A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

17 years ago, Liz Earle launched one of the UK’s most popular cleansing products and the brand haven’t looked back since.

Until now.

For two days only – you’ll be able to purchase the cult Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish at its original launch price of just £9.50, instead of its current retail price, £14.25 – a substantial saving of £4.75.

I anticipate this will be a phenomenally popular offer, so get in fast as soon as it goes live.  The offer is available only online at lizearle.com and via the Customer Centre (01983 813 913) from Wednesday 23rd May.

Will you be purchasing for the first time or restocking?

I’m not a body lotion type person but I have about four bottles open, each at various stages of emptiness… I slather them on and wander aimlessly across the landing and back, waiting for the icky feeling to subside.  I have to use them because underneath my skin, I have scales.  After showering, the water seemingly dissolves the upper epidermis leaving me feeling more horny toad than supple and soft.

The worst bits are typically in those hard to reach areas, namely that horizontal line that connects both shoulder blades.  As the water evaporates, my skin tightens and I feel a familiar tingle that has me running for the body cremes.  When I say “me”, I actually mean Mr. L… I’ve already said that I can’t reach.  It’s a daily ritual… and one that I’m very grateful that I have a husband to help me with.  I’m so high maintenance.

Enter LUSH’s latest innovation, Ro’s Argan Body Conditioner*.

Taking the hair conditioner theory and applying it to the skin, it’s basically a tub of sweet-smelling, oil-infused skin conditioner that you smear over your body after washing, then rinse off prior to stepping out of the shower.  Towel dry your skin gently and you’ll feel as if you’ve just smothered yourself in a rich body creme.  And unlike last year’s innovation, Toothy Tabs… I’m a massive fan.

A). It smells completely delicious, like a mixture of cocoa butter and roses… truly edible.

B).  It really works.

It feels odd on the skin whilst you’re still in the shower, like you’ve just waterproofed your skin with a slather of grease to be honest.  Deliciously-scented but lardy nonetheless.   As I patted my skin dry with the towel, it felt simply amazing and still does, sitting here 5 hours later. *strokes arms*

A little goes a very long way and the trick is to increase its ‘spreadability’, work with a small amount and don’t be afraid to really eke it out over the skin’s surface.  It’s generously rich in oils and although some parts may feel like you have more product on than others, have faith that you’ve done a good job in spreading the conditioner.  It’s not the cheapest outlay but it will easily last twice as long as my regular body moisturisers PLUS, I don’t have to stand around shivering as I wait for it to sink in!

LUSH Ro’s Argan Body Conditioner is priced at £15.50 for 225g and I highly recommend it for post-shower lizard people.

* press sample

Never judge a book by its cover, or so they say…

Which tends to make one automatically assume that ugly things shall all be amaze and beauty-to-behold type things, the opposite.  Well, I’m writing this post today to put the record straight and declare that beauty can be found both within and err… without?  Wait, that’s not the expression I was looking for was it…

Poor phrasing aside, I received a La Bougie Candle* sample last month and although I’m still struggling with the fact that bougie (French for candle) looks a bit like bogey, I’ve decided that at the age of 30, I should be well past that kind of childishness, and so I’ll overlook it.  But not without putting it in your heads first (sorry La Bougie Candle company).

The candle arrived beautifully gift wrapped, which makes all the difference to my shallow-ass soul and I could immediately smell the scent contained within (not without this time) and I have to say, I didn’t like it.

The company kindly gave me the choice of which scent I thought I might prefer and I chose the Rockrose & Oudh because I freakin’ love the woodsy, aromatic resin in all its different incarnations.  But this didn’t really have that signature oudh scent, I could detect floral, floral and a bit more floral.  Until I lit it, and then all bets were off because it’s bloody divine.

It turns out that it wasn’t actually the candle I didn’t like the smell of, it was the scented tissue paper that it was wrapped in! Doh!

Just like wearing an oudh-based perfume on the skin, the accord brings an impressive amount of depth and sensuality to what is otherwise, a rather gentle floral.

It’s absolutely perfect for lighting in the bedroom or anywhere that you want to take the time to relax.  I light it every evening, just as I start my “getting ready for bed routine” and as I’m picking up the toys that have been scattered by my daughter, darting in and out of the bathroom, and making that final cup of tea before bed, the Rockrose & Oudh candle works its magic, transforming my room from toddler telly-paradise to proper boudoir palace.

