Chantal Elizabeth

I'm back! Sorry I've been gone for such a long time however 2023 hasn't been a great year, not awful by any means, but not good either. Unfortunately due to this my blog has had to take a back seat however now my inspiration is slowly coming back thank goodness!

I've been meaning to write a post about this topic for a long time now however I never had the words to describe how I felt about the subject before. As the title suggests my post today is going to be about how I miss people, both everyday and celebrities with their natural, god given faces! Now when I talk about this I have to comment that I have absolutely no problem with people getting botox when lines start to appear or the odd filler here and there to fill in the face where volume decreases e.g the lips and most likely the cheek area however since 2016 I have noticed a huge increase in the amount of these procedures being done and the reason it bothers me so much is because the people who are getting them done don't even need any of these procedures yet because quite frankly they are too young! 

In the late 90s, 00s and even the early 2010s the average age of people, both women and men getting injectables and plastic surgery were at their youngest around early 30s and on the higher end they would be in their late 40s. However since the mid 2010s this has changed dramatically as young people who have grown up watching reality shows such as Keeping Up With The Kardashians (or now just The Kardashians) have watched all the sisters who at the time were in their 20s getting fillers, butt implants and boob jobs has made the younger generation of today literally scared of their real face and bodies. These young people who are at the end of Gen Y and the beginning of Gen Z are constantly finding ways to change their natural looks, whether in real life due to fillers and botox or via apps like Faceapp by changing their face to make them look like a completely different person, which in my opinion is very scary. These young people are even going into plastic surgery clinics showing pictures of their filtered selves to ask the doctors to make them look like their alternate self and most good doctors would not agree to do this however of course there are some who would still perform the surgery as they care more about the money than the patient's physical and mental health.

Back to the point as to why I think seeing the decline of natural faces is dangerous is because people in their early 30s and younger have grown up hardly seeing any natural faces that they now think that filled, plastic surgery faces are actually normal and this terrifies me! This perception affects people in so many ways including who they choose to be friends with, young men tend to be more attracted to women who have had work done than those like myself who are completely natural (I unfortunately have experience of this) which is sad as it leaves people who in my opinion are naturally pretty on the shelf because they haven't succumbed to the pressure to change their faces. Also it may even affect who bosses decide to hire in job interviews as they might decided to choose the person who's face looks better on Teams and Zoom rather than decide based on their qualifications and work experience. With the introduction of AI, I'm not sure how this is going to get better in regards to how people perceive the way they look. On a brighter note there are some examples of people in the public eye who have decided to remove their fillers which is a good start, the person I remember doing this is Molly Mae which is a great sign as she's now a successful business woman, so maybe this will prove to people that you don't need to mess your face up to gain success in life. I just hope that more people will follow Molly's way in thinking as it would be amazing to see the faces that people were actually born with as supposed to the faces they created out of wanting perfection which doesn't even exists anyway and the sooner people know that to the be true, the better as it will create a healthier society for people to exist in.

Thanks for reading

Chantal x

It's been a while since we've seen a beauty release that sets to revolutionise the way we apply makeup however the new Charlotte Tilbury Pillow Talk Matte Beauty Blush Wand is that exact product we've been looking for! Formulated the same way as the original Beauty Light Wands however made to look matte, this product delivers the blush in the same way but eliminating the result of a glowy cheeked look which is great for those of us who prefer a matte look over an overly shimmery face! I also love that the packaging matches the description in the sense that the main part of the packaging is matte, with only the lid and logo being the traditional Charlotte Tilbury gold. I think it's a nice touch.

As you can see the Pillow Talk Matte Beauty Blush Wand  does have the same sponge applicator as the original wands where you turn the top part of the packaging to 'on' to let the product out once the tube has been squeezed. My application tip for you is to very lightly squeeze the tube as that way you get the perfect amount of product out of the tube. Some people prefer to dot it directly onto their cheek, then blend it out with a brush, while others prefer to dab a bit of the blush onto their hand and then to either use a brush or their hands to then blend the product into the skin, it's totally up to you. I find that option 1 works for me as I have more control blending the blush into the skin.

What Pink Pop looks like blended out onto the cheek.

I have to say I'm really impressed with these matte blush wands! It's the perfect product for those of us who want to have the look of matte cheeks, but who also want the ease and usability of using a liquid formula in a very handy tube applicator. I think people will also love this to use in the summer for that reason as you can take it away with you on holiday or on a city break for a weekend away. The Pillow Talk Matte Beauty Blush Wand is available from all the usual beauty stores including Space NK, Cult Beauty, ASOS and Charlotte Tilbury's website.

Have you tried the new matte beauty wands? If you have let me know what you think, I'd love to know.

Thanks for reading

Chantal x

It's that time of year again where we see all the beauty brands release their Christmas collections. With so many brands and products to choose from, it can be hard to decide what to buy, whether it's for you or for giving as a gift. That's where Lisa Eldridge comes in. Lisa recently released her new Holiday collection comprising of new shades of her True Velvet lipsticks and very excitingly she has now created 5 eyeshadow palettes! In today's post I'm going to review 3 new products, The Eyeshadow Palette in Vega and two new lipsticks in the shades Velvet Enchantment and Velvet Sorcery.

