A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

~ Rae just finished a four-week “photo diary” review series with the new L’Oreal Lash Boosting Serum. Check out her results and enter to win a tube for yourself!

~ Find out everything you want to know about Spring 2010 beauty trends at Makeup4all Online Beauty Magazine!

~ Vex in the City shares what On Location Tours have in store for SATC fans on the release date of SATC 2.

~ Makeup by Kim Porter teaches you the importance of cleaning your makeup brushes.

~ Betty’s got a sweet tooth for Sugarpill Cosmetics and has a candy inspired look with pink, silver and bright blue!

~ If you’re battling limp hair, Arianne of Glitter Geek has found the hair product that’s made for you.

~ GlossQueen tries the Olay Professional Pro-X Anti-Ageing Starter Kit and tells us all about it.

~ Hot Beauty Health shares 8 homemade hair conditioner recipes that truly work!

~ Madame B Fatale talks about her new hair saviour.

~ Sophie from melovemakeup talks about her experiences with Trilogy’s Everything Balm.

~ Check out Tsahi’s interpretation of Nicole Ritchie’s look at this year’s Academy Awards.

~ Krasey Beauty has exclusive images and swatches, plus a Sneak Peek of Make Up For Ever’s Holiday Metallic Collection.

~ Louise pops along to London Fashion Week and finds out what Alex Box really thinks of beauty bloggers.

~ Ever wondered how to press those pesky loose minerals? Wonder no more… Lipglossiping has the answer!

~ Lisamarie from Beauty Crazed enlists some Chanel to fight her dehydrated skin!

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~ Retrodiva is giving away a Cle de Peau Beaute skincare sampler set!

~ Phyrra has an exciting Beauty of the Earth Sponsored Giveaway.

EVERYTHING!

But I can’t have it all…. so here’s a few key things that are currently making me go a bit weak at the knees:

Chanel Rouge Coco in Mademoiselle

It’s gonna make me look *just* like Vanessa Paradis. I know it. 😉

Figs & Rouge Rambling Rose Shower Wash

I am such a sucker for a prettily packaged product!

MUFE HD Blush in #5 Warm Pink.

Sephora needs to come back to the UK, right NOW!

Sephora Professionnel Mineral Powder Brush #45

Sephora, bloody Sephora – day trip to France anyone?

Beaute Weightless Lip Creme in Trace

I know, “baaahhhh” right? Don’t judge me!

Weleda Wild Rose Facial Toner

I’m really into my toners at the moment, find a good non-drying toner and it’s a fabulous partner to a cleansing oil routine.  I dunno if this is a good non-drying one… but I like Weleda and I like rose… so it’s on the list.

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What are you lusting after this week?

I picked this Paris Berlin Eyeliner Pen up sometime late last year when I made an online Kryolan order.  I can’t remember where I bought it from, but I paid less than £5 for it.

I like to have a “felt tip” type eyeliner pen available to me as I find them my favourite to work with when I’m attempting a more structured look.  By structured, I mean one that usually involves a flick, lots of mascara and a bright lip!

The packaging is plain, simple and functional and the pen is solidly constructed with a standard, easy to hold barrel.  The tip is beautifully precise without being too sharp.  I love the way the fibres of the tip flex under pressure which avoids dragging or scratching over the eyelid.  However, they hold together with no splaying… keeping the line straight and true.

I think the formula could do with being just a touch darker, it’s so close to being a true oily black… but close isn’t quite good enough.

Pigmentation is pretty solid, I usually go over twice to build up colour to an optimum level.  I haven’t found a problem with this liner smudging at all – it fades quite evenly over time.

Overall, it’s a great liner for less than a fiver and better than any of the high-street branded versions that I’ve tried.  It’s a pro product which you should be able to find online with a quick google search.  I’ve had this about 6 months now and it’s showing no signs of drying out.

Do you have a favourite liquid liner pen?

I love this shade, it’s sweet without being overly sickly.  It’s pastel without being pappy.

3 coats.  The formula is a little uneven and prone to streaking which is a shame because it applies smoothly with a great brush.

Consistency is perfect, neither too thick nor too thin, so I’m not sure where the streaking issues are coming from… a slight lack in pigmentation perhaps?  Oh I’m not sure, all I know is that 3 coats will fix your problems and you’re left with one of the prettiest lilacs I’ve had the pleasure to wear on my nails.  One other thing though, I found drying time to be fairly slow… we’re definitely in speedy dry top coat territory!

I actually got asked by the Boots No7 lady (whilst I was buying No7 polishes no less!) what polish I was wearing.

Eyeko nail polishes are available from the website, priced at £3.50 each.  This is the first shade I’ve tried from the new Eyeko polish range that I was sent, so far so good – more to come!

What do you think?

Thanks to a heads up from lovely regular reader Julia, I can point you lot in the direction of a great competition.

Simply become a Lancome Paris fan on Facebook by Friday night to enter and win lots of Lancome goodies!

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Whilst on the subject of The Book of Faces… yours truly has taken the plunge, jumped on the bandwagon and setup a ‘fan’ page thing.

I’ll be hosting my first ever Facebook competition VERY shortly, so if you wanna join in – come on over and keep a look out for updates!

…and not a pastel among them!

Orly – Pixy Stix (£8.75) – a gorgeous guava pink creme from the limited edition Orly Sweet collection – I need to make this mine, it’s got that coral flair going on without edging too much towards orange.  I adore guava-y shades.

Bloom – Marilyn (£8) – Australian brand Bloom present us with an alternative to the typical girly pink.  Described as a cloud pink that is pure whimsy, I’m loving the more muted tones.  Available at Superdrug.

Rococo Nail Apparel – Hot Pants (£11.50) – A medium pink creme with enough depth to make a statement, always a spring/summer staple.

Leighton Denny – Plush Pink (£10) – A lovely looking pink that keeps a definite feminine edge without being too bright or sugary!

OPI – Italian Love Affair (£9.95) – A princess pink with pearl, as romantic as it’s name and an OPI classic.

Butter London – Twee (£10) – From the new limited edition Jelly collection, a sheer buildable pink jelly described as lipgloss for your nails!

Are you a fan of any of these?  I don’t think pinks get enough love… a good pink is a classic shade that will never let you down!