The Rockrose & Oudh Scented Salon Candle offers approximately 50 hours of burn-time and each La Bougie scent is developed and produced in the company’s own perfumery.  The glass holders are carved, painted and polished before being hand-poured in La Bougie’s chandlery, located in West Cork, Ireland.

Lovely candles and at £29.50 for the Salon-size (room-sized) ones… not outrageously expensive either!

Rockrose & Oudh, Sweet Pea & Pear or Cox & Carnation – which scent would you choose?

* press sample

Well, not entirely monstrous, but green is not a colour that I can pull off with much success.  Mr. L, who never comments on my makeup (other than to tell me I look lovely when I drop enough hints that he ought to be saying something), readily agrees that green is not a colour I should allow into my makeup-playing repertoire too often.  About halfway through the day I asked him, “Have you noticed that I’m wearing green on my eyes today?”.

“Yes. *pause* It doesn’t look too bad does it?”

And that ladies, clearly means that it looks amazing.  Or not.  I’ll go with the former.

Do you ever get the feeling that you’re getting a bit old to wear bright colours on your eyes?  I do.  I mean, when I was 27…. I thought I was getting too old, but now that I’m 30 and I’m looking at the photo thinking, “I think it doesn’t look too weird” but, I surround myself (online) with beautiful women who love to have fun and enjoy a passion for makeup.  What must women who don’t share our creativity when it comes to slap think?

Of course, one totally shouldn’t care what other women think and I’m neither fishing nor asking for validation here, it’s just that being on the cusp of the wrong side of 30 makes me hesitate.  Nothing more and nothing less, I guess it comes down to the fact that you can’t really pull off the “cute” thing once you reach your thirties, and so there’s no room for error in the same way as when you were younger.

“Should know better”.  I’d like that on my headstone… along with “One Day”, a long-held shot at faith.

I usually only have time in the morning for the basics when it comes to makeup but Mr. L has been super-generous with his time in the run-up to releasing his next game, so you can expect a few more FOTDs than normal simply because it feels lovely to walk out of the house in a proper made-up face once a week you know?  The type where you’ve played and pontificated over choosing what to apply rather than reached for the quickest, most fool-proof things you own.

Anyway, I’m really rambling.  I’ll do a quick product breakdown.

Face

Face Atelier Ultra Foundation in Ivory
Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage SC-1
Guerlain Terracotta Moisturising Bronzing Powder in 00

Eyes

GOSH Velvet Touch Eyeliner in Green Grass on the upper lashline
Purple Eyeshadow from the Smashbox Muse Artist Eye Palette on lower lashline
Clinique High Impact Curling Mascara*
Illamasqua Eye Brow Cake in Gaze

Lips

Bourjois Sweet Kiss Natural in 09 Sienne Kiss*

What’s your colour nemesis?  Do you hesitate when it comes to colour?

* press sample

I bought a hair-dye from TK Maxx last week (it sounds like a bad idea already) and decided that the recent crop of ever-increasing greys needed a severe talking to.  That night, I checked out the packet… L’Oreal Recital Preference Hair Color Ultra Lightening in 6.3, Golden Brown.  I knew I was taking a risk… a). I’ve never tried the L’Oreal Recital Preference range before and b). Golden Brown?  Do I look like Beyonce?  I can’t remember the last time my hair was golden anything.

I calculated my options in my head and decided that I’d spent the whole year being a very careful home hair-dyer.  I’ve been touching up only the roots for a very long time now and felt that the ends had gradually faded in colour.  There was still a lot of build-up but nothing like it had been a year previously.  I deserved to take a chance.

I’ve been wanting to go lighter for a long time, I’m working on the assumption that if my hair is lighter it will make the regrowth a little bit less obvious leading to less-frequent dying and ultimately, healthier hair.  It’s all good right?

Except that I’d do well to remember that I haven’t seen myself anything other than a dark, dark brown for many years.  To put it bluntly, I nearly shat myself when I took the towel off my head.  My grey roots were a delightful shade of Donald Trump, glowing furiously under the hallway light.  Fuck.  I took to Twitter and said as much.  Fuck, said I.

