A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

I was a little bit traumatised at the sight of this shade when I pulled it out of the bag.  I mean, it’s orange.  A proper pumpkin-esque shade that I would imagine to work best on olive skintones.  Boy, was I wrong.  This is pretty much the only orange in the world that I can wear without looking like a try-hard.

It still has the vibrancy that you might want from this kind of shade but it has a subdued edge and a beautiful autumnal vibe that complements rather than screams at pink-toned skin.  A certain dusty quality that I’ve always loved in my purple shades, translating terrifically to something I’d least expect.  Opaque in a couple of coats, creamy and warm.  Lovely.

The bad news is?  It’s being discontinued so don’t expect to be able to find it once Autumn rolls around again.

Butter London Minger is priced at £11.95 and available to buy online from PowderRooms

So, staunchly ploughing my way through the UK available BB Creams (but slowly, very slowly)… the next on my radar was the Boots No7 Beautiful Skin BB Cream* which was launched recently.  It comes in a few varieties, depending on your skintype: normal/oily, normal/dry, dry/very dry.  I’ve got a stock image here because I took my photos last month and can’t find them on my computer anymore… I bet I got a bit zealous in my cleaning up process a few weeks ago.

I’m really enjoying what feels like a bonus inclusion for the dry/very dry camp and this delivers well on not exacerbating any symptoms of dry skin.  It doesn’t cling to flakes and it doesn’t highlight any dry patches or look powdery as it settles.  It doesn’t however, provide enough moisturisation for me to wear it without moisutirser underneath.  Nor, at SPF15, does it provide enough sun protection on its own.  This to me, isn’t a BB Cream – it’s simply not an all-in-one solution with the kind of skincare benefits that I’m looking for.

But how does it work as a foundation or base?

Really nicely actually.  It gives more coverage than a regular tinted moisturiser but not quite as much as a light foundation.  It leaves a dewy finish that is a little tacky to the touch before settling and tones down my redness well enough to give me the confidence I need to face the world.  I usually apply this with my fingers, making it a fast 5-minute face option for mornings when I don’t need or particularly want to look made-up.  Quick trips to the shops, school-runs, the general day-to-day stuff that you feel a little happier doing without a completely bare face.

It lasts adequately and doesn’t pack any oxidisation issues throughout the day.

Although the texture is quite thick, it feels blendable once it comes into contact with skin (especially under warm fingers) and has enough slip to allow you to really work it into the face quite well.  There are two shades available in each variety (fair & medium) and fair is a good-enough match for my pale skintone, a little too warm/dark but it’s sheer enough not to cause any problems.

The Boots No7 Beautiful Skin BB Cream in Dry/Very Dry is priced at £12.95 for 40ml, and is available instore and online at boots.com

* press sample

This little polish spoke to me a couple of weeks ago when I was in my local Tesco (ok, not local – I especially went the extra 3 miles so I could visit one with a beauty aisle) picking up some baby wipes.  It’s a slightly odd colour no?  A bizarre mish-mash of khaki, nude and gold with a delicate multi-coloured shimmer.

It spoke to me.  It said, “Buy me.  You know that you shouldn’t because you already have a billion sitting unswatched, but you know you want to.  Put down the Harissa Paste (what do you need that for anyway) and buy me instead.”

Coincidentally, the Harissa Paste was £2.99 (what do I need that for anyway?) and this little polish from Barbara Daly was £3.00 – fair swapsies.

As much as I like it, it’s a four-coater – which sucks when the bottle is only 7ml but I think it’s still worth the punt.  Swap it for something less tasty though, like Domestos.

Barbara Daly Nail Polish is available instore at Tesco, priced at £3 a bottle.  I think it’s currently on a 3for2 aswell.

