Thanks so much to each and every one of you who entered the Beauty Blender Giveaway which was kindly sponsored by Just Beauty Direct.
The correct answer was of course: The Daily Telegraph!
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And the 3 lucky readers to bag a super-duper Beauty Blender each are…
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Anne (abrit@xxxxxx.com)
Kimberley (Kimberley.Philpotts@xxxx.com)
Rebecca (nailsnailsetc@xxxxxxxxxx.com)
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With nearly 450 entries, I have never in my life wished so hard that I could give each of you a Beauty Blender. Commiserations to those who weren’t lucky this time round , but never fear – I have another giveaway coming up later today.
I’ll email the winners directly this evening, so if your name is up there and you haven’t heard from me by tomorrow – please get in touch ASAP!
Due to be launched on QVC on the 10th July (that’s just a few days away!), Matte is the latest foundation to be released by mineral foundation pioneers Bare Escentuals.
Available in 15 shades to suit every skintone, I purchased my pot of Bare Escentuals Matte SPF15 (shade: Fair) in a blog sale a little while ago and have been putting it to good use in the warm weather we’ve recently been enjoying.
Just as finely milled as the original version, the foundation feels silky and light to the touch. I’m starting to realise there’s a bit of a love/hate vibe around mineral foundation. I will happily swear by the coverage it gives and I rarely get a cakey finish when wearing it. Infact, I’ve often (ok, twice) been asked what foundation I’m wearing when shopping on beauty counters and both times when I’ve replied with the answer ‘mineral’ – the look of shock from the SA’s has been in “kodak moment” territory.
As with the original Bare Escentuals SPF15 foundation, I’d call this medium coverage. You *can* build, but that’s when you begin to run the risk of it looking more obvious, especially on dryer skin. You can purchase fuller and more sheer mineral foundations, it all depends on the ratio of the minerals, but Bare Escentuals in my opinion, offers straight down the line medium coverage.
An irritation with mineral anything, is packaging and portability. In the past, Bare Escentuals foundations have been fine sitting on your dressing table… but take it anywhere without sellotaping up the holes in the sifter? BIG MESS! The new Bare Escentuals Matte foundation offers a very simple solution that quite frankly, should have been implemented years ago…
A little rotating lid like you’d find on your pepper pots covers the holes in the sifter and stops excess product leaking during transportation. I told you it was simple!
Application is the same for the new Bare Escentuals Matte foundation as it is for the original. Swirl, Tap, Buff!
Mineral still affords me the quickest and most forgiving of foundation applications. I have a few great brushes for application: My Body Shop kabuki, my MAC Flat Top 180 or my Bare Escentuals Full Flawless Face Brush. They all work equally well to provide an even finish, though flat top brushes tend to give a fuller coverage.
I’ve talked about application, packaging and my experiences with mineral foundation in general… let me tell you how I find the new Matte version in comparison to the Bare Escentuals original formula.
On initial application, it is indeed a completely matte finish (thanks to additional oil-absorbing minerals)… it wipes out all traces of shine and oil from my skin, leaving a wonderfully even surface. The original leaves me with a touch of…. not sparkle, that’s comletely the wrong word. Natural luminosity? I would say that if you have more mature skin, you may prefer the more forgiving finish of the original formula. If your skin is younger and more prone to oil… the Matte formula is something you should definitely try. Alternatively, something I’ve had success with is wearing my original formula lightly all over before buffing a little Matte into my T-Zone.
I’ll share a little tip that SJ (Bare Escentuals National MUA) told me when I was introduced to the new foundation. If, in the middle of the day… you think you need a little foundation touch up, grab a brush and simply buff your face with it (no product). It re-distributes the minerals that are already on your face from the initial application and simply recharges your foundation. It totally works and is something that I’ve always done with minerals anyway… but it seemed funny to hear a proper MUA confirm something that I do without any thought as to why or how it works. Silly anecdote, but a tip is a tip!
