A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

Mid August… the kids are still off school (don’t we all know it?!) and for many of us, the Summer is just starting to wind down.  We’ve already indulged in some Autumn/Winter makeup collections and gladiator sandals just don’t seem that appealing anymore.

Here’s some of the products that have made my Summer more enjoyable and at times, bearable!

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Liz Earle Foot Spritzer – £7

Instant relief for hot, tired feet.  Simply spritz all over to cool and refresh.  I actually spray on my legs aswell, the cooling sensation is undeniable though the menthol is a touch overpowering for some.

Mr. L moans when I use it in an enclosed space, though he admits that he finds it preferable to the smell of my feet.

This special edition Summer product is only available until the 5th September, so not long to stock up.

Available online from Liz Earle..

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Bobbi Brown Illuminating Bronzing Powder – £23.50

I’m in love with both of my Bobbi Brown Illuminating Bronzing Powders (I also bought Maui this Summer).

Sheer with a touch of sparkle, Antigua blows my bronzing fear out of the water. The delicate pink shade sits realistically against my skintone and the buildable nature means that this is one product I won’t over-cook.

Available at counters nationwide or online.

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Mitchum Powder Fresh Roll On Deodorant – £2.79

If you’re looking for something to combat a particularly troublesome Summer issue, then Mitchum never lets me down.

The roll-on, “powder fresh” formula is my particular fav and for me, it really lives up to it’s claims of 48hr protection.

I don’t use this all year round, simply because I try to use something that contains less aluminium when I can get away with it.  But nothing will sway me from this product throughout the sweaty months.

Available from most supermarkets/chemists.

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Caudalie Organic Grape Water – £7

Another instant reliever for sweaty days, the can dispenses a fine mist that cools and refreshes. This was a lifesaver during a BBQ one warm evening after one of my Sk:n Laser Hair Removal sessions.

Extracted from grapes during the harvest the ingredient’s list reads: Grape Fruit Water, Grape Juice and Nitrogen. That’s it. Fabulous!

Available online from LookFantastic

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Tresemme Instant Refresh Dry Shampoo – £4.29

I’ve been reaching for this little can a lot over the last few weeks.  Tresemme’s take on the dry shampoo market is less “powdery” than the high street alternatives.  It dispenses a fine and completely clear mist that seems somehow more controllable than my Batiste.

However, it’s double the price…

I’ll repurchase with pleasure, but only when I find it on special offer.

Available from most supermarkets/chemists

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What products have been making your summer even more pleasurable?.

I’m a bit late with this one… oooooh about… *counts on fingers*…  8 months late?  Anyway… this was really doing the blog rounds back when Spring had barely sprung.

And I have to say… I don’t really get it?

I was expecting to see some magnificent colour shifting between the teal and green and there was nothing.  Ok, so it was slightly more green in some light, but really?  You U.S girls didn’t miss that much.

A true blackened colour, Mr. L had a hard time believing it was infact anything other than black polish on my tips.  Sparkle was VERY well hidden and the whole manicure looked a lot flatter than I had hoped it would.

Application wasn’t too problematic… 2 coats with a brush that was a little too firm for me.  The streaking on the first coat shocked me, the brush practically drags the polish across the nail bed.  A thicker 2nd coat solved this though.

Wear on Lancome’s Pop Petrol has been decent enough, no chips until the third day and tip wear (despite the v. dark colour) has been negligible.

This is a polish that I picked up from a counter bargain bucket last week.  Lancome are obviously shifting the last of their Spring collection, so if you wanted to get your hands on a shade that would happily suit Autumn/Winter – now’s the time to do it!  Original price £14.50, I paid half that.

Apologies to Bill Bryson for completely bastardizing his wonderful book title, but it stuck in my head and I couldn’t clear it for love nor chocolate.

I hope you’re sitting comfortably… this is gonna be a long one!

Last Thursday, I had the pleasure of visiting the Liz Earle Naturally Active Skincare HQ on the Isle of Wight.  The island is a stones throw from where I live in Hampshire… but I’ve only ever visited once before, and that was for a work trip that started at 9pm and finished at 6am.  I didn’t even get to see daybreak!  So, to say that I was excited at the prospect of revisiting is a bit of an understatement.

Stepping off the catamaran and onto Ryde pier was like stepping back in time.  Literally!  The trains they use to transfer passengers between the ferry landing point and the esplanade are 1980’s London Tube stock, complete with original upholstery.

