A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

The OPI Miss Universe collection features four sparkling shades ranging from full-on glitterbomb (Crown Me Already) to a relatively more demure pink (Congeniality is my Middle Name).

From the collection, I’m wearing It’s My Year, an exquisite purple/gold shimmer (or is it a foil?) that stopped 3 people dead in their tracks today as they demanded to know what was on my nails!

It applies smoothly, if a little sheer thus needing 3 coats to reach opacity.  It gave me no application issues and simply SINGS when it catches the light.

I wish OPI would release a full collection of variations on this theme, that would make my year.

OPI Nail Polishes are priced at £10.50 each available from Lena White

* press sample

This Autumn sees the launch of what I can honestly say is the first seasonal collection that’s had me properly excited in a long time.  I knew Autumn wouldn’t let me down.  A beautiful neutral eye palette?  Tick.  A visually tantalising and wearable blush palette?  Tick.  A vintage-styled red lipstick?  Tick.

Be still my heart, be still.  Lancome’s 29, Saint Honoré is coming to town.

Inspired by the Femme Fatale trend of the 1930s and 40s, Aaron De Mey celebrates the flamboyant style of the urban, daring and stylish woman of this time (that’s me! – ed) in his new collection for Lancome.  A woman who uses her make-up to define, enhance, strengthen and intensify her beauty.

French Touch Absolu Lipstick £23.50
Les Oeillades Eye Palette £33
Maison Lancome Blush £32.50
Le Vernis Nail Varnish £12.50
Hypnose Drama Mascara £20.50

Chic, Parisian styling from a brand celebrating its heritage, the “29, Saint Honoré” references the address of the Lancome Institute, the brand’s historic home since its creation in 1935.

Of the Fall collection, Aaron De Mey, Lancome’s Global Make-Up Director said…

“I really wanted to create an essential make-up collection that represents the staples of a chic, sophisticated women’s make-up arsenal: red lips, brown lined, sculpted, defined eyes, groomed brows and fluffy lashes… A neutral coloured make-up with metallic hints layered over matt sculpting, defining powders.  A return to simplicity and sophistication…

It allows me to show a glamourous, graphic, sophisticated make-up style: Brown lined eyes with shades of Taupe, red painted lips and red or sparkly black nails… Very Femme Fatale.”

As much as it physically pains me to spoil the pristine surface of that blush, I wasn’t sent it to look at from a distance.  I’ll be sticking my fingers in the palettes and bringing some swatches over the next few days.

Classic, elegant and understated.  Sadly not the three words I’d use to describe myself but at least this collection might help me fake it.

Lancome 29, Saint Honoré will be available at Lancome counters nationwide from 1st September 2011.

* press sample

In celebration of the Icelandic ‘wonder’ serum’s 1st birthday, Bioeffect are offering a free travel-sized version of their serum with every full-sized purchase.

Sadly, too rich for my blood (I might change my mind when the fine lines start creeping in properly), the £125 serum contains the revolutionary ingredient, Epidermal Growth Factor (EGF).  A substance which occurs naturally in human skin and has the ability to speed up the rate of cell turnover.

You’ll be hard pushed to find too many negative reviews of this product – trust me, my Mum’s had me searching many-a-time.  I applied for a sample bottle last year and although I’m not quite at the age where I might experience visual results to WOW me, I did notice an impressive boost in general hydration.  So much so, that the ‘crepey’ effect I get down the sides of my nose disappeared completely and the pores in that same are appeared more refined thanks to the improved skin structure.

If it’s so wonderful, why haven’t I bought it?  Well… because it’s £125 and it’s 15ml.  That’s a lot of money for not a lot of product.  If you have a lot of money to spend on not a lot of product.  I thoroughly recommend giving it a go.

Bioeffect EGF Serum is available today only with FREE next day delivery and a free travel-sized version.  If you’ve been contemplating that purchase, now is the time to go for it.

And the lucky winner of this lovely Prada EDP Gift Set from Xtras Online is….

Sara Matthews!

Congratulations Sara, I hope you love your prize!  Please get in touch with your postal details so I can pass them on to the good people at Xtras!

Thanks for taking part everyone and better luck next time!

