A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

My hair is pretty dry at the best of times but now the outside temperature is beginning to drop and we’re cranking up the central heating in response, it’s time to start paying close attention to maintaining our moisture levels.  And I’m not talking about the amount of vodka in our blood-streams.

Guy Kremer‘s salon in Winchester (my nearest town – I wish that made me posh by association) is a rather lovely place.  I once had the pleasure of visiting when they miraculously managed to transform my Aunt’s rather horrible NHS cancer wig into something that actually resembled natural hair.  I’ve been a fan ever since.

Here’s some tips from the celebrity stylist himself on how to combat dull, dry, limp and lifeless Winter hair.

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1. Book an appointment for a trim to get rid of those split ends and prevent further damage to your hair.

2. Take quick remedial action by using a deeply penetrating hair repair treatment, which will deliver a dramatic improvement in condition and shine.  After shampooing and rinsing hair thoroughly, blot dry with a towel and work conditioner into your hair, distributing evenly.  Massage gently, using circular movements of the fingers then leave for 3-5 minutes so the nourishing ingredients can penetrate the hair shaft infusing it with moisture and nutrients.  Comb through using a wide toothcomb before rinsing and styling as normal.

3. Blot dry with a towel, do not rub or you will ruffle the cuticle, which depletes shine. Smooth and nourish hair with a styling product, for straight hair using Straightening Balm for curly, Curl Cream. After drying smooth on a few drops of serum which coats each hair with a fine film of silicone that smoothes the cuticle, eliminates frizz, creates texture and adds shine. It also stops hair absorbing moisture from the atmosphere which can make your style drop.

4. Help restore the natural moisture balance in your hair by using specialist shampoos and conditioners for dry, frizzy hair.  These help restore natural vitality that has been lost by the damaging UV rays.  Tinted hair will be suffering from fade caused by the sun.  Refresh colour by asking your hairdresser for a semi-permanent in the same shade as normal.  It will add instant lustre and enrich the colour.

5. Bleached or highlighted hair will have soaked up minerals and chemicals from swimming pools and may well be showing signs of a green tinge.  Use a deep cleansing shampoo to strip away deposits and restore natural lustre.

6. Natural curls or permed tresses could be suffering from damaged or lifted cuticles which, makes hair look dull and be prone to tangle.  Boost curls using an energising spray which will add life.  Follow by warming a few drops of serum in palms and work through outer layers of hair to give instant shine and suppleness.

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In other news, I’ve just discovered a (new-to-me) high street MIRACLE that’s proving to be more than worth it’s weight in gold this Autumn…. more to come on that soon…

What are your winter hair tips?

I was sent these a while ago now via the brilliant r8beauty, probably around the time my camera went up in a big puff of smoke and I have been absolutely DYING to play with them but holding off until I could do them justice with a photo incase they were amaze.

Rebel Nails are a simple stick-on concept that can be customised with an almost infinite number of designs from animal print to high-shine chrome.

I found application a touch tricky, though the instructions provided were clear and easy to follow.

Firstly, I had to trim EVERY nail sticker.  They were all far too wide for my narrow nails and even after trimming, I found that I had been a little too cautious and should have taken off more than I did.  Something to remember for next time.  It looks far better once on the nail if they’re a little too narrow for your nail bed than too wide.

I also experienced more problems with creasing on the ones that I hadn’t trimmed enough.  It really is key to ensure you personalise these nails to fit your own properly.

But how does the overall effect look?

Pretty darn brilliant even if I do say so myself:

My little nail and ring finger are both perfect fits (and applications) but at the time, I thought I’d trimmed too much from the sticker.  You can see though that they look far better than my index and middle fingers yes?

Stickability is impressive.  I achieved 4 days before a little peeling but if I’m completely honest with you… I wanted them off my fingers after day 1.  I found that the free edges (no matter how well I filed) just kept catching on things and feeling ‘scratchy’.  I wouldn’t have lasted 4 days if I weren’t testing them for wear.

For me, these are great for special occasions…. nights out and the like.  They feel very comfortable on the nails… the thin membrane of sticky foil is light and unobtrusive.  It’s just that rough nail tip that I couldn’t put up with.