Thankfully, the Liz Earle HQ is a little more modern!

Nicknamed “The Greenhouse” because of it’s ECO credentials, the building is heated and cooled thanks to some nifty geothermal technology and the loos are flushed with rainwater harvested from the roof!  The company even boasts a Green Team whose role is to oversee and brainstorm as many avenues as possible to ensure that Liz Earle as a company are leaving the lightest ecological footprints possible.

Our first stop was the Fulfilment Centre which takes up a huge area on the ground floor of the building.  This department alone employs over 130 people who handwrap each and every order that comes in.  There wasn’t a computerised ‘wrapping’ machine in sight!

I was keeping a very close eye on how those cylindrical bottles of Cleanse and Polish were being wrapped, but hands were moving far too quickly for my brain to process the steps!

The packaging and picking process is closely monitored at each stage so that any subsequent problems can be traced back to the source and addressed.  We were shown how similar-looking products can occasionally be confused by the picker if they’re placed too close to one another on the shelves.  With thousands of orders leaving the department each week, the fulfilment centre need to keep ontop of things and provide instant solutions to potential problems.

A picker completing the orders that were still flooding in just minutes before home time!

All the neatly wrapped products ready for picking and dispatch… I don’t know about you… but I’d struggle to tell them apart!

The staff in the fulfilment centre are frequently rotated to different stations and given different tasks to avoid common ‘factory’ problems such as R.S.I. – the atmosphere was jovial, though I think the sight of a bunch of (slightly-in-awe) bloggers taking such interest in their wrapping skills was the source of much amusement!

We followed up with a visit to the island store (spot for many a pilgrimage for die-hard Liz Earle fans!).  Union on Union Street in Ryde is a teeny tiny boutique store.  Barely bigger than my guest bedroom, but an absolute haven amongst the bustle of the other high street shops.  Despite it’s bijou appearance, they’ve paid clear attention to detail and design.  There’s a little station for hand and arm massages (as shown above) and an area complete with sink where customers can get a feel for the products they’re contemplating.

The well stocked shelves are inviting with all products displayed clearly.

A place to try the products… something more skincare companies should implement in their stores.

I could have spent a couple of hours in there, but our itinerary was busy and we were whisked back to The Greenhouse to continue on our ‘backstage’ tour!

Next stop was the 1st floor where we were able to say a quick hello to Jennifer Hirsch.  Surely, one of the most influential women at The Greenhouse… Jennifer is Liz Earle’s Botanical Research Manager responsible for researching the best quality botanical ingredients and working closely with the Product Development team to ensure that those ingredients end up in our products!  Fresh back from a research trip to Switzerland, alpine plants seem to be the flavour of the month with the Product Development lot!

I was also interested to learn from the PD team that Liz Earle rarely discontinue products.  Which means that they have to be cautious and careful to ensure they only create products that will enjoy a long term position within the product family.  Infact, the only product ever discontinued was a popular self-tanner that they decided to withdraw once legislation demanded one of the ingredients be animal tested.  Rather than comply and deviate from their ethical policies and commitment to no animal testing, they withdrew the product without delay.

The ongoing theme within the company, apparent every step of the way is their attention to detail.  It’s a meticulousness that transcends the everyday and culminates with the factoid that EVERYTHING is approved by joint founder Kim Buckland before being signed off.  From product placement through to signage, nothing gets the go ahead without being given the once over by the co-founder.  It’s a tight ship, but one that seems to be paying dividends.

A couple of the “thank you” cards on display in the Customer Centre which handles calls from all over the world and employs a crew of women who work late into the night to accommodate phonecalls from the U.S. and Canada.

The call centre staff are trained to offer general advice on skincare, botanical ingredients knowledge, product information, details about the Liz Earle philosophy and have even been known to impart a little local tourist advice to customers keen to make the pilgrimage!

One of the curios in the Customer Centre!  How dreadful is that old packaging?!  And it’s only from the late 90s… The turquoise is a slight improvement no?!

Enough of The Greenhouse!

It was time to meet the brand’s namesake at the Cleanse & Polish 15th Anniversary customer event!

The view from Biskra Beach House is pretty stunning.  You can see where the inspiration for the turquoise colour scheme came from!

The Beach House was the original setting for the company’s rise to success.  They only left these HQs for the purpose built Greenhouse a couple of years ago and the staff who have been there long enough to have worked at both locations had nothing but fond memories of working in such a beautiful setting.

