A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

It’s been two years since the results of Olay’s first Big British Beauty Poll were published, and in beauty years, that’s practically forever!  Gauging public attitudes about how we view the notion of beauty revealed some fascinating insights: Audrey Hepburn was (perhaps unsurprisingly) named as the most iconic beauty of all time, while the poll also revealed that we might not be as keen to jump on the cosmetic injections bandwagon as we once were – a case of too many frozen foreheads on the telly?

Now it’s time to do it all over again!

Olay are launching the Big British Beauty Poll #2 to coincide with their 60th anniversary, and this time – it’s bigger than ever!  The brand want YOUR opinion on everything from skin-care to makeup, hair colour to hair-removal and everything in between. It’s time to have your say.

And this is how you do it….

1. If you’re female and aged over 18 years, simply visit www.facebook.com/beautyRecommendedUKandIreland and become a fan.

2. The Olay Regenerist Big British Beauty Poll will be open to entries from Thursday 4 October at midday to Thursday 1 November 2012.

3. If you complete the poll, you will automatically be entered into a free prize draw to win one of three x £1,000 cash prizes plus a set of Olay Regenerist’s three “hero” products: 3 Point Treatment Cream, 3 Point
Super Serum and Night Renewal Elixir (regardless of the responses).

4. If you then go on to share the poll with a friend on Facebook, you will also be automatically entered into a further prize draw to win one of three x £500 cash prizes.

For full terms and conditions and to read about the competition disclaimer, please visit www.facebook.com/beautyRecommendedUKandIreland

* this is a P&G/Olay sponsored post

We’re used to seeing beauty brands give up portions of their profits to charity, ten percent here – fifteen percent there and in spirit of recent Summer events, I saw a brand niftily donate 20.12% of proceeds for the occasion.

But how about 100%?  That one’s not so readily given away now is it?  Which means that when I heard about natural beauty purveyors Organic Surge giving away 100% of all proceeds from their latest hand wash to a Scottish children’s charity.

Well, that just commands attention doesn’t it?

Organic Surge have launched Helping Hand Wash in association with The Archie Foundation to help support sick children and their families in the north of Scotland.  Alan MacKenzie, founder of Organic Surge explains:

“When I launched Organic Surge over five years ago, I wanted to ensure the brand was built on a company ethos of helping others. Since the beginning our donations have helped support vulnerable children around the world, and so I am so very pleased to announce our partnership with The Archie Foundation.”

Whilst you’re washing your pennies down the drain along with the germs, you’ll be able to take comfort from the knowledge that those gently-foaming bubbles are aiding a great cause battling to provide specialist nurses to sick chidren, redevelop outdated children’s wards and provide specialist support and equipment to those who need it the most.

Helping Hand Wash is priced at £3.99 and is available online at Organic Surge.

Or is it vol. 533493491?  With over 2250 posts under my belt, you can appreciate that I’ve loved and fell out of love with all manner of things, such is the fickle nature of beauty and such is the fickle nature of “ooh shiny”.  I’m always reticent to admit to Holy Grail products because I’m not really the kind of person to stick to one thing for life (except perhaps for Mr. L and Boost bars).  If I repurchase something, that’s pretty damn good going when there’s all manner of other lovely things that promise the earth and deliver about 2 continents worth instead.  As beauty lovers, we’ve grown to expect a certain amount of over-selling when it comes to product claims and I guess that’s why blogs are so useful, they simply provide the experiences of peers who generally have the same expectation levels as yourself.

With that in mind, these are the things that I’ve been currently loving long time.  Well, about two weeks – which, in the coquettish world of beauty, is literally, forever.

1). Calling all mermaids!  VOYA Ritzy Spritzy* hails from the salty depths, quite literally!  The hero ingredient to this refreshing toner is hand-harvested seaweed, packed with vitamins B1, B2 and B12 (sounds like Bananas in Pyjamas), plus polysaccharides and alginates, all of which combine to offer a tonic that delivers a moisturising, oil-free formula.  I’m an toner-nut and after using it continuously for a week in-place of my usual variety, this one is particularly efficient in cooling the skin, making it a great holiday choice for those jetting off to far-flung beaches. £23.00 from Look Fantastic.

