Stunning mineral illuminating powders with pearl powder and diamonds...

This post is actually part two of the Haul.

I wasn't planning on getting Laura Mercier's mineral illuminating powders - I didn't even know about them, to be honest - but once I'd tried them, I had to get them. There are two colours to choose from and I first got Starlight. Then I went back and got Candlelight, too. I adore these!

Starlight (L) and Candlelight (R)

Starlight is the lighter shade and it's described as a 'golden nude' on their website. It has a beautiful, soft shimmer that's supposed to give a natural, healthy glow. The ingredients are really glam: pearl powder, diamonds, emeralds and other precious / semi-precious stones!

It's definitely not for using all over the face but it's pretty as a highlighter. If you look at the swatches below, you'll see that Starlight is the most subtle because it blends in better with my skintone. MAC pigment Naked is rather pink and Vanilla is very white with a strong and visible sheen.

(from L to R) Starlight, MAC pigment Naked, MAC pigment Vanilla

In daylight (no direct sunlight)

In sunlight - sparkles are visible

In artificial light - also sparkly

Candlelight is more of a pink tone. It would add a nice bit of colour and shimmer to a beauty powder or light blush on the cheeks. It might even work as a blush on its own but I haven't tried that yet. Or as eyeshadow, actually. These powders are basically like MAC's pigments.

I swatched Candlelight alongside some random colours on a different day in different lighting (still outside). Candlelight ended up in the middle. Naked pigment is on the left and Soft and Gentle Mineralize Skinfinish on the right.

L to R: MAC pigment Naked, Candlelight, Soft and Gentle MSF

The one last thing that I got is the new Secret Finish - Mattifying. It comes in a small tube and the consistency is slightly strange; it's described as a liquid-gel that instantly absorbs excess oil and removes shine for hours. It's primarily for touch-ups.

I've only used this once so far but noticed that you have to be careful with the application. Don't try to rub the product in because that will 'push' the make-up around and possibly 'dilute' it. Better to spread it out on the back of your hand first, then just tap it into the skin. 

Whew. I think that's enough Laura Mercier for a while. Coming soon is MAC - the new collections that I wrote about in my wishlist. Yay! 

Haul: Aveda, Laura Mercier, OPI

My husband didn't change his mind, of course, so I had to return his shirts today. Got that money back - and headed straight for the beauty department. Here is what I got - and I'm keeping everything.

Aveda

I got bath salts called Soothing Aqua Therapy. It's supposed to refresh, hydrate and relax. I've never tried any bath products from Aveda before so this will be interesting. I also got samples (yay!) of their smooth infusion shampoo and conditioner. 

OPI

I got their nail and cuticle replenishing oil. I've been using this on and off for years. Apply to cuticles at night before you go to bed and you will wake up with nicer looking nails. Mine look absolutely terrible at the moment. 

Laura Mercier

I think Laura Mercier does great powders so I picked up a couple of those and a brow definer. 

First, the brow definer. It is a wax/gel in a pot, applied with a brush, that keeps hairs in place. It comes in three colours and I got it in Fair, the lightest colour.

It's not as dark as it looks in the first photo. Here's another pic, taken outside. 

Now for the swatch.  

After taking the picture on the left (below), I thought I was done so I started to rub it off. Then I noticed that I couldn't get it off. It had virtually stained my skin and it only came off with soap. Great for summer. 

The secret brightening powder is a very light powder made specifically to set concealer. This is an incredible powder, it's light, doesn't crease and is supposed to lighten the eye area with its tiny flecks of shimmer. In her book "Make-up Masterclass" (review coming soon) make-up artist Jemma Kidd lists her favourite loose powder as being this one.

It comes in two colours and I actually use #2, an off-white. But I wasn't concentrating (too busy looking at other products) and ended up with #1, which is very white. I can still use this so I won't bother returning it but don't you hate it when that happens? 

Anyway, the white one reminds me of MAC's Prep and Prime transparent finishing powder, except the MAC one is matte and Laura Mercier's is not. 

Secret brightening powder 2 and 1

What else... I got two mineral finishing powders. I won't go into that now. I tested it and wrote about it here.

There will be a separate post on the mineral illuminating powders because they are so amazing. 

Have you tried any of these products? 

Warehouse Summer trend alert!

