A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

I was treated to a behind-the-scenes tour of acclaimed makeup school, The Academy of Freelance Makeup a couple of weeks ago so I headed into Soho, dodging thunderous downpours on the way.  Highly aware of how completely rubbish my own makeup looked that day, I settled into my seat to listen to Jana Ririnui, the creator of AOFM Pro and Jason Mallett, the director of AOFM Pro explain more about the school.

The core belief held by AOFM Pro is that their students will learn most efficiently from makeup artists currently operating in the freelance industry.  Not only will students gather the techniques and theories from qualified tutors but also learn more about experiences that might befall them in the future when they join the ‘real world’ of a working makeup artist.

Although the organised ‘curriculum’ is comprehensive, there’s also the opportunity for eager learners to gather knowledge through general class conversation with a working makeup artist… learning from anecdotes and tales of the fashion industry!  The scope for picking up invaluable advice is only limited by the flow of natural conversation.  In addition to this hands-on tutoring, students also benefit from the rotation of tutors, it’s the aim of the school to introduce their students to as many different working styles, techniques, creativity and products as possible.

The final thing that I took away from my morning at AOFM Pro was the aftercare… the school offers free refresher sessions for past students and promise to always be on hand to offer professional advice long after you’ve walked out the door, makeup brushes in hand.

Thanks AOFM Pro for letting me have a nosey around your studios and in your beauty cupboards and a big thank you also to Jade, Assistant Head Of Education for a super hawt smokey eye to brighten up the rotten Summer downpours!

image courtesy of Katie at MyLipsButBetter

For more information on the school, tutors and courses visit aofmakeup.com

“But you said you were completely bored of shatter top coats?”

“I never said I was bored of silver ones.”

Out of all the 24 billion photos of seen of manicures done with shatter top coats this year, the silver ones always look the prettiest to me which is why I actually couldn’t quite restrain myself from adding this to a recent eBay polish haul.  I mean, it’s Color Club… it cost me less than a coffee.

I was too much of an impatient child to apply it over anything over than what I was already wearing so it jazzed up the Nails Inc. OMP! nicely.  It also reminded me how nice it was to have something to breathe new life into a tired looking mani without having to redo the whole thing.  Forty seconds later and I’m getting another 3 days wear from something that should have bitten the dust days ago.

I like it.  But I won’t buy anymore.  No, really.  I’m totally bored of them… unless someone brings out a holographic one…

Ok, we’re really done with this trend now yah?  Just one more? Nooooooo!

To honour the opening of one of the world’s greatest Tennis Grand Slam Tournaments, I’m dedicating this afternoon’s post to Wimbledon!

Tickets for The Championships are notoriously tricky to come by coupled with the fact that we’re more likely to see Murray win in straight sets than make it there in time to nab a decent spot on Henman Hill.

So let’s bring the atmosphere of Wimbledon to us with a few fragrances to get you in the mood for your centre court appearance!

1. Hermès Un Jardin Sur Le Toit EDT 100ml – £77.00

This elegant bottle from Paris fashion house Hermès is the 4th fragrance from their garden-inspired series.  Literally translating to “A garden on the roof”, it pays homage to the roof-garden situated atop the Hermès’ HQ building in Paris!  One of the more instantly familiar notes within the jus is the freshly cut green grass synonymous with Wimbledon as one of the few remaining great grass courts!

Hermès Un Jardin Sur Le Toit is available to buy online from uk.hermes.com

2. Eau de Lacoste Blanc EDT 100ml – £39.99 *

Pre-match nerves abound and the air crackles with tension as tight as strings on rackets!  If you could only snoop backstage to taste the atmosphere you’d get more than a hint of the cool, fresh notes waiting within this offering by Lacoste.  Simply titled ‘Blanc’ it evokes the spirit of the iconic L.12.12 polo shirt which translated to girl-speak means that lush, clean… crisp scent you’d get from nuzzling your nose in Federer’s freshly-ironed match-whites with just a hint of the iconic champion left behind.

