I Have A (Colour) Crush On The Body Shop

A few weeks ago, The Body Shop had an event called Girls Night Out to showcase some new spring products.

The mingle of scents in there was delightful, as usual, and the new displays were so inviting!
Of course, I gravitated towards the new makeup collection!  I had visions of soft lilac shadows and pretty corals and nudes dancing in my head before I walked in.  What I ended up with was not what I expected!
The most adorable young lady was looking after me and we decided to play!  We tried the sweet pretty shades that I had in mind, but together we found so much prettiness in the not so sweet shades!

 

I hadn't tried the Colour Crush collection before, and was I in for a surprise! 

The textures were smooth and creamy.  The pigments were intense and true.  Just call me a Smitten Kitten!

The Colour Crush Shadows are a powder that can be applied wet or dry.  They are highly pigmented with a nice rich finish.  The shade shown above is 315 Mon Cherry.  Its a pearlescent mauvey hue that is a slightly warm in tone.  The wear time on these is fantastic, and they don't crease!  The price is beyond worth it at $10.00!  Try this as your nod to Radiant Orchid, and you will be wearing this forever!

The Colour Crush Lippy is a rich, moisturizing lipstick with a high-impact colour pay-off.  The shade I chose is 340 Damson in Distress.  At first it looks like a dark plum but once applied, it's more of a hydrating, shiny stain.  The shade is a beautiful wine that lasts for ever!  I had to remove it with a heavy duty remover at the end of the night.  It stayed comfortable throughout however, and if I needed some moisture after several hours a little bit of balm on top did the trick!  This little wonder is only $13.00, but the quality is that of one that's twice the price.  If I want a softer finish, I just press it into my lips with my finger for a berry stained lip.  Pretty!

 

 

There are so many new things from The Body Shop this spring!  The Raspberry Scent is delicious, and the Vitamin E Oil in Serum is heaven in a bottle! 

 

 

I love my berry lips!  What do you guys think about non traditional makeup colours in spring? 

 

Donna Xoxo

Spring Showers. An Update On My Fragrance Situation, The Babies, And My Big Fat Arthritis.

Well, Boys and Girls, I just have a quick and dirty little Hello here from me to you. 

Spring can be tough for me since dampness and inflammation are like Sid and Nancy. (Or Chris and RiRi, for those of us not as old as the hills.)They LOVE   each other, but good things don't happen when these two collide. Pain, meds, and some not so ladylike behavior usually follow!

However, I have a lucid moment so let's enjoy it!

If you follow me on Twitter, you may have seen that I won a draw that Dave Lackie, who is a Cosmetics Wizard on CityLine, is the editor of BeautytheGuide.com, as well as his own site davelackie.com, hosted. He is also the nicest guy you could hope to meet!  All thanks to Dave, i am the proud owner of Kenzo's newest fragrance, Flower In The Air! It's the prettiest, freshest floral!  I adore it!  I'll go more in depth later in the week about it. It absolutely deserves it's own post!  

I've also recently spent some time with The Babies, although they are pretty much big monsters now!

Jax on the left, is my BFF's youngest, and Jameson on the right is the son of my nephew and his Fiancé!  Adorable, chubby wee rascals are five and a half months old now and 20 lbs each!!!!

And, we can't forget My Best Pal! Tommy is my BFF's oldest. This one knows everything!  He really is, at not quite three yet, smarter than me on some days!  Today would be one of those days. 

While we're catching up, I have some exciting news of things to come next month for yours truly and the blog!  Can't share yet, but I'll spill in the next week or so. I'm really looking forward to what's ahead for An Occasional Redhead!

I think that's enough nonsense from me for now. I will say good night and snuggle up in bed with my Annie and hope for some sleep.  

I miss you all, and promise it's not just the arthritis drugs talking!

Donna Xoxo

Pretty Pastels From Maybelline and L'Oreal

Happy Easter Boys and Girls!
I hope everyone has lots of chocolate, lots of family and lots of happiness this weekend!
I'm hanging out with Annie, eating too many Easter Cream Eggs, and chillin', which works for me!

 

 

Since the day they came out, I was dying to get my hands on Maybelline's Colour Sensation Colour Elixir Liquid Lip Balm.  I was intrigued by the formula, as I am such a lip balm junkie!  Had to see if it was as hydrating as they claim, right?

It kind of is!

 

The Colour Elixir's are a hybrid of lipstick, gloss, and balm.  They contain a trio of concentrates which contribute shine, colour, and an ultra-cushiony feel.  The applicator is a wide doe-foot, and the smooth angora of the applicator brings a lovely luxe component to the product! 

The balm has a vanilla scent, that has a touch of mint to my nose.  It also feels a bit minty on the lip which makes it a little tingly.  The texture is soft and squishy, and I got about two and a half  hours wear from it.  This was while drinking tea and eating a chocolate chip cookie!  (Man, I have the worst willpower!) 

 The colour I have is Captivating Carnation.  It's a pretty warm pink, which is quite sheer.  The darker shades may be more pigmented.  If I'm honest, I don't love the colour on me.  I wish I had picked up the coral, or the caramel.  Next time!

The shade of the L'Oreal Colour Riche Nail Colour, however, is spectacular!

