A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

From the lovely Karen’s Makeup and Beauty Blog!  Should *really* have been done on a Monday, but I’m rubbish.

1. Mood:

A little defeated, a little homesick, a little flat and a little under siege but ultimately optimistic.

2. Finish this sentence: Without makeup I would…

Have a lot more space and money. (but a lot less fun!)

3. What are some staple pieces in your wardrobe?

1). My ASOS Curve black cropped sleeve tops.  I bought 5 of them when they were in the sale at £3 each and they’re soooo soft and stretchy, true staples!

2). My indigo kickflare jeans…. I’m still in 2002, and I’ll probably die wearing my indigo kickflares.

3). BONDS underwear…. they’re an Aussie brand and not so easy to get hold of over here but I love them!

4. Three things you’d (probably) never guess about me:

I have Dermatographic Urticaria (painless), I’ve had one of my photographs displayed in the Tate Modern and I’m a freakishly strong believer in karma (but not organised religion).

5. What would you like to get done today?

Find 30 mins to change my nail polish, buy some makeup (I’m having withdrawal symptoms) and bite my tongue.

6. What were your favorite TV shows when you were a kid?

Knightmare, Willo The Whisp, The Trap Door and Round The Twist!

7. Can you skateboard?

I can stand still on one?

8. I really want…

A cup of tea and a ginger snap.

9. Do you like horror movies?

No, I hate ’em.  I get too affected by gory stuff… my imagination is vivid enough thank you!  I guess I like suspense type horror… but I can’t remember the last time I watched a great horror film built more on suspense than shock.

10. Weekly goals:

Travel home safely, build Leila’s confidence in taking her first steps and make the most of the rest of my holiday.

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Would love to hear your answers to 1 or 2 of the questions (esp. #2 & #4).  Have a great week ladies xxx

I suck.

I caved.

I totally caved on ASOS and picked up both Illamasqua Jo’Mina and Baptiste…

Illamasqua Jo’Mina is a vibrant lilac creme.

It doesn’t looks bad against my complexion, but in my opinion… would suit darker skintones better.  I found the formula easy to apply but prone to a little streaking.  It needed a third coat to even out patchy areas though it dried quickly and to a high gloss finish.

At £13, it’s an expensive polish (though I paid half that in the sale).  I can’t say I would have been delighted with it had I paid full price.  I need to reswatch, but I’m interested to directly compare it to my Barry M Berry Ice Cream… I think this is a little darker and more vibrant.

Do you have Jo’Mina? Love it?

Not long to go now, I thought we could all do with a quick reminder of what we can look forward to come 1st August when NARS’ Autumn 2010 collection hits the counters.

Daphne Guiness looking resplendant as Francois NARS’ muse and inspiration for the NARS Fall 2010 campaign.

The Single Eyeshadows (£16) – Mangrove is LE.

The Eyeshadow Duos (£23) – Rajasthan is LE

The Lip Stick LE (£17)

The Lip Gloss LE (£17)

The Soft Touch Shadow Pencil LE (£15)

The Blush (£19.50)

For me, I think it’s one that needs to be swatched before taking the plunge and ordering…

Neither of the lip products are calling to me but I’ll be swatching Douceur, Palladium, Tzarine and Rajasthan… Mangrove too, I’m not particularly drawn to it, but because it’s a LE product I *just* wanna make sure!

Are you interested in anything from this collection?

And why I can never find knee high boots that fit my comically huge calves.

I’m a few weeks in to my trial, and have used the Boots iPulse Smooth Skin a total of 3 times… I’m not noticing any difference in hair texture or growth rate between my two legs yet, but it’s early days.

Very excited to start seeing some results!  C’mon, c’mon!

It’s glittery, gritty and a whole load of bling.

I just dunno…

Applied over the top of a bog standard dark base, 1 coat… this stuff is pretty dense.  One thing that annoys me about glitters is their often uneven application.  Yano, 2 pieces of glitter at the nail tip 43843243290 at the base.  The good thing about this polish is that it gives you long enough to ‘push’ the pieces around and ‘place’ them before it dries.  The bad thing?  Well, that also means that it taes a little while longer than I’d like to dry.  I know, contrary right?

This mixture of gold and silver glitter a.k.a BB Sands comes from the Lancome Spring 2010 collection though it kinda screams Christmas to me.  I’d love to layer this over a cream/nude base to see if I get a different look from it… but removal was such a pain in the backside that I’m honestly not sure I can be arsed.

is none other than…

Grace Burton

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Congratulations Grace, I shall email you for your details this evening.  Thanks for entering ladies!

Celebrate with the brand for a chance to win a trip to Hollywood!

Established in 1980, Paul Mitchell, the professional hair care line is celebrating the big 3-0 and would like to give you the chance to take a friend to Hollywood.

Visit their special anniversary site to learn more about the brand’s history, how they’re commited to ‘giving back’ and of course, the chance to bag yourself an amazing prize!  Just remember to take me if you win!

I think I’ve finally got my overnight makeup bag packing down to a fine art.  I’m always moaning that Mr. L expects me to take about 3 items away with me yet still somehow look like a human being.

