A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

I’ve been dragging my heels when it comes to getting excited for Autumn. Everyone around me has gone chunky-knit/boot-buying crazy while I’ve been trying to eke out one more wear from my floral palazzo trousers before I vacuum pack them away under the bed for the Winter.

But I’m feeling zen about it now. Infact, I feel quite vindicated seeing as Autumn has now clearly arrived with a vengeance this week. Yeah, you go ahead and shiver in your new chunky knit. You brought this on yourself.

It’s not that I hate Autumn… despite my protestations, it is indeed my favourite season too and I am particularly partial to the new collections that the cooler weather brings.  I’m already contemplating vampier lips and more Autumnal blushes.  Infact, here’s five Autumn blushers that I bet you don’t own…

1. Cargo – Tonga: A beautiful, muted matte rose with a hint of mauve

2. Makeup Store – Sugarpink: A soft, dusty pink with a touch of earthiness.

3. Becca Pressed Shimmer Powder – Princess: A muted plum with a hint of bronze, scrumminess.

4. Jane Iredale – Cotton Candy: A sparkly plum with shimmer that flatters without looking too glittery.

5. T. Le Clerc – Brun Voile: A sheer, neutral brown that will go perfectly with everything.

What are your favourite Autumn blushers that don’t get the hype they deserve?

“How much actual wtf-ery can you design into one bottle of fragrance?” thought the bods at Balenciaga one day over a plate of ham and pickle sandwiches.  Wait, wrong country…  chorizo an patatas bravas (not in a sandwich obvs).

That boardroom statement is the only logical explanation I can come up with for the awesomeness that is the packaging for the new Balenciaga fragrance which is patiently awaiting its nationwide release next week.

It’s like the Mad Hatter joined forces with Captain Beefheart, dropping an acid-infused sugar cube in a secret garden before letting rip on the design front.  I love it.  I love how it looks so spiky and unfriendly (not unlike the celebrity fronting the campaign then) and the ensemble left me properly breathless in anticipation and hope that the juice inside would live up to the initial impression.

And it is indeed, somewhat spiky at first sniff.  There’s a sharpness that cuts through the ether and prickles at your nose (not the classic piquante tickle) before mellowing as the “experimental” (no less) rose takes form and softens the edges, bringing to the forefront the flora that the name Florabotanica promises t0 deliver.

The notes declare: mint, carnation, hybrid rose, caladium leaves, amber and vetiver – I don’t detect much straight-up mint, nor amber but they play their roles in helping to chameleonize some of the more traditional florals into something that definitely feels far too modern to simply describe as floral.

Perhaps one of my favourite aspects of Florabotanica is simply in its resilience.  Here is a mainstream fragrance, aimed at a younger market that smells different. It’s void of pinkness and it wears on my skin like a captivating veil with just the perfect amount of sillage to draw attention without commanding it.  It’s perhaps a little Summery for an Autumn release but there’s probably just enough mossiness and strength to ground the fragrance in a cooler climate.

Adore.

Balenciaga Florabotanica (from £40 for 30ml EdP) is available exclusively at Harvey Nichols until the 19th September.  A nationwide launch follows this date. 

* press sample

I don’t really know what it is that I like so much about these rich browns that look like absolutely nothing in the bottle, and tbh, not that spectacular in my swatch… but there’s something so rich, almost decadent about them when the light hits them in a certain way.  They make me feel slightly edgy amongst the yummy mummies in the nursery playground, but not in a “look at me” kinda way, which is, let’s face it – how I like it.

Plus, the shine on this one was a dream… as you can see – super high gloss  in two coats which made my talons look effortlessly polished to within an inch of their badly manicured lives.

Do you like brown nail polishes?

China Glaze Call of the Wild is available to buy online at BeautyBay.com, priced at £6.95

* press sample

Shade-wise, this is the Dita Von Teese of vampy reds.  It’s not hugely unique or as spellbinding as Ms DvT (oh look, that spells “deep vein thrombosis!” *Beavis laugh*) but it is a rather lovely darker red creme that flatters cool skintones very nicely indeed.  If it were a lipstick, I’d probably marry it.

Adventure Red-y (yawn name) isn’t very adventurous but it does offer coverage like the canopy of the Amazonian rainforest, opaque in two coats, it’s an impenetrable fortress for those pesky VNLs.

Good but standard Autumn nail colour fodder.

China Glaze – On Safari Collection: Adventure Red-y is available to buy online at BeautyBay.com, priced at £6.75

* press sample

China Glaze I Herd That is a densely packed copper glitter that reminds me of a shiny new penny, the kind that you pull out of your purse, only to drop it straight back in because it’s just too blinging to part with just yet.  That’s normal right?

The clear base and finer-than-usual glitter gives this polish a less “chunky” feel than you might imagine and the photo below shows three coats applied without a top coat.

