Aallexxy's FoundationFiles; Charlotte Tilbury Filmstar Bronze and Glow

Foundation Files; This is where I test out different base products, from concealer to powder, tinted moisturiser and foundation etc, over a period of 7-14 days and post my findings. (Follow me on Instagram, Twitter and Bloglovin so you don't miss a post) So let’s get started!!!

First off some information about me; Skintype: Combination (leaning dry in winter and Oily in Summer). Shade Reference: in between MAC NC45-50/NW43. Undertones: Yellow/Neutral.

Charlotte Tilbury Filmstar Bronze & Glow

Brand: Charlotte TIlbury

Name: Filmstar Bronze and Glow

Coverage/Pigmentation: Medium

Shade: Medium-Dark

Swatch:

Charlotte Tilbury Filmstar Bronze & Glow Swatch

What The brand says: This is a secret that silver screen sirens have kept to themselves for years – and once I share it with you – so will you! With FILMSTAR BRONZE & GLOW you can slim, sculpt, shorten, trim and highlight your features. It’s amazing what clever shading and highlighting tricks can do to your facial framework - it’s an illusion that I use all the time, particularly for red carpet scrutiny, and my clients can’t get enough of it. Take what you were born with and maximise your assets with FILMSTAR BRONZE & GLOW!

 
This shade is perfect for medium to dark skin tones, or deep tans, to contour features and mimic a sun-kissed complexion.
• The bronzer is the perfect universal blend of pearl and pigment to contour features and mimic a sun-kissed complexion.
• The highlighter is built up from a golden base that flatters any skin tone, and uses Light Flex Technology to capture light and radiate it out for a luminous complexion.
• Colour-rich pigments are rolled into elastomer pearls that smooth & buff the skin for excellent blendability & perfect colour uniformity.
• Paraben-free

Wear time (with/without primer):

Price (ml): £49 for 16g

Pros: Gorgeous packaging
Highilight shade very flattering for darker skintones
Travel friendly

Cons: Contour/bronze shade is not dark enough for it's purpose

Contour shade is not matte
Pricey

Suitable Skin Types: All

Ingredients: Talc, Mica, Isononyl Isononanoate, Oryza Sativa (Rice) Starch, Dimethicone, Zea Mays (Corn) Starch, Zinc Stearate, Caprylyl Glycol, Phenoxyethanol, Dimethiconol, Octyldodecyl Stearoyl Stearate, Hexylene Glycol, Polymethylsilsesquioxane, Silica, Tin Oxide, Trimethylsiloxysilicate, Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Iron Oxides (CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499)

Oxidation: N/A

Any Other Information: The sculpt shade in this palette has shimmer running through it and it's warm toned , however the shimmer is not that evident on the face, none the less if you prefer a matte cool toned contour this is not for you. I did not think I would like the highlight shade, as it looked too orangey gold for my liking, but on the skin it creates a gorgeous, glowy sheen, that I think would look even pretty the deeper your skintone is.

If you contour with a liquid/cream product and then apply this after, you obviously won't need it to be as deep, and this can help set your contour as well as add a subtle glow to your features. But as you can see from the swatch above, the contour/bronze shade is not very deep at all, it does create a very subtle shadow when applied to my face, but does not bronze my skin.

Conclusion: I'm a little frustrated that it's taken so long after the original was released to produce a darker shade and on top of that the shade is just barely deep enough for me to actually contour or bronze with. I also bought the Powder and Sculpt brush which is often referenced to be used with this, but in order to build up the colour on my face quickly I end up using an angled more densely packed brush, however the Charlotte Tilbury brush is perfect for the highlighting portion of the palette. I think those no darker than an NC48ish and/or Asian skintones may benefit from the sculpt shade if you like a very subtle contour/bronze, while the highlight shade is more suited to a variety of skintones.

Personally there are more affodable options that will do a better job on deeper skintones, however I cannot fault the feel of the powders and the packaging, also the highlight shade is gorgeous, for this it gets a like rating. But if I was to rate the shades in the palette seperately, the sculpt shade gets a dislike rating and the highlight shade would get a love rating, so I split the difference.