2). Hello Glow! Hello indeed to this budget-friendly alternative to a particularly well-known Dermalogica favourite!  If you’re a Daily Microfoliant addict, you might want to give Hello Glow‘s Whitening Plus Facial Polish* a spin.  Released just last month, the powder formulation mixes with a little water to create a mildly exfoliating paste that leaves my skin feeling incredibly soft.  It contains a 100% natural blend of coconut milk powder, potato starch, milk, honey, rice and essential oils and is suitcase friendly too! £9.99 from RoseLinkUK.

3). It wouldn’t be Summer without a fresh, summer fragrance to distract myself from the necessity to build a replica Ark and Prada’s Infusion d’Iris offers maximum distraction.  A classic, green scent which despite the name offers a more sensual, woody edge than I’d expect.  The floral is clearly there, along with a burst of Italian-inspired citrus zings that never smell too sharp but it’s the drydrown that leaves my mouth watering in it’s pure cleanliness that leaves me feeling like I’ve just stepped from the shower (minus the cheap soap!).  A perfect balance of floral, fresh and woody that simply works very nicely on my skin.  From £40.00 at Debenhams.

4). From one classic to another, in the form of Trilogy’s Certified Organic Rosehip Oil, which I purchased as a little moisture-booster to my current skincare routine.  I use it while my skin is still wet from the shower (water really makes my skin feel tight), and massage it in to my elbows, knees, heels and any little eczema patches that have flared up overnight – what’s left on my hands after this, goes straight on my face.  In the winter, I may use it more often but a couple of times a week at the moment is enough to keep my skin supple and happy. £16.50 from Boots.

5).  Another one for the holiday bag is Laqa & Co’s Nail Pen in Incestuous*.  Hate the name, love the colour!  This muted lavender nail pen is one of those products that you think will never work.  Nail polish in a pen?!  But work it does… though I discovered that painting with your “wrong” hand is significantly more tricky than when using a regular polish brush – it’s just like writing or drawing with your weak hand!  The polish dispenses easily and is fluid enough to work with without too much fuss.  5ml for £11 makes it an expensive option, but it’s great for travel and is a real conversation starter as I discovered on the train the other day! £11 from PowderRooms.

6). There’s lots of classics on my list today and Olay’s Classic Care Nourishing Beauty Fluid (Sensitive) is perhaps the consummate defintion of the word.  My day moisturiser recently ran out, and being on a no-buy meant that I had more chance of a sunny day than guiltessly hot-footing it to the Elemis counter, so I settled for Asda instead and picked up this one to tide me over.  I actually meant to pick up this one but couldn’t find it on the shelves.  That being said, it’s doing a sterling job at leaving my skin feeling hydrated with a non-greasy finish.  I’m not sure I’ll repurchase, because I’ll hopefully be off my no-buy when this one runs out and I’ll try and pick up the one I meant to get next time.  Still, £4.69 from Boots – mustn’t grumble!

7). Can you tell I’m not going on holiday until September?  My goodness am I packing in these travel essentials this month!  The St. Tropez Bronzing Gel* is a great option for pasty legs that demand a streak-free finish!  Creams are all well and good but this dark gel will ensure you leave no patches un-tanned!  Combine it with an applicator mitt and really work the formula into your skin to ensure an even tan.  I like the gel formula because it looks a bit scarier, thus making me less complacent with my application – it’s all in the mind folks and this one just makes me work harder (in a good way!). £21.99 from Boots.

8). Last but by no means least!  Benadryl Allerfy Relief (Acrivastine) keeps both myself and Mr. L free from hayfever.  I’m fortunate to only suffer from mild symptoms but when the pollen count reaches the top of the charts, I reach for one of these and it knocks all symptoms on the head within half an hour.  I do sometimes have to take another tablet later in the day and they’re not the cheapest (I don’t think you can get generic versions) but they’re the best I’ve found for controlling the summer sniffles!  £3.80 from Tesco.

What are you loving so far this month?

