A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

Do I feel a faint glow of warmth on the back of my neck?  Could it be that Summer is attempting to at least play a bit part in our lives this year?  I won’t hold my breath to be honest, so while I can see a bit of blue inbetween the clouds, I’m gonna make the most of it.

There’s no better way of injecting some summer lovin’ into your routine than with skittle-licious nails in the shape of China Glaze’s Summer Neons collection*.

Twelve shades of super-vibrant colour in that Summer-staple neon formula.  Have we seen these before?  Probably – but those hot corals never fail to make me smile, no matter how many times they come around.  Individual finger swatches coming soon!

* press sample

… this cracking Elemis deal pops up from FeelUnique.com

Priced at £75 – the set includes eight full-sized Elemis products (and not the stuff off the back of the shelf that no-one else wants either!):

Elemis Pro-Collagen Marine Cream 50ml
Elemis Tri-Enzyme Resurfacing Facial Wash 200ml
Elemis Exotic Cream Moisturising Mask 50ml
Elemis Exotic Frangipani Monoi Moisture Melt 100ml
Elemis Papaya Enzyme Peel 50ml
Elemis Sp@Home Skin Nourishing Milk Bath 400ml
Elemis Sp@Home Pro-Radiance Hand and Nail Cream 100ml

and just so that you can get away with the purchase….

Elemis Men Anti-Ageing Time Defence Wrinkle Delay 50ml

I’ve never seen quite such a value-for-money deal on the British brand, though obviously, the £75 outlay is still considerable.  However, if you’re looking to give your skincare routine a major overhaul for the Summer, this has your name written all over it.  I’d personally recommend applying (and sleeping in) the moisturising mask directly after removing the Papaye Enzyme Peel – I do this twice a week and it’s keeping my normally dry skin both well-exfoliated and moisturised.

I’d imagine stocks on this one to be pretty limited.

Elemis FeelUnique.com Exclusive Hero Collection, priced at £75.00 with a £300+ value from FeelUnique.com

Do you remember the times when men used to stick “go faster” stripes on their cars in an attempt to make them look less like Ford Cortinas and more like racing super-engines?  Those were the (halcyon) days: no seatbelts (more fatalities), no power steering (more achy arms), and no moulded bumpers (remember when the metal ones used to fall off?!)

So, what happened?  Well… technology inevitably improved and manufacturers kept up with the times.  Men, on the other hand?  They still love a Ferrari key fob to complement their Honda Civic, and if you look closely, the stripes have just been replaced by LED running lights, the flashiest of alloys, and a stainless steel gearstick knob.

But what if your fella takes the bus to work on a Monday morning?  What if he can’t just jump in his S-Class (with its top speed of 155mph), cruising down the motorway trying to avoid the lure of Starbucks at each service station he passes.  What about him huh?  Spare a thought.

Or maybe spare a few pennies instead and indulge his taste for all things automotive with the latest fragrance from Mercedes-Benz.

The company’s first foray into the world of fragrance promises a fresh, yet refined olfactory experience combining: bergamot and mandarin with a heart of violet, an aquatic freshness from the cascalone molecule (think GA’s Acqua di Gio) with spices including bourbon pepper, nutmeg and galbanum, before descending into the tried-and-tested woody base note mix.

This isn’t a review, I haven’t sniffed at the bottle…. consider this a friendly heads up.  For the man who has everything.  Except a driving license.

Available exclusively at Harrods, priced from £48 for 75ml

Heal Gel.  The most visually uninspiring product to land on my desk, ever.  Except – perhaps more than most – as beauty lovers, we should understand that looks can be deceiving, and if my instincts on a product’s efficacy serve me well, this unassuming little jar contains something not unlike a miracle.  Yeah, you heard me.  I don’t mince my words when it comes to my reviews, but you’ll rarely hear me call something out as a skin saviour.

Boring isn’t it?  But when compared to some of the flash self-proclaimed “miracle” creams on the market, this one actually appears to have some potency.

I put a shout out on Twitter to ask for recommendations on products that might help to improve the appearance of my daughter’s scar.  She picked the scab that had healed over a scratch back in February and it had, in return, left her with a slightly red dent on her cheek.  It wasn’t the most noticeable thing in the world, but on her completely flawless canvas – it was a shame.  Thankfully, over time and with generous moisturising with calendula cream – the colour in the scab calmed and returned to match her skin-colouring, the dent however, remained.

I genuinely didn’t think that there would be any topical product that would help this situation, I mean… if there really were something that could ‘plump’ the skin up enough to fill a dent (and do it permanently), that stuff would already be holy grail for every single woman on the planet (and probably cost a bajillion pounds) right?  The good people on Twitter suggested lots of things and home remedies that I’d already tried – the most popular being Bio Oil, something that I’ve used in the past and didn’t personally feel achieved much compared to how lauded it is in the beauty community.

