A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

Shamelessly stealing this tag for a bit of filler whilst I’m on my hols!

Shampoo: Dove Colour Care for Dark Coloured Hair
Conditioner: Dove Colour Care for Dark Coloured Hair
Styling products: Fudge Erekt and Tresemme Heat Defence Spray
Shower Gel: Soap & Glory Clean on Me
Body moisturiser: Body Shop Coconut Body Butter – yes I smell good!
Deodorant: Vaseline Aloe Fresh Anti-Perspirant
Fake Tan: None
Cleanser: Shiseido Perfect Oil followed with DHC Mild Soap
Exfoliator: Queen Helene Mint Julep Natural Facial Scrub & Garnier Body Tonic Sugar Scrub
Primer: L’oreal Paris Studio Secrets Smoothing Resurfacing Primer
Foundation brush: Pout Airbrush
Concealer: Art Deco Camouflage Cream
Powder: Art Deco Silk Touch Loose Powder
Blusher: Illamasqua Cream Blush in Sob
Bronzer: Barry M Natural Dazzle
Highlighter: Prescriptives, The Illuminator
Eyeshadow base: Urban Decay Primer Potion
Eyeshadows: The Body Shop Eye Colour Mattes 05 & 10
Eyeliner: Gosh Velvet Touch on the lower waterline, Shu Uemura Painting Liner in Brown on the upper lashline
Curler: None
Mascara: Rimmel Sexy Curves
Lipstick: Revlon Matte in Pink Pout
Lipgloss: Barry M Lip Gloss Wand in Toffee
Nail Colour: Nails Inc. Mayfair Mews

I tag anyone else who has yet to do this (there can’t be that many of you still about!)

…Somerset holiday. *childish*

I nearly forgot I booked this el-cheapo Travelodge jaunt back when they were doing rooms for £9 a night.  I was pregnant at the time, and obviously delusional thinking it would be fine with a 3mnth old in tow.  Travelodge’s have no fridges… so I’ve spent a small fortune on those little pre-made formula cartons.

I only have a small car.  A small, 3-door car.  This barely computes – the amount of crap I have to pack today beggars belief. 

Anyway, enough of all that…

I’ll be back on Wednesday in time for the Illamasqua Dystopia preview on Thursday.  I haven’t arranged to meet anyone, so I’m bricking it a little at the thought of going in alone… ho hum… *don’t think about it, denial denial la lala la la*

I have at least one blog post scheduled, but things are probably gonna be VERY quiet around here ’till Friday.  Have a fab week lovely readers – weather forecast looks set to be crap so send me some holiday sunshine vibes (oh, and some extra confidence for Thursday!)

Much love,

Me xx

I am very lazy with my makeup application.  I rarely apply more than one colour to my eyelids. I never bother with things like lip liners (despite owning many).  I rarely contour (it scares me) and most of the time I can’t be arsed with highlighting either.

And I call myself a makeup fanatic? *hangs head in shame*

This week, I will endeavour to make more of an effort.  What’s the point of having all these lovely products if I don’t use them?  So, amongst other makeup resolutions, this week I will be ditching my taupe-y eyeshadows and may even attempt blue again *eek*

I also have a confession… I don’t own a blending brush.  There, I said it.  Disown me if you like – just don’t tell me that you could ‘like, totally already tell from your FOTD shots’ or I might have to find a dark corner to sob in.

look, my skillz are awesum!

Anyway, I know that the pinnacle of blending brushes involves the MAC 32174893 *bleh, I can’t remember numbers* – I know what one I’m talking about.  However, funds aren’t gonna stretch this month… so please recommend me a relative cheapie that I could cut my teeth on.  I’ve heard some good things about a Boots No7 one and also a Revlon one I think?

IN

~ Controlling my urge to spend at Portsmouth’s CCO this week – all the more for London!
~ Finding a cheap train ticket to the Illamasqua event next Thursday
~ Looking forward to my break in Somerset this weekend!
~ My gorgeous winter woolly tights from Marks & Spencers (simple things!)
~ Shopping with my lovely sister-in-law
~ Tisserand Bath Oils… review coming soon.
~ SJP – Covet, I love that it’s a little bit brave for a celebrity perfume.
~ The Tesco checkout man letting me use all my newborn nappy coupons even though I wasn’t buying the nappies – woohoo, saved £8 off my weekly shop!

OUT

~ Short hair getting greasier quicker than long hair – why?
~ Procrastinating about getting my winter boots stretched
~ Cutting Leila’s fingernails – terrified I’m gonna slip with the baby clippers
~ Waiting impatiently for new gel eye liners to come in stock
~ Leila outgrowing her beautiful clothes faster than I can put her in them
~ Washing mountain piling up in the spare room.
~ Being super nervous about not knowing anyone going to the Illamasqua event
~ Revlon Matte Lipstick in Nude Attitude looking orangey on me

I treated myself to these 2 much talked about lippies a couple of days ago. 

Nude Attitude is quite warm and tan, I can imagine that it would look awesome on medium/olive skin.  However, it does absolutely nothing for my cool toned complexion unfortunately.

