Clinique 16 Shades of Beige Collection - Limited Edition All About Shadow 8-Pan Palette in Neutral Territory 2

Clinique Limited Edition All About Shadow 8-Pan Palette in Neutral Territory 2* - £32 at clinique.co.uk

As you may not know, I recently left my job at Estee Lauder to become a member of their sister brand, Clinique! I'm really happy with my decision to change job and it was in no way a result of any problems with Lauder as a brand, I simply wanted to progress and wanted full-time hours which weren't available at the time at Estee Lauder. Enough about that, I'm really excited to share with you a new limited edition product from Clinique which will be launching in February as part of the 16 Shades of Beige Collection. 

Everyone loves a neutral palette, and this new offering from Clinique is gorgeous. I am such a massive fan of their eyeshadows anyway, they have the most soft, buttery texture and are so rich and pigmented.  

The Limited Edition All About Shadow 8-Pan Palette in Neutral Territory 2 is no different and contains a mixture of seven shimmer and one matte shade. The matte shade is the fourth shade in, which is labelled as 'light shade of day into date duo', a colour that is part of one of the permanent eyeshadow duo palettes. The palette, despite being branded as a limited edition product, contains all permanent shades that can be purchased either as a single or in their duo, trio or quad, depending how they come. The palette as a limited edition piece is fab, but if one or a few of the colours really float your boat then you can also re-purchase them afterwards when you've used them up - perfect! The most annoying thing in the world is falling in love with a limited edition product that once you've used up, you can never repurchase, right?

Neutral Territory 2 features colours that are really diverse and there are shades in the palette for everyone from light to deep skintones. The first four shades are lighter shade offerings, perfect for under the brow and for inner corner highlight, as well as all over the lid. The last four shades are perfect for a subtle smoke and are really wearable for every day.

L-R: Sugar Cane, light shade of Diamonds and Pearls Duo,
light shade of Neutral Territory Duo, light shade of Day Into Date Duo.

L-R: Brown shade of Polar Blue Quad, Hazy, Black Honey,
dark brown shade of Morning Java Quad.

I love Clinique's matte eyeshadow formulas as they aren't flat or chalky, they have an ever so subtle sheen to them which makes them so much more wearable in my opinion, shown by the above swatch of 'light shade of day into date duo'.

As well as the 8-pan eyeshadow palette, the collection will also consist of 8 Limited Edition 'A Different Nail Enamel' shades, all in beautiful beige hues. 

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Overall, this is a gorgeous, gorgeous palette and one that I can't wait to wear on counter. I highly recommend all Clinique eyeshadows and if you've never tried them before, then this palette is a great place to start. 

Clinique's Limited Edition All About Shadow 8-Pan Palette in Neutral Territory 2 will retail for £32 and is on counters in Feburary, however it is already available to purchase online at clinique.co.uk along with the nail colours aswell.

What do you think of the Neutral Territory 2 palette?

*I was gifted this palette as an employee and did not purchase it myself.

The Smokey Eye

Who doesn't love a smokey eye? I felt like glamming it up a bit the other night and decided to do a graphite/charcoal themed smokey eye. I paired it with a nude gloss to keep the focus on the eyes and used a bronzing blush to sculpt my cheeks and not introduce too much colour. I love this look and will definitely be re-creating it at the weekend when I go out for a Christmas meal! 

I am so obsessed with eyeshadows and my collection is ever-growing. I wanted to delve into some more smokey/dark colours so I added the ones I used here to my collection recently. I usually wear browns, neutrals and bronzes but I am really getting into my red toned browns, greens and greys lately.

Here I used:

Estee Lauder Double Wear Foundation in Cashew

MAC Pro Longwear Concealer in NW25

Estee Lauder Automatic Brow Pencil in Soft Brown

Benefit Speed Brow

Lime Crime Eyeshadow Helper

Clinique All About Shadow Eye Shadow in Graphite

Estee Lauder Pure Color Eyeshadow in Black Crystals

Estee Lauder Double Wear Eye Pencil in Graphite

Estee Lauder Lash Primer Plus

Estee Lauder Sumptuous Mascara in Black

Laura Mercier Translucent Loose Powder

Benefit Dallas Box 'O Powder

Estee Lauder Pure Color Gloss in Tempting Tearose

Are you a fan of the smokey eye look?

Clinique Superbalm Moisturising Glosses - Rootbeer and Apricot

Clinique Superbalm Moisturizing Gloss in Rootbeer and Apricot - £16.00 each here.

