Selfridges throws these beauty events every two-three months, and they are well worth attending. Basically, you pay £10 for a ticket – this gets you a wristband entitling you to free drinks (alcoholic and non- alcoholic), a £10 voucher redeemable against ANY product from any range, and a goody bag at the end. As you enter the event, you’ll also be handed a list of the companies and what offers they have – often VERY good GWP’s to be had.

The goody bags can be a bit hit and miss – more often than not you’ll get a load of perfume testers, sometimes you might get a lipgloss or something – My mum got an especially good one last time, containing a mini Dior shadow quint. Sadly this time, my goody bag was filled with perfume samples, which I’ll undoubtedly sniff once then forget about… Oh well!

The theme for this night was Hollywood Glitz and Glam – a prize was given for the best dressed attendee apparently… unfortunately for me I was attending after a last minute swap to a late shift to accommodate a work colleague with a childcare issue. This meant that my plan to go home after my early shift and try to make myself look vaguely human fell by the wayside, and I ended up looking distinctly “thrown together” as indeed I was… It was clear that some of the attendees had gone to a lot of trouble,including fellow blogger Amy who was wearing an AMAZING vintage purple jacket (I believe she said it was a Rocha? I am a fashion imbecile though, so I might be wrong – Amy please feel free to correct me!), and had clearly made an effort with her makeup (she looked stunning). Unlike me, who slapped on a bit of foundation, blusher and mascara in the work loos…

I saved Illamasqua hauling til Saturday, as I knew I was attending the Masterclass event, but I did pick up some other stuff – onto the goods!

First up, I hit the RMK counter with gusto – I believe the offer was buy two items and get a lipgloss free, but I arrived late due to shift swapping, and so there was basically a big box of products that you could choose what you wanted from… I picked up three eye shadows and chose a free coloured mascara…

l-Jelly eye colour (cream shadow) in shade JE-01, Silver Gold Beige,
m – Powder shadow in shade SH-01, Shiny Brown Gold,
r-Cream shadow in JE-07 Chocolate.
Far Right, Mascara in “Deep Red”

Next up, I had a browse at the Laura Mercier – again, they had a GWP which enticed me as I have only ever used the tinted moisturiser from the range, which I really like (this and the Korres are my two favourite ones…). Regular readers may have realised that I have a bit of a thing for foundation, and I have noticed my skin becoming dryer as the weather grows colder, so I asked about their foundations… Now it must either be testament to the sales skills of the LM MUA, or a sign that I am an idiot, because I still bought a foundation after being advised/ insulted by her when she told me that my foundation was making me look “very dry”…
Hmm… I have a scary feeling it must be the latter. I also picked up some foundation sponges (the evangelical MUA was praising the high level of pigmentation in the foundation and preached about the “press and roll” method – she also advised that these can be used and re-used as they are machine washable… we’ll see!).

I have a feeling Laura Mercier may be second only to Bobbi Brown in the whole “our way is the only way to wear makeup” school of thought… The MUA also appeared to have taken advantage of the free pink fizzy wine as she clutched my hand in an earnest way and pressed the phone number of the counter on me to book in for a complimentary makeup lesson – “We’ll show you how to do your makeup properly!” (Thanks luv- I thought I didn’t realise I looked that bad actually!)

Anyway, I picked up their moisturising foundation, an undereye concealer and the sponges, and I got a free eyeshadow in the shade “Cognac” a lovely rich red toned brown…

I also went to the YSL counter where the lure of the lipsticks proved too much – I already have a couple of the Rouge Voluptes and couldn’t resist another one in the shade 26 (Peche Tendresse). I LOVE the formula of these lipstick and this one doesn’t disappoint – yes they need a lot of reapplication and are not the most hard-wearing formula, but I really don’t care lol – applying these is like a little treat each time.

I also picked up a Rouge Pure Shine (a formula I have never tried before) in shade 11 (Diamont Rose), a pretty pink nude shade with a silver shimmer. LOVE the packaging on these by the way! With my two purchases I recieved a GWP – I had a choice of two, and decided on this rather 80′s style velvet clutch…

Inside the clutch is a little palette containing two eyeshadows, a high-lighter, lipstick and lip-gloss…
Finally, after reading Natalia rave about the La Prairie foundation (which costs a jaw dropping £114) in this fab post I called in at the counter and asked for some samples, which they kindly gave me… I can’t wait to try this – in a way I’m hoping it doesn’t work for me, as I know I will end up buying it if it’s good lol!