The location quickly filled with locals who had been selected from the customer database and invited to come along and join in the celebrations.  The mood was uplifting and it was hard to suppress a smile at the good humour and banter that could be heard throughout the house and garden.  The average age of attendee was definitely toward the more mature end of the scale, which is probably a fair reflection of the brand’s supporters.  It was good to see a true representation… not the trendiest bunch of party goers, but definitely some of the most friendly!

There was an audible gasp and a crack of excitement in the air when Liz arrived to address the waiting guests.  She spoke informally for a while, thanking her guests and sharing some anecdotes from the brand’s past before making herself available to sign books and chat on a one to one basis.

We were led to an upstairs lounge to meet Liz who despite the hustle and bustle downstairs had put aside a surprising amount of time to chat with the three of us about her brand, it’s history and future visions.  She didn’t shy away from questions… and was happy to explain the brand’s decisions to use paraben preservatives and synthetic sandalwood oils.

We also discussed the recent partnership with Avon.  Liz was quick to assert that Avon would be indispensable in their quest to move the brand into wider global markets (China was mentioned) and that Liz Earle Naturally Active Skincare needed a partner with the knowledge and infrastructure that would allow such a transition.

Liz is a woman who’s fiercely protective of the brand she’s helped to create.  She (more than anyone) recognises that it’s this previously mentioned attention to detail, commitment to customer service and the island from which the brand was born, independent attitude and ethical philosophies that are the foundations to their success.  These things aren’t about to change for anyone, no matter how deep their pockets.

When Christmas packaging is done right, it’s a joy to behold.  There’s no other time of the year when packaging is more important… especially for lazy-ass people like me who will quite happily spend more on a present to avoid having to do battle with a roll of sellotape on Christmas Eve!

This is packaging done right:

L’Occitane will be bringing out an impressive range of Christmas gifts that will be sure to impress the women (or men!) in your life.  With gift sets starting from just £20, there’s a beautifully packaged set to suit most budgets.

Here’s what will be available:

1. Precious Immortelle Collection – £49.00

Immortelle essential oil is renowned for its anti-ageing virtues. A complete anti-ageing collection, for visible radiance and youthful looking skin.

Set includes:
Immortelle Precious Cream 50ml
Immortelle Brightening Cleansing Foam 50ml
Immortelle Eye Balm 5ml
Immortelle Very Precious Cream 3ml
Immortelle Essential Face Water 200ml

2. Delicate Cherry Blossom Collection – £46.00

L’Occitane’s Cherry Blossom fragrance range celebrates the poetic beauty of the cherry blossom and its delicate, feminine flowers…

Set includes:
Cherry Blossom Eau De Toilette 100ml
Cherry Blossom Shower Gel 250ml
Cherry Blossom Body Lotion 75ml
Cherry Blossom Soap 50g
Cherry Blossom Hand Cream 30ml

Read the rest of this entry »

Light Pink my bum.

I picked up the LUSH Colour Supplement in shade Light Pink a few months ago.  In theory, I love the idea.  A simple product that can be used in multiple ways?  I’ll let LUSH explain:

…Just mix into your favourite moisturiser for a natural tint or use on its own as a foundation. You can also dot a little around unsightly blemishes for effective coverage.

With Summer nearly upon us, I wanted a tinted moisturiser.  Well, I *thought* I wanted a tinted moisturiser.  TM’s are an odd beast… we love them in principle, but in reality?  We often crave more coverage.  I envisaged that with LUSH’s Colour Supplement, I would be able to custom mix my tinted moisturiser… adding extra product on days when I wanted a more flawless finish.

LUSH currently offer 4 shades.  Light Pink, Dark Pink, Light Yellow, Dark Yellow.  It’s not rocket science… and I like it that way.

Except that Light Pink isn’t very light.  And it’s not very pink either.

If you go to the dictionary… and open the page at “light pink”, you’d see a picture of me.

Oooh look, tide marks!

Better, but no cigar.

Otherwise?  I like the product.  It’s too drying for me to use neat as a concealer or foundation as LUSH suggest, but I loved having the ability to self-mix my tinted moisturiser in the mornings.  But sadly, the shades just aren’t right for me.

LUSH Colour Supplements are priced at an incredibly reasonable £7.50 for 20g.  That small pot will make a hell of a lot of TM.

