A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

My husband has just finished watching REN’s new short film after I squealed like a 12 year old and called him over to my computer.  He watched with a flicker of amusement on his face and as the screen darkened, turned to me and said “so REN… they’re a Swedish brand right?”.

Well, no.  But REN is the Swedish for “clean” and the British brand (thanks Jane!) are celebrating 11 years of sharing their passion for beautiful, clean skin with the world!  Screw stereotypes, let’s roll with it.  Please don’t click play at work/infront of the kids.  You have been warned.

Danny Brook Taylor, the man behind the short film said:

There’s a modernity about REN, coolness and confidence that we wanted to expose.  It’s about saying I’m happy with my skin, and I’m going to care for it, show it off. Touch someone’s skin that I love and celebrate it.

Personally, once I stopped blushing in my slightly prudish way, I kinda fell in love with the simplicity of it.  Sure, it’s attention-seeking and “ooh aren’t we being controversial” but I can’t help but admire the gentle premise and the rejection of the airbrush when it comes to body image.  Yeah REN, you got my attention and I love you a little bit more for it.

What do you think of REN’s short film?  Like it, loathe it?  Wanna talk about it?  The twitter hashtag is #lovecleanskin and the guys responsible are @renskincare

Want the latest nail trends without the price tags?  Tesco have released their Spring/Summer shades, and all for a recession-busting 99p a-piece!

Which one is your favourite and will any be landing in your shopping trolley this weekend?

So, I’m an old married… and my husband doesn’t buy me Valentine’s gifts.  Instead, he makes me a minimum of three cups of tea a day, fills the car with petrol when I can’t be arsed, sounds semi-enthusiastic when I regale him with tales of my shopping bargains, and always knows my current favourite chocolate bar.

But it wasn’t always this way and back when we were all shiny and new, falling out because he laughed at a pair of BIG girl’s pants in M&S that looked scarily like a pair of mine, Valentine’s Day was kind of a big deal.

In all honesty Valentine’s Day is about as much for married people as it is for single people, i.e. it’s not.  It’s for sickeningly saccharine types enjoying the first, what — maybe two years of a new relationship?  Which ultimately means that the rest of us should treat V-day as nothing but a big excuse to buy ourselves a present of LOVE.  Because afterall, no one understands how much love (read ” new stuff”) we need better than we do.

01: Jo Malone Red Roses Travel Candle* – The problem with fresh roses is that nine times out of ten, the other half has bought them from the Esso garage.  Go for something a little longer lasting with Jo Malone’s Red Roses Travel Candle.  Burn, enjoy, extinguish – repeat ad. infinitum until you’ve surrounded yourself with the luxurious atmosphere afforded by a blend of seven of the world’s most exquisite roses.  Priced at £22.00 and packaged in the inimitable “Jo Malone way”, it’ll be considerably more affordable and better-presented to boot!

02: Wahanda Valentine Treats – Treat yourself to a Wahanda treat in time for Valentine’s Day.  From £11 mini manicures (and a glass of wine!) at Coco Nail Bar to a £200 overnighter at the chinese-inspired Chuan Spa at The Langham – there’s something to suit every taste and every budget.  Just be ready to bat away the incoming offers from those potential suitors who’ve heard about your bargain!

03: Calvin Klein Forbidden Euphoria – Unashamedly pink and most definitely girly, this new release from Calvin Klein ticks all the right boxes for those who like their fragrances on the fruity side.  Dedicated to the ‘independent woman’, there’s no better way to announce your fabulous presence than with a blend of forbidden fruit including mandarin, passion fruit and touches of iced raspberry.  Priced from £32.50.

04: Elemis Frangipani Monoi Body Oil – Smell delicious from top to toe with this nourishing body oil from Elemis.  This multi-tasker can be drizzled in a hot bath for a relaxing scent-sensation, smoothed onto dry skin to replenish and moisturise, rubbed into cuticles to nourish, and even massaged into your hair to scent and soften.  Worthy of its cult-status, the Elemis Frangipani Monoi Body Oil makes for a great Valentine’s night treat – just keep it to yourself eh?

