Cosmetic

Rocksbox Review Vol. 2

This is my second Rocksbox, and I could hardly wait to open it once I saw the package lying on my doorstep. Within seconds I was busting the package open with a pair of scissors - sounds a little dramatic, I know.

For a recap, Rocksbox is a new subscription box company where you pay a $19/month fee to borrow unlimited designer jewelry. You'll receive three items at a time, and with the enclosed prepaid envelope, you can send your items back at any time and you'll promptly receive a new package with three different items. You can wear and enjoy items up to the 60 day deadline, and if you want to keep any of the items, you can purchase them at the discounted member price.

It's really exciting not knowing exactly what's inside and knowing that I'm about to unleash some trendy, designer jewels.

My box contained:

CC Skye Resort Cuff in Green Ostrich (retail price $150)
Urban Gem Pave Crescent Necklace in Gold (retail price $65)
Dara Ettinger Cynthia Double Druzy Earrings in Lunar (retail price $180)


In my style survey I completed, I stated that I prefer statement pieces that are modern, glam, edgy and a bit feminine. I think they did a great job catering to the type of jewelry I'd like to wear. I actually love all three items I received.

If you follow me on Instagram, you might know about my newfound love for CC Skye jewelry so I was really excited to find the cuff in my box. Forest green is actually one of my favorite colors, so I can't wait to wear it. I recently purchased a CC Skye Kenzie Lock Cuff Bracelet, which is very similar, so I won't be purchasing this item, but I will enjoy wearing it over the course of the month.

I'm loving the dainty rhinestone bar necklaces that are popular right now, and given this piece isn't too expensive, I think it will be staying with me. But, I'll wear it and see if I can part with it or not.

The earrings are absolutely gorgeous and I may have a hard time giving these back as well. It has peaked my interest in Dara Ettinger jewelry - if you have a minute, I urge you to check some of her things out. They are just so pretty and unique to look at.

Again, I'm super happy with this box, and I've been searching the hashtag #rocksbox on Instagram almost daily and have been loving what others have been receiving as well.

It's definitely a subscription box that I'm going to stay subscribed to. And for the records, I like much better than Jewelmint, which in my opinion is going straight downhill (more about that later).



























I know "renting" jewelry might not interest some of you - as you can easily purchase more affordable jewelry with the $19/month membership price but I love the face that there is no commitment and you have the opportunity to try out different designers, styles and trends without having to shovel out lots of cash. Sometimes paying a high price for trendy jewelry isn't the best idea if you can't really afford it since trends come and go so fast, so I think it's a great way to stay on trend without paying a big price. You may occasionally come across an item you wouldn't necessarily pick out yourself, but it allows you to experiment a bit, and maybe you'll end up discovering a style or brand that you never liked before and now love. You can't buy jewelry anywhere and wear it for 60 days and return it, so I'm all for Rocksbox.


Also, like I mentioned in my first post, if you show off your jewels on your social media pages and tag Rocksbox, you'll receive a $5 credit in which you can use towards a purchase. You can share your items an unlimited amount of times, so you can really bring down the price of some of your favorite pieces.

Some of My Guilty Pleasures

We all pretty much have guilty pleasures that we like to indulge in whether it be listening to some of your old-school jams, going on unnecessary shopping sprees, getting an occasional massage or indulging in something sweet. I think it's a way of keeping our own sanity even though many of us don't like to admit some of the things we occasionally enjoy when there's a small feeling of guilt involved.

TV is a common guilty pleasure whether it be watching some old re-runs, "reality" shows, daytime talk shows or following a new series. As a Glam Media publisher, I get the wonderful opportunity to work with many different brands. Right now, Glam is celebrating the premiere of ABC's new show Mistresses. A bit scandalous, Mistresses is a new drama about four girlfriends on their own paths to self-discovery. We have a bit of a feeling that it's sure to be one of our next guilty pleasures.

Continue reading to see what some of my guilty pleasures are. I'd also love to read some of yours!

A Certified Pamper Day

Keeping up with a beauty regimen can be a lot of work and can require loads of upkeep. One of my guilty pleasures is designating myself an all-out "Pamper Day" to myself. My pamper day is an all-out spa day for myself, hosted by myself and usually falls on a Sunday when I have absolutely no plans and feel like sticking around at home for the day.