Here’s a before/after application with the new Matte foundation (no concealer):
Longevity? Well… that’s my other bugbear with mineral foundations. It’s a shame that I have to take a brush and buff my face in the middle of the day… but I do. Bare Escentuals Matte foundation is no different and generally lasts about 5 hours on me before I need a pitstop to the Ladies with my brush in hand to ‘redistribute’ the powder. Then, I probably get another 3/4 hours out of that before I wanna apply more product.
The nature of the product however, means that it doesn’t matter if I apply a bit more over the top of the rest of my makeup. It has no ill-effect at all and now that Bare Escentuals has made it portable… well, it’s just not much of an issue for me anymore. Worth mentioning though.
Overall, it’s not an improvement on the Bare Escentuals Original foundation (bar the new sifter)… but it does sit very nicely alongside, offering an additional choice which may or may not be for you depending on your skin type.
Bare Escentuals Matte SPF15 Foundation will launch on 10th July exclusively on QVC priced at £19.50.
I tossed a coin. You get to see my hairy legs. Or, leg even. Just below the knee… to the right of the 2nd thread vein from the left.
I dunno why I watermarked it, it’s not like I wanna claim it as mine.
Random Internet User: “Hey, lady… is this your photo of your pasty white leg with dry skin and multiple hairs protruding from one follicle (you freak)”.
Me: “Um, nope… no, doesn’t look like one of mine”.
Random Internet User: “But it says here… Lipglossiping.com”
Me: “…”
On the positive side… we’re kinda meant to have hairy legs. I feel normal posting this in comparison to the hairy chin pics.
Until I can put the The Boots Smooth Skin to work on maintaining my facial in-clinic laser hair removal, I thought I’d best put it to good use on some other hirsute part of my anatomy. Stop making gagging noises and be bloody grateful you were spared the bikini line bitches.
So this is the benchmark, here we are. Day One. Well, not day one… this photo shows about 4 days worth of growth actually. I’ve done my test patch and I’m good to go…. raring even.
I’m a little bit sad that I can’t fake tan my legs whilst I’m zapping but in the grand scheme of things, I’d rather be white than hairy.
Hmmm… that makes this post sound far more dramatic and exciting than it actually is.
Perhaps if myself and VexintheCity hadn’t been gently chaperoned to the exit when it was time to go home, I’d have had the opportunity to ‘lose myself’ and run around QVC HQ in a style akin to Mission Impossible… camera flailing… whilst being chased by 3 burly security guards and papping Dale, (the ‘Housewive’s Choice’) secretly devouring all the biscuits in the QVC kitchen.
Not that it wasn’t exciting or interesting… It was! But the one thing that struck me above all else was simply how quiet and relaxed the place was. Now, I know we arrived after ‘home time’ for most, so the offices were understandably peaceful… but the live studios were also incredibly relaxed, almost serene.
Anyway, let’s have a look around…
The offices… where all the model booking, show planning, product organising and general adminy stuff takes place.
The prep room! Like a well-oiled machine… all the trolleys get stacked with products relevant to the show they’re destined to appear in. This is the beauty trolley for that evening’s 10 o’clock airing. I spy Decleor, Nails Inc, Bare Escentuals and other lovely things.
The prep Kitchen! They were showcasing utensils and a range of cookware. Gotta have some food to put in ’em right? It was HOT in there, but the gorgeous foodie aromas that were wafting down the corridor were immense!
Check me out, I done a panoramamama! What a geek! (Click the picture to see it LARGE)
This is one of the studios (I forget which number – there’s 6 in total I think). QVC headquarters and studios will be relocating in the next couple of years to Chiswick. Their current location was never supposed to be permanent, though they’ve been there 17 yrs now!
The building they’re in wasn’t designed to house studios. Natural light floods in from the atrium above and needs to be blacked out and checked before they go live each time, which obviously isn’t ideal.
Oh, oh, oh! We got to stand behind the cameras whilst a show was going out live! Mobile phones OFF and super quiet creeping about was the order of the day. At one point, I had to physically restrain VexintheCity who admitted an overwhelming urge to run infront of the camera waving her arms about like some day-release. I would have TOTALLY pretended not to know her.
