A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

What is it?

This year, Estee Lauder’s Pink Ribbon Collection includes:

The Evelyn Lauder Lip Set.  Featuring a pink clutch and Pure Color Lipstick in Evelyn Wildly Pink.

Perfectionist (CP+) Wrinkle Lifting Serum 50ml with Charms.  A limited edition Perfectionist serum featuring a reusable keychain with charms inscribed with ‘Estée Lauder Breast Cancer Awareness 2011’.

The Elizabeth Hurley Lip Set.  A stylish pink evening bag containing Pure Color Lipstick in Elizabeth Lavish Pink

How much is it?

The Evelyn Lauder Lip Set – £18.50
Perfectionist (CP+) Wrinkle Lifting Serum 50ml with Charms – £63.50
The Elizabeth Hurley Lip Set – £18.50

How much of our money goes to supporting PINK projects?

£5.00 from each purchase of The Lip Sets in the UK will be donated to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

£10.00 from each purchase of Perfectionist (CP+) Wrinkle Lifting Serum 50ml with Charms in the UK will be donated to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

How do I get it?

Available nationwide throughout October, while stocks last.

Always a sucker for a bargain, I dived in head first when ELF recently cut the prices of their new(ish) Studio Matte Lip Colors to £1 a piece.  I jumped on them more because I love lipsticks in pen form than because I love matte formulas.  Let’s face it, matte formulas can be tricky to wear unless you’re 14 and addicted to Carmex.

Currently available on the UK website in four neutral shades, I grabbed the lot (and some nail polishes that I’ll probably never get round to blogging).

Tea Rose, Coral, Praline and Natural are the four shades available to purchase.

Here’s what they look like in the tubes…

For what it’s worth, I really like the packaging on these.  The simple and minimalistic black casing defies their £3.50 price tag.  The lids click to a tight, flush close and the twist mechanism feels like it will go the distance.  No complaints from me.

The formula on these didn’t vary too much between shades.  I found Praline perhaps gave the most drag during application, a little less creamy than the others but probably my favourite to wear because it looked the least chalky once applied.

Tea Rose was the creamiest but I felt that the colour was a little off, it’s quite mauve based which made my lips look a little… dead.

Coral looks far more apricot than a true coral shade in my humble opinion and Natural is easily the most nude for my complexion.  They’re a good, solid bunch of lip-neutral shades and I think most should be able to find one shade from the selection that will suit their skintones well.

And the lip swatches…

I know I usually do a full-face shot with lip swatches for context but none of them flattered me and I have a huge zit on my chin that has been there (without a head) for the past week – some days, you just can’t face those pesky FOTDs and today was one of them.  I also thought the close up might be useful so that you can see just how ‘drying’ each shade appears on the lips.

The paler shades definitely come out a little chalky looking, something that would easily be remedied by a touch of lipgloss to conceal those furrows.  In terms of comfort, I didn’t actually find them particularly drying on the lips which is testament to a quality purchase from the budget brand, however, I wouldn’t describe them as moisturising either.  Just your standard, good quality matte lipstick.

The ELF Studio Matte Lip Colors taste very fruity but are not particularly scented, something which surprised me (on both counts).  The taste, although synthetic, is pleasant enough…. similar to what you’d expect from something like a chapstick.

Overall, and for the money, I can’t really fault them too much.  Sure, I’m not really a fan of how the colours turned out against my skintone but that’s personal preference… throw me a red or hot pink and this could well have been a gushing post of epic proportions.  I’d say, give ’em a go – you might just find your holy grail nude matte lip!

ELF Studio Matte Lip Colors are available to purchase online at the ELF website, priced at £3.50 each.

What is it?

A 3 piece collection of Elemis’ hero skincare products neatly presented in a BRIGHT PINK travel case!

Pro Collagen Marine Cream (30ml)
Pro Collagen Lifting Treatment Neck and Bust (15ml)
Skin Nourishing Shower Cream (50ml)

How much is it?

The set retails at £29.90, saving 50% off the usual prices.

How much of your money goes to PINK projects?

Elemis have pledged a donation of £10,000 this October to Breast Cancer Care.

