Dangerous Affair

During a brief stint living in London last year, I discovered my now favourite brand of nail polish, Ciaté.

This fabulous brand has been developed by UK-based Charlotte Straughan, a salon owner and manicurist to the celebs turned nail polish guru, with over 10 years experience in the biz. It is clear that Charlotte understands the needs of both professionals and those applying at home and this is manifested in her products.

This shade, Dangerous Affair, is a delicious, deep red wine colour. As a blue based red, it eliminates elements of orange or pink that often clash with skin that has red undertones, like my own pale skin. It’s a more appealing, universally flattering shade of red.

Bottled in a 13.5mL paint pot, I’ve found this polish doesn’t dry out or become gluggy after a few weeks, something that other favourite nail polish varieties can be culprits of. I opened my first bottle of Ciaté over 10 months ago and it’s still as good as new. There is a slight scent of the usual nail polish variety but rest assured it does not linger around. What’s more, all Ciaté polishes are free from the toxins Formaldehyde and Toluene.

Image credit: Het Cosmetica Huis

Each paint pot is thin, rectangular shaped and slightly curved, sitting snugly in the palm of your hand. Combine this with the longer-than-your-average brush handle and you can see why Ciaté is favoured among those who lack dexterity (namely me). Each bottle is adorned with a bow, a cute touch that adds to the uniqueness of Ciaté.

Arguably Ciaté’s best feature is that the colour on the bottle is the colour on your nails. No need for two, three or even four applications before your talons match the described shade. You get Dangerous Affair first time, every time. This can be attributed to the 250 bristle flat brush that tops each paint pot. The brush assists with perfect application and distributes colour evenly.

With a crème texture, this nail lacquer is elegant and versatile, offering full coverage and a high gloss finish. One of the most important criteria when considering high standard polish is the chip factor. Chipped polish is one of my pet hates and I find it very tacky, but Ciaté is commendable in its delivery of long lasting, durable enamel that remains flawless for days. This is particularly important for me, as working in a bar defies an impeccable manicure; perfectly painted nails flake away in a matter of minutes. However, Ciaté is a polish that goes the distance. One to two coats of Dangerous Affair followed by a topcoat, like Ciaté’s Speed Coat or Cutex’s Quick Dry Top Coat, will do you through the night and on till the morn!

Not available in Australian stores, this polish goes for £9 at www.ciate.co.uk. Roughly $14.50 Australian, that’s excellent value for money, coming from the shop-a-holic herself.

I rate this polish ★★★★★
Value for money: $$$$$

Miranda x

MAC Opulash Mascara

You may remember I posted a while back about Mirenesse mascara? It was tubular mascara. I dubbed it the end of Panda Eyes. Ringing a bell?

To refresh your memory just in case, "tubular mascaras form little tubes of mascara around the lashes, as the name suggests. At the end of the day (or the morning after if you came home sloshed) just add a touch of warm water and gently use your thumb and forefinger to slide the tubes down the lashes. They slide right off!" Go here to read the rest of the post.

I loved the Mirenesse mascara. It came off so easily, rarely leaving a trace (and when it did, it was usually my technique that was the culprit). There's no need to use a make up remover on the eyes, saving me time and money. I rarely wore any other mascara, especially if I was just going to work.

As I mentioned in the original post, I love thick, black, voluminous lashes. I don't like to use eyeliner, preferring to define my eyes with well-applied mascara instead. This is where the problem lies, as the "Cougar,” cat eye effect left a lot to be desired in terms of volume. I was torn between the ridiculously easy removal of Mirenesse and a desire for big, thick lashes. Suffice to say, laziness won more often than I'd like.

I purchased MAC Opulash Mascara last week after re-reading this review of it by Zoe Foster on PRIMPED, thinking it might put an end to this dilemma. Julie from Me, My Best and I also recommended it to me.

It is a terrifically volumising mascara, lengthening and curling the lashes. Just what I like. And what's more, it is tubular mascara! Two-in-one; my ideal mascara. It didn’t take long for me to fall in love. It volumises and boosts my lashes, as per my preference for thick, black lashes, while at the same time allowing me to indulge in my laziness. How fab is that?! There could not be better news.