I Herd That is the second glitter in the collection, and the warm-toned cousin to “I’m Not a Lion” which I reviewed yesterday.  A great Autumnal glitter if ever I saw one.

China Glaze I Herd That is available to buy online at BeautyBay.com, priced at £6.75

* press sample

Are you feeling Autumnal yet?  Where did the sun go?  Why is it getting dark so early?  Come back happiness and light, come back!!!!!

It’s not coming back.

So, like a flitty shape-shifter, I shall instead focus on the positives of the change of season.  Chunky knits, cardigans (oh, how I’ve missed a nice cardy!), 100 denier tights and solidly constructed boots.  How about a bit of glitter to go with that?

Oh go on then…

I keep thinking that I’m gonna have to bite the bullet and get myself a bottle of that uber-thick top coat to go with my glitter polishes… Gelous is it?  I do like a good glitter but I like to see it fully-trapped inside a smooth resin, like a prehistoric mozzie in an amber jewel.  Or something.

China Glaze’s I’m Not a Lion is a 2/3 coater – three coats should give you a practically solid finish.  The glitters are a pretty mixture of cool and warm, with a predominantly pale gold appearance from anything other than under a microscope.

China Glaze I’m Not a Lion is available to buy online at BeautyBay.com, priced at £6.95

* press sample

I know it can be a bit annoying when bloggers feature products that you can’t get your hands on anymore but the thing is, I don’t think I’ve ever told you about one of my favourite lipsticks EVER, have I?  Well, now’s the time to introduce you because I’ve just broken into my backup.

Now, according to Makeup Alley, Giorgio Armani Sheer Lipstick (#18) was a limited edition release for Autumn 2003!  Am I really that old that I was buying grown-up lipsticks THAT long ago?  Really, really?!  I thought it was more recent than that… but I can’t honestly remember.  What I can remember is how I fell in love with the shade in the tube.  And then fell in love even more when I applied it.

You see, I haven’t always loved bright lip colours… I’ve grown to love them, but I used to only wear sheer, slightly glossy shades.  As I twisted up the new, pristine Armani bullet the other day – I decided that I had to pay homage to this one before it went the same way as some of my other previous lipstick loves (YSL Rouge Pure Shine also had one that I used to live in (now long gone *sob*)).

Ain’t she pretty?  She’s much brighter and more popsicle orange in the tube than she is on the lips, I was a little bit intimidated by her at first but we soon became inseperable!   One of the things I liked most about this lipstick was the texture, which isn’t too soft, almost semi-matte without being at all drying on the lips.  Wear isn’t great but it’s such aneasylipstick to topup that it truly doesn’t matter.

Gah, I’ll miss you when you’re gone!

Can you remember your first lipstick love?  Tell me about it!

If Kalahari Kiss is a Caramac bar…. then Desert Sun (sticking with the confectionary theme) would be a… a radioactive Daim bar?  It’s like caramel, gone a bit nuclear.

Desert Sun is a dirtied orange, very Autumnal and kinder to us cool-toned skintones.  It reminds me a bit of those giant orange slugs!  You know the ones I mean!

Now that I’ve completely put you off the actual colour, I should say that the formula on this one was nice, opaque in two coats – none of that runny but thick crap, it’s just thick.  But in a good, spreadable way.  Two coats are shown without a top coat.  I know, glossy right?  I’m liking this formula.

China Glaze Desert Sun is available to buy online at BeautyBay.com, priced at £6.95

* press sample

Most of you will be familiar with the premium beauty range from makeup artist Terry de Gunzburg, the SpaceNK staple has had the blogging world in fits of rapture in recent years over beautiful, pink-tinted pots of Baume de Rose and the radiance-boosting Eclat de Teint.

Now, what will the fragrance world make of the brand’s foray into the world of perfume?

Launching on the 16th September are five new fragrances that, sticking to time-honoured tradition have been formulated in Grasse, a place synonymous as the spiritual home of French haute-parfumerie.  The By Terry creator asserts that neither time nor money have been spared in the creation of these scents, which ultimately exist to “reflect the designer’s passion”.

Of her new collection, Terry says:

It has taken me ten years to achieve this collection of ‘personified’ scents. I had to progress slowly in order to learn and understand about essences that felt right, which was a humbling yet enriching experience. I had to ignore the dos and don’ts imposed by trends or by a commercial brief. Free from any restrictions, I have followed my instinct to create pure, original and extravagantly high-quality fragrances.

The new collection comprises the following five fragrances (I’ve included the descriptions from the press release):

PARTIS PRIS

Parti Pris delivers its ‘Haute Féminité’ in seconds. Instantly recognisable, the tuberose is exquisite and compelling, revealing its power of seduction in a precious floral bouquet. The sweet, absolute orange blossom melts into the richness of the absolute Turkish rose together with a hint of an exceptional ylang ylang, created exclusively by the Maison Robertet. At the base, a surprising vintage accord through smoked vetiver and sandalwood together with Vanilla and Tolu balm. Incense, Turkish tobacco absolute, rockrose and labdanum echo ancient perfume accords.