How do I get it?

The Elemis Think Pink Beauty Kit is available to buy online from timetospa.co.uk or in spas/salons and selected department stores.

As I write this, the webshop for Fyrinnae is open.  It won’t be for long… that’s about as certain as death, taxes and all that other stuff.  From a convenience and CS point of view, they’re not my favourite company to deal with but it’s undeniable that they make some very, very pretty shadows indeed.

Here are some of my favourites:

Yep, it’s all about the neutrals and purples as far as I’m concerned!

If I had to narrow it down to my three most used Fyrinnae shades?  I’d say: Knickers in a Twist, Forbidden Lover and Beholder.

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Do you love Fyrinnae?  What is your most used Fyrinnae shade?

Fancy a new luxury skincare regime to ease you gently into the cooler months?  How about saving around 60% while you’re at it?

For today only, you can pick up an Elemis Tri-Enzyme three-piece set on QVC for a hugely discounted price of £44.80

Let me show you how the saving works out.  For a total of £44.80, you get…

1 x Elemis Tri-Enzyme Resurfacing Facial Wash (200ml) – RRP: £28.00 (roughly)
1 x Elemis Tri-Enzyme Resurfacing Gel Mask (50ml) – RRP: £46.00
1 x Elemis Tri-Enzyme Resurfacing Night Cream (50ml) – RRP: £41 (roughly)

Combined, the usual RRP on these three products would be approximately £115!

If you’d like to read a review of the mask, I featured it last year – also be sure to read the comments because there’s some interesting additional input from an esthetician AND a biochemist!

If I hadn’t just bought myself a new lens for my camera this week (£320 ouch), I would be having a little splurge today.

Do you ever take advantage of the TSVs on QVC?

Elemis have recently introduced a new bodycare concept to the brand’s repertoire with Sp@home, a range designed to turn the mundane into something a little more indulgent, helping you to create your very own Elemis spa, at home!

Based around FIVE main categories, the Sp@home range includes everything you need to recreate a more therapeutic experience in your own bathroom.  From bath elixirs to hand lotions, hard-working body oils to temple balms for instant relaxation.  They’ve even developed a new room mist to help create the perfect atmosphere.

Infact, the room mist has become a surprising favourite for me.  I was worried it might be a little bit overpowering, like walking into a very alternative crack den!  My (slightly mental) fears were misguided because the Quiet Mind Room Mist* is gorgeous and for something that I considered a bit ‘unecessary’, I’m going through my bottle at a rate of knots.  Infact, it hasn’t even made it back onto my dressing table because I keep it on the floor by my bed so I can spritz my pillow before I climb in!

The Tranquil Touch range is destined for best-seller status with some of the best patchouli-based aromatics I’ve had the pleasure of sniffing.  Warming, woody and creamy with great depth and complexity that you wouldn’t expect to find in a range of bodycare products.

Prices start from around £14.00 but there’s a rather decent offer on at TimeToSpa.co.uk for the whole of August…

If you spend over £50 on the website, you can choose a full size Sp@home shower gel worth up to £20.50.  And let’s face up to it, it’s not exactly difficult to spend £50 on Elemis now is it?

Do you make attempts at recreating the spa experience in your own home?  What’s your favourite product to get you in the mood for a bit of pampering?

* press sample

The second of the three new hair styling tools from Enrapture due to be released on the 15th August is the Enrapture Amplify Jumbo Waver*.  An odd-looking device with a trio of barrels that promise to coax your hair into a series of smooth “S” shapes, a.k.a “beachy” waves.

In theory, we’ve been here before.  I recently tried the Babyliss Wave Envy which although thoroughly impressive in design, abilities and price, left me with more of a ‘crimp’ than a ‘wave’.

These bad boys boast an impressive 25mm barrel (hence the Jumbo!) which means that they should ensure less crimping and more waving!

They’re heavy but not ‘too’ heavy to hold comfortably.  I found them a little unwieldy around the back of my head but I do have fairly short arms and a distinct lack of co-ordination.  The ‘flipper’ which controls the open/close mechanism on the waver is well engineered, with a light almost springy reaction.  This makes sure you don’t get thumb ache when ‘waving’!