* press sample

Four new shades from Orly that echo Electronica’s past.  The campaign ad is a distinctly 80s affair with a touch of post-apocolyptic punk thrown in for good measure.  The shades seem to span the seasons from a summery hot pink shimmer to the more wintry slate grey.

Shades are as listed below:

Decoded: Slate grey creme
Preamp: Girly pink with gold shimmer
Shockwave: Royal blue creme
Synchro: Duochrome pink/gold (but all the swatches I’ve seen show a rose-toned polish with blue reflects – go figure!)

All shades are available to purchase online now from BeautyBay, where they’re currently priced at £7.50 each.

Are any of these on your Summer wishlist?

It’s Earth Month once again, and so far I’ve been doing my bit by making a conscious effort to preserve water.  It’s not been easy and although I love gin, I do miss the odd cup of tea.

Being slightly more eco-conscientious than me this month, are beauty brand Origins who are continuing their partnership with Global ReLeaf in an effort to plant trees in areas that have been damaged by wildfire.  For every product purchased within the Origins A Perfect World franchise between 15th – 28th April 2012, Origins will plant a tree on your behalf.  It doesn’t get a name tag or anything, you just get to feel momentarily smug before jumping in your 4×4.

Perhaps even more exciting than tree planting, is the return of the Origins Trade-In Day!  For one day only, head to your nearest Origins counter and trade in any empty skincare product (from any brand) to receive a complimentary full size of either Starting Over Age-Erasing Moisturiser with Mimosa (value £36!) or A Perfect World SPF25 Age-Defense Moisturizer with White Tea (value £32!).

When?  Saturday 21st April 2012. 

Available on a first come, first serve basis with 5,000 nationwide.

Get it in your diaries ladies and get using up that blah skincare that you’ve been ekeing out for what seems like an eternity.

What will you be trading in?

Not 3-for-2, or 2-for-1, but BOGOF at Cheap Smells on these Orly Mani Mini polishes priced at £3.95 each.  That’s buy one get one free (I said, you buy one, you get one… sorry) – which is pretty incredible when you remember that these polishes sell for £5 each in Boots.

The only catch is that you can’t choose the colour of your “free” one, so my advice is to go on the website, look for the most disgusting colour you can find and simply resign yourself to the fact that that’s the one Sandra in the packing department will chuckle over as she packs your polishes on Tuesday morning.

The deal ends today, so get your bum in gear and use the code OrlyFree at checkout if you want to take advantage – don’t forget there’s free shipping.  One per customer, which seems pretty fair considering you’re practically stealing them.

Pray, tell me, which colour would you be pissed at receiving as your freebie? Mine would be “naughty” – can we say BORING?

p.s. incase you’re interested – I’ve bought Goth, you?

p.p.s. if you’re a fan of D&G Rose The One, check on the site tomorrow because a little birdy (ok, CheapSmells) told me that they’ll be selling priced from £21.50 Up To 40% Off RRP.  A cracking fragrance for Mother’s Day.

I really loved the softness on display in this year’s Orly’s spring Cool Romance collection (click here if you haven’t seen it yet) but sometimes, a girl needs to do what a girl needs to do.  What does a girl need to do?  Add a crap-ton of glitter to the proceedings.

Hello fluffy and delightfully squishy mushroom nails.  You’re all chic and sophistimacated, I could totally wear you to the office if I had one.  But I only have a desk, in a dark corner.  I don’t even have a water cooler or a filing cabinet.  Well, I lie… ‘cos I do have a filing cabinet but I keep it topped up with expired MOT test certificates, the instructions to my brother’s betamax and the menu from the Chinese takeaway from where we used to live two houses ago.  You never know when these things might come in handy.

So, you see… as much as I will always adore your demure but edgy… er… edge.  I can totally wear what I want on my nails at work.  Don’t believe me?  Watch, I can do THIS.

…and no one would blink an eye.  No dodgy looks or stark reminders about dress codes, I can just sit happily staring at my disco fingers while I type.  Sometimes I’m very happy in my little dark corner all by myself.

If you want to do this too, you’ll need Orly Faint of Heart* and POP Twinkle* (that’s one coat btw).

