Chanel's Ace of Base

While in Paris earlier this month I visited the Chanel counter in Galeries Lafayette. I had read lots of positive reviews on their new foundation, Perfection Lumière Velvet, and loved the sound of its smoothing effects. I have combination skin which gets shiny in the t-zone during the day so I thought that given this foundation has a matte finish it would be perfect for me.

The sales assistant had other ideas and despite my enquires, she just kept pointing me in the direction of the Vitalumiere Aqua foundation. I couldn't be bothered arguing, so I just went with it and walked away happily swishing my Chanel bag. 

I also picked up Le Blanc de Chanel which is their sheer illuminating base, because ... well why not! I do like to purchase the matching base to a foundation as you know the formulas will work well together. The texture of this is really lovely. It is quite nourishing and thicker than I first thought as you massage it onto your skin, and it smells as good as you would expect any Chanel product to smell. The illumination is subtle which is good for someone in my 30+ age bracket, enough to give you a healthy glow but not so much to make you look glittery or shimmery. 

The foundation is extremely sheer which, to be honest I first thought wouldn't give me nearly enough coverage. I was wrong! When used in combination with the base, it glides on and covers everything that needs covering whilst still maintaining natural looking skin. I did build up a second layer on my problem areas but really, I was surprised that it covered so well for such a seemingly sheer liquid! The bottle is light and perfectly sized for travel which is an added bonus.

Vitalumiere Aqua - I take shade 30 beige

As I said on Instagram, I am late coming to the party but at least now i'm here! I am still seeing amazing reviews on the Perfection Lumière Velvet, I just need to find a sales assistant who will actually let me buy it!

Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua costs £32.00 here and Le Blanc de Chanel costs £31.00 here.

Spring Beauty Lustings by Dior

There are some amazingly pretty things launching for Dior this Spring, exclusive to Selfridges. I couldn't help myself but include some examples below for you to lust over! 

I'm not sure I could actually bring myself to use some of these palettes, the detail in them is just so lovely.

Trianon make-up palette for glowing eyes and a fresh complexion £59.00

5 Couleurs Trianon Edition couture colour eyeshadow palette £41.00

Diorblush Trianon Edition vibrant colour powder blush in Corail Bagatalle £30.50

Glow Maximizer light boosting primer £28.50

Dior Vernis Trianon Edition frosted effect nail polish £18.00

Duty Free Bits n Pieces ….

So I managed to pick up a few 'essentials' as I departed London for Sydney last week. Ok, there was actually nothing essential about what I bought, but I was about to embark on 24 hours of hellish torture so I needed a little something-something. 

Tom Ford Lipstick in 'Indian Rose'  - oh mother, this is good. It is as close to my beloved MAC Cosmo lipstick as I can find except the price is substantially steeper and the packaging is more luxe.  It is a gorgeous rose shade like my lips only better and I love it in all it's beautifully packaged glory. 

The duty-free price of this was £30.60. Tom Ford cosmetics are sold in David Jones in Australia. Unfortunately they don't list prices on their website so i'm unable to link it for you.

Clinique Chubby Stick for Eyes in Lavish Lilac - purple is definitely the new brown for me and I would encourage any green-eyed girls to try it if you haven't already. Purple tones really bring out the green in your eyes, and as weird as this sounds, many of the ones I have discovered have a brown undertone so they just work. It is very sheer so perfect on its own for daytime, and for a night look I ramp it up a little by adding some deeper purple powder shadow in the crease. 

The duty-free price of this was £14.15 and you can find this product here in Australia for $35.00.

I also repurchased the Clinique High Impact Extreme Volume Mascara which I tried earlier this year. What sets this mascara apart from the others for me is it's incredibly fine applicator which makes coating each and every lash ultra-easy. 

The duty-free price of this was £14.15 and you can find this product here in Australia for $38.00.

I've gone cold turkey on the makeup purchasing front while i'm in Sydney. Even an obsessive like me can't justify the crazy prices over here.

Mineral Makeup - Bellápierre

I touched on Bellápierre the other day in my foundation wardrobe post (which you can read here) but wanted to go into a little more detail. 

I don't have a good track record with loose powdered mineral makeup. I first tried it a few years back while I was going through a bad skin period. I had a consultation at my local beautician's with a Bare Minerals rep and bought their foundation and kabuki brush. As I used it, it seemed to just highlight all the imperfections in my skin. I didn't enjoy the buffing technique or the results that I yielded and then one day the lid of the jar malfunctioned and I lost half the powder down the sink. I hadn't gone near it since then. 

I was introduced to Bellápierre by the lovely Amanda Bell at The Session School. I was sceptical given my last dealings with mineral makeup, but as the day progressed I was impressed. This was such a better quality of powder consisting of pure pigment (no talc or nasties) which can be applied in a variety of ways - the aforementioned buffing it into the skin, adding it to moisturiser to make your own liquid foundation, using it with a makeup base to create a concealer consistency and more.

Here is the look Amanda Bell created using Bellápierre at The Session School

I was lucky enough to work on a fashion parade recently which was sponsored by Bellápierre and we were given a range of their products to use on the day and to keep after the show. Impressed once again after using the products, I decided it was worth incorporating them into my personal makeup routine. I must admit, the thought of having loose pigments flying around my predominantly white bedroom scared me but so far so good. The container seems sturdier than the Bare Minerals one so i'm confident I will have better luck with Bellápierre. I do find the quickest and easiest method for me is to buff it on after using the Bellápierre primer. I do this by tapping a small amount of the powder into the lid, swirling my brush into it, tapping off the excess and then applying it to the face in a circular motion. This method for me doesn't give a full coverage, but it gives enough to keep things looking natural, which is the look i'm after when i'm just going about my daily routine.

The backstage Bellápierre supply ....

I really love the blush in 'Desert Rose' which I have been using on my cheeks and also sweeping across my eyelids. The shimmer stacks are also amazing as you get 9 colours and they can be mixed and used in such a number of ways. I also saw some shimmer stacks heavily reduced in TK Maxx the other day so it is worth keeping your eyes out. 

Featuring blush in desert rose and foundation in ivory ... and some of their mini travel brushes which are a delight!

You can buy Bellápierre online here in the UK and here in Australia.