A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

You know, this eating vegetables thing isn’t so bad.  I’ve discovered that bean sprouts are pretty awesome, I’ve learnt that salad needs some kind of dressing or it’s not going in my mouth, and I’ve discovered that mushrooms sort of taste like meat if you pretend really hard.  But seriously, except for my slightly dried-out sprouts, it’s been a lot easier than I imagined.

Here’s days 5 and 6 to tempt your tastebuds:

Day 5: Spring Greens

Smoked haddock with sliced greens and poached egg – 340kcal

I knew that I was gonna need something to match the strong flavour in the greens, so I went with a fillet of smoked haddock to bolster the flavours and keep things relatively balanced.

1 fillet of Smoked Haddock
125g British Sliced Greens
1/2 an Onion
2 Cloves of Garlic

1kcal Cooking Spray
1 Chicken Oxo Cube
1tbsp White Wine Vinegar
3 twists of chilli flakes

1 Egg
10g Sunflower Seeds

Place the fish on a piece of tin foil and grind/sprinkle with some chilli flakes, drizzle a tablespoon of white wine vinegar ontop and wrap the foil loosely into a parcel around the fish.  Oven cook at 180 degrees (fan) for around 18 minutes.  Make up the chicken stock as per the instructions on the Oxo packet and saute the chopped onion, greens, and garlic in a pan, with the stock until cooked.  Keep adding a little water if necessary.  Poach your egg in a pan of boiling water and serve with the fish on a bed of the greens.  Sprinkle with sunflower seeds.

 Day 6: Mushrooms and Lettuce

Pan-fried chicken & garlic mushrooms with salad – 490kcal

I think this one may be my favourite so far, I adore mushrooms…

1 chicken breast, cubed
150g mushrooms, don’t chop too small – I halved mine
3 cloves of garlic, crushed
100g salad leaves
5g pine nuts to garnish

1 tsp green pesto
1tbsp olive oil
1tbsp white wine vinegar

1kcal cooking oil spray

Spray your non-stick frying pan with cooking oil spray (around 10 sprays should do) and on a low/medium heat, fry off the chicken and garlic.  You may need to add the occasional splash of water to stop the chicken from sticking.  Add the mushrooms and pesto, reduce the heat and cook until the mushrooms are softened.  Meanwhile, make the (very simple) salad dressing by combining the olive oil and white wine vinegar.  Serve with a garnish of sprinkled pine nuts.

Did I mention that I bought some white asparagus for next week?  *looks blankly at packet*

Question of the Week: – If you weren’t blogging about beauty, what would you be blogging about?

Answer: – I’d probably resurrect my old photography blog… or blog about food.  I’ve alway said that I’m a blogger first, makeup-lover second.

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we heart this – Glam.com just sent their latest package to Beauty Board members. Take a look at what they’re excited about for spring, from L’Eau de Chloé to mascara with a flexible wand!

Beauty Junkies Unite – We tried out six shades of the new L’Oreal Infallible 24HR Eyeshadows, and couldn’t believe the long wear we got out of a shadow that isn’t a cream!

Clumps of Mascara – is head over heels in love with OPI’s Holland collection. Some of the polishes are just so so and others are just amazing!

EauMG – Inspired by a Gauguin art exhibit, Victoria shares which perfumes that she believes could fit in with these Polynesian paradises.

Gouldylox Reviews – You can mix this little miracle into everything. This huile is that good!

Lipglossiping – Gets on board with the latest beauty trend straight from London Fashion Week… Face Lace. Intricate stick-on designs for the visage!

Nouveau Cheap – If you haven’t heard, Payless Shoe Source sells cosmetics now. And guess what? There’s some awesomeness to be found in their newest collection.

Pink Sith – Loves her Barry M Dazzle Dust in Oyster Grey so much, she went a Absolutely Ape with Alliteration.

Prime Beauty – continues her series on “Brands You Need To Know About But Probably Don’t” with GlamNatural and their outstanding hydrating foundation.

Phyrra – Flirts with the Make Up For Ever La Bohème Rouge Artist Natural lipsticks, which are perfect for spring.

Vampy Varnish – Loves the new NYX Roll On Shimmers and they come in 16 shades!

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Hope you had a great weekend?!

Look lively ‘cos the bloggahz are coming.  For the last couple of weeks we’ve been busy contemplating some of the loveliest products on the counters (aren’t we always?) before tasking BuyaPowa with the mission to offer them up for less.  Rising admirably to the challenge, the co-buying initiative have declared this week; Blogger’s Week!