I usually do what I tend to neglect on most days, which would be a full body exfoliation in the shower, shaving from head to toe (sometimes waxing) and loading myself up with a good moisturizer and throwing a protein treatment and deep conditioner in my hair and cover my hair with a shower cap while I do some of my other things. I like leaving deep conditioners in my hair for as long as I can, so with some time to kill, I like to tweeze my eyebrows really good with a 5X mirror (and any other strays I can find) and pick from my array of beauty masks. If my nails aren't looking the best, I'll paint my finger and toe nails - one of dreaded chores of being a girl. I love freshly polished nails, but I just hate doing it. I try to be good though about removing my polish as soon as it chips, but I've been guilty on several occasions of having chipped nails for days. My day usually ends with a self-tanning session and by the next morning, I feel incredibly refreshed and ready to take on the day. I loathe the feeling of when I neglect my beauty routine, but to my defense, it's only usually the periods of time where I've been super busy and haven't had much time to myself.

Thrift Stores, Consignment Shops & Garage/Estate Sales

I do love a bit of eyeliner, I mean… it’s only taken me approximately 15 years to get the hang of applying it, so I feel entirely justified in my urge to play around with it a bit.

Enter YSL’s latest release in the form of their Rose Baby Doll Eyeliner, launched as part of their Baby Doll collection and currently on counters now. Rose Baby Doll isn’t actually as pink as the name might have you believe. It’s a rosy-copper shade with more shine than a new penny and works really nicely on green eyes. Even if I do say so myself!

It applies with one of those spindly, super-fine brushes that gives utmost precision but tends to get tangled up in my lashes, resulting in an ocassional “splodge” of colour just where I didn’t want it as the brush flicks back, untangling itself as it sweeps across the lashline.

I will always prefer felt-tip style nibs for liquid eyeliner but when you’re crafting colour with as much shimmer and depth as this one delivers, this is the only style of brush that really cuts the mustard.





Whenever I wear a coloured eyeliner, I almost always pair it with a black line… doubling up, so to speak. My eyes need the added definition that a slick of black brings, and I love the contrast which almost always evokes a compliment from someone at some point through the day. Not about me, just my eyeliner you understand!

I often find that with this style of highly-foiled eyeliner, I suffer from flaking. Illamasqua Precision Inks, Urban Decay 24/7 Waterproof Liquid (some of them), and the old-style Guerlain Divinoras do this to me and by the end of the day, I’ll look into the mirror and see chasms of emptiness across my lashline where the coloured liner has simply peeled off in sections as the day has progressed.

Which makes me rather pleased to state that I had absolutely no problems with this one. Infact, it lasted so well… that even the flicks were still intact 8 hours later.





This particular shade is selling out fast, and is already out of stock at many of the major retailers so if you want to jump on the rose-gold eyeliner bandwagon, do it quickly!

So, Rimmel… and their “apocaliptic” hybrid gloss/lipstick. Available in eight shades of lip-smacking colour from vampy plum through to pale nude, has been setting the blogging world alight from day one. Except, I can’t for the life of me work out why.

First things first, they smell bad. I’m not the kind of blogger that harps on about scented products being the root of all evil, I couldn’t normally give a chuff about scented/flavoured products but these are so horribly synthetic, I find them almost offensive. Smell and taste are so closely linked, that if something smells bad… it often tastes bad too and I just don’t want this genetically-modified Jolly Rancher crap on my lips with it’s faux fruit salad gooeyness mere centimeters from my nostrils.



When it comes to application, the wand – complete with product dip/well – doesn’t work properly. There’s no real give to the sponge, the product contained within the well is staying there. For all eternity. It’s not coating your lips, you’re just double dipping it back into the container each time you use it. Give it up.

When I headed down to Boots, finally giving into the hype I was reading everywhere, I umm’ed and ahh’ed over the shades… in the end, I settled for Celestial, and the colour is indeed very, very, pretty. That neutral kind of pink that goes with everything… looking good on practically every skin-tone. But my love for the shade just cannot overcome. Let me tell you what else I hate about this product.