The resulting scent is the aura of chicness swathed in silk.

RÊVE OPULENT

Restrained when it comes to extractions and other distillations, the gardenia gives little away.

A tenacious floral ensemble, with Egyptian jasmin and Indian Sambac jasmin together with essence of rose and its absolute, a touch of orange blossom, a trail of ylang ylang and a hint of Sri Lanka cinnamon become a dream of gardenia.

LUMIÈRE D’ÉPICES

Vibrant and sparkling, the fragrance opens a refreshing symphony of citrus notes. The bitterness of grapefruit, the blood orange zest and bergamot: awakening the heart, fresh as jasmine water, it is contagiously chic. With facets of roses and orange blossoms, it seems oxygenated, like fresh air. Indian sambac jasmine, with honeyed tones gives warmth together with orange blossom absolute, spices and dry woods. Muscat, clove and cedarwood bring this contemporary composition to life.

A distinctively elegant fragrance with a luminously vibrant bouquet

OMBRE MERCURE

Noble, powdery, feminine and rare, the scent unveils all the facets of a delicious woody iris. Formulated with the purest iris ‘butter’, this olfactive treat flirts furtively with a few petals of rose, ylang ylang and jasmine. This subtle blending gives it softness with the darkness of the patchouli forming the spine of this fragrant composition.

Intense, powerful and purring on the skin just like a feline, it reveals camphor-like vapours and a carnal instinct recalling mythical blends of the perfume world.

Vanilla, with a base of spicy benzoin, the iris in fusion with the patchouli reveals more femininity. This blend with accents of violet, reminiscent of loose powder, red lipstick and of the classic chypre blends, is especially designed for the passionate characters.

FLAGRANT DÉLICE

Thrillingly tempting, Flagrant Délice is infused with almond milk and sun-ripened fig. An alluring combination of modern materials with natural ingredients create a rich blend.

Instantly, the bitter almond essence gives a carnal hint with notes of bergamot and mandarin giving balance. In the heart, Mediterranean fig, with vegetal and milky accents enriched with red currants melting in tonka beans and white musk creates an enveloping magnetism.

Priced from £68, the Terry de Gunzburg Haute Parfumerie collection is available exclusively from Harrods from the 16th September 2012

Today’s NOTD features a new shade from the China Glaze On Safari collection, it’s an unusual one for me to pick out to wear… warm-toned nudes are not my cup of tea, even though this one does actually look quite like a cup of tea.

Look.

Or as my ma would call it, “gnats piss”.

Ok, it’s not really very tea-like after all is it?  I got carried away with that one.  Still, it’s a pretty edgy choice for my tastes and I kinda like it.

The formula was good, better than CG’s summer offerings which were all-at-once watery and thick – this one applies smoothly with a good amount of pigmentation that provided full opacity in just two coats.

China Glaze Kalahari Kiss is available to buy instore at Sallys and online at BeautyBay.com, priced at £6.95

What do you make of the shade?  Would you wear it?

* press sample

I don’t usually post information straight from press releases unless I find something to capture my imagnation and I think it’s safe to say, what with me being a tad red-lip obsessed and all, that not one two three four five but six new (and reformulated) red lip shades from Chanel was enough to turn my head!

So, you want to know more about these reds?

INCANDESCENTE (shown above): a flamboyant red with insolent radiance.
COROMANDEL: a luminous and precious orange-red.
PIRATE: an ultimate, slightly bluish red.
PALPITANTE: an exquisite shade of raspberry red.
PASSION (reformulated): a dazzling and absolutely glamorous red.
INIMITABLE: an intense, irresistible red with pearly reflections.

Be still my rapidly-beating heart.  But, where’s Dragon eh?

Of course, it’s not ALL about the reds (though when Chanel release six in one collection, you know you’re gonna be seeing a lot of RED this season), for swatches and more information – may I please point you in the direction of the inimitable Cafe Makeup who can make me drool over a swatch on a piece of paper like no other.  Go on, you know you want a new lip lemming to ease you into Autumn.

Dare you.

Shade from the new Chanel Rouge Allure collection are priced at £25 each and are available to buy online and on counter nationwide.

I spotted these Diego Dalla Palma Antiage Lipsticks on Tesco Direct last night, normal price £14, currently reduced to £7 each.  There are four shades available in the classic “my lip but better” shades.

The formula promises a moisturising finish with olive and jojoba oils offering hydration and hyaluronic acid spheres to work as a filler to give the appearance of fuller lips.

Have you tried the Diego Dalla Palma Antiage range before?