A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

My lovely friend Julia sent me a fabulous parcel of goodies from her local drugstores in the Philippines and I have been dying to play with them.

My camera is still MIA (I’m on my 2nd attempt at ordering… why do companies say they have stock when they don’t?) so I was holding off opening and swatching until I could get some decent shots of the products.  But yanowot?  I’ve caved…. I actually just can’t wait any longer.

I grabbed Mr. L’s phone* and snapped…

Several lipsticks, some lovely eyeshadows and a BB cream!  Whoop!

Ever Bilena Extreme lipstick in Ambrosia – the sparkle in this is quite something!

Ever Bilena Matte lipstick (nude shade)

4U2 Gemone eyeshadow palettes in Amethyst and Goldstone

Maybelline 8-in-1 BB Cream

4U2 I-Pro Palette in Contemporary

IZGO La Belle lipsticks

Aren’t they all lovely?  I’m not really sure where to start (though am currently typing this with Goldstone on one eye and Amethyst on the other!).

I hope to do some swatches very soon!

*I was lent a lovely camera from a rather spiffing twitter buddy, but my card reader won’t read SDHC cards!  I’m completely camera-screwed ATM.

Soap.  In all it’s soapy glory.

When my parents make their annual French pilgrimage, Monsavon au lait (made since 1925) is one of the items on the (long) list of shopping requests that I send with them.

Inexpensive (well under 2 Euros a bar) and easy to get hold of over there, Monsavon au lait is simply one of the few soaps that doesn’t dry out my skin.  It’s not flash and it’s not glamourous… but it’s a bathroom essential for me with a comforting, soft scent that lingers on my skin.

[stextbox id=”custom” caption=”Ingredients” ccolor=”ffffff” bcolor=”b0c4de” bgcolor=”e6e6fa” cbgcolor=”778899″]Sodium Tallowate (so not suitable for vegans) – Sodium Cocoate – Sodium Palm Kernelate – Aqua – Glycerin – Parfum – Coconut Acid – Sine Adipe Lac – Sodium Chloeide – Titanium Dioxide – Linalool – Lanolin – Coumarin – etrasofium EDTA – Citronellol – Tetrasodium Etironate.  Equivalent of 1% milk.[/stextbox]

Do you have any favourite soap bars?

Next up doing their bit for Breast Cancer Awareness Month is…

What is it?
Luxury natural beauty line Victoria Moore are donating from sales of their Tropical Collection Gentle Body Wash and Tropical Collection Hydrating Body Cream.  With a fragrance blend of frankincense, jasmine and vanilla – these exotic oil based body products contain no SLS, parabens or mineral oils.

Price
Tropical Collection Gentle Body Wash – £12

Tropical Collection Hydrating Body Cream – £15

Donation
10% from all web-site sales of the above two products to go to the Pink Ribbon Foundation

Availability
Online at Victoria-Moore.eu

Clinique are introducing three NEW products to their popular Redness Solutions lineup.

Clinique Redness Solutions Makeup SPF 15 – £20

Now this is exciting!  The first premium-brand to offer a foundation that not only promises to give redness specific coverage but also offer treatment benefits for mild to moderate facial redness.

Well, that’s me… I’m very curious to see if this makes any real difference in camouflaging compared to my normal foundations.  I’m not convinced on the SPF 15 though, I think that a foundation specifically aimed at sensitized skins would have benefited from a slightly higher protection rating.

Clinique Redness Solutions Corrector – £15

A yellow-toned stick concealer that promises to neutralise and conceal areas of redness.  I’m wary of these… in the past I’ve tried Benefit’s You’re Bluffing yellow-toned stick concealer and it just didn’t do much for me.  I won’t discount this one yet… but it’s not something I’d buy without being shown exactly how to use it for best effect on counter.

Redness Solutions Instant Relief Mineral Pressed Powder – £24

This powder can be used alone, under or over makeup and claims to make visible redness and broken capillaries virtually disappear.

If this is anything like Clinique’s loose mineral powders… it’s gonna be gorgeous.  I find them to be super-fine and invisible whilst doing the job they’re designed for.

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The new redness solutions additions will be available on counter from the 15th October.  I for one, will be checking them out!

Hardly apt for Autumn… but if you’re clinging on to the last remnants of Summer, these shades could be for you!

E.L.F – Mango Madness

E.L.F – Passion Pink

Both are *incredibly* bright and neither of the samples I was sent came without their application issues.  Streaky and thin… 4 coats were required for each to achieve an opaque finish.

As with most neons, these dry semi matte (and kinda ugly), they need a glossy top coat to bring out the shine.

Passion Pink, as I’m sure you can see… is far more coral than it appears in the bottle and Mango Madness somehow manages to look almost creamy despite being retina burningly bright!

As usual for E.L.F polishes, these are priced at £1.50 each and available online from the website.

First up doing their bit for Breast Cancer Awareness Month is…

What is it?
A limited edition fuchsia pink ‘Sparkling Beauty’ collection for the face, neck and bust, containing five products from the Elemis range.

• Cellular Recovery Skin Bliss Capsules 14 caps
• Pro-Collagen Marine Cream 30ml in a limited edition pink bar
• Pro-Collagen Lifting Treatment Neck and Bust 15ml in a limited edition pink ‘boob tube’
• New Visible Brilliance 10ml
• New Elemis Eau de Parfum 5ml
• A stunning fuchsia pink cosmetic bag

Price
£50.00

Donation
With this collection, Elemis has pledged a donation of £10,000 to Breast Cancer Care

Availability
Online from Time To Spa or instore at selected retail locations.

It’s that time of the year again… dark lips are gonna be out in force!

