A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

Well, January wouldn’t have been January without the IMATS rolling into town.  Makeup artists, lovers and aficionados everywhere were checking out the wares and talent on display at Alexandra Palace.

I’m not gonna add the full posts here ‘cos there are just too many photos, but if you wanted to check them out, the links are:

IMATS London 2010 – In Pictures (Part 1)

and

IMATS London 2010 – In Pictures (Part 2)

I got the opportunity to unveil the Urban Decay Alice in Wonderland palette to all you lovely UK ladies… and of course, didn’t shut up about said opportunity for at least…. oh ok, I’m STILL going on about it…

Urban Decay Alice in Wonderland Palette – UK’s First Look – Sunday, January 24th, 2010

This is Part 1 of a 3 Part UD Alice Extravaganza!  Click here for Part 2 and Part 3!

After my not so subtle hint-dropping yesterday, I’m sure that most of you have figured out that I took delivery of Urban Decay’s heavily anticipated Alice in Wonderland Palette (yay!).

I’m feeling priviledged to have been chosen to ‘unveil’ this to you wonderful UK beauty addicts as only one sample box was released to the UK blogging community.  Forgive me just a teeny bit of smugness, but if it gets too much, feel free to slap me.  I’d do the same to you.

Anyway… I’m going to break the ‘unveiling’ into 3 posts… I’m not falsely modest and know that photos are what I do best.  So you can expect each post to be picture heavy (which I am hoping, is a good thing).  This first post will focus on that wonderful pop-up scene.  The artistry that’s gone into the palette is breathtaking and a large part of the overall appeal for many of us.

So, without further ado (or let’s be frank… rambling)… I bring you, Urban Decay’s Alice in Wonderland Book of Shadows.

Open the palette to reveal a pop-up scene of Alice in the mushroom forest. Her “drink me” bottle discarded, she staggers past towering mushrooms, only to cross paths with a very peculiar, hookah-smoking caterpillar. A large mirror rests behind the scene – you feel as if you are transported into the film itself.

The Alice in Wonderland palette is due to be released in the UK on the 22nd February online with a store-wide release set for the 28th February.  It will be a Debenhams exclusive.

Finally, obviously feeling the post Christmas dry-roasted peanut diet was failing me… I had a few thoughts on image retouching that I simply couldn’t keep to myself.

Keeping the faith… – Monday, January 11th, 2010

…if you had any to begin with.

So, Proctor & Gamble endured a wrist slap recently with their Olay Definity Eye Illuminator advert catching the attention of the Advertising Standards Agency in the UK.

The advert features the iconic Twiggy, now in her 60s…

It contained a testimonial from Twiggy stating: “Olay is my secret to brighter-looking eyes”.

Proctor & Gamble had already withdrawn the ad before it came under scrutiny, stating that they’d reviewed the post-production techniques that had been used in the creation of the ad and had found the “minor retouching” around the model’s eyes to be inconsistent with their policies which led them to replace the original ad.

I do hope the digital artist got bitch slapped by P&G, I mean seriously… that’s not even good retouching.  If you’re gonna exagerrate the effectiveness of your product, fine… but at least stay within some realms of reality.

Olay Definity’s latest Anti-Aging Night Cream Ad…

Wait!  There’s too much character in that face, back to the graphics tablet retoucher man and erase those wrinkles, pores… infact, remove all skin texture completely while you’re at it! *whip crack*

On the whole, I don’t have a problem with digital retouching. I feel that I’m enlightened enough to appreciate that a retouched image represents a distorted reality and I don’t mind looking at idealised photographs appreciating society’s desire for aesthetics.  I mean, let’s face it… Twiggy (as beautiful as she is) in her natural state is gonna sell as many eye-brightening products as I am diet pills – she’s 60 years old for chrissakes.  I don’t feel conned by a little airbrushing… but where’s the god-damn subtlety gone?

Just because we’re all used to seeing these altered images, ain’t no reason for you to get all complacent about it Mr. Digital Artist…

Use it to make models/celebrities look their best, not to transform them into freakish parodies of the media’s eternal quest for unattainable cartoonish perfection.

Ahhh… the lovely Demi, looking younger than Leila.

Hahhhahahaa!  Dude, Digital Retouching for Dummies… a book with your name on it.

