Mascara. I find reviewing it extremely difficult, because it can be a real “Marmite” product.

Lets start with the brush – some people love a plastic comb, some love a traditional “spoolie” brush. Thats before we even think about the ”new generation” of wands which are a hybrid of the two… and what about shape? Straight? Curved? “Spoon shaped”? S Shaped? A spiky torture ball?

Then there’s the formula – some love a wetter more runny consistency, while some like a thicker consistenct of product.

Also, every one seems to love a different effect with their mazzy – some like length, others volume, some want curl, some want all three. Some like a bit of a clumping fake effect, others are all about the natural look.

It’s a jungle!

One of my all time personal favourites is YSL Faux Cils. As with every single product on the market though, it’s not perfect – one of the most common criticisms of the product is that it dries up pretty quick – I’ve always found that 3-4 months is the longest I can get out of a tube, and at £21.50 a throw, it’s an expensive one to fall in love with.

This comes in 6 shades – Black, Brown, Sublime Grey, Violet, Burgundy and Blue. It was also recently released in the high pigment black version – “Noir Radical”.

In the past I have only ever bought the normal Black version – I first picked it up for my wedding day (my love of the mascara outlasted the love of the now ex-husband…) and repurchased several times. I then started blogging and testing out lots of other mascaras. But recently I felt like treating myself and this was calling me. I decided to try the new Noir Radical version – after all, a mascara can never be too black really for my tastes.

The packaging and wand are all the same as I remember…

The wand is my favourite type of all – a traditional large, but not too large full brush. It also still has that familiar rose scent to it, which I personally really like – some obviously will hate it though!

It’s the type of mascara you can tell you are wearing – its quite dramatic, but I love that – having paid nearly £22 for it, I want it to stand out!

So far so good hey?

But the title of this post kinda gives away the fact that something aint quite right with this mascara.

I’d heard rumours of this transferring and running, but I hadn’t noticed any problems… until now.
Consisently this week I have been driving home from work and glanced in the rear view mirror to see a member of Kiss looking back at me.

Ok… slight exaggeration, but there’s definitely a problem here…

See that smudgy dark stuff under my eye? That’s not actually supposed to be there. I haven’t even been rubbing my eyes, crying, sneezing or any of the other stuff I’d expect to cause mascara to run…

Another problem with the mascara is that due to the vast amounts of black pigment in the formula, it’s very hard to remove. I use a balm type product at the moment to get this off. I’ll often remove it at night, and then on getting up the next morning will notice I have panda eyes after I finish in the shower. I mean I knew that an extreme black mascara was going to be very pigmented, but really? A day later and still there?

The bottom line is though, that I still love this mascara in general. I’ll be buying another tube in the future, but this is where me and Noir Radical part company. I’ll be sticking to the regular Black version from now on!

Oooh – this time of year is a yet another excuse to indulge in window shopping for myself, as I’m often asked what I’d like St Nick to drop down the chimney for me… This Saturday I happened to be near a perfume counter and identified a few scents I am now obsessing over…

StellaNude from Stella McCartney;

Heart Notes – White Peony, Pink Pepper
Top Notes – Moroccan Rose, Grapefruit
Base Notes – Precious vanilla and Grey Amber
(OK – Am I an idiot or is Amber a stone? How can a stone have a scent?)

A floral scent, which comes in a lovely bottle, and also one of the few I’ve tested where the top notes lasted well on me – I love fresh citrussy scents, but they are volatile and therefore usually very short lived. This one managed to smell fresh and floral, yet very feminine on me at the same time – I love it!

YSL Parisienne


This one is definitely not my normal type as it is a “woody” scent, but nonetheless I love it – it reminds me of parma violets which for some reason makes me feel all misty eyed about my childhood…

Heart Notes – Violet (that explains the parma violet thing!)
Top Notes – Cranberry
Base Notes – Musk (again – I am not usually a musk fan, but for some reason this perfume really appeals!)

Marc Jacobs – LolaOK, I admit it – this has huge “dressing table appeal” – look at the pretty bottle!

It also smells lovely!

Heart Notes – Rose, Fuchsia, Peony, Geranium
Top Notes – Pink peppercorn, Pear, Ruby Red Grapefruit.
Base Notes – Vanilla, Warm Tonka Bean (!) and Creamy Musk

What fragrances are you lemming right now? I need to sniff! Christmas is the one time I get a “proper” perfume (ie, not one from the body shop etc)

MizzWorthy xxx

I have to say, since I started blogging and trying different products, for me, the whole “MAC=amazing” idea that runs through so much of the blogosphere no longer rings true. Now I’m not saying MAC isn’t a great brand, it is, but their LE collections have failed to inspire me for a LONG time – the last few months have seen a dirge (in my opinion!) of badly pigmented and disappointing products. The last collection that inspired me in any way was BBR. Outstanding MSF’s and fab brushes (although in a way, I find the LE brush thing annoying too – why do you do that to us MAC? Why!?).When I first saw the images and products of the Style Black collection, I have to say, I felt the old interest in MAC stirring again, and I was so excited to have a look at the collection. I was sadly really really disappointed. I got to my local MAC counter on LAUNCH DAY to find that all the eyeshadows were already crumbling and smashed up in the containers. This did not bode well. The one intact shadow swatched well, but I personally found it too glittery – the one shade I was really interested in was the Gilt by Association (sadly the sample was smashed to smithereens), and I may still purchase this one, as it appeals to me for the Christmas season, and looks like it would make a wicked smokey eye over a black base.