Removal was 100x easier than I had anticipated.  I switched on my hairdryer, gave a nail a quick blast before peeling back the sticker which left barely any residue, gunk and absolutely no damage behind.

Rebel Nails offer around 100 desgins on their website, with prices starting at only £4.99 a set.

I’m loving the look of these Snowflake Red ones for Christmas.

Do you like?

Something else that caught my eye during the recent Avon event were their range of Glimmerstick Diamond Eye Liners.  Being the magpie that I am, my eyes were drawn to these sparkly creations from 20ft away.

Currently available in a range of 6 colours, I was lured in by the cool tones and made off with the blue and plum shades named: Twilight Sparkle and Sugar Plum respectively.

I do love pencil eyeliners, they’re so versatile and I often use smudged coloured liners as an alternative to eyeshadow on lazy days.  I thought that these might bring a bit of sparkle to the festive season… and I was right!

The texture of the Avon Glimmersticks Diamond Eye Liners is a little hard and they definitely benefit from being warmed up on the back of my hand before applying to the delicate eye area.  Although in stick form, they look hugely glittery… once applied, the effect is somehow sophisticated.  It’s not subtle… but it’s not childish glitterbomb either.

The base colour of the liner holds the sparkle successfully without too much fall out, even after smudging.

Of the two shades that I was given, Twilight Sparkle is the knock out… it’s truly luminous and I’m loving adding a small amount of this under my lower lashes to spice up a bronze eye.  I haven’t applied these along the waterline because I’m not OK with the idea of having glitter so close to my eyeballs but they wear most of the day applied along the lashline.

One issue I have found with these is that the lid is quite hard to remove!  I destroyed the nib of Twilight Sparkle (as you can see in the photo) because I really had to yank at the top to remove… which resulted in a clumsy side swipe and a swift guillotine action!

The Avon Glimmersticks Diamonds Eye Liners are currently half price on the Avon website, priced at £3 each.  An absolute steal, I assure you!

While I’ve got your attention… I’ve updated my original Avon SuperShock Gel Eyeliner post to include a photo and a swatch of the liner in Silver as per your requests.  You can find the link here (scroll to the bottom for the update).

My C25K post generated more interest than I expected and a few of you have even started the program with me!  High five!  If you’re not sure what I’m talking about, here’s a link to the original post.

I just thought I’d do a quick update on how I’ve been getting on with the program now that I am due to complete the 3rd week tomorrow.

Clearly not me.

The program is designed to ease you from a horizontal position into a world of running and claims to have you running 5k (just over 3 miles) without stopping in 9 weeks.  Intensive much?

I’ll start by saying that there are many different versions of ‘running’ and in truth, my running style involves a very slow jog… a canter on a good day.  There’s definitely no ‘running’ going on here yet.  There have been a couple of points in the program that I have had a sneaky peek ahead at what’s to come and simply thought “no way”.  Last week was a prime example.  Let me explain…

You start the program in Week 1 by running for 1 minute and walking for 1.30 minutes, alternating between the two for a total of around 25 minutes.  At the end of Week 1, I got cocky and skipped through my C25K app to have a look at what the future weeks would have instore for me…

3 minutes running… non stop.  Ermmm…. that’s about week 7 right?  Wrong.  That’s week 3.

“NO WAY!” said me.

“NO WAY!” said my body.

Well, I’ve just completed Week 3, Day 2 and it’s totally do-able, how stoked am I?  I’m on cloud 9 and feeling mightily smug with myself.  Except for one little thing… I did that cocky thing again tonight and read what the last day of Week 5 has in store for me.

Brisk five-minute warmup walk, then jog two miles (or 20 minutes) with no walking.

I read it three times to triple check and still not believing that the program expected me to really run for 20 minutes without stopping… I went online and checked on the website.  It’s not an error.

So… in approximately 5 more sessions, I’m supposed to progress from running 3 minutes… to 20 minutes.

I’m dubious, unconfident and downright traumatised by that thought.

Kinda excited too.

Have you been doing the program?  How are you finding it?