As an advertising tool, I dig it… but 2009 saw it getting kinda out of control and almost self-referential in it’s absurdness.

What are your thoughts on airbrushing? Against it? A necessary evil?

Ooooh It’s nearly my blogiversary! *gets the candle out*

I talked this morning (briefly) about Guava shades… I love ’em and there ain’t enough of them about.  It’s a fabulous shade for a whole variety of skintones and is about as close to coral as I can get before I hit ORANGE!

It reminded me that I hadn’t shown you 2 of my favourite blushers for Summer yet!

These are Bare Escentuals mineral blushes in shades: Promise (guava pink) and Giddy Pink (um pink, pink).

10 points for correctly guessing my nail colour by the way…

Check out the ingredients… hooray for minerals, Boo for Bismuth Oxychloride (replace the damn component with something less irritating to sensitive skins already…)

Both blushes are fairly sheer and build up beautifully.  I tend to use duo fibre brushes to apply most blushers because it just means I never screw it up and walk out the door looking like Bozo.  It takes about 3 sweeps to build up to a natural looking colour with these products.

Promise… see?  Guava.

This is a gorgeous, gorgeous blush.  It’s a matte colour base which has then been liberally sprinkled with golden sparkles, the shade stops short of coral and is simply a stunner for summer.  I had a hard time pinning this shade down… I think it’s discontinued now, but I found it on eBay (at a great price too!).

Giddy Pink is in the current line up of Bare Escentuals products and one that I received at a press day.  It’s a shimmery pink which gives that wonderful glowy illusion that catches the light when you turn your cheek.  It’s pink without being dolly pink… a natural flush.

The problem with all minerals like this?  They suck to travel with.  I can’t be arsed taping over the holes before going anywhere so always end up with about 95% of the product in the sifter by the time I’ve reached my destination.

Hmm… I wonder if they’re pressable… anyone ever tried?  I’m not sure I’m willing to be guinea pig, I love these too much to risk ruining them!

Promise looks matte in my swatch… there is sparkle in there, just no shimmer.  Both are swatched heavily to build up a true impression of the colour.

They last well on my skin and I’m positively addicted to them.  At least until the next addiction comes along right?

Oh Francois…

I can’t hear anything over the sound of my rapily beating heart *insert melodramatic music and excessive swooning*… it’s a new collection… and it’s coming very soon!

Do you care what I think? Probably not… but I’m a sharer…

Burn It Blue Duo Cream Eyeshadow – Iridescent ocean blue / turquoise

I’m not crazy for NARS Cream Eyeshadows…  they absolutely HAVE to be set with an additional shadow ontop to avoid creasing and even then, I only get a maximum of 6 hours wear out of them.  But I freaking love these colours…. if it were a powder duo, I would have been all over it like an embarrassing rash.

Coup de Coeur Lip Gloss – Sheer apple-brandy

Apple-Brandy… is that like a red/brown?  Hmm… It doesn’t sing to me… but I’m often surprised by NARS Lip Glosses, it’s a swatch job ‘cos I guess it could really take a nude lip to another level.

Versailles Nail Polish – Opalescent, champagne-gold

Sheer? Not Sheer?  That is the question… I’m reserving judgement, but it sure looks beautiful in the bottle *swoon*

Love Devotion Lipstick – Sheer guava

Looking at the promo image, it’s not for me.  It looks coral and bright.  Reading the description… I love the sound of it.  I adore guava shades which seem to work beautifully on my pale pink skin… the perfect pink/coral combination.  Not only that, but I adore my NARS Cruising semi-sheer lipstick from the Spring collection so I’m definitely going to be having a closer look at Love Devotion before writing it off.

Cayenne Cream Eyeshadow – Spicy, deep brown

I’ve already said why I’m not sold on the NARS Cream Eyeshadows, it needs to be a stonking shade for me to bother picking it up… and this… isn’t.  It’s reliable and it’s magnificently wearable, but if I’m gonna go to the effort to layer a powder over a cream for a stunning effect… it won’t be for this shade.

Lamu Multiple – Fresh, glazed apricot

I have a love/hate for Multiples… I love their multi-use aspect and I always take my Antibes with me when I’m on holiday but I find them quite hard to work with.  “Fresh, glazed apricot” sounds like it may be a bit too warm-toned for me anyway.