I wanna know how you wear a great dark lip?  I love the trend… especially for lazy days and bare eyes.  My problem?  I have a pretty thin top lip and dark colours make lips look even thinner!  I always feel that these vampy shades make me look like I’ve got a MEAN mouth!

I really want to put more effort into wearing some great vampy shades this season.

Here’s my inspiration:

Will you be wearing some dark lip shades this Autumn?  Are you a bit nervous of the annual trend?  If you’ve discovered any great tips – do share them, I’m sure that I’m not alone in needing some guidance!

If you find yourself a little flush this Autumn, then you may want to check out the new limited edition Tom Ford Black Orchid collection.

Comprising of 3 pieces:

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~ The revamped Black Orchid lipstick (in black casing instead of white)

~ The new Black Orchid Nail Colour – a new venure for the Tom Ford beauty lineup

~ The new Black Orchid Pressed Perfume – the piece that captures my interest… look at that beautifully sexy slimline packaging!

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The new collection will be available in Harvey Nichols from the 4th October 2010 and elsewhere from 1st December 2010.

Price?  An eye-watering £90.  Did you expect anything less?

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month and with one woman being diagnosed with the disease every 11 minutes in the UK… it’s a cause that needs all the awareness it can get.

My mum was diagnosed with breast cancer when I was 12 years old and I’ll never forget the day she told us all that she’d have to go into hospital the next morning.  My Mum is still here today… many other’s aren’t.

So, with that in mind… for the next 7 days, I’m very pleased to be showcasing some of the ‘pink’ products that will be providing a donation to various breast cancer-related charities throughout the next month.

If you want to find out more about some of the charities involved, I’ve included some links below:

Breast Cancer Care

Pink Ribbon Foundation

Look Good Feel Better

Breakthrough Breast Cancer

Please feel free to suggest some other relevant UK links, that I may have missed!

I’ve got an exclusive 20% off discount code for my lovely readers to take advantage of Barielle’s brand new Holiday Hustle Nail Collection!

If you want to take advantage of the promotion, simply use code lipglossiping (lower case) at checkout.

The code is good for 2 weeks from today and when I checked a few days ago (I’m on holiday now), it was working store-wide!

Let me know if you succumb to temptation!  I’m a nosey sod!

Witt-Woo! (that’s a wolfwhistle btw!)

Barielle have done it again, that thing I love ’em for… the twist on the normal.  The eclecticness of collections that ensure there’s something for everyone.

Taking a generic creme and adding something special to it… they give their shades an edge.  Something that makes you want to own them regardless of how many dupable colours you have.  MY. ONE. DOESN’T. HAVE. FUCHSIA. GLITTER. IN. IT. etc.. etc..

Woah right?

Elle’s Spell looks positively enchanting…. Gelt Me To The Party looks like it may be the goldiest gold ever and Coalest Day of the Year is a new take on the Winter charcoal/black shades no?

Wrap me in Ribbon… again, I don’t think I have a pink *quite* like this, it makes me think of Christmas baubles!  If there’s one shade that I’m DEFINITELY lemming this Christmas… it’ll be Jess’ Champagne Toast.  I love it when Barielle do the contrasting glitter like that!  Snow Day… probably not so much, a pale green metallic?  Nah… not for me thanks.

5 out of 6 eh?  That’s pretty good going!

Come on Christmas, come on Christmas!

P.S – I’ve got a special 20% off code for you tomorrow, so if you fancied purchasing a few of these shades… that’ll be the time to do it!

I’m digging out my Autumn stuff… move over Summer, bored of you now!

I’ve bought my first pair of ankle boots for the season and I’m concentrating on the good things about the cooler weather.

Surely one of the loveliest is that whole Lorna Doone windswept thing… just in from the cold, pink-flushed cheeks, bitten lips and wild (but still very much under control) hair.

Here’s 5 Lip Plumpers to help you achieve seriously sexy lips this Autumn!

1. Bare Escentuals Buxom Lip Polish in Kanani – £17

They Say: Pout-perfecting Buxom naturally creates the look of fuller, more voluptuous lips.  Infused with 100% pure bareMinerals, it gives a luminous shine with no sticky or tacky feeling. Tingly, cooling sensation reminds you that lips are getting an immediate increase in fullness.

Available online and at counters nationwide.

2. Plump & Shine – £24.95

They Say: Plump & Shine is a multi-functional new lip gloss that instantly and visibly plumps up the lips for a fuller, more sensual and defined pout while coating them with a moisturising liquid shine.

Call 0844 243 9243 for stockist details and mail order

3. Urban Decay Big Fatty Lip Plumper -£12.00

They Say: Urban Decay plumping lip gloss with a gold sheen. Increases lip size for up to a 20% fuller pout.  Starts after 10 minutes & lasts for up to three hours!

Available online at Boots or instore.

4. DuWop Lip Plumping Paste – £15.00

They Say: From the makers of the Original Lip Venom, Plumping Paste is a treatment masque for the lips that conditions, exfoliates, and plumps simultaneously.

Combined with the classic Venom formula, Plumping Paste leaves the lips supple, full and hydrated- the perfect canvas for lipstick or gloss.

Available online at Simple Beauty

5. YSL Top Secrets Re-plumping Lip Concentrate & Contour Shaper – £20

They Say: A targeted treatment for lip and the lip contour, inspired by the beauty tips of professionals.  A volumising concentrate to provide a wonder-full lip result, for smooth, plump, perfectly redefined lips and a glamorous smile.

Available online at Debenhams or on counters nationwide

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What are your favourite lip plumpers and do you prefer the treatment or gloss type?