The barrels are made from titanium which promises to give a smooth and snag free styling experience and I can’t argue with that as I experienced no issues with dragging or catching on my hair as I moved the styler through various sections.

It has an adjustable heat setting which I would have preferred to see digitised with actual temperature detailing so I could judge exactly how hot the tool was getting.  On the flipside, the controls are ridiculously simple.  An on/off switch and a heat dial.  Thassit.

So how did I get on with the styler?

Well… pretty well actually.  Similarly to the Babyliss, it’s ridiculously easy to use from a technical point of view.  I’m sure you’re ‘supposed’ to section your hair into accurate little pieces but I just fed handfuls of it willy-nilly into the jaws of the styler, clamped, moved down the hair shaft, clamped again… repeat until you run out of hair.

And that’s all I did.  I’m one of those ‘stylers’ who often start with the best of intentions.  All my little clips, brush, heat protection sprays surrounding me.  After about 7 minutes I’m just shoving my hair AT the styling tool and hoping for the best.

I was done in 10 minutes which goes against the brand’s ethos of “When everyday hair just isn’t enough” because I’d politely suggest that this is perfect everyday hair.  Everyday ‘tousled’ hair.

Wanna see what I managed to get from the Enrapture Amplify Jumbo Waver?

I had it on the ‘non-commital’ halfway heat setting as shown in the above photo and held the clamp shut for around 10 seconds.  That’s probably too long or something but my hair doesn’t seem to be complaining… I’ll try turning the temperature up and clamping for less time next attempt.

I’m really digging this styler, it solves the crimping problems I found with the Babyliss (albeit at a heftier price tag).

The Enrapture Amplify Jumbo Waver is set to launch this month into all major retailers (Boots, Argos, Debenhams etc.) with an RRP of £74.95 – for more information, check out www.enrapturehair.com or talk to the hair gurus on Facebook or Twitter

* press sample

Estee Lauder’s Autumn 2011 collection goes by the name Modern Mercury and includes three limited edition Pure Color Liquid Eyeliners in a trio of metallic shades.

I’ve got one of the three shades here to show you: Graphite.  A sparkling charcoal with multi-coloured shimmer that makes such a lovely change from black.  I’m already a big fan of charcoal eyeliner, it provides a softer look that still carries a bit of impact.  Infact, I’m wearing my Lord & Berry in this post on another item from the Modern Mercury collection!

Long-handled, slender and well-designed with a flexible, soft nib for drawing precision lines, the Graphite liquid liner ticks most of the boxes.  I prefer this design to spindly brushes or chunky nibs as I find they offer the greatest compromise between control and precision.

The inky formula is well pigmented and opaque within two strokes.  It dries very quickly to a smudge-proof, water-proof finish providing a metallic gleam that manages to avoid the ‘wet-look’.

It’s all great so far huh?  Except, there is one problem… it flakes.  You’ll get to around 90% satisfaction before this bothers you but really?  It shouldn’t flake at all and it’s a bugbear for me.  It won’t stop me wearing it but it will stop me wearing it with complete confidence.  The above photo was taken about 5 hours into my day and you can see that it’s holding up pretty well but there is evidence of some flaking going on… a few specks around my eyes and a little caught in my eyelashes.

You can’t see in the above photo but the top edge of the line is no longer perfect, this is the first area to show signs of wear.  I’m being pernickity (as always) but when I’m reviewing an eyeliner that costs £19.00 – it’s only right that I am.

How about some comparisons?  I dug around in my eyeliner drawer (it’s only a little drawer, I’m not completely mad) and pulled out a few that seemed fairly close (ok, the last one is MILES off!):

1.  Barry M Metallic Liquid Eyeliner #1
2.  Chantecaille Luminous Eye Liner in Pianissimo
3.  Estee Lauder Pure Color Liquid Eyeliner in Graphite
4.  Lord & Berry Liquid Eyeliner in Slate
5.  Chantecaille Luminous Eye Liner in Allegro
6.  NARS Liquid Eyeliner in Bullitt

Most of these are now discontinued but luckily, the one that bears the closest resemblance isn’t!  Again, it’s Barry M that’s coming up to be the nearest in terms of shade duping so if you’re on a budget, check it out!

