A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

For some of us, makeup brushes can amount to a big investment and it pays to look after them.  It’s only fairly recently that I’ve bothered – to be honest, I’m a little bit easy-come-easy-go as my Mum used to tut at me whenever I was being less than careful with my possessions.

(foundation size – good for foundation and small powder brushes)

I use Brush Guards to protect my favourite brushes.  The mesh slips over the handle and cradles the bristles tightly, it’s not the perfect solution for travelling but I love them after washing my brushes as I can simply stand them on end (brush guard down) and this protects the ferrule whilst ensuring that the bristles dry to a perfect shape.  Infact, they’ve even recovered some of my domed brushes that I thought had lost their shape for good.  A worthwhile investment!

(blush size – great for large(r) eyeshadow brushes)

Brush Guards are priced at around £5.95 a packet and come in various sizes from eyeliner-brush sized right up to kabuki.  I bought mine a long time ago from Cocktail Cosmetics.

Do you do anything to protect your brushes? (or have you got better things to do with your life? haha)

Or… sweety nails as I like to call them.  What is it about these punchy corals that make me want to bite off my fingertips in the hope of a sugar high?  They’re just edible.

I think I should start a tag: nail polishes that make me want to self-cannibalise.  This one also does it to me.  As does this one.

As much as I love Macbeth on my nails, the fact that the above photo shows a single coat means that I may, MAY have to save this one for my tootsies.  I hate painting my toenails but it has to be done in the Summer and a one-coater coral with a beautiful formula is pretty much holy grail for ladies with short arms, big boobs and a belly.  You know what I’m talking about.

Buy this one, buy it now – it’s a fabulous shade for Spring with a brilliant formula to boot (even if it’s not the most original shade in the world).

Butter London Macbeth is priced at £11.95 and available to buy online at PowderRooms.

Late last year, I talked about a Brenda Anvari candle that I’d been burning, it was full of spice and citrus and all those wonderful Christmassy things that we get heartily sick of by January.  Well, I’m back with another product from her Persian Rose range of scented bodycare products.

Last weekend, I scraped the last few grains from the jar of Persian Rose Body Scrub* and howled a gentle “nooooooooooo” into the air as I replaced the lid.  You see, it’s a really freakin’ beautiful scent.

The rose isn’t the most complex of fragrances, I think of it as pretty universal – it’s kinda safe, being both inoffensive and rather lovely.  Brenda has taken the classic rose and whipped it into a headier form.  Persian Rose takes on a dirtier, naughtier vibe with altogether more earthy qualities.

What I’m saying is, there are two types of people in this world.  Those who like the thought of walking in to find a scattering of rose petals on their bed, and those who like the thought of being physically whipped with a rose, thorns and all.  I’ve always hated the thought of waking up with a rose petal stuck up my nose.  You know?

I also like a good scrub.  And this is a good scrub.  It’s got just the right amount of grrrr going on, it rasps a little at the skin and feels like it’s working some proper skin-smoothing magic.  But if all that sounds a little too intense for you wimps, don’t worry because the salt granules sit in a base of beautifully-scented Persian Rose-infused oil that ultimately leaves your skin feeling nourished and kissably-smooth.

I haven’t mentioned the body moisturiser* or the bath oil*, because… well… they’re ok.  There’s nothing about them that makes me not want to recommend them, they make great flankers for layering the scent but there’s nothing that screams “buy me above everything else available on the market” either.  It’s a tough world out there.

If the thought of Persian Rose doesn’t float your boat, other scents available from the Brenda Anvari bodycare range include: Ylang Ylang, Sandalwood & Black Pepper, Lime, Mandarin & Grapefruit, Orange Blossom, and Pomegranate, Raspberry  & Patchouli.  Prices start from £8.95 and you can shop online.

What bath-time scents are you loving at the moment?

* press sample

It’s like Kajagoogoo (oh children of the 70s/80s) but pusier.  Why does the word pusier never translate to text very well?  Pus. i. er.  as in yellow stuff, not… oh, nevermind.  Look, I’m talking zits.  Spots, pustules, pimples, blind boils, are you eating?  Sorry.

I’m talking about the ones that grow their own head (arms, torso and a pair of legs) overnight.  You can often feel them brewing in advance… and of course, knowing that the last thing you should do in. the. world. is touch it, you spend all day picking at it, poking around it and generally coaxing it to come out and sing too shy, shy, hush, hush, eye to eye.