It feels heavy on the lips. Like tar. Like a new kind of tar that has been created from lead. Spread over my lips and left to bake in the sun. It’s 2013, lip products don’t feel like this anymore. I crave lightweight textures that deliver strong pigment without making me feel like my lips have been glued together with eye bogies. And because the product just kinda sits there… it travels. Within the hour, I experienced the kind of feathering you’d expect from a siren-red lipstick that had been applied with a trowel.



At least you’d think with that kind of “creamy” coverage, your lips would stay well-nourished underneath? No. I found the formula drying and unforgiving to my “not even very dry” lips. The product settled in the furrows and felt less and less comfortable with every passing minute.

And so, for its parting demonstration… did it stay on for long? No… it lasted no more than a couple of hours before wearing away without leaving even a hint of a stain to see me through the afternoon.

I have basically been violated by a lipstick. And that my friends, is a hugely disappointing sensation

Why are some nail polishes so damn hard to capture on screen? In real life, they can be as pretty as a flower… but through my camera lens? We be talking cauliflower.

Powder Rooms sent me this polish to photograph for their site late last year, back in the murky depths of dark nights and well, even darker days. It made for a frustrating assignment. Butter London’s Trustafarian basically only sings in the sun, it needs strong daylight like I need intravenously feeding Pepsi Max.

Check it out.


indoors


outdoors

Ahhh, you beauty. You pain in the arse beauty.

It applies with three smooth coats and dries quickly enough not to give me any major application issues. You can see that the holographic effect, although fairly subtle, is still super-pretty in a pixie-esque, twinkly kind of way.

Do you need this in your life? Possibly, particularly if you live in a country whose weather patterns consist of more than just perma-drizzle.

Look lively beauty-lovers, there’s a new holographic collection coming to town…

Leighton Denny is launching a trio of kaleidoscopic-dazzlers exclusively with The Urban Retreat Beautique and I’m delighted to have a genuine sneak peek* for you, so without further ado…


Hollo Rose


Hollo Skye


Hollo Silva

The new shades deliver a medium holographic effect from what is most interestingly, a matte nail. Ignoring the press release (which describes these as high-gloss) the trio actually imparts a matte/suede finish that can be topped off with a top-coat should you require more shine. The matte effect doesn’t do anything to downplay the light reflection and indeed, gives a really interesting twist on a tried and tested formula.

Talking of the formula, it’s an odd one although consistent across the three shades. Laying down the first coat, the polish grabs to the surface of the nail almost too vigorously and has a tendency to leave bald patches. I quickly surmised that the best way forward was a very thin bottom layer followed by a thicker second coat which helped smooth out any imperfections. The polish dries remarkably quickly and is touch dry within a couple of minutes.

Those of you who are familiar with matte nail formulas will understand the difficulties that can sometimes be had with these formulas, especially if your nails suffer with excessive ridging or chipping. I would definitely consider pairing these with a ridge-filling base coat next time. Either way by the third coat, you’re fully opaque and ready to go!

The Leighton Denny Holographic Collection will be coming online exclusively at The Urban Retreat Beautique in the next week or so priced at £13.25 each.

At the risk of forgetting all about the fact that this is, after all, a beauty blog… I’m posting the final part of my Paris travelogue today. Most of you will be relieved to hear that it also includes a quick mention of the beauty bits and bobs that ended up in my basket along the way.

Day 3 started with an early-ish check out from the hotel who stored our suitcase until we were ready to collect en-route back to Gare du Nord. We wanted to grab some breakfast on the run, and being the thoroughly unhealthy sods that we are currently, we opted for a traditionally Parisian chocolate eclair from L’atelier des Pains. What?!?! WE WERE ON HOLIDAY! In fairness, we shared.

For those of you who think that chocolate eclairs do not a breakfast make. Get off my blog.

Otherwise, as you were my friends…


oh God, so good…

We began our final day of sightseeing by jumping on the Metro to Pigalle. It was at this point that I realised why I hadn’t seen any fat Parisians… there are so many steps in the Metro system that it’s simply impossible to put on weight. Talking of steps, when we reached ground-level I put my exercise-dodging plan into action and jumped on the Montmartrobus to take us up the back roads of Montmartre to its summit and the Basilique du Sacré-Coeur.

The bus was full of pensioners, physically unable to make the ascent under their own steam… whilst we sat there, being lazy bastards. With a small amount of shame, I turned to look out of the window, watching the poor sods puffing up the hill alongside, sweat pouring down their faces in the extreme midday heat… cackling to myself all the while. We got off the bus about 100m from the basilica and and mooched around the back streets and markets for a short while.