Pink Pout on the other hand is quite a nice choice for me… It’s a very cool toned pink with a hint of lavender.  Both shades are matte (as you would expect from the name of the line!)  They’re quite easy to apply considering their texture… but aren’t particularly forgiving if your lips are at all dry.  I would definitely pair this up with a good coat of lip balm underneath.

Pink Pout is looking a little warmer in the swatch above than it does in person,  the shot was taken early evening as the sun was going down.  Ha! shows how ridiculously pale and ‘blue’ my skintone must be if this is warm!

I shall include Pink Pout in my next FOTD in the hope it gives a truer impression.  As for Nude Attitude, I’m not keeping it.  £5 inc. postage (within UK) if anyone wants it?

Are you loving the Mattes range?  What are your favourite shades?

You already know by now that I’m a big fan of Mavala polishes and further to my post a few weeks ago on Mavala’s “Ruby” polish, I was sent the remaining 2 colours of Mavala’s Autumn/Winter collection for review. 

The collection is called Viva La Colour!  – a brave slap in the face to the usual Autumn/Winter collections showing up around now.

The first shade I want to show you is “Liberty”, an elegant soft nude.

This is a sheer, but it builds up opacity quite nicely thanks to Mavala’s reliable formula which never fails to please me.  The above is a total of 4 thin coats, a little more than I would prefer to apply – but it’s not a chore thanks to the smooth application.  If you did want to wear this sheer, it would be a lovely shade to compliment a french manicure… as for me, I don’t do sheers – so I’m glad I was able to build up the opacity, especially on such a lovely work-appropriate nude.  Work-appropriate nude? An oxymoron if ever I heard one!

Before I continue, I have to tell you that  “Viva La Colour!” is a collection of mattes.  Which probably goes some way to explain why I wasn’t delighted with the finish of the Ruby shade I tried earlier this month.

To be blunt, I don’t regard this collection as matte.  We’ve all seen the mattes on offer this season from the likes of O.P.I, Zoya and Nubar… I’m not a fan, but regardless of my personal taste, these ‘matte’ offerings from Mavala just aren’t… well, matte.  Semi-matte perhaps, but they’re definitely still fairly glossy.  This might be the ideal compromise for you if you’re a little too conservative to rush headlong into the new trend.

For me, this finish just misses – I get a non-commital vibe from the collection which is a shame, but as I’m about to demonstrate… easily remedied by a swipe of your favourite top coat.

Introducing Tokyo, the final shade in the trio.  It’s a beautiful deep dark blue with more than just a hint of purple on display.  Lovely colour, shame about that finish.

But wait… 1 top coat later…

Oh my!… Hello lover!  You’re beautiful in all your ultra glossy loveliness.  You remind me of Cadbury’s chocolate wrappers.  You make me feel all dark, mysterious and sophisticated – quite an achievement!

So, to sum up… if you’re into your mattes, I’d steer clear of this collection.

If you just want some gorgeous Autumn/Winter nail styling that’s bang on trend, a dream to apply and beautifully finished (with a top coat – ahem) – then look no further.

The collection is available from Greenhands and priced @ £3.75 each

Now, if you’ll excuse me… I’m off to stuff my face on Dairy Milk.

[starreview tpl=14]

I had an idea last night, it’s always scary sharing ‘ideas’ like this incase it encourages a humiliating David Brent type moment of epic embarrassment, so if you think it’s shit… just pretend it’s good anyway.

So, I thought it might be nice to play a little game which will encourage us to get to know our fellow beauty addicts whilst honing our application skillz and having a little fun…

I’m calling the game “Pick-a-Look” (‘cos it’s too late at night to think of anything better) and it’s a Secret Santa type affair.

If you’re up for this frivolity, say so by leaving a comment below.  Your comment needs to include your email address (I shall remove email addresses from comments after I’ve read them to prevent spammers).  It should also include (if applicable) a link to your blog.  Once enough people have expressed an interest, I will secretly pair you up with a partner.

I’ll email you to let you know the name of your secret partner (and a link to their blog).  After you’ve had a look at their blog and gotten to know them a little better, email me back with a link to the ‘look’ that you’d like to see them recreate.

The look can be editorial, celebrity or everyday… but remember, keep it secret!

Once everyone has been assigned their ‘looks’, you’ll have 1 week to create your interpretation of it before you need to submit an image of your efforts to me.  I’ll display it on the blog and reveal the identity of the person who chose it for you.

Does that make sense?  I’m sure I could have written it more coherently… but I’m struggling on so little sleep.

For this to work, it needs participation people! So spread the word and let’s see if we can get this daft little game off the ground!

IN

Getting an invite to the Maybelline and Illamasqua events (now to sweet-talk hubby into babysitting, alternatively just buy him copious amounts of haribo).
Learning how to use hair straighteners, I’m only about 10 years behind everyone else!
My Mum sourcing some Bioderma Sensibio H20 for me in a little french pharmacie!
Leila doing full on giggling for the first time! (please ignore my stupid voice and hold on to your womb Jen!)
Re-discovering my love for soaking a bath.
Slowly getting to know you all better little by little every day.
Looking forward to going to my local CCO next week!
Seeds of Change Dark Chocolate with Orange and Fig – yum!