Enchanted Cream Blush – Soft-peach

OK, now this I’m on board with – woo woo! *makes train noises*…. I love cream blushes in a pan like this… cream blush + stippling brush = blush heaven.  Soft peach? Yes please!  I’m insanely excited about this release.  Can you tell?

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Quite a mixed bag of thoughts then, please excuse what is essentially an internal conversation between me and my makeup buying alter ego spilling out over the keyboard.  There’s definitely a few pieces that I want to see in person before passing final judgement… overall, promising!

The NARS Summer Collection will be on counter from the 1^st May.

Anything there that you’ll be paying some extra attention?

December passed me by in a bit of a flash.  Aside from growing fat(ter) on Quality Streets and Dry Roasted Peanuts, Christmas got cancelled thanks to a sick baby.  It sucked to be me, violins please!

One great thing to come out of that rotten old month was my discovery of Inglot!

Inglot Freedom Eyeshadow Palette – Thursday, December 31st, 2009

When I was in London earlier in the month I headed over to the huge Westfield to throw myself on the makeup.

I was itching to check out the Inglot store that I remembered hearing about on some forums when Westfield first opened.  And here it is! (please excuse the mobile phone pics)

Check out the range of eyeshadows:

and nail polishes:

Not forgetting the lipsticks…

It’s like an explosion in a Skittles factory no?

Beautiful!

Anyway… after that colour overload, I proceeded to choose myself a trio of eyeshadows to fill a small Pro Freedom Palette.  I went for the safe option (I know, boring!)

But aren’t they beautiful?

They’re ultra pigmented… incredibly smooth and I’ve embarked on a full-on love affair with them.

I can’t remember exactly how much I paid (argh! – can anyone help me out?)  I think it was around £14 for all 3 inc. the palette.

It’s called the Freedom System and you choose which shades you want the SA to put in.

The way I understood it is this…

You can choose from a Large Pro Palette (which hold the square shaped shadows, blushes and face powders – you can see the square shadows in my picture above).

or

You can choose from a Small Pro Palette which will hold the smaller eyeshadows (like mine), lipsticks and concealers etc…

Once you’ve chosen small or large… you can choose how many pans you want the palette to hold (I’m not sure of all the available choices).

You can also purchase items individually if you wish.

Hope that makes sense?!

The small shadows (to my eye) are the same size as MAC 26mm pans, but you get 1.8g of product in each pan compared to MAC’s 1.5g.

The range of colours is mind boggling, each with different finishes… I love me a bit of shimmer though!

I also bought a couple of lipsticks and will be back shortly with a post on those.

Have you tried Inglot? What say you?

I canvassed for opinions on these rather scary but fabulous looking talons…

Stiletto Nails… – Monday, December 14th, 2009

So um… Stiletto Nails…

Would you?

Nails like this generally polarise opinion.  I know some people genuinely feel repulsed by very long nails let alone pointy ones which leaves the rest of us clambering to book ourselves in with our nearest nail techs faster than it takes a lick of Seche Vite to dry.

Me? I’ve surprised myself by coming to the conclusion that I’m genuinely sat on the fence over this one.

I’m drawn to them as art… would I though?  Probably not.

Ohhhh wait, I dunno though… Mr. L would shit his pants if I trundled into the bedroom rocking those tips.  And that my lovelies, would make it *totally* worth it.

Finally, some fond memories from a rather wonderful night out…

Aussie Event – Girls Night Out – 3/12/2009 – Friday, December 11th, 2009

The third and final event for us lucky Aussie Angels (can I just keep calling myself that forever?) went off with a bang last Thursday night.

We were invited up to London to sample the capital’s nightlife.  Mahiki played host for the evening and the venue didn’t disappoint.  A tiki-esque hideout in the heart of Mayfair, Mahiki ticks all the right boxes.

My friend Vicky and I jumped on the train congratulating each other on how lightly we’d managed to pack for a night away… infact we were congratulating each other so vigorously talking so much that we very nearly got left on the platform.

Arriving in London with little time to spare, we headed straight for the Hilton at Kensington Olympia where Aussie had generously put us up for the night.  I managed to check us in without getting escorted off the premises for being a pair of scruffy oiks and we settled into our room to get ready for the festivities ahead!