I love the look of the black lipsticks, but I am aware that I would probably look ridiculous in them – I am too pale to carry them off (with the possible exception of night violet) and this does make me sad – I’m all for trying out unusual looks, and I’m definitely having fond memories of my teen goth phase, but wearing black lippie when you are 16 (or in a studio with the benefit of amazing lighting and a computer airbrush) is very different to wearing it in your thities (especially when you have as little confidence in your looks as me)(*sob*).I’m definitely more open to the dark purple and red lipsticks which are a massive part of this trend.

Mooching about the beauty hall following this disappointment, I realised that there are actually a LOT of other collections which meant I could still indulge in this trend… Chanel, YSL and NARS all have suitable products to rock this look…

My interest was definitely massive in the Chanel Noirs Obscures collection.

This darkly decadent collection features a couple of dark lipsticks – both very tempting, and some very very nice dark nail varnishes, as well as a new mascara (“The Chanel Mascara”). The products I picked up were the eye palette (£37) and the lipgloss (I think it was around£15?)…

The colours are a little difficult to see but this is basically a palette of colours with very dark undertones – there is a purple, a green, a blue and a brown. The gloss is a black see through base with golden shimmer (Sounds similar to bling black?)

Swatching the shadows on their own makes them look pretty indestinct…

However, over a black base their individual colours stand out much more;

The lipgloss is very subtle – the picture makes it look much more subtle than it is in real life…

On its own the gloss deepens the natural lipcolour. It would look great over the (in my case) dreaded nude shades too…

Illamasqua is ALWAYS worth checking out for unusual and trend shades – they have many many dark shades which are bang on trend at the moment – their cream shadows make great bases and they do an augergine shade called debauch which would make a change from MAC’s blackground paintpot. I picked up their black concealer (shade 350). This is also available in the less pigmented undereye version – both make AMAZING eye shadow bases.

I also picked up a new shade by Urban Decay called Oil Slick. This looks like a black lipstick with silver shimmer…

But when worn it is much more subtle – although in this picture it looks like I applied it in the dark you get the idea!

Drugstore ranges are also well worth a look – Maybelline do a shade in their new Colour Sensation line called Galactic Mauve which looks great worn alone…

Top this off with a layer of Oil Slick by Urban Decay though and you have a perfect on shade and wearable combo..

I LOVE this combination – what do you think?

Other dark and moody collections worth looking at – YSL’s new rouge volupte and gloss volupte shades, as well as their new 5 colour eye palettes; Estee Lauder’s double wear cream shadow in midnight velvet, and the classic black honey sheer lipcolour from clinique… Any other suggestions?

Oh and by the way – Barry M do a cheap black lipstick that won’t leave a dent in your pocket once this trend passes!

MizzWorthy xxx

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

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 – time for another review, this was requested by pinkneuveau5…

I own two of these lipsticks after seeing a lot of rave reviews on blogs and you tube, I was also totally seduced by the divinely blingtastic packaging!

Forgive the extremely awful photo’s! They are slightly out of focus as I had to use my crappy camera – bf who usually takes my pics was out when I was wanting to do this, but hopefully you get the idea! They are packaged in gold tubes, which have little mirrors on the lids. The band around the middle shows the colour and has gold YSL lettering overlaid on it. They are so pretty to look at lol – they actually make you want to do your makeup in public!

I own these lipsticks in shades 2 (Blond Sensuel) which is a peachy nude colour, which I wear a lot for work or with a dramatic eye, and 7 (Rose Lingerie) which is a nude blue based pink, verging on a lavender type of shade – it can be described as similar to the colour of ballet slippers… it actually puts me in mind of those pics of Twiggy in the 60′s… Would look fab with a simple flicked black liner and loads of mascara!

Here are some swatches and pics -

In both pics, No2 is on the left and number 7 on the right…

The lipsticks have a very soft and creamy, buttery consistency, and feel very light on the lips (almost like a lip balm) – that means you have to take some care applying them so they stay in one piece – the consistancy is lovely but makes these little beauties vulnerable to damage! They are also extremely well pigmented for such a light formulation too – a lot of softer lippies seem to just add a translucent sheen to lips. My lips are quite pigmented themselves, but even the paler colours show up well on me, with no change in colour… this is a rare find for me as usually only matte formulas show well on me…

They do tend to stay on quite well too, probabaly around three to four hours, which is quite good for this type of softer formula, and they are lovely and moisturising on my lips which I find a big bonus at this time of year.

The only downside to these in my opinion is the price – these retail for just under £20 in the UK! Having said that, I would repurchase, and there are more shades I would like to aquire from the range…

Makup alley reviewers also rated these highly, with 80-100% of reviewers stating that they would repurchase…

Hope this helps!

Would love to hear any comments or views you guys have about this product too…

Love MizzWorthy xxx xxx