Are you a fan?

What might I be talking about?

Gerard Butler has been announced as the new brand spokesman for L’oreal Men Expert!

He says: “I’m excited to be working with L’Oréal Paris.  I have always liked the quality and innovation of their products.”

“With his charisma, confidence and modern style, Gerard Butler perfectly embodies the spirit of the Men Expert line.  A talented actor, he has enjoyed a string of successes on the silver screen and is renowned for his professionalism. Gerard is just so easy to relate to – his charmingly authentic, natural air will win him the respect of consumers, who can’t help seeing themselves in the actor.  I am delighted to welcome Gerard as a L’Oréal Paris Spokesperson!” says Vianney Derville, International General Manager of L’Oréal Paris.

Suddenly, the Men Expert range has become a whole lot more interesting no? *fans self*

Good choice? Or yano… in other words… would you?

It’s glittery, gritty and a whole load of bling.

I just dunno…

Applied over the top of a bog standard dark base, 1 coat… this stuff is pretty dense.  One thing that annoys me about glitters is their often uneven application.  Yano, 2 pieces of glitter at the nail tip 43843243290 at the base.  The good thing about this polish is that it gives you long enough to ‘push’ the pieces around and ‘place’ them before it dries.  The bad thing?  Well, that also means that it taes a little while longer than I’d like to dry.  I know, contrary right?

This mixture of gold and silver glitter a.k.a BB Sands comes from the Lancome Spring 2010 collection though it kinda screams Christmas to me.  I’d love to layer this over a cream/nude base to see if I get a different look from it… but removal was such a pain in the backside that I’m honestly not sure I can be arsed.

C’mon, tell me!

Here’s (a virtual) £60.

The catch is, you can only buy one thing with it and it’s got to be a palette.

And NO(!) it’s not allowed to be the new Urban Decay Naked palette or we’d all just say that one (mostly!)

Here’s my pick:

The LORAC Private Affair palette ($38)

Look at those beautiful cool tones!  I’m not saying that I’m wishing Autumn/Winter upon us… but if I had this palette, it would make the inevitable seasonal shift much easier to bear!

Anyone else fancy a bit of virtual Sephora Sweep – link me up!

L’Occitane are releasing a new limited edition range for the Summer set to tantalise our senses.

Verbena Summer Secret will launch this month with 4 products in the line up:

I’m a big fan of the original Verbena line up with it’s true citrusy notes that transport you from your 3’x3′ shower cubicle to the lemon groves of Sicily and let’s be honest… where else would you rather be on a Monday morning?

The range will include:

1. Moisturising Body Gel – £17.50
2. Shower Jelly – £12.50
3. Eau de Toilette – £34.00
4. Cooling Gloss – £7.00

I’m particularly keen to try the Moisturising Body Gel… it’s the word “gel”… anything that conjures up a mental image of being lightweight and easily absorbed is something that makes me sit up and take notice.  Especially in this weather.

Are you a L’Occitane fan?  What are your favourites from the brand?

I’m delighted to introduce my latest guest reviewer Rachel from the delightful QueenofTurquoise.  As a more suitable candidate age-wise than me, she’s been trialling the Liz Earle Young Skin Try-Me Kit, and this is what she thought of it….

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I received this kit from Charlotte at the end of May and I’m far more impressed by it than I expected to be!  I was kind of thinking it would just show me that I wasn’t missing out on anything with my cheapy products.. Wrong 😉

I’ve been using it for three weeks now and I’ve noticed considerable changes…

Before I started using this I had quite a few little spots/bumps on my forehead, noticeable pores around my nose and the little creases around my nose were quite dry and red.  Primer was a necessity as my skin suffered from random flaky patches of skin that weren’t visible until foundation was applied.  I also had some stubborn blackheads on and around my nose and chin… Although I wouldn’t describe my skin as particularly oily it has it’s moments and breakouts are relatively common!

The difference in three weeks is quite dramatic, the pores around my nose appear smaller, noticeably more radiant skin (if I do say so myself!) less blackheads, spots disappear faster, and my odd flaky bits of skin have vanished making primer optional rather than essential!

The hot cloth cleanser is amazing, and boasts ingredients of Rosemary, Chamomile, Cocoa butter and Eucalyptus essentiol oil.

