Jack & Hill: A Beauty Blog - make-up, cosmetics, perfume, and the substance of style

DuWop Surface & Tarte Smooth Operator

I'm heading to the south of France for a few days this week, and I will be in the High Alps of Provence where it is windy and very warm. I'm not going to feel like wearing much makeup at all, though I will want to look as good as I can.

I'll be taking DuWop Surface with me as part of my stripped down, high heat beauty kit. It's an incredibly smooth, sheer concealer which can be layered to function as more of a foundation if you want more all-over coverage. I wouldn't necessarily rely on it for big, bad undereye circles, but it does nicely on my average shadows. I've been pairing this with Tarte Smooth Operator SPF 20 for running around in the sun that's decided to rear its ugly head in London again, and am very pleased with the coverage I get from them, without the full-on face coating of my usual foundation (MAC Studio Fix Fluid SPF 15).

DuWop Blush Therapy

I had not realised, until I tried DuWop Blush Therapy, just how much I did not want a wet blush. I will still use my Pout Flush Blush and my Tarte Cheek Stain (lots of fab colours in that range), both fairly moist blushes, because they look good. But I find myself grabbing the DuWop most days, because it just feels a lot less icky going on my skin.

I'm afraid, though, that it's that time again: Yes, I have to moan about cosmetic company websites. DuWop's is another one which is pointlessly, infuratingly done in Flash. One consequence of this is being frustrated as a customer, but not just because the site is so eager to show you its bells and whistles when you just want to get to the damn information. If you do a Google search for a specific DuWop product, you won't get the DuWop site in the search results. I genuinely want boutique brands to thrive, because they bring us so many great products and innovations, so it's disappointing to see profit-driving online operations being shunned in favour of crappy ones. As I have written here before:

Get with the program, guys. Your pretty Flash sites are doing you no favours. Make it as easy as possible for women like us to spend money on your products, to spread the word about them, and to help build your brand without you having to spend a penny. Now, it's easier than ever. Ignorance is no excuse; it's shameful.

Still, love the blush.

Venom

Have you ever made the mistake of attempting to masturbate shortly after having chopped up fresh jalapeno peppers?  Now that I have your attention.... That's a bit what it feels like when you apply DuWop's Venom gloss.  Not as intense a burning sensation, and not necessarily unpleasant--its tingle comes from ginger, wintergreen and cinnamon, not peppers.  For some reason, this stuff reminds me of an apocryphal story an old queen once told me about a sexual stunt that involved Tippi Hedren's mouth, Creme de Menthe and crushed ice....

I don't have much use for nearly clear gloss, as I'm too pale, so this sample made its way into my sister-in-law Nancy's repertoire.  Nancy never wears lipstick, because, she says, her eyes are so prominent that if she also emphasizes her lips she ends up looking "like a manic Lucile Ball," so a clear gloss with some spice is what she wants.

I would be game to try the red venom lipstick (appropriately called "Belladonna"),