New From Lancome: Metallic Artliners

In the past couple of months I've gone from 'I'll only ever wear black eyeliner' to 'Hey, what's this purple all about?'. I'm still not going to cover my entire eyelid in turquoise eye shadow and paint my lips cerise pink, but I'm warming up to splashes of colour in eye makeup.

At last week's Lancôme meet I played with some new liners that made me want to cross over to the bright side. My swatches aren't great because the tips were running dry by the time I got to them, but just look how vivid the colours are (if you're a brown-eyed girl, please go for that blue and let me know how it works out):

The black one is awesome, but ignore it for now.
YSL Metallic Artliner Swatches: Violet Vibrant, Bleu Métal,
Vert Chromé. As I said, don't judge the line consistency,
this is just to give you and idea of the colours. 

If you haven't used a Lancome Artliner before, the tip really is something special. It has a rubbery texture that makes 'gliding' over the skin your only option really - even the most unstable of hands should be able to get a straight line with this one.

Lancome Metallic Artliners FLTR:
Bleu Metal, Vert Chromé, Violet Vibrant

They're on shelves already, and you can get them from Lancome counters at R305 each.

C xx

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Review: Ralph Lauren Big Pony Collection for Women

In a game of 30 seconds, if you say Polo shirt; I'd say Ralph Lauren. That's the association I make.  I imagine preppy, muscular boys in toit polo shirts gazing into the distance, and google agrees with me: 

This is a slim fit custom Polo shirt, just to you know

Lately, I've been thinking about the brand a little differently - mainly because I've been dousing myself in a cloud of Big Pony to suit my mood. That seems to be the message behind the concept: four fragrances with different 'personalities' to suit your mood. Ideally, you would have all of them lined up on your dresser, and you'd pick the one that works for you that day. It seems to be the way most fragrance houses are leaning - no more single signature scent, but rather picking a suitable scent for the mood/occasion.

Ralph Lauren Big Pony Fragrance Collection for Women

No 1 is Sporty, with Grapefruit and Blue Lotus

No 2 is Sensual, with Cranberry and Tonka Mousse

No 3 is Free Spirited, with Pear and Mimosa

No 4 is Sophisticated, with Cherry and Amber

The models for the Big Pony for Women Fragrance Campaign:
Sporty, Sensual, Free Spirited, Sophisticated (image source)

I don't dislike any of the fragrances, they're all 'safe' smells which makes them great gifts in my opinion - nothing is over the top and they're well balanced. My favourites are numbers 3 and 4, but then I've always been the slightly odd one, and I veer towards the older side of their target market (older = sophisticated in perfumery, as in many other things). But I really do enjoy all four of them. The only thing I don't like is the large, brightly coloured numbers on the bottles - they look cool on the box, but not so much on the bottle. In my opinion, of course.

Available from mid August, prices range from R470 for 30ml to R750 for 100ml EDT.

C xx

Review: YSL Blush Radiance (Radiant Blush)

My ever increasing obsession with blushers, bronzers and highlighters lead me to keep this beauty in its velvet sleeve for weeks and weeks. Mostly because I took a peek, and knew straight away that the shade would not be suitable for my pasty cheeks. Denial took up most of my grieving time...

YSL Blush Radiance (Radiant Blush) 05

This beautiful compact is made up of four squares, of which two are matte and two are very slightly shimmery. You swish them together and apply to the cheeks to create a flush of colour. But seriously, ignore the usual makeup copy and read what I'm writing - it mimicks actual blushing/flushing. Like you just ran up a flight of stairs, or were caught snogging on the couch*.

YSL Blush Radiance 05 - I applied a darker foundation
on my arm, and this is a light sweep of blusher 

This particular shade is great for darker skinned girls who have a problem with blusher not 'showing' on their skin. It's also not a funny teracotta or brown colour - it's a deep pink/red brick combo. As my college makeup tutor said (and try as I may, I have never been able to get it out of my head): "Nobody blushes Peach".

YSL Blush Radiance 1-6. I'm either 4 or 6.
And I'm v intrigued by 3.

*Only applicable if you're 17 or younger


C xx

Perth International Airport Duty Free Shopping Wishlist

I'm v excited to see The Mother at the end of November, and she's asked me for a list of goodies I would like her to bring from Down Under. I'm doing her one better - I'm sending pictures, names and prices of all kinds of great stuff mom can pick up at the duty free shop on her way over here. I share with you, my wishlist in no particular order:

Kiehl's Superbly Smoothing Argan Conditioner, $13

OPI Best of the Best, $40. Scrap no particular
order, this is right at the top of the list.

OPI Drip Dry nail polish drying drops, $20

Lancome Sweet Butterfly Palette, $50
Apparently this is exclusive to Duty Free shops.

