I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again… CLEAN OUT YOUR MAKEUP BAG/KIT!!

Debenhams have surveyed 1000 women and have found some shocking results. 9 out of 10 women did not know that make up comes with a ‘period after opening’ sign, did not understand the symbol or admitted not being able to read the small writing. This sign is actually required by EU law. It looks like a small open jar with a number and usually a letter inside, showing how many months after opening it should be disposed of.

Apologies for picture quality, iPhone camera + tiny symbol does not work well!

Some of the other things discovered from the survey:

• Eye shadows and powder blushes are kept for an average of 15 years! Yes YEARS! Reccommendations say these should be disposed betwen 18-24 months after opening.
• Lipsticks are kept for 10 years rather than 12-24 months.
• Mascara was found to be kept for one year. This should be disposed of after 4-6 months. Can you say “eye infection”?!
• 60% admitted that they share products with friends and family. This is another way to open yourself up to a nice infection, especially where mascara is concerned.
• 72% never wash their makeup brushes or sponges. One word, vile!

If food reaches its expiry date you wouldn’t eat it, would you? So why willingly use expired products on your skin and extremely sensitive areas like your eyes?

Stop hoarding and bin it ladies. Apart from all of the possible infections risks, makeup past its use by date is going to look awful when applied.

Here are some guidelines for how long you should be keeping those cherished friends after opening:

Mascara: 4-6 months

Highlighter: 6 months

Concealer: 6-12 months

Liquid foundation: 12 months

Eyeshadow/blush: 18-24 months

Eyebrow pencil: 18 months

Cream blush: 12 months

Pressed/loose powder: 12 months

Lipstick: 12-24 months

Eye/lip liner: 18 months

Perfume: 36 months

Hand cream: 12-24 months

Lip balm: 24 months

Check out my “get the look” piece over on Style Siren.

When I heard that Cyndi Lauper and Lady GaGa were the new ambassadors for MAC Viva Glam I can honestly say I was so excited to see what they would do.

Both Cyndi and GaGa have always been very adventurous with their clothing and makeup, marry that with a creative brand like MAC and surely the outcome can only be a visiual feast, right?! Not really, in fact, its all a little… blah!

I can’t deny, the lipstick shades are gorgeous, but the promo shots are just boring. Ok so Viva Glam is ironically, not about the glam, but why oh why would MAC allow such a wonderful opportunity for creativity pass them by?!

Let’s hope they get GaGa on board to promote a limited edition collection, then we might see what they can really do.

Cyndi’s shade

Cyndi’s look

GaGa’s shade

GaGa’s Look

The promo

The 82nd Academy Awards nominations were announced today and three films will be battling for the Best Makeup Oscar:

Il Divo – A biopic based on the figure of former Italian Prime Minister Giulio Andreotti.

Star Trek – Do you really need an explanation?!

The Young Victoria – A film based around the accession to the throne and early reign of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and her marriage to Prince Albert.

I can’t comment fairly on any of these because I haven’t seen them but if past history in this category is anything to go by then Star Trek will probably scoop the award. I’m going to keep my fingers crossed for The Young Victoria anyway because it is a period drama and the makeup is most likely beauty as opposed to special effects.

Please leave a comment if I haven’t included your favourite or if you just want to elaborate.

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In 1994, James Cameron wrote an 80 page script inspired by “every single science fiction book” he read as a child. This was the start of the epic success that became Avatar. To spend so many years working on one project, Cameron surely wanted to create something that would be inspirational and loved by many. Well, one thing I’m sure he didn’t imagine inspiring was a range of beauty products, but that is exactly what has happened.

US cosmetics brand Milani have created a range of 3D products which shimmer and reflect to create a 3D effect, just like Avatar. (So they say!)

The range will include lip gloss, eye shadow and nail polish which will reflect light in special ways to create said 3D effect. There will be a choice of colours within the range but in keeping with the Avatar theme, there is of course the inclusion of that good old makeup industry frenemy, blue!!

So, lets have a show of hands, how many of you have gotten a sniff of your lipstick and thought it smelled good enough to eat? I certainly think MAC smells good enough… No, I haven’t!

RAW Natural Beauty, a cosmetics company who “specialize in purely natural, high-performance products” is claiming that the average woman eats seven pounds of lipstick in her liftime. They’ve even created a nice little video to bring your attention to the fact. See where this is going? If you’re eating that much lipstick, you should be using one that is made from natural ingredients. Or at least that is what RAW want to achieve.

I have to hand it to them, it’s clever advertising!

Another celebrity, another premiere and after her makeup tragedy a few weeks ago on X Factor, it’s good to see Leona back on form and looking well. She attended the Hollywood premiere of Avatar on December 16th.

Were her lips always that big or can I smell collagen?!

Again I’m a little behind with blogging about this (I really need to get my act together!).

Nicole Kidman rocked up to the New York premiere of Nine last week looking like she’d dipped her face in some talc. If a makeup artist did this then I am sure they will never work in the industry again after Nicole saw the photo evidence. If she did this to herself then she’s continuing the crazy act!

What is going on with her lately?!

At the time of Leona’s first X Factor 2009 appearance, I was fully expecting to be left gobsmacked, but, not for the reason that I was. I have always liked Leona and she never fails to blow me away with her voice. This time however, I was “blown away” by her appearance instead. I intended to blog about it shortly after her actual appearance but out of sheer laziness I didn’t. I simply have to now though because all of these weeks later, it still bothers me.

While Leona’s general appearance was perfectly fine, nice dress, good hair etc, her makeup was quite simply, disturbing! It is proving difficult to find decent pictures of the atrocity but have a look at the video clip below and you’ll see what I mean.

The X Factor has a team of makeup artists and a good one at that but it would seem that a lot of the guest stars come with one in their entourage and Leona was no exception to this. That, if you ask me, makes things even worse. A makeup artist hired to work with a global star like Leona is obviously a professional (right?!) and yet they allowed her to go out on stage looking like that?!

Am I the only one who thinks that it is just awful? It could have worked for a photoshoot but definitely not a TV appearance.

The moral of the story?

BLEND BLEND BLEND and then… BLEND SOME MORE!!!!