A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

Like a four year old with a brand new craft set, I’ve finally gotten to grips with my nail striping tapes that I bought about a million years ago before promptly relegating to the back of a drawer.

You see, when I first applied BarryM’s Gelly polish in Papaya, I didn’t really like it… it’s not quite as “peachy” as I was hoping for, a little too bright against my pale skintone. Especially for a school day.

So, I grabbed a muted green polish and with the help of a few strips of tape, managed to create quite the neatest lines I’ve ever accomplished!  Go me!  This was all a complete fluke you understand, even the fact that the colours kinda go together was not part of a greater master plan.  I simply got lucky.

Doesn’t it look nice though?  If you don’t Pinterest the shit out of it, I’m not talking to any of you again.

Don’t own any nail striping tape?  Oh, you should!!  It’s only taken me a couple of years to get round to using it… I bought mine on eBay.  Next time, I’ll actually try leaving the tape ON the nail… but you know, baby steps…

Are you sporting any nail art at the moment?

You already know that I’m a big fan of the gorgeous Face Lace designs, artfully created by makeup artist Phyllis Cohen… but did you know that she’s just released a set of uber-colourful designs to complement the current collection?

You can read more about what Face Lace is and how they work here and here.

These re-usable, Woodstock-inspired designs are sure to bring out the love child in each of us without the need for orgies, drugs, and booze.  I know, sorry about that.

The good news is, I have eight of these pretties to give away, if you’d like the chance to win your very own Face Lace in either a Dovechild or Sunbeam design, simply do the Rafflecopter thang below…

a Rafflecopter giveaway

T&C
1. Start date for this competition is 2nd July 2013
2. Closing date for this competition is 9th July 2013
3. Winners will receive 1x festival-inspired Face Lace chosen at random (worth £8.29 each). No cash alternatives.
4. Competition is open worldwide.
5. Lipglossiping.com is the sole promoter of this competition.
6. Personal details will not be kept or forwarded and are only used in the context of this competition to inform the winner(s) of their prize status.
7. Eight winners will be selected at random from all entries received.
8. Winners will be notified within 5 working days and will be expected to reply to an email sent to the address used to enter the competition within 5 working days or risk forfeiting the prize.

When it comes to judging the merits of beauty products, opinions don’t come much more highly-regarded than those of the end-user themselves.  Which is why I like the QVC Customer Beauty Awards.  QVC shoppers are a real pro-active bunch, you only need to read the product reviews on the website and check out the forums to understand how much effort they invest in being part of the QVC “community”, they’re hardcore!

Returning for another year, the QVC Customer Beauty Awards have been gathering ratings and votes from this tight-knit community over the past month and last night, the results of the best available at the shopping channel were revealed.

Across a total of 12 categories… 48 beauty product nominees battled it out to be crowned the ultimate winners, and here they are:

Best Moisturiser – Elemis Pro Collagen Marine Cream
Best Facial Cleanser – Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish
Best Haircare Product – Philip Kingsley Elasticizer
Best Foundation – bareMinerals SPF 15 Foundation
Best Nailcare Product – Leighton Denny Crystal File Duo
Best Beauty Essential Product – L’Occitane Hand & Foot Care Duo
Best Anti-Ageing Product – Decleor Aromessence Iris
Best Make-Up Must-Have – bareMinerals Prime Time Foundation Primer
Best Summer Essential – Ultrasun Face 50+ Duo
Best Male Grooming Product – Liz Earle Men’s Face Scrub & Cleanse & Polish
Best Targeted Treatment – Gatineau Melatogenine Force Collagene Duo
Best Newcomer – Elemis Pro Collagen Cleansing Balm

All of these products are available to buy online at qvcuk.com

I was disappointed that the lovely Lipstick Queen Sinner range didn’t beat off the competition for best newcomer but the might of Elemis was just too strong!  Leighton Denny’s fabulous nail files triumphing over Seche Vite’s top coat made this SV dissident smile broadly but I was shocked that neither Emma Hardie nor Alpha-H picked up a win!

