A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

Butter London’s Founding Creative Director, Nonie Creme was on a flying trip to the UK earlier in the month and I was excited to get the opportunity to see her for a chat about the upcoming Fall collection and preview the shades…

Frequently looking to the catwalks for nail inspiration, Butter London’s Autumn/Winter 2011 collection is no exception.

Nonie Creme says of her new collection:

“My inspiration was a variation on jewel tones.  Imagine taking a traditional jewel tone palette, then moving each shade about two notes to the left, this means a garnet instead of a ruby, a dirty teal instead of a sapphire and an olive or patina gold instead of a brassy or yellow tone.”

The Limited Edition shade No More Waity, Katie finds itself in the main lineup and I’m very pleased to see Knees Up (one of my enduring BL faves) put in a reappearance.  Wallis, Bluey and Toff are all-new shades for the season.

Wallis

Inspiration: In honour of the Saucy Yank who ran away with the King’s heart.
Detail: A tarnished, metallic, olive gold, as mysterious and regal as its namesake.

Bluey

Inspiration: Vintage British slang for a pornographic film.  Ah, the good ‘ol days.
Detail: A slightly metallic dark peacock blue, perfect for fashionable birds.

Toff

Inspiration: A slightly derogartory name for a member of the British upperclass.
Details: A darker, dustier, brownish variation on rose pink.  Stop to smell them.  The roses, not the toffs.

No More Waity, Katie

Inspiration: One day my prince will come, and I will wrap him around my tiny, sparkling finger.
Detail: A soft griege littered with lilac glitter for the perfect marriage of fashion and fun.

Knees Up

Inspiration: A smashing metallic red for getting smashed in.
Detail: Brit slang for a drunken party.

Butter London A/W 2011 will be available instore at Harvey Nichols and online at The Powder Rooms.  Priced £12.00

What do you think of the new collection?  Any must-haves, disappointments or “mehs”?  Stay tuned later in the week for my interview with Nonie!

You may remind yourself frequently that for reasons beyond your control, it just wasn’t meant to be… but still, late at night as you find yourself in that transitional world between wakefulness and sleep, your mind wanders.  The imagery remains as fresh today as it was nearly 24 months ago, the longing sometimes even stronger.

There will always be a missing piece to the puzzle, never adequtely filled no matter how many attempts we may make to replace it.  We could spend thousands of pounds and travel far and wide to discover a suitable sucessor.  But the question remains… “What if?”

You didn’t think I was talking about a *man* did you?  Pfft.

I didn’t pick either palette up (and I love them both) when they were available because there was simply TOO much from Dior Holiday that had made my wishlist.  I bit my lip as I told myself they were too expensive when I’d already Xmas hauled, a classic angel/devil shoulder combination.  On this occasion, I should have let the devil win.

And so it will remain for now, Dior Jazz Club palettes… the ones that got away.

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Do you have a sorry tale to tell of the Limited Edition item(s) you still wish you’d splurged on?

An oldie because my nails haven’t been this long for nearly a year but they do show off this gorgeous shade quite well (even if I do vainly say so myself!)

Butter London Scoundrel is a muted, warm lilac which sits nicely against cool skin tones like mine.  It’s one of my favourites from the brand and applies well without issues.

Look out next week because I’ve got a special interview with Butter London’s Founding Creative Director Nonie Creme and some Autumn/Winter 2011 previews for you!

Have a great Bank Holiday weekend party people! xx

There’s not long left if you wanted to stock up on this Impulse/BarryM offer…

Don’t know what I’m talking about?

For a limited period, Impulse have joined forces with BarryM to combine three of their best-selling scents with three lipgloss shades!  Touted as a handbag essential, the body fragrance/lipgloss duos are selling for the quite remarkable price of £3.00 each.

Your choices are…

Very Pink which comes complete with a sumptuous strawberry scented and flavoured pale pink lip gloss.

Into Glamour which comes with a velvety vanilla clear lip gloss.

Tease completes the collection with a nude lip gloss in a delicious caramel flavour.

Now, it’s been a while since I’ve been the target audience for Impulse but I can recommend the nude BarryM lipgloss which is one of my favourites for toning down a bright lip (and that’s coming from a lipgloss hater!).

Available from Superdrug and Tesco until the 6th June, priced at £3.00 per duo.

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Have you picked up a set yet?  Great for storing up as stocking fillers!

I’m not a tutorial blogger, I don’t have the skills to teach anyone much about anything but I thought a few photos and a quick rundown of my experience with the Colorsport 30 Day Mascara might be useful to any scaredy-cats out there who are nervous about home tinting!

The kit contains enough product for ‘upto’ 16 applications but I found that I had lots left over when I used the amount suggested by the instructions.  Your mileage may vary!

I think this would make a great Summer holiday purchase to darken those lashes before you hit the pool.  No running mascara worries, how cool would that be?!