I'm gonna come right out and say it, I'm Chloe and I'm a lipgloss junkie. Just send me straight to Lipgloss-aholics Anonymous as I have a serious issue! My newest gloss obsession are these Clinique Superbalm Moisturizing lip glosses, tinted versions of their original Superbalm lip balm/treatment.

I was intrigued by these as they are meant to be a treatment as well as make-up, they keep the lips hydrated as well as giving a hint of colour and incredible shine, perfect for the winter months. I am loving both of these shades, Apricot being a natural peachy nude and quite clear on the lips, whilst Rootbeer is a bit of a deeper shade, but on me it is still very nude which I love. The reason I love these is because they just give fantastic gloss, super high gloss. They make the lips look full and juicy (the point of why I wear gloss, as I wish I had bigger lips!) and they are so easy to throw on out and about every day for a polished, glossy look. 

Swatches with flash (top to bottom) - Rootbeer, Apricot

These little tubes have been in my handbag ever since I got them and they are the perfect, hydrating, non-sticky glosses. I've not tried much Clinique make-up, but what I have tried has been very impressive. I just got a bunch of their new All About Shadow eyeshadow singles as well and have a post coming up soon!

Do you wear lipgloss? What's your favourite?

My new best friend! Clarins Instant Eye Make-Up Remover

Clarins Instant Eye Make-Up Remover - £17 here.

 I posted this pic on Instagram (username: cocomykel - follow me!) the other day of my new favourite thing - the Clarins Instant Eye Make-Up Remover for waterproof and heavy make-up. I nabbed this the other day as I was getting a bit fed up of melting my eye make-up off with my cleansing balm at night (I use the Clinique Take The Day Off one to take my make-up off). The balm is effective in taking it off, but it always takes a little extra rubbing of my eyes than I'd prefer, and as the eye area is quite sensitive and I'm conscious of losing lashes, I thought I'd give the Clarins a go!

It's one of those dual-phase make-up removers which requires you to shake it (which is secretly quite fun!), the girl on Clarins told me when I bought it that you have to "shake it to wake it!" and she seemed rather amused!

After shaking well so both blue and clear liquids are mixed, I pop some on a cotton pad and hold over my eye before carefully wiping it around my eye area and removing all eyeshadow and mascara, before I go into my proper cleanse at the sink. This stuff feels great on the eyes and is not irritating to me whatsoever. It feels a tad oily compared to say Bioderma, but I think that's why it's so effective. It leaves my eye area feeling smooth and I cleanse afterwards anyway so the remainder of it is always being removed.

I haven't tried this bad boy with waterproof mascara as I don't tend to wear it, but it's designed to do so and I'm sure it works a treat. I highly recommend this eye make-up remover if you wear a lot of eye shadow, eyeliner and mascara like I tend to and want something that whips it off easily and effectively.

What's your favourite way to remove your eye make-up?

Benefit Speed Brow

Benefit Speed Brow - £13

Just a quick post about a product I am absolutely loving, my new friend Speed Brow by Benefit.

I find Benefit as a brand quite hit and miss with their products. I am a huge fan of their Erase Paste and use it almost every day, but some of their other products, mainly their base products, have disappointed me. 

I first tried this product at work, as while I was on counter I noticed in the mirror that the hairs on one eyebrow were brushed the wrong way and made it look terrible. I don't know if you know what I mean when your eyebrow hairs get out of control and go in funny directions? As Estee Lauder don't do a brow gel, I quickly popped over to Benefit, applied a quick bit of Speed Brow, and hot footed back to my counter. I was quite skeptical of the tiny brush and didn't think it looked like the best applicator but the small size allows you to be really precise and brush them with accuracy into the desired shape.

I was so impressed by how it smoothed my brows through and kept them in place all day without looking like there is any gunky product on them whatsoever. They literally didn't budge! To touch, my brows felt like they weren't going to move but they didn't feel hard or crispy at all, still soft. It also helps to smooth through the product that you've applied in your brows to help it look natural and not too harsh, but doesn't wipe the product away.

Unedited heavy swatch of Speed Brow on my hand.

Combing the product through is really easy and the colour is perfect for the shade of my brows. Speed Brow does only come in one colour but I do think it's quite universal, it's light enough for blondes and not pigmented enough to look obvious on really dark or black brows. The colour also has a taupe/ashy undertone to it which most people brows naturally have.

All in all, a really fantastic product that does what it says on the tin and one that I would happily repurchase!

You can pick up Benefit's Speed Brow at any Benefit counter and online at benefitcosmetics.co.uk.

Have you tried Speed Brow before? 

Would you recommend any other brow gels?