Oh wait, there is. It goes above and beyond the last volumising mascara I bought. Not only does it achieve the thick, voluminous lashes, but it does so without clumping them together, leaving some definition. The best of both worlds. In this picture below, I have applied Opulash mascara to my RIGHT eye only. I did only one full coat, really working the mascara onto my lashes, ensuring I started right at the base and blinking through the brush and what not.

The Opulash Mascara has a thick, chunky brush, with an easy to hold handle. It's tapered at the end (like the majority of mascara wands these days), allowing for super easy application to the corners of the eyes, which can be quite tricky without a tapered brush. It results in a beautiful, wide eyes look, as per the photo above. It only comes in the one, black, shade, which is unfortunate for those who like brown-black mascaras, but it’s dark enough for anyone who likes black.

The mascara is $33 from MAC stores or MAC's online store.

I rate it ★★★★★ for quality of the product and getting the job done (the job being thick, voluminous, yet still defined lashes, whilst being a tubular mascara that is super simple to remove). I don't have a single gripe or suggestion for this product.
I rate it $$$$$ for value for money. It’s a lot more expensive than your chemist mascaras, I’ll give you that, but it does a damn better job, increasing the value for money aspect. It is definitely a higher end mascara, on par price wise with products like Clinique’s Lash Power and the Dior Show mascara, which do a similar job without being tubular.

Let me know what you think of this mascara, if you've use it before or plan to try it out in the future. What do you think of tubular mascaras?

Miranda x

The Lightening Touch Concealer

It’s rare that you can find prodz to suit your skin colour without having matched them prior to purchase. Surely doing so is an urban myth? Well, I hit the jackpot with The Body Shop’s Lightening Touch concealer pen.

But, I hear you ask, why would I even bother to purchase concealer without first testing it? Well… (here she goes again) I was recently the host of a Body Shop Party. For those of you who aren’t familiar, it’s basically the same concept as a Tupperware party, only with the Body Shop’s good-enough-to-eat products instead!

The consultant gives a demonstration of each product on all of the guests and then afterwards, there’s time to browse through the catalogues, selecting products while sipping champagne and munching on carrot sticks.

Among other things (lots of other things), I picked up the Lightening Touch concealer pen. It’s one of the clicky-windy varieties and has a little brush on the end. The Body Shop says “A ‘magic wand’ full of light diffusing particles that disguises dark shadows and imperfections while instantly brightening the skin… [and will] minimize fine lines and dark shadows.”

The concealer does a somewhat admirable job of covering my blemishes. Where it’s best used, though, is under the eyes. Just wind up the pen, dot it along around the eyes, over any dark spots, paying particular attention to the corners of the eyes. Next use a dabbing motion with your finger to blend it all in (no rubbing!). You can use the brush attached for blending, but I find it spreads the product too much and prefer to use my finger. It’s brightens up the eye area while being the perfect shade. The lightening and brightening aspect doesn’t come from using a product that is a shade too light, a trap that many commonly fall for.

I apply my foundation first and then follow up with concealer over any blemishes, as I mentioned here. The beauty-guru Zoë Foster so aptly described this as foundation being the undies and concealer as the clothes. This way, I use a lot less of both products; my foundation does a near perfect job of covering up uneven skin tone, most blemishes and dark spots. If I follow with concealer, all I need is a dab here and there. However, if I apply my concealer first, I use a lot more product because I’m trying to cover up every single blemish on my face and all the uneven skin tone and all of my hard work concealing is swept away with a single swipe of the foundation brush. Try it this way, if you haven't already, and see how you find it. For me, the key is to leave your foundation for a minute or so before coming back to concealer.

As mentioned, The Body Shop Lightening Touch concealer wand is most effective as an under-eye brightening concealer, delivering excellent results every time. Its ability to cover imperfections, blemishes and uneven skin tone, however, is a little lower than optimal. It disguises most imperfections well but does not completely hide them. I find it appropriate for use around where your nose meets your face, around your mouth and over any uneven skin tone that isn’t covered by foundation. It is also a great concealer to use on your lips as a base for lipstick. For out-and-out pimples, I prefer a thicker, more opaque concealer. I’d recommend a pencil style product.

The "magic wand" is available online at The Body Shop.com.au, in stores or through a Body Shop at home party. It retails for $26.95 for 3mL. I know, 3mL sounds small but it’s a misleading number.

I rate this product ★★★★☆, detracting one mark for its reduced affects on pimples and some blemishes. For value for money, I rate this product $$$$$.

Miranda x