A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

Most of my makeup is split between five old-style Ikea FIRA chests and a couple of Ikea HELMERS.  When Ikea discontinued the FIRA, makeup-loving hearts were broken across the globe, they’ve since replaced the storage solution with a hugely inferior version called the MOPPE which is about 2x the original price and half the original depth of the FIRA. No bueno.

I’ve been loving my HELMERS more and more since I threw some cheap drawer dividers in there, it wasn’t pretty but it helped to organise each drawer a little more effectively.

I went to Ikea a couple of days ago and came across some plastic basket inserts called ANTONIUS.  They come in one size, with one compartment configuration.  They cost a mere £1.80 a-piece and THEY FIT THE HELMER!  It’s actually a little bit of a squeeze to get them in there but fit they do!

Wanna see?

How sexy is that picture?  I just need a Dymo printer to make those little labels and I’ll be happy left alone in my room for the next seven years.  That’s a bit of a miscellaneous drawer by the way: powder highlighters, cream and liquid highlighters and lip products that don’t fit in my lipstick drawer!

On the right is mostly MAC MSFs, which should give you an idea of how big the compartments are.

A different drawer.  These are blushers.  It’s so much easier to be able to store them on their side with minimal rattling about or ‘foraging’ to find the right shade.

So how much would a full makeup storage solution set you back?  Well… let’s do the maths.

1 Ikea HELMER @ £24.99

6 Ikea ANTONIUS @ £10.80

Total = £35.79

Not bad eh?

I couldn’t be without my HELMERS.  Sure, I love the look of the ALEX but… these serve their purpose really well and after nearly three years of daily use, they look as good as the day I bought them.  I have one which fits snugly under my desk for nail polish and one that sits ontop of my desk (I have a huge corner desk) with the rolling casters removed.

How are you storing your makeup?  Got any tips to share?

Maybe I’ve been eyeing up too many chocolate eggs but this is just making me think of a Cadbury’s egg with a good dose of speckling!

Today’s NOTD is courtesy of Butter London’s HRH with a coat of the lovely L.A Colors in Jewel Tone ontop.  Although the glitter in Jewel Tone is fairly dense, the base is far too translucent to work as anything other than a layering polish.  Nevermind, it’s only 99p from BeautyBase afterall (£1.29 online) and works beautifully with a whole range of purples, blues and pinks!

Check out Rhamnousia’s great comparison with the much-loved Models Own Disco Mix.

Have you got your Easter Egg sorted for the weekend?  Whatchu got?

Historically, you lovely lot have swept the board with Urban Retreat Beautique’s fun and games and once again, I’m expecting some great sleuthing from you guys, don’t bleedin’ let me down!

Haven’t got a clue what I’m going on about?  Please allow me to explain…

Urban Retreat Beautique will be releasing a total of nine naughty bunny wabbits at 1pm TODAY.

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to scour the pages of the Urban Retreat Beautique website and track down those elusive bunnies!  They could be hiding on any product page but once you find one, add it to your basket and go through the checkout process as normal to claim your prize!  The bunny will cost 1p but the prize, will be worth much more!

To ensure you have the fastest fingers, a little preparation is key.  You’ll need to register in order to play (and checkout those prizes), so head over to this page in advance of 1pm today to get signed up.

I wish all you lovely hunters the best of luck and hope an unexpected prize brings you a very happy Easter weekend!

Still on the theme of warming things up a bit in hopeful anticipation of a glorious Summer, I’ve got another lovely bright lip to show you.  This one comes with a difference though, it’s a liqui-gel formula that can also be used as a long-lasting cheek stain.

Beauté Cosmetics hail from Canada, brainchild of makeup artist Beau Nelson.  The range includes lip cremes, glosses, brushes and these lovely liqui-gel stains.  I already own a lip creme (which I don’t believe I’ve ever blogged about) but knew that I wanted to buy one of the liqui-gel stains after reading about them a couple of years ago on LondonMakeupGirl’s blog.

How ridiculous(ly cool) does it look in the tube?  I think, if I’m honest, it’s probably what attracted me in the first place.  Super-neon coral with a cool pink flash?  Awesome.  Don’t worry though, it doesn’t apply anywhere near as scarily as it suggests it will!  Once applied and blended on the lips or cheeks, it’s a really wearable warm pink – perhaps a little vibrant for some, but so very beautiful.