We’ve all had them, those tooth-grindingly painful encounters at our local beauty counters.  From the over enthusiastic SAs who turn us orange to the snooty brigade who look like they’d rather cop off with Barry Manilow than grace us with their attention.

photo credit: w578325

Shall I tell you mine?  (Oh, go on then… if you insist!)

I was in a big department store a couple of years ago, I won’t name the counter but they were a new installment.  I approached with a small amount of trepidation and started swatching at the pretties.  Within about a nano-second, I’d been swooped upon and ‘dusted’ with a powder brush.

I recoiled as the bubbly SA introduced the brand and steeled myself for the hard sell but she seemed to calm down once she realised she had my attention and that I *really* did want to hear about some of the products.

I pointed out a couple of things that I was interested in and asked if it would be ok for me to try them.  She squealed and showed me over to the makeup station, signalling for me to sit down.  I realised that we’d clearly had a communication meltdown when she started playing big-time makeovers on my face.  Ontop of my already applied foundation.  Ugh.

In fairness to her, I’m one of those who suffers in silence.  I sit there and suck it up with a semi-smile glued to my face while my eyes search for the nearest exit.  She moved on to the eyebrows, painting them (literally) black with the help of a wet brush and a liberal dose of powder.  I watch in horror as she (all the time telling me about her marriage breakdown and subsequent move to London) transforms me into a cartoon version of my self.

“There!” she proclaims.  I’m left waiting for the “Ta-da!”

I slink away clutching two products, in fairness… one of which is now a HG and find the nearest toilet in an attempt fix the car crash on my face.

I have to return 10 minutes later because the SA had given me the wrong shade for one of my products.  At which point she apologises and confides that she’s still learning the ropes.  Why would that be?  Well, she normally works in the brand’s office but that they were short-staffed on counter that day.

Laugh?  Cry?  I think I did a bit of both.

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I wanna hear about your worst beauty counter experience.  Spill!

I liked this delicate combo of Beauty UK’s Smokey Lilac with OPI Golden Rainbow on top.  A dusting of holographic sparkle always goes a long way to brightening my day!

Of course, the Beauty UK polish is a bargainous snip at only £2.49 a bottle, though I believe that OPI’s Golden Rainbow might be a little harder to come by I’m sure that the effect can be reproduced with something like Northern Lights Holographic Top Coat.

The above mani shows three coats of the Beauty UK and a single coat of OPI Golden Rainbow.  Pretty!

What are you wearing on your nails today?

I wasn’t around to see the (re)launch of Stila earlier in the year so it was good to have a catch up recently and check out the goodies that will be heading our way before the year is through.

Have you seen what Stila have instore for us?  Here’s a quick sneak peek… I’ll be back with specific details very soon but in honour of a 4 day week, let’s enjoy some makeup porn.  Cue the dodgy Jazz!

There, now doesn’t the day feel just that little bit easier to bear?  Go on… scroll back up and have another peek, I won’t tell anyone.

’till tomorrow good people xx

Facebook.  Love it or hate it, I may be about to give you a reason to direct your browser toward said “Book of Faces” in a bit of a hurry.

Burberry have announced that their Facebook fans will be able to exclusively sample the new Burberry Body fragrance before it is available to purchase!

With over 7.6 million Facebook followers, the British brand can claim the largest Facebook fan page of any luxury fashion brand and with incentives like this, I’m starting to see why!

Burberry fans will be able to request a sample of the new Burberry Body Fragrance with an app that also features exclusive content.

So, enough of all this blather.  You want the link don’t you?

http://www.facebook.com/burberry

Simply click “request sample”, select your country and fill in your details.  Samples are available while stocks last and may not be available within your country.

What do you think about luxury brands engaging in social media like this?  Does it make them more approachable?  Are you more likely to investigate brands you might otherwise have ignored?

The new fragrance, Burberry Body is set for a nationwide release on the 1st September.

With their palettes taking main stage, it’s easy to forget about Urban Decay’s other product releases and this Autumn sees quite a few new introductions from the U.S. brand.

One in particular that I think will prove to be popular are the new Urban Decay Super-Saturated High Gloss Lip Colors.  Currently available in five shades, these chubby lip pencils feature varying textures and finishes that promise high impact colour.

I would describe Big Bang as a medium-textured pencil, it’s not going to need constant sharpening but it doesn’t drag across my lips either.  This particular shade (Big Bang) contains a hefty amount of glitter which I didn’t find bothersome despite expecting to be irritated by a rough or scratchy finish from the particles.

