A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

Let me set the scene…

I’ve just handed over £4.99 for a lipstick.  Ok, it’s no Tom Ford… but then, at £4.99 it wouldn’t be would it?

It’s sellotaped up like a 1950s Tupolev.

It takes me no less than 10 minutes to remove this mummified lipstick from it’s tomb of sticky tape.

Each time I scrape an end up with my nail, it starts to tear diagonally leaving me with about 3mm of tape between my nails and 8394839473892 metres left on the tube.

Finally… it’s removed.

Leaving behind a tacky, sticky, dirty-looking residue that manages to attract approximately 7lbs of fluff and dust in the 2 minutes that I leave it on the desk.

I KNOW why retailers have to do it and I guess I’d rather have my lipstick taped up than ground down to a nub against some pre-pubescent’s cracked lips.  But still…. surely, there’s a better way?  That surgical tape-y stuff… that peels off cleanly doesn’t it?

It’s not sodding rocket science!

Am I being pedantic?  Maybe… but so would you be if you’d just spent 20 minutes unravelling and then cleaning your lipstick.

2 eyes, 83 eyelashes (or thereabouts) and 2 mascaras.

On one eye, I’ve applied £21.50 worth of mascara (DiorShow Iconic)

On the other eye… £5.99 worth of mascara (Boots 17 Wild Curls)

There’s undoubtedly a difference, and the expensive mascara (on the left as you look at it) has done it’s job well.

But is the difference really worth £15.51?

Hand on heart, for me… I think it’s worth it.  My husband thinks I’m a sucker.

What do you think?

You’ve got one day left to tweet your beauty questions to none other than NARS’ very own Marcel.

They Say:

After weeks of a très chic travel schedule to promote his PRO-PRIME campaign, Marcel Nars is making a special virtual Personal Appearance on Twitter and Facebook!

The companion to NARS’ Founder and Creative Director, François Nars, this classy pooch has learned a thing or two about putting the best possible face forward.

So… if you think the mutt has all the answers, follow @NARSissit and simply submit your question with the special #MarcelNars hashtag by the end of the day and check back tomorrow at 1PM EST (6pm BST) when Marcel will answer questions submitted.

Alternatively, log on to Facebook (facebook.com/narscosmetics) for 2PM EST (7pm BST) tomorrow and you can chat live to the pampered pooch.

Being Marcel Nars typing fingers…. what a job eh?

When I was invited along for a complimentary cut and blow dry at Eleven Hair in central London –  I’ll be honest, I was totally expecting to leave with good hair.  Let’s be clear… You don’t generally occupy prime real estate in Mayfair with a naff hair and beauty salon.

I wasn’t disappointed.  I left with great hair.

But great hair was only the beginning.

My stylist Russell had me sussed in less than 30 seconds.  A few cleverly directed questions meant that I was at ease in his capable hands in less time than it took for a drink to appear in front of me.

I told him that I didn’t get much time to dedicate to styling my hair in the mornings and he asked me what length I thought my hair would be in a year’s time.  I told him that I wanted to grow it longer again and that I’d only chopped it short because sticky baby fingers kept slime-ing me.  He took a short while to assess the condition of my hair… I didn’t even realise he was doing it at first.  His subtle but direct approach was appreciated.

He suggested to me that next time I get my hair dyed… I should ensure that I only have the regrowth taken care of and he delicately held the ends of my hair against my roots, showing me they were now about 5 shades darker thanks to being over-processed.

I was shocked.  How had I not noticed?  Thinking back, I’m sure I should have felt embarrassed at this… but I didn’t feel judged.  I just felt that I wanted to learn more about how to get my hair back to it’s former good condition and this was the man that had all the answers.

We chatted about my hatred for the dreaded ‘triangle hair‘ and how I loved walking out of the hairdresser’s with razored ends and he explained to me that it was precisely this constant “thinning out” that was giving me a fluffier hairdo several weeks down the line.  I felt as if my eyes were being opened and things were dropping into place, especially the reasons behind why I had felt the condition of my hair had been (quite unfairly!) deteriorating over the last six months.

