A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

Are you excited?  I’m very excited, what a lovely prize (even if I do say so myself…)

The lucky winner of my signed bottle of Michael Kors for Women (of which there are only TEN in the world!) is….

Mary Christiansen!

Congratulations Mary, I hope you love your prize!  I’ll be getting in touch v. soon to nab your postal details so I can pass them on and get your flippin’ gorgeous prize dispatched!

Thanks for taking part everyone and better luck next time!

What is it?

Our favourite Welsh purveyors of all things beautiful, Escentual.com are demonstrating their support of Breast Cancer Awareness month with some crazy style!  A logo change and a very generous pledge to Breast Cancer Care renders them ridiculously awesome.

How much is it?

With over 30 pink-themed beauty products on the donation list, there’s sure to be something in everyone’s price range!

How much of our money goes to supporting PINK projects?

Escentual.com are donating 10% of the RRP from over 40 must-have pink themed beauty products including:
Clarisonic Classic Pink, Lacoste Joy of Pink EDT, Stila Lip Glaze’s, Tigi Bed Head After Party, Crabtree & Evelyn Rose EDT and Joop Homme Sexy in Pink.

How do I get it?

Just purchase any of the listed products on site this October and rest assured that Escentual.com will honour their part of the deal.

I woke up on Saturday morning and decided that I wanted to make a video.  Infact, I was completely inspired by Jerry’s videos over at silhouettescreams when I had a watchathon (like a marathon but creepier) on her blog the night before.  It’s great to feel a connection with someone you’ve never met through the medium of blog or youtube, and Jerry’s vids reminded me that you don’t have to be doing tutorials or showing hauls to be able to enjoy that connection and I was just able to sit there with my cup of tea, smiling along to her being adorable/funny/warm/makeup-loving.  Simple things in life can bring great pleasures!

Ok, so I should preface this by saying that I’m not as endearing as Jerry and the lighting in my video is not only shit but quite irritating to watch but I tried my hardest to chat in the same way as I do when I’m tapping out stuff on the keyboard.  Making videos is HARD.  Hats off to you girls who do it everyday.

So anyway, um… hello…

I’m trying not to CRINGE and I haven’t even pressed play – the still image is making my face turn inside-out as I sit here.

Anyway, I hope you’re having a lovely weekend!

.

* PR Samples: Cosmetics A La Carte Secret Concealer, Katy Perry Purr, Kleenex Facial Wipes

What is it?

A special edition PINK Cherry ChapStick offering SPF 15, providing protection from UV rays whilst helping raise money for charity.

How much is it?

Available to purchase in a twin-pack, priced at £2.49

How much of our money goes to supporting PINK projects?

20p from each sale will go to Breast Cancer Care

How do I get it?

Available throughout October from most supermarkets and pharmacies.

I’m usually the woman who loves the fragrances that others hate, so reading Julian Kynaston describe the brand’s first foray into perfumery as:

There’s no middle ground with Freak.  The name, the packaging and the fragrance will polarise opinion to simply love or hate.

I can’t help but feel tremendously excited.  I’m really hoping for something that strays wildly from the well-trodden, mass-appeal fruity-floral, mild musk that proliferates the market today.

Illamasqua’s Freak lists top notes of: Black Davana, Opium Flower and Belladonna followed up with heart notes that include: Poison Hemlock, Datura and Queen of  the Night (are they making these florals up?) sitting on a base of aromatic Frankincense, Oud and Myrrh.  Finally, something I can grasp at, and although I’m not the world’s bigest fan of Frankincense, I do love (quality) Oud and Myrrh.  Freak will be available to purchase only in 75ml bottles and will be priced at £59.00.

I have a niggling concern that Illamasqua Freak has the potential to demonstrate a classic case of style over content.  Everything about the fragrance has been so carefully constructed to fit with the brand’s ethos and whilst that’s clearly not something to be criticised, I hope that the sum of these individual (edgy-sounding) notes add up to something that represents and rings true for their fans.  I don’t actually care if I hate it, I just want it to be engaging enough to make me care one way or another.  I also want it to be powerful, with great sillage and turn heads regardless – it wouldn’t be Illamasqua without that quality.  The fact that it will be released exclusively as an EDP has me hoping.

First impressions based upon the campaign film and images alone?  I dislike the name, love the film and adore the bottle.

So there we have it, Illamasqua’s first fragrance.  On paper, it works.  On the fragrance blotter and under our noses?  Time will tell.

Freak by Illamasqua is available for pre-order from the 3rd October online at Illamasqua.com before it launches on the 20th October.