Christmas beauty purchases in London and sneak peek of future reviews

Last week I was sent to London for work for the whole week, I couldn’t be happier ! I had the opportunity to meet Dena for the second time and also make a lot of Christmas purchases, some of them insanely cute, some also insanely expensive !  I will be reviewing most of them in the near future, I added swatches for some of them but I’ll add more when the products will be reviewed.

Shopping before Christmas can be extremely upsetting because every where you go it’s awfully busy ! at least you get some benefits, many departments stores were having special “before-Christmas” day sales and wherever I purchased, Liberty, Harrods, Selfridges, House of Fraser, John Lewis, etc… I was always getting at least 10% discount and nice gifts with purchases.

So, let’s start with a brief overview of what piqued my interest…

First of all, the cutest of all purchases, can you guess what it is ?

It’s the best advent calendar ever ! I was browsing the beauty counter in Selfridges London with Dena and I literally went crazy when I saw this ! there was no way I would get out of there without it !

It’s so fun to get up in the morning and open the corresponding window !!! Nobody, ever, could get as excited as I am about it 😛 I am such a child !!!

La Prairie Skin Caviar Concealer foundation and Cellular Treatment bronzing powder

When I saw this bronzer for the first time in Geneva it seemed too shiny and unnatural but when I tried it in London I liked it, depending on the application it can really deliver a healthy glow. It will be reviewed later on.

This La Prairie foundation was a huge shopping topic during my trip. I could not find a good match for me, the first time I had it applied on my skin I did not like it, but after 3 hours of wear it turned to be flattering, I noticed that it was revealing a beautiful, healthy skin and that it the reason why I got it. I still struggle to master the correct technique to apply it but I’ll get there.

This week I tried it several times, one day I even had to take it off since it looked like a thick mask, today I tried a different application method, with the Koyudo BP013 and it worked well, most of the people I know apply it with their fingertips which is a nice way to do it, but I don’t like it for me.

Foundation application is a very tricky thing, you may think that a similar application technique would work for most foundations but this is sometimes wrong. It’s a bit like driving, the more you drive, the less attention and care you tend to pay to what you do and how you do it, always consider changing, updating or adapting your habits in order to get a product work best for you !

Skincare

Unfortunately today I have huge wrinkles on the forehead and also fine lines and I realized recently that this was making me a bit sad… I even started to think about doing something more drastic but I am a bit scared of needles to say the least, I’ll try to avoid it.

Dena told me about the Murad serum so one evening I went to the Murad counter and they applied a few of their products on my face, eyes and lips, went back to my room and a few hours later I could already notice that my skin was feeling more plumped and that something was actually working nicely and acting on my deep wrinkles. Right now I am testing the Murad serum (Intensive Wrinkle Reducer (face and eyes) and the Soothing Skin and lip care balm. I will keep you updated but so far so good, I can see a clear improvement although it has to carry on improving otherwise it will not be worth its price tag.

In a few weeks I will try some Suqqu products and some other skincare. I need to pay more attention to my skin and to my wrinkles, that’s a bit depressing… 😛

I use Bobbi Brown long-lasting makeup remover for the eyes on a daily basis but I am now testing Shu Uemura cleansers in the evening to remove the rest of my makeup, my skin feels good but it’s a little bit more time consuming than just using the Bioderma water.

Shu Uemura brushes

I had the #12 and wanted the #10, but I ended with a few more !!!  I will make an in depth review of these.

RMK brushes

I initially wanted the cheek (full squirrel) brush but every time I asked for it it was sold out. This time it was there waiting for me and it has now joined my RMK brush collection !

On the top the squirrel/goat, at the bottom the full squirrel one.

The blended one (goat/squirrel) has the S engraved at the bottom.

Suqqu brushes

Some years ago, somebody told me that my Suqqu brush had to be the M one because the S was long discontinued and that it would be very unlikely that I had it, so I supposed the one I had in my collection was the M.
I still wasn’t convinced so this time I took my own Suqqu brush to the Suqqu counter and they confirmed that my brush was actually the rare and discontinued “S”.

The good news is that I have the S, the bad news is that in all my past posts I always pictured my “S” brush to be the “M” 🙁  not good !!!

Top : S, Bottom : M

Suqqu palettes

You know I love Suqqu makeup and I am heart and soul devoted to this brand, I got the two holiday sets with the cute packaging, white-silver for one and white-gold for the other.

On the top row, the palettes from the two holiday sets
On the bottom-left, the Christmas palette exclusive to Selfridges EX-08 Hanamari (well, I heard it was exclusive to Selfridges but I will give you more details shortly)
The blushes are the two gradation cheeks from Fall 2012.

I also picked up a few lipsticks that I am using on a daily basis now.

