Thursday 30 September 2010

Welcome to the latest Beauty Bulletin from A Beautiful Education & Makeup Artist Lillybeth.  

Do you like cookies?  Until I gave up excess sugar last week (to kick the sugar addiction which led to junk food being part of my daily diet), I could say I LOVED cookies!  Chewy, melt-in-your-mouth, chocolate chip cookies were my favourite.  But 'cookie cutter' makeup?  That has never been my taste.  In fact, seeing photos of bride after bride wearing the same, standard 'bridal' makeup leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

Have you experienced this?  Some makeup artists have a 'go-to' look they use for every wedding (or face), but such unoriginal makeup can leave one looking washed out and feeling underwhelmed.   A great dress is tailored to fit.  Makeup should be too.  No lazy, bad habits or production-line thinking ~ a makeup artist should use the customer's best colours, textures and application techniques to create a personalised look from start to finish that not only suits their face, but personality too.  

Why leave fancy makeup to the brides?  Any woman can enjoy a shot of pizazz, a boost of confidence and a whole lot of compliments (guaranteed!) anytime, by booking me for professional, customised makeup.  Your solution to boring, unoriginal, underwhelming, no-class, cookie-cutter makeup,

- Lillybeth Melmoth  (See my limited-time deal on DailyDo now!)

FACE OF THE MONTH

Cambridge businesswoman Maria Low wanted a polished look for her website photos, so she booked local-legend photographer Jimmy Joe to capture her best business look.  Jimmy then requested me to do her photographic makeup in-studio.  Specialising in PR and journalism, Maria wanted a makeup look that was fresh and approachable while remaining business-appropriate.  You can see the finished result on the Scriptique website, launched this month.  Congrats, Maria!

Maria wears mostly Mary Kay Cosmetics along with another personal favourite (which she then went out and bought), Maybelline Color Sensational lipstick in Yummy Plummy  (Click to read consumer reviews on Makeup Alley - it's rare I agree with consumer reviews, but this is an exception).

ARE YOU RISKING YOUR LOOKS ON HYPE & HEARSAY?

Can you trust beauty editor reviews?  In About.com's extensive beauty section, editor Julyne Derrick lists her favourite eye creams. Some are designer brands, used by celebrities and have gained 'cult status'. They claim to diminish fine lines, plump, lift and firm plus remove dark under-eye circles.  Sounds great, right!?  Keep reading.

Out of interest, I checked each one against the Cosmetics Cop's Beautypedia  (You need a subscription to read the full reviews).  The Cosmetics Cop is Paula Begoun and her small team of reviewers in the U.S. who take a scientific approach to reviewing thousands of skincare and makeup products every year.  Beautypedia boasts over 45,000 reviews on its site right now, including all the big name brands from Olay and The Body Shop to Clinique and Christian Dior.  Rather than relying on marketing claims and hype, they look at the ingredients list of each product to see whether it really can  perform as the manufacturers claim or whether the only thing being 'lifted' is money from your wallet.  

Here's the list of top eye creams as 'reviewed' by the beauty editor.  I've included only

•  the BRAND

•  a snippet from the beauty editor's CLAIMS

•  the PRICE (converted into NZ$ if not available in NZ)

•  and Cosmetic Cop's RATING.  Find out what the ratings mean.

And remember, if it earns a good rating from the Cosmetics Cop, that doesn't mean it lives up to all its claims! It is simply a good product for its category.  

The list starts below.

CELEBRITIES VS. SCIENCE: Eye Creams

1. Ole Henriksen.  Claim: "Botox in a jar."  $52.  Rating: Average 
2. Prescriptives.  Not reviewed.
3. Yves Saint Laurent.  Claim: "The granddaddy of eye creams."  $154 - $213.  Rating:  Not reviewed but all others in the same range from YSL received an Average/Overpriced rating
4. Shiseido.  Claim: "Rave reviews by the editors at Lucky magazine." $106.99.  Rating: Average/Overpriced
5. Skyn Iceland.  Claim:  "Favourite of celebrity stylist Rachel Zoe.  $62. Rating: Poor
6. Nude.  Claim:  "If you..are looking for your miracle product, this might be it.  You'll likely see a hug difference."  $253.  Rating: Average/Overpriced
7. Olay #1.  Claim: "A serum created for the face, but is used by many beauty experts on the delicate eye area."  $32.99.  Rating: Paula's Pick
8. Erno Laszio.  Claim:  "Great for lightening dark circles under the eyes."  $68.  Rating: Average/Overpriced
9. Dr. Brandt.  Claim: "Rich and moisturising and inspires intense devotions it its fans."  $168.  Rating: Poor
10. RoC.  Claim:  "Great eye cream for reducing fine lines and dark under-eye circles."  $34.  Rating: Very Good
11. Olay #2.  Claim: "Known to increase collagen production."  $64.  Rating: Paula's Pick/Overpriced
12. Prevage.  Claim: "Beloved for making fine lines around the eyes disappear."  $164.  Rating: Paula's Pick/Overpriced

For full product names, see the 'Best Eye Creams' list.

This list was one I critiqued out of interest and was chosen randomly.  I didn't know these products would be rated so badly on Beautypedia.  But I can assure you, more often that not, every overpriced, cult-favourite beauty product I've checked against Beautypedia or have reviewed myself...has failed the test of a good product.  Irritating ingredients, jar packaging (which doesn't keep state of the art ingredients stable) and lack of proper sunscreen protection on SPF products has seen many big name brands lose my respect.  Yes, that goes for Creme de la Mer and La Prairie Skin Caviar too, in case you were wondering.

Who have you been relying on to guide your beauty purchases?  If you have any thoughts on this or would like to respond to this article, send me an email (just reply to this one).  I'd love to hear from you.

RECENTLY BLOGGED

Click the title to read these articles on the A Beautiful Education Blog:

How To Avoid Embarrassment with False Eyelashes

Did I 'Slag Off' the NATIO Cosmetics Brand?

5 Essentials for Makeup for Special Occasions

COMPETITION WINNERS

Below are the winners from the latest competition on the A Beautiful Education facebook page drawn September 1st.

Drawn randomly, each winner had completed the sentence: "A Beautiful Education Is..." with a word or phrase from www.abeautifuleducation.co.nz and posted it on the facebook page wall.

1.  Elizabeth Dixon's (Mount Maunganui) entry:

"A Beautiful Education is... effective and ‘do-able’ in real life!"  Elizabeth chose the customised makeup compact worth $140.50.  The refillable, magnetic compact from Mary Kay Cosmetics was filled with Liz's best shades as hand-picked by Lillybeth.  Suited to soft, cool tones, Liz received Mary Kay Mineral Eye Colours Spun Silk (Champagne shimmer), Granite (Silver) and Iris (Purple), Mineral Cheek Colour in Pink Petals and Creme Lipstick in Inspiration (Sheer pink) from the 'Beauty That Counts' campaign.

2.  Maria Low (Cambridge) wrote:

"A Beautiful Education is...Power."  Maria gets a free special occasions makeup application worth $70 which she intends to use when she has her head shaved for charity and professional photos taken.

3.  Lee Bateman's (Tauranga) entry:

"A Beautiful Education is...practical solutions."  Lee receives the makeup bag audit, valued at $100, to rediscover the makeup she has and find what's missing from her current makeup look.

Congratulations to the winners above.  Enjoy your taste of A Beautiful Education and thanks for playing!  Be alerted to future giveaways and competitions by clicking 'LIKE' on our facebook page.