05: Philosophy Sweet Talk Set – This latest body-pampering set from Philosophy combines the brand’s three-in-one shower gel, body lotion and pink-tinted lip shine in the Candy Hearts flavour: a sweet (with a hint of tart) scent which will capture the hearts of girls across the nation.  Limited edition and priced at £22.00

06: Samsung MultiView MV800 Camera – For girls that have been very good this year comes the latest compact camera offering from Samsung.  Small enough to slip in your handbag with a 3.0″ wide (every inch counts right?) touch-screen which flips a full 180 degrees to ensure you capture spot-on self-portraits every time without getting a crick in your neck.  16.1 megapixels, HD video recording and 5x optical zoom will ensure your Facebook photos are the best on the block.  Just leave out the duck-face yes?  Comes in a range of snazzy colours (it’s gotta be red though right?) and is priced at £249. Unless you’re clever and go to Amazon!

07: Clinique Limited Edition Kiss it Better Kissable Lip Set –  Spread the love with a purchase of Clinique’s charity lip set and help raise money to fund research into the causes and treatment of childhood cancer.  In collaboration with the Great Ormond Street Hospital, 50% of the RRP price will be going directly to the KISS IT BETTER appeal. The set of covetable minis includes: a Vitamin C Lip Smoothie, Superbalm Moisturizing Gloss, Chubby Stick Moisturizing Lip Colour Balm, and a mini Long Last Glosswear.  Available instore at House of Fraser, priced at £25.

Love yourselves.  The end.

* press sample

Luxury skincare brand Lubatti have released their latest skincare product in the form of Anti-age Wonderlip which has been specifically designed to help increase lip volume whilst reducing fine lines and wrinkles.  I was sent a tube a few weeks ago and have been putting it through its paces thanks to the recent cold snap.

The tiny 10ml tube is filled with a deliciously-light, gently scented balm that promises to nourish lips whilst providing a plumped up pout with less of those pesky fine lines and lip wrinkles.  First things first, it works… really, really well but not in the stinging, lip-irritating way that lip volumisers usually plump.  This is a silicone-heavy lip primer that fills the furrows and smoothes the lip texture, creating the illusion of a prettier pout.  That’s not to say that there are no long-term skincare benefits to help promote lip volume, but first and foremost – think of this as a non-drying lip primer.

And the term non-drying is key here, as most lip primers I’ve tried in the past leave my lips looking good but feeling tight.  The Lubatti Anti-age Wonderlip* manages to prime without any unwanted side-effects.  Except for one.  A great, big dent in your wallet.  Priced at £29, it’s a costly addition to your skincare routine but seeing as it offers a tangible difference – I have visions of this becoming a bit of a cult product among those who can afford such luxuries.

If you suffer from dry lips, I think you’ll probably still need the support of something a little more heavy duty on the moisturisation front and paired with a nightly application of Lanolips 101, this has become a bit of a dream team lip-combo.  Not one that I can afford to sustain… but it’s very, very lovely while it lasts.

Ingredients: Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Isododecane, Cera Alba, Cyclopentasiloxane, Dimethiconol, Aluminium Starch Octenylsuccinate, C 18-21 Alkane, Vp/hexadecene Copolymer, Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate, Tribehenin, Ethylhexyl Palmitate, Sodium Hyaluronate, Palmitoyl Oligopeptide, Ethylene/Acrylic Acid Copolymer, Butyl Methoxydibenzoylmethane, Silica Dimethyl Silylate, Aroma, Sorbitan Isostearate, Butylene Glycol, Tocopheryl Nicotinate, Phenoxyethanol, Hexylene Glycol.

Lubatti Anti-age Wonderlip is priced at £29 and available online from lubatti.co.uk

* press sample

I’m not a “hair” person.  Hairy, yes.  Hair. No.

However, I have been a good girl for the last 6 months and have stopped over-processing my poor locks to within an inch of their life.  To battle the greys, I make sure to dye only the roots and am starting to see a slight colour lift as the regrowth gets longer.  My poor, sorry ends are still very dark and I’m not sure that anything can be done to save them apart from a pair of scissors.

my hair always looks this glossy – honest.

Condition-wise, well it’s not too bad.  A little dry – but nothing serious.

Where am I going with all this? Well…

I want to go lighter but I have no idea how.  Not massively lighter, just enough so that I look less pasty/ill as the days hopefully begin to warm up.  Please share what you know about lifting your colour DIY style.  I’m not in any rush, I know that things like this need to be done sloooowly and with care.

Have you gone lighter?  How many shades and was it a success?

