Spotlight on Coloured Mascaras - 5 of My Faves

I've been chancing my arm with colour lately, well, not so much my arm as my lashes and it would appear that I'm not the only one. Pixiwoo's latest video on Ombre looks featured some of the most stunning burgundy mascara I've seen (By Terry Bordeaux) and it's prompted me to show you some of my favourite colours for adding a little life to my lashes. 

TopShop Mascara in Nettle - €11.99

Although highly pigmented, Nettle is actually one of the subtlest coloured mascaras I own. My eyes are a green grey, circled with blue and this works perfectly to complement them. I pair it with Estée Lauder's Intense Kajal Crayon in Dramatic Teal on my lower waterline to up the ante and create brighter look. 

YSL Mascara Volume Effet Faux Cils in Golden Sand - €31

From the YSL Summer 2012 Swimming Pool collection, Golden Sand is the perfect colour to use as a highlight over your regular mascara choice. I use it just on the very tips of my lashes and with NYX's Sparkle Leopard for a brighter, more awake effect, almost like frosted tips but not so 80's. 

Max Factor Eye Brightening Tonal Black - €8.99

As part of the new complement of gorgeous Max Factor mascaras (more of which soon), Eye Brightening Tonal Black for blue eyes is one of the three colour choices. It uses gem tones colour beads and light reflective particles to bring subtle shine to your peepers. The effect is so quietly blue that people have asked what I'm doing differently with my eyes when all that's changed is this mascara. I'm using it with the YSL Azure Blue from the Swimming Pool collection and it's a love from me. 

Clarins Wonder Mint - €24.40

Clarin's Wonder Mint is the brightest of all my coloured mascaras and I love it long time just for that. I haven't been brave enough to use it on all of my lashes yet (Festival territory maybe?) but on my lower lashes with a slick of the Estée Lauder Dramatic Teal I adore it. It's wetter than other mascaras but once dried it doesn't budge. Gorge. 

Clarins Intense Plum Instant Definition Mascara €25.42

From the Clarins Ombre Minerals collection for A/W 2012, Intense Plum is a go to mascara for me. The brush works brilliantly for precision and definition and the colour on the lashes is so close to black that you'll only ever notice that your lashes seem more soft focus that usual. I wear this with my go to liner Avon's SuperShock in Blackberry from their Smoke and Mirrors collection. (If you don't own that liner you should rectify that situation ASAP)

And they're my picks for bringing a little colour into proceedings in your day to day make up. Are you a fan of coloured mascaras? Are there any other brands or colours I should be checking out? 

By the by, if any of
these have tickled your fancy
& you'd like to see them
on the lash (fnar fnar) just 
let me know.  

First Look: YSL - Summer Look 2012 - Swimming Pool

I've a very special place in my heart for YSL including, but not confined to the gold luxe packaging that I compulsively polish until shiny with whatever cloth available (jumpers, scarves, children's hoods (be they mine or other peoples')). Everything about the brand says spendy, that's including the prices but I've yet to be dissapointed with a purchase.

Imagine my glee when my poor beleaguered postie dropped off a package from the brand last week with an exclusive goo at their Summer 2012 Swimming Pool collection and a couple of pieces to play with.

See? Shiny!

First up, Dessin Du Regard Waterproof (Eye Pencil) (€26) in Azure Blue is one of the two pencils on offer (the other is Luminescent Gold). It's a super soft, bright blue crayon that gave me pause when I opened it but once swatched and worn, I fell in love. Karen over at LovelyGirlieBits.com had a fantastic piece up yesterday about just how waterproof this feller is. Check it out here. Or feast your eyes on my very own eyeball below. I had four compliments by home time yesterday wearing this and they weren't even faux 'What are you wearing?' compliments either. This liner is, quite literally, stunning. 

Azure Blue and a coat of Golden Sand Effect Faux Cil Mascara

 Pictured above is a coating of the Volume Effet Faux Cil, waterproof mascara for a false lash effect, in Golden Sand (€31). There's also a Majorelle Blue version in this collection to complete your Summer time look. While Golden Sand is not the first colour you'd think of when it comes to mascara and certainly not one I'd pick up at the counter off the cuff, I really like it. I have just one coat on my lashes above but it can be built up to a more golden effect. I've since worn it on the tips of my already black lashes and that's definitely the way to go for me. Like frosted tips for your peepers. 

Mascara Volume Effet Faux Cils in Golden Sand - €31

Last of my beauty bits is certainly not least, I have a feeling that the good folks at YSL had a read of my Coffee Kissers post before deciding to send me this beauty as it's already gone to the top of my list! Behold Rouge Pur Couture No 44 - Bronze Ammonite...

Bronze Ammonite = Coffee coloured Heaven! €34

Again, once opened this bronze with gold microshimmer seems a little daunting. But just look at the swatches. Look. At. Them!

It's so flattering on and wears more like a pinky brown than a bronze gold. I got a solid three hours wear from one application. Although not moisturising, it didn't dry my lips like most microshimmer wielding lipsticks will do and wore off evenly, which is always a bonus.

I'd thoroughly recommend dropping by your nearest YSL counter for a little play with this Summer collection when it launches on June 21st. Just in case your appetite hasn't been whetted as yet, I've a sneak peek below at the other pieces that make up the YSL 2012 Limited Edition Swimming Pool Collection.