*Rating: Like

*Ratings; Hate, dislike, Like, Lust, Love

Aallexxy's Foundation Files; House of Glamdolls Glambase Wheel

Foundation Files; This is where I test out different base products, from concealer to powder, tinted moisturiser and foundation etc, over a period of 7-14 days and post my findings. (Follow me on Instagram, Twitter and Bloglovin so you don't miss a post) So let’s get started!!!

First off some information about me; Skintype: Combination (leaning dry in winter and Oily in Summer). Shade Reference: in between MAC NC45-50/NW43. Undertones: Yellow/Neutral.

House of Glamdolls Glambase Wheel 2

Brand: House of Glamdolls

Name: Glambase Wheel

Coverage: Light - Full

Shade: 2

Swatch:



House of Glamdolls Glambase Wheel 2 Swatches

What The brand says: Created by David Horne, The GlamBase Wheel is a mixing revolution for complexion enhancement. The wheel contains 6 shades that have been blended for easy complexion perfection every time. The GlamBase Wheel 2 is presented in a windowed compact. 35g;

1. Radiate: The centre shade Radiate is a copper iridescent cream highlighter.
2. Caramel: A cream pigment designed to illuminate and lift features.
3. Toffee: A cream pigment designed to use as a lid neutral base and to highlight and sharpen features.
4. Chestnut: A cream pigment designed to use as a mixing beauty base shade and to shape and sculpt features.
5. Truffle: A deep neutral pigmentation concealer designed to conceal pigmentation and enhance the complexion.
6. Shadow: A deep olivine brown concealer and contour.

Wear time (with/without primer): The wear time on this is good on my combination skin, you will need to touch up through the day, to keep it looking at it's best even with a mattifying primer. Although when my oils do push through it gives more of a glow than an oil slick look.

Price (ml): £25 for 35g

Pros: Great for travel
6 Shades in one compact
Multi-purpose i.e. concealer, contour, highlight, base etc.
Reasonably priced
Will last a long time
Compact and lightweight
Great for Makeup Artists

Cons: No ingredients lists on the website

Suitable Skin Types: All, extremely oily skins prep accordingly.

Scent: A lightly subtle floral scent that I can only smell when i stick my nose in the palette and not on my face.

Ingredients: Not stated on the website, on the back of the product, but each shade has a slightly different ingredient list.

Oxidation: None

Any Other Information: I was initially scared of the Shadow (olive Green Brown) shade in this palm sized wonder, but I got a tip on Instagram from David Horne himself, who suggested I mix it with the more red based shades (Truffle or Chestnut depending on your skintone) to make the perfect neutral contour shade. Which made perfect sense, once he said it.

This palm sized compact is lightweight with it's plastic packaging, but secure due to the screw top lid, with a clear pane you can see the product through. The radiate shade is also perfect for the current craze 'Strobing', aka highlighting, on darker skintones for that lit from within, hit by the light in the right places glow.

Conclusion: This is a great product if you love highlighting or contouring or if you struggle to find your base shade, it has everything in it for a flawless complexion, all you need in addition to this is powder. I think this is a great buy for it's multi-purpose function and practicality, there isn't a single shade in this that I cannot find a purpose for, which is unusual for a palette you haven't personally picked the shades yourself.

*Rating: Love

*Ratings; Hate, dislike, Like, Lust, Love

black|Up Paris Cosmetics

Black|Up Paris is fast becoming one of my favourite brands, it was founded in 1999 by an African makeup artist, and was the first upscale beauty brand to cater especially to black and mixed beauties. It pairs professional quality products with ease of use, it promises to provide a non-ashy finish and includes makeup, skincare and fragrance. I had heard about this brand for a while, but only dabbled in it recently when I tried and loved the CC cream, reviewed here.

