Nude Stix Revisited

A few weeks back I posted about the prize I won on Instagram via Space NK (which you can read about here). In brief, I was a little disappointed when I received my prize as I really wanted to give these products a good try and felt what was sent to me wasn't the best representation of the brand. Amazingly, my review was picked up by the Nude Stix team and they reached out to me to offer to give me another chance to try the full range this time. Lucky - yes I know!

I submitted a little wish list of items, and a week later they were Fedex'd to my door. So lucky! This time around I was well impressed. 

The lip and cheek crayon is delicious. The colour I was sent is Mystic, to borrow the tagline, it is the perfect 'nude but better' shade for my lips. It is moisturising, easy to apply and has gone straight into my handbag. 

The concealer sticks are creamy in consistency and pleasingly chunky. I am 38 and have lots of broken capillaries on my skin which need coverage. For me personally, I would have to be having a very good skin day to be able to pull these off without adding some foundation. They work well to conceal in addition to my foundation, but i'm not brave enough to wear only these alone. 

These are extremely soft and you need to be very careful when putting the lids back on to avoid gouging the sides of the pencil. I learnt this the hard way! The shade Light 1 works well in the inner corner of my eye's where I have darkness and Light 2 is a good shade for other areas of my face.

The magnetic eye pencils are dreamy. These were what I was really hoping to try from the moment I saw the range. I was sent 'Angel' and 'Twilight' and they are buttery soft and blend like a charm. I started with an eye-primer underneath as I have a hard time getting eye products to stay crease-free on my lids, but once these were applied on top they did stay put which is rare in an eye crayon. 

The Eye Pencils come with a sponge on their end which makes smudging out and creating a smokey eye on the go extremely simple and fuss free. They are lovely as a pure eye pencil but seem a little flat in comparison to their magnetic cousins.

My top picks are the Magnetic Eye Colours for their rich colour pay-off and their non-creasing formula and the Lip and Cheek Pencils for their amazing colour range (8 in total). 

Nude Stix are available exclusively through Space NK here in the UK. All the pencils cost £24.00 and all except the eye pencils come with their own sharpener. This time around I can certainly say that I will be adding to my collection!  

How to Pep-Up Tired Eyes

Isn’t December an exhausting month? Party after party, catching up with an endless sea of friends. Lots of late nights, lots of online Christmas shopping and lots of New Years Eve parties. I can always tell I am tired by the size of the bags and dark circles around my eyes. There are a few sneaky tricks you can do to minimize the damage.

• The flesh-toned eyeliner. Used correctly, this can be a little gem. Lining your lower water-line instantly gives your eyes a clear and awake look. I own a luxe version - the Nars Larger Than Life Long-Wear Eyeliner in Rue Bonaparte and a budget version - the Rimmel Scandaleyes in Nude. The Nars is slightly more yellow-toned but the difference is minimal. 

Top - Nars

Bottom - Rimmel

• The magical highlighter crayon. Pep yourself up by adding subtle touches of light to areas of your face you want to stand out, such as your cheek bones the inner corner of your eyes and the cupid’s bow. Pixi Beauty make a double ended version called the Wide Awake Crayon Combo which covers points 1 and 2 in the one product – genius. You can read more about this product here.

• Correct and conceal. I suffer from very dark areas in the inner corner of my eye socket. If I take the extra time to correct them with a peach corrector (Bobbi Brown Corector in Light to Medium Bisque) first, then my concealer goes on like magic.

•  Brightening powders. Laura Mercier makes a product called Secret Brightening Powder and I am yet to find a comparable cheaper powder on the market. Basically it is super fine powder which sets your concealer in place and helps to stop it settling into your fine lines. It is not cheap, but it is really good. You can read a more detailed review of this product here.

I am currently holidaying in my home-town of Sydney, Australia so communication may not be as reliable as normal. Should you have a comment or question, please submit it below and I will respond to you when I get back from my swim :-)

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.