I mentioned last week a nail polish that had instantly hit all the right notes and soared into my top Winter favourites list.  Here it is:

Glam Metal by Precision Nails is a beautiful gunmetal polish with an array of multicoloured sparkle.  The sparkle is subtle, perhaps just a touch too subtle.  I would have been doing cartwheels had it been just a little more apparent.  As it stands, this is a stunning shade for a Winter manicure.  The finish makes the polish look almost chrome-like (in that slightly grungey way I love).  I’m not sure if you can make out from the swatch above… but the gunmetal isn’t an out-and-out grey.. it has the teeniest hint of purple/taupe to it.  You can see why I’m loving this can’t you?

Application was good, thinner rather than thicker and the above shows three coats.  Drying time is average and wear has been good with no chips to report.

I don’t get excited by shoes (yeah, I know – freakozoid)… so this is probably the closest I’m gonna come to getting excited by a Jimmy Choo debut.

Jimmy Choo by Jimmy Choo is set to enter the perfume market next January as the brand’s first foray into the beauty world.

I’m bowled over by the beautiful bottle which co-founder Tamara Mellon stated has been inspired by Murano glass (there’s worse things to be inspired by right?)  It’s elegant, shapely and there’s not a stiletto-shaped flacon in sight.  Amen.

But enough of how it looks… how’s it gonna smell?!

The fragrance is being described as a a fruity chypre with notes of exotic tiger orchid, sweet toffee and Indonesian patchouli.  That sounds right up my street… feminine but with a little more sophistication than your average floral.  Sweet toffee?  One for the gourmand-fragrance lovers?… i.e. me, as long as it’s not too sweet.

Regardless, I’m sure that Jimmy Choo by Jimmy Choo is destined to be a Valentine’s Day sellout.

Jimmy Choo Eau de parfum is set to retail at £39 (40 ml), £49 (60 ml), and £68 (100 ml).  Available from Harrods, Selfridges and selected Jimmy Choo boutiques.

The Christmas gifts are coming in thick and fast now that we’re approaching November at a blistering pace.  The latest are a pairing of festive gifts from NARS.

Kicking off with the Crazy Heart Set which contains 5 medium-sized lip glosses and features the shades:

Easy Lover (Ultra Sheer Hot Pink),
Babe (Sheer Orange Red)
Orgasm (Sheer Warm Pink with Golden Shimmer)
Turkish Delight (Pink Sorbet)
Misbehave (Sheer Cherry Red with Gold Shimmer)

Prices at £35 and available from November 1st exclusively at Selfridges.

Love ’em or hate ’em… NARS multiples tend to divide opinion… personally I’m a fan and so I should be considering I own 5 of them now – though none of these ones… *lightbulb flick*

The shades included in the Sweet Disposition Set are:

Orgasm (Peachy Pink with Shimmer)
Luxor (Iridescent Pink)
Malibu (Pinkish Brown)

Priced at £32 and availabile from November 1st exclusively at Selfridges.

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A couple of rather lovely sets no?  I’m a little disappointed that there’s no Holiday palette to get our teeth stuck into this year but at least that’s one less thing on the old wishlist.  Are either of these catching your attention?

I thought I’d do a quick post with some of the Halloween looks and tutorials that have been inspiring me!

I don’t have any plans that would warrant recreating any of these amazing looks (and I don’t want to traumatise L for life), but my goodness aren’t these girls fabulous?

Do you have any plans to makeup for Halloween?

It’s a double NOTD today!

I received a couple of Models Own new nail polish shades the other week and finally got a chance to wear them last weekend.  I was a bit dubious about Vintage Pink when I spied it in the bottle… it’s kinda…. fud.

It’s something my Nan would have worn… had she worn nail polish.  That makes sense in my head.

What I’m trying to say is… throw in a couple of mint imperials, a plastic rain-proof headscarf, a shopping bag that doubles up as a trolley and a pint of guiness and you’ve got this nail polish.  Everytime I look at my nails, I need to double check the mirror to assess the length of my crowsfeet.

I’m not feeling it.

However, application was fabulous… which is just as well really ‘cos old ladies get the shakes.

Moving on…

Models Own Prussian Blue is more my cuppa tea.  It’s a bright royal blue that lends itself really well to a bit of mattification (is that a word?).  It’s a nice shade for the winter and compliments my cool tones well.