Long story short, a wash or two later and a little bit of time to get used to it?  I’m loving it.  Sure… the roots are lighter than the ends but I’m gonna head to the hair-dressers next week and get it all cropped back to just below my shoulders again which should go some way toward helping the situation.

My problem is that I have no idea where to go from here.  I’m tempted to try and go a touch lighter again… but when and how?  I don’t want to overload my hair or damage it seeing as I’ve been trying to be so good for so long!  I’m giving my hair regular coconut oil treatments and treating it to some proper TLC while I weigh up my next move.  I’m thinking that colour remover thing next… (but not for a few weeks yet!)

Anyone else wanting to go lighter for the Summer?  Are you DIYing it too?

I had a little shop-my-stash session and pulled out some things that haven’t seen as much love recently as they should, namely my Face Atelier foundation which is a touch too silicone-heavy for my skin when it’s at its driest in the Winter.  My skin is back in a good place at the moment and I couldn’t wait to see if I still loved it as much as I did last Summer when I bought it.  The answer is a resounding YES!  I’ll do a proper review with before/after shots later in the week, kick me if I don’t ‘cos it makes a great spring/summer foundation for those who aren’t ready to give up ‘propah’ coverage just yet.

My NARS Lhasa got some extra love with a sparkly pairing courtesy of Avon’s Glimmerstick Diamonds Eye Liner in Sugar Plum – it’s a nice way to supercharge a much-loved taupe with a bit of additional colour.  My beautiful Maison Lancome blush* is still pleasing me muchly, especially if I give the brush a good swirl in the darker shades first before building up a little more luminosity courtesy of the pale pink.

Hmm, what else…

Ahh, a Fyrinnae Lip Lustre in Ryo Pinko!  I wasn’t sure if this would still be usable… it’s been a while!  However, it smells and tastes perfectly fine, it’s not quite ready for the cosmetics graveyard just yet!  I love the colour and the metallic finish is a little bit retro (in a good way!).  It inspired me to give today’s FOTD a silly little name though, so it’s all good.

Finally, I layered up two mascaras that I’ve recently been sent and got some epic lashes as a result, I’ll blog them as part of my mascara series shortly.  The Clinique Lash Power Mascara* has a small brush that works well at getting product right into the roots of the lashes before a coat of Clinique High Impact Curling Mascara* ontop sends them skyward.

What’s on your fizzog today and when was the last time you shopped your stash for some forgotten treasures?

* press sample

Thanks to everyone who chimed in with their bath rituals and tales of Easter debauchery!  The Gods at Random.org have wiggled their pointing fingers and chosen TEN lucky winners, each of which will receive a LUSH Carrot re-usable bubble bar.

Claire
SarahC
Vicki
Sydney Kav
Julianne
Gilian
Victoria
Dejeniera
Gemma
Liza

If you’re one of the lucky winners listed above, I’ll be in touch to request your postal details.  Thanks everyone for entering, hope you had a lovely long weekend… next BH is a month away, keep on trucking!

If you’re still crazy for carrots, this is a really cute audio interview with the LUSH product inventors talking about the origins of The Carrot Bubble Bar!

If you’re sworn off the chocolates this year, how about some LUSH goodies instead?  The high-street heroes have released some Easter treats to ensure that even the strongest of wills are unable to resist the lure of some serious bathtime frivolities.

1. What came first, the chick(en) or the egg?  Well… it depends on what you choose to wrap inside this ridiculously cute Chick Knot Wrap!  Let’s face it, whatever you buy to hide inside, this chick is gonna steal the show – especially when the recipient finds out that the wrap is made from old plastic bottles!  Don’t forget to recycle it yourself, it would make an super-cute bag scarf.

2. Ahh, my favourite – ignore the strange looks and raised eyebrows you’ll get carrying a carrot into the bathroom and get that hot tap running.  Wave The Carrot about under the running water and watch as the bath fills up with (non-carrot scented) bubbles.  Leave our favourite orange veggie on the side of the bath to dry out and it’ll be ready to go again, and again, and again!  Reusable bubble bars?  LUSH!

3. Finally, you may be sworn off chocolate but no-one would begrudge you a few sweeties.  Especially when they’re of the bathing variety.  Fluffy Egg is a candy-mania(cs) dream, scented to smell just like marshmallow, candyfloss and all that teeth-achingly good stuff.  Stick two fingers up at the diet and sit in your Fluffy Egg filled bath this Sunday, eating your Easter Eggs.  Sick.

