A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

Released on the 7th June, the highly anticipated return of Urban Decay Nail Polishes to the UK is nearly upon us!

I’ve been snapping up the UD Polishes from yesteryear as and when I see them on eBay or in discount stores, so I’m pretty darn excited about this set.  Infact, it was through their polishes that I first discovered the brand… anyone else remember the polishes?

Anyway, last year I found myself whining (I know, quelle surprise!) at Urban Decay’s UK PR peeps when I was told that we wouldn’t be seeing the Apocalyptic Nail Kit on our shores, so I nearly peed my knickers when I was sent these this week.

7 mini-sized nail polishes housed in a faux gold snakeskin little zip-up case.  Tack-o-rama!  Um, in a good way!

One for every day of the week!  The colours do shout summer…. well… nearly all of them.  I just can’t associate purple with summer… and that one on the far left.. I’m thinking more early Autumn.  Pedantic, sorry.

I couldn’t wait to begin swatching and I’ve been deliberating… Do I post them all up at once, or do one at a time in a  usual NOTD?  I decided that I’d just get some quick swatches up so you can see if the shades are colours you’d be interested in wearing in advance of the release.  As I work my way through them over the next week or so I’ll give thoughts on formula, application and a better swatch photo…

In particular, my Woodstock photo is a bit off…. so I’ll make sure I get another one up early in the week (it’s my favourite too!)

For now…

Very, very quick first impression.  Each polish is 5ml, so we’re talking the same quantity as a Mavala.  Packaging is cute and even better, the brush is normal sized… a little wide even.  I much prefer this as it means I can cover my nail in 2/3 strokes… none of this faffing about with a teeny brush.

The set consists of 3 cremes (woodstock, psychedelic sister & magic bus), 2 shimmers (love light & hashbury) and 2 metallics (aquarius & shine on).  Formula wise, I had the most application joy from those cremes (but they benefit from a glossy top coat).  The metallics gave me the biggest application woes with a touch of cuticle drag.

The set will be priced at £17.50 and available from the 7th June.  Now…. if only they sold them full size and separately…

So a few of you asked for some tips and to see a FOTD with the Illamasqua Halcyon Illuminator that I swatched in this here post so I made sure to dig it out this morning.

I hope you can make it out!  It’s more apparent in the right hand photo… a fairly neutral champagne shimmer.  My only issue with it (that I was reminded of when applying today) is how quickly it dries.  You gotta blend quick!

I usually squeeze a little onto my finger tip, tap 3 dots across my cheekbones and blend, blend, blend!  I tend to struggle a little with liquid highlighters as they settle in and accentuate my pores (I’m looking at you Eyeko cream thing) but this doesn’t.

Anyway, hope that helps!

I love Bank Holiday weekends me… here’s a few reasons why!

30% off everything this weekend!

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20% off everything this weekend – code: ZUCHIMP

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15% off everything this weekend – code: HQSUNEXCITE

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Free Delivery this weekend

For even more great Bank Holiday deals, check out the comments!

I picked up this Caudalie Lip Conditioner whilst I was on holiday a few weeks ago… I’d left my Lanolips at home and was after something fairly inexpensive and easy to apply.

I can’t detect a strong scent nor taste from this rather minimalistic-looking balm, it displays an impressive list of ingredients including beeswax, shea butter and grapeseed extract topped of with an SPF of 8.

Caudalie is a French brand that I’m not hugely familiar with  but I know that they place an emphasis on natural beauty and this product is no exception having been formulated with 99.5% naturally-derived ingredients.

It keeps my lips in check under normal circumstances, but I haven’t needed to put it to any serious dryness tests as my lips are in OK condition thanks to my Lanolips.  I do love how convenient and solid the Caudalie Lip Conditioner is… it makes for super quick on-the-go application with no risks of looking like you’ve dipped your mouth in goosefat.

I think I paid around £6 for my Caudalie Lip Conditioner, but you can buy it online for £5.50

Recommended!

Paul & Joe‘s Summer collection is due out today!  Well…. the rest of it anyway.  Two of the lip products have been available since the 7th May, so let’s start with those shall we?

Read the rest of this entry »

I love this packaging!  It allows me to dispense just the right amount of product.

And *what* a product it is…

Illamasqua‘s Halcyon Illuminator is a creamy ivory highlighter that would suit both dark and pale tones beautifully.  It’s just about neutral enough to be kind to most complexions and imparts a “lit from within” shimmer.

With a smooth texture, it blends effortlessly wherever it’s placed.  This is (if you haven’t already noticed!) one of my favourite highlighters in my collection and I reach for it often.  Which reminds me, next time I’m near a counter I need to pick up Poised (it’s cool pink counterpart!)

Priced at £13, I consider this to be good value for money when you realise just how little you need to use to achieve a great result.

Illamasqua’s Illuminator in Halcyon is available from counters nationwide or online.

New for Summer, the already popular TreacleMoon lineup is expanding to include a new fragrance.

Lovely Mint Story promises to be a cool, refreshing mint fragrance that takes you back to minty mojitos and tropical times with its skin-tingling zing.

Me?  I just want something zingy to replace the tropical coconut-y phase that I’m currently going through!

Treaclemoon bath and shower gels are available exclusive to Tesco (larger stores only) and carry a very reasonable price tag of £2.89!

Have you checked out any of the other fragrances?