We love it when you girls make an effort to look the part when attending our castings and we couldn’t help but notice the Summery twist on the basic model uniform while in Manchester last week. Our favourite looks spotted in the Style Studio were florals, pastels and pale denim, all bang on trend for this season and perfectly accessorised with Warehouse key pieces such as a gorgeous fringed bag...ideal for the festival season! Check out these highlights from the Manchester Style Studio and to start working on your Summer Wardrobe and to see the full image gallery go to http://www.warehouse.co.uk/

Elite model, EML 2009 Finalist (AND a native Mancunian!) Rachel shows us how to strike a pose, head to toe in Warehouse Summer must-haves!

When a Chanel goes missing

There's some bad news... but first always the good news. (Or do you usually prefer to hear the bad news first?)

It was a beautiful, sunny day for sitting outside and sipping a Bellini, my favourite cocktail. I always order a bottle of sparkling water, too. Perrier used to be my mineral water of choice but now I prefer San Pellegrino - the bubbles are 'softer'.

I had a risotto with white asparagus and Parmesan. Hm, *** out of five, I would say. I had to add a bit of salt and pepper. The best risotto I've ever had was in some tiny Italian village which I can't remember the name of. I went there two nights in a row.

Then.

I took my wallet out of my bag. I also looked and looked for my coin purse but could not find it anywhere. (It's not at home, either.) Coin purse - yeah, who cares, at least it wasn't the wallet that I lost, right? Well, not when that coin purse was a CHANEL coin purse! I haven't shed any tears yet but I am a teeny weeny bit... ok, gutted. It was a limited edition thing that matches a handbag (that I still have) so I can't replace it. I probably left it in a supermarket so the odds of finding it are zero-nil-minus.

Sigh.

Then! I went to buy my husband a 'present' (some shirts). I got the extra boring plain white shirt and the boring plain blue shirt. I got a bit excited (can you imagine? in the men's shirt department) when I spotted something slightly different: shirts with subtle blue stitching on the collar. I thought they would make a nice change. Because it must get so boring wearing the same 'look' every day - suit, shirt, tie.

But you know what? My husband does not like them at all. OMG how B-O-R-I-N-G! How ungrateful! I am never, ever buying him anything anymore (even when it's with his money).

I have to return them. But tell me - are they really that bad? 

ELITE MODEL LOOK HEADS SOUTH!

Another weekend...another casting for the EML team who will be in Southampton's West Quay centre on Saturday for our Southern England stop on the tour. 


Aspiring models will get the chance to get catwalk ready with the help of Toni&Guy and Eylure while the Warehouse Style Studio is the perfect place to practice those model poses and get expert advice from our own Elite models - whether you decide to brave the catwalk or not! For more information about what to expect on the day visit our website and looking forward to meeting you then! http://www.elitemodellook.co.uk/

The usual team will be joined this week by EML World Final runner up Emily Smith and the gorgeous Charlotte Benson who will be on hand with their catwalk tips!

WE ♥ 'I LOVE YOU'

This week's editorial crush.... ‘ I LOVE YOU’ Magazine.


The very lovely Kathi Kauder (Contributing Editor) and extremely talented photographer Sabrina Theissen stopped into Elite towers this week to take a look at the board and give us the insider info on on their upcoming projects.

I LOVE YOU is a magazine dedicated to inspiration, and it must be filling the streets with thousands of excited creatives as it just sold out its 3rd issue! And with a with a manifesto that announces 'women are beautiful... life is irregular... fashion is the display of change' we can see why it's the go-to title for in-the-know style seekers.


Look out for the next issue featuring our very own Leah De Wavrin, photographed by  Marcus Gaab and styled by Sarah Cobb - sneak previews right here! We're following the blog at http://iloveyoumagazine.blogspot.com and we think you should too.

I LOVE YOU MAGAZINE - THE MANIFESTO

WOMEN ARE BEAUTIFUL

WOMEN ARE SEXY

WOMEN ARE CLEVER AND INTELLIGENT

LIFE IS CHANGE. CHANGE IS GOOD.

FASHION IS THE DISPLAY OF CHANGE

LIFE IS IRREGULAR.

LIFE HAPPENS QUICKLY,

BUT NOT ALWAYS.

TODAY'S COMMUNICATION GETS FASTER

TODAY'S COMMUNICATION GETS

MORE PERSONAL.

FASHION HAPPENS EVERY MORNING.