RMK makeup

I could spend hours at the RMK counter, discovering their products, unfortunately it was really busy so that wasn’t easy at all.  I got a few things, including the Christmas 2012 set. The last day I bought my first two matte blushes from RMK, the MT-05 and the MT-04, I am wearing the MT-04 today and it’s one of my new favorites.
I saw the MT-08 (that is a shading/contour blush) and I wanted it so badly. I have already ordered it and I will review this matte range when I get it.

The RMK Christmas set included a big palette with eyeshadows and blushes, a mascara and a lipstick, it’s a nice to have palette if you like RMK, but definitely not a must-have, the best thing about it is that you can remove the pans inside and fill them with any other RMK makeup. Sorry I had a little accident with the white highlighter pan…

Mix for Eyes 09

I wanted to try the RMK Separate curl mascara and there was a small size one included in the Christmas set I bought.

I am seriously looking for an HG mascara so I also got the Extra Deep W mascara. Both RMK mascaras perform well, the separate curl makes my lashes look longer and holds better the curl, the Extra Deep makes them appear slightly thicker but slightly less curled and less long.   I am deeply loving both but I prefer the separate curl.

Have you tried their RMK waterproof pencil eyeliners ? I got the brown one, it lasts all day and it has a fantastic texture, I will shortly compare it to the Addiction.

Shu Uemura palettes

If you are looking for Shu palettes and don’t see the testers, you have to ask them, sometimes they don’t have the testers but they still have the palette in stock, this is how I found most of the palettes I was looking for. I am loving all of them, my favorite is the Raspberry & Mocha (top-right)

Burberry

John Lewis had a GWP when you purchased 3 items, I wanted the two eyeshadows pictured here (Chestnut and Antique Rose). I got the third item and received a full size cleanser, a beauty bag and a mini lipstick.
The lip liner is amazing ! I am in love with it, it’s the 02 Dusty Rose, creamy but not too much, precise and when you fill your lips with it it’s evenly applied and very comfortable, the problem is that it’s not that long-lasting but I am ready to live with it. I mix it with Suqqu creamy lipsticks and it’s just the most stunning combination I have, flattering and beautiful.

Swatch of Burberry Dusty Rose 02

Liz Earle

I wanted to try their blushes, I am loving Nectar and Rose, not very convinced of their lasting power but I’ll double check that soon.

Nectar and Rose

Illasmasqua

I wasn’t sure about this blush in shade Sophie, you can see many sparkles and I am always afraid that they will show but it turns up to be very wearable and I love it, a very nice surprise.

Chantecaille

This is an item I wanted to see in person before I purchased it and when I saw it, I had to have it. It was either this one or the new Guerlain Wulong, the Chantecaille wins for me, Guerlain is more dupeable than this Chantecaille, although I am pretty sure that the Guerlain packaging feels more solid than this one.

Becca

I always pay a visit to Becca in Fenwick, they have a few new palettes but I wasn’t very impressed with the shades.

I grabbed this Galactica for a review and because it’s the one that I am most likely to use. They are very wearable smokey shades but of course on the other hand, not very luminous 🙂

Sleek

I also always check out this brand when I am in London, I found this palette that had interesting pans. The black and bordeaux are really pigmented and of very good quality, totally worth it.

Inglot

My visit to the Inglot shop was short, I have just picked 4 eyeshadows and a palette to put all my other Inglot pans together.
Maybe next time I will take another empty palette to put my Nars depotted duos, it’s not exactly the same size but they fit.

One recommendation that I can give you if you are looking for a good Inglot matte eyeshadow and you are undecided, then swatch them on your fingertips and compare them side by side, you will notice a clear difference between the matte textures, some are more powdery and chalky than others and that’s a good way to find out which ones are the best.

Same thing applies to the other textures, some shadows are better than others, when you swatch them together you will be able to detect which ones are best and that’s how I selected mine.

These are my new ones (if you are interested, let me know and I will check out the numbers for you)

Tom Ford

I got the brow pencil in Chestnut, easy and fast to use, that’s what I love about it.

Miscellaneous
Occasionally I like to wear false lashes but the application is a nightmare if you are not used to do it. I got these two tools to try them (Shu Uemura and Bourgeois).
The Bobbi Brown bottle that you see here is the brush Cleaning Spray, I tried it with my eyeliner brushes and it works like magic. I will use it for that purpose, I apply eyeliner on a daily basis and this allows me to spot clean my brushes very quickly.  I think I will also use it with foundation brushes or cream blush brushes.

Another mandatory visit is to the acrylic counter at the bottom floor of Selfridges, they have great organizers and this is their new one with drawers that you can either use vertically or horizontally, excellent idea.

Some of these items will be reviewed in the near future, I need some time to try them properly and give you more details and a more precise opinion.

I hope it gave you some ideas for Christmas presents, speaking about Christmas presents, please come back tomorrow since I will be posting a small giveaway 🙂