I’m a fairly fickle makeup artist as far as gel and cream pot liners go.  I rarely, if ever, use them under eyes, preferring to use them as top liner optical illusions, so when I was shopping at the Pixi Store in London a few months back, and in need of a new black gel liner, I was more than happy to select theirs, simply called Gel Liner.

It’s been in my pro kit ever since, and has been used on every eye and eye shape since!

I particularly like the creaminess of this, its very like Clinique’s gel liner, both of which have such a lovely consistency that one swipe is enough to do one eye.  No-one likes to have to keep going back to a pot for more product, and those of us who are sticklers for hygiene don’t want to have to use 4 or even 6 brushes on one client to avoid double-dipping.

So for the first time, in a long time, I will choose to restock this liner rather than just buying any old gel as and when I need it, based on the shop I’m standing in, I will make the conscious effort to rebuy the Pixi one (I quite fancy the Jade one!)!

but my eyeliner purchasing didn’t stop there.  I also bought one of their Endless Silky Eye Pens in no 2, Blue Black.

This is one of those clever/quirky/strange/wierd (delete as appropriate) products that has changing colours.  Its not a duochrome, its something different.

The pencil looks black at first glance, but when you swipe it, it appears to have deep blue sparkles.  Get it in sunlight and it takes on a purple hue of Cadbury proportions!

Its very creamy and whilst it does become smudgeproof, the initial creaminess means its workable and blendable meaning it’s a shadow style too.

What a good job I’m back in London in a few days, I certainly intend to get more shades of both the gel liner and the silky pens, I particularly like the look of Black Tulip and Deep Plum, but Black Cocoa looks equally nice… maybe I should buy them all?!

Sam Donald

www.SamDonald.com

I’ve been testing this for MAF for about 7 weeks now and feel happier about my eyes than I have in years.

The Crystal Clear Rollaway Serum is designed to reduce dark circles and firm skin, thus reducing the lines and wrinkles.

It’s not an overnight product, you do have to keep at it, but even in the early days, when there was nothing to see, just the feel of this under my eyes made me feel more confident about how I look.

Sometimes, just feeling good about yourself is enough, but the added bonus of this product actually working, and geuninely softening the lines around my eyes makes it a great buy from the first moment you put it on.

Having been blessed with baggy eyes, those didn’t shrink as such, but the crinkles and wrinkles (as Sam calls them!) have definitely shrunk, and my skin feels less saggy and a little tighter.  Concealer goes on much better now, and it doesn’t seem to sit in the lines anymore.  Probably because the lines are smaller.

Okay, so its not one of these instant shrinker spanx-for-your-face products like Genie or Eyesential, but the critical me can see the difference, and that’s okay.  I don’t need the world sticking their faces right upto my nose to see how different I look, feeling better and knowing that I look better is enough for me, and I shall definitely be buying this again, and I want to thank Sam for letting me be her guinea pig at trying this, even if she did have to keep nagging at me to write this review…

Helen Lawson

Have you heard of Rituals?  No?  Then why not?!

This very clever and most innovative of companies takes mineral makeup to the next lever.

It is a gentle formula opf minerals, without perfume and parabens, but with gemstones.  Yes, you read that correctly, gemstones!

I’ve previously mentioned an eyeshadow with sapphire in it, and this particular palette is enriched with amethyst.

But is there a point to it, or is it just a way of diversifying away from every other joe bloggs mineral brand that’s currently flooding the market?

I’d say that yes, it is a clever spin, but it’s not pointless, far from it.  I’m not convinced that my eyes have become firmer as Rituals claim, however I don’t really mind that, what I do agree with though, and love, is that the reflection in the mirror is like a soft focus photo.  It most definitely is a very useful product for face and cheeks, and visibly blurs the image in front of you.

This particular palette is a very pretty collection of pinks, chocolates, lattes and creams.  They all have shimmer, so its a ‘use sparingly’ on the face, and ‘buff well’ to avoid the over shine, but on the eyes, it takes on a whole new identity; layered, buffed on, contoured, you name it.

Very pretty indeed!

Sam Donald

www.SamDonald.com

Floaty Fabrics, lightweight maxi dresses, your hair pulled back with a chiffon scarf, and a pair of oversized sunglasses protecting your eyes. But in these glorious summer days, what’s going on behind those oversized Chanels?

You can bet it’s not a full on smokey eyes look with heavy black liner and mascara. This year, its all about the pastels. Soft baby pink with a light layer of mascara, a slick of blue liner contradicting another slick of liner, this time in lime green… Or maybe its a soft lilac and pink combination with a wash of sparkle, or a striking pastel rainbow of pink, lemon and mint?

Here are some of the best colours currently on the market.

Ruby and Millie Eye Colour in Yellow. Not egg yolk yellow, but a creamy Cornish Vanilla ice cream yellow. Lay it on strong with black liner, or soft with brown mascara.

