A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

God. Have I told you how much I love foundation? Oh, I have?! Well, the thing is… I really love foundation. I love the idea of being able to smooth over the blemishes, teeny veins and discolouration with what is, effectively, a new skin.

If I were a character in a horror-filled b-movie, I’d like to be the skin harvester and I’d go around, stealing people’s faces… no, please don’t leave. I’m only joking. Sort of.

So that I don’t have to go around harvesting other people’s faces, Benefit have launched a new beauty kit that will appeal to all foundation-lovers out there.  How To Look The Best At Everything claims to contain everything we need to achieve that sought-after flawless complexion.

Let’s take a closer look….

The kit is available in three skin shades: Light, Medium and Deep and is packaged in squee cute Benefit stylee, taking obvious inspiration from the series of similarly titled books.  Despite the housing being cardboard, it stands up pretty well to mild misuse… it’s not gonna crumble anytime soon, unless you put it in the washing machine or something phenomenally stupid like that.  In which case, you deserve whatever soggy mess awaits you.

Beneath the ‘front cover’ sits an assortment of Benefit’s face products… providing you ‘get on’ with the products inside, this is a brilliant thing to take away on holidays/dirty weekends and the like.  Do people even still have dirty weekends?  I feel like I’ve just stepped out of the 80s with that expression!

So, from left to right, we have:

The POREfessional primer (7.5ml) |  Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow in “Cheers to Me” Champagne foundation (7ml) | Boi-ing 01 & 02 concealer (1.5g each) | “Hello Flawless!” “Me, Vain?” Champagne powder (4g).

I’ve been doing my sums and based on the quantities of product you receive inside the kit, compared to the full-size prices…. the kit is worth approximately £44.22 on product value alone.

Which is pretty awesome considering that Benefit (who are not well-known for their bargainous prices) are asking only £24.50 for the entire set.

It’s a great starting point for anyone unfamilliar with the Benefit base makeup line and would be a lovely present for most teens *cough* and older makeup-loving ladies to open on Christmas morning.

Benefit’s How To Look The Best At Everything kit* is available to buy now online and on counter nationwide, priced at £24.50

* press sample

For 48hrs only, get 25% off at Cult Beauty with the discount code FLASH25. Perfect for those organised Christmas shoppers out there (I know you’re out there!)

Code valid until midnight on Monday.

* Discount exludes Escentric Molecules and Moroccanoil

Question of the Week: – How does your makeup routine change from summer to fall?

Answer: – The obvious ways to be honest… I start to moisturise more intensely, my use of oils increases and I have to start slathering on the lanolips!  The only other thing that really changes is that I reach for red lipsticks almost daily. <3

Prime Beauty – adds some BAM! to her usual neutral eye look with 6 great green eyeliners. 

Phyrra – shares her tips and tricks for How to have the Best and Brightest Hair!

we heart this – ever wonder what a beauty blogger buys when she’s the one paying? Find out with Stef’s latest Bluemercury and Kiehl’s haul.

Clumps of Mascara – is giving away THREE $50 gift cards to Sephora.com. Wanna win one?

EauMG – Oud has been the “it” note in niche perfumes for awhile. We’ve smelled dirty ouds, rose-ouds, and ouds for dudes. Finally, we have a pretty, pretty princess oud – Review of HEELEY Agarwoud extrait parfum.

Lipglossiping – looks for the thorns among the roses in Balenciaga’s latest fragrance, Florabotanica.

Gouldylox Reviews – Read the tale of the FNO That Never Was and find out how you can scare sharks right out of your bathtub!

Nouveau Cheap – tried her first Asian BB cream, Missha Perfect Cover SPF42, and tells you exactly why she loves it more than her American BB creams.

Pink Sith – Reviews butter LONDON nail polish in Knackered by using .gifs and pictures, and is giving away 2 more nail polishes from butter LONDON to boot!

Guest Post of the Week, as chosen by Prime Beauty – Lola’s Secret Beauty blog is a little known gem in the blogosphere. Lola has excellent taste in cosmetics and a beautiful writing style. A must read!

How does your makeup routine change from summer to fall?