The PR for Heal Gel* asked if I wanted to try a sample of the product which is used to treat post-operative scarring, keloid scars, blemishes and aged scar tissue.  My interest was piqued, on paper – it fits the bill but I was unsure, because it’s one thing testing products out on myself but I don’t feel comfortable trying samples on my daughter.  I googled to find out more about Heal Gel and had a DM from a fellow blogger with much more skincare nouse than me who had seen the tweet and suggested that it might actually work.

Well, it worked.  I think.

I applied a tiny amount directly to the dent, three times a day and within 3 weeks of application, I started to notice that when my daughter turned her head, the light that reflected in the dent was looking more shallow than it had previously.  It’s really hard to quantify a change that, to be quite honest, is minimal.  I have to trust my instincts somewhat that it’s not a placebo effect but both myself and my husband agree that overall, the scarring is looking flatter and can only really be noticed now when she angles her head into the light.

I feel that perhaps this is something that would have happened in good time.  She’s young, has plenty of collagen and good skin elasticity but I also believe that my use of Heal Gel accelerated the natural healing process.  I commented on Twitter that I thought I was seeing good results… but I wasn’t entirely sure about writing a post extolling it’s virtues – I didn’t want anyone to go rushing out to spend their pennies on this stuff based on my reccomendations without something just a little more tangible.  I started to use Heal Gel on my own aged surgery scars, and crossed my fingers.

That was only a week ago, not enough time to notice any difference in the slightest.

So why am I writing my review now?  Well, I got sunburned on Sunday morning, walking around the car-boot sale.  I’d SPF’ed my face to the max and completely ignored my chest, clever no?  Combined with a stiff breeze I really didn’t feel the effects until I sat back in the car and felt the tell-tale stinging sensation that tells me I’ve over-done it.  Bugger.  Until I remembered the Heal Gel sat in my desk at home and I formulated a cunning plan!
I would treat one half of my *cough* burnt bosom *cough* with my usual aftersun solution of Aloe Vera gel and the other, with the Heal Gel.  Within 24 hours, I’d found a good enough reason to trust my initial instincts.  Look!

I’m half proud of my ingenuity at trying to deliver some tangible results with the product, and half mortified that I’ve basically flashed my boobs in my leopard-print cami (don’t try and pretend you didn’t notice the cami) on the fucking internet.  Go me!

I’ll leave you with this thought…  If it takes five leading British plastic and cosmetic surgeons only three years to perfect the formula for Heal Gel.  Why is it taking me longer than thirty years to remember to sun-protect my chest in the first place?  Shameful.

Heal Gel is priced at £33.50 for 30ml and can be purchased online from Victoria Health and Cult Beauty.  It’s also available instore at Liberty.

* press sample

** for an ingredient list and more scientific information than I’m able to provide, click through to either Victoria Health or Cult Beauty for more information, the Heal Gel website is a little sparse at the moment!

OH HAI MOST PRETTY POLISH IN THE WORLD.  WHERE YOU BEEN ALL MY LIFE?

You know, it’s funny.  The nail polish community online have been crying out for moar holos, moar party glitters, and moar duochromes from the industry leaders for a few years now.  We haven’t really seen anything significant come from these requests and so something very interesting has happened… the rule of the indie/franken brigade is now upon us!  You might still be looking to OPI, China Glaze, Zoya et al to see where the polish trends are heading, and if so… you’re looking in the wrong place.

Get. on. Etsy.

I picked up this Darling Diva Polish in Space Beetle a few weeks ago and it’s the most beautiful colour-shifting holographic that I own.  Ok, it might be the only one, whatever – I don’t have a 9359435 billion nail polishes (well, not quite).

Ain’t she beautiful?  Trust me, she’s even better in sunlight.

I know that she’s been compared to Dollish Polish’s Toxic Avenger… of which, I know very little about – so I’m just going to take this polish on its own merits and tell you why you need to go and buy it.  I don’t think it’s going to be a tough job to be honest.

Space Beetle is a linear holographic-slash-duochrome that’s absolutely packed with prismatic bounty.  The highlights flash the most delightful candyfloss pink which is what makes this so unique.  The swatches show the polish applied over a bare nail, two coats – both of which, applied faultlessly.

I haven’t tried layering it yet, but I can’t wait – I’m curious to see what effect those pink flashes have on a variety of base colours.

Darling Diva Polish Space Beetle (£7.86) is available to buy online from the Darling Diva Polish Etsy shop which ships internationally.  I have my beady eye on Ceylon next (I’m a sucker for a Periwinkle!)

You may remember this post about the brush guards that I use whenever I clean my brushes, it allows them to dry and retain their shape perfectly.  In the comments, Ellie told us about the el-cheapo version you could pick up on eBay for just ninety-nine pennies!  A couple of my original brush guards were showing some wear on the edges so I picked up a couple of rolls and waited patiently for them to arrive from the far East.