Did any of your favourites make the winner’s podium?

Question of the Week – When it comes to nail care, how often do you moisturize your cuticles? Do you prefer balms, creams or oils to get the job done?

Answer: – It’s the one part of my nailcare routine that suffers the most… I try to oil them when I remember which is usually at the point of polish removal but really… I should be doing it every evening.  My nails are very dry and as a result, prone to peeling.  Must. Try. Harder.  Oh, and oils… definitely oils!

we heart this – How could OCC improve upon their beloved Lip Tar? By adding a see-thru, glossy look to their original “hyper-opacity” formula and launching the Lip Tar Stained Gloss!

Beauty Junkies Unite – See why Amber thinks the Perlier Italian Lemon Sorbet Crackling Ice Body Water is literally the coolest new body product for summer!

Clumps of Mascara – can’t get over how awesome Avon’s newest mascara is. It’s unlike anything you’ve ever seen before!

EauMG – shares one of her favorite natural finds of 2013 (so far). It’s Phoenix Botanicals Night Bloom perfume oil, an intoxicating white floral with vanilla.

Gouldylox Reviews – This braid tutorial is so easy anyone can do it!

Lipglossiping – asks the all important question: Salt or Sugar? Is your exfoliator scrubbing you up the wrong way?

My Beauty Bunny – Too hot and humid to wear foundation? Jen checked out Too Faced’s Tinted Beauty Balm (BB) Cream and found it’s the perfect lightweight alternative for summer.

Nouveau Cheap – If you haven’t seen the Dip-It from Target yet, it could be a game-changer for you (and it’s only $2.50).

Pink Sith – Sometimes you just have to buy a nail polish because, KITTY!

Prime Beauty – has a question for you. Is there a foundation that provides a flawless finish AND substantial sun protection? Why yes, thanks for asking. Avene High Protection Tinted Compact SPF 50.

Phyrra – shows you how to be Naturally Chic with Milani Shadow Eyez Pencils and Liquid Eye Liners.

Guest Post of the Week, as chosen by we heart this – We love Beauty Info Zone for their straightforward and informative reviews on all things beauty, and we check in every week for The Sunday Scoop, which always includes a list of the very best beauty giveaways on the webs.

Please excuse this lazy excuse for a post, I’ve had an exhausting weekend and I’m so completely done in and ill-prepared for the week ahead.

Anyway, I had my camera out and about with me on Saturday when I attended our local village’s carnival so I thought I’d take a moment to document what I got up to over the last couple of days. My niece was stoked to be part of the procession and dressed up in all her Pirate finery.

Leila was just delighted to be watching her big cousin strut her stuff!

The sumo suits were amazing, I wanted a go! It was too much fun watching respectable-looking people turn into competitive monsters as soon as they stepped inside their fat suits. It got quite vicious at times!

Saturday night, Leila enjoyed a sleepover so Paul and I settled down to finally getting round to watching The Dark Knight… I know, we’re only five-years late.  Sunday morning brought with it an early start at the car boot sale where we finally started shifting some of our stuff that’s been clogging up my parent’s spare room… we’ve been in our flat a year on the 9th July, so I think it’s about time we fully vacated our old home!

My highlight of Sunday had to be cwtching up on the sofa with my family and getting ready to watch my brother play bass at Glastonbury, “proud” doesn’t quite cover it! What a rock star!

Leila couldn’t quite believe that she was watching “Unkie Steve” on the telly. Infact, I think she got a hairball from all the excitement…

We topped off a fabulous weekend with a few episodes of vintage 24, a Weight Watchers friendly Black Bean Chilli with Sweet Potato, and a very, very cheeky bowl of ice-cream.  Back to the gym tomorrow (I managed to destroy my HRM belt on Saturday by putting it in the tumble dryer FFS) and a full week of far-less exciting things to contend with.  I’m also going to my first Dance-Fit class on Wednesday, I don’t do classes… I couldn’t be more frightened!

What did you get up to this weekend?  Hope you had a great one!