"Back to Japan": Lips

With the limited amount of make up I have here with me in Tokyo, I decided to do a series to show you guys things that I've brought back with me :) I didn't wanna do it all at once because, let's face it, I didn't bring THAT little so I thought it best to do it in categories! Hopefully it'll trigger some review requests or post ideas - if you have  any please let me know!

Anyway I decided to kick it off with lips - I didn't include lipbalms, but here are the lippies and lipglosses that have made the trip back with me :)

Lipsticks

Left to Right:

* Rimmel Moisture Renew Lipstick in Nude Delight 700

(for my everyday beige nude)

* 17 Mirror Shine Lipstick in Beehive

(for my everyday, glossy pink nude)

* GSpot Cosmetics Matte Lipstick in Lustrus

(not actually sure why this came with..)

* MAC Amplified Lipstick in Warm Me Up (LE)
(MLBB colour, was a candidate for graduation lipstick)

* MAC Matte Lipstick in Please Me

(bright but dusky pink!)

* MAC Amplified Lipstick in Vegas Volt

(for the brave summer day cravings of reddish coral)

(Rimmel Nude Delight; 17 Beehive; GSpot Lustrus; MAC Warm Me Up; MAC Please Me; MAC Vegas Volt)


Summery colours? Meh, some of them. But I tried to choose on the basis of "what if" - what if I feel like wearing this, what if I start wanting this - so I tried to cover the spectrum in shades. I just wish I had something like MAC's Ever Hip or TopShop's Ooh La La - a pinky peach/peachy pink - anyone have suggestions? :P

I would've done the same in finishes, but I usually love pigmented lips, and 17 Beehive is the only glossy one I have - I'd love more tbh, so please let me know if you have any suggestions for that as well! :)

Lipglosses

Left to Right

* The Body Shop Love Gloss in 17

(it goes with anything and it's also gorgeous alone!)

* Jemma Kidd Hi-Shine Silk Touch Lipgloss in 15 Coral

(just in case I didn't feel like Vegas Volt ;) )

(The Body Shop 17; Jemma Kidd 15 Coral)

To be honest I haven't worn either of the lipglosses.. no idea why! Sometimes I think glosses look too wet, and I suppose in this humidity (it was 91% the other night!) I'm trying to keep my body to look as dried and unmoist as possible! :P

On that gross note, what have your lipstick/lipgloss picks been recently? :)

<3yu

Red Mag's Jemma Kidd Lipgloss in Coral

I'm sure you've heard about this month's Red magazine, which comes with a freebie of Jemma Kidd Make Up School's lipgloss in three shades - a nude, a coral and a red. I already have loads of nudes and have one red lipgloss that I love (Viva Glam Cyndi <3) so I went for the coral - a colour that I have no lip products in.. yet - I know, blasphemy!

Just thought I'd share with you some snaps, and first impressions :)

The packaging is practically the same as the Revlon Super Lustrous lipglosses - same size, same amount just the Revlon lid is shiny and the band is gold.

The formula I felt was very different - while the consistency was similar, it was nowhere near the same pigmentation. However after a few minutes Jemma Kidd's lipgloss felt almost like the ELF Super Glossy Lipshines, when it kinda harden and cling onto your lips making them feel like a layer of thin Wine Gums on your lips.. I personally love that sensation, I also think it makes it a bit more long-lasting!

That swatch has about 3 or 4 swipes, so it is very sheer but even in my pigmented lips I did see coral rather than red, so that is always a good sign :)

I personally didn't think it's worth £14, not just because I prefer more pigmented glosses, but because I didn't see much so special about it, except that it actually came across as coral, not red. It IS good quality and you can tell, but it's a sheer gloss that has good staying power with a pretty standard colour - pretty average overall. But for £3.80, I think it's a steal :)

Did you get any of the Jemma Kidd lipglosses? :)

<3yu

My Beauty Bible: Jemma Kidd Make Up Master Class

I love watching YouTube video for learning techniques, but it's a given that the gurus that you see online don't have you specifically in mind when they make their videos. So after looking on Amazon for a book that I can selfishly request to teach things that will suit me, I decided on Jemma Kidd's Make-Up Master Class.

This book has so many different sections to teach you everything you need to know about basic beauty. It ranges from skincare, how to shape eyebrows, colours that suit your skintone, what types of products suit your skin (e.g. for oily, dry, normal skin etc.,) looks for specific events, and techniques for every aspect of make up (e.g. blush, eyeliner, eyeshadow, bronzer, foundation etc.,).

I have to admit that a lot of the techniques are things that I had already learnt from YouTube, but I felt that Jemma also had techniques and products that are very different from the 'norm'.

For example, she doesn't just talk about liquid foundation, and talks about the positives and negatives of mineral or creme foundations. It was so refreshing after what I find to be a relatively monotonous pattern of 'basics' in the YouTube world. (i.e. It's assumed that you use liquid foundation, or that you use powder blush, have a lid/crease/outer corner colour for your eyes etc., obviously influenced by the guru's personal taste)

Another way that I felt the book was incredibly unbiased and showed one aspect of beauty through different perspectives, was the fact that I never felt forced to use Jemma's products. You'll find that at the back, she gives you a list of products from skincare, make-up to organic variations of the two that she recommends. A lot of them aren't her stuff :)

My favourite part has to be the little sections where depending on your skintone, Jemma suggests colours for eyes, cheeks and lips. I am so glad I got this before I started my MAC palette, or else I would've filled it all with neutrals! Since I got this book, I've started to use greens and purples on nights out and it's been such a refreshing change :)

This is an example of the event-specific looks that Jemma provides you with. Not only this one, but various looks for parties depending on skintone, for brides, for drinks after work, for the beach, every possible situation imaginable!

As you can see the photography is absolutely phenomenal (not mine, the book's, lol)! The models are all so realistic, the looks are so wearable and do-able and I find I have to remind myself to actually read as well! :)

Overall, I give this book a 9/10 - only missing 1, because there are a lot of basic stuff that I had already known.. that being said, I've spent hours and hours watching YouTube to learn stuff :P The price is also very reasonable - I got this from Amazon fro £12.48 here.

I would recommend this book to anyone because even if you feel like you know a lot of techniques via YouTube it really does give you lots of great ideas to expand your practice with, through new techniques, products, consistencies (like creme, liquid, powder etc.,) and looks :)

<3yu

FOTN: 02.03.11 - MAC Beauty Marked & Mark Ronson!

No, I did not go out looking like Mark Ronson, but I did wear MAC Beauty Marked to his gig at my uni's Students' Union last night, and wanted to make a post on my FOTN. This is primarily because I did a look out of my new Jemma Kidd Make-Up Master Class book!

Face:

- Revlon ColourStay in Sand Beige

- MAC Studio Finish Concealer in NC35

- Maybelline Dream Mousse Concealer in Sand

- Bourjois Compact Powder in Miel Dore

- ELF Studio Blush in Tickled Pink

- Rimmel Sunshimmer Bronzer in Medium Matte 
- MAC MSF Smooth Merge

Eyes:

- Benefit Stay Don't Stray Primer

- MAC Beauty Marked (wet)

- 28 Neutral Palette (highlight/blending)

- Maybelline Falsies Mascara

- Rimmel Soft Kohl Eyeliner in Black

- Rimmel Professional Eyebrow Pencil in Hazel

- Aiku Maikawa Lashes 910

Lips:

- L'Oreal GlamShine in Coral Strass

 And to all of you geek-lovers & Mark Ronson lovers..

He world premiered his next single, "Record Collection" to us and it is a brilliant song - keep your eyes and ears peeled for that! :)

<3yu