Fancy winning one of these Easter goodies?

I have a bunch of Carrots (geddit?!) to give away this weekend.  If you want to chance your hand at being one of TEN bathing belles to win a LUSH reusable bubble bar, leave a comment below and answer the following questions.

1. What’s your favourite bath-time ritual?

2. How many Easter Eggs have you hidden away and which one are you gonna break open first?

T&C
1. Entry open to UK residents only.
2. I will choose 10 winners at random.
3. Lipglossiping.com is the sole promoter of this competition.
4. Competition closes on Monday 9th April 2012 at 23.59 BST.
5. Winners list will be published on-site on Tuesday 10th April.

Maybe I’ve been eyeing up too many chocolate eggs but this is just making me think of a Cadbury’s egg with a good dose of speckling!

Today’s NOTD is courtesy of Butter London’s HRH with a coat of the lovely L.A Colors in Jewel Tone ontop.  Although the glitter in Jewel Tone is fairly dense, the base is far too translucent to work as anything other than a layering polish.  Nevermind, it’s only 99p from BeautyBase afterall (£1.29 online) and works beautifully with a whole range of purples, blues and pinks!

Check out Rhamnousia’s great comparison with the much-loved Models Own Disco Mix.

Have you got your Easter Egg sorted for the weekend?  Whatchu got?

I love a good rusty orange, and before you jump on the it’s too Autumnal thing (I saw you making me feel completely off-trend with Minger!), I’m sticking two fingers up at trends.  Well, that and the fact that I bought this last Autumn.  Busted.

I see brushstrokes, does that make this a frost?  Does anyone else struggle a little bit telling the difference between all the various finishes?  I’m gonna call this a frost.  Go on, you can correct me if I’m wrong – I’m wearing my big girl’s pants.  I’m always wearing big girl’s pants 🙁

Desert Dune is a great shade for Autumn Spring, it’s rich… velvety and a looks non too shabby on a pale skintone.  Application with this one was trouble-free, with a few coats covering the nail bed to a good opacity.

LA Colours is available to buy in BeautyBase in both of London’s Westfields.  I picked this up from Whiteleys Shopping Centre on Queensway last time I was in London.  I think it was 99p?  I might have made that up.

What is your favourite LA Colors shade?

It’s like Kajagoogoo (oh children of the 70s/80s) but pusier.  Why does the word pusier never translate to text very well?  Pus. i. er.  as in yellow stuff, not… oh, nevermind.  Look, I’m talking zits.  Spots, pustules, pimples, blind boils, are you eating?  Sorry.

I’m talking about the ones that grow their own head (arms, torso and a pair of legs) overnight.  You can often feel them brewing in advance… and of course, knowing that the last thing you should do in. the. world. is touch it, you spend all day picking at it, poking around it and generally coaxing it to come out and sing too shy, shy, hush, hush, eye to eye.

So what are your options?  Don’t say toothpaste or I will mock you.

Well, you could cover it with a big granny-tights coloured plaster and just pretend it’s not there.  This is fine if it’s somewhere discreet, like on the soles of your feet but not so good if you can a). see it or b). reach it.  Basically, it’s a rubbish option because you know that within five minutes, you’ll have that plaster off and will be digging around with it again until you get the skin-picking guilts.

How about some topical treatments?  Some people swear by Sudocrem but the only tub I have in the house has actually been used for it’s intended purpose and I just don’t fancy it.

Then you’ve got your topical treatments.  In all manner of guises…

The ones that I’m dabbling in at the minute are The Sanctuary’s Blemish Serum* which helps to calm the redness and general rage that accompanies the facial intrusion.  BareMinerals Blemish Remedy* which comes in a powder form and contains sulphur to draw the bugger out more quickly and finally, La Roche Posay’s Effaclar A.I which keeps making me think of that film with Jude Law in it which works both as an anti-bacterial and exfoliator to promote faster healing.  It feels hugely comforting to have a dedicated blemish-buster to tote around in your handbag.

And finally, you’ve got the ever-faithful aspirin mask.  I actually put quite a lot of stock in the value of this remedy, especially as a way to get the blighter to look a little less inflamed before an evening out.

But I wanna know, what do you do when you feel a particularly unholy zit brewing?

* press samples