As much as I am a self confessed Sun worshiper and Summer fangirl, I have to admit, there is just something about Autumn that I absolutely adore. The cosiness of wrapping up in a blanket, the layering of clothing to complete the perfect outfit, the pumpkin spice latte's, the casseroles - my feeders family are all about stodgy comfort food that makes you gain half a stone in one meal #MoveOverCandiceSwanepoel - but one thing that I really love, is the switch up in makeup that Autumn always makes me gravitate towards.
Off disappears slapping bronzer all over the face and the peachy pinks - well, to be honest, they're kind of an all day ehhr day thing for me, but you get the drift... - and in comes the earthy, red/brown/plum tones that make me want to up and leave for New york to frollick in central park with the leaves. (I should include in my bio's that I have an exceptional talent of incorporating New York in pretty much any sentence, shouldn't I?) So when an incredible package dropped through my door and I tore it open like an animal noticed the stunning gold and red packaging of the Clarins Autumn 2015 collection*, I happily declared it to be officially Autumn.
... And then headed straight to my dresser to slap on every single item subsequently proclaiming love at first sight. Or, use.
P.S I failed at being a beauty blogger by using them all before I remembered to photograph them first. #SorryNotSorry.
So, we're going in with the big guns. I wanted to start with the Clarins Pretty day palette because within the space of a couple of weeks, it's easily become my most valued palette and what I mean by this is that it kinda does everything. It's the neutral lovers dream with the perfect highlight, all over lid shade and some darker tones that I've been favouring through the crease and as an alternative to liner. The pigmentation is great - not as amazing as something like the Mac individual shadows but far more than any other palette I own - and the formula is buttery smooth, applying perfectly. Highly recommend. Pop the lightest shade on the brow bone/highlighting areas, the pale pink all over to create a nice base, the mid toned, cool silver/brown shade over the lid and the darker browns in the crease and as a liner and you have yourself the perfect day time smokey eye. [insert hand clapping emoji here for Clarins].
Keeping on the Eyeshadow theme, next up we have the Clarins Ombre Matte shadows. Now, I was instantly intrigued with these as I struggle to find matte shadows that apply well and aren't difficult to work with. Ladies and gents, I found my shadow.... [insert "hallelujah"/hands in the air emoji here] These shadows are even more buttery smooth than the palette. They apply seamlessly and and are just effortless to work with. I received Heather which is the most stunning plummy/purple toned shadow - that reminds me a lot of Mac's Satin taupe - which I've worn so much since receiving, despite being a much bolder shade than I'm used to.
The second Ombre matte I received was Carbon which is a matte black shade - and one that I couldn't really imagine wearing - and has now become my go to liner. I've (temporarily) replaced my liquid liner with this and am absolutely loving the softer, smokier effect. Plus it lasts all day so is perfect for busy ladies rushing around to meetings and events all day like myself.
Time to totally kick arse* tame those brows. (*major brownie points to anyone who gets the White chicks reference). I was 100% a dedicated Soap and glory archery brow pencil fangirl and genuinely thought that nothing could compare to that, and I guess I still kind of stand by that, but this Clarins eyebrow pencil is a very close second. What I love about the Clarins pencil is that the formula itself is a lot softer than the S&G counterpart. It makes application so easy, so comfortable, it doesn't drag on the skin or put half of your brows out #FirstWorldProblems... it just does a nice job of keeping them in place and looking neat and tidy. The colour, Soft blonde, is a really good match for me too. In an ideal world, I'd be married to Harvey Specter it'd be slightly cooler toned but other than that, I'm really enjoying using this.
Now we move on to the lips and this is where all the Autumnal goodness comes out to play. For starters Clarins Rouge elcat lipstick is - and has always been - one of my favourite lipstick formulas. Silky smooth, perfect application, extremely pigmented whilst being nourishing and long lasting, I was extremely happy to check out a couple of their new shades. First up, we have Tawny rose, this being the more nude/neutral of the two and reminds me of a slightly more glossy brown toned Kylie Jenner-esque toned lip. It's a really beautiful, quite dark nude - a lot darker than I normally go for but I'm really enjoying it for Autumn - that I think works beautifully with a neutral makeup look.
The second Rouge eclat lipstick in the collection is Red Paprika, and I have to be honest in that on first impressions, I really didn't think this would be for me. However, there is just something about these deep, burnt red shade with a tinge of brown (and no hint of orange or blue tones) that just seems to work for me. The glossiness makes it a much more wearable red and the Nutri Youth complex really does keep the lips so hydrated despite the fact that they also happen to be pretty darn long lasting. I am so pleasantly surprised by how much I love this and genuinely look forward to using it throughout the cooler months,
Yep, I am that much of a loser...
So that brings me to the end of this post. I can honestly say that I've never been so excited about an Autumn launch. From the gorgeous "works all year long" eye palette" to the stunningly unique burnt red lip... Each piece in this collection applies beautifully, is so chic and versatile and just works no matter what the occasion.
Plus, let's just talk about how incredibly Instragam-worthy the stunning gold packaging is? [insert heart eye'd emoji here]
As always, thanks so much for reading. I hope you enjoyed this post!
xx
*PR samples but all thoughts and love of burnt red lipsticks my own.