Here’s a shot of the products I assembled before attempting to dye my eyebrows with the kit.  I was feeling a little apprehensive and wanted to have everything to hand incase I panicked and wanted to wipe everything off halfway through!

Cotton Buds for application on my eyebrows.

Lanolips to protect the skin around my eyebrows from being dyed too!  You could replace the Lanolips with something less expensive like Vaseline or a heavy moisturiser (I would next time but had neither of those to hand!)

Oil Free Makeup Remover, I used my Bioderma Crealine.

Mascara Spoolie or an old mascara wand to run through my brows midway through the tint process.

Now it’s time to mix-up the solution…

stop sniggering…

The final mix should look something like the above.  Creamy and non-drippy!

I wiped my brows over with a wash of the non-oily makeup remover, smeared the Lanolips over the surrounding area and then painted the dye over my brow with a cotton bud (q-tip).

2 minutes later and a quick wipe-off with a dampened cotton pad… here’s a before and after shot.  Only the eyebrow on your right has been tinted.

The Results…

Well, it’s subtler than I expected… which I guess is a good thing really.  I’m not keen on the fact that it appears to have warmed up my naturally ashy brows.  The skin underneath the hair that has caught some of the dye and I expect will fade in a couple of days, it’s not hugely noticeable but I will gently exfoliate the skin tomorrow to speed up the fade.

They also have a version in black which I was concerned might be too harsh for me but now I think it could work well with less developing time until I’m more confident in the results.

Other things to note…

The application/mixing wand provided with the kit isn’t up to the job.  It’s not unusable but you will probably end up reaching for something else to use instead.

I experienced no irritation or sensitivity with this product and was careful to conduct a skin sensitivity test 48hrs before use.

Overall…

I’m really enthused by how easy and quick the process was compared to how I imagined it.  Neither was it messy or particularly fiddly… it was quite good fun!

I think it would most benefit people with fair brows and lashes.  On me, the difference wasn’t huge on either my lashes or my brows.  I would recommend the Colorsport 30 Day Mascara Eyelash & Brow Dye Kit but with a caveat about the dark brown being quite warming.

Colorsport 30 day Mascara Eyelash & Brow Dye Kit is available to purchase instore or online from Boots where it is 1/3 off at only £5.44 a pack.  (usual price £8.16)

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Do you tint your eyebrows or lashes at home?

* this is a review of a PR sample

It’s all go over at Batiste towers this week…

BIGGER CANS!

They’ve listened to the fans and SUPERSIZED three of the most popular fragrances.

Original, Blush and Tropical scents can now be purchased in 400ml cans… that’s double the size of the standard versions and promises to deliver around 20 applications.

The new size cans will retail at £4.99 each which I’m assured, represents a saving of almost 17% if you opt for the larger size over the 200ml version.

NEW PACKAGING!

Even the original sizes are getting a makeover.  The 150ml cans will be increasing to 200ml as standard which does mean a slight price hike, but from my quick maths this is fairly in line with the increase in volume rather than a sneaky way to squeeze more pennies from us.  Cynical? Moi?

If you’re unsure what to look out for next time you go shopping… here’s a visual of the new packaging changes.  Can you spot your usual fragrance?

NEW PRODUCT!

Finally…

Batiste have introduced another new product to the ever-expanding range…

XXL Volume promises to “provide a volumising makeover to help transform dull or limp hair into big and bouncy locks“.  I achieve a fair volume boost from the original range but will be interested to see how this aids in wrangling my flat locks into big, pouffy hair styles!

Batiste XXL Volume retails at £3.99 for 200ml and will be available from Superdrug, Boots, Sainsbury’s and Independent Pharmacies from June.

Phew! I think they need a nice cup of tea and a lie down!

… get in my basket.  Well, maybe not ‘cos I’m pretty skint this month but I am genuinely having a hard time trying to decide what to get.  I’m not sold on the palette (pretty though it is) but I am a-hankering after either the beach tint in Guava or those powder blushes….

If you’ve got a spare 15 minutes, make yourself a cup of tea and have a look as the MUA runs us through the products in the collection courtesy of Zuneta’s great video.

Talking of BECCA, I currently can’t get enough of the BECCA Creme Blush in Hyacinth I bought earlier this year. It gives a fresh, dewy finish with a powder-dry formula once set.  Effortless “finger makeup” as I like to call it.  Boy am I getting lazy in my old age or what?

I suggest you check out Makeup4all for some great product shots from the new collection and ModestyBrown who has an awesome interview with BECCA’s founder Rebecca Morrice Williams.

Have you got your sights set on any new collections at the moment?  Spill the beans!

Bare Minerals have added a new shade to their popular High Shine Eye Color range just in time for Summer!