Have you tried any of the stuff I have picked up? How did you find it?
MizzWorthy xxx

I finally decided it was time to have a play with the YSL palette I recently hauled – which you can see in my vid here – Here is the look I came up with…

Ok, so products used;

Face;
RMK Creamy foundation, applied and blended with Illamasqua foundation brush.
Illamasqua loose powder LP115, applied with Illamasqua powder brush
Illamasqua Bronzing duo applied with MAC109 brush
Illamasqua powder blush in Lover, applied with MAC109 brush.

I adore the RMK foundation – I find the whole concept of holy grail products debatable, as there are always new things to try etc, but its safe to say, this is a staple for me.
I’m also definitely finding that Illamasaqua’s powder blush in Lover is definitely getting more than its fair share of use – so versatile. It can be dusted on lightly as done here for a natural look, or built up for drama, and it seems to go well with a lot of different looks too.

Eyes;
MAC paintpot in painterly applied with ring fingers as base.
YSL 5 Colour harmony eye palette number 7 applied with various brushes…
NARS Himalayas single shadow as highlighter.
Clarins brow palette for brows
The Body Shop metallic eye definer pencil in Bronze applied to waterline.
Urban decay 24/7 eye definer in black to tightline.
L’Oreal Telescopic mascara in Carbon black

I’m pretty impressed with the palette too – the colours are well put together and the liner shadow is easy to use. They stayed the distance too, lasting through a full days shopping and coffee meet up with my darling mummy.

I broke out the L’Oreal telescopic mascara as a bit of a change from Rimmel Sexy Curves – first impressions are good – its a ery lengthening rather than volumising mascara, and very impressed with the lack of clumping.

The Body Shop eye liner is a lovely shade and definitely looks metallic – wore reasonably well, about 3-4 hours before a touch up was required.

The Clarins brow palette is very good, and I think worthy of its own review!

Lips;
Rouge Bunny Rouge sheer lipstick in Fluttering Sighs.

I LOVE this lipstick – the whole RBR range is expensive yet, but do you know what? I really think it’s worth every penny. I’m really pleased that Zuneta are increasing the numbers of shades they are carrying from this range.

Hope you liked my FOTD, and mini-reviews along the way!

MizzWorthy xxx

RMK Creamy Foundation

In consistency, this foundation is similar to whipped cream – i.e. its thicker than a liquid, however it’s not as solid as a mouse type foundation. I find one scoop using the spatula is more than adequate to cover my face, and I have been applying with my flat illamasqua foundation brush (similar to a MAC 190).

I have to say, this is one of the nicest foundations I’ve come across in a long time – it blends like a dream, and provides medium to full coverage. Without powder it gives the skin a lovely dewiness, and a glow, without looking oily, and when set with powder it still has a lovely glow, only less so (depending how heavy you go with the powder obviously!)

There is a fairly good colour range – but those with very dark and very pale skin may not be able to find a colour match. The range comes in yellow undertones and pinky undertones (but nowhere near as pink as MACs range…) – I purchased the shade 201, which is the palest pinky undertoned shade, and it’s a lovely match for me.

I would say this one is suitable for normal to drier skin types – those with oilier skin, or who prefer a matte finish might prefer a lighter/less moist formula – also some people might find it too high coverage in the summer, and it might loose points for some as it has no SPF (I personally don’t believe that the SPF in most cosmetics is worth a button anyway – you’d have to apply half a bottle to get the level of protection they promise!)

For me though, this is worth every penny, and a definite re-purchase – love it!

Jemma Kidd Pro – “Skin Rescue Bio-Complex Veil” with SPF 15
I recently picked this up after watching a few reviews on you tube which piqued my interest in the brand – having loved her foundation brush number 10 I decided this had to be worth a try! That said, I almost choked as I handed over £31.31 for this at Space NK!

The product makes a lot of claims – “A revolutionary ‘all in one’ moisturiser, prep, primer, illuminator and tint. Age defying botanical complexes and active peptides protect and repair skin. SPF15 for Added protection”… Designed to be used under or instead of foundation either with a brush or fingers. Limited colour range – Pink and yellow undertones, but only a couple of shades for each one.

The packaging is nicely designed – a hybrid between a tube and a pump, so its hygienic to use. You get 35mls so slightly more than the standard 30mls…. As for the product itself, some days I think its amazing, other days I think its a just ok… On good skin days, this looks great on, and just evens out the skintone and gives you that “my own skin but better” look… on bad skin days it doesn’t seem to do much as it is very low coverage alone.