Estee Lauder new shadows in Enchanted Forest, Lilac Whimsy and Ivy Envy. Soft soft soft! So easily blendable, these new shades and formulations from Tom Pecheux are screaming “summer days, Pimms in the evening and long long walks in the country”

Rimmel Glam Eyes Mono Shadow in Precious Rose. This has the softest sheen that I’ve seen in an eyeshadow, in a long time. Almost invisible at first glance, this has a shimmer that really only shows in sunlight. Perfect!

Clinique Colour Surge eyeshadow quad in Polar Blue. Creamy, dreamy and so very pretty. Classic quality and longevity from this classic brand. Timeless elegance.

Lancome Color Design shadows in Darling Pink and Cupid Blue, plus Ombre Absolu in Un Taxi Mauve. Hot pink or not? Both! Lay the pink down wet for a high impact strawberry ice cream pink, or wash it on dry for a very pretty look.

Rituals eyeshadow singles in AmberGold, Rose Romance and Jade Delight. Silk and smooth, these are enriched with natural sapphires. So so soft on the skin, yet the gemstones included give such an intensity of colour, you won’t be able to stop at just one shadow, you’ll have to go back for more!

Illamasaqua pure pigments in Conquer, Lust and Furore. High shine metallic powders from this ego altering company takes eyeshadow to a whole new level, and because Illamasqua’s products are designed for use anywhere, add a dash of this to another product and start making your own colours up.

Boots 17 eyeshadow trio from the Candy Collection, in Dolly Mixture. 3 candy coloured shadows in yellow, pink and blue. Not the longest lasting eyeshadows around, but for less than £5, you can have a perfect look that’s right on trend with the season, but without busting the budget!

Tesco All About Face eyeshadow singles in Heather, Meadow and Light Pink. Very sheer colours, okay, so they won’t last all day on their own, but applied directly over a neutral cream shadow or base, and you can be summer stylish for mere pence, and trust me, it lasts a lot longer than some other low priced brands!

Sparkle, sparkle, sparkle!

On a technicality, these at first glance, don’t look like they fit into my summery ice cream colours category, but afte the first brush stroke through them, they most definitely do!

4 shades of gold, green, lilac and blue, they positively ooze sparkle and shimmer.

They are another of Barbara Bort’s clever glimmered eyeshadows, I already adore their Starlight Glittering eyeshadows, as they’re all about the sparkle, and no issue with fallout, and these are pretty much the same.

Okay, so there’s a little fallout when you use these on yourself, however, using them in a professional capacity on clients, and the fallout seems minimal…?!

The softness of the colours mean that they are beautiful on their own, with a lick of toning eyeliner and some mascara – instant beach glamour, however they sit equally well with matte shadows as a pop of colour.

These are most definitely a recommended buy, for both kit and personal use.

Love it, love them, love that summer sparkle!

Sam Donald

www.SamDonald.com

For as long as I can remember, I’ve used Lancome Eyeshadow Quads.  What initially appealed to me, as a younger fledgling makeup artist, was that the colour quads are very cleverly thought out.

No matter what collection of 4 you get in your chosen palette, every colour will work together.  You can choose any 2 at random and they’ll work, take 3 of your choice, and they’ll work equally well, but choosing to use all 4 is where you’ll really shine!

The colours are always rich and true, what you see is what you get, and in the case of the colour focus palettes, you’re able to use them both dry, in a traditional sense, but also wet for a high impact colour, or for a more metallic ‘foiled’ look.

I’m not sure that I’ve got enough words in my vocabulary to express just how much I adore these palettes.  I love them because they don’t crumble.  I love them because they’re versatile.  I love them because a very bright spark in the product development team decided to make every palette work incredibly well when you take bits or all of it.  A very good case of ‘the sum of the parts is greater than the whole’!

And because we’re in Ice Cream season, I’ve chosen to focus on the Delicate Romance quad, number 203.  Okay, so it does fit my stereotype for the ice cream colours, there is a strawberry shade, a vanilla, a chocolate, and even a white Mr-Whippy shade, but for me, its not just about the colours meeting the ‘brief’, its about the colours themselves.

The thing about Lancome quads is that they’re buildable colours.   I always use a primer first, but I do kick the rule book out of the window, and I always set the primer with powder first, but you can take a gentle sweep of the chocolate shade across the lid, and it will be sheer and soft, or you can continue to layer it, don’t go in heavy handed with a thick stripe, just keep gently layering to build up the colour.  You’ll a) have a much better and more even colour, but also b) you’ll have a much longer lasting colour.

