A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

If you’re left feeling disappointed by the synthetic aftertaste from your el-cheapo Advent Calendars, never fear… I’ve got something here to perk up your taste-buds.  Some of our favourite stores and brands are running Advent promotions and competitions to get you back into the Christmas spirit, here’s a quick run-down of some of my favourites…

Clinique

Every day from the 2nd – 8th December, the brand will be unveiling a Christmas treat available with online purchases.  I’d love to give you a full run-down of what will be on offer but the bods at Clinique HQ are keeping their secret’s firmly under wraps until the morning of the offer.

They have, however, released a few teasers which include…

Monday 2nd December – The Christmas party must-have
Tuesday 3rd December – All you need is Comfort & Joy this season
Wednesday 4th December – Treats for everyone
Thursday 5th December – All you’ll want for Christmas is this
Friday 6th December – A Happy Friday it shall be
Saturday 7th December – A cracking treat
Sunday 8th December – You’ll wish it could be Christmas everyday

Log on to www.clinique.co.uk each morning to discover the latest treat….

Urban Retreat

If you’re feeling a bit bleary-eyed, you’d better reach for the Optrex.  Your peepers will need to be in top condition to scoop the prizes on offer at Urban Retreat’s Beautique.  Starting today, the company are relaunching their Great Christmas Quest campaign featuring a decadent array of prizes up for grabs!

Simply log-on to the site from 12pm daily this week and begin the treasure hunt, scouring the site for the standout present icon selling for only 1p.  When you find it, add it to your basket and checkout to claim the prize but be quick about it, you’re in a race to be the first to secure the item!

For more information and find out more about the prizes up for grabs, follow the brand on Twitter @URBeautique and keep an eye on the #XMASQUEST hashtag.  You can also find more details online at Urban Retreat.

Escentual.com

The beauty emporium are once again running their ever-popular #EscentualWish promotion on Twitter!  Hooray!  Starting this Thursday and running for one week, the company will be randomly selecting a winner each day on Twitter to receive their most wished-for Escentual product!

If you want to join in with the fun, simply get involved using the hashtag #EscentualWish and follow the brand on Twitter @escentual

Superdrug

For Facebookers everywhere, this one’s for you.  Head on over to the Superdrug fan page and jump on board with the high-street retailer’s 25-day Christmas extravaganza!

Every day from now until Christmas, open the virtual door and discover a new prize up for grabs.  Make sure you enter your details into the prize draw form which resets every night at midnight.  Good luck!

Big Green Smile

Last but not least, natural beauty experts Big Green Smile are running a 12 Days of Christmas promotion featuring a host of beauty bounty from some of the world’s best-loved brands.

To be in with a chance of winning, head on over to Big Green Smile and check out the entry form and T&C for this promotion.

Hope you’re feeling lucky folks!

It’s not often you can find a reduction on the legendary lash-extending Lilash and Librow, so hold on to your mascara wands because the UK’s only authorised stockist is having a flash sale on ’em today!

Log onto Powder Rooms between 10am – 12pm this morning (yes, you’ve only got two hours folks!) to get your hands on a tube at 20% off the RRP.  If you’re taking advantage, you’ll need to use the code “blackfriday” at checkout to claim the discount.

If you’re not sure what Lilash can do for you, check out this great review from Bubblegarm.

You may remember earlier this year when Mavala launched the That’s My Colour campaign, inviting members of the general public (that’s you and me!) to submit some colour inspiration to the brand for a new nail polish shade.  Imagine, your very own nail polish colour!

Well, after receiving thousands of entries received via Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram… the brand chose their three winners and set to work on some colour creation!

Fast forward a few months and the That’s My Colour set has just launched exclusively at John Lewis, the three winning nail polish colours were….

Argentum – molten silver with a chrome finish inspired by the sequined detailing of a jacket (submitted by @jrosellenm via Instagram)

Hearth – a cool forest green shade snapped within the rest room of a favourite restaurant (submitted by @lizzums via Twitter)

Iridescence – inspired by the chameleon like finish of petroleum reflected in the sun (submitted by @wizardofozzy via Instagram)

The set of three is priced at £11.70, available instore at John Lewis, currently out of stock online.