At first I was a little unsure of the consistency as I’d never really used anything like it before, but it soon grew on me as I watched my skin become smoother and softer.  The muslin cloth part of this really makes all the difference, particularly to the radiance factor! The cloth provided in the kit is lovely, really good quality and a great size.  The only down point for me is that I’m not keen on the scent of the cleanser, which is a shame as using it feels lovely and luxurious, and not liking the scent is a little frustrating!  I’d love this so much more if it had the same scent as the toner… Something I’d definitely consider buying full size for myself (which is saying a lot, I’m normally a £5 cleanser girl!)

Next in my new routine was the Skin Tonic Spritzer.  It smells absolutely gorgeous, I’d really like a perfume of it!  The scent really makes this product for me.  The naturally active ingredients are listed as Organic Aloe Vera, Calendula, Cucumber and Vitamin E.  There’s really nothing that this little wonder can’t do, used after cleansing my face felt smoother and softer, used during the day to refresh and cool through this weird British summer it did it’s job perfectly, and it sets make up amazingly!  Wonderful wonderful stuff, incredibly reasonably priced, I can see myself buying this forever more!

The third step is moisturiser, and for this the kit provided me with Skin Repair Light for Combination/Oily skin.  It’s described as “light, gentle and balancing” which I can only agree with.

I tend to have huge issues with moisturiser, I’m really fussy and I want it to do everything, be rich enough to moisturise well, yet still be light enough for it to be absorbed quickly enough to use before applying make up in the morning and more!  This ticks all the boxes, despite not claiming any mattifying qualities it doesn’t leave me shiny, it’s beautifully light yet creamy and it moisturises perfectly, plus I can put primer and make up over the top after just a couple of minutes without it “rolling” off in little bits everywhere!  Again, another top product and an essential one if you struggle with combination/oily skin, or even if you just like a lighter moisturiser in the morning.

The last product in the kit is the “Spot on” which is described as a “rescue treatment for blemishes, bites and cuts”.  I really didn’t like this on my face for spots, sticky and just yuck, for me it doesn’t fit with the luxurious experience the other products provide and that was disappointing.  It smells like any other spot treatment with tea tree and made very little noticeable difference to spots for me.  As you can tell, I was totally unimpressed with this until I got totally attacked with bites that kept me awake most of the night and nothing that I put on made any difference until I tried this, instantly cooling and soothing and it did a really great job considering the nasty allergic reaction I had to the bites!

Overall, an amazing kit to try, would really recommend it to anyone looking for a new routine with gorgeous products!

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Thanks Rachel, a great indepth review!

The Liz Earle Young Skin Try-Me kit is priced at £23 and available online from Liz Earle.

… don’t forget to flick over to Sky Channel 640 today to check out today’s QVC TSV (Today’s Special Value).

All this for £39.96!

Contents:

• 1 x Cleanse & Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser Tube (100ml)
• 1 x Instant Boost Skin Tonic Spritzer (30ml)
• 1 x Skin Repair Moisturiser (50ml) – choose from Dry/Sensitive, Light or Normal/Combination
• 1 x Eyebright Soothing Eye Lotion (150ml)
• 1 x Daily Eye Repair (5ml)
• 1 x Energising Body Wash (100ml)
• 1 x Energising Body Scrub (50ml)
• 1 x Foot Scrub (100ml)
• 1 x Foot Repair Moisturiser (30ml)
• 1 x Sheer Pink Lip Shimmer (5g)
• 2 x muslin cloths

It’s beauty month at QVC so I’m looking forward to finding out what other TSV’s they have up their sleeves!

What’s been some of your favourite QVC Beauty bargains over the years?

This review is about 6 months overdue… sorry about that.

In late December, I treated myself to a Le Metier de Beaute eye shadow… I wanted a silver, something that I could use for the party season, not that a woman with a 7 month old (at the time) goes to parties… but I obviously had this mental fantasy of rocking some silver shadow like a post-Christmas fairy.

So I picked up “Platinum”.

How I laugh now… £21.

I’ve used it once.

WHY GOD WHY did I choose silver?  Why not brown or purple or even *cough* taupe?  Silver.  What a fuckin’ idiot.

I will say that it’s a very pretty silver…

It’s soft and smooth with a medium pigment that builds nicely.  It’s a metallic shade (duh) that catches the light when applied near the tearducts.  Hell, I might even make a dent in it come 2056.

Would I buy another Le Metier de Beaute eyeshadow?  Yes.  I might go for a nice neon orange next time.