A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

What is it?

Jo Malone are supporting this month’s Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign with their new Red Roses Body & Hand Wash, a delicately scented bottle of roses tinted goodness which co-ordinates perfectly with the emblematic colour of the BCA campaign.

How much is it?

Jo Malone Red Roses Body & Hand Wash is priced at £30.00.

How much of our money goes to supporting PINK projects?

£5 from every sale will go directly to help funding UK research grants.

How do I get it?

Available throughout the month of October from Jo Malone Express Mail Order and Worldwide Delivery Service, Tel +44 (0)870 034 2411 or shop online at jomalone.com

It’s undoubtedly their duochromes that set Nubar apart from the competition and I’ve got a very pretty one to show you today.  Indigo Illusion is a liac/blue/green/grey infusion of colour that dances on the nails depending on the amount of light hitting it and from what angle it strikes.

Three smooth coats will ensure a fully opaque finish from a brand that is fast becoming one of my favourites.  No top coat in the above image either.

Nubar Indigo Illusion is available to buy online from BeautyBay.com and is priced at £5.50 with free delivery.

If you invented your own duochrome polish, which colours would you include?

What is it?

This exclusive bareMinerals lipgloss in Pink Prosecco is a unique preservative-free formula, infused with the natural scent of vanilla and chock-full of vitamins, botanicals and of course, dazzling, vibrant colour.

How much is it?

£14

How much of our money goes to supporting PINK projects?

£5 from each sale will go directly to Look Good Feel Better, during the month of October.

How do I get it?

Bare Escentuals Boutiques; Select department stores, spa & salons and online retailers nationwide in October 2011

Are you excited?  I’m very excited, what a lovely prize (even if I do say so myself…)

The lucky winner of my signed bottle of Michael Kors for Women (of which there are only TEN in the world!) is….

Mary Christiansen!

Congratulations Mary, I hope you love your prize!  I’ll be getting in touch v. soon to nab your postal details so I can pass them on and get your flippin’ gorgeous prize dispatched!

Thanks for taking part everyone and better luck next time!

What is it?

Our favourite Welsh purveyors of all things beautiful, Escentual.com are demonstrating their support of Breast Cancer Awareness month with some crazy style!  A logo change and a very generous pledge to Breast Cancer Care renders them ridiculously awesome.

How much is it?

With over 30 pink-themed beauty products on the donation list, there’s sure to be something in everyone’s price range!

How much of our money goes to supporting PINK projects?

Escentual.com are donating 10% of the RRP from over 40 must-have pink themed beauty products including:
Clarisonic Classic Pink, Lacoste Joy of Pink EDT, Stila Lip Glaze’s, Tigi Bed Head After Party, Crabtree & Evelyn Rose EDT and Joop Homme Sexy in Pink.

How do I get it?

Just purchase any of the listed products on site this October and rest assured that Escentual.com will honour their part of the deal.

I woke up on Saturday morning and decided that I wanted to make a video.  Infact, I was completely inspired by Jerry’s videos over at silhouettescreams when I had a watchathon (like a marathon but creepier) on her blog the night before.  It’s great to feel a connection with someone you’ve never met through the medium of blog or youtube, and Jerry’s vids reminded me that you don’t have to be doing tutorials or showing hauls to be able to enjoy that connection and I was just able to sit there with my cup of tea, smiling along to her being adorable/funny/warm/makeup-loving.  Simple things in life can bring great pleasures!

Ok, so I should preface this by saying that I’m not as endearing as Jerry and the lighting in my video is not only shit but quite irritating to watch but I tried my hardest to chat in the same way as I do when I’m tapping out stuff on the keyboard.  Making videos is HARD.  Hats off to you girls who do it everyday.

So anyway, um… hello…

I’m trying not to CRINGE and I haven’t even pressed play – the still image is making my face turn inside-out as I sit here.

Anyway, I hope you’re having a lovely weekend!

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* PR Samples: Cosmetics A La Carte Secret Concealer, Katy Perry Purr, Kleenex Facial Wipes

What is it?

A special edition PINK Cherry ChapStick offering SPF 15, providing protection from UV rays whilst helping raise money for charity.

How much is it?

Available to purchase in a twin-pack, priced at £2.49

How much of our money goes to supporting PINK projects?

20p from each sale will go to Breast Cancer Care

How do I get it?

Available throughout October from most supermarkets and pharmacies.

I’m usually the woman who loves the fragrances that others hate, so reading Julian Kynaston describe the brand’s first foray into perfumery as:

There’s no middle ground with Freak.  The name, the packaging and the fragrance will polarise opinion to simply love or hate.