Both polishes were done in two coats and I’m not sure if the formula has been re-jigged since I last tried a Models Own polish back in the Spring… but these applied really nicely and far less thickly than I expected based on previous experiences.

I didn’t keep Vintage Pink on much longer than it took to go for a ride round the block on my mobility scooter, but wear was great on the matte!  It wasn’t until the 3rd day that I began to notice a bit of tip wear… I’m just not used to mattes lasting that well, are you?

The 11 new shades are shown above…

Any of them taking your fancy?

Models Own polishes can be purchased online or in Boots stores nationwide, priced at £5 each.

The ever-popular LUSH Christmas gifts are back for the Winter… ranging from the accessible Secret Santas right up to those lustworthy hat boxes!

Here’s what LUSH have in store for us this Christmas…

1. Secret Santa (£5.00) – Snowcake star soap and Satsumo Santa bath ballistic.

2. Best Wishes (£9.95) – Bearded Lady bubble bar, Satsumo Santa bath ballistic, So White bath ballistic.

3. Chillin’ With My Gnomies (£6.50) – Snow Globe soap and Whoosh shower jelly.

4. Christmas Cracker (£6.50) – Cinders and The Boogg bath ballistics.

5. Christmas Allsorts (£9.95) – Satsumo Santa, The Boogg and Lil’ Lush Pud bath ballistics.

6. Have A Sweet Christmas (£5.95) – Candy Cane bubble bar and Godmother soap.

7. Snow Fairy (£9.95) – Snow Fairy shower gel; Angel’s Delight soap star; Shimmy Shimmy massage bar.

8. Matryoska (£9.95) –  So White soap, So White bath ballistic and Cinders bath ballistic.

9. Winter Warmer (£7.50) – Glogg shower gel and Mandarin’s Tea Party soap (50g).

1. Christmas Present (£13.95) – Christmas Eve bubble bar, Winter Bath ballistic, Fizz Banger ballistic, Mandarin’s Tea Party soap.

2. Christmas Candy Box (£19.95) – Snow Fairy shower gel; Candy Cane bubble bar; Rock Star soap; Honey I Washed the Kids soap; Bubblegum lip scrub; Snow Fairy tinted lip balm.

3. Christmas Tweets (£14.50) – Snowcake soap, Vanilla Fountain bath ballistic, Lil’ Lush Pud bath ballistic, Smitten hand cream (45g).

4. Gingerbread House (£13.95) – Gingerbread House Bubble Bar, Cinders Bath Ballistic, Candy Cane Bubble Bar, Lil Lush Pud ballistic.

5. Happy Christmas (£19.95) – Christmas Eve bubble bar; Sexy Peel soap; Mandarin’s Tea Party soap; Dragon’s
Egg bath ballistic; Butterball bath ballistic; Cinders bath ballistic.

6. Christmas Star (£19.95) – Lil’ Lush Pud; Winter Bath; Butterball; Cinders; So White; and Mrs Whippy bath ballistics.

7. The First Snow (£19.95) – Snow Globe Soap; Ice Blue soap; Too Drunk emotibomb; Once a Year massage bar, Iced Wine shower jelly and Glogg shower gel.

1. Christmas Wishes (£24.95) – Sexy Peel and Mandarin’s Tea Part soaps, mini Sugar Scrub, The Olive Branch and Glogg shower gels, Buffy body conditioner, New shampoo bar.

2. Winter Wonderland (£49.95) – Sugar Plum Fairy sugar scrub, Glogg shower gel (100g), Snow Globe soap, Porridge soap, Turkish Delight shower smoothie, Iced Wine shower jelly, Once a Year massage bar, Double Choc tinted lip balm, Rub Rub Rub shower scrub (100g), Aqua Mirabilis body butter, Vanilla Dee-lite body lotion, Lip Dip lip scrub, Too Drunk emotibomb.

3. Stardust (£24.95) – Twilight bath ballistic, Lip Dip lip scrub, Sugar Plum Fairy sugar scrub, Iced Wine shower jelly, Angel’s Delight soap, Candy Cane bubble bar, Snow Fairy shower gel.

