Mavericks........uniquely beautiful.

Alek Wek- the most beautiful skin I have ever seen

PJ Harvey a fierce talent

PJ Harvey

Beth Orton- impish beauty

Beth Orton- Lo fi elegance

Tilda Swinton- Beautiful colouring & fearless actress

Tilda Swinton

Young Sophie Dahl voluptuous beauty.

Bjork- a maverick beauty in every sense of the word.

Karen Elson a true timeless beauty.

Susie Bick a true original.

The glorious Miss Grace Jones

Jenny Shimuzu

 

The lovely Beth Ditto

  

These women have incredible beauty, some are classic beauties with a *twist* and some do not *conform* to the stereotype of traditional beauty but each one absolutely has a unique beauty.

Covers that definitely *challenged* people: Cindy Crawford shaving K.D Lang & a heavily pregnant Demi Moore

 

mav·er·ick/ˈmav(ə)rik/

Noun:	An unorthodox or independent-minded person.
Adjective:	Unorthodox.

Colour crush.........Deepest Purple!

Deep Purple- Pantone- inspiration.

 Deep purple the colour associated with: Royalty, magic and Liberty in London. A colour so rich and sumptuous that you can create a whole look with nuances of the shade and in a literal sense let the shade *wear you* or focus with purple on the eyes coupled with nude lips or purple from deep to black/purple for the ultimate edgy statement lip. It is the ultimate *vamp* shade.

1.	vamp
	A femme fatale character in movies or books. The character is a woman who, while not necessarily attractive, has a certain allure (usually this striking, exotic, overtly sexy glamour), and is usually a heartless, man-eating seductress.  My kind of girl ;)

Vintage ring, Art deco 1920's - Emerald cut Amethyst

The iconic Liberty bag

Dior campaign stronger- smoked purple eye

Focus on eyes- trend look I created using rich/deep purples

 Best Deep Purple eye shadow compact:

Tom Ford- Violet Dusk Quad-The perfect combination for a pared down dark purple eye.

 Best deep purple single shadow:

Bourjois Intense #4- a rich coloured and easy to use deep purple shadow

 Best Purple eye pencil:

Pixi Endless Silky eye pencil-Black Tulip- so creamy you can even use as a cream shadow as well as liner.

Best Purple Liquid liner:

myface Slinky- Purple Haze, the most incredible deep purple liquid liner with a little pizazz

LIPS

Dolce & Gabbana- Scarlett Johannson vamping it up

Best Deep Purple lip gloss (Sheer tint):

Illamasqua sheer glos- Tantrum a beautiful transparent *juicy* dark purple- easy way to try the colour.

Best Deep purple lipstick (full pigmented):

Nars Matte Velvet lip pencil- Bleu Train- the perfect deep purple full pigmented lip colour.

Best deep purple lip liner:

Barry M lip liner - #11 Wine- works equally as well with gloss or lipstick for a precision line.

Best Deep purple Nail colour:

Chanel Vendetta- The most incredible dark purple shade.

The one that is gone but not forgotten.......................................

NARS Times Square Lipstick- From Make Up Your Mind

 Nars Times Square was a colour that was truly unique at the time a deep purple which was almost black, the original campaign was Erin O'Connor with a graphic flash of black liner, barely there base and Times Square in all of its glory- this colour looked equally amazing on darker skin tones too, I have seen it used on Alek Wek & Naomi Campbell, there was a matching lip liner and I would wear this lip colour, with a slick of Copacabana on my eyes, Zen blusher and feel like the bees knees :)

My recent homage to Times Square- I mixed about 4 shades to create the colour.

NOTE: There is a band actually called Deep Purple with *Smoke on the Water* being the strike out hit with one of the most simple and iconic intros- air guitars aloft :)

Lashes... starting with the Boots No7 Fanomenal Lash Serum- 1st post.

Last night I started using the Boots No7 Fanomenal  Lash serum, it is a serum that is applied to the lash line on lower and upper lashes (even brows) that in 8 weeks makes lashes appear fuller, thicker & longer. There are excellent reviews on the Boots website and when I purchased the Fanomenal Lash mascara the consultant who was lovely and so proud of Lisa Eldridge's association with No7 told me that she had seen a difference after 2 weeks. So let's get going ..........

What they Say:
This serum with its unique blend of ingredients gives thicker, fuller and longer lashes in just 8 weeks (as tested by consumers).
NB: I have noticed on the website it mentions darker yet on the packaging it does not, so I will be looking at that too, whether my lashes look darker.


