Unsurprisingly, after almost two hours swatching and sampling, I had quite a few items on my ever expanding 'must buy' list (and had attracted quite a few odd looks at my multicoloured hands and different coloured cheeks). I didn't actually buy anything as, duty free or no, Dublin has become astoundingly expensive and the pound is worth little more than the euro at the mo.. so I'll be tracking a few things down in London, online and hopefully on eBay.
Some things that caught my eye:
Estee Lauder
I don't usually bother much with EA make-up as it never really 'calls out' to me, but there were a couple of their Pure Colour lipsticks I tried which definitely warrant further investigation. The first, Beige, was actually a lovely pinky MLBB nude with a hint of sparkle. However I have something not disimilar in my Guerlain Kiss Kiss Maxi Shine Lipstick in Beige Shine.
However, Vanilla Truffle, a true, creamy beige nude, I'm definitely going to pick up. I don't have anything like it in my collection and it just looks divine in the tube, and on the lips, really a great nude. Here's a pic which actually makes it look more pink than it is - I'll update if and when it's in my hands!!
Bobbi Brown
Again not a brand I normally pay lots of attention to, I think as I've had a couple of duff recommendations from make up artists which put me off a bit. However there were quite a few things on display that got the old heartrate going, namely the gorgeous black/green metallic eyeshadow in Forest and the sheer gloss in Sailor, a juicy pinky red that makes the lips look quite delicious. However the stand out for me was the shimmer blush Bahama Brown which is a really unique colour on the pan - sort of a light sparkly beige - and which looks gorgeously glowy and natural on, I think there was a hint of pink but it was hard to see in the airport lighting. I'm definitely going to purchase these next time I'm at a counter in the UK.
Smashbox
This was quite a revelation. I'd heard of Smashbox but never had the chance to try any of their products, indeed I didn't know they were available in the UK - I do however have their Face and Body Brush which I purchased off eBay based on the glowing reports on MUA and which I'm pretty impressed with. It was the face and eye products as opposed to the lip stuff that got me excited - the Soft Lights in Tint looked really unique and I can imagine it would give the face a nice glow, and I also loved some of the colour combinations in the eyeshadow trios. The tinted moisturiser which I tried on the back of my hand also seemed to have a really nice consistency - I'm either going to plump for that or the Nars Sheer Glow foundation as I'm not getting on so well with my Chanel Teint Innocence compact. Anyway I've already picked up a couple of Smashbox things on eBay where they seem to be quite cheap and have found a site - justbeautydirect.co.uk that stocks a whole load of their stuff, so I shall certainly be carrying out some further investigations into this brand, will let you know how I get on!
As I didn't know much about Smashbox including how much it normally costs, I wondered whether I should have a little splurge in the airport, and boy am I glad I didn't! The eyeshadow trios were retailing at 23.95 euros (so about £20) - when I looked them up in the UK, most come in at under £10. Although it's hard sometimes when it comes to make up, sometimes it really does pay not to rush in!!
Anyone got any favourite Smashbox products?
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