I’ll start with the contouring sticks, this is a dual ended stick, think 2 stick foundations merged. One end for highlighting and the other for contouring and comes in 5 shades. I received shades 3 and 4. The contouring shades are identical and I can use these interchangeably, they are also quite warm toned and not as cool toned as a contour colour should be, but I feel on darker skin we can get away with this. The highlighting shades are very different, for this I need shade 3, these blend like butter, I love these. They cost £29 each, and if you know what shade you are in the CC cream, this is the shade you’ll be in these. 

 

 

Next is the Radiance Sublime Powder, I thought this would be extremely shimmery on the skin, but it’s quite subtle and adds a nice warm glow. It's developed with a new extra fine texture that blends easily, combining pigment and shimmer, it’s oil free, fragrance free and paraben free. The 5 shades are designed to match different undertones, I have shade no4 and it cost £26.

The 5 Colour Eyeshadow Palette is £32, each palette is designed to work in harmony, and structured around 3 looks a nude look using the matte shades, a day time look using the colour trio that can then be turned into a smokey night time look using the darkest matte shade. The palettes consists of 4 different textures, this one consists of 1 metallic shade, 1 satin shade, 2 matte shades and 1 glitter shade. I love this palette, it’s compact and great for travel, even though it’s structured around 3 looks, a multitude of looks can actually be created, I have palette no4 out of 5.

Finally are the mono eyeshadows, which have been developed in a new formula, and come in either a matte or metallic finish. Shade 02 is a light, bright orange shade, which is pigmented and blends beautifully. I’ve used this both on the eyes and cheeks, and it’s absolutely gorgeous, definitely a shade a brownbeauty should have in her stash. Then shade 12, which is a vibrant, light turquoise blue, not an everyday shade, but great for when you want a pop of colour. Again pigmented and blends beautifully, especially for a matte shade.  There are 15 shades in total, they don’t have names just numbers, and cost £15.50 each.

black|Up Paris is available on their website or Debenhams.com.

Thank you for visiting the blog today.

Alex

Tom Ford A/W14 Limited Edition Collection

The high end luxury brand Tom Ford, require no introduction, and I'm sure you've seen the latest limited edition A/W launch from the brand. My Tom Ford collection is growing slowly, see unabashed review here, but I'm constantly intrigued by the brand despite the high end price tag.

Tom Ford Cheek Color Duo and Black Cherry Nail Polish

I picked up 2 pieces of the collection from the House of Fraser website, the contouring cheek color duo in softcore and a nail polish in black cherry.


Tom Ford Softcore Contouring Cheek Color Duo

Softcore cheek color duo contains 2 shades; a more matte shade to add definition to the face, although this shade I would say is not completely matte and has a slight sheen to it, especially as it catches the light. And a second pearlescent shade to highlight, these shades are extrememly pigmented and the highlight shade can appear a little frosty if applied too much, so I use a fan brush to apply. This isn't strictly a typical contour shade, I apply it slightly lower down on the cheeks and not directly in the hollows and blend upwards so it gives shape and colour to the face.

Tom Ford Black Cherry Nail Polish

The black cherry nail polish shade is my ultimate nail polish colour, I love deep dark plum shades. It's especially fitting for the autumn/winter season, although I can be seen in variations of this shade all year round. This is my first Tom Ford nail polish, and it's extremely pigmented, applied right you could get away with one coat, but I prefer 2 lighter coats.

These are selling out fast, and may prove difficult to find now, as they are limited edition. They may however still be available at your local counters, and as of writing this, both items were still available on harveynichols.com, the cheek colour duo costs £56 and the nail polish is £26.  

Have you or will you purchase anything from this collection? What are your thoughts?

Thank you for visiting the blog today

Alex.

Maqpro Mandy Gold Palette!!!

I have heard Wayne Goss (gossmakeupartist on youtube) talk about maqpro products for quite a while, so I finally decided to take the plunge and buy the mandy gold palette from preciousaboutmakeup.com (PAM), especially as I've been in need of a corrector. The palette consists of 6 shades totalling 55 grams of product, for £27.50, which is great value for money. These foundation are wax based and suppose to be suitable for all skin types, my combination skin is currently a little dry and this foundation feels great on my skin, I look forward to using it in the summer when my skin is a little more normal-oily as it's meant to be great for oil control.