Glitter or no glitter – what say you?

* press sample

Orly’s Spring 2012 Collection is out and pays homage to some of the gentlest pastels around.  We’re not talking sweet-shop pastels here, these are the slightly edgier, grungier cousins of the pastel world.  Just about.

I don’t generally go much on pastels, so Cool Romance’s dirtier take on the trend is right up my street.  Infact, I love the look of all of them except Steel Your Heart, the non pastel that gives me the “Geez, it’s Spring not Autumn/Winter!” feeling.

Prelude to a Kiss* is a pretty pale pink creme with a hint of peach.  It feels like it should be opaque in two coats but needed a third to even out a little bit of streakiness.  It’s a little bit thick in formula, like many pastels, but applies without too many frustrations.  I love these shades for lazy weeks when I can get away with a whole heap of tip wear!

Orly Cool Romance Collection is available to buy in two sizes: 18ml are £6.95 each from www.beautybay.com and the mini 5.3ml are £5 each at www.boots.com

Do you have a favourite from the collection?

* press sample

We all have definite ideas about the scents we like to surround ourselves with — be it the washing powder we use to clean our undies; the candles we light when we step through the door after work; or the bath oils we pour under a hot running tap at the end of the night.  When was the last time you chose a new shampoo in the supermarket before flipping up the lid and inhaling a quick whiff to make sure you shared the product’s olfactory persuasions?

But what about the people we share our lives with?  What control do we have over how they smell?!

It’s taken a long time to gently steer my husband away from the Umbro Aftershave of his early twenties and onto scents which don’t make me want to check behind his ears for dirt.  I sound like a fragrance nazi right?  I’m not… it’s not that he resisted either, he just didn’t have an opinion either way.  Over the past couple of years, he’s developed a greater understanding and passion for fragrance — and thankfully, we do share quite similar tastes — something which comes in very handy for sharing the cost of those more extravagant fragrance purchases.

On this day, St. Valentine’s Day — I thought I’d hand the reins over to my brilliant husband, who has picked out the fragrances from his collection that make us both swoon when he wears them.

YSL – M7 Oud Absolu | Molton Brown NTS – Rogart | Parfum d’Empire – Ambre Russe | Oscar de la Renta – Oscar for Men | Floris – Santal

I’m still an awful fragrance reviewer, I just don’t have enough words swirling around in my puny brain to conjure up enough ways to say “if this fragrance were a doughnut, you’d consume four of them in one sitting”.  Although, I’ll never get better if I don’t try, so – in our own bumbled together manner… (at least I’ve got someone else to blame)

Yves Saint Laurent: M7 Oud Absolu (£58.00) *

As part of the reworked YSL Heritage Collection which celebrates half a century of expert perfume creation, the brand have released a reworked version of M7 which first came to the public nose in 2002 under the direction of one Mr. Tom Ford.  From such an agent provocateur, you’d expect to experience something special and you won’t be disappointed with this fragrance, which despite the reformulation is described as the climax of male sexuality¹.  M7 is a deeply smoky scent with notes of myrrh, french labdanum, patchouli and a resonating woody, almost leathery oud accord.  There’s a medicinal hint that lingers through the dry-down which we both find comforting.  It’s not sharp but resinous and syrupy, like a cough drop.  M7 is a fragrance for the night, of the night.  If Serge Gainsbourg were to walk in behind me right now, this is the smell I’d catch (and hold onto) as he passed.  An intensely sexy, dark scent.

¹ yslbeauty.co.uk

 Molton Brown Navigations Through Scent: Rogart (£60.00)

If you prefer to scent your senses with a touch of the gourmand, you may be interested in Rogart’s unusual but profoundly delicious note more usually found on your pancakes than in your perfume: maple syrup.  The tasty fragrance from Jennifer Jambon opens with a bracing blend of juniper berries and fir balsam which gives it that ‘great outdoors’ feel and indeed it should, as it draws its inspiration from the Cobequid Mountains of Canada.  All this freshness contrasts wonderfully as it warms on the skin and develops a hint of campfire, resinous wood and that sweet, mouthwatering maple.  Jointly, we’ve purchased nearly all of the releases in the Navigations Through Scent collection but Rogart firmly remains my husband’s favourite.