If you’re tired of being the pumpkin at Halloween parties, it’s time to act with a little more refinement and finesse. Throw out the polyester costumes and build a new look from the face down.

Face Lace have some new designs available which may well fit the bill and get your brain working overtime in a bid to shake things up a bit in the costume department.

I’ve enlisted the help of three brilliant bloggers (@RobynHeartsSlap, @MsBudgetBeauty, and @TheBlackPearlB, each of whom will create a FOTD using one of three Eye Laces that I’ve posted out to them. You’ve already seen how they look on my ugly mug so I thought I’d get someone else to hopefully inspire!

I don’t know about you, but I’m excited to see what they come up with!

Stay tuned….

Having moved out of a hoarder’s paradise, it’s been interesting to discover just how many of my mother’s ways I’ve managed to pick up over the years.

The one trait that I can’t afford to have inherited is wastefulness. I don’t mean the big things (how harsh am I sounding on my Mum?). I just mean that over the years, the number of things that were bought and never used/eaten up made an impression on me.

Every week, I make it my mission to clear the fridge of anything lurking at the back. Frittatas are great for leftovers, slow-cooked soups are also brilliant. The latter being easily freezable for another day, important criteria when your meal plans are pretty tight.

So, this week… it was a whole punnet of strawberries that I’d completely forgotten about. Leila adores fruit… but is a fickle little madam, her tastes change weekly – and this had obviously been a don’t-like-strawberries-anymore week.

Fine.

I made muffins.  They’re quick, easy, taste amazing, and freeze beautifully. Sorted. Here’s the recipe incase you ever find yourself with a strawbs glut. Perish the thought.

Strawberry Muffins – makes 12

375g plain flour
2tsp baking powder
150g caster sugar
170g chopped strawberries
2 medium eggs
150ml milk
150ml oil (I usually substitute half for apple sauce)

Heat the oven to 190 degrees celsius (170 degrees for a fan oven) and prepare your muffin cases/tin ready for baking.

Add the flour, baking powder and sugar to a large bowl.  Drop the chopped strawberries ontop.

In a separate bowl, lightly whisk the milk, eggs and oil (apple sauce) before pouring over the dry mixture.

With a large spoon, mix until *just* combined.  It doesn’t matter if you still see a few specks of flour, the secret to good muffins (cough) is to never overmix them!

Spoon the mixture into your muffin cases/tin and bake in the oven for around 20 minutes.  Check on them regularly, yours may need longer – mine took nearly 30 minutes on the middle shelf before Leila oddly decided that, she did, infact, like strawberries again.

Enjoy!

Q: Why did the elephant paint his toenails red?

A: So he could hide in a cherry tree!

No, I didn’t break into a smile either.

Daft jokes aside, if you’ve always been looking for an elephant-coloured nail polish, your search is over. Elephant walk is an odd blue/grey shade that does indeed remind me of Dumbo.  The silver shimmer clearly seen in the bottle, is distinctly lacking once on the nails, which is a shame because I could really imagine it making a difference.

As things stand, it’s a nice two-coater but ends up reminding me of a poor-relation to something like Butter London’s Lady Muck.  Sigh, I wanted that shimmer in it!

Nevermind, at least you heard a really shit joke today.

China Glaze Elephant Walk is available to buy instore at Sallys or online at BeautyBay.com, priced at £6.95

Tell me a really bad joke!

I’m bubbling over with love (geddit?) for the product development team at NEOM who have managed to inject actual bubbles into an sls-free bath foam formula.  Which, by rights, shouldn’t have much in the way of foam to write home about.

Did I mention that it smells heavenly too?

NEOM Organics new Tranquility Bath Foam delivers a sudsy hit of relaxation with plenty of (albeit not massively long-lasting) bubble-age.  By the time I was reaching for a towel, there was not a bubble left in sight, which Mr. L said was “rubbish”.  I happen to disagree because there’s nothing I hate more (except for spiders) than having to karate chop/swipe bubbles off my legs as I’m about to step out of the bath.  Also, the final head dunk for Leila… her hair is washed, I don’t want it bubbled up again!