I thought I’d do a quick comparison… this isn’t particularly in-depth but I thought it might be useful to demonstrate the major differences between the available tools.

The most obvious difference is in the rigidity of the material used to construct the brush guards.  The eBay equivalent is much softer, more pliable and to be honest, less substantial.  The ‘official’ brush guards are firmer and more rigid with a stronger construction.  If you imagine a rope… the stronger rope will be weaved of more strands – this is pretty much what’s happening here.  Think of it as the ‘official’ version of The Brush Guard being triple-ply loo roll as opposed to the single-ply eBay alternative!

However, this doesn’t make the eBay Brush Guards any less useful when it comes to keeping the brush hairs in shape.  Look, same brush…

You can see that both guards encourage the brush to keep its naturally domed taper, thus allowing it to dry retaining a good shape.  The biggest drawback to the eBay version is that I simply haven’t been able to use them on any eye brushes with as much success and that includes brushes like the MAC 217 – there’s too much stretch in the mesh to conform to a smaller brush tip and hold the bristles as tightly as I’d like.

As for travel?  Well, the official version would be my recommendation.  The eBay guards are simply too pliable and don’t afford the rigidity needed to protect the brushes when they’re bumping up against one another.  To try and demonstrate what I mean, I pressed my fingertip against the brush tip on a MAC 217… I tried to apply the same amount of pressure to the brush head and you can see the difference between the amount of movement exercised on the delicate hairs.

Ultimately, if you’re looking for something to simply cover, lightly protect and shape your larger brushes after washing and aren’t looking for something to protect your brushes whilst travelling – go for the eBay brush guards.  At 99p for a roll of mesh you’ll be sitting pretty with neatly domed powder brushes at the ready!  If you need something more substantial or struggle to keep your eye brushes in good shape, you should stump up the extra pennies and go for the official versions of The Brush Guard.

It may look like a super low-tech solution to protecting your brushes, but not all brush guards are built equally!

I purchased my eBay brush guards, rather unsurprisingly, on eBay (99p) and my official ones from Cocktail Cosmetics (£5 per pack).

You’re gonna have to excuse the late-night point & shoot pictures, these were taken at around 11pm and I’d just dragged my tired bum through the door after spending an evening at Selfridges enjoying an Armani masterclass with Cesar Santos, one of Armani’s International Face Designers.  I’d already managed to eat my lipstick and gloss off whilst on the train home, so what remains in the photo below is a five-hour old base which my dry skin instantly fell in love with (Luminous Silk 4.5), some phenomenal mascara (Eyes to Kill (VexInTheCity, you were right)), and one of the new Eyes To Kill eyeshadows (#24 – RougeDeluxe has more info on them here).

There was also a blush (blushing fabric #1) which the camera has failed to capture.  I’m sad that I ate the lipstick off, it was probably the best warm pink I’ve ever worn for not looking clashy against my skin.  Don’t comment on my brows, I would say that I’m “growing them out” or something bloggery like that, but I’m not… I’m just too idle to phone my threading lady and my fringe does a great job at hiding them.  Usually.

How about that mascara huh?

Cesar Santos usually resides on the Giorgio Armani counter at Harvey Nichols, London.  You need to track down this man, seriously.  He’s ridiculously easy to talk to, completely non-judgemental when admitting your makeup crimes, and did not put a single foot wrong when selecting shades that complemented both my skintone AND my hair.  Basically, if ever there were a case for human cloning (especially if we could turn them into our makeup minions)… Cesar is it.

I shall be blogging more about the evening soon!

I know!  Right?!

But before you get all excited (as I did when I read about this), the offer is only available to new Boots Treat Street customers.  So, if like me, you’re already justifying your eBay addiction by reminding yourself that you earn Boots points with every purchase courtesy of Treat Street, this deal doesn’t have your name written on it.  The bastards.

However…

If you’re new to the world of Boots Treat Street, there isn’t a better time to sign up.  Except for that time when I signed up and got £15 in Boots points (kerr-ching) via a Living Social deal.  Sorry, you’ve missed that boat and no-one likes a gloater.

So, what’s this Treat Street malarkey all about then?  Well, to put it simply… it’s the Boots Advantage Card system extended to other stores (but only online).  For example, you can’t walk in to Dixons brandishing your Boots card but you can click through to the Dixons website VIA the Boots Treat Street website and subsequently earn Boots points on any purchases.  Clear as mud?  Good.

As much as I hate installing crap on my computer, I must admit that the Boots Treat Street browser toolbar comes in quite handy.  It pops up whenever I’m on a website that participates in the scheme and reminds me to “log myself in” to the system before making my purchase, thus securing my Boots Advantage Card Points from the deal.