On average, I get around 16 hours of life out of Lancome eyeshadows when I’m either wearing them myself, or working with them on clients.  On a personal basis, as a very busy mother and business woman, I have zero time to stop and even check my makeup, let alone reapply it.  And from a professional point of view, you cannot afford to have your cosmetics quality let you down, and ruin your repuatation.  Who wants to hear ‘the makeup was nice, but it only lasted a couple of hours’.  What you want to hear is ‘the makeup is lovely and it was still perfectly intact when I came to take it off at the end of the night’…

The soft strawberry ice shade can give you such a pretty look.  With a slash of black eyeliner, not winged, and a very light layer of mascara, spot of bronzer, and a sheer gloss, and you’ll look English Rose pretty!

I however, like to play around with all 4 colours.  Taking the vanilla shade all over the lid, from lash to brow, the pink on the inner half of the eye, and the chocolate into the outer half, built up gently, and blended well, then a tiny spot of the white right under the brow, for an instant eyelift!

I would definitely say that these are 4 colours that aren’t exclusivley for summer, they’re a year round set, and definitely worth the investment, whether you’re a professional makeup artist, or a woman who loves her makeup.

And, once you’ve discovered Lancome quads, you’ll be back to buy more and more and more and more….

Sam Donald

www.SamDonald.com

You know when you’ve found a staple eyeliner and you think that life couldn’t get any better.  Imagine that life could, when a whole range of new colours come out…

Urban Decay’s famous 24/7 liners shrank at Christmas for a limited edition collection for gifting (keeping?!) purposes, but they’ve now brought out a whole load more.

I have in my hands, Binge, a dirty denim blue that shimmers and smoulders, Mildew, a khaki green that really looks great on hazel eyes, and my the new love of my life, Oilslick, a deep dark charcoal with their famous hint of glitter.

Nothing is lost with these new colours, (also available, Crash, Stash, Yeyo and Rockstar), they’re still just as smooth and soft, yet fantastically long lasting.

What I adore about these new colours is that they’re muted compared to the original collection.  That means that Urban Decay have cornered the eyeliner market, with something for everyone, genius in my book…!

I’m chuffed to bits that there are more to the collection, my pro kit just hasn’t got the room.  Oh well, best get another case then for the overflow…

Sam Donald

www.SamDonald.com

What a bargain! This little beauty is only £2.99 available from Superdrug. I tested it in Cocoa which is a dark brown colour. So far I have been wearing this since 8am today and it has not budged! I’ve even deliberately rubbed my eyes to see if it moves and nothing! 
It has made my lashes appear thicker at the roots and slightly longer in length. I will definitely be buying one of these in their other colour ranges which are Black and Xtra Black. 

Kelly hollands

www.KellyHollands.co.uk

Sam gave this to me at IMATS to try out and at first I didn’t think much of it. I applied 2 coats and by the end of the day there was no sign of mascara and didn’t look like I was wearing anything. But I’ve found using about 5 coats does the trick – a bit annoying when you’re trying to get ready for work – but in order for this product to work you have to layer it on. Doing that I can definitely see I’m wearing mascara and my lashes looks fairly good. This mascara didn’t clump…separated my lashes and it actually has staying power! 

Last night I went for a run (I forgot to take my make-up off before hand) and I had visions of coming back with panda eyes…but no….it stayed put and I was most impressed. 

The packaging of this does look a bit cheap but retailing at around £3.49 I wouldn’t expect anything fancy. I think for that price you get what you pay for but I was pleasantly surprised. I do think this is a good holiday mascara when you don’t fancy taking your expensive Dior with you.

Janine Swan

Normally, when the MAF team write reviews on products, its either on a seasonal collection as a whole, or individual products on their own.

Today, I’m changing that by writing a review for Lancome Mascaras as a group of their own!

I can’t remember how long ago it was that I first started consciously buying Lancome mascara, probably well over 10 years ago.  It’s certainly about 5 years since Marie Claire quoted me recommending them – see here!

The mascaras are such a reliable product that I know that no matter which one I choose to buy, I know it will deliver.  It’s a no-brainer with Lancome.  They do what they claim to do.  The lengthening mascaras do actually lengthen, and the thickening ones do make your lashes thicker.

Whats perfect, particularly for me, where I use a lot of Waterproof products, is that the WP versions of the Lancome mascaras deliver the same results as the originals.  Nothing is lost in translation.

My professional kit is full of them, from Fatale to Virtuose, with L’Extreme and the new Hypnose Drama.  I have the originals and the waterproofs, I’ve got every conceivable colour. 

What I really love about their mascaras though is that its all about the product, and not so much about the brush.  Yes, they do all have different brushes, which are an added dimension bonus, but its more about what the product is like inside the bottle, and as a pro makeup artist, using disposables often means that you have little choice over the mascara wand.  Lancome mascaras don’t let you down, no matter which brush you’re using.

And for me?  My personal favourite is L’Extreme for full on long lashes!

Sam Donald

www.SamDonald.com