The L'Oreal Nail Colour is a richly pigmented, smooth polish, which wears exceptionally well!  I'm quite rough on my nails, but I got four days wear from this polish before it chipped badly.  The application couldn't have been easier either.  The brush is dense with a nice curve at the edges, and a flatter shape.  It glides nicely over the nail, and since it's not too thick it didn't spread all over my little nail beds!  I did about three coats to get a streak free finish.  That's the nature of a creamy shade, though.  I always need an extra coat when I'm using a shade without shimmer.  Streaks stress me out!

The colour I'm wearing above is from this springs "Trend Setter" collection, and it's called Royalty Reinvented.  What a lovely violety-lavender shade!  It screams spring, and sunshine, and freshness to me!

These colours are the perfect Easter pastels, aren't they?

Have you guys tried Maybelline's Colour Elixirs yet?  What did you think?

 

Donna Xoxo

 

 

 

 



Mixology With The Body Shop

I have the biggest weakness for The Body Shop! 
If you haven't heard about my love affair, go here.
I've been hooked on their body butters since I saw Kate Moss in Vogue in the early 90's with the most wonderful sheen on her bod, thanks to Mango Body Butter! 
Since then I've played with about a billion different scents, and I'm going to spill some secrets!
My favourite thing is to layer different scents together, or "Mixology", if you will!

Jennifer from Spiced Beauty has the most perfect term for mascara layering .  She calls it "Cocktailing", and I think it's a great way to describe scent layering, too!

I have a few tried and true cocktails that are always in rotation!

The best selling scent from The Body Shop is Satsuma.  It's a strong, vibrant, orange scent.  When layered with shower gel, body butter and fragrance, it tends to be a lot!  I break it up with vanilla, and it mellows the scent!  Creamsicles! 

Brazil Nut body butter, and the Madagascan Vanilla Flower eau de toilette layered leaves a warm nutty spicy-floral scent behind that feels like summer! 

Speaking of summer, the Coconut eau de toilette is a clean light and creamy coconut scent which is nothing like the sunscreen-y scent usually associated with it. 

If you have been a Body Shop fan for a while, you must have tried the White Musk line of fragrances.  They go way back for a reason.  Soooooo pretty!  One of the newer incarnations is White Musk Libertine.  It has notes of Turkish delight, baby orchid and Chantilly cream, which tempers the Musk.  Worn over Shea shower cream and body butter you get an added warmth to the scent!

I was at The Body Shop Girls Night Out event last night and I tried a few body sprays that I hadn't tried before.  The new Raspberry spray, is AHHH-MAZING!  It's crisp and fresh, with a hint of sweetness.  I'm pretty sure that it will find it's way into my house soon!  As for the event, there's way too much to smush into this post!  I'll tell all about it soon!  Lots of pretty coming your way!

To check out all of the options to try "Mixology" for yourself, check out The Body Shop, and make your own "Cocktail"!  Check out Jennifer and Spiced Beauty, too!  You'll be glad you did!

Share your scent secrets!

 

Donna Xoxo

 



*Fragrance Sprays were sent to me for consideration, however thoughts and opinions are all mine!

Lancome and Lupita

How much do we love Lupita Nyong'o?  How much do we love Lancôme? 
I was so excited when I heard that these two spectacular entities have joined together, and I cannot wait to see what comes next! 
I may have wet myself a bit. 
Don't judge me!

A small smattering of my Lancôme collection.

 

It's no secret that I am a huge lover of Lancôme. 

I've worked for Lancôme, I've used their skin care and makeup since I was a teenager, and it still amazes me how beautiful and innovative the product continues to be! 

One look at my blog posts, here, and it's pretty clear that no one does a lip quite like Lancôme.  In honour of Lupita joining Lancôme, I'm going to discuss my favorite lip look.  I've featured this lippy before, but it's so good that it deserves another go round!

 

The Colour Design line of lipsticks are a wonderful burst of pigment in different finishes, and textures.  This particular lipstick was in a gift a while ago, which is why the packaging is different than usual. Fuchsia Clutch is a satiny magenta pink that's bright and really, really girlie!  It's not available any longer, but Intense Fuchsia is much the same.  The Le Crayon Liner in Berry is creamy and rich, which acts as a beautiful base for the colour. 

There are a few steps to get the best wear from this lip look:

 

1- Scrub the dryness off  your pout gently with either a baby toothbrush, some sugar and a drop of oil, or a lip scrub like the one from Fresh or Lush.  Sooo yummy!

2-A thin coat of balm that's been blotted will make everything smoother and better!  It always does!

3-Fill the whole lip with liner.  That keeps everything anchored, increasing wear time and keeps the finish consistent.

4-Get that lippy on! From the tube, or with a brush.  Either way!  Blot, and add another coat for added richness to the colour and better wear.

 

A bright lipcolour feels fun doesn't it?  It just lights up the whole face! 

I can't leave you without a picture of the lady whom served as the inspiration for this post, as well as many other beauty choices I've made lately.  I think Lupita Nyong'o feels like a breath of fresh air in the celebrity world!  She's unafraid of colour, elegance and she does it all with the most amazing short hair!  Lupita, I adore you!!!!

 

How can you not?

 

Donna Xoxo