The 'Brush With Fashion' Makeover from Body Shop Review

THE BRUSH WITH FASHION MAKEOVER 

DISCOVER WHAT HAPPENS WHEN MAKE-UP MEETS STYLE

New from The Body Shop for Spring 2011 comes the limited edition ‘Brush with Fashion’ make-up. This fashion-forward, sustainable and cruelty-free collection has been developed in collaboration with the acclaimed London College of Fashion. 

Featuring covetable packaging designed by the celebrated college, a sensational catwalk inspired Spring palette is brought to life with Community Fair Trade ingredients. From vibrant pinks to sumptuous matte shades of chocolate and rose-tints, products come together with ease for stunning looks and make-up artistry.

Pieces include the Illuminating Face Base, gorgeous Hi-Shine Lip Treatment, an innovative Tailored Cheek Tint and essential Limited Collection for Eyes. All are paired with the award winning and convenient built-in cruelty-free brush for professional results.

Nikki Palmer, the make-up artist for ‘Brush with Fashion’ and London College of Fashion alumna says, “In contrast to the minimalist, neutral shades of Autumn/Winter, Spring 2011 will be a celebration of brights, with no colour left unrepresented... It’s about creating a look that’s graphic and playful, with bold colours that can be mixed and matched.”

The collaboration with London College of Fashion is the first in an exciting series of partnerships with the world of fashion. Both pioneers share similar values and beliefs, combining ethical beauty and the address of sustainability issues through fashion education, research and consultancy.

On the unison, fashion designer and London College of Fashion graduate William Tempest comments, “I’ve long been a fan of The Body Shop pioneering ethical and environmental values and I know from first-hand experience that London College of Fashion has an inspirational, future friendly approach to fashion so I was delighted to hear that they’d joined forces.”

The new limited edition ‘Brush with Fashion’ collection is available in The Body Shop stores nationwide from Tuesday 15th February 2011. Prices for the collection range from RRP £2.00 to RRP £15.00.

Illuminating Face Base – Limited-Edition (RRP £14.00)

Add warmth to your complexion with the Illuminating Face Base in Shade 01: Apricot Glow. Simply twist the pack to push the product through the integrated brush, and then sweep across the face before foundation for added radiance. This beauty booster features moisturising Community Fair Trade marula oil plus apricot pigments, light diffusing pearls and mica to create a soft focus effect.

I love this product, I have tried brushing it onto my face prior to applying my foundation, this works very well but my preferred method of application is to mix a little bit of the product in with my foundation and then apply as normal.  It really does give a lovely dewy sheen to the skin, it also seems to blur the fine lines making them less obvious.

Tailored Cheek Tint – Limited Edition (RRP £10.00)

The Body Shop has long pioneered natural-looking stains with its innovative Lip and Cheek Stain. And now it offers a fresh, new twist on this make-up staple with the Tailored Cheek Tint in Shade 01: Hot Pink. Magically refresh your look with this clear gel that amazingly transforms into a rosy glow on contact with skin. Just squeeze the pack to push the formula through the bristles of the integrated brush and apply sparingly in sweeping motions across the apples of your cheeks, blending well. The Cheek Tint contains moisturising Community Fair Trade marula oil, brazil nut oil and apricot oil to care for skin.

This is a really clever product, it comes out of the tube as a clear gel but as soon as it touches the skin it turns a gorgeous shade of pink.  Now I found that the shade of pink you get depends on quite a few things.  First of all I tried this on my bare skin and then I tried it on top of my foundation, I got a different shade of pink on each occasion.  My daughter tried this and it went a slightly different colour on her too.  So I think the colour you end up with is dependant on the base colour you start with.  A word of warning though, you need to work pretty quick with this product as it dries quickly.  It's very similar to the Smashbox O Glow but half the price.

FYI this product was provided by PR

Vichy LiftActiv Derm Source Review

This is the second product that I have tried from Vichy recently.  I reviewed the Neovadiol GF Eye & Lip Contours and was very impressed with the results.  So when I was sent LiftActiv to try I just knew that I could expect some changes to my skin.  This range is aimed at more mature skin, so all you nubile 20 year olds with skin as tight as a drum need not read on any further, look away, there's nothing to see here.  (did you sense that huge hint of jealousy there).

What they say......   Vichy Liftactiv Derm Source, provides complete anti-wrinkle and firming action for the skin.  The exclusive formulation is enriched with Rhamnose 5%, a naturally derived active ingredient that is a driving force of epidermal skin cell and skin fibre renewal. Skin immediately feels lifted, smoothed and firmer, with a boost of radiance and a reduction of wrinkles.

Vichy scientists have identified the Derm Source as one of the most important layers of the skin, determining its youthfulness and vital connections. It has a powerful effect throughout the upper layers of the skin, and Vichy Liftactiv Derm Source targets this area to encourage the most effective anti-ageing effects.