These trio of eyeshadows from Illamasqua’s latest Human Fundamentalism* collection landed on my desk this week and I thought I’d post up some swatches.  The three matte shades are: Vernau (yellow ochre), CanCan (bright lilac purple), and Pivot (yellow green).  Get ready for some piccies… (I dunno why I always say that like it’s 2001 and you’re all hitting X so as not to max out your 56k dial up *shrugs*)

The shades have fair to good pigmentation (for mattes) and blend nicely.  The pick up is powdery but again, this is something you often have to contend with when you’re using a matte formula.  On with the swatches…

Applied on dry skin with no primer (please excuse the cycling scratches).  The pales don’t look too chalky considering.

Each shade applied with Illamasqua’s Sealing Gel* (as you would for an eyeliner application).

My attempts at a FOTD sadly ended with me looking at myself in the mirror and declaring “you look like a twat in those colours”.

But…. and this is where it gets interesting…

I went to the bathroom to remove my clown face and upon scrubbing with face wash and warm water….

The swatches done with the Sealing Gel would. not. budge.  I mean, they really wouldn’t budge.  I’m sat here 5 hours later and they’re still looking at me.

So my review is being thoroughly hijacked because I can’t coo over a trio of eyeshadows in shades that I wouldn’t be seen dead in (did I mention Illamasqua will makeover your dead body?).  However… I can get excited over the Illamasqua Sealing Gel which would be a phenomenal addition to your makeup routine if, like me, you have hooded eyelids and can’t stop eyeliner from transfering up to your hairline when you blink a bit too hard.

The shadows are ok, if you’re gonna get all hot and sweaty over them… you probably don’t read my blog anyway to be honest.  But check out the inconspicuous looking bottle of sealing gel next time you’re near a counter.  I already own/use a mineral-makeup branded sealing gel… this is 100x better.

Illamasqua’s sealing gel is priced at £10.50 and can be purchased on counter or online.  Also, if you haven’t seen them already – check out Illa’s pretty glorious moving swatches on their new-fangled website.  The Human Fundamentalism Collection can be seen here.

* press sample

The diet wagon that is!  Well, mostly.  Ignore Sunday, it was Mother’s Day and I fell off it headfirst into a box of Lindt chocolates before staggering out and tripping arse over tip into some Maltesers.  What can I say?  I’ve always been a bit clumsy.

A small selection of my recent eats, I won’t bore you with the recipes unless you want to see one in particular, but from top left and going clockwise: protein pancakes, stuffed peppers, king prawn salad and courgette fritters (the bomb.com), brussel sprouts with garlic parmesan and chicken.

In an effort to be able to get all my veggies in the one shop, I went to a local farm store over the weekend and I was BLOWN AWAY by the variety and quality which was apparent as soon as you walked through the door.  Nothing prepackaged, peppers the size of Leila’s head and prices that floored me.  I walked out with 4 carrier bag-fulls for less than £15 – throw in a packet of chicken breasts, some pork medallions and my weekly food bill was under £25.  There should be next to no waste this week too as I was able to select exactly what I needed, in the quantity I wanted it.

Is it worth me investigating a proper butchers?  I’ve only ever been in one once or twice to buy some steak for a special occassion.  T’was very, very expensive and I think it put me off a bit.

But here comes a slight downer, I haven’t actually lost any significant weight.  I’ve been doing it for nearly a month… 1200kcal daily target and I’m usually just under that.  I’ve had a total of 5 piggy days (spread out) since I started and I’m in a bloody holding pattern.  Time to up the exercise?  Bah.

Any of you currently following a healther eating plan?  How are you doing with it?

1. Francis is giving the model a run for her money in Rimmel London’s by Kate Moss line – Shade 01

2. The lovely Leah rocking the rich-looking Showbiz by 17 Cosmetics!

3. Nargis was born to wear red, and this particular beauty is Avon Smooth Velvet Lip Colour in Sassy

4. Mariana is absolutely striking in the classic Russian Red from MAC

5. Last but not least is Beth, showing us that you can look smoking hot whatever your budget in George ASDA lip liner in Hollywood and Prestige lipstick in Heartbreaker

>

If you want to join in with the fun and submit your red lip look, please email me a photo of your lovely selves with the following info:

I pounced on the Zoya spring collection, probably my favourite of all the spring offerings this year – it’s subdued, with its muted softy pastels and delicate shimmer.  I could have bought so many more but stopped myself at two, here is the first that made it into my basket, Lotus.