Alphonse Mucha and Toulouse Lautrec are two names synonymous with this district


I promise I didn’t eat any!

Then it was on to the church itself, a long-held personal favourite spot in the city. I remembered visiting as a young teen and being about as impressed as a teenager can possibly be with a tourist attraction. I have to say, despite the crowds and hawkers, it still didn’t disappoint. So beautiful and so impressive towering over the city.


you’re all spoiling my photo… get out of the way!


more steps, suckers!


the view from the top

We walked around the interior but I have to admit that the number of “squash a penny” machines jingling away didn’t do much to add to the atmosphere inside. I donated some pennies and lit a tealight in memory of my Nan before heading back outside and down the steps for the descent back into the city centre. Next stop, The Avenue des Champs-Élyséefor a bit of shopping!

You can’t go to Paris without seeing two things. One of them is the Eiffel Tower, and let’s be honest… it’s pretty hard to miss. The other? The Arc de Triomphe! It’s one of those monuments that if you don’t tick off the list… you haven’tbeen to Paris! Saying that, I hadn’t seen it before… well, not close up and I properly fangirled, laughing at the time on Instagram that it was probably a bit weird to fangirl a monument.


I had to wait for 4 lorries, 2 vans, 43423 mopeds, and a bus to pass before I could take this photo

It was at this point in the day that Mr. L started to groan a little… you see, I had barely done any beauty shopping. I was being so virtuous and pointing out this fact every. single. time. I walked past the entrance to a pharmacy. “Look how good I’m being! Aren’t you glad you married me?”


inside the “pharmacie”

Only, at this point… I caved a bit. Mostly because I felt as though I was on familiar territory. Infact… if I’m honest… I basically sprinted towards Monoprix and the next-door English-speaking Pharmacy. Sure, it’s probably not the best-stocked pharmacy in Paris, and neither is it the cheapest… but I’ve always had really good, non-rushed service inside and I knew I’d be able to pick up what I wanted. I was more disappointed with Monoprix though which seemed to have bumped most of its lesser-known French high-street lines in favour of the stuff we can get over here anyway. I boo-ed.


my Parisian beauty buys


forgot to include this one in the last shot ha!

I’ll do another post on my purchases soon but the above photos should give you an idea that I was pretty well-behaved non?

Disappointed by my lack of makeup purchases and the fact that I didn’t have time to hunt down a Fragonard, I went and consoled myself with a giant Croque Monsieur and a Creme Brulee (as you do) and the world was (almost) completely mended again.


Croque Monsieur at Le Comptoir Boetie


can you hear the “crack”?

Alas, our time in Paris had come to an end and we returned to our hotel to pick up our luggage before heading back to the station for our train home. All in all, it was a memorable 52-hours in Paris… horrendously expensive and physically exhausting but I wouldn’t have changed a single second of it.

It’s June and the mercury is soaring. Great. “Woohoo”, you all shout! (collectively, go on…)

But, this has put me in a quandry… you see, I don’t wear red lipstick when it’s hot. You know how it is, your moustache sweats and the last thing you want is red lipstick smearing in a southerly direction down your chin.

And for that image? You’re welcome.

But the thing is, it’s an important week… it’s Cervical Screening Awareness Week and that can only mean one thing…

It’s time for THE Red Lippy Project.



From today, until the 15th June, I’d be super-proud of you all if you grabbed your most obnoxiously beautiful red lipsticks and gave them a twirl. Put them on rotation and give them a thorough outing. If anyone asks why, tell them all aboutThe Red Lippy Project and how you’re doing your bit to promote Cervical Screening Awareness Week because ladies, 20% of us still dodge our smear tests.

Let’s talk about that for a minute. Twenty freakin’ percent. Seriously… we’re not all immune from the big C, our bloody wonderful NHS provides us with a free screening that saves up to 5,000 lives every year, and 1 in every 5 of us aren’t actually using this opportunity to get checked out? Madness.