Eau de Lacoste Blanc EDT 100ml is available to buy online from www.theperfumeshop.com

3. DIOR Miss Dior Chérie EDP 50ml – £59.50 *

It wouldn’t be Wimbledon with the event’s signature snack of strawberries and cream!  Like the sun with no moon, sausages sans mash… it just wouldn’t be the same without it.  Dior’s Miss Dior Chérie has some serious strawberry credentials that strike like a punnet of Kent’s finest with a backhand of caramelized sugar.  If anything can help remind the on-court grunters that they are indeed laydees, this would be the flirty scent for the job.  It’s unashamedly girly, fruity and pink!

DIOR Miss Dior Chérie Eau de Parfum is available to buy online from www.theperfumeshop.com

4. La Prairie Midnight Rain EDP 50ml – £74.00

I don’t need to tell you what this one reminds me of?  Clue: it’s not Cliff Richard.  La Prairie Midnight Rain is another fruity floral but with some serious “ooh la la” leanings.  While Miss Dior Cherie will render you the juiciest filly in the stand, Midnight Rain will have you tearing up the turf at the after party!  Opening with some tropical top notes the fragrance dries down to a sensuous musky finish, it’s not a sexydirty scent but it’s not alltogether innocent either.  One thing’s for sure… it wouldn’t let rain stop play!

La Prairie Midnight Rain is available to buy online from www.escentual.com

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Who’s gonna win the men’s final this year and what fragrance are you wearing today?

* press sample

I first gave Ciate Starlet a blog outing in 2009 but it was in the depths of Winter and I couldn’t get the light to demonstrate the beautiful beetle-wings effect this lovely shade gives.

LOOK!

Pretty no?

Any excuse to show off a pretty polish (even the second time around) and I’m there!

Can we begin the weekend countdown now?

A few weeks ago, I braved thunder, lightning and a healthy dose of hail to head down the Kings Road and snap some pictures of the new Gina Conway Aveda Salon in Chelsea.  By the time I arrived (sans umbrella), I closely resembled something that had been pulled out of a plughole.

To the team’s credit and my utmost appreciation, they sat me down and gave me an impromptu blow-dry to warm me up before I slunk away hiding behind my camera pretending to be a serious photographer.

Gina Conway Salons work in partnership with Aveda and currently operate out of four locations (Notting Hill, Wimbledon and Fulham) with Chelsea’s opening heralding the newest addition to the group.

Her Salons and Spas are unique in their focus on Eco-Awareness, even employing a dedicated “Eco-Angel” whose job it is to ensure that all salons are consistently upholding their promises to resource conservation, recycling and water management in their day to day activities!

The Salons and Spas offer a complete range of holistic hair and beauty services including specialist colour work, hair design, makeup and ayurvedic treatments with prices starting from a reasonable £36 for an Indian Head Massage.

The ground level is dedicated to the Salon side of things with the Beauty and Spa treatments taking place on the lower level, well away from the hustle and bustle of the hair-dryers and chatter of a busy salon.  Downstairs is tranquil and softly lit, a real haven of peace to offset the buzz of the Kings Road just outside the front door.

It was lovely to have the chance to talk to Gina herself about her empire, though the conversation rapidly turned to toddlers and babies – Gina has two more than me, and quite frankly, I don’t know how she manages to leave the house every morning let alone run four successful businesses across London!

Visit www.ginaconway.co.uk for more information on the Gina Conway Aveda Salon and Spas, book your next appointment or learn more about the group’s eco-commitments and links with Aveda.

Seeing as I’m embarking on the sun protection series, it would be remiss of me not to mention that throughout the month of June, Cover FX will be making donations to Skcin, The Karen Clifford Skin Cancer Charity in the UK.

But we can get them to donate MOAR!  Check it out…

If you’re looking for new Summer skin protection and like the look of their wares… Cover FX will rightly donate more on purchases of Cover FX SkinTint FX (SPF 30) and Cover FX BritePrep FX (SPF 50).

And here’s something we can all do to get them coughing up with no spends on our behalf…

Click “Like” on the Cover FX Facebook Page to ensure a 25¢ donation to skin cancer research.

Cover FX products are available from select Harvey Nichols, Harveynichols.com, House Of Fraser and houseoffraser.co.uk.  You can follow their efforts via the #saveface hash tag on Twitter.

This is unexplored territory for me… white.  It’s one of those nail shades that suddenly become “bang on trend” and throw everyone into a fizz of polarised opinions on how great/terrible it looks!