As far as application goes, it’s pretty forgiving once you get used to the texture.  It doesn’t set immediately and gives a fair amount of playtime to get things right before you’re stuck with clown cheeks for the entire day.  Buildability is the key to success with this one, don’t apply a load in one go, especially on the lips or you’ll struggle getting the formula to sit well.  Once the stain has set (after about a minute) you’ll be rewarded with some delicious colour that won’t budge for hours.

The above photo shows Fluoron worn alone on bare lips with a little on my cheeks, I should have applied a touch more for the sake of the camera but I was wary of overdoing it.  Hopefully, you can still make out the colour well enough.  I don’t generally enjoy wearing stains too much but I’m making an exception for this one, or should I say… it’s made an exception for me.

Beauté Liqui-Gel Lip and Cheek Stain in Fluoron is available to buy online in the UK from GuruMakeupEmporium and CocoBeau priced at £23.50

What’s your favourite lip and cheek stain?

There’s been a distinct lack of good nationwide beauty deals from Groupon recently but this one is making up for it!  Spend £20 today and receive £50 credit to spend online at Murad.co.uk

There’s £5.50 postage to pay on every order under £75 but the Murad brand has a great reputation, which is more than can be said for some group-buying beauty deal websites!  If you’ve got a bit more cash to splash, you might be interested in the other deal option which is £125 Murad credit for £50 spend on the Groupon website.

All credit expires on the 5th June 2012.

If you take advantage, let me know what you get!

It’s Earth Month once again, and so far I’ve been doing my bit by making a conscious effort to preserve water.  It’s not been easy and although I love gin, I do miss the odd cup of tea.

Being slightly more eco-conscientious than me this month, are beauty brand Origins who are continuing their partnership with Global ReLeaf in an effort to plant trees in areas that have been damaged by wildfire.  For every product purchased within the Origins A Perfect World franchise between 15th – 28th April 2012, Origins will plant a tree on your behalf.  It doesn’t get a name tag or anything, you just get to feel momentarily smug before jumping in your 4×4.

Perhaps even more exciting than tree planting, is the return of the Origins Trade-In Day!  For one day only, head to your nearest Origins counter and trade in any empty skincare product (from any brand) to receive a complimentary full size of either Starting Over Age-Erasing Moisturiser with Mimosa (value £36!) or A Perfect World SPF25 Age-Defense Moisturizer with White Tea (value £32!).

When?  Saturday 21st April 2012. 

Available on a first come, first serve basis with 5,000 nationwide.

Get it in your diaries ladies and get using up that blah skincare that you’ve been ekeing out for what seems like an eternity.

What will you be trading in?

Everyone loves a good gift with purchase but the problem with them is that once you’ve got the freebie in your hot little hands, the offering can be somewhat… underwhelming.  I should point out that this isn’t the general rule, infact I’d go so far as to say that GWPs are far better nowadays than they were just five years ago.  But, there’s still more than enough disappointing ones out there to go around, which is why I’m pleased to be talking about a particularly well-made and generous GWP that’s available this month from Versace Parfums.

The Versace Tote Bag.

Now we’re not talking fold-up magazine freebie here, this is a serious bag for serious perfumistas!  This Versace gift with purchase* (exclusively at Boots btw) is so well-constructed that I’m properly appreciative of the effort that’s gone into putting out a worthwhile GWP.  As an aside, and because it’s somewhat relevant – Lancome often do great makeup bags for their GWPs, keep an eye out for them.

Anyway, back to the Versace Tote Bag… here’s some detail shots…

It has reinforced corners, a base board, a studded bottom and is fully lined.  It’s also huge.

You can nab one of these limited Versace Tote Bags with the purchase of any Versace pefume over £50.  This includes: Crystal Noir, Yellow Diamond,  Bright Crystal, Vanitas, Pour Femme, and my favourite Versace Versense… a beautifully crisp Spring scent that’s been on my wishlist for over a year.  The GWP is running exclusively instore at Boots, while stocks last.

Do you have a favourite Versace fragrance?  What’s the best GWP you’ve ever received?

