A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

The thoroughly lovely Annabella from SkinScrubs kindly picked this up for me from her local T.K. Maxx, I’ve been wanting it for quite a while and was really pleased when I finally got to lay my grubby hands on it!

The packaging is kinda cute… I guess… I dunno, I think I’d prefer a scantily-clad fella on it.  Actually, I don’t really give a shit if I’m honest.  The cardboard housing it comes in is thankfully solidly-constructed and has already survived a clumsy drop.

It looks scarily orange in the pan… a pink/bronzed orange.  My kinda nightmare.  Thank heavens for blogs and swatches that have shown me not to fear the Hot Mama!

Texture-wise, this blush is quite beautiful.  It’s silky, smooth and doesn’t create masses of dust when I pass my brush over the surface though it is quite soft and easy to nick with a fingernail.  It’s shimmery without being glittery unlike it’s famous dupe counterpart; NARS Orgasm which has a fine textured amount of glitter running through colour.  The shimmer in The Balm’s Hot Mama! may be a little too much for those of you with particularly large pores though, definitely something that needs considering.

The Balm’s Hot Mama! wears a little pinker than NARS Orgasm on my skintone but the simillarities are plain to see.  The swatch above shows one swipe from Hot Mama… the NARS Orgasm swatch took a few goes to build up to that intensity.

I love both… they’re sheer but incredibly buildable and probably some of the easiest to wear blushes I own.  I can pair these with any look and it just gives me a flush of colour that brightens up my NW15 skin.

I would say that I get an extra hour or two wear from the NARS and the cardboard sleeve surrounding Hot Mama! is a bit finickity to remove and replace everytime I want to use it… but it does have such a delightfully blendable texture.

You get just over 7g of product from The Balm, compared to 4.5g from NARS and unless you can spot one in your local T.K. Maxx, Hot Mama! will set you back around £15 in the UK.

Are you a shimmer, glitter or matte girl when it comes to blush?

You ladies are blowing me away with your fabulous shots!  Here’s some of your gorgeous selves rocking those gorgeous reds!

1.  Alexa from ShinyPrettyThings shows us all how to carry off MAC Russian Red with style!

2.  The beautiful Mariella from MusingOnBeauty looks resplendent in Guerlain’s Le Rouge G in Geisha!

3.  Shifa is definitely Gettin Gawjus in Karmic Kiss from MyFaceCosmetics!

4.  Nikkia from SilverLipsBeauty totally dazzles in MAC Ruby Woo!

5.  Finally, the lovely Katie vamps it up with flair courtesy of NARS Viridiana!

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Finally!  The House of Fraser Apothecary has launched online which means that poor souls like myself (who’s nearest HoF is an hours drive away) can finally take advantage of some of the new and exclusive brands available to the department store.

I previously wrote about the Lippmann Collection of nail polishes that I’m still salivating over.  I’m finding it damn near impossible to pick a preferred choice though!

I’m also curious about the Body America range of skincare… potentially good, affordable products that have enough about them (New York Cheesecake Body Butter anyone?) to raise real interest in how they feel, work and smell.

Other highlights include colostrum-based skincare brand Electric Body who hail from New Zealand and promise anti-aging delights (albeit at a price!), Aussie brand MOR – yes, they of the exquisite packaging and French pharmacie skincare brand Filorga who’s origins (in mesotherapy and injectible forms of anti-aging) promise the same results but without the needles.

I spent an indecent amount of time in the Guildford store just after Christmas… there *may* have been Guerlain purchases, I will neither confirm nor deny those rumours.

Have you stopped by the new House of Fraser Apothecary yet?

Day 3!  It’s Mondayyyyyyyy!  In commiserations I bring you three of Sleek’s most popular products.

Sleek Nail Polish in Lilac (perfect for Spring!), Sleek Kajal Eyeliner in Odyssey (purple) and the epic Sleek Storm Palette!

Leave a comment to enter.  Giveaway closes at 23:59GMT on 10th January.

Winners will be announced next month.  Info and rulez can be found here.

As well as being partial to a good red lipstick, I’m also partial to a good red nail polish.  The best for me are those slightly retro creams that command attention and make you feel just that little bit sexier everytime you spot them!

Butter London’s Come to Bed Red not only has an awesome name… but it’s an awesome red too!

It has an almost jelly-like finish which means that you’ll need an additional coat to ward off a visible nail line but on the flipside is it’s supreme shine and sweetie-like appearance.

Do you like your reds to be as bright as this?

Butter London Come to Bed Red is available to buy online priced from around £9.75

Don’t forget to pick up the News of the World today if you want to take advantage of the free makeup kit in conjunction with Models Own.

The kit includes: liquid eyeliner, tweezers, an eyelash curler, mascara and eyeshadow with all items housed in a clear plastic makeup ziploc bag.

I’ve had a play with the kit I was sent as a preview and the runny mascara and scratchy eyeliner aren’t gonna get any love here.  The tweezers weren’t half bad and the eyelash curlers (although not the most precise bit of mechanical engineering) do a decent job and fit my eye shape well.

Finally, the eyeshadow duo features a pair of wearable shades with a soft, blendable (if slightly dusty) texture.  I wouldn’t pay £24 for it but for the price of two Sunday papers, I think it’s worth a punt particularly as both tools included were completely usable.

To take advantage of the offer, collect TWO tokens from Fabulous magazine found within Sunday’s News of the World.  Tokens are available today, Sunday January 16 and Sunday January 23.

Once you have collected two tokens, take them to a participating Tesco store to redeem for the Models Own makeup kit.

For more info, check the website here.  Will you be picking one up?

Day 2 brings a trio of super-cute Asian goodies to make your day that little bit quirkier!  Hair velcro, Paper Soap and a Blush Guide!!