This was my 3rd year attending the International Makeup Artist Trade Show in London and it’s changed a lot over such a short period of time. The organisers have taken on board criticisms from shows past and worked hard to improve. The venue is now bigger since moving to the Great Hall at Alexandra Palace and consequently affords a lot more space when moving around.

I arrived at 8.30am on the Saturday morning, having dragged my under-eye bags from my (now practically traditional) el-cheapo Travelodge in Moorgate – the wind was biting my arse all the way from the bus stop to the front doors but thankfully it was toasty enough inside.  Unbeknown to me at the time, I was sitting opposite the lovely Iris from RougeDeluxe on my way up from Wood Green station on the W3 bus. When she told me she thought we’d been sharing the same bus, my natural reaction was to genuinely pray to the gods of self-image that I hadn’t been picking my nose/teeth/spots all the way up the hill.

Such an early start was obviously for the best as the hall began to fill quickly.  Along with IMATS veterans: Leanne, Kim, and Laura we headed for the Crown Brush stand – always well stocked and packed once the crowds move in.  I umm-ed and ahh-ed for about five minutes before deciding that although I was loving some of the brushes… I just didn’t need another MAC 217 dupe you know?  And I headed off to my favourite IMATS haunt, the MUFE stand.  This year, it was bigger than ever… in-fact, I wrongly assumed that – as it was so well-stocked – it must have been being operated by MUFE themselves – but my till receipt shows that Guru Makeup Emporium were still behind the brand’s major appearance on the day.  PAM also held a (smaller) MUFE pitch and for once, offered the same 35% discount as their competitors at Guru.

I always happily admit that I’m there for the shopping.  I’m not a MUA and have no desire to be one… I don’t wear false lashes, have no need for disposables or giant cases and as far as I’m concerned, latex and glitter is a combination best kept behind closed doors ifyouknowwhatimean.  This ultimately always means that the show will hold a limited interest to me (and quite rightly so, what with it being a TRADE show afterall).  I felt that this year, despite brands like Inglot and Sleek being in situ (which they weren’t two years ago) – it felt somehow less relevant to me than previously.  I was also disappointed not to see discounts from brands like Hakuhodo or Embryolisse.

I would have loved to see more of the U.S. brands represented either via their U.K. distributors or by themselves.  Brands like Sigma, Yaby, Ardell, Sugarpill, Stars Makeup Haven, Unii, honestly my list could go on…  I think there would be huge demand to see more and now that the show has moved into a larger venue – there’s certainly the floorspace to allow it.  Huge props to brands like OCC and Eve Pearl for making the trip over year after year and putting on a grand display, it was great to see their stands well-attended as a consequence.

The body painting and artistry displays from the students were, as always, wonderful – though the ‘makeup museum’ looked a little barer than previous years and some of the exhibits were repetitions from previous shows.  I didn’t attend any of the keynote speaker’s talks or demonstrations simply because my timings didn’t allow it, although I have heard on the grapevine that the Embryolisse one was a hard-selling cringefest!  Some of the exhibitors also need to invest in bigger pitches.  Illamasqua were the worst culprits… occupying a ridiculously small footprint, combined with impressive discounts equals a recipe for a horribly frustrating shopping experience.

As the fortunate recipient of a press pass, it didn’t cost me a penny to attend but had I spent £40 for advance tickets or £60 at the door, I can’t honestly say that those (not insignificant) prices wouldn’t have given me greater frustrations at some of the issues I mentioned above.  Organisationally, the show seems to improve year upon year, with queues moving faster and plenty of staff on hand to point attendees in the right direction.  Refreshment facilities were plentiful, though the single ATM again displayed a queue of epic proportions.

I’ll show my (modest) haul very soon but thought I’d jot down some of my thoughts on the IMATS experience while it was still fresh.  I’m always a little torn on my trip to the annual extravaganza but this year really demonstrated the serious potential for more exhibitors now that the Make-Up Artist magazine produced show have ironed out those initial kinks with the venue space and slow-moving queues that plagued the shows of yesteryear.

Frankly, there remains to be nothing else quite like the IMATS in the UK.

Despite the fact that I’ve hardly scraped the surface of my previous Chanel Illusion d’Ombre purchase (Mirifique), I was back at the counter barely a month later to pick up Illusoire – a smoky, mauve shade which contains the most perfect amount of glimmer for an understated sparkle.