THIS (MAGAZINE) IS TO HELP YOU

STAY INSPIRED.

...IS TO KEEP YOU INSPIRED AND LOVE YOU(RSELF)

Travel-friendly massage ball

It's such a pain when flights gets delayed. But once in a while it can be an opportunity in disguise. I was walking around the airport shops, bored, when suddenly I spotted one of these little reflexology balls. It's simply a ball with spikes, small enough to fit in the palm of your hand.

Unlike a lot of other massage props I've tried, this one is relatively hard and doesn't give way too much when you press on it. So the massage is effective, if you want it to be.

I liked it so much that I rushed back to get some more before my flight - another back-up for me and one for my mother.

Do you have any favourite massage products?

Exotic Kit Kat - Did you know?

I had absolutely no idea that Kit Kat (or Nestlé, I suppose) was so creative!

What got me started were these two "different" Japanese Kit Kats: potato of some sort and green tea. You would never think it but the potato one tastes better, I think.

I did some research and checked out their various international websites. Um that was interesting, sometimes just randomly clicking on the links in the hope of finding pictures.

Here it is, a map of regional Kit Kats around Japan! Can you find (my) potato Kit Kat?

From www.breaktown.com

Some other flavours around the world include:

cappuccino

cookies and cream

hazelnut cream

mint

orange

peanut butter 

tiramisu

white (strawberry)

How many of these Kit Kats have you tried?

My favourite for smooth skin: Origins body scrub

As the summer season approaches and we want our skin to look its best, here is a body exfoliator that I would like to recommend.

Origins Calm to Your Senses 

Lavender and Vanilla Body Smoother

It contains white and brown sugars to exfoliate and best of all, it also contains oils to moisturise so your skin doesn't dry out. Even after you get out of the bath/shower and towel off, your skin will be incredibly smooth. You will feel the difference! 

I tested it on my arm for photo purposes. The sugar doesn't dissolve too quickly so you get a really good scrub. It feels fantastic and can you see how my skin is shining in the photo below? That's the oil and it smells absolutely gorgeous.

The only downside is that it can leave your bathtub a bit oily. If you use it in the shower it's not noticeable.

I just bought another one - my third repeat purchase! - and I've also given it to friends and they've loved it.

The scrubs are available in other scents - like ginger, mint/rosemary - or if you like the Lavender and Vanilla they have a bath bar, a body cleanser and bath/body oil in the series. 

Have you ever tried these Origin scrubs? Let me know what you think!

MAC lip conditioners

When I did my post on favourite lip balms, I didn't include these ones. The MAC lip conditioners that I have are all tinted so for me, they're in the make-up category.

I have four, of which three came out with recent collections and are limited edition (or pro).

Dim, Feelin' good, Close for comfort, Fuchsia fix

Dim is technically a "lip erase lip balm" and not a lip conditioner. It's like a concealer for lips. I liked the idea and got it but to be honest, I forget to use it.

Feelin' good is a really pale pink that can look too blue and unattractive on some people. I use it at home, or when I'm feeling lazy, or to create low maintenance nude lips.

Close for comfort looks darker in the pot than it really is. The colour is more flattering than Feelin' good. It is a hint of coral-brown.

Fuchsia fix is permanent. This certainly has the strongest colour but when applied lightly, it just gives your lips a healthy glow.

They're definitely worth trying out.

Quote: A mouse tickling my bottom

My four-year old cannot sit still. On the one hand, I think it's great that he has so much energy. On the other hand, it's bloody annoying sometimes, having to repeat, "Sit still!", "Don't fidget!", "Calm down!"

So we're having dinner one night and he's fidgeting as usual. He flies the fork in the air like a plane and stands on his Stokke Tripp Trapp chair to make it fly higher.

"Sit down! On your bottom," I have to specify.

And out of nowhere, he gives me an excuse:

"But there was a mouse tickling my bottom!"

Sigh. Ok, at least he has a vivid imagination, I'll give him that much.

Update on t-zone oiliness: Laura Mercier powders

I'm trying to say good-bye to a shiny forehead so I've been testing two Laura Mercier powders that I got at the beginning of the month: the mineral finishing powder 1 and the loose setting powder in translucent.

I've tested two skincare+makeup combinations:

1.

Estée Lauder's Resilience Lift Extreme for dry skin

MAC's Studio Sculpt foundation

Laura Mercier's mineral finishing powder

2. 