4. Bathtime Favourites (£24.95) – Lil’ Lush Pud, Cinders, So White, Winter Bath, Butterball, Lil’ Big Blue, Lil’ Avobath, Lil’ Honey Bee and Lil’ Sex Bomb bath ballistics.

5. 12 Days of Christmas (£34.95) – The Boogg bath ballistic, Winter Bath bath ballistic, Satsumo Santa bath
ballistic,  Cinders  bath  ballistic,  So  White  bath  ballistic,  Bearded  Lady  bubble  bar,
Gingerbread  House  bubble  bar,  Candy  Cane  bubble  bar,  Christmas  Eve  bubble  bar,
Mandarin’s Tea Party soap, Snow Globe soap, Glogg shower gel.

6. Winter Garden (£29.95) – Vanilla in the Mist soap, Mandarin’s Tea Party soap, Snowcake soap, Maple Taffy lip balm, Once a Year massage bar, King of Skin body butter, Sugar Plum Fairy sugar scrub, The Olive Branch shower gel.

7. All The Best (£29.95) – Each Peach massage bar, Dream Cream body lotion, Karma and Snowcake soaps, The Olive Branch shower gel, Christmas Eve bubble bar, Cinders and Avobath ballistics.

1. All I Want for Christmas (£64.95) – Cinders, Satsumo Santa, So White, Lil’ Lush Pud, The Boogg and Winter Bath
ballistics, Candy Cane, Christmas Eve, Bearded Lady and Gingerbread House bubble bars, Mandarin’s Tea Party, Snowcake, Angel’s Delight and Snow Globe soaps, Maple Taffy lip balm, Lip Dip lip scrub, Sugar Plum Fairy sugar scrub, Snow Fairy tinted lip balm, Glogg and Snow Fairy shower gels, Iced Wine shower jelly and Once a Year massage bar.

2. Wonderful Christmas Time (£99.50) – Maple Taffy lip balm, Karma soap, Winter bath ballistic, The Boogg, Cinders and Butterball bath ballistics, Christmas Eve, Pop in the Bath and Dorethy bubble bars, Iced Wine shower  jelly, Glogg shower gel, 9-5 cleanser, Sweet Lip  lip scrub, Figs and Leaves soap,  Brimstone  scrub,  Aqua  Mirabilis  body  butter,  New  shampoo  bar,  Ultrabalm, Ceridwen’s Cauldron bath melt, Crème Anglaise body lotion (100g), Each Peach massage bar,  Grass  shower  gel  (100g),  Orange  Blossom  solid  fragrance,  Celestial  moisturiser (sample tin).

3. Merry Christmas Darling (£89.95) – Once a Year massage bar, Soft Coeur massage bar, Massage bar  tin,
Amandopondo bubble bar, Sex Bomb bath ballistic, It Started with a Kiss tinted lip balm, Sex in the Shower emotibomb, Joy of Jelly shower  jelly, Godiva shampoo bar, shampoo bar tin, MMM  luxury bath melt, Lip Sip lip scrub, Angel’s Delight soap, Candy Cane bubble bar,  Silky Underwear dusting powder, French Kiss bubble bar, Keep it Fluffy ballistic, Flying Fox shower gel, Lust solid  fragrance, Sugar Babe sugar scrub, Sultana of Soap, Sexy Peel soap, Honey Trap lip balm, Smitten hand cream (in a pump), Mrs Whippy bath ballistic.

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Phew!  I need a rest after all that… and strangely enough… I’m hankering after a LUSH bath.  Which of those gift sets has your name on it?

The beauty blogosphere has been rumbling with news of a collaboration between slick nail art gurus WAH Nails and high-street favourites… polish maestro’s Models Own!

As originally reported by ElleUK last month, the pairing is set to bring nail art to the UK High Street in the shape of some new Nail Art pens!

It’s a marriage made in heaven if it means that we can recreate fabulous designs like these in the comfort of our own homes:

image credit: WAH Nails

Now, if only the pairing could come up with a way to bottle the talent needed to mastermind designs like the above… that WOULD be a bestseller.

Can we have some WAH/Models Own nail art tutorials thrown in too please?  PLEASE?

What do you think of this collaboration?  Hit or Flop?

(a.k.a – I’ve missed my camera)