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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
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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.
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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!
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Wearing both the Vega palette and the Velvet Sorcery lipstick.
True Velvet in Sorcery & Enchantment
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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.
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Wearing Velvet Enchantment
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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
For many people wearing a mask can come with just a couple of problems, from finding one that fits you properly to not being able to hear someone else speak who's wearing one and vice versa. and for us out there who loves their makeup the problem is keeping it on without any part of it coming off. So in this post I'm going to give you a guide for how to wear your makeup under a mask with as minimum movement of the makeup as possible. This will also be a very picture heavy post because I want to recommend the best products so that you can get the best results! I'm also going to split the post into sections so that you can focus on what products you need for each type of makeup.
For Your Eyes Only
Because your eyes are now the centre of attention when wearing masks I think it's now the perfect time to experiment with a bit of colour! The Charlotte Tilbury Luxury Palette in Copper Charge is gorgeous if you want a more toned down colourful look as it's full of beautiful warm tones that will suit not just the recommended blue eyes but also I personally think it suits all different eye colours. If you want something more daring or have brown eyes then the Charlotte Tilbury Luxury Palette in Super Blue will really make your eyes pop! It contains a golden shimmer, a bronze, a jewel toned blue and a stunning indigo shade. If you want shadows that guarantee to last then you need to try eyeshadow sticks! These formulas are usually waterproof and once blended in they set quickly, so they won't budge even when it's a heatwave outside. Two of my favourite brands for eyeshadow sticks are Kiko and By Terry. Kiko has loads of shades however the one I have is shade 49 which is a stunning midnight blue shade which I feel would compliment all eye colours. My By Terry pick is shade 1 in Black Pearl which is a gorgeous black with subtle shimmer running through it, it's perfect for going out in the evening. Of course we need to talk about eyeliners. One of the best that's also been people's favourites for years the Urban Decay 24/7 Glide - On Eye Pencil in the shade LSD as it's a lovely dark teal with shimmer, so it fits our colour theme perfectly. These pencils seriously last all day, or at least 6 to 8 hours before reapplying them and they also perform really well on both the lash line and the water line which not all eyeliners do.
Mascara is a key part in making your eye look stand out from the crowd! Two of my favourites are the Maybelline Lash Sensational mascara for the top lashes and the Collection Lash Surge in waterproof for the bottom lashes. They both last all day and they both keep hold of all the curl, volume and length needed to make your eyes stand out.
Don't forget your eyebrows! I know for most people it's a part of the makeup you'd never forget, but for us lot who have a fringe that hides most of the brows it's very easy to forget to fill them in. As I'm not an expert at applying eyebrow makeup I like to use a skinny wax pencil as that way I know that I can't make any major mistakes. The one I've been loving is the L'Oreal Skinny Definer as they have quite a few shades to choose from, so you should definitely find one that suits you. Also I love it because you don't need to set it with a brow gel as for me anyway it stays put.
All About That Base
When it comes to base products I think that the less is better while wearing a mask as first of all you can only see half of your face anyway and second is the more face products you put on, the more likely you're face makeup will disappear. The first product I swear by is using a concealer as a foundation, that way if you do lose makeup to the mask then it will be very easy to reapply it both while sitting down or if you are on the go travelling. My go to concealer right now is the Collection Lasting Perfection concealer as I've had this backup of it for a while and they no longer make the same shade any more as thank goodness they've actually added more shades, which is something I was hoping they'd do for a while now. It's best for those who have oily to combination skin as it does set down quite quickly however I still set it with a powder to make sure it really stays where it needs to be. Speaking of powder I literally can't live without the Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Flawless Finish Powder in shade 1 as it's the only powder that makes it look like you're actually not wearing powder, yet it really does make your base last all day, I love it!
Read My Lips
For some people wearing any type of lip product may be a no go area when wearing a mask however there are a few types of products that actually don't move under a mask. The first is liquid lipsticks. Yes the product that gained major popularity four years ago in the beauty community is very likely to make a resurgence because we now need long lasting makeup. My favourite formula is the Rimmel Stay Matte Liquid Lipstick because it gives you time to apply it before it sets for good and when you put it on it doesn't feel drying at all and the same goes for wearing it. Trust me it doesn't go anywhere! You can even wear the red shade called Fire Starter and it still won't budge.
If you like a pencil formula then I recommend the Maybelline Super Stay Ink Crayon as it gives you a precise application because it comes with a sharpener at the end of the pencil, yet it feels very soft on the lips even though it will then set down. It comes in an array of shades, from brights to nudes, so you are sure to find something for you.
If you want something that gives you a more natural look but again won't move away, I recommend the NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream as the texture is matte but non drying and again there are so many shades to choose from.