Butter London’s Cream Tea isn’t a pure, stark white.  As the name might suggest, it’s a slightly creamy white that would work nicely for the tips in French manicures were it not so sheer.  The above shows three coats and there’s still a certain veil-like quality to the finish.

I’m on the fence… I think it’s one of those shades you appreciate more freely on someone else’s fingers than your own.

Butter London Cream Tea is available online from Powder Rooms priced at £11.95

What say you?  Do you ever wear white or off-white polishes?

The new cream shadow range from Bare Escentuals had me foaming at the mouth when I saw swatches of them over on Temptalia earlier this month.  I’m a cream eyeshadow fan, there’s nothing like them for a quick application and depending on the brand and packaging, you can often get away with just using your fingers to blend.  A lazy girl’s dream.

Six shades will be available in the UK from August 1st, with one particualarly special looking duo-chrome (Urban Nature) that is bound to set many hearts-a-racing.

• Urban Nature – duochrome khaki/purple
• Racing Green – vivid forest green
• Sundance – metallic peach which leans toward gold
• Bronzed Twig – the ubiquitous bronze
• Gunmetal – pewter grey
• Chroma Violet – purple with silver shimmer

I’ve been playing with the shade Chroma Violet for almost a week and have a few thoughts about the formula, longevity and price.

Let’s get the (very small) elephant in the room out of the way first.  Size.  These things are tiny.  I’ve photographed a MAC Paint alongside for reference.  Considering the UK are receiving them priced at £16 a pop, we’re not getting a whole lot of product for a considerable amount of money.

A Chanel Ombre D’eau costs £3.60 per ml.  A Bare Escentuals Prime Time Primer Shadow will set you back £5.33 per ml.  Value for money?  Frankly, I would like to see more product for the price.

Having said that, Chroma Violet is beautiful.  It’s a stunning purple that doesn’t move an inch on my lids once set.  I can blend the edges with my fingers easily and it doesn’t do that thing of sheering out too much leaving only sparkle.  It’s a pretty awesome cream shadow with a punch of pigment.  Very awesome infact.  Very expensive (no, I’m not letting that go), but truly high quality.

I’ve also worn this as a priming base for an intense smokey eye.  A wash all over with Maybelline’s Cosmic Black blended in the crease and pulled down into the purple.  It was one of the least fussy but most effective smokey eyes I’ve done and it lasted through both a swim and a night out in London!

It’s because of the quality that I know I’ll take myself to the boutique in Covent Garden next time I’m in London to buy the gunmetal shade… I feel a little hypocritical moaning about the price of these when I’m still considering picking up another Armani ETKI and they don’t even last on my lids!

The Bare Escentuals Prime Time Primer Shadows will be available on counter from August 1st priced at £16 each.

Do you stretch the budget if something ticks all the right boxes?

* PR Sample

My first Deborah Lippmann glitter polish.  It feels like every iconic DL polish comes with it’s own story firmly entrenched in popular culture.  Glitter in the Air was created by Deborah after she had watched Pink’s performance at the 2010 Grammy Awards (if you search on You Tube you can find it).

The most important thing you should note is that in the above swatch, I have LAYERED the Deborah Lippmann polish over Essie’s Sag Harbor.  The polish on my bare nail is VERY sheer… not a good look over yellow-stained tips.  I wanted you to be able to appreciate the glitter without the distractions from my ugly nails.

So again, I repeat… even with three coats… you will be able to see your own nail beneath Glitter in the Air unless you layer it over another colour.  Got that?  Right.

The overall effect of the mani reminds me of a baby’s birthday party… it’s ethereal, light, delicate and sunny.  A true feel-good polish for the playful amongst you.  It’s limited edition for Spring 2011 and has already disappeared from the website so if you want it?  Better get down to HoF fast!

£16 for 15ml at House of Fraser.  It’s undoubtedly pretty but has a hefty price tag to match.

* press sample

I had a few requests to see how the Giorgio Armani Eyes to Kill Intense #3 Purpura looked when worn, so I applied it as an all-over wash yesterday and snapped some photos.