Despite best intentions, we still managed to be late.  Vicky has always been the laid back one in our friendship.  Me? Well I was running round in full-on mentalist mode, arms in the air like a certain white rabbit out of Alice in Wonderland with echoes of “late, late! we’re going to be late!” reverberating around the room.

“Relax”. says Vicky, “You are so uncool”.  Like I need telling.

I felt a 100x better when we got on the tube at Olympia and met up with Hayles and Zoe who were also staying at the hotel and heading to the Aussie event.  If you can’t avoid being late… find as many people as possible who are also late and hide behind them.  It’s a philosophy I’m proud to call my own.

We were greeted at the club by a photographer (who I somehow managed to resist asking nerdy camera questions, I was *sorely* tempted to ask for some flash bouncing tips) and the lovely Emma from 1000heads.

We were lead downstairs into the cavernous depths of Mahiki and emerged blinking into a Polynesian paradise!  I was given a little black box which when opened revealed some lovely makeup goodies, the inimitable Aussie 3 Minute Miracle and a handbag hanger (I’m a little uncultured and had to be told what the hell it was before I embarrassed everybody by trying to pick my nose with it or something.)

Then it was Mojito time!! Followed by Pina Colada time!! Washed down with a couple of Mahiki Mai Tais and topped off with a Tiki Dick’s Super Space Martini.  By this time I’d forgotten how to pronounce my own name let alone the names of the cocktails.  Needless to say, they were very yummy and each one more enticing than the last.

Highlights of the evening? Semi-naked waiter – oh so tacky, and I’m absolutely not going to admit to perving.  (why have you put him down as a highlight then huh?)  Close-up magician – superbly charming and very talented, too much fun!  And treasure chests filled with an intoxicating mix of champagne, rum and a brandy and peach liqueur.

It was brilliant to be able to catch up with old friends and meet some friendly new faces too!

Alas, all good things must come to an end and as the night drew to a close the exertions of the day were catching up with me.  I bid my friends (new and old) adieu and headed back to the hotel.

Waking up the next morning I wasn’t sure which hurt more, my head or my neck (crick)… here have a photo.  If nothing else, it’s an advertisement for teetotalness.

The rest of the next day was spent shopping and mooching around town.  But I’ll tell you more about that in another post!

Credit for some of the photos goes to Sam and Zoe – I can’t seem to get mine off Vicky’s mobile – argh!

I know some of you don’t dig the grey/beige thing, but every greige polish I’ve picked up thus far has suited my complexion beautifully, so I’m hooked.

This is Nails Inc’s latest offering: Lennox Gardens (£15)… and I’m in lurrrrrve.  Well I would be… if they took the stupid ‘crystals’ off and lowered the price by a fiver.

Sludgey poo in a bottle or the epitome of understated elegance, what d’ya reckon?

The £5 off No7 and R&M Boots till spits are making an appearance again!

Get the the voucher instore from Wednesday 21st April until Tuesday 18th May.  The voucher will remain valid until Sunday 23rd May.

It’s less than a month since the last set of vouchers expired!  Boots must know a good marketing strategy when they see one!

If you’re not sure what to spend your voucher on, there are some ideas in this post:

How Do You Spend Yours?

Feel free to add some more ideas if you spot any great buys!

Lemme tell you about this “Love Colour” event that Space NK have going on at the end of the month, then listen up… cos I’m thinking of making that 30 mile trek to the seaside (and local store) and attending.  I wanna know if you go to these kind of events.

Can you read that phone number and the small print? *squints*

020 8740 2085 is the number and there’s a £10 booking fee which is redeemable against purchases.

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OK, so now I wanna chat about these kind of events…

Do you ever attend them?  I’ve never been to one… I’m kinda shy, not hugely… but enough that the thought makes me feel a teeny bit uncomfortable.  But let’s face it… counter staff in general make me feel quite uncomfortable.

I never know what to say or how much I should buy before I reach the level of “acceptability” once they’ve started to lavish their attentions on me.  I mean, don’t get me wrong… I don’t spend beyond my means just ‘cos I feel uncomfortable (although I have in the past), it’s just… there’s etiquette isn’t there?

And what about when the events include other ‘strangers’ and you have to be all like… “oh, that blush really suits you, you look 10 years younger!”

I’m not a very good ‘pack’ shopper. Or liar.