The product feels nice on the skin, and has that “slippy” feel you only really get from silicone based products (dimethicone being the second ingredient listed!) – that’ll be why this is also recommended as a primer then!

I usually wear this with a light dusting of transclucent powder over the top, and it doesn’t “ball up” on the skin like some silicone based products I have tried, which is a bonus. It lasts reasonably well – about 5 hours or so while I’m at work.

Overall, this product hasn’t made a massive impression on me really, and I doubt I’d repurchase at this price… Would recommend this for people with good skin who want it look even better, but forget it for problem or oily skin types in my opinion.

Anyone else used either of these? Any recommendations on how I can work the Jemma Kidd product – at that price I’ll have to use it up lol!

MizzWorthy x

Well, I may be completely incorrect, but I think the bronzed look is often thought of as a look for those of us with slightly more colour in our cheeks that I do naturally… Well, I like a challenge so I decided to have a little play today with my bronzer, and some metallic shadows and try to create a bronzed look that works on the pale girl…

This is what I came up with…

Being off Work – a fabulous thing in itself!

Being paid – April was a “five week month”. Enough said really!

Being a lone beauty junkie – as mentioned above I’m going to the Selfridges event all on my Jack Jones tonight… I normally don’t like shopping with other people – for example I once went makeup shopping with my mum. This resulted in her having a dream that I would end up living like Miss Haversham just surrounded by makeup. She sent me a text while she was asleep which she had to translate for me the next day – which roughly translated as “stop buying makeup and get some savings behind you”. I also wouldn’t ever go makeup shopping with my BF as he just wouldn’t “get” it. But it would be nice to be able to go tonight with someone else who would enjoy it just as much as me…

Running out of makeup storage space…. Hmm, maybe my mum has a point lol!

My Jeremy Kyle addiction – the man is a condescending patronising gnome… but every time I am on a late shift I watch him. What is wrong with me?

Today’s Ugly Things.

Love MizzWorthy xxx

Hi Everyone!

Hope you are all well and getting lots of inspiration for my contest! I can’t tell you all how excited I am to see the entries, and the lovely Kelanjo has started the ball rolling by doing her entry! You can check her blog out at http://www.kelanjo.blogspot.com/

So while I’m waiting for all your entries to come in, I’ll continue with the usual blogging business of looks reviews and hauls. A few weeks ago, I blogged about a haul from the brand RMK, who are a sister brand of Kanebo – You can have a look at my haul here – http://mizzworthy.blogspot.com/2009/03/haul-rmk-nails-and-non-makeup-item-xxx.html

If you are anything like me, you will have heard a lot of sales pitches about makeup primers, and maybe even read a lot of information about what they are and what they do. In short makeup bases or primers are designed with the purpose of preparing the skin for makeup application, ie making the skin feel smoother, reducing the appearance of pores. I have also been told they are meant to protect the skin from foundation (thus reducing breakouts etc), and they are also supposed to help foundation wear longer…

Hi everyone,

Hope you are all ok – as promised here are some pics of my haul from RMK, my new nails and the one non makeup related item I bought! Me and my lovely mum went to the Trafford centre in Manchester, our first stop was Selfridges and we spied some lovely Cath Kidston stuff in there… For some reason I love really nice mugs and stuff, so when I spotted that they were only £4 each I deliberated over which one I should get, and finally decided on this one;

Tres Kitch, but I love it!

Next we travelled down to the cosmetics section, the best bit. This seemed to take forever as we walked past the concession area for “The White Company” (they sell candles and room spray, nice towels, pyjama’s, soaps etc, which are all – yes, you guessed it, White). My mum wanted “a quick look” but I swear she smelled every candle in the place before buying the first one she’d picked up lol. It was very nice though!