If you hate the idea of wearing a liquid lipstick or lip cream then the only lipstick I can confidently say other than the classic Mac Retro Matte formula is the Lisa Eldridge Velvet lipsticks because they feel beautifully soft once applied and they last all day. My favourite shade is Velvet Fawn which is quite literally the perfect brown nude for both light and medium skin tones.
Another tip is to use a lip liner all over your lips underneath your lipstick to make it last longer or you could even fill in your lips and simply wear the lip liner as a lip colour depending on if the formula of it can do that. Three of my favourites are the Mac Lip Liner, the Charlotte Tilbury Lip Cheat and the Nyx Slide On Lip Pencil.
Locked Out Of Heaven
Once you've applied all your makeup it's so important nowadays to set it with a setting spray. Since I've started wearing a mask I've used the classic and most loved Urban Decay All Nighter setting spray to set my face. Believe me it's so worth the hype! I went out one day and forgot to use it and my mask had three lines of foundation marks once I took it off, another time when I did remember to put it on I had no marks on my mask! A product that was once an extra step is now a major necessity in our beauty routines.
I really hope you enjoyed my guide and found it useful. Also I hoped you liked the song puns I put in the titles too!
See you soon
Chantal x
Well, well, well...it's be a long time since I've written anything on my blog. I never meant for my blog to get left behind, but when you're going about your everyday life sometimes things have to be put back for a while...until now of course while we are all stuck at home in quarantine! So while we are all stuck at home, apart from going out to get the essentials of course, I had the idea to make a go-to makeup bag for when I actually do feel like wearing some makeup during this time, which hasn't been that often recently. You may be thinking why am I even wearing makeup during this time? Well it's because makeup has the power to make us all feel empowered at times when we feel like we are losing control of life. It helps you look more presentable and of course that increases confidence, so if you do want to wear makeup during this confusing and incredibly uncertain times we are living in, then go ahead and don't care what anyone thinks or says, I sure don't!
Let's start wish base products. Instead of wasting foundation on what probably will be an hour's of your time spent outside, I recommend using a high coverage concealer as foundation. This is a trick that I always use when I need to apply makeup quickly anyway and for times like these it just seems to be the most sensible thing to do. For this I use the L'Oreal Infallible More Than Concealer as it literally tells you that it's not just to be used as a concealer, so I put it everywhere and blend it out with my fingers, no brushes needed, then it's done!
To set the concealer in place I've been using a newly added product to my collection which is the Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Flawless Finish Powder. This product it amazing! It does exactly what it claims to do as it smooths out your complexion so well that it makes it look like you haven't even applied any setting powder to the face and it keeps your face shine free for a good eight hours too!
Moving onto the eyes, we have another Charlotte Tilbury product, oh and it's not the last one either. It's the Luxury Eyeshadow Palette in the Sophisticate. I believe or am pretty sure that this is the only matte palette that's actually available from Charlotte's range. I also think it's incredibly underrated for how versatile it actually is! Depending on how I feel I either just use the second to right shade on the top (the enhance shade) swept onto the whole eyelid and into the crease, then blended into the lower lash line or I'll add the second to right shade (the smoke shade) onto the outer corners of the eye, then blend into the crease and then I would also add that to the lower lash line too to give it a more smokey look.
For eye liner I've been trying out a new product from, you guessed it, Charlotte Tilbury, the Classic Eye Liner in Black which unlike a normal kohl pencil, it's actually a powder formula, so it's still has the movement of a kohl pencil when you first put it on, however it then shortly sets, so therefore it lasts on the eyes better than a traditional kohl pencil would. I line both my upper lash line and my lower water line as I think when you have very round eyes like I do, to make them look less round and more horizontal, it strangely actually works for some reason.
I have two mascaras that I use. The Maybelline Lash Sensational mascara works really well on my top lashes as it curls, adds loads of volume and makes my lashes look really long, while for my bottom lashes I prefer to use a waterproof formula so you don't get any smudging, so I use the Collection Lash Surge in Waterproof Black. I find that putting mascara on my bottom lashes balances out my whole eye shape, otherwise things will look very lopsided haha.
For lips I have two options. The matte lip option is the Lisa Eldridge Velvet Fawn lipstick which I personally think is the perfect nude lipstick as it has the right amount of both brown and pink tones to it, while also having a neutral undertone, so both people with cooler and warmer undertones can wear it. The shiny option is the Chanel Rouge Coco Flash in Chicness which is a peachy nude that makes your lips look plumper and incredibly shiny, I love it!
I hope you enjoyed reading what's in my quarantine makeup bag. Let me know how you guys are coping during this weird time and whether you are even bothering to put any makeup on as I'd love to find out! Keep well and safe.