Of the two purples in the spring collection, this is the one that had the dustier edge.  And I’m all about dusty edges… both when it comes to nail polish, and bookshelves.  Lotus has a soft pink shimmer that catches the light but sadly failed to pick up very well in my swatch photo – you can see it in the bottle though yes?  It’s not a glaringly obvious shimmer but gives the shade more depth and prevents it from sitting flat on the nailbed.

Formula was fine, the above photo shows three coats but you could get away with two… I applied my second coat with too much impatience and caused a bit of drag, hence the need for the third.  My fault, not the polish’s.

Zoya Lotus is priced at £7.99 and available online from beauty4nails-body.

With a massive amount of gratitude to reader Mary (and a little bit of fist-shaking since I spent half of last night checking my makeup’s expiry dates), I wanted to share a link that she posted in a recent comment.  The link is to a website (http://checkcosmetic.net/) where you can enter your product’s batch code into and discover its year of manufacture thanks to an impressive database of production dates.

Be warned, ‘cos just like Pringles, it’s pretty addictive stuff.  NARS Flaming Dust appears to be the oldest (well, joint oldest) of the ones that I checked… 2004, shameful…

So, tell me… how old is your oldest lipstick? (and are you going to bin it now you know how old it is?!)

Happy Mother’s Day to all the Mums, Moms, and Baby-Mamas out there!

It’s the hardest job I’ve ever done and boy, do I ever feel both the responsibility and fear that it can bring with it… but it’s sickeningly true that the pride, love and all that other stuff outweighs any negatives by the bucketload.

Hope you have a brilliant day with your bumps, babes and bigger ones.  A super-special mention to those hoping/trying to conceive this year, may you be celebrating with us this time next year! x

My biggest dilemma when it came to choosing my red lip picks for this winter were not so much the brands (I knew I wanted a Rockalily and a MUFE one), but the shades.  Both brands offer a variety of reds, each with their own subtle nuances – and despite all the swatches in the world, it can still sometimes be tricky to take that plunge when you can only shop online.

Where Rockalily was concerned, I ended up plumping for the most ‘classic’ looking option, the darkest of their core trio of reds: Roulette Red.

Priced at £14 each, these are leaning into the high-end category and the packaging is distinctly… budget, both in the way it looks and in the way it feels.  Thankfully, that’s where any comparisons to cheaper cosmetic quality ends because once the lid comes off, so do the gloves.  Roulette Red packs a beautiful punch of pigment that lasts almost like no other.  The only other red in my collection that can boast the same staying power as this is my lovely Rouge Baiser Paris – N°405 Le Rouge, which is consequently, pretty drying.  Roulette Red doesn’t dry my lips even half as much as the Rouge Baiser (which was actually famous for its ground-breaking long-lasting formula back in the 20s!).

I have to hand it to ReeRee, the lady behind Rockalily Makeup – she’s got a winning red lip formula on her hands here.  It’s really something special.

Application was fine, not the creamiest… but if you want super creamy, go for a YSL Rouge Volupté and lament the 20-second wear time.  I was able to apply this straight from the bullet without too much drag and neaten up the edges with a lip brush.  Wear, as I may have already mentioned… was exceptional.  I drank my way through three cups of tea, a packet of rice cakes (gross) and a satsuma… all with minimal colour loss.  I’m also pleased to report that there was no transfer to my two big front teeth, which is normally my biggest issue with a bold lip (overbites are bitches when it comes to lipstick).

So, is it my new favourite red lipstick?

