A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

I’m a total sucker for a bit of leopard print, much to my mother’s amusement.  Or is it disgust… sometimes it’s hard to tell.

Batiste have introduced a new scent to their legendary lineup… we all know that some of the Batiste ‘fragrances’ pong more than others *cough* Blush *cough* but I’m intrigued to try this new one described as: A feminine and daring Oriental aroma with top notes of cocoa, a floral heart and sensual vanilla, musk and wood base notes.

Batiste has become a bit of a staple in my haircare routine since the beginning of the Summer.  I seem to have developed a sorry case of the greasies (thanks hormones) and this stuff stops me from having to wash my hair every morning.  Does that make me a bit of a grot?  Whatever, bet you do it too.  Do you have a favourite Batiste scent?

Batiste Dry Shampoo in WILD is exclusive to Boots and priced at £2.99 for 200ml

These refillable perfume atomizers have revolutionised the way I transport and wear fragrance, you can read my review of them here.  The only problem I have with mine is that they’re always half full of my latest scent!  So I get a bit excited at the prospect of scooping up a spare (or two) when I see them reduced like this.

As well as the black version, Play.com also have the pink one available (though it’s more expensive at £6.99).

Also, at this price, I don’t need to tell you that they’d also make excellent stocking fillers do I?  If you missed out on the Cheap Smells £5.50 deal for these back in September, well here’s an even better saving!

Do you love your Travalo?

Jeez ladies, you know how to give a girl some sugar cravings!!

And so it turns out that your favourite dessert is… Tiramisu! (err, I think, I didn’t bother counting but that cheeky little Italian number came up A LOT!)

And so, on to my three winners.  Please smack your lips together for…

Luisa Brown (vanilla ice cream with milo)
Christy (tiramisu)
Z (salted caramel anything)

Congratulations ladies, please get in touch with your address details and I’ll ship your prizes out to you next week.

Superdrug have been raising the beauty stakes lately.  First with their new beauty card, some great new brand exclusives and now a new range of affordable makeup brushes designed for the more makeup-savvy among us.

The Superdrug PRO Make Up Brush range contains eight new brushes in total.  Each brush is hand-crafted with 100% natural hair and as you’ve come to expect from Superdrug, all are BUAV approved (bunny friendly).

I have a few of the brushes from the new range and have been putting them to the test over the past week or so.  My feelings on each brush vary, so I thought I’d do a quick speed-review of each one.  Let’s get started…

PRO: 02 POWDER BRUSH is a fluffy, domed brush with a softness that belies its price tag.  I would have liked to see a little more weight to it and there is a tiny hint of scratchiness but nothing that would particularly bother me.  It grabs product well and disperses evenly across the face.  The fibres are dense but fairly loosely packed ensuring a light but buildable application.  I didn’t experience much shedding either or on my face, or when washing.  Good stuff.   £9.99

PRO: 11 EYE SHADOW BRUSH – WIDE is a nice tool for applying a wash of colour over the lids.  Again, it’s not the most densely packed brush which means that you’ll be able to build pigmentation with this effectively but it may end up frustrating you if you like to pack colour on quickly.  It also works well to blend harsh lines in a pinch, easily soft enough not to irritate the delicate skin around the eye area.  I have quite small lids and did end up wishing that it were a touch smaller.  £7.99

PRO: 13 EYE SHADOW BRUSH – ROUND isn’t one of my preferred brushes.  It’s nicely shaped with an excellent taper that really allows for some precision work but I just found this one a little too scratchy to use comfortably.  A real shame  because it has some nice resistance to the fibres that will allow you to get right into the corner of the eye and underneath the lashline with confidence that the head won’t splay.  £6.99

PRO: 14 SLANTED EYE LINER BRUSH makes for the 2nd disappointment in the set.  I simply find it too large and soft to give enough precision to line my eyes.  As I draw the brush across my eyelids, it tries to find its own path of least resistance, buckling under the weight of the drag.  Not great.  £5.99

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Overall, I think the range is a useful but not outstanding addition to the store.  It’s always nice to have more choices where budget brushes are concerned but none of the ones I’ve tried above hold a candle to my favourite ELF Studio brushes.

If you want to check these out for yourselves, you’ll be interested to learn that Superdrug are offering the entire collection at a special introductory price until 22nd November with prices starting from only £3.99 (concealer, lip) and ranging up to £8.49 for the most expensive (foundation, powder).