Last week, when I was talking about the new Bare Escentuals Boutique on Neal Street I proclaimed: “I wish I had a picture to show you…”

Well this week, I’ve got several!

I couldn’t resist popping back in there on Tuesday!

On the downside…. they still didn’t have Grace in stock…

…But on the upside, I got to swatch to my heart’s content and discovered at least another 4 shades to add to my wishlist!

I was desperate to try one of the make-unders.  They’re specialising in the “Roxie look” at the moment due to their makeup partnership with the West End show Chicago.  But alas, I was too pressed for time and had to continue on my merry way without a sexy smoky eye/red lip combo.

In my experience… the staff in there are super friendly, and once again… I had them all searching for the non-existent Grace eye shadow that is becoming harder to pin down than an eel swathed in grease.  I’ve left my number and they’ve promised me a phone call when it’s back in stock.

All in all, well worth a visit!

Bare Escentuals Boutiue, 40 Neal Street, Covent Garden, London, WC2H 9PS

Woah… neon lip & face paint.

I wasn’t quite sure what to do with this when it popped through my letterbox courtesy of Models Own last week.

Once I had re-read the pot and realised that I could use it on my lips, I set straight to work!

I really didn’t expect very much from this product… languishing in the knowledge that in general, multi-use cosmetics are pretty cruddy, I was expecting to have a total fail of a product on my hands.

Not so.

This is smoooooooth and lends itself beautifully to a lip product.  I’m not gonna tell you if this works well on your face ‘cos I haven’t got a clue… I’m not a face painter and I have nothing to compare it to.  It’s one hell of a lip paint though.

Bright and true to it’s neon credentials, it applies more like a cream than a paint.  I think that’s what I was most impressed with… I really expected something quite dry and difficult to work with and got the opposite.

Combined with a flick of black liquid liner and not much else, Models Own Neon Pink Lip & Face Paint is a winner.  It dries matte on my lips and does leave them a touch drier which to be fair, I expected.  As with any matte lip product I’d make sure your lips were well exfoliated and possibly combine this with a slick of balm before applying.

I love how completley weightless the product feels on my lips, one thin layer gives great colour payoff and when it fades, it leaves a naturally bitten stain.

Priced at a bargainous £5, if only the other colours were more lip friendly!

Follow the Elemis Spa Bus on Twitter and Facebook to keep up to date with it’s whereabouts during Elemis’ 20th Anniversary nationwide tour.

Always fancied an Elemis treatment?  Well for a budget-friendly £10 you can enjoy one of 5 unique and luxurious 15 minute facial or body spa therapies performed by a professional “Elemis Angel”.  Instant relaxation and rejuvenation is promised with a maximum results in minimum time ethos.

Ensuring that it’s not only you who benefits from a bit of TLC, Elemis will be donating £1 from each treatment and skincare kit sold to charity Mothers4Children and they hope to raise well over £50,000 for the charity during the campaign.

I’m keeping my eye on the @elemisspabus updates and am trying to decide between a Skin Booster Facial, Chill-Out Shoulder and Scalp Massage, Sole Rescue Foot Treatment or Re-Charge Power Back Massage.

I think it’d have to be the facial.  What d’ya reckon ladies?

According to the latest consumer study from America anyway…

Market Force Information, a market survey company, presented a selection of US consumers with the question what do you love most about your favourite makeup line and surprisingly only a small number of respondents selected the option of loving it because they use humane testing/environmentally safe.

I’m curious about this survey… it appears that it was a “tick the box that applies” affair rather than “provide your own answers in the space below”, but what if the respondent was unsure of whether their favourite brand tests humanely.  That doesn’t really leave uses humane testing as a viable answer option regardless of their feelngs on animal testing.  Survey fail?

I’m curious about how savvy people really are when it comes to humane testing and environmental issues – could you take a moment to answer my poll please?

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I have to remember that a lot of you guys are probably more makeup savvy than your ordinary consumer which may make a difference, but it’ll be interesting to see the results nonetheless!

Do you think that the original survey was wrong to draw the conclusion that humane testing isn’t an important consideration for US consumers?

I was starting to run out of things to spend my £5 No7 vouchers on when I spied these unassuming little tubes on the No7 counter.  I’m a total sucker for cream eyeshadows and when I swatched these, I knew I had to have them!

They’re a very light mousse formula and although the tubes are teeny tiny, a little goes a very long way.  I keep squeezing out too much!  Easy to apply and blend, I usually use my finger before running a brush over the edges just to make sure that they’re softened.

I bought them without doing any blog research and was concerned that they’d last approximately 5 seconds before creasing on me.  In general, I’m not a HUGE No7 makeup fan… there’s definitely some real stand outs from the line, but it’s not usually a brand I purchase from without doing a bit of research beforehand.

I have to say though, I made a good choice with these!  They last a decent 5/6 hours when used with no base before they begin to travel upwards… combine with a slick of UDPP and I can get about 7/8 hours wear out of them.  I haven’t tried setting them with a light dusting of complementary eyeshadow… but I think that would prolong wear even further.

Not too shabby really.

The colours are beautiful and what attracted me to them in the first place, there’s one more (a bronzey shade) that I like the look of aswell, but I’ll wait ’till the £5 off No7 till spit comes round again before adding it to my collection.

£8.75 each from Boots instore or online.

Have you tried these?