5-7 seconds and then I take the eyelash curlers out and curl again for 3-5 seconds and then, keep going until your a couple of millimetres from the end of your lashes, decreasing the amount of time you hold for by how far to the end of your lashes you are.  I do not curl the very tip of my lashes, you want to leave them nice and straight.

Sometimes I repeat the whole process if they don't look quite curly enough, as I said mine are pretty darn straight, and stubborn. Then I run my finger over the lashes to separate any that have become entwined whilst curling.

 

By curling them this way you get a lovely bow like curl to your eyelashes instead of a 90° angle, which I think looks unnatural and is impossible for me to get my mascara on without smudging it all over my eyelid, which in general seems to be a task for me. 

Wilber and I love our eyelash curlers!

If you have naturally curly eyelashes (slightly envious) there is no need for you to curl your lashes (think this goes without staying) but if you do have straight lashes, like myself, I would seriously think about investing in an eyelash curler.

It makes a massive improvement to my overall make-up look and I definitely notice the difference, even if I go one day without curling them!

To the beach!

 

These Charlotte Tilbury Beach Sticks have really surprised me. I have had them for around 7 months and thinking about it, I realise they have become a staple in my make-up bag.

I must admit I was a little miffed about the size of them when I first opening them. Although, after having used them for so long and being nowhere near finishing them, I see my first negative impression may have been too critical.

To be honest they are the perfect size for applying to your face and chucking in your make-up bag.

The price point for these guys is $45 (USD) each or you can purchase two for $85 (USD).  Pretty pricey but in-line with her other blushes.

I have really enjoyed using them, they are so quick and easy to chuck on and gives you a lovely healthy glow! Just like you have been at one of the fabulous beaches in which each stick is named after.

Ibiza on the left and Es Vedra on the right.

They don't go patching on me and they definitely do not sit in my pores. They just glide onto the skin and give a lovely dewy finish.

They just give life back to your face.

During the summer my body gets quite tanned and sometimes my face is left slightly behind with wearing hats and a super high SPF. But this definitely gives me a beautiful sun kissed glow, joining my head back with my body! 

They generally last all day, I say generally because I definitely put them through their pace as I find myself wearing them either, whilst exercising, walking the dogs, at the beach or just generally every day life which has recently been during the summer, and it's been a hot and sticky one.

Actually they last pretty darn well with everything I put them through!

I use Ibiza as a bronzer, which has a beautiful gold sparkle through it, that isn't that noticeable when it's blended in and Es Vedra I use it as a blush, a little goes a long way with this one on my skin tone and I just love its coral red colour, definitely makes me look alive and less monotone.

I don't normally use them on my lips but sometimes I pop a little bit of Lucas' Papaw Ointment over top of Es Vedra but I just generally don't like the feeling of it on my lips alone, I find it quite chalky, but that's just me.


I just blend it in with my fingers and it's as easy as that!

Puggie Wilber and I showing off my blended Beach Sticks.

All I have on my face is Nars radiant creamy concealer, T-zone set with powder and my beach sticks in Ibiza and Es Vedra.  Mascara, eyebrows, lip gloss and done!

It's one of those products that I didn't think I would love as much as I do but I keep going back to them, as they always give me a fool proof healthy look.

Definitely my go to products when I just want to get out the door! 

Bedroom black

Over the past year I have been steadily growing my collection of Charlotte Tilbury goodies and one of those goodies, as you've probably already guessed, was her Rock'n'Kohl Iconic Liquid Eye Pencil in Bedroom Black.

When trying it out for the first time I was actually quite shocked by how good it was, now my expectations were pretty high as her other items have been sooo good but this did not disappoint.  It just glides on the eyes like well a lipstick or liquid (guess the clue is in the name) it just seems to melt into your skin at the point of contact, which means no tugging on the delicate eyelid area.  But at the same point it doesn't transfer, you have a small amount of time to play with the product, blend it out or create a lovely smokey eye but then once it sets that's it.  Perfect!

I also like using this product to tight line my upper eyelid and to use in-between the lashes as it is so soft and creamy.  It has also been a dream to use on my waterline as well, as I normally avoid wearing eyeliners in my waterline due to the fact that my eyes are super sensitive and they are very prone to becoming red, super quickly, if you get those rogue floaty bits in your eye (you know the ones) when using eyeliners in waterline, but my eyes don't seem to react with this eyeliner and there are minimal/no floaty bits when applying this in the waterline.  Yay! 

The consistency of the product very much reminds me of a gel eyeliner but in a pencil format, which I really like.  And the colour pay off it amazing, its bedroom black alright!

It has been my go to product to create a black flick, like above.  And to create the tail of the flick I took some product from the pencil tip on an angled brush, I used a MAC 266, to get that sharp tapered end, like how you would use a gel eyeliner but I find this much easier to work with.  It doesn't transfer onto my eyelid when I open my eyes and it stays put all day long.  This little beauty certainly has been a pleasant surprise.