So what are your options?  Don’t say toothpaste or I will mock you.

Well, you could cover it with a big granny-tights coloured plaster and just pretend it’s not there.  This is fine if it’s somewhere discreet, like on the soles of your feet but not so good if you can a). see it or b). reach it.  Basically, it’s a rubbish option because you know that within five minutes, you’ll have that plaster off and will be digging around with it again until you get the skin-picking guilts.

How about some topical treatments?  Some people swear by Sudocrem but the only tub I have in the house has actually been used for it’s intended purpose and I just don’t fancy it.

Then you’ve got your topical treatments.  In all manner of guises…

The ones that I’m dabbling in at the minute are The Sanctuary’s Blemish Serum* which helps to calm the redness and general rage that accompanies the facial intrusion.  BareMinerals Blemish Remedy* which comes in a powder form and contains sulphur to draw the bugger out more quickly and finally, La Roche Posay’s Effaclar A.I which keeps making me think of that film with Jude Law in it which works both as an anti-bacterial and exfoliator to promote faster healing.  It feels hugely comforting to have a dedicated blemish-buster to tote around in your handbag.

And finally, you’ve got the ever-faithful aspirin mask.  I actually put quite a lot of stock in the value of this remedy, especially as a way to get the blighter to look a little less inflamed before an evening out.

But I wanna know, what do you do when you feel a particularly unholy zit brewing?

* press samples

From pale to dark, teal is the perfect blue/green combination and it’s everywhere this season.  I thought I’d swatch the cream teal nail polishes in my collection to give you some alternatives to Estee Lauder’s Teal Topaz spring sell-out polish.

From left to right: Estee Lauder – Teal Topaz  |  Misa – Dirty, Sexy, Money|  Barielle Shades – A Bouquet For Ava  |  American Apparel – Peacock  |  Ciate – Superficial

If shimmers are more your cup of tea, don’t forget that March is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month and Lena White are donating £1 to Ovacome – the ovarian cancer support network – for every sale of OPI’s Teal the Cows Come Home.

Are any of these shades catching your eye?  What’s your favourite teal?

I received a press release the other night announcing the new China Glaze Prismatic Collection.  Six new shades — a chunky glitter fest, complete with holographic particles.

The shade descriptions:

Optical Illusion – Aqua green glimmers with a hint of purple filled with pink, yellow, silver, orange and green flecks
Polarized – Silver metallic sheen sprinkled with yellow, pink, orange and green glitters
Prism – Grape purple holographic gleams with pink shimmer and glitters with pieces of pink, blue, green, orange, silver and gold
Ray-diant – Greenish-gold shimmer filled with specks of cilver, pink, green, orange and blue
Liquid Crystal – Bright blue holographic with purple tint dusted with silver, gold, green, pink and orange
Full Spectrum – Baby pink bursts into holographic magenta to party with silver, gold, blue, pink and green particles

They sound amazing don’t they?  But honestly, I’m over chunky glitters that claim to be holographic and duochromes that only just make the grade.  I’m really not seeing much that yells holographic in these and isn’t it about time we had another proper holo collection from the big players anyway?  C’mon now…

Maybe it’s ‘cos they’re a bit pastel-ly but I’m just not going to break my neck in the rush to add these to my collection.  I was wondering if I might feel differently once the swatches started to appear.  Here’s some from Scrangie (who can basically make me want anything) and Nail Stories.  I’m still not lemming them, maybe my nail polish lem has been broken?

What about you?  Are you excited for the China Glaze Prismatic Collection?

You know, in the world of internet acronyms I’m a bit of a fail.  I’m an expert LOLer, can tell my PMSL from my ROFL and do a good line in OMGWTFLOL (STFU).  Beyond that though, things get complicated.  Between the years of 2004 – 2008 I was in some kind of acronym void and when I emerged blinking into this new world, I remember firmly not having a clue what BFF meant.  It’s not really my fault, Mr L is my best friend and he doesn’t go around refering to me as his BFF, I was handicapped from the start.

Cacee is a brand I’d never heard of before seeing a selection of their polishes on a stand at Pro Beauty.  I picked up their BFF Nail Polish in Shaina for around £3.50, twirling it in my fingers and coo-ing at the scattered holo particles suspended in a pretty, chocolate brown base.  Excited!