I love it because it’s such an easy-to-wear shade, it applies and blends excellently with just my finger, is dark enough to give some great definition and a hint of smokiness yet light enough to be suitable for Summer.  Having said that, longevity (on me) isn’t all that much better than the L’oreal clones I tried a couple of months ago.  It doesn’t disappear from my lids completely but after around 4hrs, 70% of it resides in my socket line.  Still, it’s beautiful while it lasts… I’ll definitely pair it with a primer next time.

please excuse the pores!

Face

Shills Super Magic BB Cream SPF50 PA+++
Guerlain Meteorites Teint Rose 01
Bare Minerals Blush in Promise

Eyes

Giorgio Armani Eyes to Kill Intense #3 Purpura
Avon Supershock Gel Eyeliner in Black
L’oreal Telescopic Explosion Mascara in Black
Suqqu Brow Powder in 04

Lips

MAC Cremesheen Lipstick in Speed Dial

Well, I wasn’t gonna get sucked into the hype.  Oh no, not me!  But then I thought “oooh just one little look to see what everyone’s going on about… *swoon*, *thud*, *kerching*”

Sucker.

Priced at £24.50, I believe this makes the Giorgio Armani Eyes To Kill Intense in #3 Purpura, the most expensive single eyeshadow I own, roundly beating my Le Metier de Beaute spangly silver that I bought on impulse and have barely worn to this day.

So first things first, is it worth that horrendous price tag?  Of course it’s not… but like my Tom Ford lippies, the numbers that ring up on the till matter less once I’ve fallen head over heels.  All that matters is finding ways to justify why I require at least one more from the range.  Sucker.

The Giorgio Armani Eyes To Kill Intense range of 12 shades incorporate multi-faceted pigment with impressive colour payoff and a rich, creamy formula.

I initially approached the counter with Lust Red in mind after seeing Temptalia’s swatch of the blackened-red shade… but a quick check at the alternatives available had me lusting after something a little lighter for Summer.  Don’t worry Lust Red… I’m coming back for you in the Autumn!

Purpura, #3 is a beautifully blended mix of purples and gold that combine to create a violet-toned charcoal that dances with a golden glimmer.

I wouldn’t class this as sheer when applied dry but it’s definitely more ‘buildable’ (that’s a diplomatic way of putting it!) than some of the other, more intense shades.  This is actually one of the reasons I purchased it as it felt “airier” and more befitting for hot days when a ‘made up’ face just looks a little too much.

The three swatches above show Purpura applied dry, ontop of primer (Urban Decay original) and with a damp brush.  There’s not a great deal of difference between using a primer or simply applying it with a dampened brush so I’d imagine the question of preference will come down to longevity.

As for longevity, well I don’t have any opinion on that yet seeing as I only bought this yesterday.  All reports sound good so I’m looking forward to decent wear from this really, rather expensive but ultimately flippin’ gorgeous eyeshadow.

Giorgio Armani Eyes to Kill Intense eyeshadow in #3 Purpura is priced at £23.50 and available to buy on counter if you can find stock.  As of yesterday (31/5), Selfridges in London was out but Harvey Nichols came up trumps!

What do you think?  Like or no-like?

Still sitting down there in my wishlist purely because I’m a lazy oaf who hasn’t updated yet, sits the fragrance Agent Provocateur.

CheapSmells.com are currently doing a ridiculously good deal on the Agent Provocateur family, so I thought that now would be the most useful time to update and review the fragrance that I finally got around to buying last month).

Agent Provocateur EDP starts with an intense blast of spice, reminiscent of a (very) steamy evening in Marrakech before quickly softening as the fragrance blends with the warmth of my skin.  The floral begins to peek through as the heart notes surface to smother the spiciness in a shroud of powdery rose and white flowers.

Despite the scent’s obvious femininity made apparent in the floral aspect of the perfume, there’s a musky sourness that remains intact from that initial spritz to eventual fade.  It’s animalic, sexual and bold.  Don’t expect a juicy, sweet fragrance to make you feel light and girly.  Agent Provocateur is a seriously sexy number that will wear you if you lack the confidence to wear it back!

Agent Provocateur is available for upto 70% off the RRP at CheapSmells.com until the 5th June.

Do you like your fragrances to be provocative and bold or a little more demure?