Parfum d’Empire: Ambre Russe (£84.50)

Not sure we’ll ever fall out of love with the majestic, imperial notes contained within Parfum d’Empire’s exquisite nod to Tsarist Russia.  It’s all here: vodka, champagne, tea, leather, amber and incense.  It’s like the party you know will conclude with most of its guests going home in a meat wagon before sunrise.  It’s raucously obnoxious and it knows it.  It wants you to know it too and you can’t help but admire Ambre Russe for it’s audacity to even exist.  It manages to be simultaneously effervescent (that’ll be the champagne hic!) and creamy, with the boozy amber trumping all else.  If you like dark, oriental fragrances, consider this a contender for the big daddy – shy, delicate noses need not apply.

Oscar de la Renta: Oscar for Men (£45.00)

We fought a little over the inclusion of this… I wanted to place Bvlgari Black above this one but Mr. L triumphed by making me a cup of tea and pointing out that, for once, he was entitled to call first dibs.  Oscar de la Renta’s Oscar for Men can be picked up online for as little as £17.00, which admittedly, ups the desirability stakes.  It’s a far sharper, more summery scent than the ones we’ve so far included – the top notes of bergamot, mandarin, and black pepper ensure that it prickles a little with a zestiness that makes you stand up and pay attention.  It has a floral heart that tempers the spiciness a little but if you’re a fan of the peppery notes of something like Marc Jacob’s Bang, you should enjoy this equally.  Oscar for Men trails with a suggestion of leather and vanilla which further smoothes the pepper without ever fully quietening it.  A spicy serenade that wears well in warmer months thanks to it’s sparkling opening.

Floris London: Santal (£69.00) *

As is my prerogative, I’m a woman of many contradictions.  Sometimes, I will eschew the feral, growling sensibilities of something like M7 (though never Serge) and want the man in my life to appeal as much to others as he does to me.  Floris Santal is the perfect scent to meet that need with its clean but never soapy existence.  Creamy sandalwood (and good sandalwood at that) gives Santal the most distinguished of edges in the overpopulated woody oriental category.  A hint of spiciness and musk keeps things warm and sensual whilst the crisp bergamot and trickles of lavender promote the balance beautifully and prevent this classic scent from ever feeling generic or old-fashioned.  Longevity is unparalled, displaying the kind of quality one would expect from a traditional British fragrance house like Floris.  I may have started with Serge Gainsbourg, but please… let me end with a young, freshly-shaven Paul Newman.  Rawr.

I’m feeling a tad hot under the collar now!  Happy Valentine’s Day you lovely lot.

Do you lust over leather or go crazy for classic cleanliness?  Do those animalic undertones bring out your wild side or perhaps you simply prefer a good old splash of Brut! 

Tell me, how do you like the men in your life to smell? (note: “of money” isn’t a valid answer!)

* press sample

In a list devoid of MPs, philanthropists, and celebrities – I bring you 12 products that have impressed me beyond my expectations over the past 12 months. This wasn’t easy to compile. Infact, it was so hard that it’s now nearly February and I’ve only just published it.

Some were a given from the moment I used them (Avon Mega Impact Eye Liner), some were growers (Elemis Cellutox Active Body Oil), but all of them have left a real impression for achieving what their claims suggest and let’s face it, that’s what out beauty-loving hearts desire most.

Optrex Itchy/Allergy Eye Drops  |  Lanolips 101 Ointment  |  St. Tropez Perfect Legs Spray  |  Urban Decay Super-Saturated High Gloss Lip Colors

Optrex make eye drops for seemingly every occassion and their Optrex Itchy Eye Drops have saved my poor peepers numerous times throughout the year.  I actually prefer their Optrex Allergy Eyes formula for the Summer months when my eyes are really suffering but I find them quite hard to get hold of (it’s over the counter stuff) and so pharmacists always offer me the Optrex Itchy Eye Drops instead.  To be fair, they both work but nothing soothes the feeling of wanting to wash your eyeballs under a running tap (and swill your eye sockets out while you’re at it) faster or more effectively than the Optrex Allergy Eyes formula.