It’s a two-coater and applies smoothly, sadly drying to a gritty finish – I guess those holographic particles just aren’t fine enough to sit nicely on the nail.  You also lose a lot of the holo effect once on the nail, it’s not an ugly polish by all means (two coats of Lumos sorted out the gritty finish) but it just could have/should have been better you know?

Have you tried any Cacee polishes?

As far as visuals go, the images for Dolce & Gabbana’s new Spring/Summer 12 collection are striking!  I love the interpretation on a floral theme, it works beautifully with the soft pastels in the new Bouquet collection which features young actress, Felicity Jones.

With my high contrast colouring, I struggle not to look a bit sickly with pastels but the nude eyeliner (Shimmer) looks very nice, as do the polishes.  Talking about the new collection, makeup high priestess (otherwise known as Dolce & Gabbana Make Up creative advisor) Pat McGrath said, “There’s something really uplifting about these colours.  They make you feel as if you’re on holiday”.  Which other than stating the obvious a little bit just makes me want a holiday to Southern Italy.  And a dress like Felicity Jones’.  Are you rocking the Spring pastel trends right now?

Dolce & Gabbana Spring/Summer 2012 Bouquet Collection is available to buy instore and online at Harrods.com

Remember this post?  The mystery brand conducted a huge facebook-driven campaign involving over 500,000 secret samples being sent out to households across the UK.  Feedback on the mystery product has been pretty positive with 91% of testers saying that they would recommend the product to a friend.

Well, I can finally reveal the brand behind The Big Skincare Mystery (and some of you guessed it!) as Clearasil!

The new Clearasil Vitamins & Extracts range has been packed with superfruits known for their antioxidant properties and soothing plant extracts, and the flagship product in the range is the new Clearasil PerfectaWash.  A face wash dispenser that automatically dispenses the perfect dose of cleanser to ensure effective cleansing without over-drying.  This is available in two variants: superfruits or soothing plant extract.

In addition to the PerfectaWash, Clearasil’s new range includes the  2 in 1 Vitamins & Extracts Wash and Mask (the one we’ve all been trialling), Vitamins & Extracts Scrub and Vitamins & Extracts Cleansing Wipes.

As for how I got on with the 2 in 1 Vitamins & Extracts Wash and Mask*?  Well pretty good actually.  I didn’t experience any of the dryness that I would normally associate with using a product aimed at problem skin-types.  Literally, none at all but I wasn’t keen on the scent and as a result, didn’t enjoy using this as a mask – I prefer something that feels and smells a little more luxurious on my skin!  Having said that, I will be repurchasing this to use as a daily wash (used after oil cleansing) simply because it left my skin feeling freshly cleansed without being stripped and it’s cheaper than my Bare Minerals cleanser.  If it goes on to do effective battle with my blemishes and breakouts, then even better!  I think combination skintypes are going to really enjoy this product.

The new range is already available to buy instore and online at Boots.com with prices starting from £3.49

* press sample

The soon-to-be released Hunger Games collection from China Glaze has been setting the nail polish blogs alight with swatches and banter about the names and how they relate to the book and upcoming film.  I’ve got two shades to show you today; Agro – a metallic olive shot through with a heap of gold flecks and Dress Me Up – a dusty rose creme.

Agro* is a beautiful shade, not hugely unique but the formula is beautifully done.  If I’d been a little bit more careful in application, this could have squeezed through as a single-coater but the photo above demonstrates two coats to cover a couple of thin patches.  There’s not too many golden greens that look good against my cool skintone but thankfully this one doesn’t give me any issues at all.

Dress Me Up* is a simple dusty rose creme, I’m not a huge fan of these shades though I know many are.  Personally, I’d rename it Dress Me Up… Grandma.  The formula on this one is a little off – thick but runny, almost like it’s overcompensating for being on the thick side.  Again, this is a two-coater and the coverage is incidentally, pretty great.

There are a total of 12 colours in the collection, I’ve already placed my order for Fast Track and Harvest Moon as my next permanent additions to my beloved Helmer.

China Glaze is available to buy at Sallys or Beauty4Nails-Body (which has to be the worst name for a shop, ever).

Are you tempted by any of the shades in the new Hunger Games collection?

* press sample

China Glaze & Hunger Games Collection: Colours from the Capitol (Agro and Dress Me Up)

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?!