A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

I was recently introduced to a new salon-brand: Mii Cosmetics, who carry an astonishingly wide range of products.  The range is divided cleanly into two sections: Mineral and, well… non-mineral.  The mineral lineup is packaged in black boxes to clearly distinguish from the rest which you’ll find housed in white packaging.

From the bits that I’ve had the opportunity to play with, the bases in particular stand out as something special,  I can see one of them becoming a bit of a hero product for the brand, it’s not like anything I’ve come across before.

I’ll tell you more about that one a little later in the week… I know, I’m teasing… sorry.

I’ll begin with the straight-up, no-messing mineral foundation: Irresistible Face Base (£21), a loose mineral foundation powder with a sifter.  It comes in 7 shades and naturally, I’m showing you 01 Precious Porcelain.

Mii Cosmetics Perfect Mineral Brush (£28.95) also shown.

For an 01, it’s actually a little dark.  It matches me well enough but if you’re paler than a NW15 you might struggle with this.  I swatched it alongside my Bare Minerals foundation in fair and it was a good shade darker.  I find the Bare Minerals a little too light for me in the Summer months so, selfishly… this pleases me.

Swatched heavily on my hand, it looks a little warm but to my eye it’s pretty neutral once you take away the pink bias in my skin.  You should be able to make out the sheen in the swatch… less sparkly than my Bare Minerals but a little more glowy.  It also feels more finely milled than the Bare Minerals, which I have to admit, surprised me.

Having said that, it does offer less coverage.  A personal preference but I’m not skin-confident enough to wear this alone over bare skin.  However, combined with one of the other Mii Cosmetics bases (the one I’ll be showing you later in the week!), the pairing delivers flawless but dewy, natural looking skin.  My favourite kind.

A promising start!

Mii Cosmetics are sold exclusively in Spas/Salons, call 0845 217 1360 to find your nearest.

* pr sample

In the four years since I first fell in love with makeup, I’ve become a snob.  Caused by a simple case of exposure, or should that be overexposure to brands.  Without wanting to sound like someone you’d like to stab in the kidney, I’m in the fortunate position where brands sometimes send me products to try for free but I can honestly say that in spite of this… I’ve never spent so much money on makeup and beauty products in my life.

Three years ago, I would have considered a MAC eyeshadow a luxury purchase and when all is said and done, at £11.50 for a bit of coloured powder in a pot.  It is.  Of course, it’s all relative really… I don’t earn more than I did three years ago but my priorities have changed and beauty hits the top spot for those hobby spends nowadays.

So back to this makeup snobbery.  It’s like a slow rot.  I almost find it hard to believe nowadays that I’m going to find the quality I’m looking for in a drugstore purchase.  That my now ‘more discerning’ tastes (I know, hit me) won’t be catered for on the high street.  Bull.  Shit.  I just might need to look a little harder… and I’d completely forgotten the excitement to be had in uncovering awesome gems for little monies (until last night!)

Now, that’s not to say I’m going to turn my back on my high end purchases (heaven forbid!)… I’m still a sucker for a bit of luxe packaging and that superficial (and it is!) thrill of owning something horribly covetable.  I just hereby promise to spend a little bit of time having a play in Superdrug again, I genuinely forgot how much fun it was to be LEFT. ALONE. to swatch!

Do you think “snobbery” is a natural progression for hobbies that become more consuming?  Have your purchasing habits changed much over the last few months/years?

~ Madame B Fatale tests a fun gimmicky product with some not so amazing results.

~ Are you ready to step out of your comfort zone, and slip into summer? Then be sure to check out this melon and teal makeup look over at theNotice – you won’t be disappointed!

~ Phyrra gives you her take on the Buxom Big & Healthy Lip Sticks.

~ AOYV shares her tryst with Inglot eyeshadows and shares with fellow Canadians how to access this fabulous brand.

~ Pammy Blogs Beauty finds a new “Holy Grail” product with MAC’s Prep & Prime Vibrancy Eye Primer.

~ Lisamarie from Beauty Crazed is already thinking about fall – but she can’t help it, it’s Chanel! Come check out the Illusions d’Ombres De Chanel fall collection and you’ll understand why she’s so weak!

