Shu Uemura Hard Formula Eyebrow Pencil

Along side the Suqqu Liquid Brow Pen (review here), the Shu Uemura Hard 9 pencil is another brow product I absolutely adore. The pencil itself isn't particularly special or unique in my opinion - it is a brow pencil like any other - but their shades, though limited, are wonderfully versatile and will work for a wide range of people. Stone Gray is perfect for those with black hair like myself, and I love that I can create very full brows that never looks overwhelming or unnatural. I still rely on my Suqqu Brow Pen for smudge free brows in hot humid days - not that there are many in the UK - but this is an absolutely staple for the rest of the year.

Price: £15.50/4g

Ingredients: Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Stearic Acid, Cera Microcristallina / Microcrystalline Wax, Candelilla Cera / Candelilla Wax, Carnauba / Carnauba Wax , Rhus Succedanea / Rhus Succedanea Fruit Wax , Hydrogenated Coconut Oil, Hydrogenated Palm Kernel Oil, Hydrogenated Palm Oil [+/- May Contain: Mica, CI 77492, CI 77491, CI 77499 / Iron Oxides, CI 77891 / Titanium Dioxide]

Shu Uemura Face Powder Sheer in 7YR Light

Some beauty products are much harder to review than others, and, for me, one of the hardest of all is loose powders. I suffer from an oily T zone so the ideal powder product will instantly mattify whilst offering some sort of long lasting oil control over that area. Realistically speaking however, it would be naive of me to assume this can be achieved with merely one product, and because the results powders give - whether loose or pressed - depend so highly on which other base products they are used in conjunction with (primer, foundation or even moisturiser) I find it can be extremely difficult to judge some areas of its performance (ie oil control). Having said all that, I do rate Shu Uemura's Face Powder Sheer very highly, and, for what it's worth, I would absolutely recommend it to others. 7YR Light has a wonderfully smooth finely milled texture, doesn't cake up regardless of how much one applies, feels incredibly light on the skin and is genuinely translucent. Most importantly of all it doesn't make me look flat - which some powders are guilty of - and yet still manages to give a natural matte glow to my skin. A powder puff is also provided with the powder, and the overall packaging of the product is unoffensive and well thought out out; I much prefer the use of netting to holes in a plastic sifter. Price per gram wise, it is on the more expensive side, but I find a jar will last for more or less two years with daily use (not to mention the puff alone costs £5).

Price: £25.50/20g

Ingredients: Talc, Silica, Synthetic Fluorphlogopite, Dimthicone, Boron Nitride, Zinc Laurate, Alumina, Diphenyl Dimethicone / Vinyl Diphenyl Dimethicone / Silsesquioxane Crosspolymer, Dimethicone / Methicone Copolymer, Mineral Oil, Aluminum Dimyristate, Methicone, Phenoxyethanol, Methylparaben, Ethylparaben, Propylparaben, Isobutylparaben, Butylparaben [+/- May Contain: CI 77891, CI 77499, CI 77492, CI 77491]

Leighton Meester at the 2010 Teen Choice Awards

when Leighton Meester attended the 2010 Teen Choice Awards, she too had a pretty makeup look, created by none other than CoverGirl's celeb makeup artist Molly R. Stern.

Molly shares what products, and how she used them, to create this soft, feminine look...

for her face:

"i prepped Leighton's skin with Josie Marin Argan Oil Skin Primer and lightly moisturized with Sk-11 Facial Lift Emulsion. next, i sparingly used CoverGirl Clean Liquid Makeup.

for her eyes:

"we wanted a celestial glow with a smidge of an edge. so i first based her eye with NARS Cream Chadow in Corfu on the lid, then with Shu Uemura P Gold 94 over the top. i added a little silver sparkly glittery shadow from RMK, a treasure i found in japan, to the inside of the lid and under the outer edge of the eye. next, i lined the top of the lid at the lash line and under the eye with CoverGirl LiquiLineBlast Eyeliner in Blue Boom. for her lashes, 2 coats of CoverGirl LashBlast Fusion in Brown was the perfect finish."

on her cheeks:

"i used Kevin Aucoin Creamy Moist Glow in Nuelle and dusted YSL Touché Blush over the top. to set her look for the red carpet i dusted all over with La Mer Treatment Powder Foundation in Linen.

on her lips:

"i wanted a long lasting nude so i chose CoverGirl Oulast Lipstain in Nude Kiss on the lip with CoverGirl ShineBlast Lipgloss in Dazzle over top."

thanks Molly-- fabulous work!

xo

CEW UK Beauty Awards 2009

All of the CEW Beauty Award winners for 2009 The winners of CEW
(Cosmetic Executive Women’s network) UK Beauty Awards 2009 were
announced yesterday. Judged by over 400 CEW members, the awards were
given to products based on certain criteria like innovation and
excellence. 301 products were nominated and just 27 products were
selected as CEW winners for 2009. Why do we care so about these beauty