Each day will bring new products as put forward by various bloggers on the interwebz.  I’ve included a full list of bloggers and products below, so if you’re liking the look of any of them, don’t forget to sign up to make sure you’re notified as soon as the co-buy goes live.

Charlotte from Lipglossiping: Tom Ford Lipstick (Scarlet Rouge)

Charlotte from Charlotte’s Obsessions: Benefit Porefessional

Nic from Strawberry Blonde Beauty: Chanel Blush Horizon de Chanel

Yinka from Vex in the City: NARS Gina Blush

Kim from Dottie K: Illamasqua Pigments Trio (Ore, Furore, Android)

Sarah from I Heart Cosmetics: YSL Faux Cils mascara

Jen from A Little Bird Told Me: Chanel le Vernis (Paradoxal)

Amrita from The 6 Inch Stilettos: Benefit They’re Real mascara

Lily from LLYMLRS: Bobbi Brown Gel Eyeliner (Black)

Bettina from Beauty Swot: Benefit Watt’s Up Highlighter

Jennie from Sailboat: Illamasqua Cream Blush (Promise)

Claire form The Beauty Scoop: YSL Rouge Volupte (#13 Peach Passion)

Khila from Miss Budget Beauty: Benefit Hervana Blush

Zoe from The London Lipgloss: NARS Multiple (Orgasm)

Charli from Charli…: NARS Laguna Bronzer

Lucy from Lucy’s Stash: OPI Holland mini collection

Liloo from Le Petit Jardin de Liloo: Shu Uemura Smoky Layers false lashes

Milly from Pearls and Poodles: Benefit Coralista Blush

Emma from Milkteef: Marc Jacobs Daisy Eau So Fresh EDT

Stephanie from May Loves Makeup: Pureology Pure Volume Shampoo

Kate from gh0stparties: Smashbox Softbox eyeshadow palette

Charlie from Lady of the Lane: Too Faced Natural Radiance face palette

Karris from Karrisx: Urban Decay 15th Anniversary Palette

Jen from Beauty Junkie London: St Tropez Bronzing Mousse

Choosing my ultimate BuyaPowa co-buy was pretty easy once I’d decided to go down the lipstick route!  The Tom Ford Lipstick in Scarlet Rouge combines my passion for a great red lip with the benefit of having a few pennies shaved off the retail price.  Hooray for posh red lipstick!

What do you think of the blogger choices, are there any you’ll be going for?  What would you have chosen?!

Please, for the love of all things vanity-driven, excuse the ‘left to dry naturally until it looks like shit’ hair.  Please.

Brushes mentioned:

E.L.F – Bamboo Angled Blush Brush (£5.50)
E.L.F – Studio Blush Brush (£3.50)
E.L.F – Studio Small Precision Brush (£3.50)
E.L.F – Studio Powder Brush (£3.50)

Boots No7 – Concealer Brush (£3.00 with till spit)
Boots No7 – Eyeshadow Brush (£0.75 with till spit)

Crown Brush – C139 Stiff Tapered Crease Brush (£2.95)
Crown Brush – C217 Bent Liner Brush (£2.60)

Stila – #4 Precision Eyeliner Brush (£3.50)

Revlon Vital Radiance – Brow Brush (£1.29)

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Do you agree with any of my choices?  What are your favourite cheap makeup brushes?

A few weeks ago I treated myself to a new L’Artisan Parfumeur fragrance and I was completely torn between the fruity Mure et Musc and the floaty La Chasse Aux Papillons.  In the end, it came down to longevity… I had a sample of the Mure et Musc from my Discovery Coffret and although it smelled divine, it disappeared from my skin after a very short 40 or so minutes.  La Chasse Aux Papillons it was!

La Chasse Aux Papillons is a beautiful Spring fragrance, almost the antithesis to everything I usually love in a perfume.  I generally favour warmth, spice, leather… everything that’s dark and best reserved for Wintery days or cool evenings.  This is light, floaty and a little bit ethereal.  It opens with a gentle fan of tuberose and orange blossom, a combination that evokes the kind of feelings that I associate with a beautifully, sunny day.  It’s a little bit soapy in a freshly laundered way but this element is as light on the nose as the tuberose.  My one disappointment with this beautiful fragrance is that longevity-wise, I don’t get much more than a couple of hours wear from it.