Big Bang is a vibrant magenta that leans cool and contains a blue-pink glitter.  Despite the high-gloss moniker, I didn’t find this particularly glossy.  Shiny, yes (from the glitter) but not glossy in the traditional sense.  Neither should this be confused as a lipstick/gloss hybrid.  This particular shade is far more lipstick than lipgloss in both application and finish.

It packs a punch of colour and applies evenly with an impressive opacity even at first swipe.  Once on, it stays put nicely with no additional feathering and only minimal transfer to other objects.  It can be blotted to shift a little of the glitter if you find it a bit too disco.

Big Bang delivers a good 3/4 hours of wear before fading evenly and leaving a hint of a stain behind.  I think I’d love it more sans glitter but either way, this introduction to the new line has ensured that I’m destined to head to my nearest Urban Decay counter to check out F-Bomb (the creamy red) and Crush (the hot creamy pink).  As far as I’m aware, these are not limited edition.

Oh and incase you were wondering, the eyeliner in the above lip swatch is one of their new ones too…

Yup, Urban Decay appear to be on top form this Autumn.

All Urban Decay Super-Saturated High Gloss Lip Colors* are currently in stock online at BeautyBay.com priced at £14.00 each.

* press sample

Question of the Week: – What’s your favorite haircare line?

Answer: None.  I chop and change my hair products more than any other because I suffer from a very tempremental scalp that reacts in the flakiest of ways on a whim.  I can be using something without issues only for the itch to set in a few months down the line.  The only thing I’m really faithful to is my Gielly Green Argan Rescue Oil.

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Phyrra – The Independent Spotlight for August is Silk Naturals! Learn all about Karen and her company, as well as enter the SN Giveaway.

Vampy Varnish – Check out the On The Prowl nail collection from Wet n Wild for Fall 2011!

we heart this – our inner goth is crying dark tears of joy over the MAC New Black collection, part of the MAC Me Over launch.

Clumps of Mascara – Knows that you’re pretty much HAVE to add this Sonia Kashuk brush to your collection.

EauMG – Victoria interviews natural perfumer, Amanda Feeley of Esscentual Alchemy Perfumes. Find out her inspiration and her favorite Old Hollywood icon.

Gouldylox Reviews – As if you needed a good reason to pick up the new Tarte SmolderEYES collection, here are three ideas that are as easy as they are beautiful!

Krasey Beauty – Sit back and enjoy, as we weave a tale of magic, mischief, and the Zoya Nail Polish Mirrors Collection.

Nouveau Cheap – doesn’t do purple lipsticks, but this one brought her to her knees (and made her open her wallet).

Pink Sith – reminds you to pick up those Tom Ford Private Blend Lip Collection lipsticks before they disappear when his new beauty line is released in the fall.

Prime Beauty – says the new NARS Larger Than Life lip glosses give a GIANT dose of shine in 8 fabulous colors!

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Do you have a favourite haircare line?

I promised both a day and evening look with the new Urban Decay 15 Year Anniversary palette, so here’s the more work-friendly version.  I couldn’t bring myself to *just* the neutrals, so I threw a bit of smoke into the mix with the inclusion of Half Truth.

I used: Flow (on the lid), Half Truth (in the crease and under the eye), Vanilla (browbone and inner corner)

The rest of the FOTD is helped along by…

MAC Face & Body Foundation in N1

Benefit Dallas Bronzer / Dandelion Blush

Bourjois Rose Exclusif Lip Gloss

And just because I know you’ll feel my pain, I’ve managed to gouge a chunk out of Half Truth with the sharp tip of my brush, my favourite shade!  Distraught!  Bah.  Have a lovely weekend people xx

As I write this, the webshop for Fyrinnae is open.  It won’t be for long… that’s about as certain as death, taxes and all that other stuff.  From a convenience and CS point of view, they’re not my favourite company to deal with but it’s undeniable that they make some very, very pretty shadows indeed.

Here are some of my favourites:

Yep, it’s all about the neutrals and purples as far as I’m concerned!

If I had to narrow it down to my three most used Fyrinnae shades?  I’d say: Knickers in a Twist, Forbidden Lover and Beholder.

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Do you love Fyrinnae?  What is your most used Fyrinnae shade?