I’m scared, someone come hold my hand and do the talking for me.  Just don’t get in my way or make me come look at your wrist swatches when I’ve got my “shopping face” on.

November was November…. kinda drizzly, kinda grey and pretty darn cold… but there were a few things in the beauty world that were warming my heart.

I fell in love with Barielle for one…

NOTD – Barielle Falling Star – Sunday, November 22nd, 2009

So, I’m not a big glitter fan.  I’m really not.  I don’t mind how it looks (as long as it’s not rainbow coloured)… but the thought of the removal process makes me want to stick forks in my eyes.

Barielle sent me a couple of shades for review, and I may have physically shuddered in a glitter-induced repulsion when I saw this one.

I mean look…. it’s chunky!

However, the polish itself is a beautiful mid-toned blue, infact it’s quite an unusual combination… I’ve never seen blue and copper combined like this in a polish.  Website describes it as gold, but it’s definitely a more rose gold/coppery colour.

I am *so* on a blue kick since that George beauty.  And this Barielle shade is doing nothing to quench those flames!  B-e-a-utiful!

I don’t like the rough feeling that glitter polishes leave and despite a top coat… my mani still felt bumpy but there’s no denying the blue/copper combination works.

I’ve waited ’till removal before writing up this post, and removal was just as horrible as I had anticipated… in the end, I poured some polish remover into the cap of the bottle and soaked each finger individually before I developed RSI from all the wiping.

These Barielle’s are probably some of the longest-wearing polishes I’ve used.  6 days in with this one and I have absolutely no tip wear.  Application was fine, with no issues at all.  I don’t know if glitter polishes tend to have more or less issue with application than normal?  But this was good.

I dazzled with the Ben Nye Lumiere Palette…

Ben Nye Lumiere Palette First Look & Swatches – Thursday, November 19th, 2009

Screw my schedule, let’s have some eye candy!

The shadows are huge!  So although it’s expensive… you do get a lot of product for your money.

Here’s some individual shots of each pan…

Finally, check out the rich pigmentation in some skin swatches…

I am completely in love with this palette and would happily go so far as to say that it’s my favourite thing I’ve bought all year!  Which is quite an accolade considering it’s mid-November…

…and I discovered a rather beautiful lipstick:

Helena Rubinstein Stellars Showlights Lipstick – Sunday, November 15th, 2009

Hello my pretty!

I discovered her hiding under a pile of soaps at my local T.K. Maxx… let me introduce you to “Bubble Pink” as we shall call her from now on.

Seriously, have you ever seen a more outrageously girly lipstick in your life?

I know… that’s almost indecent.  Glitter bomb on a stick.  A pink stick.

This really shouldn’t work for anyone over the age of 7.  And it definitely shouldn’t work for a lady knocking on the door of 30 (by ‘knocking’ I mean ‘ungracefully sprinting in the opposite direction of’).

So does it work?

Ohhhhh yes.

The topmost layer of glitter is an overspray… after the first application it’s a lot more subtle as you can see above.  The pink is a beautiful soft bubblegum pink which is neither too warm, nor too cool.  The shimmer (whilst apparent) doesn’t overpower nor look frosty.  It’s just ‘glitters’.

I was most taken aback by the texture… yes, there’s a teeny bit of gritiness… but nothing compared to what I expected considering how packed full of sparkle it is.  I find it actually quite moisturising and my teeth aren’t set on edge every time I press my lips together.

Whilst wearing this, be sure to kiss lots of people for whom glitter prints would be highly inappropriate.

I want to be buried wearing this lipstick.

And if you think it’s too shimmery for me… I can’t hear you *la la la laalalala*.

I’m hoping this November will be as glitzy!

An edgy release from an edgy brand that fits perfectly with the Body Electrics ethos of makeup to enhance movement, dynamics and light.

Illamasqua released two Illumine Oil’s with the Body Electrics collection and it was the oils that first drew my attention.  Pulse is a golden bronze shimmer, whilst Volt is an iridescent silvery violet shimmer.  I was very kindly sent a bottle of Volt to slather myself in so I thought I’d do the good blogging thing and not keep my opinions to myself.

Firstly, I’m put off by the price…  £32 is a lot of money to pay to decorate your decolletage with shimmer.