Estee Lauder Pure Color Liquid Eyeliner in Graphite (£19.00) is available on counter now and online at Estee Lauder.

Do you wear grey eyeliner?  What’s your favourite?

Ecorganic – each time I look at that word, my fingers itch for an extra ‘O’ and a hyphen…

I’ve been trying this ECOCERT certified night cream for the last month.  It hails from Swedish brand Estelle & Thild who have recently launched in the UK exclusively at Urban Retreat in Harrods and online at Beautique.com.  It’s one of those brands that exude loveliness… beautifully packaged, whimsical designs, natural ingredients and this night cream is no exception.

From the Estelle & Thild Rose Otto Age Prevent Line, the night cream* is rich and nourishing without sitting on the surface of my skin all night.  I’m actually not convinced it’s quite rich enough for my skin in the winter but can’t deny that it’s pretty much the perfect formula for these warmer months.

I do have one problem with this product though: it stinks.  It took me a little while to pin it down… infact, it was Mr. L who hit the nail on the head when he leant into me one evening and sniffed my face: “Why do you smell like a freshly painted room?”

Not just any paint either, we’re talking gloss which is really a big shame because if it weren’t for this simple olfactory issue, I’d be tempted to give it top marks.  I feel especially mean when you consider that the reason it smells like the inside of the Dulux factory is probably because it’s completely lacking in the crap that would otherwise synthetically scent it.

I’ve been persevering with the smell simply because I like the results I’m seeing from daily use.  Upon waking, my skin tone is remarkably more even and although I can’t say I’ve seen any particular anti-aging benefits from it, I can tell that it’s a ‘calming’ formula for my reactive skin.  I’ll be taking a closer look at the brand’s popular ‘baby’ line for when L’s eczema starts playing up this winter.

Estelle & Thild Ecorganic Night Cream is priced at £46 for 50ml and available online at Beautique.com where you can check out the rest of the range with prices starting from only £14.00

* press sample

I was sure I’d already blogged about my Guerlain Météorites Perles?  I mean, there aren’t many items I use so frequently but this is one of the ones I reach for almost every morning.

And for one, it’s a pure joy just to reach for… look…

I bought the shade 01 Teint Rosé back in March when I had a coupon code for StrawberryNet.  I’d been lusting after them forever but money-off was the final push I needed to take the plunge!

The metal tin houses 100s? (I’m not counting them) of little powder balls in a variety of lilac, green, pink, yellow and white shades that promise to colour-correct and impart a healthy glow.  It also smells like a giant parma violet.

I use this in conjunction with my Trish McEvoy powder brush #5 to swirl before lightly buffing over my face.  My personal preference is to use this when I’ve finished applying my makeup… it gives a very light covering so I consider it my ‘finishing’ powder.  To my eye, it adds luminosity and a slight soft-focus finish.  You might be interested to hear that the other product I use (when I’m not using this) is ELF’s HD Powder.  Eclectic.

Guerlain Météorites occasionally comes under accusations of being a bit “Emperors New Clothes” but all I can say about it is that it’s one of my very few Holy Grail items and will last me for (literally) many years, making its hefty price tag seem a little more justifiable.

Do you use Guerlain Météorites?  Love it?  Think it’s massively over-rated?

Estee Lauder’s Autumn 2011 collection goes by the name Modern Mercury and features three limited edition matte lipsticks that are perfect for bold-textured lips as the longer nights begin to draw in.

I have one of the three shades: Fuchsia Velvet (£18.50), a hot, hawt pink with violet/blue leanings.  It’s as matte as they come and with a depth of pigmentation that will beat most lipsticks into the ground.  Have a look:

please excuse the blotchy “just been threaded” eyebrow area

The texture is creamy but not too heavy on slip, I recommend a lip brush to apply (my favourite is by Lancome) such bold shades.  If you don’t like such a harsh line you can always soften it a little once it’s on there but I think this formula really benefits from being ‘worked’ into the lip a little with a good brush.