Vega Eyeshadow Palette

I have never been more excited to share my thoughts on a product before! I have been following Lisa's brand from the beginning, from buying the first True Velvet shades online to attending the launch of the first ever pop-up in Covent Garden and I'm so happy to see how much the brand is growing. I was so impressed when I saw the launch video for the new eyeshadow palettes that as soon as the video finished I knew I had to buy the Vega palette as for me it's by far the most versatile palette out of the collection as it includes neutral shades that can be used both day and night. In this particular palette there are 4 different finishes: Velvet, Seamless Matte, Luminous & Metallic. Each of the palettes have a different number of finishes depending on the look of the colour story and another brilliant idea is that you can replace the eyeshadows in this palette with another eyeshadow as you can also buy them individually. To swap an eyeshadow with another you simply get a pin, pop it through the hole that's directly opposite the shade and then you'll see the shade lift up. Once that's removed to add the new shade you place it over the empty space and then it will automatically snap into place as the palette is magnetic.

Swatches from left to right: French Grey (Velvet), Smoke & Mirrors (Seamless Matte), Moonswirl (Metallic), Turbulence (Seamless Matte), Supernova (Luminous) & Lamp Black (Seamless Matte).

As you can see from the swatches the pigmentation of the shadows is really good. The only shade which the camera struggled to pick up was Smoke & Mirrors as in the photo is looks like your usual grey colour when in real life it's more of a blue grey which is a dramatic and gorgeous shade. What's unique about these shadows are that they take hardly any work to blend into each other, so they are the easiest shadows I've ever used and there is no fall out, even when using the deeper shades. I can't wait to try more of the shadows in the future!

Wearing both the Vega palette and the Velvet Sorcery lipstick.

True Velvet in Sorcery & Enchantment

When Lisa mentioned that she was going to release more shades of the True Velvets I had to of course purchase a couple more. Originally I only bought Velvet Enchantment the same time I ordered the Vega palette however when I noticed that Velvet Sorcery was out of stock online, I then went to the pop up shop to look for Velvet Sorcery and luckily it was in stock!

Velvet Sorcery is a delicious chocolate shade that's not too warm or too cool toned. It gives you the perfect 90s matte, brown nude lip colour look that was made famous by the supermodels of the time. You could also blot it to create more of a lip stain if you'd prefer a more natural look.

Velvet Enchantment is such a beautiful shade! Lisa describes it as a red for people who don't like red and I couldn't agree more as the only red I wear is one of her original shades Velvet Morning which is a warm toned red however when you don't want to wear something as bright as that then Velvet Enchantment is a muted down neutral red which will also be perfect for Christmas time. Like all the Velvets both these shades last for hours on the lips, even after eating however if you do want to re- apply them, they go on very smoothly over the existing lip colour.

Wearing Velvet Enchantment

Velvet Sorcery & Velvet Enchantment swatched.

I hope you enjoyed my review, I really love the new holiday collection! If you have bought any of the new products I'd love to know your thoughts.

Thanks for reading

Chantal x

Foundation is one of those products that I don't like to change often as once I like a product it's very hard for me to switch it up to something new. For a while I've heard great things about the new Nars Light Reflecting Foundation. This new formula is made with both skincare and makeup ingredients meaning that the more you wear the foundation the better your skin will look and feel over time. The finish is meant to be a lit from within glow, hence the name having light reflecting in it. This is very different for me as I usually prefer a matte finish however now that I've been wearing it I can tell you that it does in fact look lovely once on. 

The first couple of things you'll notice when you try this foundation is that it actually has a pump as gone are the days when you had to buy a pump separately for a Nars foundation (with the exception of the Sheer Glow Foundation for some reason?). Also you'll notice that the consistency is a lot thinner than other foundations. As this is the case I think it's best to apply this foundation with a beauty blender because then you can control exactly how much you want to put on and the way in which you blend it in. I bought the shade Deauville which is a light warm toned neutral shade which hopefully will work for me in the winter too as it's not that much different looking from my real skin colour. There are loads of shades to choose from, so you'll definitely be able to find the right one for you.

I was pleasantly surprised when it came to the coverage as for a thin foundation this covers the face very well! You can also easily build it up, especially when using a beauty blender if you just dab more foundation onto the parts that need more coverage and then it'll easily blend in to create a seamless finish. The only downfall I've found with this product is that due to the dewiness of the finish of the foundation, it lasts about 5 or 6 hours before it needs re-powdering, which for me is mainly on the chin and the nose. For oily skin people I would highly recommend powdering this straight after application and then if you want to you can always use a setting spray as well. It may still need powdering later on in the day depending on the weather for example however at least this technique will give it more chance to last longer.

What I think is unique about this foundation is the way it looks. Even after you've powdered it you are still left with a radiant finish which never usually happens when using other foundations. Seeing as glowy makeup is a trend, I can see why this foundation has gone viral on socials. From using this product for three weeks now I can confidently recommend it. I personally think that no matter what your skin type is everyone will love it!

What do you think of the new Nars Light Reflecting Foundation?

Thanks for reading 

Chantal x