Face of the Day - 28/05/13

Hello all!
The 28th was my last day off after a lovely and long Bank Holiday weekend. I went to see one of my best friends Michaela as it was her Birthday which was really nice and chilled. She has a lovely blog which you can visit here! My make-up was simple and features my new favourite blush Estée Lauder Pure Color Blush in Electric Pink - it's gorgeous!

I'm still in love with my Double Wear foundation - you can read my ode to it here. He's been faithful so far and I think it might be getting serious....

What I wore:

Estée Lauder Double Wear Foundation in 3W2 Cashew

Estée Lauder Double Wear Flawless Wear Concealer in Warm Medium

Estée Lauder Ideal Light Brush-On Illuminator in Medium

Laura Mercier Loose Setting Powder in Translucent

Estée Lauder Pure Color Blush in Electric Pink

Estée Lauder Pure Color Eyeshadow in Tempting Mocha

Estée Lauder Sumptuous Extreme Mascara in Black

Estée Lauder Automatic Brow Pencil in Soft Brown

Clarins Instant Light Natural Lip Perfector in 02 Apricot Shimmer


So there you go! I hope you are enjoying my FOTD posts, I always enjoy looking at other people's!


What make-up are you wearing today?

'The Estée Lauder Face'

Just a quick snap of the make-up I did for my first day on Estée Lauder. I didn't have any Lauder blushes when I started, but have bought one since which will feature in one of my next posts! So the make-up here is pretty clean and simple and I applied blush once I got there before the store opened.

I was going for a clean and flawless look rather than a smokey eye or anything, as I think Lauder's image is quite sophisticated and understated. The eyeshadow I wore, Pure Color Eyeshadow in Tempting Mocha completely stole the show and I got so many compliments on it!

Double Wear Flawless Wear Concealer in
Warm Medium and Ideal Light Brush-On
Illuminator in Medium

For concealer I went for Double Wear Flawless Wear Concealer in Warm Medium to help conceal any redness. I then mixed this concealer with Advanced Night Repair Eye to create something hydrating enough for under the eye as the DW Concealer on it's own is quite drying for that area. At Lauder we call this the 'Fatigue Fighter' and it's used to help hydrate and conceal the eye to give a more flawless and awake look, hiding bags and dark circles.

I then used Ideal Light in Medium as it is a brush-on illuminator that reflects light and helps to brighten under the eye further. It's a correcting salmon type shade which is perfect for dark circles. The texture is great for the under-eye area as it is light and not drying. 

For brows I used my Automatic Brow Pencil in Soft Brown which has a dry/waxy texture which is great for natural looking brows that stay all day. I have used this non-stop since I got it - a great product.

Pure Color Eyeshadow in Tempting Mocha

Now for the hero - Pure Color Eyeshadow in Tempting Mocha, a shade that sometimes looks Taupe, sometimes looks Purple and sometimes looks Blue. Underwhelming in the pan, this shadow looks amazing on, and can be worn lightly swept on or more heavily with other darker shadows depending on what look you are going for. 

A slick of mascara and gloss and I was done. I used Sumptuous Extreme mascara and Pure Color Gloss in Rock Candy. 

Pure Color Gloss in Rock Candy

It's going really well at Lauder, I have a lot to learn still but I am really enjoying it and getting to grips with it all as quick as I can :-) My favourite part has been doing the iMatch (foundation matching) and getting to grips with all the foundation shades and the application.

I am really missing my other make-up as it feels like I am only using my Lauder products *cries*, but it's nice to explore the brand and see what make-up they have to offer, as everything I've tried has been of amazing quality and I've really been enjoying using them. 

I will update again on how I'm getting on soon - feel free to ask me any questions that you may have, I'd love to read them!

Ta ta for now!

My Absense & My Make-Up Story

Hello all!

Long time, no see :-(

I posted this picture to my Instagram a few days ago, and it shows that I haven't posted since April 24th! Almost a month ago.

I've been sooooo busy this past month and have been at work most days - boo! I had been working really hard and it just took all my energy, by the time I got home the only thing I wanted was a cuppa, my dinner and bed! Sorry poor blog! 

I have got lots and lots of posts in mind, and things I had already photographed and edited before I took my impromptu break from blogging, so you shall be seeing those soon. Sometimes it's nice to have a little break and it makes you realise how much you miss writing posts and thinking up blog ideas, but I do apologise to anyone who reads regularly - sowwi!!

If theres anything you would like to see me post about or content ideas for the blog then please leave me comments or feel free to email or tweet me. All my links and buttons are on the right-hand side of my blog ------->

So......that aside, I thought it would be a great time to share that I have a new job which I am so so so incredibly excited about!

