Please don't think I'm throwing shade at By Terry from the title of this post. On the contrary. Everyone knows that the By Terry Ombre Blackstars are the creme de la creme when it comes to eyeshadow sticks and I concur, but I'm rather bored of hearing about them. There's only so many times you can read the words 'holy-grail' before your interest wanes, purely because one particular product is overdone. There's a plethora of eye crayons I rate that hit the high-end, mid-range and affordable markets, so I thought I'd plunge them into the limelight for a change.
Despite Topshop's makeup range getting so much praise since it was first launched, there's only a handful of products I've tried from the line. No matter how hard I try, I can't shake the unfair preconception that a clothing brand's beauty offerings just can't match up to one that solely focuses on makeup. I know, I know. Finally, after trying a couple of the Topshop Nude Eye Contour Creams, I think I may have overcome my negative expectations.
Clinique have got the whole, easy-peasy, amateur-friendly makeup range down, don't they? Setting the trends with their Chubby Stick line, they've certainly helped me to cut minutes off my makeup routine in recent years. I love their original lip balms and their more recently released blush, contour and highlight sticks. Today though, I want to focus on the cream eyeshadows. The Clinique Chubby Stick Shadow Tints For Eyes are what I've been wearing non-stop, recently, rotating between the four shades that now seem to be a permanent fixture in my makeup bag.
Bourjois is rapidly becoming one of my favourite high-street brands, thanks to a succession of very successful hauls. So, when I saw the release of the Bourjois Colorband Eyeshadow & Liner Sticks, I couldn't wait to get my hands on them. With the summer fast approaching, I'm already thinking ahead to makeup looks and I'm all about cream formulas when the weather starts to heat up. With the hope that these shadow sticks would be the perfect addition to my holiday, makeup bag, I picked up three of the six shades on offer.
In the beauty world, some products come and go without much of a buzz, whilst others rocket up to cult-favourite, must-have status, in days. I don't always like to give in to the hype, at least straight away, and let it settle before I take the plunge and make a purchase, to see if the commotion dies down or remains strong. With the constant influx of new products, if a certain product remains in the limelight, then that's an indicator that it's something pretty special. So I thought that I'd give you the low-down on which products I think are deserving of the hype surrounding them.
With Spring and Summer in mind, I picked up these & Other Stories Total Tint Sticks after spotting them in & Other Stories. Yes, as soon as miserable January hits us, all I'm thinking of is the warmer months! These versatile, multi-use, creamy sticks of colour can be used on the eyes, cheeks, lips and the whole body. They're perfect for a quick slick of colour on rushed mornings, or to add a highlight to the face or body.
If you can't wear a bit of sparkle around Christmas time, then when can you? I, for one, like to add some shimmer and glitter to my eyes all year round, and I have a selection of trusty favourites that I thought I'd share with you.
I'm all for spending hours in front of the mirror experimenting with makeup and precisely applying that perfect eyeliner flick, contour and bold lip. Realistically, though, that only happens once in a blue moon and, on a daily basis, I need products that will give me drama and a professional-looking finish in a fraction of that time. For a speedy, yet stunning, eye look, cream eyeshadow sticks are perfect and none can top the Laura Mercier Caviar Stick Eye Colours.
Eye makeup becomes a lot richer and less precisely applied in autumn. Smudging jewel-tones and metallics all around the eyes gives a sexy, lived-in look, that can be achieved in a flash.
Summer is finally here and it's time to mix things up beauty-wise. To make the transition from Spring to Summer, there's a few makeup trends that I intend to incorporate into my look, including natural-looking, glowing skin and a bright lip.
I'm a bit late with my favourites once again this month, so I hope you guys aren't too bored of these posts just yet! I seem to have been craaaazy busy lately, so I've been reaching for products that have done a great job, quickly but effectively.
When I'm after a dramatic eye look, but I'm short on time, I like to use a cream shadow. Some of the best I've tried are the Laura Mercier Metallic Creme Eye Colours, which achieve really high impact in a super speedy application!