For me, there’s nothing overtly sexy about La Chasse Aux Papillons, it breathes too much light and playfulness for that, it makes me want to step into a layered chiffon skirt and feel a warm breeze against my bare skin.  Realistically, it’s more of a casual jeans and white tee kinda fragrance, only fashion bloggers and models wear chiffon skirts right?  Anyway, it fills me with hope of warm days and white flowers, and frankly, that’s no bad thing.

L’Artisan Parfumeur La Chasse Aux Papillons is available to buy instore and online at Harrods, priced at £78 for 100ml EdT

Clarisonic have released a new deep pore cleansing brush head, designed to be used on oily skin to target large pores or hard to reach areas of the face, such as around the nose.  I recently visited a dermatologist who prescribed me retin-a for dilated pores but as I’m currently trialling the Philips Reaura, there’s no way I can use something like retin-a at the same time and I’m looking for an alternative.  So, how is this new brush head going to help with large pores?  Well, if you’ve genetically inherited enlarged pores… it’s not.  But if your pores are dilated because they’re clogged with deep-seated blackheads and other such gunk, then this could help clear the debris more effectively than traditional cleansing methods, or indeed the other brushes available for the device.

Now, I’m going to preface this by saying that I’ve only tried it once (because I’m hyper-aware of over-exfoliating whilst using the Philips Reaura) and I’m not commenting on it’s efficacy, because with only one use, I’m in no position to judge.  I will say that it’s remarkably gentle on my skin, I was expecting something far more abrasive-feeling considering I was previously used to the ‘sensitive’ brush head.  I think this is going to be fine… infact, it feels softer than the ‘normal’ brush head that I originally swapped out when I first used my Clarisonic.

When I’m finished with the Reaura trial, I’ll be putting this to the test before going down the retin-a route, so you can be sure that I’ll be back with a full review in a couple of months time.  Until then, check out this fantastic Clarisonic Mia review from Product Pixie, she who inspired me to pull the Clarisonic out of the cupboard again in the first place!

Also, just a quick brush head tip for you – I mostly use my Clarisonic after removing my makeup but not always, which means that my brush head isn’t as white as it used to be despite regular cleaning.  I tried soaking one overnight in a dilute mixture of Napisan and hot water, it came out sparkling.  Obviously, if you try this… make sure that you’ve rinsed, rinsed, and rinsed again – you don’t want Napisan on your face.

The Clarisonic Deep Pore Brush Head is currently available from Space NK instore and online, priced at £21 before a nationwide release next month.

* press sample

It’s more than I can do to write this post without pointing out the horrible spelling of a beautiful name.  It’s only my opinion so cool it with the evils oh “Layla’s” of the world.  But just so you know, it’s L.E.I.L.A.  Ok?

Anyway, back to the polishes… I’m just gonna let the pictures do the talking here.

Coral Glam

Mercury Twilight

Flash Black

Layla is an Italian brand of which I know practically nothing about.  Each shade shown above was a quick-drying three coater.  Wear was fairly crappy despite the nail prep (you’re supposed to buff the nail beds to a ridge-free shine before applying).  Admittedly, I didn’t experience chipping but I did have tip wear by the end of the first day (tried both with and without a top coat).  Still, when something is this beautiful – you tend to be a little more lenient on it no?

The bottles are 10ml each and the holographic effect is beautifully dramatic in each of them.  You should note that although Flash Black looks a touch duller than the other two, it’s only because the sun was starting to set by the time I was able to take photos.  Poor Flash Black, it’s just as a vibrantly blingy in real life.

Do you like these?

I paid £11.25 for each of these and bought them online from Simply Occasions, who I believe is the only UK stockist.

My poor, poor face.  I’m in the middle of a snot fest and I’m now understanding why I was brought up on a diet of haliborange.  Throughout the year I’m not a terribly sickly person (I was as a kid) which is just aswell because I’m the biggest wimp you could meet (probably).  I even have a ‘cold’ voice – you know that weak-sounding, more-than-slightly whiney tone that resonates through the nose more than the throat?  My poor family.  Anyway, this week’s cold has been particularly frustrating because of how beautiful it’s been outside!  The whole family have had it and thus we’ve been mostly quarantined indoors through the weekend.  I decided to make a break for it yesterday and thus needed a face of makeup to disguise my ravaged skin.  It’s so dry and dull, combined with the snot-induced nose flakes and hormonal jaw-line mega zits?  Not pretty.