Gold-infused Smirnoff Vodka, $40. I'll drink it with Sprite Zero so that
the bling stays visible.

Nikon Coolpix AW100, cough $340 cough. Wondering why it's
so fugly? It's water- and shockproof. I'm mostly interested in
the 1cm macro shooting function, so I'll also settle for the
 Coolpix S100 or S8200. 

3 x 400g Milk Toblerone, $20.
Also: Oink Oink.

Swatch Red Rebel, $86

But maybe, before she makes her way to the airport, she can shop for a few other things online:

Kiehl's Overnight Biological Peel, $68 from Myer

Queen Real Living Kato Bedset for my spare room,
$82 from Target.

And then there are a couple of things I'd like from the supermarket...

I'm not joking - in Australia you can buy Joico hair products in Woolworths
(which is not like our Woolworths, it's a supermarket like our Checkers/Pick n Pay).
This variant, K-Pak Colour Therapy, is new to me and I look forward to trying it.
Around $25 per bottle.

Hmmm... Caramel TimTams... As much as I like them, I refuse to pay
R45 for a packet of biscuits. They're regular-priced $2-$3 biscuits in Oz.
(image source)

I think that'll be all. Except for the most amazing Mercer + Reid linen spray that I now can't find online, which is making me nervous because I would like at least three bottles of the Rose Anatolia & Bergamot goodness. I 'cheat' by spritzing it on curtains so that the scent breezes through the entire house. I had four bottles in October, now I'm on my last one...

Thanks Mom! I'll fill the gaps in your suitcase with all the African gifts and curios you can carry. And WINE. Have I mentioned how much wine I'll have for you on arrival?

C xx

Sorbet Beauty Chain launches Drybar Express Hair Salon

Aah, don't you love it when a third world country keeps up with the times?

The Sorbet beauty & nail bar chain is opening their first Sorbet Drybar - an express hair salon where you can have your hair washed and styled. They'll be offering blowdrys at a flat rate of R140 - no matter what the length or texture of your hair is - and their stylists will use L'Oreal Professional, Mizani and Redken products.

They won't be offering cut- or colour services (focus ladies, it's an express salon), but you can add extras like a scalp massage (R50) or hair treatment (R185). They'll also be offering a complete range of nail services: think manis, pedis, gelish, transfers, gel nails, the works. You'll also score free wifi and a glass of bubbly out of the deal.

But my absolute favourite part is the menu. Can't all hair salons have menu's like this? All the ones I go to, have simply asked: ghd, blowdry, or wavy? I then stutter, try to explain, and end up saying 'straight please' and look EXACTLY THE SAME EVERY.SINGLE.TIME. Well done Sorbet, at least I can point to a picture now.

Vanilla: Standard Blow with a little volume

Espresso: Smooth and sleek

Amaretto: The beach look

Rocky Road: Plenty of curls

The first Sorbet Drybar is opening early in August in the Dunkeld West Shopping Centre in Joburg (another perk of moving to Gauteng: tick).

C xx

Lip Stain Review: Revlon Just Bitten

Those of you who pay attention will know that I'm not very phased about lipsticks and glosses. They look pretty and all, but I end up with half of whatever I'm wearing all over my face and teeth, and it's just too much of a muchness as far as I'm concerned.

One of the handful of lippies that won me over recently was Revlon Just Bitten Lip Stain. You colour in your lips with what looks and feels like a highlighter pen (a friend pointed out that there's a certain naughty/forbidden element to it, its like drawing on someone with permanent marker), flip it over to apply a slick of lip balm, and you're sorted for HOURS.

I can't say that I haven't been thinking of drawing
pictures on people's faces when they're fast asleep...

It's a proper stain, so you can't really wipe/rub it off once it's on. It immediately sinks in, which will leave your lips feeling slightly dry if you don't follow with the lip balm. Of the two shades I got, I absolutely love Victorian. It's a cherry pink-red that would suit just about anyone, and I love that it creates an I'm-not-really-trying-too-hard-I-just-have-naturally-awesome-lips vibe.

No lip colour

Swatched: Revlon Just Bitten Lip Stain in Victorian

Revlon just bitten swatches:
Victorian (left) and Forbidden (right)

Revlon Just Bitten is available in 11 shades,
so you're sure to find one you like. The down 
side? The shades have annoying vampire-movie 
inspired names like Desire, Dawn, Twilight, 
Midnight, Mystical... We get it, we get it.

You can decide on how intense you want the colour to be - if you want it darker, you just apply more of it. Just be careful until you've found your happy medium, 'cos once it sits, it sits. So hopefully if you bump into me this winter, I won't be all pale lipped...

Revlon Just Bitten is available at a RRP of R105.


C xx