I could go on, telling you about all the simple little tricks he showed me to get the most out of styling my hair but I’d be here all day.  They were personal to me and felt completely tailored to my hair issues.  I was shown how to easily and quickly achieve a little more volume to my flat bob (one of the tips was as simple as flipping my parting to the other side… it worked amazingly well!)

If you want more than just a good haircut, I can recommend Russell Stevens at Eleven Hair.  Straight talking and no flannel but thoughtful to his client’s feelings and most importantly, intuitive.

Look how chuffed I am with my new (slightly windswept) hair!

I left Eleven Hair feeling lighter in my step, doing the whole swish thing and checking out every shop window I walked past.  Not for clothes you understand… just my reflection.

You can find Eleven Hair…

Eleven Hair
11 Blenheim Street,
Mayfair
London W1S 1LL

Tel: 0207 4912390

Email: info@eleven-hair.com

Yep, it looks different on the nail to how it looks in bottle.  I much prefer it on the nail too!

In reality, Barielle Belly Dance is cooler… more violet toned than it appears in the bottle, making it slightly more unusual than initial impressions suggest.

Application was good, a little thin but only 2 coats to achieve opacity.  There’s a hint of silver sparkle which gives it an extra-glossy looking finish.

I like this shade a lot and wear has been great… 3 days, no chips – a little tip wear which isn’t that noticeable because of the nudey shade.  A great everyday polish that has sophistication without being high maintenance.

When better to put a so-called ‘cooling gel’ to the test than on some of the hottest days of the year so far?  Arnicare… you’re up against it!

I’m a big believer in the herbal remedy Arnica… but only recently.

I had umpteen women telling me to make sure I packed some Arnica-related products in my hospital bag when I was preparing to give birth to L.  They all said that it would help ease bruising…. “down there”.

I didn’t listen.  I couldn’t even bear the thought of bruising “down there”…. la la la la, “Can’t hear you!”.  Was convinced baby L would emerge into this world a little bit like this (infact, it was my mantra in the last few weeks):

Push
Push
Pain
PUSH
Pop.

Clearly, I’m a moron… but not spending my precious Boots points on tubes of Arnica was probably for the best.  There ended up being no ‘pushing’ involved and Mr. L struggled under the weight of my damn hospital bag anyway.

However, after some recent surgery and tremendous abdominal bruising, I remembered this ‘Arnica’ stuff and shuffled down to my local Boots to pick myself up a tube of Nelsons Arnica Cream.  I only applied it to the major bruise, which was roughly 6x worse than the other incidental bruises…. would you believe it?  The major one ended up fading more rapidly than the rest!  That’s me sold on the power of the herb.

I’m rambling really badly….

I was invited to sample Nelson’s Arnicare Arnica Cooling Gel.  I’ll let them tell you why we’d need it shall I?:

Nelsons Arnicare Arnica Cooling Gel combines the benefits of arnica with the refreshing sensation of natural grapefruit oil and menthol to cool and soothe the skin. Ideal for rubbing into aching muscles following physical exertion or to revive tired, heavy legs after being on your feet all day

On last Saturday, the hottest day of my LIFE (melodramatic pause) I pulled out the Arnicare Arnica Cooling Gel and applied.  Lots.

It didn’t cool me down AT ALL!

Gutted.  Maybe there isn’t enough of the whole ‘cooling’ properties to make a difference in this kind of heat.  I wanted it to feel like an Arctic breeze fluttering around my calves.  It didn’t.

So I only did one leg… remember, I was really hot.  I could barely be bothered to breathe let alone bend over and massage ineffectual cooling gel into my legs.

Fast forward 9 hours… it’s 11.30pm and I’m sat there blogging.  Under my desk, one of my legs feels bizarrely fresh… fresh like I’ve just woken up.  I only noticed it ‘cos my other leg felt like it needed amputating after a day spent running around after a 14 month old.  What a strange feeling!