Which is your favourite of the three winning shades?

Are you feeling Christmassy yet?  I’m starting to see a few sets of fairy lights glinting away through people’s curtains and whilst I wouldn’t normally even entertain the idea of decorating before the first week of December has passed me by, I won’t deny it… this year, I’m itching to get my hands on the paper chains.

How about the shopping… is that under control for you?  Have you bagged some bargains throughout the year or are you resigned to a last-minute meltdown on your local high-street?  I’m usually fairly organised (at least in my head) about what I’m buying but this year I’ve been completely lacking in inspiration.  This will inevitably mean that I end up spending more money in an attempt to solve the problem… AND end up with less thoughtful presents!  Grrr!

Christmas grumbles aside, there’s 10% off beauty at Debenhams at the moment and if you’re looking for something with a bit of sparkle to get you in the mood for the festive season, I’ve got a couple of lovely things from Guerlain to share with you…

This warm-toned eyeshadow duo from the French brand in 08 Two Spicy evokes all the spirit of a fading Autumn with a rich, earthy umber and a softly-sparkling copper.  Both shades are finely-milled and soft to apply but you’ll see from the swatches below that pigment is lacking in the copper-shade.  This is designed to be applied as a wash of colour over the eyelid, lifting the complexion with some understated sparkle as opposed to adding anything in the way of substantial colour.

To this end, it works nicely to create a more informal, smudgy look that can be applied without the need for precision as the two shades blend together seamlessly to create a contoured eye rather than a full-on makeup look.

If you wanted to add a little more dimension or take the look from daytime to party-time, the new retractable eye pencil in 04 Katy Navy is my pick of the bunch.  It features a soft but intensely strong pigment with a shimmering metallic hue of blue that would complement a range of eye colours.

There’s very little drag across the eye area during application thanks to a creamy formula that sets quickly and stays put throughout a vigorous swatch wash!  Worn on the eye, it survives fairly well (although not completely) along the waterline but exceptionally well across the lower lashline as shown in the FOTD below.

Guerlain’s Ecrin 2 Couleurs – Colour fusion eyeshadow duo is currently priced at £27.00 (was £30) and Guerlain’s The Eye Pencil – Retractable Cream Khol & Liner is currently priced at £16.20 (was £18) instore and online at Debenhams.com

Do you have your Christmas sparkle sorted yet?

* press samples

As you may have guessed from the title, I’m totally blaming the pregnancy hormones for this one.  Whether or not they are actually culpable remains to be seen but it feels slightly less shameful to rest the responsibility upon my ever-increasing levels of hormonal angst.

Some women eat coal, crave the taste of rubber and leather… me?  Well, I just want to smell like all of those things instead.  You can keep your girly florals, sweet fruits, and vomit-worthy vanillas… give me all of the MAN SCENTS.

Were my pockets big enough, I’d carry the above candles around with me 24/7, pausing regularly for a sniff before continuing on my way.  My Jonathan Ward Woodstock candle, which I picked up whilst scouring the shelves at T.K. Maxx is the least masculine of the trio and perfect for the season, reminding me of a dampened but very-much-alive forest floor… woody and aromatic.

My Mum picked up the Rigaud Cuir de Kyara candle for me after spotting it nestled on a tabletop at her local Emmaus in France.  She said that the smell of pure, unadulterated leather “nearly knocked her head off” and thus, knew instantly that I would fall in love with it.  She was right.  It’s a blinder and I’m now obsessed with finding other candles from this Parisian brand.

Finally, and thanks to a Zuneta/Amazon bargain, I’m pleased to finally be able to add this Malin + Goetz Vetiver candle to my collection!  I haven’t been able to walk past the display of M+G candles in Liberty for ages without stopping to sniff this one in all its earthy, woody and downright sexy glory.

But my obsession with man-scent doesn’t just stop at candles.  Oh no!  It gets far more serious…

I bought L’Artisan Parfumeur’s Tea for Two during their Summer sale a couple of years ago and it was love at first sniff but recently, I just can’t get enough of it and have upgraded to a massive 100ml bottle in order to get my fix.  The perfect blend of smoky embers, honeyed tobacco and warming ginger to keep all thoughts of frostiness at bay this Winter.