I posted this picture to Instagram a little while ago now, and yep, I will be working as a Beauty Consultant for Estee Lauder! The picture was taken when I was watching the training videos and reading through the guide that my Counter Manager gave me.

I was so lucky to get this job, and I feel very blessed and happy that I will be in a job that I will hopefully really enjoy! :-)

I'll tell you all more about it in my next post and let you know how I'm getting on. 

In this little chatty post, I thought it would be fun just to talk about how my love for make-up started and how I got to where I am now.

So like a lot of little girls, it probably started with my Mum. I always used to watch her putting her make-up on, she never left the house without foundation and lipstick - even if she was just dropping me to school in her pyjamas!! My Mum has always had so many lipsticks, and she always mixes her own lip colours to get different combinations and shades. 

In year 7 I was obsessed with wearing make-up, my usual tipple being Maybelline Dream Matte Mousse foundation which my Mum also used to use and we both now agree that it's awful - haha! I was partial to pink and peach eyeshadows when I was around that age, and me and my best friend Bethany got told to wear less make-up to school or they would make us take it all off - naughty!!

 In year 8 I found myself in love with a bronze eyeshadow from Victorias Secret that I used to use on my cheekbones for a glow - I was literally obsessed with it and would wear it everyday - on my eyes too. It came in a cute little pointy pot with a sponge tipped applicator - it's on eBay here, I might have to order one again to see if it's still as good as I remember! The shade was called "Gold School". 

In year 9 I used to love doing black eyeliner only on the top with a flick and some mascara. I used to use a black liquid eyeliner by Rimmel, the one with the pointy top, and after that dried, I'd use a black kohl liner by Rimmel to make it really black and smooth looking. People always used to ask how I got my eyeliner to last all day without it smudging off - thats how! I always wanted to get it perfect, I've always been a perfectionist with make-up and I'm constantly searching for better ways, better techniques and better products. 

During school I always used to wear Benefit's Some Kinda Gorgeous and went through quite a few of them. I remember going to the Benefit counter with my Mum one day, and she went there to buy her usual foundation, the twist up pan stick one, and I remember them telling her they had discontinued it. I think we both tried the SKG and she also bought me Dallas blush which I completely used up over about 2 years - I wore it every single day! I also used to wear Benefit's That Gal primer on it's own a lot as it brightened my face when I didn't want to wear foundation.

Year 10 was a lazy year for me, and I never really wore make-up, I really relished those extra minutes in bed at that time and make-up became an after thought. Year 11 saw my make-up love come back and my signature look was liquid and kohl on the top lashline and just kohl on the bottom lashline. I wore that pretty much everyday for a year or so. 

Going into college I started to get more and more into make-up and began to buy the more expensive stuff. I had a Saturday job for a few years and would happily spend my whole weeks wages on make-up in town when at college on Monday - oops! I discovered MAC and bought my first eyeshadow from there - Naked Lunch. I started to pencil in my eyebrows before moving onto MAC Espresso eyeshadow in my brows with a MAC 208 brush. I wen't through a bottle of Benefit's High Beam and loved wearing it on my brow bone, cheekbones and anywhere I could put it really - LOL! 

I didn't really wear much foundation until my second year at college as I felt my skin looked fine without it. Going into my second year at college, I became obsessed with concealer and started buying every concealer I could get my hands on. Stemming from the hatred of my dark circles, I tried to find the 'perfect' one that would hide them, and started wearing mineral foundation too. 

Any holidays I went on were a certain excuse to spend all of my spending money in one hit at Duty Free after splurging on MAC and Chanel amongst others. By my 18th birthday I had got myself a little collection together that is still ever growing. Delving into high-end foundations, blushes, make-up brushes (which aren't cheap) amongst many other things, I'm sure that over the years I've spent a small fortune on make-up - sue me!

Make-up is something I've always loved as I've always wanted to look the best version of myself. I remember doing my Mum's make-up for her if she was going out, and she used to always say 'why don't you be a make-up artist?' which I always shrugged off as it seemed so impossible and I thought make-up artists were only for celebrities and film stars. I've wanted to be a make-up artist for a good few years now, and aspire to train and gain my qualifications. Make-up artists aren't all about TV and Film, you can make over brides, someone with a special event to go to, it might be someones birthday or they might simply want some help looking good for a night out and are unsure how to do it them self. Make-up is about making people feel beautiful in their own skin and giving them the opportunity and the confidence to feel they can be anyone they want to be. I've always loved the way make-up can transform a face, how you can feel like you have flawless skin, or long eyelashes, even if you don't. 