But I digress…

If your skin is sensitive to the usual bubble bath offerings on the market, you’d be wise to take a look at the bubbling sls-free alternative that is Tranquility Bath Foam by NEOM Organics.  Available online, priced at £20.00 for 200mls.  You can just about get away with half a capful per bath, which will probably bring the price down to around 60-70p a bath.

Or… even better, you could take advantage of an exclusive 25% discount code for Lipglossiping.com readers….

www.neomorganics.com
Code: lipgloss (enter at checkout)
Discount: 25%
Terms: Can only be used on full price items.  One code per order.
Expires: midnight Monday 1st October

Bubbles… do you need them to enjoy your bath?

Do you know what are stupidly expensive?  GHDs.

Also, everything else that I currently want but cannot afford… like a KitchenAid.

Still, if you are in the market for a new pair of hair straighteners but have been holding out for a better deal, you might be interested in this week’s offerings at BrandAlley.co.uk.  The private sales website will be holding a flash sale on the following discounted GHD goodies at up to 40% off from now until Sunday 30th September.

Starting with (1) the GHD Style and Protect gift set (RRP: £39 / BA Price: £23), (2) GHD Peacock Purple Standard Iron (RRP: £119 / BA Price: £95), (3) GHD Peacock Green Standard Iron (RRP: £119 / BA Price: £95) and finally (4) GHD Scarlett Deluxe Iron (RRP: £149 / BA Price £90).

If you’ve spotted something on your Christmas list, you might want to point your nearest and dearest in the direction of brandalley.co.uk this week.  Now, where can I get 40% off a KitchenAid?

Hi, my name’s Charlotte and I lead a double life.  In my spare time, I take photos of doors.

I’ve just returned from Prague, they have a lot of doors, cool doors.  Look…

I hope I haven’t blown your mind too much.  I am so much fun to go on holiday with.

Do you have any “interesting” hobbies you’d like to share in order to make me feel better about myself?

* but seriously, isn’t that sunflower door AMAZING?

** no, really

I’ve been dragging my heels when it comes to getting excited for Autumn. Everyone around me has gone chunky-knit/boot-buying crazy while I’ve been trying to eke out one more wear from my floral palazzo trousers before I vacuum pack them away under the bed for the Winter.

But I’m feeling zen about it now. Infact, I feel quite vindicated seeing as Autumn has now clearly arrived with a vengeance this week. Yeah, you go ahead and shiver in your new chunky knit. You brought this on yourself.

It’s not that I hate Autumn… despite my protestations, it is indeed my favourite season too and I am particularly partial to the new collections that the cooler weather brings.  I’m already contemplating vampier lips and more Autumnal blushes.  Infact, here’s five Autumn blushers that I bet you don’t own…

1. Cargo – Tonga: A beautiful, muted matte rose with a hint of mauve

2. Makeup Store – Sugarpink: A soft, dusty pink with a touch of earthiness.

3. Becca Pressed Shimmer Powder – Princess: A muted plum with a hint of bronze, scrumminess.

4. Jane Iredale – Cotton Candy: A sparkly plum with shimmer that flatters without looking too glittery.

5. T. Le Clerc – Brun Voile: A sheer, neutral brown that will go perfectly with everything.

What are your favourite Autumn blushers that don’t get the hype they deserve?

Jekyll and Hyde, Torvill and Dean, egg and chips (my thoughts are never far from food).

Some things are just meant to be together.

Whether it’s a really obvious pairing or something a little more obscure, that moment you hit upon the right combination, you know it immediately.

I wasn’t sure when I first read about the Lucy Annabella Spearmint and Lemongrass candle combination.  I anticipated that both scents intertwined would create something too fresh, too tingly and perhaps a touch too medicinal for a home fragrance.  Oh, how wrong was I?

I can only imagine how tricky it must be to get the balance just right when it comes to fragrance, whether it’s in perfume, bath oils or candles – one addition too many and the entire concept goes down the pan.  There are a million tried and tested home fragrance combinations out there, featuring some of the most popular scents around and this one instantly appeals for not taking the path of least resistance.

Spearmint and Lemongrass, you shall go down in history as the Bonnie and Clyde of fragrance combinations. You’re badass.

The styling and packaging of the Lucy Annabella Organics Candle, however, is not badass.  It’s perfectly presentable – beautifully wrapped in tissue paper and ribbons, housed in a delicately patterned tumbler which will sit demurely wherever you place it.

