FACE Stockholm Magic Wand

The Swedish have given us may wonderful additions to modern life, such as pancakes, Volvos, depressed detectives and Alexander Skarsgård. I now count FACE Stockholm amongst this hallowed group - their streamlined range of professional products is all about quality, with an incredible array of pigments and formulations housed in sleek, metallic packaging. It's chic and smart makeup and skincare, and I'm dying to visit one of their stores one day.

The lovely people at FACE were kind enough to send me a few products to try, including their glittering Magic Wand pen. Touted as highlighting and concealing - magically, one would assume - it's a handy little pick me up that I'm thrilled with as a light, sheer concealer. Below are the shades -

I started using it only for undereyes, hoping it would be similar to YSL's Touche Eclat, but it wasn't for me - I loved the creamy, sheer formula but the shade (#1) did nothing to brighten up my shadows, being a bit too puttyish and cool for my very yellow (read: sallow) undertones. Were it to be a good color match, the formula feels wonderful and light around the eyes - it just doesn't do anything for me brightness wise, I think I need a bit more pink in the formula.

Then I tried it as a quick concealer - and I'm in LOVE! I use very little coverage, and I hate the feeling of anything cakey, dry or fake looking on my skin - this is remarkably creamy and light, with good lasting power. Somehow the shade suits everywhere but my underye perfectly - it blends beautifully over spots, redness or little broken capillaries, and looks completely sheer and natural, while damping down the red and covering exactly what I want concealed. It layers wonderfully and never cakes or creases, even on dry, irritated skin.

If you're used to heavy duty concealers for maximum coverage, this probably isn't going to be for you, but for quick touch ups, tidying up sheer complexions and for dry, easily irritated skin, it's an absolute must for me - I keep it in my clutch of essentials, and will be repurchasing it regularly. Is it magic? I might not be trying the right spells, but I can't get anything but a lovely creamy concealer out of it so far, but that's magic enough right now for my tired winter skin. At $32, it's even a bit less pricey than most of the click pen concealers out there, and lasts white well.

Have you heard of or tried any FACE Stockholm products? Are you still thinking about Alexander Skarsgård driving around in a Volvo and eating pancakes while solving crimes? That's okay. When you're done, have a look at their website - it's gorgeous. And let me know if you have a favorite magic item in your beauty arsenal that you can't live without!

(product kindly sent by FACE Stockholm for review)

Beauty Thieving - Louis Vuitton S/S 12

I'm sure I wasn't the only one to be completely captivated by the makeup for the carousel-themed Louis Vuitton S/S 12 show - not just divinely pretty, but infinitely wearable, and easily adjustable to suit any skintone. Since October I've been searching high and wide for some sort of tutorial on the look, but I can't find a thing - so I had to take matters into my own hands and make one myself. I don't see why it shouldn't be possible to do a similar, slightly easier version of the look with the above products. Apparently makeup artist Pat McGrath used 10 sets of false lashes on each eye for the show to give the incredible feathery length. This is not for me, who can manage to get just one strip caught under my eyelid or up my nose when attempting to apply. So I think a good lengthening mascara combined with some individual falsies should suffice for a toned-down version. Here's my picks for an easy, quick version that's still shimmery and sheer:

Face Concealer by Yves Saint Laurent
Face Blush by NARS

FACE Stockholm Lash Lift - I just reviewed this new mascara and praised its "doll-like" effect. Perfect for the doe eyes here.

Benefit Lash Lovelies - apply these single falsies wherever you need a little extra thickness or length, particularly the outer corners, but only after you've already put on several coats of mascara. Good luck, you'll need it.

Bobbi Brown Shimmer Wash eye shadow - a shimmery, natural-looking champage hue on the lids.

YSL Touche Eclat - to brighten and conceal while keeping things sheer.

Benefit High Beam - I love this subtle highlighter, and like to mix it with a bit of moisturizer. Dab on cheekbones, browbones, down the bridge of the nose and above the cupids bow.

Smashbox Eye Beam Brightening Pencil - to rim the inner eye and lashline with a cool glow.

Nars lipstick in Pago Pago - this soft, peachy pink is pearly but still warm, perfect for this look.