Have you tried the new Superdrug PRO Make Up Brushes yet?

* press sample

Says me.  And if anyone wants to argue with that, I’ll roll up my fairy sleeves and throw all the manky, strawberry-flavoured Quality Streets at you from up there on my perch branch.

If you want to have a look at some of the lovely Christmas ideas I selected for BuyaPowa’s Christmas Gift Guide, click through the link above to have a squizz.  Because I’m not super-human, I can’t link you to the OPI Muppettes Mini Pack that sold out exceedingly quickly last night on the BuyaPowa website.  Sorry about that… but I can give you an early Christmas present and let you in on a teeny little secret…

Are you listening?  No, I mean… are you really, REALLY listening?

BuyaPowa will be going live with a co-buy toward the end of the week – it’s only gonna BLEEDIN’ be Urban Decay’s Naked Palette innit!!!  The world of co-buying is fast and furious so if you want to get a heads up when it goes live, I suggest you click through to BuyaPowa and add your email address next to the photo of the UD Naked Palette to get notification of when the sale goes live.

Don’t say I never give you nuffink *sprinkles Quality Streets*

Question of the Week: – What was your last beauty related impulse purchase?

Answer: I’ve just bought Molton Brown’s Lijiang fragrance despite telling myself that I didn’t need to add it to my collection.  Impulsive because I own four of them now and they feel a bit like Pokemon.

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Phyrra – takes you on a tour under the sea in a cephalopod’s garden full of wonder, Octopus Stew.

Vampy Varnish – thinks if you like the look and feel of cookie dough you will love the “yummy” Lush Buche De Noel Facial Cleanser!

we heart this – has a 20% off Ricky’s NYC coupon code for you, plus a look at a recent haul. Lighted tweezers and olive oil infused brushes anyone?

Beauty Junkies Unite – Amber checks out four shades of the latest lip innovation from Revlon, ColorBurst Lip Butter. Was it a rant, or a rave?

Clumps of Mascara – was asked by Lucky Mag to host a Dior Pretty Party and oh my words…it was awesoooome!

EauMG – Even if you’re wearing sweat pants and Ugg boots, you can smell like a 1950’s fashion model with this niche French fragrance.

Gouldylox Reviews – Want to look younger today? Check out some of these tips and see if any inspire you to try something different!

Lipglossiping – wants to know your favourite desserts! Share your love for pud and you might win a very limited edition Vaseline Creme Brulee Lip Therapy Tin!

Nouveau Cheap – reveals her definitive list of Holy Grail Drugstore Beauty Products.

Pink Sith – Asks, Is the Addiction Eyeshadow in Flashback the Best Taupe Eyeshadow Ever or BESTEST Taupe Eyeshadow ever?

Prime Beauty – Prime Beauty is Mad About Jouer’s New Fall Collection!

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What was your last beauty related impulse purchase?

As a global brand marketed to the masses, Pantene have never been known to rest on their laurels.  To remain competitive, uber-brands such as Pantene who dominate their markets in this way simply have to stay ontop of the latest technologies and even more than that, often be the first to implement them.

The downside to this, from a consumer point of view is that TOO MUCH CHOICE can be a bad thing.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve stood in-front of the haircare shelves in my local supermarket, taking far too long to decide which shampoo to buy and I know that most of us (unless you’re majorly brand loyal) face this same dilemma each time we shop.  I mean, ok… it’s one of those 1st world ‘problems’ that isn’t really a problem but in such a competitive market-place, these little things can make a big difference to consumers.

Pantene have relaunched, re-branded…. all that “re” stuff that doesn’t really matter too much to us unless we’re interested by the marketing side of things.  What they’ve actually done, in terms that I can get my head around is have a little re-jig.  And it looks something like this…

Still looks a bit excessive right?  It’s not!

Here are three choices, you can only pick one.  Is your hair?

Fine
Normal to Thick
Coloured/Highlighted (if your hair is coloured, choose this option regardless of the texture)

OK, got one?  Well, that’s all you need to know to shop the entire range easily and with confidence because Pantene have divided all of their products into these three categories which should in theory, make choosing the right product for your hair type, simple.

