October is done and dusted and, scary thought, we are marching steadily towards Christmas. Around this time last year, I was thinking about holiday makeup and obsessing about Nars Eye Paint in Iskandar which is a lovely antique gold. I noticed that my little pot was nearly out and was about to get another when I heard that Nars, sadly, was no longer cruelty-free. This is a point of difference that may or may not matter to you but I thought that this was a good opportunity to stop in at the Charlotte Tilbury counter. Charlotte Tilbury is, thankfully, cruelty-free. I walked away with this.
Yessssss, a pot of Eyes to Mesmerise in Bette. Charlotte Tilbury describes it as an amber gold and it does have more of a warm, bronze undertone to it compared to Nars' Iskandar which has more of an olive undertone. Bette has a mousse-like, whipped, light as air texture to it which allows it to blend like a dream. I have used it on top of eyeshadow powder and underneath without incident.
Because it is waterproof, Iskandar has a stiffer consistency and once it is on, baby, it is there to stay. This is fabulous if you are living in a tropical environment or dealing with a hot humid summer day but you have to work very quickly before it sets and it does crease and crack. I did find using an eyeliner over Iskandar to be very difficult. Bette is touted as long wear but not waterproof. What I love about Bette is that it is so easy to apply and is highly pigmented with hardly any creasing. Basically, it is a "one and done" miracle in a pot. The Nars pot has a fill of .08 oz and Charlotte Tilbury has a fill of .24 fl oz. Both Charlotte Tilbury and Francois Nars are luxury brands so this type of comparison is, I think, a bit more of an even comparison than, say, comparing a luxury brand to a drugstore brand. I think I will be investigating the Charlotte Tilbury line a lot more in the oh-not-so-distant-future.
Next up, is John Frieda's Colour Deepening Shampoo in Brilliant Brunette. Because I have never dyed my hair before, this is my way of sticking a pinky toe in that pool. I like that it is a shampoo so I don't really have to go out of my comfort zone or out of my daily routine to play with my hair colour.
It is supposed to infuse rich, dark tones to natural brunette hair. The effect is quite subtle. I notice the change in tone more where the light hits my hair. The shampoo came bundled with the Colour Deepening Treatment. The treatment only takes 5 minutes (but is not recommended for gray or blonde hair). I do love 2 for 1 deals, don't you? Funnily enough, I found this on an end cap at my local grocery store. I didn't see it at any of my local pharmacies. I noticed that the shampoo also came in multi-tonal and blonde highlights formulas. Have you tried John Frieda before? If you are interested, keep an eye out for the 2 for 1 bundles as there were only a few left at my grocery store.
This is not a sponsored post.