Hmmm… no, not quite… but it is my new favourite red lipstick to whip out when I’m not gonna be able to touch up during the day.  And that, my friends, is a very important lipstick to have.

Rockalily Roulette Red is available to buy online from rockalily.com, and is priced at £14.00 (postage is £2.50)

Firstly, I’d like to say a big hoorah for a “western” BB Cream with a decent SPF rating.  The Estee Lauder Daywear BB Creme* comes with a broad-spectrum sun protection rating of SPF35.  What it doesn’t come with, is a whole bunch of moisture – and that’s bad news for me, especially because it’s kind of the whole reason I fell in love with BB creams in the first place.  But let’s not forget, this version from Estee Lauder has disassociated itself with the whole BB cream ‘thing’ by re-imagining those two initials, not to mean blemish/beblesh balm, but ‘beauty benefit’.  If that sounds a little bit wanky, it’s because it is.

Having said that… every cloud has a silver lining does it not?

What the Estee Lauder Daywear BB Creme does introduce, is very good oil control.  It doesn’t achieve this by mattifying the crap out of your complexion, you’ll still see a certain amount of dewiness (a.k.a life) and definitely a lot of ‘real’ skin, but it manages to velvet-ify (that’s SO a word), keeping the greasies (also a word) at bay very effectively indeed.

Coverage is sheer/medium but it evens my skintone without arguments and reduces the redness admirably.  If you’ve got blemishes, you’ll need to conceal these – don’t be layering four coats of BB cream ontop and hoping for the best.

Many have raised concerns about the shade and yes, two shades is not enough and 01 Light (the palest) is both too dark and too warm-toned for pale, cool pink types like myself.  If you’re an NC20 upward, you should be fine with this shade.  I’m not one to be massively horrified if a foundation doesn’t match my skintone exactly, I just don’t want to look tangoed or for people to take sly twitpics of me to show their friends how ‘not’ to get matched for foundation.  You know?  Hopefully the pictures will give a better impression of what I’m trying to say but I think I can get away with this one aslong as I don’t get too fixated on it not quite being right.

What else is there to mention?  Packaging is sleek and portable, if not the sexiest I’ve seen.  It smells strongly of cucumber, reminding me of the Boots own range of cucumber products… again, this doesn’t really scream “I’m worth my £32 price tag”.

Ok, before/after time – this is taken under flash conditions, at night so the change in tone is pretty much spot on (as I have complete control over the lighting here).  Also, I’m loving the chin spot.

The bottom line is this, if you have very dry skin, there are more suitable products available in the BB cream world for you.  If you have combination or oily skin and you’re a little darker than the average sun-dodger, you should really try and beg a sample of this from your nearest counter because I think it may be the best BB cream you’ve yet to try.

Estee Lauder Daywear BB Creme is available to buy now online and on counter, priced at £32 for 30ml

* press sample

Another weekend, another deal – really, I didn’t wanna blog about CheapSmells again for a bit (I like to spread the love around all my bargain places) but they make it kinda hard when they do shit like offer BOGOF on Orly and the highly coveted Jimmy Choo fragrance for under £20 you know?  It says the RRP is £29 for 40ml… but to be fair, on Debenhams – it’s actually £34 which makes this saving even more impressive.  For those of you concerned about Cheap Smells selling older stock, this one hasn’t been on the market too long either which should alleviate those worries in this instance.

So anyway, if you like your perfume all gourmand and sweet – you’ll probably like this one.  It’s too sweet for me, though I do like the dry-down which is more classically floriental but I just can’t get past the fruity stuff at the beginning – pear… and lots of it.  I think the while stocks last element is key here… £14 off the real RRP of what is frankly, a bit of an “it” frag still enjoying its moment is not be sniffed at, no pun intended.

You can purchase Jimmy Choo 40ml EdT online from CheapSmells at this special price (other sizes available) until 18th March, or while stocks last.