Some people probably think it's odd that I love make-up so much, or think I'm vain, or that the make-up I wear is unnecessary, each to their own. I love it, and that's all that matters. I love it because to me it's magic, it's art and there is an incredible amount of skill and knowledge involved in make-up artistry that I really admire and aspire to be able to achieve myself one day. 

I hope you enjoyed this post - just a little about the inspiration behind my blog, and how I got to be such a lover of make-up!

"The point of make-up is not to try to look like someone else, but to look your own best"

- Tom Pecheux 

What do you think about make-up? I'd love to know!

A few of my favourite things.....

Just wanted to share with you a few beauty bits that are my favourites! There are some very old favourites along with a few newer ones - enjoy! 

MAC Eye Kohl in Teddy

I only used it on my bottom waterline in this photo, and I've been doing that a lot lately. The colour is so rich and smokey, it's a deep copper-brown that is metallic and is such a great alternative to black or brown liner. This is my absolute favourite eyeliner ever and it has been for some time now. I'm so happy that I found this shade - I hope it never gets discontinued!

MAC Face and Body Foundation in C5 and Chanel Rouge Coco Shine in Evasion

I have loved Face and Body for over a year now, it is the most fabulous product ever. It has the same ingredient in that they use in lip stains, which means it is like glue! It's waterproof and can be used all over the body - legs, arms, you name it! It would be great for a night out to give your legs that high-definition look. It has a beautiful glow to it and looks just as gorgeous when set with powder. This foundation is almost magic, just when you think it couldn't get any more amazing - when you buff it into the skin, it actually becomes more opaque and thick the more you buff, so great coverage can be obtained from it! A beautiful product that I will always, always repurchase.

As for the lipstick, it's my absolute favourite of all time. It is the most beautiful pink shade that is quite nude and quite close to the colour of my own lips, so it's definitely a 'my lips but better' kind of colour. It's lovely and sheer, really moisturising and leaves lips with a slight sheen and wash of colour. I love it because I can apply it without a mirror and always know it will look good. I highly, highly recommend!

My custom MAC Pro Palette - (Shades clockwise from top left): Satin Taupe, Naked Lunch, Espresso, Soba 

I love my MAC quad, and it comes with me whenever I'm travelling or staying away, it's always in my everyday make-up bag. Naked Lunch was the first eyeshadow I ever bought from MAC! Ahhh memories. This is a really nice neutral palette that is really versatile - the Satin Taupe is great used as a taupe liner, Espresso is great for my brows and as a crease colour, Soba can be whacked all over the lid on it's own and look fab, and Naked Lunch is really brightening and looks great on the brow bone and inner corner of the eye. 

Nude, round nails!

I am loving my current nails - rounded shape with a nude gel polish. I don't know the name of the shade (sorry!) but it's Calgel, which I have spoken about in my nail post here.

Estee Lauder Double Wear a.k.a the Mothership

Needs no introduction - me and Double Wear are in a very intense relationship right now. Review here!

Biologique Recherche Lotion P50

A great exfoliating toner with tons of tingly ingredients including Horseradish (the smell is....interesting to say the least!) and Glycolic Acid. At £49.00 a bottle, this stuff isn't cheap, but it has improved the texture of my skin so much and will be so good for my skin in the long run, in terms of lines and ageing etc.

Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream

A staple of mine! It's always in my bag, possibly the best no-fuss lipgloss ever! Looks great over any lipstick and oh so nourishing. I wear this on it's own a lot, and it's great for spots too! A firm fave.

Bioderma Crealine H2O

 A cult beauty product in the beauty world - and rightly so. I wouldn't use anything else to remove my make-up, although sometimes an oil based product is needed if I have heavy make-up on my eyes etc. The giant 500ml bottle lasts me for ages and is 100% worth the money. I order mine off of eBay from monseiurgeorgew.

The Original Tangle Teezer and Tangle Teezer Compact Styler

I love love love my Tangle Teezers! They are perfect for my hair as it's very thick and I end up pulling out chunks with normal hairbrushes and hurting myself in the process! These are so gentle and get rid of all my tangles without being painful or difficult in the slightest! Perfect for Afro-Caribbean hair that is weak and prone to breakage. The pink one is the compact version that I keep in my handbag at all times!!

Classic Beauty Blender

My sponge companion for make-up application on a daily basis - I love this lil pink guy! Makes all make-up look flawless and airbrushed, brushes just don't do it the same for me after this! I have reviewed it here!

Just a few of my faves ;-) 

I hope you enjoyed this post!