A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

Forever on a quest for a kick-ass mascara, today I’m bringing you my thoughts on Jemma Kidd’s Lash Xtension Volume Mascara which I was sent a couple of weeks ago.

It promises both volume and length with a formula designed to promote lash strength and healthiness thanks to the help of some added vitamin A and E.  As an aside (and something I can’t accurately test because my lashes are already being artificially ‘boosted’) this Jemma Kidd mascara contains something called “BioBoost Complex” to stimulate growth.  It really is all the rage at the moment isn’t it?

I like the Jemma Kidd packaging style and this is no exception… it has that matte/glossy juxtaposition going on and looks embroidered, neat!

“What a stumpy little brush!” I exclaimed when I pulled the wand from the tube…

You can see that compared to the DiorShow… it’s only 2/3rds of the length with a chunky, short head making it ideal for those of us with smaller eyes or hooded lids.  I can get right to the outer corner lashes without blobbing (technical term) product on the hooded part of my eyelid.

I’d call this a “natural” mascara.

Yeah, I don’t really get excited over that term either.

On my left eye (your right), I’m wearing 2 coats of it.  This mascara excels in it’s buildability.  After taking the photo I thought I’d keep going… another 2 coats left me with lashes that were thicker at the base without clumping at the ends.  I don’t have watery eyes… but I didn’t notice any problems with flaking or smudging.

It’s not the most exciting mascara I’ve tried and it sadly doesn’t leave my lashes reaching for the stars but it is pretty foolproof.

If you’re looking for an everyday natural mascara that would particularly suit mature eyes and give you a foolproof application I’d really recommend giving this a go.  Add in the whole “BioBoost complex” selling point and perhaps you’ve found your next mascara?

If you’re a Nails Inc. facebook fan you would have seen them post their sneak preview of the Autumn/Winter shades they have in store for us!

Hello wintery cool-toned beauties!

I do have one slight “issue”…

You know when a child is doing something they shouldn’t… but it’s kinda cute and you can’t help but smile.  Except, very small children have no concept of ‘pushing their luck’ and before you know it… something that was mildly amusing becomes a source of irritation.

Ladies… I present you with ‘Grilac’.

‘Greige’ I can cope with… it rolls off the tongue.  Grilac sounds like a BBQ cleaning fluid.

Just stop it.  It’s not big, it’s not clever and it stopped being cute last February.

Grilac or no Grilac, what say you?

I bought a green eyeshadow.  Not just any green eyeshadow, an expensive green eyeshadow.  Not just any expensive green eyeshadow, but a pale green expensive eyeshadow.  With frost.

I tried it on.  It made my eyelids glow.  Glow like they were from 1982.

Sigh.

Have you made any compulsive and slightly ridiculous purchases lately?

When Christmas packaging is done right, it’s a joy to behold.  There’s no other time of the year when packaging is more important… especially for lazy-ass people like me who will quite happily spend more on a present to avoid having to do battle with a roll of sellotape on Christmas Eve!

This is packaging done right:

L’Occitane will be bringing out an impressive range of Christmas gifts that will be sure to impress the women (or men!) in your life.  With gift sets starting from just £20, there’s a beautifully packaged set to suit most budgets.

Here’s what will be available:

1. Precious Immortelle Collection – £49.00

Immortelle essential oil is renowned for its anti-ageing virtues. A complete anti-ageing collection, for visible radiance and youthful looking skin.

Set includes:
Immortelle Precious Cream 50ml
Immortelle Brightening Cleansing Foam 50ml
Immortelle Eye Balm 5ml
Immortelle Very Precious Cream 3ml
Immortelle Essential Face Water 200ml

2. Delicate Cherry Blossom Collection – £46.00

L’Occitane’s Cherry Blossom fragrance range celebrates the poetic beauty of the cherry blossom and its delicate, feminine flowers…

Set includes:
Cherry Blossom Eau De Toilette 100ml
Cherry Blossom Shower Gel 250ml
Cherry Blossom Body Lotion 75ml
Cherry Blossom Soap 50g
Cherry Blossom Hand Cream 30ml

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I will continue to coo over how pretty these bottles are… Paul & Joe just ‘get it’ don’t they?

I picked up this P&J polish a few weeks ago from the clearance section somewhere in central London, I’ve forgotten which store.  This is by no means indicative of how much I spent or how many stores I visited.  No it isn’t.