Don’t get me wrong… the shimmer is beautiful, it’s radiating and it catches the light perfectly.

You could DIY it, I think it would probably look chunkier and less effortlessly elegant if you did… But still… £32? *whistles*

Anyway, I swerve from being wildly extravagant with my money to tighter than a ducks arse, so let me review this on it’s own merits first before you all get out the fans to revive me from the price tag.

They Say:

Create a sultry shimmer with an after-dark edge.  Smooth Illumine Oil over skin for a light-reflecting finish that makes every movement a drama.  Infused with pearlised particles, passionflower seed oil and vitamin E, this luxurious dry body oil is quickly absorbed and leaves skin illuminated.  Bask in a radiance of your own making and demand to be worshipped.

You get 100ml of product for your money and to be fair, you only need a very very small amount (2 fingertip fulls) to fully cover your entire decolletage.  I could imagine this lasting easily over a year of regular use.

I’ve tried very hard to capture the iridescence in the bottle, it’s quite breathtaking… kinda like the Prism nail polish but on a much larger scale!

If there was one time this blog needed smell-o-vision, it would be now.  Volt smells ah-mazing.  It’s tropical and heady, perfect for warm summer nights.

The packaging, whilst elegant and simple is a source of irritation for me.

Picture the scene… glass all over the floor, £32 Illumine Oil soaking into your floorboards giving them an ethereal, sparkling glow… only to be matched by the sparkles in your eyes from the big fat tears.

Maybe it comes with being a Mummy… I mean… I’m not asking them to sell it in this:

…. but accidents happen.  And that bottle with it’s standard bottle opening is asking for trouble.

Anyway, how does it sparkle?

Ohhh… I tried and I tried to capture it’s delicate shimmer… here’s the best I could do.

You can see the sparkles that are suspended in the oil… and yes, they are indeed mostly violet which gives a true ethereal (though not Edward Cullen) type glow to your skin.  The sparkles are very, very fine and small… not at all chunky.

The sparkles stick firmly and whilst transfer is still very much apparent (hello strange glitter speck in the corner of my vision) the sheer density of sparkle ensures that you will remain suitably spangly all evening long.

I think I’ve covered everything…

Is it expensive? Yes.  Is it beautiful? Yes.  Did I rock it whilst doing a trolley dash in Tesco last night? You betcha.

Illamasqua Illumine Oil in Volt is £32 for 100ml and available at Illamasqua counters nationwide or online at Illamasqua.com

Marian Newman is an acclaimed session manicurist of many years standing and has worked with a ton of legendary photographers, models and celebrities.  She was the first UK nail technician to work on the top level fashion shows and her work continued in this year’s London Fashion Week when she demonstrated some on trend looks with Ruby & Millie as her polish of choice.

I’m loving these custom polish mixes for the catwalks and ‘Black Tulip’ is no exception:

The Look:
Black Tulip is for strong, confident ‘grown up’ women.  Longer and perfectly oval glamorous nails matching a strong  lip.  The deepest purple; reading black but with a glimmer of luscious purple in the light.

Ruby & Millie Nail Color:
Mix Nail Color Blue 620C and Nail Color Purple 550C – Price: £9.50 each

Marian’s Top Tip:
“The Black Tulip is a deep ‘midnight’ with just a hint of purple. The purple only appears in certain lights.  The key to this looking so fabulous is a smooth nail, smooth finish and a super glossy top coat. It should look almost PVC.”

I can totally imagine this for AW/10… purples are usually hot anyway but it’s lovely to see such a vampy colour wearing well on longer nails.

Problem is, I’m far too lazy to franken polishes… so Ruby & Millie need to get their bums in gear and just make sure it’s released at Boots in time for my Christmas Dinner.

