Inside Natasha Hamilton makeup bag
Natasha Hamilton shot to fame as part of British girl band Atomic Kitten. The singer is now working on her solo career and has also opened a restaurant called Hamilton’s in Liverpool. Here are the beauty products she can’t live without:
VERA WONG THE FRAGRANCE (£50.00)
A modern, floral bouquet that features notes of Bulgarian rose, calla lily, mandarin flower, gardenia, lotus, iris, white stephanotis, musks, white woods, and precious floral nectar. Natasha says: “I bought it last year when I got married because I read in a bridal magazine you should get a new wedding scent to always remind you of that day. Now, it teleports me back to my wedding morning.”
BOURJOIS VOLUME CLUBBING MASCARA (£7.95)
Double sided volumizing brush with product reservoir for a striking look. Natasha’s eyelashes are so fair that they are almost invisible so she always has mascara in her bag. She says that Volume Clubbing “has got a really thick wand but if you apply just one coat it’s fine and perfect for daytime. You can build it up later on and it doesn’t smudge or go bitty, it’s great for going from day to night.”
OPTREX EYEDEW SPARKLING EYE DROPS (£4.06)
Ideal for enhancing your eyes’ sparkle during the day, Eyedew Sparkling Eye Drops restore natural brightness to reveal beautiful, clear eyes. Natasha says these are essentials when she has a late night and an early shot as they make her look bright eyed instantly.
TIGI BED HEAD HEADBRUSH HAIR SPRAY (£13.05)
A lightweight aerosol supershine mist that gives hair a smooth and shiny look. Natasha says: “If my hair’s gone flat, this gives it a bit of oomph and a lovely shine. It smells great too.”
Inside Debra Stephenson makeup bag
Debra Stephenson is an English actress best known for playing Frankie Baldwin in the soap Coronation Street. Here are the beauty products the actress can’t live without:
REN MOROCCAN ROSE OTTO ULTRA NOURISHING BODY OIL (£31.25)
This ultra nourishing body oil restores glow, softness, elasticity and comfort to the skin. Debra says that a friend bought her this and now she is addicted cos it feels so silky and light on the skin.
BOURJOIS LITTLE ROUND POT EYESHADOW (£5.75)
A fine powder eyeshadow for luminous colour that comes in an great selection of colors. One of Debra’s fave is Gris Pailletté 92, a grey with silver shimmer, which is perfect for soft, smoky eyes.
TIMOTEI SOFTENING OATMILK & PEACH SHAMPOO & CONDITIONER (£2.33 each)
The shampoo gently cleanses hair, while the conditioner nourishes, leaving it soft and supple. Debra applies the conditioner and leaves it on overnight. She says it’s like a salon treatment without spending a fortune!
ESTEE LAUDER DOUBLE WEAR ZERO SMUDGE LENGTHENING MASCARA (£17.13)
The mascara is formulated to resist high temperatures and high humidity without flaking or smudging.
DERMALOGICA SKIN SOOTHING CREAM (£26.00)
A moisturizer that helps to maintain your skin’s moisture, smooth fine dehydration lines and relieving tightness.
Product Review: Bourjois Little Round Pot Blush
Name: Little Round Pot Blush
Brand: Bourjois
Size: 2.5g
Price: £6.25
From Bourjois’s website:
Softer and more velvety thanks to a new pearl effect and a skilful blend of pigments. The baked texture is transformed on the skin into a light ultra-fine pressed powder, that is easy to apply and blends impeccably. One stroke of the brush reveals the irresistable aroma of rose scented powder.
What I liked:
- beautiful shades
- very pigmented
- gives a beautiful and glowy flushed look
- long-lasting
- the price
What I didn’t like:
- it hardens
- the packaging
- the brush
Bourjois Little Round Pot Blush is available in 12 shades that have three different types of finishes: shimmery, matte and pearly. The shade I have is Rose D’Or, which is a beautiful true, rosy pink with golden shimmers that aren’t over the top.
The texture is nice and soft, although slightly gritty in some shades. It goes on smoothly and is easy to blend. The color is quite pigmented and you only need a little to get a nice flushed look. But you have to be careful when applying it, as it is very easy to go overboard with this. It has a lovely rose scent and lasts for most of the day. I rarely need to do any touch-ups.
Because the blush is baked and not pressed, it tends to harden after a while, but this problem can easily be resolved by removing the top layer with a toothbrush. That way, the blush is just as good as new.
The blushes come in a plastic, round domed shaped container. The color of the packaging matches that of the blush inside so it’s easy to identify the shade you want. The blush comes with a mirror and a brush, both of which are useless. The mirror is just too tiny. And while I like the curved shape of the brush, which fits the contour of your cheeks, the bristles are just too thin and too hard and they scratched my face a bit. And there isn’t a compartment for the brush, so it just sits on top of the blush.
Summary:
Overall, I really love this blush. It’s very pigmented and a little goes a long way. It gives my cheeks a beautiful flushed look that last almost all day. However, it hardens after a while and the inbuilt mirror and brush are useless.