Ahhh, Molton Brown… I remember when I first came across your distinctively delicious Re-Charge Black Pepper scent (now called black peppercorn) a few years ago whilst staying at a hotel in Basel.  To this day, I kick myself for being good and not stealing all the hotel toiletries, it just felt too naughty to take the ones that I hadn’t actually opened to use during my stay!  Instead, I scoop up other people’s spoils on eBay and long for the candle version!

My final fragrant craving is one that Mr. L is less than impressed with.  He can cope with sharing most of his scents with me, infact… many times, we purchase a fragrance under the certain knowledge that we’re doing so in order to share the bottle (it makes a £70 splurge so much more palatable split two ways).  My desires to wear his smells-just-like-a-freshly-wet-shaved-man Floris Santal*, however, are falling on deaf ears.  I’ve been allowed a quick spritz, twice.  Only twice.  I actually think that might constitute domestic abuse.

Are there any “boy” scents that drive you wild?  And, question is… are you wild enough to wear them?

* press sample

Morning all, here are the lucky winners of my recent competition to snaffle a bottle of Face The World Cleanser…

Leanne M. (@LilMissStylish)

Charlotte G.

Peter G.

I shall be in touch with the lucky winners later today!

If you weren’t lucky enough to win a bottle this time around, you’ll be pleased to hear that Face The World are currently offering a BOGOF promotion on their mini gift kits and cleansing lotion – no code needed, just in time for some bargainous Christmas shopping!

Have a great week everyone x

*tap tap* is this thing still on?

Oh, hello!  Remember me?  I’ve been poorly, I’m not quite there yet but I’m feeling a bit better… and I’ve missed you.  I’m not declaring the return of regular posting just yet but I’ve got my fingers crossed that I’m over the worst of it.

Anyway, let’s get back to it, shall we?

Are you feeling Wintery yet?  I’m still struggling under my 4.5 tog duvet, rubbing my icy feet up and down the back of my husband’s calves… he likes it when I do that in the middle of the night.  We’ve got the heavy duvet out of storage but I need to take it to the launderette for a freshen up and I’m a bit scared of launderettes, I don’t know how to make them work.

One thing that has definitely left summer far behind, is my skin routine.  Gone are the morning cleanses with melty balms, rinsing off with splashes of warm water… nuh uh, my skin won’t play those games now.  I still use water when I’m removing makeup but in the mornings, I’m all about the cleansing lotion/toner combination.  My skin barely tolerates water, perhaps it’s these extreme southern climes in which our water seems to contain more calcium than the actual wet stuff but I’m always left feeling taut and parched post-cleanse.

There are a few cleansing lotions that I love, mainly by French pharmaceutical brands including: Uriage and A-Derma but they do always feel a little like a compromise between luxury and the sensible choice.  Damnit, I want my luxuriously-scented cleansing routine without compromising on comfort!

Enter a relatively unknown British brand by the name of Face The World.  I first used their Refresh & Soften Cleansing Lotion just over a year ago when I received a mini-sample through the post.  It was love at first wash… but there was a problem.  It was only available to buy in-person, via the company’s practitioners and salons, of which there weren’t a huge number.  I don’t know about you, but I’m always tempted toward the path of least resistance and when I ran out, I continued to buy my cleansers online.

However, I’m pleased to announce that Face The World now retail all of their salon-quality products online for the general public.  Including my lovely Rainforest Refresh & Soften Cleanser!

So, what makes this cleanser such a winner?  Well, let me break it down quickly…

1. It’s got a beautiful lightweight slip and spreadability that means you only need a couple of pumps to cover the whole face.  It doesn’t evaporate on the skin during application, so you can massage away to your little heart’s content and then wipe clean once you’re happily cleansed.

2. It removes my makeup and lets me wiggle my mascara’ed eyelashes between my cleanser-covered fingers without causing searing eye pain.