Another product that goes beyond the pretty to simply make my life more comfortable is Lanolips 101 Ointment.  This nourishing, thick balm is as much a part of my nightly routine as washing my face or repeatedly checking Twitter on my phone after turning off my computer.  It’s simple existence means that my lips never peel or crack, as used to be the case throughout the winter months and if I like a new lipstick, I buy it based on how much I like the shade without caring about how drying the formula may prove to be.

My milk-bottle legs are anticipating the return of the warmer weather with a renewed vigour thanks to St. Tropez Perfect Legs Spray.  I’m surprising myself by including a tanning product in my honours list – I really don’t care much about being tanned… but, this product surpassed all expectations of turning my blue-tinged pins into something that I wouldn’t mind showing off when the sun finally peeks out from behind the UK’s perpetual blanket of cloud cover.

As much as the U.S. brand have released some stonking palettes this year, it’s these Urban Decay Super-Saturated High Gloss Lip Colors that have been ticking all the right boxes for me this year.  They pack a supreme punch of colour, offer maximum convenience and last well throughout the day.  The shades I own are all searingly bright and obnoxious, just the way I’ve been liking my lip shades this year.  These are real beauties and I can’t wait to see if Urban Decay add to the lineup in 2012.

Benefit They’re Real Mascara  |  Elemis Cellutox Active Body Oil  |  Dr. Hauschka Neem Hair Oil  |  Avon Mega Impact Eye Liner

An everyday staple achieves its status by being dependable, consistent, and easy to use.  Benefit’s They’re Real Mascara has been my go-to mascara since its release last August.  It extends and volumises my lashes with an inky formula and doesn’t let me down by smudging or flaking throughout the day.  Once it’s time for bed – it doesn’t give my cleansing oil any arguments and I’m still enjoying the same, usable formula from the original tube that I was given all those months ago.  It’s a solid but impressive addition to my makeup bag.

2011 has been a year of weight loss (and gain, and loss again) for me.  I knew from the start that I’d be putting my skin through the mill on my quest for a less flabby existence and I’ve been using various body oils with my cellulite massager in an attempt to keep my skin elastic, supple and unblemished.  While they all did a good job at moisturising, I wasn’t sure that they were achieving much more than this until I began to use Elemis Cellutox Active Body Oil toward the end of last year.  Aside from it smelling as delicious as you’d expect from the British brand, I’ve noticed a marked improvement in skin-tone, texture and dare I say it… cellulite.

Another major concern over the past year has been the constant flare-ups that have turned my scalp into an itching, flaking mess.  I would start a new shampoo, only to be forced into discontinuing its use a month later.  I tried SLS-free which seemed to improve things for a while, though still didn’t eradicate the problem completely.  I’ve been using Dr. Hauschka’s Neem Hair Oil (non-stinky) for a few months now and have so far, touch wood, not had a flare-up that’s been severe enough to cause any real misery.  I also find the oil effective at soothing any persistent itches alongside a welcome side-effect of improving the condition of my dry hair.

If I could only choose one, my product of the year would go to Avon’s Mega Impact Eye Liner for being outrageously awesome at such a reasonable price.  The blacker-than-black formula applies as smoothly as a gel with no tugging along the delicate waterline.  Give it a few moments to set and you’ll be treated to a full day of hard-wearing, sultry lashlines that resist smudging and transfer like real troopers.  They have a new metallic shade coming out for Spring, look out for it!

Suti Rejuvenate Organic Facial Oil  |  Lumos High Speed Top Coat (try eBay if you’re not a pro)  |  Missha M Perfect Cover B.B Cream  |  NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream

I’ve always loved facial oils but have only recently discovered the true extent of their capabilities.  Suti’s Rejuvenate Organic Facial Oil is a wondrous concoction that seamlessly melts into my skin to give an instant glow on those days when my complexion is feeling particularly dull and drained by the cold weather.  Perhaps even more enlightening is the oil’s ability to turn a dud foundation into a keeper.  I’ve been adding a few drops (during application) to foundations that I consider dry-skin unfriendly and have been amazed at Suti’s ability to make the formula more compatible to my winter skin.  Lots of money saved thanks to this one!