Gone should be the days of working out that “volumising” shampoos should be used for fine hair, “protecting” for coloured and “smoothing” for thicker hair types.  The industry loves a good buzz word and the above examples are some of the less “out-there” descriptions of what a hair product is supposed to achieve.  With the relaunch, stick to that initial question and you’ll be sure to choose a product designed with your hair type in mind.

As part of the relaunch, the brand are also introducing new formulas and ingredients, one of which involves a breakthrough ingredient for dry, frizzy hair-types called AM Triquat-76.  This patented whatsit (insert scientific word there) aids silicones to deposit themselves evenly across the hair shaft, thus smoothing the cuticle more effectively with less weigh-down than before and offering better protection from styling.

So, there you have it – the new look Pantene and the reasons behind all these changes.  To read more about the relaunch and what it means for your favourite products, click through to the Pantene site.

 Which hair type are you?

I’m slowly getting back into the swing of wearing bolder lipsticks and rapidly falling in love with my Kevyn Aucoin purchases whilst I’m at it!  Enchantaberry is a wearable berry shade that never looks overdone.  It’s perfect if you’re a little shy of vampy Autumn/Winter shades but would still like to experiment.

My favourite thing about these KA lipsticks though, is the formula.  They seem to somehow dry to a powder finish without being drying, at least for me – and I don’t have particularly amazing lips. I usually have to bring my Lanolips into nightly use when I bring out the red lipstick but not so with the Kevyn Aucoin lippies that I’ve been wearing recently.

Just like Dantique, which I featured previously, Enchantaberry appears to be darker in the tube than when applied.  It has a silky texture and can be blotted to a “just bitten” stain if you so wish.  I prefer to wear it full-on, it’s not too dark or vampy, as you can see…

Out of all the berries(!), I say this one has a raspberry edge, it’s another big thumbs up for a wearable red from makeup master Kevyn Aucoin.

Kevyn Aucoin Enchantaberry is currently available at a bargain price of £4.99 on eBay, alternatively you can purchase online from www.misebeauty.com, priced at £20.

It’s finally November and the Christmas Countdown has officially begun. It won’t be long now before you’re unable get through a work-day without hearing a rendition of “Fairytale of New York”, either on the radio or from a tone-deaf colleague. Give it another few weeks and you’ll be adding “Stop the Cavalry” to the list of songs you never want to hear again — and don’t even get me started on Mariah.

Let’s face it, Christmas is a curious time of year — the very mention of it can fill a soul with both excitement and dread, for with it comes the greatest of expectations. I don’t know about you but I’ve already started planning my gift-giving. I have an iPhone app that lets me list recipients in groups, ranking them by importance and value. I can tick off the various stages of the deed from the moment I’ve decided on the gift, through to purchasing the gift, wrapping the gift and finally, delivering the gift. The shame.

I’m both a wonderful and terrible gift-giver, I take immense joy and satisfaction from tailoring friends’ and family’s gifts perfectly. I deliberate over the ideal present to suit an individual’s personality and meticulously shop to be sure that I also score the best bargains available. This is something that can’t be entered into lightly — it takes careful consideration, planning, and stealthy research. The joy of giving is something that I take very seriously indeed.

I sound great right? You’d want to receive a present from me, wouldn’t you? Well, actually no, no you probably wouldn’t. You see, the flip-side to all this wonderful giving is that the poor recipient has to live up to my expectations in the same way that I want my gift to exceed theirs. If I so much as detect a hint of indifference or ungratefulness toward the fruits of my labour… well, let’s just say, I’d make an awesome Mafioso, horse’s head or no horse’s head.

But don’t let me put you off, I’m sure you’re far more likely to occupy the sane, middle-ground than I am when it comes to treating your loved ones this Christmas. There are many joys to giving the right presents to your loved ones and many giggles that can be had from gifting the wrong ones too! I’m slowly learning that you don’t need to spend big money on flash gifts, I have a brother who loves nothing more than receiving home-baked cinnamon rolls that cost pennies to make and a friend who is always delighted to receive a jar full of I.O.Us in exchange for future baby-sitting sessions.

It’s important not to lose sight of what’s important. You’re not trying to outdo anyone with your splendiferous pressie-wrapping skills, it doesn’t matter if someone else buys Grandma the same pair of fleece-lined slippers, and above all else, people show pleasure in many different ways. Some… less obviously than others. If all else fails, come join the dark-side with me and we’ll just have to keep on practising the art of giving graciously… I’m sure I can find you a space in the Christmas Cosa Nostra.