~ Vesna from Beauty addict blog has a thing for Inglot products lately! Her favorite Inglot item at the moment is definitely 420P eyeshadow so check out what she loves about it so much!

~ Beautywoome just reviewed the best airbrush tan EVER.

~ Not having a good day (like Tracy, at Beauty Reflections)? See how the Sephora Flashy Liner helped her to face the day!

~ Want a fancy perfume but hate the price? Jeweled Thumb finds something similar to a popular and expensive Juicy Couture one. Best part? It’s $10!

~ Beauty’s Bad Habit shares her five favourite make-up finds for under £5 because everyone loves a bargain!

~ Need a sheer foundation for summer? Check out My Lips But Better’s comparison chart for Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua vs. Clinique Moisture Surge. Which will be the winner?

~ Hair prone to frizz? With the weather in the UK always indecisive it’s good to find something that can control that frizz. Has LaaLaa over at Dolce Vanity found that with Sedu Anti Frizz Polishing Treatment?

~ MAC’s Big Bounce Shadows got a bad rap, but Kajal Couture shows you how to make them work.

~ Looking for a new curling iron? Sophie tries and tests the Remington Pearl Conical Wand!

~ Don’t have the budget for the Mac Big Bounce shadows? Jo checks out Rimmels 8 hour colour mousse and is very impressed!

~ Nicoletta’s Beauty Space tries out some of her favourite Sleek True Color lipsticks.

I don’t do French Manicures.  I love how they look all polished and pretty but they’re a pain in the proverbial backside for someone as OCD as me to get right.

Having said that, I spent a couple of hours attempting one whilst rotting my brain watching Living +1 the other day.  It was in aid for a guest post on another site that never went ahead and rather than waste my hard work, here it is!

Apologies if it’s a bit “teaching your grandmother to suck eggs”, the brief was to share French Manicure tips and this is the best but least yawn-inducing one I know!

After many years, it’s time to accept that some things will remain forever out of reach. Those Boyzone tour tickets, a bit-part in Friends and that pair of Clarks Magic Steps.  Up until a few years ago I’d have swapped all of ’em for the ability to give myself a pretty French Manicure!

I’d attempted it before with those fiddly sticker guides but they always wound up stuck to everything except my nails and if I did manage to attach one, it was wonky.

When I first discovered that professionals painted the tips ‘freehand’, I was filled with both a mixture of admiration and disappointment as I realised that I’d never own a steady-enough hand for that kind of artistry. But then I learned the secret…

Paint the ‘smile line’ (that’s the proper expression for the tip) with a white polish of your choice, trying to follow the natural line the best you can… then (and here’s the clever bit), cheat!

Take an old lip or eyeliner brush dipped in some nail polish remover and making tiny circular strokes, craft the perfect crescent! The remover will dissolve those tell-tale wobbles that give away your amateur skills! Who says cheats never prosper?

How’s your French Manicure skillz?  Do you bother with them?

I first fell in love with Tisserand’s Muscle Ease Bath Oil nearly two years ago and it’s been a continual repurchase ever since.

As far as I’m concerned, the Muscle Ease Bath Oil is the ultimate for the price.  In the past, I’ve paid nearly 4x that for half the quantity and although not disappointed with my purchase, it wasn’t 4x as gorgeous… a simple example of not being able to ignore the economics.

I knew they’d be nothing to dislike about the Muscle Ease Body Massage Oil… I mean, a). it’s an oil and b). it’s in one of my favourite spicy scents ever… what’s not to like?  I was right and it is indeed awesome.

Energy Revive is also amazingly potent but I’m not a fan of the scent blend which I find a little too ‘kitchen fresh’ if that makes sense… I like citrus but this doesn’t hit the right notes for my taste.

Also, I’ve not been using these as massage oils… which is a bit naughty because I was sent these to review and if I don’t use them as massage oils, how can I review them as such?  Well… I can’t.  Because Mr. L attempted a massage on me and I wanted to divorce him before 5 minutes had passed.  Irritating, diggy knuckles, wouldn’tstoptalking.