So good do I consider the Lumos High Speed Top Coat, that I’ve bought the entire family!  From salon-sized down to purse-friendly bottles, they speed-dry my nail polish without causing shrinkage or becoming a thick, unusable mess in the bottle before I’ve reached the halfway mark.  The Lumos System also encourages you to use the High Impact Bottom Coat to achieve maximum results and longevity from your manicures but as someone who doesn’t generally suffer from polish chips, I’m happy to report that for me, it works as well with or without.

2011 was the year that B.B Creams hit the Western world with a vengeance and some bandwagon-jumping efforts from the major cosmetic players have left consumers wondering if there’s any difference between B.B Creams and Tinted Moisturisers with added SPF.  If you want to try a true B.B. Cream without the big-budget advertising hype – I can’t recommend the Missha M Perfect Cover B.B Cream highly enough.  It evens my skin-tone, gives serious sun protection, and calms my redness-prone skin in an instant.

I get annoyed with the NYX Cosmetics incarnation in the UK but if there’s one thing worth picking up, it’s the NYX Soft Matte Lip Creams that come in a variety of shades and offer easy application, good coverage, and long-lasting colour without causing unbearable dryness or discomfort.  Remembering that these are (to be fair) matte formulas, it’s a great option for those who wince at the thought of dragging a hard-textured matte lipstick across their lips.  There are some awesome lip-popping shades to choose from too!

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So there we have my New Year Honours List – a little late, but what’s half a month between friends?  Do you agree with any of my choices?  What would you have included in yours?

* the selection includes a mixture of press samples, repurchases from what were originally press samples and my own discoveries/purchases.

As part of Nicki Minaj’s collaboration with OPI this month, her collection features the infamous pale, bubblegum-esque Pink Friday* shade that first reared its head with last year’s MAC partnership.  It’s not pepto-bright but the chalky pink will stand out against most skintones – it’s not one for shrinking violets.

The formula was thick and you’ll need a little patience to ensure a smooth finish unless you’re willing to go the 3-coat option which will obscure any streakiness from the first two coats.  I’m sure the shade isn’t massively unique but I don’t actually own any dupes and infact, only two others that are remotely similar – I don’t usually go in for these finger-popping pale shades but I do like how this one looks once applied.

Pink Friday (and the rest of the Nicki Minaj collection) is available to buy online priced at £10.50 from official stockists, Lena White.

While I was comparing pinks, I thought I’d paint up a nail wheel showing some of my favourite pinks…

1. ByTerry Terrybly Nail Laque – #2
2. Nails Inc. – China Town
3. Spa Ritual – Knowledge Is Power
4. Orly – Flirty
5. Butter London – Primrose Hill Picnic
6. George at Asda – Groove
7. Mavala – Sweety
8. Nails Inc. – Pelham Crescent
9. Barry M – Fuchsia
10. Eyeko – Punk Polish
11. Mavala – Graphic
12. H&M – Sinful Senorita (holo)
13. Ciate – Plastic Fantastic
14. Butter London – Twee (layering polish)
15. Ciate – Main Stage
16. Accessorize – Pink Spice
17. China Glaze – Ahoy!
18. OPI – Pink Friday
19. Mavala – Miami
20. Ciate – Fun Fair

What are your favourite pink nail picks for Spring?

* press sample

Orly Rock It is a sparkling sherry from the Mineral FX Collection that appeared earlier this year. It’s an impressive concoction that is packed full of dimension and light-play as the flecks dance on your fingertips.

In some ways, Orly Rock It reminds me of a flakie with it’s subtle golden duochrome and packed shimmer but without actually containing flakes… I know that makes better sense in my head than it does on the blog but hopefully the picture demonstrates a little of what I’m talking about.

You should also know that the picture makes it look less dimensional than it really is because of the flash lighting.  It’s December, sigh… it’s the best I can do when it gets dark so early!

Orly Rock It is available to buy online from BeautyBay.com, priced at £7.50

* press sample