Last night was the 1st night I tried the serum and it applies easily with a narrow (liquid liner style brush) to the root of the lashes on the upper, lower lashes and even brows. My lashes are very fine and I will find it easy to see a difference. It is not sticky and did not sting at all.

Lashes as they are very dark but very fine and definitely not the longest in the world.

Gratuitous shot of my son's lashes- yes, that is what I am aiming for :)

* I was sent this as a sample to review.

New York............East Village/Greenwich Village snaps.

These houses reminded me of the house in the Royal Tenenbaums

Lingerie shop- pin ups.

Thanksgiving is just around the corner- a florist's display.

The famous Inn where the Stonewall riots happened in June 1969

C.O.Bigelow

Washington Place

Beautiful *Tavern*

Street view

Always love an audacious, chubby city bird with attitude.

Manicure- Essie Mademoiselle- I let the manicurist pick, I did not have the heart to tell her that I would never normally wear that shade, I wanted something *black* or at least intense, but she LOVED that shade- it is actually growing on me.

Home whilst I am here, has everything I need.

My Guardians.

Clive Christian, Memoire Liquide- Jasmin/Gardenia custom blend, Molecule #1 and Cristalle

Yes, I am being a voyeur and staring right back at the guys staring in at me :)

Japonesque- Beauty Fixation Make up remover &Tinted lip conditioner swabs.

Well, I bought these both for £1 each as I was going on a trip and thought they might come in handy. Japonesque I have a make up box from them and some excellent Make up artist's tools that I normally buy in the US (Ricky's New York in particular) and have always found their things to be of great quality, despite my sensitive skin I thought why not??? I have seen these kind of things before and I was never impressed with the actual *product* inside but having used some Japonesque items before, I thought that I would try them...

So from Latest in Beauty website I added them to my basket for the princely sum of £2 and I am so glad that I did, they are excellent................... you snap the top off, the liquid runs down and collects in the other end so that you are ready to use it, no mess, no spillage and just excellent quality, perfect for kits as well as travelling.


Makeup Remover/Touch-up
I use 1 swab for each eye, it *lifts* pigment from the eye, removes even quite stubborn mascara and does not irritate my eyes- these are perfect as well for removing very strong lip colours and just *erasing* any smudges/make up mis-haps I will definitely be adding some to my kit.
 
INGREDIENTS : Water (Aqua, Eau ) , Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract, Phenoxyethanol, Methylparaben, Propylparaben, Tocopheryl Acetate, Citric Acid.
0.5 Fl Oz. in each swab


Tinted Lip Conditioner
I was so pleased to see a lack of mineral oil and it really sinks into the lips and moisturises the colour is barely there and I have not noticed that it actually tints my lips, I find there is a little too much product for my lips, so any surplus oil I have been rubbing into my cuticles (nice).

 INGREDIENTS: Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis (Sweet Almond) Oil, Tocopheryl Acetate, Flavor (Aroma), Glyceryl Oleate, TBHQ, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract, Red 17 (CI 26100).
 0.5 Fl Oz. in each swab

I checked their website and it is sold in Boots in the UK but possibly check out:  www.latestinbeauty.com  if they still have them for £1.

Chanel- Le Blanc De Chanel review.

 This is a white (light textured liquid to use as a primer to prolong your base and give a soft/subtle radiance to the skin). I also have been using it *neat* after my base as a highlighter and as a base for shadow across the eyes. I have been very impressed with this as it looks very *natural* and photographs very well.

What they Say:
Ingenious multi-tasking fluid 'primes' skin perfectly for makeup, while adding subtle contours and radiance to the face. A unique blend of powders reduces the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines for smooth, even, flawless finish." 

 Pros:

• Lightweight and blends in beautifully
• Gives a soft focus lustre opposed to a *full on sheen*
• No flash back
• Very natural, flattering effect 
• Smooth texture and hydrating feel

Cons:

•  The fragrance- very, very fragranced (reminds me of the Chanel Hydramax range)- if you have sensitive skin please patch test 1st- bizarrely I am fine but I would recommend a patch test.
• Hmmmm- reduces the appearance of fine lines & wrinkles- I don't think it does this so much, I would buy it for the soft/flattering lustrous effect on the skin.

I paired it with Vitalumiere #30

Results, smooth with a slight radiance.