Finally we got to the cosmetics section – This was where I discovered the RMK stand – My mum wanted to get her HG moisturiser from Sheseido and while she was getting it, I was looking around and on the other side from the sheseido, was RMK. Hmm, I thought, I’ve never heard of this before! I looked closer and I realised that some of the colours were fab, so I started to play – the eye shadows, they have some really unusual colours and various finishes too – powder, liquid and cream, and I noticed sme great coloured blush too…

So in the end, the most friendly sales assistant I think I’ve ever met came over to see to us, she had this totally fab accent – a mixture of japanese and cockney! She told me a bit about the company when I said I hadn’t seen the brand before. RMK is apparently a sister company of Kanebo, which used to be fairly widely available in the UK, but for some reason is very hard to find now. Anyway, it used to be a favourite company of my Mum’s and they did some amazing skincare too, so I was very interested! (Not that it takes much to get me interested in makeup…)

Anyway, this company make three primers, one of which has won awards, and the foundations are top sellers in Japan, so I decided to try the primer as I have been consistantly unimpressed by all the primers I’ve tried… I also got a cream eye shadow in a soft brown colour with copper/bronze reflects. Next I got a powder shadow in a pewter grey colour, and I also picked up a limited ediction shadow duo from the spring collection. This one contains a lovely mid brown matte shadow, and a frosted pink with silver reflects. Both colours are nice on their own, but the SA explained that if you layer the pink over the brown it creates a third colour…

Here are the goodies in the packaging – everything comes in matte silver boxes with things like “choose me”, and “open up” embossed on them. As you can see I got a load of freebies too! A candle, Blusher brush and LOADS of samples!

Here is everything opened up – the cosmetics come in silver plastic casing, but the individual shadows can be made into palettes – my shadow duo was originally two shadows and I boutght the palette separately for£7. You can also see the primer there. It is really runny liquid, but so far I like it – it seems to actually make foundation last longer, and makes my skin feel really soft – at last, a foundation primer that does what it’s meant to!

Finally, I just wanted to show you all the samples I got too! She was soooo generous and basically gave me one or two of everything! I ended up with three foundations to try, three different types of primer and loads of skincare, including a cleansing oil, which I can’t wait to try!

Since making the haul yesterday, I have looked into the company a bit more, and at the moment it’s available in London and Manchester branches of Selfridges, but is not otherwise available outside of asia at the moment – but I think you can buy off the website – www.rmkrmk.com

Has anyone else tried any of their stuff?

Finally, we popped to Debenhams, where I got my nails done;

I was actually thinking of getting acrylics as I really fancied having some long nails for a while, even though I knew they’d wreak havoc with my natural nails. Luckily, at the Nails INC nail bar, they talked me into having calcium gels instead – AKA a three week manicure. This is basically a french manicure (but you can also get coloured ones too) sculpted from calcium enriched gel which sets hard. While it’s on, it’s meant to make the natural nails stronger and make them grow faster. It was expensive though – a whopping £50 to have them applied (my lovely mum treated me!), and it costs £20 to get them removed every 3 weeks too, so I’m not sure how long I can afford to keep them up!

I also got this kit for £20 at nails inc- It contains a buffer, topcoat and base coat/ridge filler and a nail oil pen. Buying all these thigs individually would have cost about £40, so it was quite a bargain!

Hope you all like this – let me know if any of you have used any RMK before though, and what you all thought of it!

Oh yeah! I nearly forgo I got my back up of Pink Fish too! I wont post a pic of that becaus the entire world knows what it looks like now lol!

Love MizzWorthy

xxx

Hi everyone,

First of all a quick apology for my lack of blogging lately – I do my best but I’ve been cream crackered lately due to shift work and viral illness, so I’ve barely been able to do much else apart from veg-ing in front of the tv after work for the past couple of weeks…

Anyway, I’ll try harder to do more!

So today, I went on a little shopping trip to the Trafford Centre in Manchester with my Mum. As you may know I already bought the notorious ‘pink fish’ tinted lip conditioner from the MAC HK collection. I can’t pin down what it is about this product, I mean after all its a pink lip balm at the end of the day, but I really love it! I actually already have a TLC in ‘petting pink’ from the permanent line which I found to be a bit ‘meh’, and you couldn’t tell I was wearing it at all. Pink fish is so much better than that. It’s definately not something I would wear for a big night out, but for work its perfect and it also does actually condition the lips. It smells better than the regular one I have too…

So, to cut a long story short… I ended up buying a back up today in Selfridges!

I have NEVER EVER bought a back up of anything before, so I was very surprised to find myself doung this lol…

But I want to know if any of you lovely people do this ever? What did you back up on and why? Alternatively, do you think I totally got sucked in and I’m a silly lady?!

All opinions welcome!

Love MizzWorthy xxx

PS – I have also been a-haulin’ from RMK (Sister brand to kanebo, only available at selfridges in London and Trafford Centre – anyone else used any of this?), and I’ll be doing a nice post tomorrow as well as a video!