I can’t help but feel tremendously excited.  I’m really hoping for something that strays wildly from the well-trodden, mass-appeal fruity-floral, mild musk that proliferates the market today.

Illamasqua’s Freak lists top notes of: Black Davana, Opium Flower and Belladonna followed up with heart notes that include: Poison Hemlock, Datura and Queen of  the Night (are they making these florals up?) sitting on a base of aromatic Frankincense, Oud and Myrrh.  Finally, something I can grasp at, and although I’m not the world’s bigest fan of Frankincense, I do love (quality) Oud and Myrrh.  Freak will be available to purchase only in 75ml bottles and will be priced at £59.00.

I have a niggling concern that Illamasqua Freak has the potential to demonstrate a classic case of style over content.  Everything about the fragrance has been so carefully constructed to fit with the brand’s ethos and whilst that’s clearly not something to be criticised, I hope that the sum of these individual (edgy-sounding) notes add up to something that represents and rings true for their fans.  I don’t actually care if I hate it, I just want it to be engaging enough to make me care one way or another.  I also want it to be powerful, with great sillage and turn heads regardless – it wouldn’t be Illamasqua without that quality.  The fact that it will be released exclusively as an EDP has me hoping.

First impressions based upon the campaign film and images alone?  I dislike the name, love the film and adore the bottle.

So there we have it, Illamasqua’s first fragrance.  On paper, it works.  On the fragrance blotter and under our noses?  Time will tell.

Freak by Illamasqua is available for pre-order from the 3rd October online at Illamasqua.com before it launches on the 20th October.

What is it?

This Serum, consisting of Resveratrol, Glycosaminoglycanes and Calm Complex™, soothes and softens the skin’s  appearance.  It is a powerful, instantly-acting concentrate that reduces the appearance of redness. Darphin Calm Complex™ is an exclusive combination of 5 ingredients developed by Darphin. A combination of Chamomile, Polysaccharides, Hawthorn, Peony and Panthenol.

How much is it?

Darphin Intral Soothing Serum is priced at £47 for 30ml

How much of our money goes to supporting PINK projects?

Darphin will be donating £5 from each sale of their best-selling Darphin Intral Soothing Serum sold in the UK during
the month of October to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation’s study at the UK Institute of Cancer Research.

How do I get it?

You can purchase Darphin Intral Soothing Serum online or instore at SpaceNK.

The third polish in my mini Zoya haul was Neeka from the Fall 2011 Smoke and Mirrors collection.

A pretty purple/grape polish with gold sparkle, this wasn’t as dusty as I hoped.  Not that there’s anything wrong with the base colour but I expected something a little greyer from Zoya’s description of the shade.  Never mind, I’m not adverse to any kind of purple on my nails!

The formula of this was very similar to Yara and I achieved excellent coverage with two coats.

Zoya Neeka is available to buy online from Beauty4Nails-Body priced at £7.99

There’s something so comforting about a hefty pudding.  Treacle sponges, chocolate mud cakes and bread & butter pudding all carry a certain amount of stodge with them and quite frankly, they beat the living crap out of anything light and wispy.  Except meringues, but let’s be honest… meringues are in a league of their own.

I use wholemeal bread in my Bread & Butter Pudding for no other reason than because that’s what I buy anyway.  The addition of jam and a few cherries turns this home-cooked favourite into a slightly more extravagant pud.

1. Butter the bread before spreading a layer of jam over each piece and cutting into triangles.

2. Grease your cooking dish well and build up the layers of bread, interspersing with cherries as you go.

3. Repeat until you run out of bread and cherries!

4. Combine the beaten egg and milk before pouring over the bread and allow to soak for a couple of minutes.

5. Sprinkle the top with brown sugar and pop in a preheated oven at 180c and bake until golden brown (around 30/35 minutes)

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Such a simple and inexpensive pudding with a billion possible variations.  Try spreading the bread with Nutella instead of jam or throw in a handful of raisins alongside a generous glug of rum!  Adjust the quantities of egg and milk depending on how much custard you like or change up the bread to substitute plain old loaves with Brioche, Croissants or Panetone!  The possibilities are really quite limitless.

Do you have a favourite Bread & Butter Pudding recipe?  I foresee more of these on the menu as Winter draws nearer.

What is it?

A lipstick/gloss duo featuring two bestselling Jane Iredale shades in a petite, portable keychain locket that features a pink Swarovski crystal.

How much is it?

The Roses & Lollipops duo is priced at £19.95.

How much of our money goes to supporting PINK projects?

The UK & Ireland distributor of Jane Iredale have pledged 100% of the net profits from sales of Roses & Lollipops to charity Against Breast Cancer.

How do I get it?

The Roses & Lollipops duo is available to buy online from MineralBeauty.co.uk