The annual CEW Beauty Awards were held today, and the brands/products coming out on top this year were…

Mass Categories:

Best New Bath & Body Product
All for Eve Body Butter

Best New Haircare/Styling/Colouring Product
Batiste Coloured Dry Shampoo

Best New Everyday Skincare Product
Palmer’s Cocoa Butter Formula Skin Therapy Oil
tied with
Steamcream

Best New Skincare Treatment Product
GoodSkin Labs Lumecin Overnight Brightening Gluco -Protein Treatment

Best New Self Tan or Sun Care Product
St Tropez Wash Off Instant Glow Body Lotion

Best New Make-up Product
All for Eve Lipstick

Best Classic Beauty Product
Aussie 3 Minute Miracle Reconstructor

Best New Men’s Grooming Product
A’kin pureMAN Calming After Shave Balm

Best New Brand
All for Eve

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Prestige Categories

Best New Bath and Body Product
Liz Earle Naturally Active Skincare Superskin Body Cream

Best New Haircare/Styling Product
Ojon Restorative Hair Treatment

Best New Everyday Skincare Product
Liz Earle Naturally Active Skincare Superskin Moisturiser

Best New Skincare Treatment Product
Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair Synchronized Recovery Complex

Best New Certified Organic Skincare Product
Balance Me Super Moisturising Hand Cream

Best New Self Tan or Sun Care Product
St Tropez Everyday Mousse

Best New Make-up Product
Diorskin Nude Natural Glow Hydrating Make-up

Best Classic Beauty Product
Liz Earle Naturally Active Skincare Cleanse & Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser

Best New Women’s Celebrity Fragrance
Crabtree & Evelyn India Hicks Island Night

Best New Women’s Fragrance
Marc Jacobs LOLA

Best New Men’s Fragrance
Gucci by Gucci pour Homme

Best New Men’s Grooming Product
Clinique Skin Supplies for Men Age Defense for Eyes

Best New Brand
Dolce & Gabbana the make up

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Mass or Prestige Categories

Best New Hand and Nail Care Product
All for Eve Hand Cream

Best New Salon Professional Haircare Product
Kérastase Sublimateur Jour

Best British Brand
Elemis

Best Iconic Beauty Product
Clarins Beauty Flash Balm

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Any surprising stand outs there for you?  How much stock do you put in the results of industry awards like these and are there any new products that you think you’ll be trying thanks to the CEW seal of approval?

I bitched and whinged about the merits of buying NYX in the US as opposed to the UK, I wonder if my original sums are still at all valid?

Buying NYX in the US vs. the UK – Saturday, October 24th, 2009

UPDATE 13/11/2009

SmartBeautyShop have now revised their shipping prices to be based on weight.

Up to 100g will cost £1.78, over 400g: £2.64 and so on.

Good stuff SmartBeautyShop!

I’ve had a few emails and DMs on Twitter with regards to buying NYX Cosmetics in the US.  I’m aware that NYX is starting to be more readily available in the UK at sites such as SmartBeautyShop which is fantastic!  No more worries about import duty, long shipping times etc…

but…

Let me give you a little run down of the costs involved here…

SmartBeautyShop doesn’t have the Round Lipglosses in stock, so I’ll exclude that item from both baskets.

Let’s do Cherry Culture first:

That’s my shopping list (minus the lipgloss).  The exchange rate conversion is correct as of 24/10/2009 and I’ve actually rounded *up* the values to the nearest 5 pence. E.g. The Jumbo Eyeshadow was actually £1.82

I haven’t included it in the shopping list total, but I also used a 20% discount code… so my eventual bill was closer to £22.

Now whilst I’m happy to pay Import Duty… I object to paying Royal Mail an £8 handling fee ontop of this, so I endeavour to avoid crossing the Import Duty threshold which is £18.

My goods order (inc. lipgloss and discount code) came to: £16.10 so I had a clear margin for exchange rate fluctuation.  You don’t include the cost of shipping in the £18 calculation… however, HMRC will include the cost of shipping in calculating the duty to be paid by you if your order value exceeds £18.  Does that make sense?  It confuses the hell out of me!

Ok, now that we’re all completely confudgeulated… let’s take the simpler route and shop for NYX in the UK!

Hoorah!

Um..

£56.95?

*double checks*

Um…

Are you freakin’ kidding me?

No, no there it is… 4 lippies, 6 eyeshadows and a Jumbo Pencil… oh and shipping.

Wait a minute? £7.50 for Royal Mail Inland postage?

But that’s more expensive than Cherry Culture all the way from the US?  And I personally consider Cherry Culture to be a little pricey on shipping!

Now, I do understand that SmartBeautyShop et al have to mark prices up… of course they do!  They’re importing from the US, they’re the middle men… they have overheads that are much greater than Cherry Culture’s.

They can charge what they want… but you won’t see me buying NYX in the UK anytime soon that’s for sure.