I massaged my freshly-washed skin with a combination of Liz Earle SuperSkin Concentrate* and Alpha H All For Eve Age Delay Facial Oil* in an attempt to revive some life.  Kinda like a cardiac massage for the face before giving my driest spots (flakey bits) at light cover of Lucas Paw Paw Ointment (this stuff is great for disguising nose flakes).  I went with the spring-like weather and injected some colour onto my face with a bright streak of blue under my lower lashline.  This is my favourite way to wear the shade and I do it quite a lot in the Summer.  Anyway, enough talk.  Here’s my Springtime in the Sahara FOTD:

I think I could have done with a touch of highlighter but I’m otherwise looking fairly perky considering I felt like DEATH.  Like my Tammy Faye Baker eyelashes?  Tough – I do!  I never put that much on my lower lashes normally but now I’m gonna (until I get bored of it).

I’m wearing:

Skinfood Gingko Green BB Cream
Priori Perfecting Mineral Foundation (lightly buffed where I needed more coverage)*
Maybelline Pure Cover Mineral Concealer

KIKO Automatic Waterproof Eyeliner
Laura Mercier Luster Eye Colour in Marina under the lower lashline
Benefit They’re Real Mascara*
Illamasqua Eye Brow Cake in Gaze (I found it, I found it!)

Benefit Hervana Blush* (I did promise you a FOTD with this beauty)
Boots No7 Vital Brights Lipstick in Blooming Pink*

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What do you think?  Bit too early in the year to pull out these shades?  Hope you’re well and less snotty than me!  At least the pancakes (bacon and maple syrup!) cheered me up!

* press samples

Firstly, I want to say a massive thank you for all the ideas and inspiration that you left on my last veggie post, I’m slowly working through the comments and I’ll let you know how I get on with your recipes!  Day 3 should have been the Brussels Sprouts, but I wimped out in favour of the bean variety!  It’s going well so far, partly because I’m really enjoying the “will I/won’t I like it” anticipation that comes just before tucking in!  I know it’s not exactly life-changing when it comes to dietary habits but I’m hoping that it inspires me (and maybe a couple of you!) to think about making veggies the focus of a few meals a week.

I will say one thing though, thank GOD I’m not a vegetarian… as much as I’m enjoying the green stuff, a majority of vegetables on your plate has the side-effect of making the meaty accompaniment taste even better ha!

Anyway, here’s days 3 & 4 for your delight/disgust. I’m having pancakes today because it would be sacrilege not to observe the religious festival of Jif Lemon Day 😉  Oh and incase you’re feeling nostalgic, here’s a post in celebration of today from 2 years ago.

Happy pancake-ing!

Day 3: Beansprouts

Chilli Chicken with Beansprouts and Sesame Crackers – 390kcal

A beansprout-based meal bothered me.  Should I eat them cold or stir fry them?  I’d been doing a lot of stir-frys but I wimped out of the beansprout salad option and met the idea half-way.  I cooked the beansprouts a little earlier in the day and then chilled them, it was delicious.  Possibly my favourite meal so far.  Who knew the humble beansprout could be so awesome?

200g Beansprouts
2 Spring Onioins (sliced)
1/2 Red Pepper
1 Chicken Breast

1 tsp Chicken Seasoning (I used a chilli/garlic mill)
10g Sunflower Seeds
1tbsp Light Soy Sauce
1/4 tsp Garlic Powder

4 Sesame Crackers to serve (Tesco do Poppy and Sesame ‘thins’ that are ideal)

Spray the chicken breast with cooking oil (the 1kcal stuff – you only need a couple of sprays) and season before placing it on a baking sheet in a pre-heated oven (180 degrees fan) for around 20/25 minutes until cooked.  Slice your red pepper and spring onions before lightly stir-frying them for a couple of minutes.  Add the beansprouts, garlic powder (you could use fresh but I only wanted a tiny hint of flavour), soy sauce and sunflower seeds.  Cook for a couple more minutes before setting aside to cool.  Serve with sesame crackers.

How easy is that one?!

Day 4: Brussels Sprouts

Garlic Chicken with Roasted Brussels Sprouts – 470kcal

If you don’t like garlic, this recipe won’t be for you.  The combination of sprouts AND garlic will ensure you never hear from that first date again so please only opt for this one on a day that you’re either very, very alone or very, very married.