OUT

Jealously reading all The Body Shop Event tweets and blog posts – I’m nearly over it now *sniff*
Saints FC being generally crap.
The cost of driving lessons (my husband is trying to pass his test).
No7 Nail polishes, still rubbish even with £5 off vouchers.
Picking my hair out of the plughole! Is this a post-pregnancy thing or is everyone else shedding at the minute?

Part 1 & Part 2 of the saga… and don’t read further if you’re offended by swearing.

…So, my original order was made back in May and included lipsticks, loose pearl eyeshadows and nail polishes.

I received 2/3 of my order 2 weeks later with the rest being marked as Out of Stock on the invoice.  I didn’t think anymore of it and assumed that I’d be refunded for whatever was unavailable.

Fast forward a couple of months and the rest of my order still hadn’t arrived.  Neither had my refund.  I was busy being a new mum, so was preoccupied with other things and not overly concerned about this.

I emailed them in July to query what was going on as I hadn’t heard a dickie bird from them and they replied promptly to let me know that my items were going to be shipped that week.  They weren’t infact shipped until the end of the month and I wasn’t notified of this until I had chased them up a couple more times.

We’re now heading towards the end of August, and I emailed to tell them that I still hadn’t received my order and I wanted a refund for the items not received.

I had a one line reply telling me to go check with my customs office.

That totally got my back up.  No apologies, nothing… just a ‘we sent it’?  Fuck off, I’ve waited since May for you to pull your fingers out of  your bums and send me my order and now that it’s lost somewhere over the Atlantic you tell ME to chase it up?

I’m gonna do a long story short thing here, because quite frankly… I’m boring myself thinking about the whole thing now.  It wasn’t a huge amount of money – but it’s the insincere “have a nice day (we don’t actually give a shit)” attitude they displayed towards the whole sorry saga which turned me into a dog with a bone on this one.

After some more emails which mainly involved them telling me what great communicators they felt they were whilst I tried not to piss myself with laughter over the irony, I got an email this morning…

…We will not continue back and forth email, as it is clear we view this situation very differently.

We have issued you a refund.

in other words: “You don’t half go on, we thought you’d have buggered off by now – so take this and piss off”.

I can do that! ‘Cos your stock buying abilities suck, your communication skills are non-existent and most of all… the name of your shop is rubbish.

Right now the generous people over at Nails Inc are offering 6 fabulous Nails Inc. products for just £10.  Offer is valid for today only (21/08/2009) so be quick!

The lucky dip includes:

Fast Dry Spray (worth £8)
A treatment top coat / base coat (worth £11)
3 glossy nails inc polishes (worth £31.50)
Cuticle oil (worth £8)

A total saving of £48.50!

Shipping is £3.99 but if you use the MarieClaire code MCNI20 you get 20% off your order.

Whatchu waitin’ for?

I shamelessly stole this post from the fabulous LionLovingTiger, go check out her blog if you haven’t done so already!

About a year ago I went for an eye test as I realised that I couldn’t read the Sky EPG without squinting.  The optician told me that my eyesight had deteriorated a little and that I wasn’t to drive without sorting myself out with some contacts.  “Contacts, schmontacts” said I, and off I skipped to find myself the baddest face furniture I could lay my grubby little hands on!

I’ve always loved glasses (strange girl that I am) but when my eyesight was 20:20, I could never bring myself to buy a set of frames to put blank lenses in… I’m not quite twattish enough for that kind of nonsense.  So I was actually pretty excited to be buying some specs!

My first pair (and probably still my faves) are these Missoni lovelies.  I think I paid around £50 in the sale for the frames.

My next purchase was lust at first sight, I’d tried these on a few times…loved them, but winced everytime I looked at the price tag – then they became like “SO last season” and disappeared from the shops…. fast forward a few months and I found a girl selling her old pair on eBay.  I very nearly peed myself with excitement when the auction ended and they were mine!

My most recent pair are a Ted Baker offering.  Lurve these, but I haven’t got round to ordering lenses for them yet as I’m still too busy loving my Missoni and Chanels and there’s only so many opportunities to wear them considering I only really need them for driving.

Group Photo!

Thanks for indulging me in my shameless showing off of my lovely glasses!  Anyone else sporting gorgeous eyewear?  Show me/Tell me!

The wonderful Sophie @ MeLoveMakeup put me onto these, so I can’t claim any credit for the discovery.  Go check her out and give her some love… she’s had an operation this week and is feeling a little sore.

Primark have dabbled in cosmetics for as long as I’ve been shopping there, usually with very shoddy results (well, what can you expect).

I picked up 6 of these little pots for a grand total of £3.  You get two colours together in one bag and the bags are £1 each.

On closer inspection…

Swatched (without base):

Initially these looked promising, the colour payoff isn’t too shabby and the colours are blatantly rather pretty.  I’d question the longevity as the shadows had practically faded into non-existence with one swipe of a baby wipe.  I definitely wouldn’t bother applying these without a good sticky primer.

Have you tried these or any other ‘Primarni’ cosmetic offerings?  What do you think?