No body product (even when it’s gratis) is worth 7 years of marriage, 11 years of dating and a heartbroken 2 year old, sorry Tisserand.

I have however been using these as body oils both before and after showering.  I slather on some of the Muscle Ease one before jumping in the shower and get a blast of intoxicating ginger, lemongrass and other lovely stuff as the room fills with steam.  Once the taps are off, I spread a little more onto my wet skin to lock in the moisture and spend the rest of the day wanting to lick myself.

So there we have it, a ginormous thumbs up for the Muscle Ease Body Massage Oil, a Jif lemon thrown at the Energy Revive one and a kick up the bum for Mr. L for being a crap masseur.

Tisserand Body Massage Oils are priced at £8.10 each and are available to purchase from some of those funny independent pharmacies, Whole Foods or online at Tisserand.com

* pr sample

You may recall my bitter moans last week about how when presented with a rare opportunity to spend an indecent amount of time playing with makeup, I came up with something that looked no different from my everyday makeup.

So this weekend, I grabbed myself by the balls (cough) and reached for my brightest, scariest palette.

NARS Mediteranee.

Innit gorgeous?  And I’m sure it shouldn’t really work against my skintone… perhaps it doesn’t, but hell… I really love it anyway.

Don’t laugh… this is WAY out of my comfort zone nowadays.

I know I look super-snooty in the ‘looking down’ pics but you can’t see the ORANGE otherwise ‘cos of my hooded lids!

I think I scared Leila a bit. (OMG the CLOWNZ are coming!)

When was the last time you stepped out of your comfort zone?

My first Deborah Lippmann glitter polish.  It feels like every iconic DL polish comes with it’s own story firmly entrenched in popular culture.  Glitter in the Air was created by Deborah after she had watched Pink’s performance at the 2010 Grammy Awards (if you search on You Tube you can find it).

The most important thing you should note is that in the above swatch, I have LAYERED the Deborah Lippmann polish over Essie’s Sag Harbor.  The polish on my bare nail is VERY sheer… not a good look over yellow-stained tips.  I wanted you to be able to appreciate the glitter without the distractions from my ugly nails.

So again, I repeat… even with three coats… you will be able to see your own nail beneath Glitter in the Air unless you layer it over another colour.  Got that?  Right.

The overall effect of the mani reminds me of a baby’s birthday party… it’s ethereal, light, delicate and sunny.  A true feel-good polish for the playful amongst you.  It’s limited edition for Spring 2011 and has already disappeared from the website so if you want it?  Better get down to HoF fast!

£16 for 15ml at House of Fraser.  It’s undoubtedly pretty but has a hefty price tag to match.

* press sample

It’s Sunday, which in my world means Cake day… I haven’t decided what I’m making this week but seeing as I haven’t yet become bored of my new found love for the kitchen, I know I’m gonna enjoy making it.

Last week we had loads of leftover cherries thanks to Leila deciding that she wasn’t going to like cherries anymore.  Those things are expensive and I couldn’t take watching them slowly grow fur in the fridge.  I googled for some recipes and came across one for a tasty sounding Hungarian Sour Cherry Cake.

Now, I have no idea if my cherries were sour or not, they tasted pretty ropey so I thought they’d probably do.

1 8″ cake tin (greased and floured)

225g unsalted butter (please do use proper butter, I risked it with baking type butter and it had a distinct marg taste)
1⅓ cup caster sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract or 1 tablespoon rum
2½ cups sifted plain flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons sifted icing sugar to decorate

2 cups fresh cherries (take the stones out)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon granulated sugar

1. Cream the butter and caster sugar together until pale and fluffy.  Add the eggs and combine well.

2. Add the vanilla or rum.

3. Fold the flour and baking powder into the wet mixture.

4. Pour the thick batter into the prepared cake tin and smooth the surface.

5. Press the cherries into the batter evenly.  Just keep pushing the cherries further into the mixture until you’ve used them all up.

6. Combine the cinnamon and granulated sugar and sprinkle evenly over the cherries.

7. Place the tin in the lower middle of a preheated 170C oven (fan oven) and bake for 1hr, or until a cake tester inserted in the middle comes out clean.