I’ll be featuring some of my favourite Christmas gifts on the shelves during the run-up to Christmas, stick around… you might just make yourself popular with the most awesomest of pressies!

Artisan jewellery makers Cutey have offered three of you the chance to win a delightful charm bracelet of your choice from the wide selection of handmade pretties available online.

To enter, log on to www.cutey.co.uk, make your virtual selection, then come straight back and tell me (in the comments) which one you’d choose!

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If you can’t wait for the competition to end, Cutey have set up a discount code: LIPGLOSS which will give 30% off all orders for the next 30 days.

Good luck!

T&C
1. Entry open worldwide.
2. Three winners will be picked at random.
3. Lipglossiping.com is the sole promoter of this competition.
4. Competition closes on Friday 18th November 2011 at 23.59.
5. Winners will be notified within 5 days of the close of the competition.

Some of you may have noticed that I’ve lost some weight over the past year and although I’m still not at my goal weight – or even close (damn my love for bombay mix and kebabs) – I’ve decided to come off the strict regimen that I was previously following and go it alone.

The Background

I’ve always known that my major problem is carbs.  I’m a PCOS girl with insulin resistance.  Long story short, my blood sugars are fine until I eat something carb-o-rific, then they shoot up beyond what would be considered the normal range.  I’ve tried following a traditional diabetic diet in the hopes that it would help but regular blood sugar testing showed that so many of the recommended foods still sent my blood sugar skyward (hello porridge!)

While I was pregnant, I built a food plan based around the things that kept my sugar levels as steady as possible and I ended up weighing an additional stone less once Leila had been born, I was also feeling a lot healthier.  So, it’s to this end that I’ve meal-planned again.  I’ve been on the Cambridge Diet since last August (yes, 2010) and as a result, I’m 4.5 stone (63lbs) lighter but my metabolism is (understandably) shot to pieces.  I’m being realistic about some initial weight gain while my body readjusts and comes out of starvation mode and I’m hoping that regular visits to the gym will help give my metabolism a much needed boost.

I have experienced a lot of negativity when I mention the Cambridge Diet which is why I haven’t talked about it before on the blog.  I will happily hold my hands up and say that it’s not a healthy way to diet, it really isn’t and as with all crash diets, you will pile the weight back on quicker than ever if you go back to your old habits, simply because of the havoc very low calorie diets play on your metabolism.  But, when you flip the coin to the other side, I have complete confidence that without it, I would still be sat here today as I was the day I started, all 16st 7lbs of me.

The Food Plan (click to enlarge)

Things to Note

I’m focusing on the Low GI aspect of things.  I’m not carb counting unless I feel that I absolutely have to, simply because it’s a pain in the arse.  I’m also not being massively aware of calories or fat content.  Again, I’m hoping that the common sense approach of a Low GI diet will automatically mean that I remain fuller for longer on the increased amount of vegetables and wholegrains.  I’m packing my evening meals with a variety of (non-root, except carrots) vegetables – my stew/curry/stirfrys hold enough veg to sink a battleship!

I admit that I will probably have to look at my calorie intake a little more closely once I’ve gotten into the above routine and possibly make some adjustments, the same goes for fats.  But I also know that it’s the little ‘treats’ like bacon and tomatoes on toast on a Sunday or a melted cheese wrap that will keep me on this new regime with more enthusiasm than without it!

You’ll also notice that I’m still going to be supplementing my days with a protein based diet shake/bar.  Mostly this is because I have them left-over and those things are too expensive to waste, but I also tend to eat my lunch whilst doing a hundred other things, so this is a convenient way to stop myself from falling into the trap of reaching for carbs (read bread) as a quick lunch.

Exercise

I’m also back at the Gym and currently thinking that I need to hire their personal trainer for a couple of sessions to ensure that I maximise my results in the minimum amount of time.  My (unfit person) routine currently looks like this:

~ 15 minutes treadmill (5 minutes warmup, 5 minutes running, 5 minutes cool-down)
~ 10 minutes rowing machine
~ 10 minutes stair-master
~ 5 minutes various weights

I do this three times a week and I’m not entirely sure this is going to be enough to build my metabolism back up, my major motivation for going.

Is anyone else on a kick to get healthier and drop some pounds?  Looking at what I’ve planned, got any alternative suggestions or tips for me?  Talk to me about your diets peeps!