These are simply my favourite shades – cool, mauvey taupes will always bring a pitter-patter to my heart.  The texture of the Chanel Illusion d’Ombres are like a solid mousse with a little bit of bounce when you brush your finger over the surface.  They feel cooling as you apply them to your eyelids and last well throughout the day.

Pigmentation is medium but the depth of colour builds quickly with a second sweep over the eyelid – the formula blends nicely, more like a powder than a cream or mousse – blendable even after it’s been sat for a little while.

The above swatch shows two swipes on bare skin done with my fingertip.  Are you loving the Chanel Illusion d’Ombres?

Chanel Illusion d’Ombre #83 Illusoire is priced at £22.50 and available instore online from Debenhams and Selfridges.

Ha!  It feels kinda old-skool to be reviewing this on the blog no?  MAC isn’t the force in the blogging community that it once was.  Anyway, I for one am delighted that there’s room for so many other brands nowadays – though I’m excited to be pulling out a trusty old MSF for today’s review nonetheless.

Pretty ain’t she?  Lightscapade is that delicate cousin that looks all willowy and ethereal when compared to your ruddy, more “sturdy” self.  If you can’t *be* her, then at least steal some of her daintyness by dusting your cheekbones and hoping that she’ll impart a ghostly, wispy beauty to your fizzog.

One of MAC’s more finely-milled mineralize skinfinishes, Lightscapade was hugely sought after until the brand re-promoted it last year.  The one I have above is from this re-promote and may or may not be less or more beautiful than its predecessor.  I don’t care enough to google.

Lightscapade is a glowing, almost-white highlight with enough of a warm sheen to prevent you from looking like the undead, madeup.  I apply this with the MAC 130 to keep the application area to a minimum cheekbone highlight, it’s easy to go overboard.

Obviously, what with MAC’s numerous releases and limited editions, you can’t currently purchase this from the store but keep an eye out on eBay as I imagine the prices will be less extortionate than they were before the re-promote.

Are you a fan of MAC Mineralize Skinfinishes?  Which is your favourite?

I think that when a girl is born, she’s born with two things: 1). girly bits and 2). a unwaivering adoration for “Cadbury’s purple”.  Butter London’s HRH fulfills that need to have a beautifully shiny Dairy Milk wrapper on your nails.

Perfect in three thin coats, though I would have preferred two – HRH looks indulgent, decadent and totally makes me want to lick my nails.  Priced at £11.95 and available online from PowderRooms.

What’s your favourite Cadbury’s purple shade?

I picked these Paula Dorf Cheek Color Cream Blushes up from eBay a couple of months ago and have only gotten around to swatching and playing recently.  They’re sheer, a little greasy-feeling and build nicely to create a natural-looking flush of colour.  My dry skin tolerates these well.

Cha Cha and Dollface will be wearable on most skintones whilst Disco is warmer and more suited to darker skintones than mine, although it is actually the sheerest of the three and with a bit more practice, I may be able to make it work once Summer comes around.  Maybe.  The Paula Dorf Cheek Color Creams have no discernable smell and apply smoothly with a stippling brush – fingers don’t seem to work quite so well for me with these.

I won’t blather on seeing as this is supposed to be a swatch post rather than an indepth review!

Do you prefer cream or powder blush?

Well, tomorrow is the first day that IMATS London is open to the general public and I shall be there (both days) with my elbows sharpened and under strict instruction from my husband not to over-spend.  But serious face for a moment, it promises to be a great day, showcasing some amazing brands and incredible talent.

If you want to come along either tomorrow or Sunday but still don’t have a ticket – you will be able to purchase tickets on the door.  Check out my earlier post for details on what to expect from the day.

Maybe I’ll see you there?!

…it would probably be a lot less stinky/toxic than this one!

However, I was bored and looking at a bottle of Instant Boost Skin Tonic when I decided that I wanted to do another franken polish.  The British brand are known for the packaging’s calming hue and I thought I’d have a go at replicating the iconic shade.  I think I did rather well (if I do say so myself!)

Mine is just a hint less green, a tiny hint – but enough to annoy me. (YOU’VE DONE IT WRONG!)

Still, it looks very pretty and now I’ve totally accessorised my skincare!

Sad?  Me?  Sod off.  You know that Liz Earle-coloured nail polish is the coolest thing you’ve seen all week (ignore the fact it’s Monday).