Laura Mercier Metallic Eye Creme in Gold

Occasionally a product comes along that, once you've used it, you can't remember what your makeup was like without it. Well, let me introduce you to Laura Mercier's Metallic Creme Eye Colour in Gold.

Instead of shopping for products for my kit, I had the rare opportunity to pick up a few products just for me last weekend & I took full advantage of the newly vamped beauty hall in House of Fraser, Glasgow. I did have high hopes for NARS, but nothing took my fancy. Probably just as well, since this little baby set me back £16.50 (and it's tiny!). But boy, it's beautiful.

I love that it's not too yellow. It has stunning flecks of taupe running through the base, with a lovely patina-ish (technical term) gold overtones. It's very metallic without giant chunks of glitter.

The creme is so densely pigmented, you need the tiniest smidge (seriously, hold me back on the science talk!) to cover an eyelid & it spreads for miles, without compromising the coverage or pay-off. You get a good 10-15 seconds to move it around & blend, before it sets. Once set, it wont budge, crease or transfer. I have been wearing it both on it's own & as a base to both Satin Taupe & Patina E/S by MAC. It manages to not change the appearance of either of these shadows, rather it just enhances the density of their own colours.

There are 5 shades in total (Platinum is next on my list). You can buy online at House of Fraser where it will cost £16.50. Available at Space NK also, but it's £18.50 there.

Liquidlast Eyeliner by MAC

Put your hand up if you find your eyeliner transfers to your browbone about 20 minutes after applying it...

MAC have amazing eyeliners and I've found the Liquidlast to be the most non-budge I've ever tried. This does exactly what it says on the tin; it doesn't flake, it doesn't smudge, it's highly pigmented and you can get the most precise line with it.

The first time I tried this, I just whacked some on to see how it applied (so easily btw). A wee while later, I washed my face and eyes as normal, with Philosophy Purity and went off to bed without looking in the mirror. It wasn't until about 12 hours later, when I got up the following morning and looked in the mirror did I realise that it was still entirely intact across my lashline - it hadn't even started to crumble, peel or smudge!

They definitely require a good heavy duty oil based cleanser to remove them without having to scrub at your eye - you could try the Clinique 'Take the Day Off'.

So if you have oily lids and are looking for a super waterproof liner, want something that you can wear on the beach or simply just want one that lasts all day (and night!) long, get yourself to MAC and pick up one of these babies for about £13, although I bought mine for £11 I think at the airport.

enjoy!

x

Eylure Semi Permanent Individual Lashes

Please be careful if you decide to try this product. I can't take responsibility if you decide to glue your eyes shut or end up with lash clumps stuck to your forehead for a month...

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I'm on a roll this week!

In Boots last week they didn't have my usual Mister Mascara lashes so I picked up some Eylure Semi-Permanent ones, just to see if they were any good. They were £5 for the mixed box of lengths and the pack comes with both adhesive and adhesive removing dissolving stuff.

Before pic.

They were suprisingly easy to apply. Unlike strip lashes which are usually applied at the lash root, against the eye lid, these are glued directly onto the lashes, so as your lashes grow, these are supposed to naturally grow out with them.

The adhesive isn't gloopy white stuff you need to blow on; this stuff is clear and an entirely different type of glue. It dried really quickly and the lashes didn't move around while they set. You need to be quick to get it into place before it sets, but if you make a mistake you can use the dissolver to remove it.

This is one eye completed - as you can see, very subtle joins along the lash line

This is the completed result! The instructions suggest applying 7-14 individual clumps, but I only used 4 per eye! 2 Medium and 2 Short. I only used a tiny tiny stroke of mascara just to blend my natural lashes as they are very pale.

The instructions suggest avoiding the use of oil based make-up removers to preserve the life of the adhesive and they advise not to remove the lashes without the use of the dissolver.

The only 'down side' is that the 'long' lashes are too long for me, so I will probably only get use out of the short and medium. This means as well that there are no short enough ones for the inner corners of my eye. But I'm handy with a pair of nail scissors so might try trimming some of them down (before applying!!).

It remains to be seen how long they last! I will be amazed if they make it through tonight's sleep, shower and are still intact by the time I put my makeup on. But, I love the effect! What do you think? Will you give them a go?

Mister Mascara False Lashes

A couple of you may remember me raving about Mister Mascara lashes on my old blog before I managed to delete the whole thing... Since then, I still get asked a lot about lashes so thought I'd repost: this time with better pics!

The link above is to the MM website, but I've never purchased from there, so don't know what it's like in terms of delivery etc. I tend to get mine from Boots so I can collect my advantage card points, where they are £9.50 for 2 pairs (incl glue + mini tweezers). Generally, you'll get a more natural pair and a fuller pair in the kit. The set below is from the 'Spiky' range and the ones pictured are the more natural ones.

If you have real problems applying lashes try watching some tutorials on Youtube and practice, practice practice! No-one is an expert at applying lashes first time and you will get there!

(I'm very ashamed of my chipped nails above but it was a stressful day at work!)

To give you an idea of how some simple lashes can transform your eyes, I've pictured each stage of my eye as I apply.

1st - no make-up.


A little cream shadow and lash line lined with Bobbi Brown gel liner along the top and underneath as shown in my previous post of Easy Eye Tips.


These are with lashes applied and a tiny slick of mascara to blend my lashes and the falsies together

I absolutely adore Mister Mascara lashes - I haven't tried a set that I haven't liked. The stems are always very flexible and I really like the glue, which dries almost clear. I probably wouldn't wear these without some eyeliner, but then I probably wouldn't wear any lashes without liner! I usually get at least 4 or 5 wears out of 1 pair, so for £9.50 you get about 10 wears if you treat them properly. I have tried other lashes such as Ardell, Girl's Aloud and Revlon lashes, but for me, these are a winner! If you give them a go, let me know what you think - just as always, be careful with your eyes and pointing sharp tweezers near them!