3. It leaves my skin feeling softened and plumpy.  I sort of want to say “tacky” but that’s not a good description… it just feels, treated…. moisturised and cleansed at the same time.  I still slap on some pure hyaluronic acid afterward but I’m not left running, screaming for my moisturiser.

4. It smells heavenly.

5. It comes in a great big 250ml pump and at £21.60, offers good value for money for a salon-quality product.

I really think this is more suited to drier skin types like mine… those that benefit from an emollient face wash… whether your skin is maturing or you’re just looking for something less stripping for the colder months ahead, it’s worth checking out.

So, now you’ve read about it… how would you like to win one?

Face The World are offering three of my readers the chance to win a bottle of Rainforest Cleanser, so to be in with a chance of winning, follow the Rafflecopter instructions that are loading below…

a Rafflecopter giveaway

If you aren’t as social as all that, you can also just leave a message below and I’ll make sure that your name is in the hat for one entry!

T&C
1. Start date for this competition is 15th October 2013
2. Closing date for this competition is 23rd October 2013
3. Winners will receive 1x Face The World Rainforest Cleanser (worth £21.60 each). No cash alternatives.
4. Competition is open worldwide.
5. Lipglossiping.com is the sole promoter of this competition.
6. Personal details will not be kept or forwarded and are only used in the context of this competition to inform the winner(s) of their prize status.
7. Three winners will be selected at random from all entries received.
8. Winners will be notified within 5 working days and will be expected to reply to an email sent to the address used to enter the competition within 5 working days or risk forfeiting the prize.

What is it?

A pretty polish packed with micro and medium-sized pink glitter particles. There are two special versions, with lids designed by both Poppy Delevingne and Matthew Williamson.

How much is it?

Each 10ml bottle is priced at £11.00

How much of our money goes to supporting PINK projects?

£1 from every sale of Pinkie Pink polish will be donated to Breast Cancer Campaign, the UK’s leading breast cancer research charity.

How do I get it?

Now sold out on the Nails Inc. website, you can still get your hands on it online (with free delivery) from lookfantastic.com

Regular readers will be familliar with the concept of Pink Week here at Lipglossiping.  For the fourth year in a row, I dedicate the first week of October (Breast Cancer Awareness month) to showcasing a selection of beauty products that have pledged financial support through their sales to raise awareness for Breast Cancer.  So without further ado…

What is It?

A limited-edition pink shade with a sheer, smooth formula that allows a hint of natural colour to come through, promising to be flattering on everyone.  Housed in a pink mini cosmetic carrying pouch with a sewn pink ribbon detail.

How much is it?

Clinique’s Limited Edition “Almost Lipstick – Pink Ribbon Honey” is priced at £16.00/ €19.00

How much of our money goes to supporting PINK projects?

£2/€4 will go to THE BREAST CANCER RESEARCH FOUNDATION® (£1/€2 from Clinique and £1/€2 from Selfridges and Boots nationwide/ Brown Thomas) from every purchase sold in the UK.

How do I get it?

Clinique’s Limited Edition “Almost Lipstick – Pink Ribbon Honey” is available to buy from Clinique counters, Selfridges, Boots and Brown Thomas, while stocks last.

In these times of austerity, does anything seem more wasteful than spending ££££ on disposable face wipes?  But for every face-wipe detractor out there, you’ll find someone who wouldn’t be without the convenience of their skincare-enriched, disposable towels.

As someone who tries to avoid too much water when cleansing, I’ve been known to use face wipes as part of my cleansing routine.  Not to remove a full face of makeup, but to freshen my face in the mornings…  I have to admit, however, that I’ve never paid more than around £6 for a pack.  I’m not sure I could bring myself to pay any more than this… but would you part with the cash for any of these?

01: Murad Clarifying Wipes for Blemish-Prone Skin (£18.00, lookfantastic.com) – 30 wipes per pack / 60p per wipe

These wipes from Doctor-led brand Murad have been enriched with witch hazel, algae extract, grape seed extract and vitamin E.  Designed specifically for blemish-prone skintypes, the wipes promise to tighten your pores, regulate sebum and oil production and protect your skin from free radical damage.