Nars Duo in Orgasm/Albatross - Orgasm is the perfect peachy neutral for just a hint of color on the cheeks - swipe in the hollows, with Albatross along the cheekbones for contour and definition. Hello bone structure!

Redken Wool Shake Volumizer - this was used backstage to add the matte texture to model's hair - tease a bit, and pull it into messy french twist or bun and then add a thin hair band or ribbon - I love this crystalline version from Anthropologie.

FACE Stockholm - first stop on the mascara quest

Well this is rather anti-climactic. I've spent a lifetime searching for a mascara that I'm happy with, with no luck. I've tried them all, high and low, big and small, and anything I can just about stand gets discontinued as soon as I find it. Consistently, like it's a conspiracy. So I thought I would chronicle my harrowing and danger-fraught quest as I waded through dozens, nay hundreds, of mascaras, in search of the holy grail of feathery separation.

These are the very first I've tried for my long and painful journey to perfect lashes - newly released products that FACE Stockholm graciously sent me to try. And they're wonderfully good. It all just seems a bit too easy, and now what am I going to write about?

FACE Stockholm's Lash Lift has a very narrow brush with extremely short bristles - not a dreaded comb, but it still is a bit fiddly to use - you can't just swipe it on quickly, you have to pay attention. HOWEVER - when you do it correctly, and take your time, the results are fantastic. Incredibly long, shiny, separated lashes - a very doll-like effect. The formula is quite liquidy, which is what I like, so you may need to wipe the brush a few times until you get the hang of it. And I will say I tend to get a lot of the mascara on my upper waterline when I apply it, because the bristles are very short - I don't mind this because I line my waterline most of the time anyway, and the formula is non-irritating. I end up looking like I'm wearing a bit of eyeliner, which is fine. God knows I can use any extra sprucing up I can manage lately. One would assume that Luxe Lash would be more high impact of the two - but not so! The lifting version is the more dramatic - this is actually best for easy, soft lashes - it has a fat brush with a similar formula that coats lashes nicely with minimal clumping, and looks more natural and soft. It does start to flake on me a bit by the end of the day, but I think that 8 - 10 hours is plenty of wear, and I'm just so relieved to have a mascara in my bag that I don't loathe, I'm not going to ruin it by being overly picky.



Lastly, we have the Lash Thickener. I am not a fan of layering mascara over top of glumpy thickening formulas, that end up making a mess and wasting my time. So I left this until last to try. Well, that will teach me to be close-minded. This goes on wonderfully smooth, and I let it dry for about a minute before I apply the Luxe Lash over top - it just pumps up the volume a bit without any "glumping" as I so delicately put it, and it really does seem to make my lashes softer and healthier feeling. It's lovely, basically, and totally worth the extra time and effort - about 10 seconds, in fairness. And I love the packaging design on this one, it looks like lucite, very Art Deco.

The Verdict:

I'm very happy with both of these mascaras, and unless I find something else that's really remarkable, they're my new favorites, and I'll definitely repurchase. The cons are that they're pricey - $32 for each mascara, $28 for the primer - however they're on par with the high end formulas like YSL and Dior, and for me, perform better. I've been using one or the other for several weeks now, and my lashes are much softer and healthier than before, so there is definitely a conditioning effect. Neither formula holds a curl particularly well - this is the toss up you get with the softer, smoother consistency - I prefer that, but if curl is very important to you, these might not be the best choice. What I really love? None of these leave those horrible, stringy black bits inside your eyeball. Don't pretend you don't know what I mean. They both wash off easily and gently with a cream cleanser, and no unpleasant bits left behind.

I don't know how I'd never tried FACE Stockholm before - I love the look of their sleek, minimalist products and professionals rave about their high quality formulas - plus I love that they're an independent company, and cruelty-free. The only suggestion I have for them? Give the products made-up, Ikea-style names that sound ridiculous when you read them in a silly accent - like Ekstörpp lipgloss and Grunnvark eyeliner. Though that's not mandatory, I'd just really enjoy it.

Do you have your ultimate mascara, or are you still looking? Any recommendations for which I should try next? Any to avoid like the plague?

(all products were PR samples)