The 100% soy candle burns cleanly and will last for up to 50 hours, the scent is invigorating but not too refreshing, neither is it ‘kitcheny’ – I light this in my hallway while I’m getting Leila ready for nursery and it perfumes the whole flat (ok, so it’s not a mansion!) within the thirty minutes it takes to get us out the door.

I can still smell it upon my return, even though the flame has obviously been long extinguished.

Candles are one of those frivolous purchases that in today’s tough times, we can frankly do without.  They’re a luxury, not a necessity and I have a couple of brands that operate at a lower price point to the ‘luxe’ big names that I will happily buy for a big treat for myself or a present for others.  Neom for wedding gifts (they look so posh!), Ancienne Ambiance for myself when I’m being naughty (scent divine), and with the exquisite packaging on these (and sub £30 price point) – I’ve found a new general-but-special gift, you know…. mother-in-laws, nans and the special ladies in our lives!

Lucy Annabella Organics Spearmint & Lemongrass Candle is priced at £25 and available to buy online from lucyannabella.com

What is your favourite home scent combination?

Well, this has taken me a little longer to post than I anticipated.  I mean, it’s not everyday that you get to give away a 5* break to Paris for two with £500 spending money now is it? (thank you Vaseline!)

It quickly became apparent from an impromptu straw poll on Twitter that you guys wanted a competition that required a little more effort than a couple of clicks with your mouse and I agree.  So, without further ado… read on to find out what you have to do for a chance at winning this fantastic prize!

Right then my lovelies…

I want you to create an artistic representation of Paris.

The catch?  You have to use the medium of BEAUTY to create your masterpiece.

Now, this doesn’t mean that you have to do a makeup look or paint your face (although you absolutely can).  You could draw on paper with cosmetics, make a collage from beauty adverts/product packaging, sculpt a statue out of false eyelashes – the choice is yours BUT there must be a clear link between three things: BEAUTY, PARIS and ART.

Clear as mud?

Once you have created your BEAUTIFUL PARIS – I want to see it!

You can upload a photograph to Flickr, email it to me, post it on your blog (if you have one) and link me to it in the comments, or shout at me on twitter – I don’t mind how you show me, but I need to be able to SEE IT!  I will create a gallery of all the entries that will be viewable by everyone at the close of the competition (you must be OK with this).  I will update this post with the names (twitter/facebook handles) of everyone whose entries I have received, this way – you can be sure that I have seen your entry.

As for choosing a winner?  Well, that comes down to me.  I will simply choose my favourite.  I’m not gonna cop out with a public vote/popularity contest and I’m hoping that there will be one STANDOUT entry so I don’t lose sleep over it.

Does this sound good?  Any concerns or questions?

The competition will go live tonight from midnight and is only open to UK participants.

Entries currently received (as of 02/10/2012)

@GlowormHan

@Kixens (2)

@BeautyLoveNotes

@Angela_Corr

@Shortiee31

@CarrieYead

@CityGirlFashBox

@Radiofireworks

@6inchstilettos

@Sarah_sentiment

@Waxandkohl (5)

@Aimeemariecom

@LillianLow (4)

@Notjustpowder (2)

@Jenniretourne

@Sarahashwick

@Vickypainter

@EternalLife_

@LevanahLoves

@Tsunimee

@Computergirl200

@KerryW

@KatQuinn (2)

T&C

01: Start date for this competition is 25th August 2012 at 00.01 BST
02: Closing date for this competition is 2nd October 2012 at 23.59 BST
03: There is one prize to be won, a weekend 5* trip to Paris for you and a friend with £500 spending money. No cash alternatives. Travel within the UK is not included.
04: UK entrants only.
05: Lipglossiping.com is the sole promoter of this competition.
06: You may create more than one entry.
07: Contact details of the winner will be forwarded to the company handling the prize booking but will only be used in the context of this competition.
08: One winner will be selected by me (Lipglossiping.com) from all entries received.
09: Winners will be notified within 5 working days and will be expected to reply within 3 working days or risk forfeiting the prize.
10: My decision as judge is final