As a matte, it is a touch drying… it doesn’t suck my lips of moisture like some but it does feel a little uncomfortable after a couple of hours.  The flip-side to this is that it stays put.  Like, seriously.  I applied, blotted, applied and it saw me through an entire morning and a good amount of the afternoon.  This would make an excellent choice for evenings out or special occasions (I’m considering wearing it to Saturday’s wedding).

I thought I’d compare it to some of my other hot pinks (I like hot pinks).

1.  Estee Lauder Fuchsia Velvet
2.  Tom Ford Pure Pink
3.  Illamasqua Atomic
4.  Benefit Pillow Talk
5.  Barry M #145
6.  MUFE Rouge Artist Intense #36

If you’re on a budget, you’ll be pleased to hear that the BarryM is the closest alternative available to Estee Lauder’s Fuchsia Velvet but on my lips, the BarryM leans a little more cherry.

Estee Lauder Modern Mercury Collection is available to buy on counter and online now.

* press sample

en·rap·ture

verb /enˈrapCHər/

Give intense pleasure or joy to

Three new styling tools designed to give a variety of curls, waves and va-va-voom to your locks.  The new Enrapture range isn’t about the everyday, roll out of bed and make yourself look presentable.  The tools have been designed for when “everyday hair just isn’t enough”.

But what does that marketing guff actually mean?  Well, it means that this trio of hair styling tools has been created for those times when you want extra-special hair, going-out hair, sex-kitten hair (ok, I made that last one up) – you see what I’m getting at?  I wouldn’t use these on my hair before heading down to Lidl on a Friday morning because a).  By the time I’d mastered my ‘do’ the shop would be shut and b).  I might get chatted up by ‘Art’ the fruit n’ veg guy.

The tools in the range include:

Encode Totem Styler – A curling wand with a teeny flipper and independent heat zones to customize your curl.

Amplify Jumbo Waver – A waver with bigger-than-normal barrels to create beachy hair.

Extremity Heated Rollers – Heated rollers with the ability to heat hair from BOTH sides of the curl.

I’ll be reviewing all three tools but initially I want to show you the Encode Totem Styler* which at first glance looks rather complicated.

It’s basically a curling wand with the addition of a flipper (which you can choose to use or ignore) and three individually heated zones on the barrel that will heat to a temperature of your choosing.  The point of this is to give you the option to customise your curl.  Do you want a looser wave near the scalp getting tighter toward the end?  You need to dial in a 1-2-3 (1 being the lowest heat setting).

The styler incorporates a 25mm, titanium-plated barrel that ensures a fast heat-up and snag-free styling.  I did find the ‘cool-tip’ to be a little uncomfortably warm after around 10 minutes of styling, so that’s something I’d like to see improved in future versions but I can’t say I had any other ‘technical’ problems relating to the tool’s build quality.

The styler is light enough to hold comfortably for long periods of time and once you become accustomed to the way the coding system works, it’s all rather intuitive.

I can see a Facebook group in the company’s future, asking their fans to unlock their ‘codes’ and share their hair results with other users.  “Hey, check out my hair – I’m a 2-2-3!” etc. etc. – It’s a neat idea and whilst it could be a little gimmicky if it didn’t actually work, the whole independent heat zones provides tangible results so I’m not complaining.

Wouldn’t it be awesome if the styler came with 2 extra pairs of hands?

Well, I tried to recreate the Katie Melua-esque (in my dreams) curls that I was given at the launch event in the (dis)comfort of my own bedroom and for a novice,  I didn’t do too badly!  Sure, I may have given myself a minor scorching on the wrist but I’m not used to these wand things!

I’m looking forward to trying out some more coding combinations for different effects (the above was 1-2-3, loose-med-tight), I wanna know what a 2-3-2 would turn out like… it sounds weird in theory!

The Enrapture Encode Totem Styler is set to launch this month into all major retailers (Boots, Argos, Debenhams etc.) with an RRP of £74.99 (ouch) – for more information, check out www.enrapturehair.com or talk to the hair gurus on Facebook or Twitter

It’s all about big hair this year isn’t it?!  Do you curl your hair for special occasions?

* press sample