02: Dermalogica Skin Purifying Wipes (£14.40, jerseybeautycompany.co.uk) – 20 wipes per pack / 72p per wipe

The Dermalogica Skin Purifying Wipes contain Antibacterial Triclosan, extracts of Balm Mint, Coneflower and Camphor, Salicylic Acid, and witch-hazel to cleanse, remove excess surface oil, and purify the skin.  These are particularly recommended for popping in your gym bag as a post-workout freshen-up.

03: Ole Henriksen Truth To Go Wipes (£15.00, hqhair.com) – 30 wipes per pack / 50p per wipe

For a less astringent cleanse, the Ole Henriksen Truth To Go wipes offer naturally based mild surfactants to gently lift away dirt and impurities while essential fatty acids nourish the skin.  These orange-scented wipes also include Vitamin C and Micro Algae stimulates Collagen production to lighten, brighten and tighten the skin.

04: Stila Ready for Take Off Moisturizing Cleansing Cloths (£12.50, fenwick.co.uk) 30 wipes per pack / 42p per wipe

The clue is in the name.  These wipes from Stila promise to deliver a more moisturising cleanse, perfect for the upcoming colder months.  Containing extracts of  lavender, chamomile, and aloe vera these wipes are made without synthetic fragrance, mineral oil, sulfates, parabens or phthalates, making them a great choice for more sensitive skins.

05: MAC Cosmetics Wipes (£15.00, debenhams.com) 45 wipes per pack / 33p per wipe

These oversized wipes from staple cosmetic brand MAC promise to make quick work of makeup-removal.  Saturated with M·A·C cleanser and infused with vitamin E, they offer a convenient cleanse.  Less of a skin treatment wipe, more of a fuss-free cleanse and go.

Would pay over £10 for a pack of face-wipes?  Are you a fan of any that I’ve mentioned?

In another completely-inappropriate-shade-for-the-season, today I’m sporting Butter London’s Kerfuffle.  A word that I can’t actually say without immediately thinking of Lou from Little Britain’s Lou and Andy.

Kerfuffle is a delicate pink-peach creme with a glossy finish in a bright (but not too bright) base.  Application was fine, three coats for full opacity with a formula that didn’t disappoint.  It’s a soft, pretty-looking shade that should complement most skin-tones nicely.  The chances of this pairing up with tanned toes as we approach Winter is unlikely, but should it get the chance… I think it would look very nice!

Butter London Kerfuffle is priced at £11.95 and available to buy online from powderrooms.com

Give it a couple more months and we won’t need to use blusher.  The faux Jack-Frost-has-been-pinching-your-cheeks look will be served up daily by Mother Nature.  In the mean-time, Clinique have a rather lovely solution to inject some colour into our cheeks!

First things first, it’s a thing of beauty in the pan.  I mean, look at it.  Look!  I never tire of pretty makeup…

Considering I struggled like hell to cut out pastry leaves that actually looked anything like leaves for the top of my apple pie last week, you can colour me impressed by Clinique’s ability to craft a bleedin’ poppy into their blusher pans.  You don’t want me to spoil that pristine surface do you?

Tough.  Here’s a swatch:

Plum Poppy makes for a soft-neutral shade with enough pink in it to ensure that it’s a flattering choice for cool skin-toned girls like myself.  The pink keeps the colour looking fresh, rather than muddy as some plums (including the much-loved NARS Sin) tend to turn against my complexion.  There’s a slight iridescence to the formula that translates nicely once on the skin, giving a subtle highlight without any over-the-top shimmer or sparkle.

The texture is soft and picks up easily on a brush.  For application, I prefer to use a stippling brush… just for a lighter touch as I do tend to be a little heavy-handed and Plum Poppy doesn’t take too much effort to build into a natural-looking flush.

The brand actually market this as an “all-over color” as well as a blush, meaning that you could… if you wanted to…. wear this all over your face.  In my opinion, it’s far too pigmented for that kind of application but hey, whatever tickles your pickle!

Clinique Fresh Bloom All Over Color in Plum Poppy is priced at £26 and is available to buy on counter and online at johnlewis.com

* press sample