It needed more cherries… I only had 1 cup.  I ended up spreading the slices with cherry jam.  Decadent!

Have a lovely, restful Sunday!

Let’s have a ’round the blogosphere’ love in…

You’re running late and only have time to apply ONE makeup product to your face (after you’ve applied your skincare, of course). What’s it going to be?

Foundation, foundation and a bit more foundation just to be safe.  I can cope with most things but if my blotchiness and spider veins are on display, I’m pretty grumpy.

Here’s this week’s blog round up…

Vampy Varnish – Asks if a new Benefit mascara can really make people wonder if They’re Real.

we heart this – is bubbly over one of Stila’s new lip glaze shades – Bubble Gum.

Beauty Junkies Unite – wants to give you a fab Summer Prep Kit from Bliss, valued at $144…but you can’t win if you don’t enter!

Clumps of Mascara – is absolutely loving Deborah Lippman’s newest nail polish shades . They are perfect for summer!

EauMG – EauMG reviews one of the best lilac perfumes on the market, Profumi di Firenze Lilla.

Lipglossiping – previews the upcoming Autumn/Winter collection from Butter London. Two seasons, five shades, you’re bound to ‘fall’ for one of them!

Nouveau Cheap – gives you an in-depth review of the new CoverGirl Intense Shadowblast Primer + Shadow. The proof is in the pics!

Orange to LA – shares the products in her May Favorites list. Bright eyeliners, and gold eye shadows- Just in time for summer!

Pink Sith – Tortures it’s readers with their 5th installment in the Blushes You Can’t Have monthly series. This month Chanel Turbulent is flaunted!

Phyrra – revisits Darling Girl Cosmetics. See how the company has changed and grown.

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Which product would you take the time to apply?

I promised you a post on BB creams and in all honesty, what I know about BB creams can probably be written on the back of one.  In other words, not an awful lot.

However, one thing I do know is that they’ve been around for a lot longer than you might think.  Currently hot topic across the UK blogosphere, we’re about 3 years out of date on this one.  Here’s the post that introduced me to them back in 2008: The lovely Muse talks about BB Creams…

Since then, I’ve been gathering snippets here and there from other Asian cosmetics aficiandos like Rowena, Kathi and ParisB (just a small selection of amazing blogs with an Asian beauty focus) and dipping my toe in the proverbial waters.

The biggest complaint lodged against the Asian BB Cream market is the lack of colour variation and this still holds true 3 years down the line… for medium toned or paler skins, it’s not too bad.  Darker skintones (with the exception of one or two products) are pretty much ignored in this genre.

Speaking from a personal point of view, my pale pink skin isn’t as bothered by the oft-disliked ‘beige/grey’ tones found within many of these creams.  Infact, I find that they cancel out my redness better than any other foundation or concealer I’ve tried but I can absolutely appreciate why they don’t look as good on olive or yellow-toned skintones.

The below image shows them swatched on my inner wrist where the skin is considerably more milk-bottle than my face.  The texture of the three varies considerably.  I’m going to do a speed review on each…

Therapia ECO Feel BB Cream

This one has the heaviest texture, it’s quite hard to spread and drags a little unless my skin is well moisturised underneath.  The colour is good, though a tiny bit too dark for me.  Skin-loving properties are based around whitening and calming irritated skin with Apricot Oil and Aloe Vera Gel.

Coverage is medium, it conceals redness nicely but blemishes will need extra work.  I don’t find that this builds very well, more than one layer and it starts to look caked on.  It’s unscented and has an SPF rating of SPF25 PA++

I would recommend this for normal/combo skins.

Skin Food Gingko Green BB Cream

The lightest in texture of the three I currently have in rotation.  Best for drier skins, this leaves behind a medium coverage and a dewy finish. If you’re oily, you will probably hate this with a passion.

It’s delicately scented and promises to be filled with ‘beauty enhancing’ ingredients like lecithin and Vit B to moisturise and nourish.  Sadly, this one contains no SPF.

The colour is less ‘beige’ (read grey) than the other two and will be better suited to warmer skintones (though it is still very light).