Rose Gold* is (as the name suggests) a pinked bronze that looks pretty damn awesome combined with a pair of green eyes (if I do say so myself!)

The pigment contains enough warmth to pop the green tones in my eyes whilst keeping the overall feel of the shadow to that of a more wearable neutral.

The applicator sadly still suffers from my original complaints against it and whilst lovely, I’m not making any claims that the shade is particularly undupable.   However, the formula is remarkably creamy and blends out beautifully with my fingers for a super-quick stroke of colour.

Bare Minerals High Shine Eye Color in Rose Gold will be available on counter and online from June priced at £15.

* Press Sample

How completely bloomin’ cheerful does this new Summer nail collection from Cosmetics A La Carte look huh?

The British company who are well-known for their bespoke makeup have released 5 bold shades that promise to extend this season’s hottest trends beyond our clothes!

Flash: An envious bright green
Inka: A warm shade of zesty tangerine
Viola: A tranquil lilac
Bonheur: A bold hot pink
Rhythm: A classic red go-to shade for timeless style.

Perfect poolside shades if ever I saw ’em!

The Cosmetics A La Carte Purely Floral collection are priced at £10 each and available to buy instore or online from their website.

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Do any of those shades set your fingertips a-quivering for Summer?

We don’t like it but we can at last be excused a bit of roughness in the Winter as the harsh weather takes its toll on our poor extremities.  Our hands are usually the first to succumb to the Gods of dry skin and those rough bits that catch on your sleeves *ouch!*

In the Summer though, there really is no excuses for general skin dryness… so give yourself a helping hand and check out some of the hand creams below for a sure-fire way to get some silky softness back in your life!

Woods of Windsor True Rose Conditioning Hand and Nail Cream 125ml (£7.75)*

A lighter option for those who dislike the heavy feeling of cream on their hands.  This Woods of Windsor lotion absorbs quickly and efficiently whilst leaving behind a delicate rose scent.  I recommend keeping this one nearby though as you’ll need to top up regularly to ensure long-lasting softness.

Bliss High Intensity Hand Cream 75ml (£18.40)

I picked this up in Debenhams a little while ago and true to its name, the Bliss High Intensity Hand Cream delivers a welcome boost of moisturisation which means I can apply at night before bed and wake up in the morning with noticeably smoother digits.  A good choice to stash in the bedside table but perhaps not for you if you dislike the feeling of a rich cream on your hands.

Liz Earle Hand Repair 150ml (£19.65)*

If greasy residues are your main concern, the Liz Earle Hand Repair is the product you need!  The larger sizes come with a convenient pump dispenser which releases a rich, awesome smelling (as you’d expect) hand cream.  It absorbs with blistering speed, leaving my hands feeling silky to the touch.  Not as heavy duty in the moisturisation department as some, I’d recommend this for those with normal/dry skin concerns.

All for Eve Hand Cream 100ml (£7.50)

My top pick for Summer hand creams is the All for Eve offering I bought last month.  I keep this at my computer and would recommend this as the perfect every day hand cream.  It smells delicious, leans toward a lighter, more easily absorbed formula and at under £8 for a generous 100ml, it’s a bargain!  And don’t forget that all proceeds from ‘all for eve’ products go towards ‘The Eve Appeal’ fund.

Heathcote & Ivory Vintage Mimosa Mini Hand Creams 30ml (£4.00 for 3)*

Super cute mini hand cream that’s perfectly sized for some handbag toteing!  This Heathcote & Ivory Vintage Hand Cream is surprisingly potent for the money.  Again, more suited to normal/dry skin than those in need of severe replenishment, I particularly love the Shea Butter based formula which spreads itself thinly without taking all day to sink in!

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If you’re in particular need for something a little more intense, you might also be interested in taking a look at my review of the Lanolips Rose Balm Intense.

Are you getting your skin in shape for Summer?  What are your favourite hand creams at the moment?

* Denotes PR Sample

Is it a berry?  Is it a pink?  Can we call it a berry pink and be done with it?

Ciate Main Stage is a lovely rosy pink (I thought we were going with berry?) shade.  I do love pink… not for my clothes or things around me but chuck a pink lippie or polish at me and I’ll doll myself up quicker than Barbie would topple over were she made of flesh and bones.

As with most Ciates, the formula leans a little thick but gives great coverage.  Shown above without a top coat.

Ciate Main Stage is available to buy online from PowderRooms priced at £9.00

Oooh la la, American Apparel are serving us up a Summer scorcher with these new neon polishes…

A total of SIX new blisteringly bright shades are now available and I’m just a little bit excited by the thought of a Neon Red. (ok, a lot excited!)

The new shades are: Neon Orange, Neon Violet, Neon Green, Neon Coral, Neon Red and Neon Yellow.

Priced at £7.00 each and available to buy online or in store.  Up and at ’em!