Formula 1 2012 Season Analysis (so far)

So, we're up and running after two races from the 2012 season of Formula 1 with Alonso leading the driver's championship, only 5 points ahead of Hamilton who has 30 points. 3rd and 4th is very close with Button and Webber with only one point between them, 25 and 24 points respectively. Perez is 5th after his brilliant performance in Malaysia and Vettel is running 6th after withdrawing from the race today in the final lap. I'm enjoying the BBC production although I was devastated that only Sky would be showing all races on full this year.

This season, a quarter of the grid are former F1 World Champions. The racing has been dynamic and exciting, especially during the race at Sepang where it seemed tactics were everything. Jenson Button destroyed his front wing in a collision with Narain Karthikeyan and Vettel finished out of the points! (A fact I am secretly loving.)  Hamilton, my favourite driver, has had both pole positions after the qualifying sessions but has failed to convert either into a win and has come 3rd in both races. Michael Schumacher (wow, that doesn't come up as mis-spelled - shows how fantastic and well known this guy is. Grew up hearing his name almost every Sunday, he's my second favourite) still managed to pick up a point this race after a devastating spin in the early stages of the race, seems he still could be "the rain master". Romain Grosjean is a very exciting prospect at Lotus. He qualified 3rd in Australia but fell to sixth at the start and retired after a collision with Maldonado on the second lap which broke his front-right suspension. In Malaysia he was in Q3 again and started P6. He got off the line brilliantly with a really effective use of KERS, overtaking both the red bulls and Schumacher to get third place after the first corner. Unfortunately, after the collision with Schumacher, Grosjean spun again, ending up in the gravel and withdrawing again in the first few laps of the race.

A brilliant race by Perez allowed him to finish 2nd, even challenging the World Champion Alonso at points for pole. Alonso won well however, assisted by Ferrari's amazing sub-3-seconds pit stops. Tyre choices were all important in the really difficult conditions this week with some really interesting tactical decisions made during the race. Looking forward to more action in China :D

Chanel Illusions D'Ombre

In Autumn 2011, CHANEL released their Collection Illusions D'Ombres: a six colour range of long wear luminous eyeshadows. These creamy eyeshadows are absolutely brilliant. The pot is big for an eyeshadow and a tiny amount of it will go so far with a brilliant effect. The glitter particles are absolutely tiny and won't cause problems for even the most sensitive eyes, this also means that the shadow glides on smoothly and cleanly without bunching. The shadow has a creamy texture in the pot and on the brush but smoothes into a powdery finish when applied. It stays put for hours on end without creasing or smudging, it's the best eyeshadow I've ever used and well-worth the price-tag of  £22.50. The only bad point of these is the brush. Although it is very fine and nice to use, I find a sponge much easier to use and the loose brush just gets lost at the bottom of the makeup bag. I got over this problem pretty sharpish though because this product is simply amazing.

I like to wear the white (Fantasme) or black (Mirifique) on alone with false eyelashes, or use them both together to create a tonal effect with white on the inside, it makes you look awake, and black on the outside to give depth to the eyes. I then use a lip brush (yes, I know..) to draw a thin line of matt black shadow on my bottom lashes, joining up to the top shadow with a slight flick. Both are spectacularly sparkly and using them together produces quite an extreme, stylised look, perfect for a night out.
I often use Mirifique with a plain silver or blue eyeshadow to create a similar result for everyday wear without less glitter impact.

Another favourite is the purple one, Illusoire. This works brilliantly used on it's own or with pink, violet or brown shadows such as the Chanel Stylo Yeux Waterproof eyeliner in 40 Violine or the Chanel Eyeshadow Les 4 Ombres quad in 19 Enigma.

The greeny gold Epitant is very nice used just to sweep across the top lid when wearing gold/brown/green clothes. Combine with a liquid black liner to create a slick look with luminous shine.

The peach, Emerveille is a lot more subtle than the rest with gold/bronze reflections. It's perfect to use when you're going for a more natural but styled look as it has a mother-of-pearl sheen to it and is just stunning. Combine with a lengthening mascara such as No.7 Extreme Length in black and go for some peach/pink lips. Chanel's Rouge Coco Shine in Chance goes perfectly.

The red, Ebloui, is in my opinion very difficult to wear and therefore the only one I wouldn't have in my makeup collection. It's ruby/bronze and looks stunning in the pot but with my clothes and skin tone I really cant see it working. Paired with dark red lips, maybe Dragon by Chanel, this would look amazing, especially for those with darker skin and eyes.