I thought I’d share what I took with me when I went on an overnight jaunt last time.

My requirements are simple.  Long-lasting makeup with the least amount of application time.  The key to this (for me at least) appears to be some simple layering.

Firstly, brushes.  I don’t take any of my good ones… I’ve thought about purchasing some of those brush guard thingies… but they’re such a boring and practical purchase and I’m always finding more exciting things to spend my money on instead!

A mascara spoolie, slanted eyebrow brush, cheapo no7 eyeshadow brush, Une Cosmetics flat top kabuki and my Pout Airbrush see me through a couple of days well.

Because I’m out and about all day, I need my makeup to go the distance and I’m finding a few key products are seeing me through the day.

Most importantly, I want my base to last and at the moment, I’m finding a combination of Bourjois Healthy Mix set lightly with Bare Escentuals Matte is seeing me through the day nicely.

Cheeks are a combination of Une Cosmetics Creme Blush in B02, with a light dusting of Bobbi Brown Illuminating Bronzer in Maui ontop.

My ever-faithful, ever-present Urban Decay Primer Potion gets packed time and time again and a combination of creme/liquid (Chanel Ombre D’eau)… and powder eyeshadows (Shu Uemura) remain solidly on my lids all day.

Diorshow Iconic and a Kajal eyeliner are foolproof to apply and never give me bother in the mornings.  The kajal smudges as the day goes on, but any errant smears are quickly wiped away whilst the majority of the product stays nicely between my lashes.

I never wear full-on lip colours when I’m travelling simply because they’re too high maintenance, I chose to take my Guerlain Maxi Shine with me this time… light yet long wearing, I’m definitely looking to increase my Guerlain lipstick collection!

God, that was a dull post… I’m absolutely dying up here on this poop laptop with weird colours.  I have many posts in my head and pictures to resize and edit, but the colours are so squiffy on this monitor that I don’t wanna upload anything colour crucial.  You’ll wonder why I’m wearing a green lipstick or something!

Have a great weekend ladies!

C’mon, tell me!

Here’s (a virtual) £60.

The catch is, you can only buy one thing with it and it’s got to be a palette.

And NO(!) it’s not allowed to be the new Urban Decay Naked palette or we’d all just say that one (mostly!)

Here’s my pick:

The LORAC Private Affair palette ($38)

Look at those beautiful cool tones!  I’m not saying that I’m wishing Autumn/Winter upon us… but if I had this palette, it would make the inevitable seasonal shift much easier to bear!

Anyone else fancy a bit of virtual Sephora Sweep – link me up!

Whilst on holiday, I’m working on a shockingly bad laptop with a screwy backlight… in conjunction with an internet connection best suited to 1994, I’m struggling!

I hope that these images are at least somewhat colour accurate… If not, I’ll fix them when I get home – but for now I want to chat about the infamous and generally well regarded Boots 17 Mirror Shine lipsticks.  In particular, the popular shade Beehive.

Thanks to the UK blogging community, I heard about these lippies aaaaages ago… and have been trying to find Beehive in stock for a long time.  Somewhat ironically…. of all places, I finally found it on one of the busiest shopping streets in Britain.

Beehive is a creamy, shiny and almost balm-like lipstick.  The formula is soft and as a result, prone to snapping halfway down the bullet.  Apply with a gentle hand and don’t store anywhere it might get warm to preserve it for as long as possible.  These are quality issues that need looking into, but the sad truth is that if they’re addressed… the lipstick probably wouldn’t feel half as siky as it does in both application and once on the lips.

If you’re looking for a pigmented lipstick, these aren’t for you.  Glossy and sheer are the key words to remember here, but this makes the range light, easy to wear and comfortable with just a hint of colour.  Beehive (£4.49) is a pinky nude shade that evens out the tone on my lips and adds a degree of shine.  It doesn’t blow me away, I don’t think it deserves it’s place on the pedestal it occupies (especially considering it’s quality flaws) but I’m happy to own it and I reach for it when I want a quick polished finish to a natural look.

I was watching “Never Mind the Buzzcocks” on Dave last night (if you have no idea what I’m talking about, that sentence is gonna sound pretty kinky – I only wish it were).

Anyway, up popped the ads – and as I was preparing to throw a shoe at the telly after the stupid Always advert told me to “have a happy period”, my mood was suddenly placated by an ad announcing that Pantene Pro-V Aqua Light is gonna be on offer in Sainsburys until the 18th August.

And what an offer!  Half price to be exact, so if you were contemplating trying the new range out… don’t bother going anywhere else for it!

This photo does not do the polish justice.  It’s one of those that needs a good dose of direct sunlight to light up the sparkles contained within the shade until they simply glow.

A beautiful deep plummy red with more sparkles than you can shake a stick at.  Simple gorgeous.

Wear was around the 3 day mark before the inevitable tip wear began to make it all look a little tired.  Application was great, 2 solid coats to achieve a great finish.

What can I say?  It’s a little pricey at £12.50 for 5.5ml. I paid half that in the beauty sale in Harrods a couple of weeks ago.  It’s a wonderful shade for Autumn though and is still available online at HoF.