Rating: 4/5
Disclaimer: the item was purchased by me for both personal and review purposes. The review is based on my own personal and honest experience with the product. For more information, please see my disclaimer.My London Haul + Other Goodies
As I promised yesterday, here is my London haul. I bought a lot of products from drugstore brands like Gosh, Sleek and Barry M (I love their dazzle dusts and they’re a steal at £4.50 each). I’ve also finally bought my first mineral makeup foundation. Believe it or not, the mineral makeup craze hasn’t really reached Italy yet. Very few brands sell their mineral lines here and most of them can only be found in a few big cities. Luckily, things seem to be changing and MU is becoming more available everywhere, but it still a very slow process. Anyway, here’s what I bought:
Barry M Dazzle Dust in Aqua
Barry M Dazzle Dust in Lime
Barry M Dazzle Dust in Orange
Barry M Dazzle Dust in Yellow
Barry M Eyeliner pen in Kingfisher Blue
Barry M Glitter Dust in Aqua (I bought this by mistake. My boyfriend kept rushing me and I picked up the wrong pot. Unfortunately, I only realised the mistake when I got back home but, oh well, it’s still a beautiful color)
Benefit Erase Pasta no.1 fair
Bourjois Blush no.34 Rose D’Or
Eyeko Magic Liquid Eyeliner
Eyeko Strawberry Fat Balm
Gosh Effect Powder in Pineapple
Gosh Lipstick in Velvet Touch
Gosh Quattro Eyeshadow in Toucan
MAC Lipglass in Frozen Dream
Sleek Divine Chaos Eyeshadow palette
Sleek Eye Dust in Jet Set
Sleek Glo Face & Body Highlighter in Peach Shimmer
The Little Pink Tin SPF 15
The Body Shop Nature’s Minerals Foundation SPF25 shade 01
The Body Shop Nature’s Minerals Foundation brush
The SA at one of the Superdrugs shops I visited also gave me some samples of Kate Moss Velvet Hour fragrance. Overall, I’m really happy with my haul. I’ve bought most of the stuff I wanted but ecotools brushes. I couldn’t find them anywhere even though I thought I’d read somewhere that they were available in some Superdrugs and Tesco stores but the ones I visited didn’t have them.
Before I left for London, I received a package from Anastasia from Ball Of String. She said there was a 3 for 2 offer on dazzle dusts and offered to buy and ship stuff to me. I also got a Sleek palette, which I was really lemming after reading her raving review about it. Thanks a lot, Ana! Here’s what she sent me:
Barry M Dazzle Dust in Cherry Red
Barry M Dazzle Dust in Grey
Barry M Dazzle Dust in Ice Pink
Barry M Dazzle Dusts in Khaki
Barry M Dazzle Dusts in Pink Shimmer
Barry M Fine Glitter Dust in Black Purple
Sleek Divine Palette The Original
Finally, here are some stuff from my boyfriend:
Paul & Joe Disney Face Color B
Pupa Beauty Bijoux makeup kit
The Pupa palette was a Christmas present. Pupa is one of my fave brands and I’ve been using their palettes since I started wearing makeup in high school. They’re great quality and have the cutest packagings. The Paul & Joe face powder was a present for our 7th anniversary which was yesterday. I really wanted something from their Disney Collection but P&J isn’t available here so when we saw the collection at Harrods, he decided to buy me something from it. Wasn’t that sweet? There was a 50% sale on most P&J items as well as discounts on other brands but unfortunately I didn’t have enough money with me that day, so I couldn’t take advantage of the sales. I’m still kicking myself for it.
Inside Rachel Bilson makeup bag
Beautiful actress Rachel Bilson is best known for her role as Summer Roberts in The O.C. She has also just launched her fashion line, Edie Rose, in collaboration with DKNY. Here are her fave beauty products:
ELIZABETH ARDEN 8 HOUR CREAM ($17)
The skincare classic that soothes, restores, calms and helps relieve chapped, cracked, dry skin. Soothes roughness, redness and minor skin irritations. Rachel loves this because it gives her skin a dewy look. She also never flies without it.
PAULA DORF CHEEK COLOUR ($20)
Gives you a soft translucent natural glow with extraordinary staying power.
WET N WILD EYELINER ($1)
This silky soft formula goes on smooth. Available in bold, vibrant colors, won’t smudge. Rachel said: “wet n wild eyeliner: it only costs $1 and it is the best”.
BENEFIT DANDELION (28$)
Dust on our soft, pink, perk-me-up powder for instant radiance and a youthful appearance. It’s the perfect shade of pink that brightens everyone’s complexion without looking powdery or chalky.
BOURJOIS VOLUME GLAMOUR ULTRA BLACK MASCARA ($13.50)
This mascara gives lashes the blackest black treatment with mineral pigments that provide truly intense color while the full roller brush adds volume.
BOBBI BROWN SHIMMER BRICK in Bronze (38$)
This shimmering, brush-on powder creates a deep, bronzy glow.