Lampshade is an opalescent warm nude that gave me a few problems.  It needed 4 coats for full opacity.  This, I can handle so long as it’s a fast drier.  Lapshade is not a fast drier.

Can you see how it’s kinda lumpy on a my ring finger?  That happened 5 hours after I’d finished painting (and seche viteing!).  I slid my hand under my thigh whilst watching TV and the nail got pressed into the sofa and emerged 20 seconds later looking like someone had taken a blow torch to it.  I wasn’t amused.  Especially not after 4 coats.

Otherwise, it’s a pretty polish… very girly, very feminine and soft.

Paul & Joe nail polishes retail for around £9 each.

There’s something about textured hair.  I wants it.  Once my hair is washed and dried… it’s a fluffball.  A flat fluffball.  No volume at the roots… fluffy at the ends.  A.K.A – uncool.

I get scared of hair products though, I mean… I’ve just spent 30 minutes washing and blow-drying my hair and I’m hyper aware that whatever I’m gonna apply has the potential of making me look like I need a bloody good hair wash again.

I was sent Schwarzkopf’s OSiS Mess Up Texture Matt Gum which is bizarrely packaged to look somewhat like a sardine can.

Odd packaging aside, it smells delicious.  A bit of a cross between a mango and a bag of opal fruits starburst.  I’d be tempted to spread it on my toast if it didn’t look quite so unappetizing.

An off-white putty greets you when you peel back the protective foil.  The gum is solid in the box, if you turned it upside down (d’ya dare me?) nothing comes out… you could even give it a little shake… *holds breath* no really, you can!

I like the texture, I can run my finger over the surface without actually digging my nail into the gum and I pick up enough product to start working into my hair.  As someone with that morbid fear of using too much product, this is a selling point.  For other, more competent souls… you may wonder why the hell I’ve just wasted the last paragraph.  Tough, it’s my review.

Ultimately, there’s not much more to say… it is indeed matte, and it does indeed texture.  It calms the fluffiness and coats the hair giving each strand greater definition.  My hair doesn’t clump together so much… it just looks… better.

Schwarzkopf OSiS Mess Up Texture Gum is priced at £11.70, though you can currently purchase it from Feel Unique – £9.95 with free delivery.

Hyperventilate with me polish lovers!

Ok, so it’s not the holo-est holo I’ve ever worn… but my god it’s pretty!  Wild at Heart is a beautiful purple that’s absolutely packed with multicoloured sparkles… when the sun hits it?  KAPOWW!

The formula on the Color Club’s that I’ve tried so far (I bought this the same time as Uptown Girl) have been impressive, particularly for the price.  The photo above shows 2 coats and I bought my bottle on eBay.

Now I’m yearning for a mega-holo… what’s the holo-est holo you know?

As promised yesterday, here’s some images and swatches of the NARS Holiday 2010 collection.  Due out in the UK in November.

The palette is a trio of cool shades with the almost cobalt blue being the star attraction.  Continuing the Japanese theme throughout the entire collection, this little eyeshadow palette is named Okinawa.

I’d love to tell you the names of the rather beautiful glosses (Yinka fell in love with the one on the right, me… the one on the left).  But I had a bit of a photographer camera fail.

Anyone good at Magic Eye puzzles?  Sorry ladies!

The rest of the collection….

Close ups and swatches after the break…

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Oh HAI gorgeousness!

I have more indepth pictures and some swatches of the NARS Holiday 2010 Collection that I shall post up tomorrow, but here’s a quick sneak peek at the collection as a whole.

Have I got your attention?  Come back tomorrow for more!

Light Pink my bum.

I picked up the LUSH Colour Supplement in shade Light Pink a few months ago.  In theory, I love the idea.  A simple product that can be used in multiple ways?  I’ll let LUSH explain:

…Just mix into your favourite moisturiser for a natural tint or use on its own as a foundation. You can also dot a little around unsightly blemishes for effective coverage.

With Summer nearly upon us, I wanted a tinted moisturiser.  Well, I *thought* I wanted a tinted moisturiser.  TM’s are an odd beast… we love them in principle, but in reality?  We often crave more coverage.  I envisaged that with LUSH’s Colour Supplement, I would be able to custom mix my tinted moisturiser… adding extra product on days when I wanted a more flawless finish.

LUSH currently offer 4 shades.  Light Pink, Dark Pink, Light Yellow, Dark Yellow.  It’s not rocket science… and I like it that way.