Leave a comment to enter.  Giveaway closes at 23:59GMT on 9th January.

Winners will be announced next month.  Info and rulez can be found here.

Like every other woman on the planet, I spent at least some of Christmas Day on the internet.  Before the Queen’s speech had even begun I was frankly bored of my family and wanted to spend some of that glorious Christmas money on some new goodies instead.

I picked up these two books off Amazon after reading a couple of the on-site reviews.

A whole book devoted to eyebrows? *swoon!*

Beautiful Brows by Nancy Parker basically tells you everything you ever needed to know about eyebrows, ever.  You wouldn’t think that there would be *that* much to say yet Ms. Parker manages to fill 128 pages on the subject without too much repetition.

The book covers everything from choosing the right shape for your face, the best tools for the job, how to tweeze like a pro and even advice on selecting the right shades for filling in your perfected brow.  All images are in B&W and look a little dated.  However, good brow shapes tend to be classics and can stand the test of time.

Most of the advice seems pretty solid, though the emphasis is placed on tweezing as the preferred removal method with a slight deviation to cover waxing.  As I cut my teeth on (over) tweezing, this is fine by me though it would have been nice to read a little more detail about other hair removal methods aswell.

Currently priced at £3.87 on Amazon, it’s a good book to have at your disposal and will have you glancing in the mirror to check how your brows adhere to the “beautiful brows” formula!

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Saving the best till last, my second purchase was the well-received Makeup: The Ultimate Guide by Aussie makeup artist Rae Morris.  The book is beautifully illustrated with crisp, striking and realistic photography.  Morris has stated that the step by step images in her book have been left alone by the retoucher’s hand which makes for a refreshing change.  Even in the larger, retouched portfolio images pores are still visible on the model’s skin and fine lines haven’t been obliterated into non-existence.  It serves to give the book an achievable, down to earth feel.

The looks showcased in the book are thankfully all modern and uptodate.  They bridge the gap between editorial and wearable with great skill.  Rae isn’t afraid to demonstrate her love for colour but takes a no-nonsense approach to more classic neutral variations too.

There are whole sections devoted to contouring, foundation, makeup kits, quick looks and probably my favourite; Over 40s.  I love how Rae doesn’t signal the death knell of shimmer and glitter eyeshadows for women over the age of 30.  Instead, she explains how best to incorporate all that fun stuff for a flattering but grown up look.

It’s great to find a resource that can still offer an old makeup bore like me some new tips and tricks to try (Rae swears by mixing Cetaphil and bicarb of soda for an unbeatable exfoliator!) and it’s frankly unusual to find a book that inspires me to try new looks based on the tutorials found within.  I’m completely smitten with the image on page 241, it’s cosmetic perfection, I’d love to show you it… but my camera wasn’t doing it any justice so you’ll have to check it out for yourself in your local bookshop!

Makeup: The Ultimate Guide is currently priced at £10.01 on Amazon and in my opinion, is worth every penny.

Have you read either of these?  What are your favourite beauty books?

Let your beauty dazzle everyone with these 3 BarryM Dazzle Dusts in shades: Winter Berry, Bronze and Chocolate.

Each little pot contains multiple facets of intensive reflective colour that glides on smoothly adding sparkle and sheen.

I know you’re all raring to get back into some beauty-related ponderings (heaven knows, I am!) – but I wanna take a minute to share Leila’s first Toffee Nut Latte with you…

Doesn’t she look bored with her water?  Perhaps she’s ready for the good stuff…

mmmm… did you know that a vente eggnogg latte contains nearly 500 calories? So glad I limited my Starbucks festive drink intake to the double figures this Christmas.

“But what’s this?”

“Mam-meeee?  What’s this?”

tentatively… softly softly catchee monkey…

nom. nom.. NOM…

That’s my girl.

Let’s just say… I didn’t get any cream with my coffee.

Have a glorious Friday people, promise I’ll be back tomorrow with makeup-related frippery – thank you for all your kind comments, you’ve given my New Year a spring to it’s step! x

The next 25 days are going to be packed with goodies galore as a big thankee to you, my lovely readers.  You’ve made every day that little bit more special for me… I’ve enjoyed sharing my excitements, disappointments, irritations and general WTFs with you all.

If you were around for 2009’s Advent Giveaway then you know the score… for the rest of you lagging behind, listen up!

It goes something like this…

1. Each day, when the clocks flick over from 23:59 to 00:00 I’ll be uploading a lovely prize for you to win.  The catch?  The prize is only available for 24hours before it gets replaced with another, so don’t delay in getting your entry in, you’ll only regret it!

2. Most prizes are open to international readers, if this isn’t the case.  I will state this in the entry post.  Please double check before entering if you’re not a UK resident.

3. Some prizes have been donated by brands that have embraced the festive spirit and think you’re as brilliant as I do.  Donated to me, NOT sponsored by them… this means that you’re not allowed to hold them responsible if Postman Pat plays football with your prize at the depot.   Lipglossiping (a.k.a me) is the sole promoter of this giveaway and I’ll do everything within my power to ensure that your prize reaches you safely.  If you have any problems or issues that need answering, I’m happy to help and can be reached via the contact page.

4. From experience, giveaways like this often get posted on competition forums… I have no control over whether or not this happens and all I can do is respectfully request that you don’t do this.  My giveaway is intended for readers – past, present and future and if you don’t find yourself in that category, please have a heart and don’t let it be simply the 187th comp you’ve entered today.  I have nothing against you and if you happen to be a reader AND a comper… great, enter away!

5. The winners names will be posted up at the end of the competition, be sure to check back for the full list.

6. You are eligible to win more than once.  You can enter everyday if you wish but only once PER day.

7. This is a bit of fun and a thank you from me to you.  Let’s keep it light and fluffy yes?

Clear as mud? – good job!