As I said earlier, the studios were really quiet…. even the live ones. Imagine it… big room, two presenters, 1 floor manager (have I made that job title up?) and 1 camera man. That’s it. Eerie! It was pure QVC cheese too… I loved it. Jilly Halliday was demonstrating some funky *cough* clothing, whilst Dale Franklin was asserting his charm over the nation’s ladies, encouraging us to part with our cash for some of the latest and greatest jewellery on display. Flippin’ fabulous!
Control Room/Production-y bit…. Like the bridge of the Starship Enterprise! Lots of buttons…. wanted to dive forward and press a couple. Accidentally slip and sit on about 20 at once, you know the score. I behaved myself.
This lady was watching Dale do the jewellery presentation… she was nice. Are you still with me? Hello? Hellooo?
After all that tour excitement, we retired upstairs to where Bare Escentuals had set up a little room to give us a sneak preview of their new (to the UK) matte foundation. I’d had the pleasure of meeting their national makeup artist SJ previously but it was good to see her work her magic again.
Bare Escentuals Matte is due for release on QVC on the 10th July… we were given a sample, but I’ve already got a pot (in a better colour match) that I scored in a blog sale a month ago. I promise to review it before it releases over here (tick tock). It’s a great alternative for those among us who like the idea of mineral makeup but dislike the dewy finish that minerals tend to give. I predict it’s gonna be a big seller throughout the Summer.
SJ getting to work on the beautiful Keren who’s currently guest blogging for Lindsey at Beauty Mecca.
And the finished result. Subtle but flawless.
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It was a fabulously fun evening and a real change from the norm for me. I hope you enjoyed a little sneak peek behind the scenes. Don’t forget, it’s beauty month at QVC… there’s lots of tempting TSVs coming up and check out the Bare Escentuals big Matte launch day on the 10th July.
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For more info on what you can expect from QVC’s Beauty Month, watch this video with Alison Young below:
My love for these Aussie tubes of lip-loving lanolin have been well documented on this here blog and I’m excited to announce that from September we need go no further than the high street to get our hands on them!
Lanolips will be launching in the top 22 Boots stores starting in September before (hopefully) being rolled out to other stores nationwide later in the year.
The original non-coloured 101 ointment (my fav!) will be priced at £10.99 with the sheer coloured lip-ointments retailing for slightly less.
Here’s my other recent purchase, I’m currently hiding the invoice email in a folder I never venture into. Out of sight out of mind right?
Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick in Rose (£29.50) is a much cooler toned blush/highlight. It’s slightly less pigmented than Nectar and also a touch more metallic (though equally beautiful).
The white shade is opalescent… it has that pearly pink thing going on, very pretty!
I’m still working out how best to wear these, if you have any tips or blush combinations that work for you… be sure to let me know!
I paid £16 for my Rose Shimmer Brick (unboxed) from StrawberryNET.
NOTES
* Competition will close at 11pm (BST) on the 8th July
* Competition is open internationally
* Winners will be selected at random from all correct entries
* Winners will be notified by email on the 9th July
* 1 entry per email address accepted
* Email addresses are not used for anything other than to conact the winner and will not be kept once the competition is closed
From the 25th June – 22nd July 2010, Clinique are offering custom fit skincare consultations.
Pop along to your nearest counter and they will help you determine your skin care needs. Whilst stock lasts, you will receive one of five concern kits, free with any two skin care purchases.
For images and specific kit info, read more after the cut…
I attempted a Twiggy-esque look last night in preparation for tonight’s Aussome 60s shindig. Thank you so much for your fab suggestions and inspiration…
But it turns out that baby L wasn’t feeling any better today so I didn’t make it up to London for my swanky night out and late morning lie-in after all.
Instead, I’m having the dullest 60s party imaginable. At home.
On the plus side, I have Appletiser, butter popcorn and full ownership of the remote control. Life is good really.
Tomorrow signals the start of another giveaway (non-facebook this time, I’m keeping you on your toes!)… it’s a good’un. No really… You don’t wanna miss it!
I’ve been getting in the mood for Thursday by listening to the classics…
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Would you lovely ladies mind sharing your favourite 60s makeup tutorials and looks that you’ve come across? I know that some of you are confirmed You Tube addicts… eh Liloo?
I’d love to have a go at recreating a 60s inspired look for the evening!