I’ll be wearing seven of my most impressive, in-yer-face red lipsticks this week and instagramming them as I go. I’m not gonna pretend that wearing red lipstick is a hardship for me, and the thought of asking my family and friends to sponsorme to do so is akin to asking them to donate generously whilst I eat cake. It’s not gonna happen. So, instead I’m donating £10 to the cause by texting TRLP80 £10 to 70070

Men grow their silken moustaches in November in the name of charidee and you know damn well that we look far more sassy sporting a hot red lip. Even if it does end up on our teeth.

Question of the Week – What are some of your favorite beauty-related print magazines?



Answer - I don’t have any. I look to my peers for beauty and fashion inspiration!

Prime Beauty – chooses her Top 10 Must Haves for Summer 2013. Are any of them on your list?

Phyrra – brings you the Top 10 Best Cruelty-Free Summer Beauty Products.

we heart this – Have you ever tried Caldrea housekeeping products? Well, their Body products are just as fab, and we’regiving away a $116 set of six in the scent of your choice!

Beauty Junkies Unite – Maybelline takes on an indie nail polish trend with the new Color Show Polka Dots collection shades that launch in July–but you don’t have to wait. Sneak a peek of the review & swatches now!

EauMG – reviews 4 vegan floral perfumes from Sweet Anthem.

Gouldylox Reviews – Ever wondered if Wen makes your hair fall out? I’ve got the answer to that and other burning questions!

Lipglossiping swims against the tide with her distaste for Rimmel’s much-lauded Apocalips line, find out why she thinks they’re some of the worst lip products she’s ever had the misfortune to try!

My Beauty Bunny – Inglot Cosmetics already won us over with their Freedom Palette system. Now they’ve tripled the fun with their Satin Rainbow Eye Shadows featuring a gradient of three colors each!

Nouveau Cheap – Here’s your first look at all six of the new Wet n Wild Summer 2013 Limited Edition Pop Art Craze Eyeshadow Trios (if you like bright, bold colors, you’re going to love these).

Pink Sith – takes you back to India with the new Lise Watier India Palette Eyeshadows. Six colorful shades with endless possibilities!

Remember this post? That was my pristine makeup collection after I’d done a grand clearout of lots of stuff I wasn’t using and wasn’t ever going to use.



A year and a half later, the stash still looks very similar, but when I pulled out the items that I actually do use regularly, this was the situation:



Yep, out of nineteen different drawers/containers, I’m regularly using stuff from about two of them. In other words, I’m probably using about ten percent of my makeup wardrobe ninety percent of the time, to quote that common statistic about our clothing wardrobes.

Now, in fairness, I didn’t count the makeup brushes that take up some of that space (that’s a story for another post), but still; that’s a lot of makeup I’m not using!

And I don’t even have the excuse of not being able to see it, considering the whole collection is fairly well laid out in my beloved Muji drawers that are see-through from all angles. (Read the storage category for more inspiration). Some of the neglect is down to lifestyle – I have lots of lovely eye makeup and lipsticks that are suitable for nights out that I don’t really have at the moment and since I’m at home with the kids all day, the makeup I wear tends to be minimal, easily applied stuff.



So, what does make it into regular rotation at the moment? Well, above you can see my much-loved NARS eye shadows in Lhasa and 413 Bleecker, Bobbi Brown Long Wear Cream Eye Shadows in Sand Dollar and Sandy Gold, blushes from Armani and Bobbi Brown, my NARS Pure Radiant Tinted Moisturiser and Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base, Armani Luminous Silk Pressed Powder and Ellis Faas concealer.

And below are my favourite eyeliners at the moment – pencils from Shu Uemura and Laura Mercier and my Geisha Ink liquid liner as well as my GOSH Growth Mascara, Ellis Faas foundation and sheer lip colours from Armani, Neal’s Yard Remedies and Ilia Beauty.



Never fear, I won’t be tossing out some of my favourite items (I’m looking at you, Chanel and Armani eye shadows) just because I don’t wear them much now. It’s reassuring to know they’re there for the rare grown-up engagements that do come my way. They just probably won’t be joined by too many of their kind in the near future.

What about you? Do you have a big collection that you only skim the surface of or are you good at regularly using everything you own? Take to the comments and let us know!

May god forgive me for not writing about this THE INSTANT I got a hold of it.

For it is THE most brilliant mascara I’VE EVER USED. In my life.