1 Chicken Breast
3 cloves Garlic (thinly sliced)
150g Brussels Sprouts (destalked and halved)
4 Mushrooms (quartered)

1 tsp Olive Oil
10g Pine Nuts
30g Parmesan Cheese
1 tsp Balsamic Vinegar

Black Pepper to taste

This one is really quick to prepare and cook as well.

Trim the ends of the sprouts and slice them in halves, ensuring that the cut transverses the stalky bit before thinly slicing the garlic.  Into a small bowl: add the olive oil, pine nuts, balsamic vinegar, sprouts, mushrooms, and garlic and mix with your fingers to ensure a good coating of oil covers the sprouts.  Lightly spray your ovenware (I use an enamel pie plate) with 1kcal cooking oil spray and arrange your sprouts on it in a single layer.  Score the chicken breast to make ‘pockets’ along its length and pop a couple of garlic slices into each pocket before lightly spraying with your 1kcal cooking oil spray.  Place both dishes into a pre-heated oven at 180 degrees (fan) for around 25 minutes or until the chicken is cooked.  Keep an eye on the sprouts, you want them to caramelise but not dry out.  As you’re using less oil than normal, they may dry out more quickly.  Sprinkle with Parmesan a couple of minutes before taking them out of the oven.

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This one wasn’t my greatest success.  For one, I didn’t have any parmesan and substituted feta cheese – who knew that feta doesn’t like being cooked in the oven?  (Everyone except me probably).  My sprouts also dried out a little… not too much but as I was eating them, I was thinking… “could do with a glaze on these”.   The lovely Jules suggested to me on twitter that I might try cooking them in a hot pan next time, I think I might just try that and see if I can retain the roasty flavour without killing the texture.

As for the sprouts being… well, brussel (yukky) sprouty?  I can honestly say that they were improved by well over 300% when compared to boiled sprouts.  I had a couple of “slow chew” moments when I wasn’t adoring them BUT combined with the chicken, they were FINE.  Tasty if not magnificent!

What do you think of today’s recipes and are you having pancakes tonight?  Lemon and sugar or something a little more decadent?

BuyaPowa are teaming up with Closer magazine all this week to bring some extra special beauty bargains to the co-buying table.  The team over at Closer have included some of their celeb-fave products and I’m excited to reveal the pretties that will be going live this week.

As you can see, I only have the heads up on the best price for the first two to go live (they’re terrible teases over at BuyaPowa HQ!) but goodness me, how gorgeous is that YSL Lipstick?

If you want the heads up as and when the co-buys hit the website (remember: limited quantity, limited time!), head over to the Closer facebook page or sign up to the email alerts at BuyaPowa to ensure you’re the first to know!

Oh my lovely red-lipped beauties, whenever I feel all intimidated and quietened by a new red lipstick purchase… I simply point my mouse here and get inspired by you all.  Doesn’t matter about your skintone, hair colour, or what clothes you wear – red is universal.

1. Stephanie from NerdAboutTown looks scintillating in the classic retro Fire & Ice by Revlon

2. Evelyn from MakeupALaMode is rocking a bargainous combo with the NYX Hot Red lip pencil & lipstick in Revamped

3. The lovely Helen from SparklzandShine is looking beautiful in All For Eve’s Eve Red.

4. Russian blogger Victoria from Skrebka.com is working a cleverly customized red lip with a mix of Avon Mocha Madness and GA Armani Silk in #10

5. Fnally, Anna from MakeupCrazyInsanity is showing that you don’t have to spend a fortune to get great colour with a MUA lipstick in #13

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If you want to join in with the fun and submit your red lip look, please email me a photo of your lovely selves with the following info:

If you’ve previously enjoyed the quarterly newsletters from Liz Earle, you’ll be pleased to know that the company have just launched a new monthly magazine for their UK subscribers, Beauty Insider.  The magazine features behind-the-scenes stories, latest news, and expert features including hints and tips from Liz herself.

Each Beauty Insider issue features a new skincare essentials regime with free UK standard p&p and will, each month, come complete with a complimentary gift.  This month features the award-winning Intensive Nourishing Treatment Mask to help combat dry, parched skin and solve seasonal skincare woes.

If you’ve recently ordered from the website and haven’t received your copy of the magazine, give their customer centre a call to request a copy.  A quick heads up: if you need to stock up on any of your Liz Earle essentials, now is the time to do it – the brand’s Facebook page confirms that prices will be rising from the 1st March.