What I say...... Initially this is a very unassuming cream, it's a nice texture, not too thick, no too thin, no overpowering fragrance and not over packaged.  Vichy obviously put all their money into their ingredients as after only 2 weeks of use I can certainly see a difference in my skin.  My areas of concern at the moment are my neck area and the nasolabial lines, I have predominantly used this cream in those areas.  I have to say I have noticed a definite difference in the look and texture on the skin on my neck, the fine 'necklace' lines have pretty much disappeared and the tone of the skin looks much improved.  The lines from nose to mouth also don't seem as obvious and I'm hoping that with continued use these will improve even more.  On the days that I have used this all over my face it makes a nice base for make up and on non make up days it leaves a nice healthy glow on the face.  I really don't have anything negative to say about this product apart from the fact that the packaging is very unexciting, but as I said previously all the money seems to be invested in the research and the ingredients.

If you would like more information about this product and other products in the range please visit Escentual.com

FYI this product was provided by PR

Shopping & Ranting

Hello lovelies, well as some of you know I have been suffering a bit this week with a tooth abscess, this combined with lack of sleep, too much work and life in general has not been very good for my mood.  On Monday I had the choice whether to work or not and because I was in quite a bit of pain I elected not to work and go and do a bit of shopping instead.

This may have been a big mistake, when I arrived at my chosen shopping centre after a 40 minute drive I was met with a 30 minute queue to get into the car park.  I was tired because of lack of sleep from tooth pain, I was starving as I had planned to eat on arrival and I was desperate for the loo.  I soon as I was parked I sprinted to the nearest ladies facilities, which happened to be in Debenhams, the only place in the shopping centre that has a MAC counter.

Now, a few weeks ago I read Bicky's blog and she did a FOTD using the 'Girl About Town' lipstick, I knew that I had to own this and so off I went to the MAC counter.  For once it seemed fairly quiet and I could see 2 sales assistants.  So I approached one of them and asked if I could have a look at the lipstick, she said 'they're over there' and pointed to the lipstick stand, I said 'well I know the name of the lipstick but I'm not exactly sure what it looks like as I have only seen it in a photograph', she said 'the names are on the bottom of the lipsticks', I said 'yes I know that but would you just be able to show me which one it is please' she replied 'I'm actually busy at the moment so you'll have to look yourself', (she was actually putting lipstick on another sales assistant) at that point I advised her that if she wanted to continue in her career as a sales assistant she may need to brush up on her customer service skills and then I flounced off.  I was absolutely fuming, I mean was this just me lacking in a bit of patience because I wasn't feeling too well, or is it that as a middle aged woman I have no right being at a MAC counter let alone trying to buy anything, or is it because some sales assistants just do not have the customer service skills that I expect.

After flouncing out of Debenhams I remembered how hungry I was so I made my way to Pret, I always go to Pret when I am in this shopping centre and I always have a Soya Latte and Porridge made with Soya milk.  So in I go starving and annoyed,  hubby went off to find a table and I headed to the counter with a chicken salad for him and I ordered 2 Soya latte's and the porridge, the sales assistant said 'you can't have porridge' I said 'why not', he said 'because it's after 10.30am' I replied 'well it's not as though you have to cook it is it, you just need to add milk to it' he said 'you still can't have it'.  At that point I almost turned into Michael Douglas in the film 'Falling Down' I ranted about how do they know what time people have their breakfast  and don't have big signs on the premises telling me I can have porridge and then tell me to my face that I can't have porridge, I told them where they could stick there porridge, their Latte and their salad and flounced out of there too.

By this time I was feeling like an over-tired child about to go into full temper tantrum mode.  After eventually having something to eat and drink and calming myself down I got on with the task in hand, which was to buy foundation.  Now a few weeks ago Stina did a hauling blog post about a free gift that Boots were offering when you purchased 2 Estee Lauder items.  Can you imagine how distraught I was when the sales assistant told me that the offer had now finished.  I didn't say anything but I think she took pity on my crestfallen expression and suddenly remembered that she still had a few gifts left and would happily let me have one if I purchased 2 products.

So I purchased my usual Double Wear Foundation in Pale Almond and in the absence of the 'Girl About Town' lipstick, I purchased the Signature lipstick in Brilliant Pink.

These are the goodies that I got for free, a full sized blusher compact containing blusher, bronzer and shimmer powder, a full sized lipstick in Tiger Eye, a mini Sumptuous mascara, a mini lip pencil in Spice and  3 skincare items.  If you can find a friendly sales assistant in your local Boots and you ask nicely I'm sure you'll find that this gift may still be available.

After a traumatic start to my shopping trip I went home happy with my purchases but very annoyed that I had reacted the way I had.

The moral of this story must be don't go shopping if you're tired, in pain, hungry or you're older than 25 and want to buy something from MAC.