* press sample

Ok, I promise – enough with the holiday photos after this and back to the regular beauty stuff.  I’ve got to pull myself out of my post-holiday hangover anyway and get back into my usual routine, why is it always so hard to get going again?

Some of the other highlights of our week included a visit to a working glass & games factory called The House of Marbles, comparing the two distinctly different coastlines of North and South Devon, eating fish and chips on the quayside in Brixham, and climbing up Haytor for a magnificent view over Dartmoor!

“Have you taken it yet? I’m getting some strange looks up here!”

Brixham’s replica of The Golden Hind

A very ropey-looking sandcastle!

It could almost be Santorini right?

Yeah, I know you’re cute.

Torquay Harbour

fishing stuffs

life preserver at Babbacombe

next time, I’d like some tea in my tea please?

who else loves paperweights? just me then…

all cafes/restaurants should provide colouring books and crayons, amen.

heart-shaped cream tea!

doing her ‘work’

banister baubles!

glassworks

funny mirrors, I’m gonna have nightmares about that arm

house of marbles!

Haytor

view from the top (love this one)

yeah, I know… sad.  I COULDN’T STOP MYSELF!

pretty sand at Croyde Bay

Just wanna say a big thanks again for the tips and suggestions you gave me on places to visit, you’ve probably recognised most of them from the photos – talk about a holiday leech!  If you’re ever planning on visiting Winchester/Portsmouth/Southampton/New Forest – I’m your girl to reciprocate the favour!

Are you going anywhere for Easter Weekend?

I took the most ridiculous amount of photos.  Before we left, Mr. L challenged me to put down my iPhone and pick up my camera… and as much as I love the convenience and instant gratification of instagram – there’s nothing quite like the control that a proper camera allows you to have over a photograph.  With over 30gb of images recorded, I think it’s safe to say that I’ve fallen back in love a bit.  I’ve only edited a couple for facebook so far but here’s what the first half of our holiday in Devon looked like…

mint choc chip – is there any better flavour?

lots and lots of seaweed! (or salad as Leila called it)

the sweet spot

red sand!

beautiful tiles in Goodrington

Greedy gulls

A place to call our own (wish!)

A quiet church and beautiful light in Cockington

The first ever sandcastle at Paignton!

Lush textures in Cockington

Cute beach huts in Paignton

A hazy morning in Torquay

Torquay Harbour

My (far-too-grown-up) girl thinking she owns the world

We were so lucky with the weather, every morning we opened the curtains expecting to see an overcast day… not daring to push our luck, but we were greeted with blue skies and gentle breezes from the day we arrived right through to the day we packed up to head home.  Thank you so much for your suggestions on places to visit, I think we probably did most of them!

I want to write a little more about our first proper holiday in what seems like forever, and show you some of the other cool places we visited, but it’s very late and this will do for now!

What I lack in eyeshadow bravery, I like to think I make up for when it comes to choosing lip colours.  Not one to shy away from a bright lip, I first saw Don’t Blink Pink featured on the lovely Clumps of Mascara blog and within five minutes, I had checked out my eBay basket on Paypal containing the luridly bright pink and another, lesser-spotted (on my lips) shade, orange – in the guise of Purty Persimmon.

First things first, these lippies are cheap.  Cheep cheap!  I paid around £6 including shipping from the U.S. for both – they also feel cheap.  They wobble about in their housing like brightly-coloured mini Pisa replicas and you’ll struggle to get a neat edge without the help of a lip brush because the formula is so, so hard.  They do warm up a little on the lips but overall, there is no luxury or even any attempts at luxury in these bullets.  What you will find though, is colour.  And plenty of it.

They’re practically neon on the lips, albeit a wearable neon.  They scream summer and make me feel supremely happy when I catch sight of my lips in the mirror.  Honestly? They make me wanna do a duckface.  Living up to their name, they offer great longevity and although they’re somewhat drying, I didn’t suffer any real problems or discomfort on well-prepped lips.

I’ll admit that I haven’t quite mastered the courage to wear the orange outside of the house just yet but I did get compliments on the pink last week.  If nothing else, this is a really good jump into the deep end for those of you who want to get to grips with some bright shades but don’t want to be spending all of your pennies on something you may not get much wear from.  I bought these from seller: senoritadelsol.

What do you think?  Are you going to be rocking some bright lip shades this year?