Except that Light Pink isn’t very light.  And it’s not very pink either.

If you go to the dictionary… and open the page at “light pink”, you’d see a picture of me.

Oooh look, tide marks!

Better, but no cigar.

Otherwise?  I like the product.  It’s too drying for me to use neat as a concealer or foundation as LUSH suggest, but I loved having the ability to self-mix my tinted moisturiser in the mornings.  But sadly, the shades just aren’t right for me.

LUSH Colour Supplements are priced at an incredibly reasonable £7.50 for 20g.  That small pot will make a hell of a lot of TM.

Are you a fan?

Yeah, Christmas again!  Sorry!  Bite me.

Check out this Kabuki-inspired Bento Box Lip Set which will be on many a NARS’ fan’s Xmas wish list!

Inspired by the Japanese Kabuki theatre, the set comprises: 2 lip colours (Maiko and Sakura), 2 boxed dish thingies and a rather lovely lip brush. Will the lip colours be in the dishes?  I’m not sure… I got a bit confused at that point but it reminds me of a Japanese curio that Lisa Eldridge talked about.

The lip shades are pretty darn beautiful.  Look!

Heavily pigmented and smooth, a pair of beautifully bright shades that are sure to tantalise and tempt!

I adore this set, it’s a little bit quirky… a touch unusual but thoroughly useable.  What a wonderful Christmas gift this would make… for ourselves of course 😉

No price details or release dates yet, but I shall update as and when they become available.

Do you like it?

EDIT: I’ve now been reliably informed that this set is due to retail in the UK at £95 from November the 1st and will be available at Selfridges.

In Kabuki theater there is a style, Kumadori, which uses shades to represent different emotions and moods: red represents passion and vigor while pink represents cheerfulness and youthfulness. So it is no wonder that François chose to capture the majesty of the kabuki lip with these two colors for the elegant yet modern woman. Maiko, a vibrant red, is the Japanese word for dancing girl and is used to refer to apprentice geishas. Sakura, a hot pink, is Japanese for cherry blossom, the symbolic flowering cherry tree integral to Japanese culture.

Each cup has been hand-filled, weighs the same as a bullet of lipstick, and will provide around 150 uses. Similar to the NARS Yachiyo Kabuki Brush, the lip brush is hand-made and the handle is wrapped in Wisteria, a flowering plant native to East Asian states such as China, Korea and Japan. Only one thousand sets were created for sale in the United States, and just over two thousand in total were created worldwide.

Yes, £95 *jawdrop*.  It’s beautiful n’all… but erm… £95?  Am I going to have to sell both kidneys to fund this I wonder?

I went to one of those Christmas in July press days yesterday.  Plenty of well-dressed ladies, canapes and nonchalant expressions.

Being neither well-dressed nor seemingly able to contain my excitement when surrounded by makeup THAT’S NOT EVEN OUT YET!  I felt a little out of place.  I wasn’t even carrying a designer handbag.

I may also have let out a little uncontrolled squeal when I saw the OPI Holiday 2010 Burlesque Collection due out at the end of November.

‘Ave a look!

Rising Star – Lustrous glimmering gold.

Ali’s Big Break – Glowing Red Shimmer

The Show Must Go On – Deep Pink Shimmer

Teasey Does It! – Burgundy Shimmer

Drool! Check out the duochrome shimmery goodness of Teasey Does It! and The Show Must Go On.

Extra-Va-Vaganza – Orange Glitter

Glow Up Already! – Green Glitter

Simmer and Shimmer – Blue Glitter

Bring on the Bling – Golden Glitter

Glitter-ama!  These bear more than just a passing resemblance to the Alice in Wonderland glitters… I’m thinking OPI know a good thing when they see one.

Sparkle-iscious – Multi Coloured Glitter

Show it and Glow It – Purple/Fuchsia Glitter

Let Me Entertain You! – Fuchsia Glimmer

Take The Stage – Warm Orange Shimmer

How perfect are these for Christmas?

I KNOW it’s only August, and you’re a bit over the Xmas posts already.  But how could I not show you these?

I only wish I’d had the balls to swatch them all.  But I think that perhaps sitting cross-legged on the floor painting each nail a different spangly colour would have been a step too far.  Don’t think I wasn’t tempted though.

You’ll be able to purchase the collection from LookFantastic.com – I’ve already earmarked a couple!

Any of them calling your name?