Shills Super Magic BB Cream

My favourite and the one I’ve been reaching for recently is this offering from Taiwanese brand, Shills.  With the highest SPF rating of SPF50 PA+++, it’s been doing a good job of keeping my skin protected in the sun.  It promises to aid with whitening, wrinkles(!) and general skin improvement.

It’s the palest of the three and the most suited to a cooler, pink skin tone.  It covers my redness phenomenally well and is mid-way between the other two in terms of spreadability.  Again, this one is delicately scented which may put you off.  It glides on over a moisturised face but if you’re combo-skinned, you may not want to add that extra dewiness as this is pretty moisturising on its own.

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As you can see, these ones all come from the Asian marketplace but I’ll be interested to see how the bigger brands currently throwing themselves on the bandwagon will interpret the ‘genre’ for the Western market.  I buy all my BB Creams on eBay but please be aware that there are fakes.  Infact, I’m not certain that all my purchases are genuine (though I’ve thankfully had no adverse reactions) so do all your usual eBay homework, check ratings… compare products to stock images etc and if in doubt, ask questions!

Have you tried BB Creams?  Want to?

… from ME!

I came across the Korres-owned line of body products whilst surfing the Zuneta site late the other evening.  I was taking advantage of the free delivery code before it ran out and stumbled over this intriguing range of well-priced, temptingly-flavoured goodies!

I’m a sucker for warm scents and tobacco is one of my favourites.  The For Kings & Queen’s version doesn’t disappoint… it’s sweet without being sickly and intoxicating without being heady.  To my nose, I can detect a hint of juiciness that’s sharp enough to gently cut through the warmer base and keep things a little lighter.  It’s simply a beautiful unisex scent and Mr. L has already made one hell of a dent in our bottle.

The formula is runny and toned brown… so beware any spillages!  Another point to note is just how much lather the formula produces… just a tiny drop combined with a mesh bath puff will create miles of bubbles, ensuring excellent value for money!

The scent sadly doesn’t linger on my skin once I’ve left the bathroom, a real shame as I imagine this would make the most perfect layering foundation for some of my warm, amber-based fragrances.  Still, at £5.00 for 300ml I can’t expect the world and I’m very happy with what I get for my money.

Rather dangerously, there’s a particularly collectible element to the line up.  The For Kings & Queens range link their scents to specific royal persons, hence the “Tsar Peter” in this shower gel who was known to enjoy the flavours of aromatic pipe tobacco so much that during times of severe laws against tobacco smoking he extended this pleasure to his people allowing them to smoke freely. It’s like the pokemon of shower gels… gotta catch ’em all!

I’m fascinated by the Korres-owned range which I believe has been around for some time now (how did I not know!) and already have a few more earmarked for future purchase.

For Kings & Queens are available to buy online from Zuneta & ThePowderRooms (where the range is currently on sale) – also check out the brand’s website which has all the historical tidbits about the various royal references!

Have you tried the Kings & Queens range?  Any favourites?

I had a few requests to see how the Giorgio Armani Eyes to Kill Intense #3 Purpura looked when worn, so I applied it as an all-over wash yesterday and snapped some photos.

I love it because it’s such an easy-to-wear shade, it applies and blends excellently with just my finger, is dark enough to give some great definition and a hint of smokiness yet light enough to be suitable for Summer.  Having said that, longevity (on me) isn’t all that much better than the L’oreal clones I tried a couple of months ago.  It doesn’t disappear from my lids completely but after around 4hrs, 70% of it resides in my socket line.  Still, it’s beautiful while it lasts… I’ll definitely pair it with a primer next time.

please excuse the pores!

Face

Shills Super Magic BB Cream SPF50 PA+++
Guerlain Meteorites Teint Rose 01
Bare Minerals Blush in Promise

Eyes

Giorgio Armani Eyes to Kill Intense #3 Purpura
Avon Supershock Gel Eyeliner in Black
L’oreal Telescopic Explosion Mascara in Black
Suqqu Brow Powder in 04

Lips

MAC Cremesheen Lipstick in Speed Dial