Arnicare Arnica Cooling Gel?  I think I like you.  You might not give me instant cooling relief, but I reckon if I’d massaged you into both legs I’d at least have been able to walk myself to bed.  As it was, Mr. L had to roll me.

I’m keeping this in the fridge from now on though.

Arnicare Arnica Cooling Gel is priced at £4.65 and available from pharmacies and health food stores nationwide.

My first Color Club polish!

Color Club are a cheapie US brand that don’t seem to be afraid to manufacture some truly fashion forward shades!  I picked Uptown Girl from the Spring 2010 collection ‘cos I’m a sucker for purples… and even more of a sucker for dusty purples!

The brush is neatly cut, but one of those older fashioned small round shaped ones that take 5748957894 strokes to cover your nail.  If I ruled the world… all nail brushes would be flat and wide.  Because of the brush it did mean that I had to be careful of streaking… 3 thin layers of polish ensured a smooth, even finish.

I’ll definitely be heading back to eBay to pick up some more Color Club shades, but there’s so many to choose from – I’m a little bit overwhelmed!

Do you have any CC favourites?

Lipglossiping’s next guest reviewer for the Clean Start by Dermalogica kit will be Jemma from Bamboozle Beauty Blog.

Check back next month to read her thoughts on this new range aimed at teen skin.  Thanks Jemma!

Ordinarily… not a lot… a bag of Twiglets and a can of Rio Tropical.

But log on to Wahanda today, ‘cos they’re changing all that!

If you’re lucky enough to live near London, Birmingham, Manchester or HOT new Wahanda location LEEDS, then you can bag yourself £20 worth of treatments for a measly £2!

None of the links above are affiliated… though if you’d like to use my personal link to sign up (it bags me a £5 Wahanda voucher, you can do so here).

I’m going for this deal, I need my roots doing… with the voucher, it’ll cost me £10!  Could I love Wahanda’s Mob Deals any more?  Seriously…. I’ve never experienced such indulgent pampering in my life!

Fake Bake have introduced a new range instore at New Look designed to appeal to High Street bargainistas!

Four paraben-free products to fulfill your self-tan needs, the new high street range incorporates:

Pasty to Tasty wash off instant-tan £6
Rough to Buff perfectly smooth body polish £5
Dull to Delicious oil free moisturiser £5
Bland to Tanned sun-kissed self-tan £10

The packaging is not a hit with me it has to be said.  I might be partial to the odd high street bargain, but I’m not 7 – which incidentally is probably the last time I dotted my I’s with hearts.

Will you be giving this a try?

I’m on holiday in the wild North East of England.

Somewhere near here:

I’ve had a busy couple of weeks with an even busier few coming up and you may have noticed that my posting rate has reduced to a couple of posts a day from the usual torrent of makeup related diarrhea that sprouts forth from my keyboard to your monitors.

It gets worse (for me!) ‘cos I’m once again unsure of the quality of the mother-in-law’s internet status.  Last time it was dial up.  I felt like I’d driven 325 miles to emerge in 1996.  If I can’t leech onto a neighbour’s internet connection, I’m coming home.

And if there’s snow like last time (admittedly, unlikely in July) I’m refusing to go further north than Watford.  What can  I say?  I’m a soft Southern chick!

One of my favourites, it’s a sheer… which meant that I didn’t like it for about a week when I got it.  Until I discovered how easily it layered… and THEN discovered how easily I could use it as a crease colour without giving myself Panda eyes!

A cool toned violet/brown taupe with a hint of shimmer.  Urgh, even just describing it makes me wanna take it out and wear it right now (it’s 2am and I’ve washed my face already).

It’s my versatile friend that makes it possible for me to do subtle smoky daytime looks.  Without it, I’d be screwed.  I’m not being melodramatic, stop looking at me like that.

Thanks Francois, you’re the best.  No, really.