Confusion over international shipping or not… there’s no way I’m gonna justify paying over double for the simplicity of shopping this side of the pond.

How about you?  Will you be buying NYX in the UK now that it’s becoming more available?  Or saving up your pennies for US orders?

I went all multi-coloured to show off some new nail polishes!

NOTD – Courtesy of LionLovingTiger… – Saturday, October 17th, 2009

…my new Nails Inc. polishes!

I won these in LionLovingTiger’s most fabulous giveaway

Look!

L-R: Victoria, Brook Street, Pelham Crescent, London Nights, Tate

5 new Nail Polishes… 5 nails… it had to be done!

L-R: Same order as the photo above…

I’ve had a rocky start with Nails Inc. polishes.  I think that freebie I received with Instyle was a shocking bad advertisement for the Nails Inc. brand and nearly put me off trying any more.  I’m so glad I persisted now, they’ve become one of my favourite ranges.

Are there any brands that gave you a bad initial impression… only for you to grow to love them?

Do you even give brands second and third chances to impress you?

and I had a good old laugh at L’oreal’s expense…

L’oreal Paris True Match Roll On / Roller Foundation – Review – Friday, October 16th, 2009

I was excited to finally get the chance to try out my new L’oreal Paris True Match Roll On / Roller Foundation.  £12.99 you know! Not cheap for high street, it better not piss me off too much…

Packaging is quite nice, fairly sturdy, sleek(ish) and nice and compact.

On the left is the pan of cream foundation and over on the right is the sponge roller we’re going to be using for application.

You can better judge the size of the roller now, it’s actually easy to hold despite it’s small size thanks to some well-designed dips and ridges on the plastic handle.

You (and I) have to admit… this is all pretty cute so far!  Little compacts, Dinky rollers…  Look! I’m gonna paint my face! *squeal*

Uh oh, I’m noticing a problem… the product is building up unevenly on the roller.  The far edge has a real good coating whilst the rest of the roller remains void of product.

After a bit of swiping, direction changing and weight shifting the roller is more evenly covered… but there is still a bias towards that far edge.  Will this affect application?

Primed and ready for action!

Introducing you to my makeup-less face, not even a smudge of brow powder!

Here we go…

Look! I have a go faster stripe!

Right, as suspected… not a colour match.  Far too warm and a couple of shades too dark aswell.  I’ve been tangoed.

That’s terrible.  This is the lightest shade that L’oreal are offering (in this country at least) for their True Match Roll On Foundation.

Ironic isn’t it… “True Match”… *mutters something unrepeatable*

With all the money and technology that’s gone into this product – why on earth did L’oreal make the shade range so limited?  I *know* I’m pale… but I’m not Nicola Roberts pale, I see many people walking about even more see-thru than I am.  That’s a big chunk of the population not being catered for, and I’m willing to bet the story is the same for those on the other end of the spectrum aswell.

Anyway, let’s roller on… *hah! geddit*

One half done (your right).

The actual coverage is pretty heavyweight.  Don’t be getting this if you’re looking for sheer -> medium coverage ‘cos this is full on.

You wanna know about the application with that little roller don’t you?

It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.  Sure, it’s not gonna get anywhere near the inside corners of your eyes… but I didn’t have a problem around my nose.  The actual “roller” is slim enough to offer even coverage down the edge of the nose.

I also found it a speedy (if a little uncomfortable) process.  I blended with my fingers closer to my eyes and I even attempted closing my eyes and rollering in an up/down motion over my eyelids.  No, it didn’t work very well and yes, I looked really silly.

The finish is matte and looks a little deathmask-like to me (perhaps I’m not used to the heavier coverage).  I didn’t have any problems with streakiness or patchiness but when I touched my face 5 minutes later, my skin still felt tacky to the touch… it took nearly 20 minutes to dry fully.

Your final half n’ half (again, your right has the coverage).

What do you think?  The formula isn’t *so* bad… I did actually prefer it later in the day after it had had time to “fit” to my skin.

I’m torn… it’s not completely terrible, but it’s definitely a case of style over content and that poor shade selection…

I guess the easiest way to sum it up is thus…

Would I buy this again?

…Not even with your money.

“Innovation! One cannot be forever innovating. I want to create classics.” – Coco Chanel