Clinique's dramatically different moisturising gel only on the t-zone 

Resilience cream applied to rest of the face

MAC's Studio Sculpt foundation 

Laura Mercier's loose setting powder 

The results have been similar. And very positive. With #1 the shine on the forehead at lunchtime (4-5 hours after initial application) is controlled, I would say. It's definitely not matte, the way I like to have it, but it looks fine. Therefore if I used the oil-free gel and this mineral powder, I would get even better results.

One sunny day last week I was busy all day - doctor's appointment, lunch appointment, shopping - and didn't bother with touch-ups. Eight hours after first applying everything as per #2, I just used an oil-absorbing sheet on my forehead... and didn't even (need to) re-apply powder.

Conclusion

Basically, if I'm going to use a rich face cream all over, I need the mineral finishing powder because this controls sebum production. 

If I use two different skincare products - an oil-free product on the t-zone and a richer cream on the cheeks - then I can stick to the loose setting powder... but the mineral powder will be even more effective.

I like both powders but am undecided as to which one I should get a back-up of (!). You get a lot more for your money with the loose setting powder (29g vs 12g for the mineral powder!) so I am tempted to stick to this one. But the mineral finishing powder is so incredibly silky and fine, it's a dream!

Have you tried either of these powders?

Who knows Yogalosophy?

I read recently that Jennifer Aniston and Victoria Beckham keep in shape with Yogalosophy. As far as I understand, it's sort of yoga (not taken seriously) + toning exercises.

It sounds interesting but the DVD gets mixed reviews... like there's too much talking, there's no flow, the workouts are not diverse enough.

Is it worth getting? Has anyone tried it out yet?

EML's weekend in Manchester!

When the Elite Model Look team stepped off the train in Manchester we were overwhelmed...firstly by the scale of the Trafford Centre (absolute retail HEAVEN) and secondly by the incredibly high standard of potential models that applied over the two day casting. Thanks to Samsung Diva’s, Warehouse style inspiration in the Style Studio, Toni & Guy hair excellence and Eylure lashes, we left Manchester with ten fabulous winners who we literally can’t wait to see at the next stage of the contest!

L-R Olivia, J'nae, Amy, Sarah-Jane, Leah. Charlotte, Claire

Sinead

Lauren and Ashleigh

 If you can picture yourself on the EML catwalk or even just fancy getting your photo taken in the Warehouse Style Studio make sure you come along to one of our castings...next stop Southampton! For a full list of casting dates check out our website http://www.elitemodellook.co.uk/

When pills aren't enough

The anti-allergy tablets that I've been taking don't seem to be helping.

I had so much trouble breathing last night that I thought I was going to die in my sleep. (I can't die yet! I want my car first!)

A blocked nose forced me to breathe through my mouth but that didn't go too well, either. I felt like I was being strangled. My throat was so tight that I was quite desperate for something like an inhaler.

Now for the multiple choice question.
a. Is the pollen count just extremely and horribly high this year? or
b. Do I blame it on my cleaning lady for not getting rid of the house dust properly? or
c. Are bored and deranged spirits trying to tell me something?

A Mini Cooper: Yes it will be mine

When my husband and I got engaged - or just before he got the ring, to be precise - I explained solemnly that the diamond engagement ring would be the most expensive gift he would ever buy me (and that's why he shouldn't be stingy!).

Now, there's going to be a bigger purchase and it was his idea! Obviously because it's a car and not some useless jewellery.

I'm so excited to be getting a Mini Cooper!

We went to the showroom and talked to a very friendly guy there. Yes, he was good; not pushy at all. So good, in fact, that at the beginning of our conversation I confidently said I wanted the car in "chili red"...

... and left wanting something completely different, something I had totally ignored in earlier visits to the showroom. The Mini 50 Camden, a special edition created especially for Mini's 50th birthday.

It's different because it's offered in the special colour "white silver metallic" (basically a pearl white), with black and white as a general theme for the interior and (optional) stripes on the mirror caps (and a lot more, obviously). Overall, more elegant.

In comparison the chili red suddenly looked very aggressive. And didn't match my outfit of the day.

The good thing is that this edition includes a lot of 'extras' (that I would have wanted to order anyway). What's not included and I must have... (slightly embarrassed look) is the park distance control ;-) yeah even with a tiny car like the Mini!