If you haven’t shopped via the Boots Treat Street website before, you’ll be wanting this code: WELCOME500 and these instructions on what to do next.

Happy points collecting!  Do you use Treat Street?  Tempted to sign up?

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?

I’ve been a fan of Jo Malone’s Cologne Intense range since it debuted in the Summer of 2010 and although back then, the thought of spending £70+ on a fragrance did little more than bewilder me, you may have noticed that as my interest in fragrance has grown, so my spending budget has significantly increased.  Of the current colognes in the range, it has always been the Oud & Bergamot Cologne Intense that has appealed to my senses more than any other (followed closesly by the Amber & Patchouli – what can I say?  I like the headier stuff!) which is why I was excited to hear about the brand’s latest addition to the line, the Velvet Rose & Oud Cologne Intense*.

Rose & Oud… it’s not the most original pairing in the fragrance world is it?  But there’s good reason for that – the traditional Middle Eastern coupling simply compliments one another beautifully.  If you’re a Rose & Oud aficionado, you may find this version a touch dumbed-down despite the “intense” moniker, in which case, you’ll be pleased to save your pennies.

For everyone else, I have to say that the new Jo Malone version makes for a lovely introduction to the classic duo.  It’s heavy on the rose, as you might expect from the British brand and reminds me somehow of a more velveteen and cleaner Le Labo Rose 31, thanks in no small part to the fact that the Oud in this definitely plays only a bit part on the stage.  It lacks the animalic tang and spice of the Le Labo but the dark, masculine edge is perfectly balanced with a voluptuousness that emerges from the first sniff and stays the course throughout the shorter-than-I’d-like wear time.  So, talking of longevity… this is where I find my disappointment – for such a majestic pairing (and a non-too-shabby price), I’d like more endurance please – on my skin, I achieve around the four hours mark.  Ultimately, this leaves me torn – I adore the composition: the allure of the rose with the darkened petals and its full-bodied, almost torrid sultriness appeals in all the ways I had anticipated.  It’s just aswell it’s only available in a 100ml bottle, because I’ll spraying this liberally and often.

In other news, the brand have recently opened a new London boutique in Covent Garden on King Street.  Most interestingly, this is the first store to employ the brand’s new design in the inimitable Jo Malone style of black and cream, it’s also the largest freestanding boutique in the UK stocking a full range of Jo Malone’s beauty and home fragrance favourites.

Velvet Rose & Oud Cologne Intesnse is a limited edition fragrance available now, priced at £95 for 100ml.

* press sample

You know how I love to come across an unexpected beauty bargain?  Well, this one is my latest and it’s from the M&S debut Limited Collection make-up range.  The range went live last month, you can read more about the brand’s new beauty ventures in this post but the main thing you need to know about the M&S Limited Collection is that everything comes in at under £6.00

The Limited Collection includes almost everything a girl needs for her daily makeup bag from foundation to bronzer, nail polish to cheek tint and most things that fall in-between.  I was sent a few random bits and bobs from the new collection and I’ve got enough of a feel for the products to confidently call this one out as worth a look next time you’re in store.

The shadows come in a range of finishes and although I suspect that some of the base products will be a little hit and miss when it comes to shade selection (light, medium and dark anyone?) there are some funky nail shades on offer and this little gem of a liquid liner really turned my head…

This liquid liner in turquoise packs one hell of a tropical punch in the colour stakes.  It’s incredibly pigmented and doesn’t do that annoying liquid liner thing of pushing the pigment to the edges of the line, leaving the centre colour-free and in need of seven more layers.  The above swatch images show a single sweep of colour (except for the very outer “v” on the eye where for neatness’ sake I had to go over it).  My only caveat with this product is that it takes a while to dry… I’d say around 90 seconds to set, that’s quite a long time when you’ve only got five-minutes to do your face in the morning.

Marks & Spencer Limited Collection Liner in Turquoise is a complete steal at only £4.00 for 6ml.

* press sample

You can keep your Andrex puppies and their loo roll-pulling antics because Zoya Kendal has super-softness in the bag.  This beautiful polish from the American brand is simply perfect.  A gorgeous greyed-lavender creme that incites visions of mist-swirled candyfloss.

The formula is also divine, reaching full opacity in two fuss-free, streak-free coats. You may be able to tell that this is my favourite polish of the year so far…. making me want to retrospectively check out the rest of the Zoya Feel Collection from last winter (thank heavens for eBay).

If you’re finding Zoya Kendal a little too simplistic or cold for your tastes, these kind of muted pastels are my absolute favourite for enhancing with a little glitter.  In this case, Butter London’s Tart with a Heart did the honours…

Ethereal, delicate, beautiful and blinging to the max!

Zoya Kendal is available to buy online from beauty4nails-body.co.uk, priced at £7.99