                 
 

Maqpro is a french based company, not to be confused with Mac cosmetics, I think there products were more tailored to make-up artists but are becoming more accessible to us mere mortals. As you can see the packaging is nothing fancy, but it's very sleek and flat so I can imagine great for make-up artists to travel with, I'm not sure how sturdy the plastic is I've had it for about 2 weeks and it's fine, but I don't tend to carry my foundation around with me.

     With flash and without
 

















The orange shade is the corrector, if you are of a deeper skintone and have areas of pigmentation, any the orange shade can brighten these areas prior to applying your foundation. It also great for dark under eye circles, I always have my foundation go ashy around my mouth area and this prevents that. This palette contains all I need for concealing, highlighting, correcting, contouring, bronzing, blusher and foundation, you can also tailor it to the amount of coverage you want/need, great and compact for travel. I have found a use for all the shades except one, 3rd on along on the top row, but this will probably depend on your skintone. I can also use the orange and bronzing shade (2nd on the top row) as a blusher, the 3rd shade on the bottm is a great contouring shade due to it's grey undertone, but the shades can also be mixed to create the perfect colour for what ever you want.

 

Foundation a few hours after application.

 

The foundation goes on beautifully and blends like a dream, you don't need much, but initially you might think you are not picking up very much product due to it's consistency until you start to notice all your flaws disappearing. I have used both the beauty blender and the real techniques expert face brush and they both work great to blend and buff the foundation into the skin, you can set it if you need too, but I've worn it both ways and it looked great.

 

This palette is catered to darker skintones, but there are others on the website for other skintones, lighter and darker. If you're in the market for a new base, and also in need of a corrector, I highly recommend this product.

 

Have you tried any Maqpro products before? Let me know what you thought.

 

Thanks for visiting my blog.

 

Alex

 

Kevyn Aucoin Sensual Skin Enhancer!!!

The Kevyn Aucoin SSE is not new to the beauty world, but it's one of those products that can take a while to get the hang of how to use it, it's so versatile that it can actually be rather confusing and if used incorrectly can make you look very cakey. It's a small pot of richly pigmented product that can create a very light tinted moisturiser type coverage or full no skin on show coverage, it can also be used as a concealer.

    

 

This small 18g tub costs £36, but you need such a small amount that it will last quite a while, I have two out of the fantastic 18 shades (SX12 and 15). As you can see from the ingredient list it does contain mineral oil and its the first ingredient on the list, so this maybe a problem for some, its available in SpaceNK stores and on there website.

With flash and without.

I've had shade SX12 (lighter shade) for a while and its still going strong, although I don't use it daily, I use it as an under eye concealer or all over my face, it blends well when used as a light coverage. It has strong yellow undertones, I either dot it lightly and blend with a brush or damp beauty blender sponge or mix it with a clear primer, like the one from elf and set it with Mac's mineralise skin finish powder in dark (this warms the product up slightly and tones down the overly yellow undertones. SX15 is a more recent purchase (January '13), I use it to contour my face, it blends well into the skin and the colour can be controlled by how much product is used and how well blended it is. I scoop out a small amount of product and place it in a small tub, to maintain the hygiene of the product, and since I've taken the first scoop I have not had too go back for more. Again these are not used on a daily basis, just because I'm a beauty junkie and have a few options of other products to choose from, but they are great products and I love them for there versatility.

Heavily swatched, with flash, without flash below.

Blended into the skin, with and without flash.

If you have a medium black or asian skintone, with strong yellow undertones this will work well for you, buying more than one shade also means you can mix to get your desired colour making it work all year round. You can also mix these with other bases, tinted moisturisers, foundations etc to adjust the colour and/or coverage.

Have you tried the sensual skin enhancer yet? How do you use yours? Any further tips on how to use this product?

Thanks for visiting the blog today, if you have any further questions put them in the comments section below and I'll do my best to answer.

Alex