The brush is a clean spiky affair – it gets every single lash, even those teeny ones. There’s no problem with product overload or having to pump or wipe the brush to remove excess – the wand magically has just the right amount of product loaded on it. The black shade (Fetish Black and you have to love that name too) is a fantastic blacker than priests socks black. The impact is incredible. Instantly your lashes are fuller more, dramatic and superbly defined.



The blue shade also rocks – blue mascara is just so flattering – if you haven’t tried it you’ll be surprised.

My eight year old godson was round in the house the other day and after I’d done a Skittles Manicure on his sister using the new Essie Summer shades, he decided he’d have one done too for fun. Much hysteria ensued and emboldened he returned to the garden where we were sitting with his parents, drinking pink wine.

“Your eyes!” we exclaimed as one. ”Like them?” he chortled waving my golden tube of YSL Baby Doll.

And in truth his lashes were DRAMATIC. ”I’m getting some of that” exclaimed his mother. (His father said something quite different but we won’t get into that).

Look excuse all the superlatives, I wouldn’t steer you wrong, if you’re a fan of dramatic mascara you’re going to love this one. In fact if you buy one thing this summer make it this(€32.50).

Read about the Rose Baby Doll collection here (which I also wept with joy over).

I realise that I'm just a smidge too late in getting my 2cents in with regards to these hot new little blush pots from Bourjois, and by now every single girl and their puppy has tried and reviewed them, but.. I'm still going to go for it anyway. Just incase, you know.. this might be the only blog you read or something ;)

A total of 4 shades of these cream blushers were released by Bourjois just a couple of weeks ago, but being a lucky duck I managed to get my paws on them shortly before they were released by winning the full set in a Twitter competition - a simple 'Follow and RT to win', and yep - I won! Safe to say that made my day.

These blushers have been very well received by beauty lovers everywhere and they seem to be flying off the shelves, with good reason. At only £6.99 each they're pretty cheap and cheerful.. although if you're after all four shades then that can tot up to a hefty total. I'm actually so grateful that I won them because I couldn't settle on a favourite shade at all and know that I would've ended up buying every single one of them sooner or later and my bank balance wouldn't have thanked me, so thank you Bourjois!

Please excuse the not so perfect manicure in the below pictures, but here are the 4 shades currently available (with these being such a huge success I suspect Bourjois might plan to extend the shade range):



01 Nude Velvet, 02 Healthy Glow, 03 Rose Tender, 04 Sweet Cherry






I like the fact that the colour of the pot corresponds with the shade of the product within, which always helps when you're in a mad dash to get ready, and the pots are really small and compact - they actually look very sweet and they're super practical. Although my '03' has unfortunately come loose and falls out of the pot from time to time (explains the mess on the mirror), I have zero packaging complaints and find them very travel friendly and a make up bag must-have!

The formula of these is the same as any typical cream blush and is pretty much spot on; I apply with my fingers and it's simple and fuss free - just a few dabs along the top of cheek bones and gently blend to create a hint of colour. They have a very slight powdery finish to them, but I prefer this because otherwise I have a fear that really creamy products will just melt and slide off my face in warm conditions!







I'll be honest and say that when these are swatched I can't tell a huge dramatic difference between the different shades, or is that just me and my half-blind eyes? When applied and blended on the face all over the shades are very, very subtle and give a 'barely there' effect in the best possible way. This is what I love so much about them because they look so natural and don't look like you've plastered your face in make up. They're all light and bright and give a gentle highlighting effect as well as a wash of colour and help to perk a face up and pull a look together.







02 Healthy Glow and 04 Sweet Cherry are my two favourites that I tend to gravitate towards the most, depending on whether my look is more orange based, or more pink based. I also really like 03 Rose Tender but it is the only shade with a subtle hint of shimmery glitter particles (they don't translate too prominently in the photographs) and shimmer + large pores is apparently a big make up no-no! (Something I learnt last week!).


I can't quite put my finger on exactly what it is about these little pots that is making everybody become so drawn to them, and even with myself why I love them so much and have always been choosing either 02 or 04 as a part of my daily make up instead of any other product for the past few weeks. I think we'll put it down to a summary of the super sweet mini pots that they come in, with the corresponding colour co-ordinated packaging, the ease of application and longevity of the product throughout the day, combined with the natural looking finish, all for a purse friendly price tag!





Have you tried these cream blushes yet? If so, which is your favourite?