A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

How much do we hate it when we look down at our fresh manicures to realise that yet again, we’ve managed to daub more polish on our fingers than we got on our nails?

Well, worry no more ‘cos Butter London set the scene at Vena Cava yesterday for a forward-thinking, fabulous faux pas that’s achievable for anyone with a nail brush (and an unsteady hand!)

image stolen borrowed from Nonie Creme’s twitstream here

Check out the finger bands painted by Nonie with some of the bestselling Butter London shades!  Such a fun touch, much cheaper than hunting down the latest high-street jewellery and at around 24hours, probably longer-lasting too 😉

Wanna see my late-night take on the trend?

Shades used: Marrow, Scoundrel and Come to Bed Red!

If you give it a go, make sure you play safe and only use Big 3 Free polishes in the creation of your finger art masterpieces.

I love anything in beauty and fashion that doesn’t take itself too seriously and this daftness reminds me of being at school and tippexing the crap out of myself in an ‘artful’ manner…  and anything that reminds me of those playful days is a win in my book.

What do you think of Butter London’s Vena Cava Finger Bands?

A pretty mixture of bold brights and pretty pastels make up the new Leighton Denny Spring/Summer collection.

I was sent Berry Nice and Sundae Girl…

Sundae Girl is a mod-pink with blue undertones that pops nicely against my skintone without looking stark or particularly harsh.

The formula was thick yet a little sheer, a slightly strange combination and for a perfect finish it could have done with three coats which I didn’t want to give it because of the thick formula.  Nothing worse than a nail polish that looks like it’s been applied with a trowel.

Having said that, it lasted fantastically well.. 4 solid days before starting to show signs of getting a bit tired and no chipping whatsoever.

Berry Nice is a muted fuchsia and a one-coat wonder!  The down side to only applying one coat would be the visible nail ridges but that’s easily sorted with a quality base coat.

This is a great summer shade for tips or toes and anything that delivers great, glossy creme coverage in a single coat has to be a Summer holiday essential.  Wear was average but probably pretty good considering the single coat – it needed replacing on the 3rd day.

Leighton Denny Expert Nails colours are priced at £11.00 each and available online or instore at  John Lewis & selected Selfridges stores.

Are you liking the look of any of the shades from the Leighton Denny Spring/Summer Gelato Collection?

We’ve all seen products that stake lofty claims on the packaging and using them can often leave behind a single raised eyebrow of “hmm… really?”  Take The Day Off*… really does take the day off.  And the night before that if you’ve been a lazy sink-dodging mare.

With dry hands, scoop out a 10p piece sized blog and massage over dry skin to remove all traces of makeup.  The solid balm transforms into a silky oil that glides over skin with ease.

I’m a long-standing cleansing oil fan and my face simply doesn’t feel clean to me until I’ve double cleansed.  Cleansing balms are something I’ve bought in the past but I generally prefer to use a pump bottle of oil than scoop product from a jar.

Last time I returned from holiday and opened my suitcase to find oil-soaked clothes put pay to that little preference.

I’m also finding balms to be more compatible with my Clarisonic.  The slip feels a little dryer than with my usual oils (though still perfectly workable) and I use my delicate brush head in conjunction with a low speed setting before washing off.

It leaves my skin feeling smooth and squeaky clean.  Drier skins may find this a little drying but oilier types should appreciate the product’s ability to cleanse thoroughly without too much stripping of the skin’s natural oils.

Finally?  It leaves not a scrap of residue behind.  It emulsifies fully with water into a creamy, milky fluid that washes away with ease.

It’s unscented which will please many (though I wouldn’t have minded a touch of fragrance tbh), gives me absolutely NO eye irritation (despite massaging it into my lashes!) and contains no mineral oils.  Win.

Clinique Take The Day Off Cleansing Balm is priced at £19.50 for 125ml.

Do you use cleansing balms?  What are some of your favourites?

*press sample

So impressed was I with Chanel Rouge Allure Laque in Dragon, I went out and bought Coromandel (£24) too.

I knew it was a risk, Coromandel is an orange-based red and I think it’s clear that I’m more suited to blue-based reds.

Still it will be interesting to see Coromandel in the swatch comparison lineup (week 2 is coming soon!)

We’re getting into Ronald McDonald territory aren’t we?  I think it’s a beautiful shade but for the purpose of learning more about reds and how different shades ‘react’ on different skin tones… are we in agreement that this isn’t the most flattering for such pink-toned skin as mine?

I mean… by all means, break the rules.  There is NOTHING to say that one shouldn’t rock a shade that isn’t classically correct for you.  Infact, I’d be willing to bet that some of the hawt-est chicks out there are rocking reds that POP off their lips precisely because they contrast so strikingly.  But in the interests of me being more your normal, everyday kinda girl – I think this one’s a fail.

As for the actual product.  It’s another Chanel beaut!  You can pretty much read my Dragon post and repeat the pros and cons of wear and quality for this one here.

I’m gonna do a high street red lip next… I’m getting a bit one-sided and high end centric here.  Red lips should be accessible for all right?!

What next?  Maybelline?  Rimmel?  Revlon?

At the LMS Spotlights launch I attended last month, I had the opportunity for a little chat with Lucie Jones: 2009 X-Factor contestant, model, West-End star and current ‘face’ for LMS Spotlights.

Hi Lucie, Can you name 3 of your makeup bag essentials?

Cleanser is my top priority.  I think that no matter what makeup you wear, it’s so important to take it off properly.  Especially because I work in theatre I wear quite a lot of heavy makeup and when I get home, no matter how tired I am… I make sure to cleanse and tone properly.

No face wipes then?

Well if you’re ‘on the go’ then I think, fine… and for your eye makeup? Maybe… but for me and my career, it’s so important to keep my skin clean and clear.

What else… I think that a moisturiser, maybe a tinted moisturiser is always a nice thing to have (in your bag) and the third thing? Genuinely, my little LMS Spotlight ‘cos it’s so good.  It looks like a little lipstick – it’s quick and it really does work.  Three times a day, no side effects.  Swear by it!

So if you had to pick just one, which one product could you not leave the house without?

If I was to go out for a date and I could only apply one piece of makeup on my face… I think it would be mascara.  Generally, my skin is alright… I get the odd bad spot but “zap, zap” (she holds the LMS Spotlight to her face)… I don’t wear lipstick normally and I’m just back from holiday so have a bit of natural colour.  Mascara would be the one!

You released your first modelling shots last year… do you find yourself more conscious of your physical appearance since entering the public eye?

You know, I really don’t!  And specifically since I’ve started modelling I’ve become more confident.  You have to be, you can’t stand there and feel like a fool because you think you look stupid.  If you go in being confident, the ‘bad’ things about you won’t seem so bad.  Do you know what I mean?  Also, the agency that I work with are just lovely, really caring… so they would never let me feel like that.

Ok, that moves us on quite nicely to my next question… What are your top tips for feigning confidence when you feel you’re not looking your best?

Smile and wave!  Smile and wave… In the words of Madagascar!  But seriously, if you’re feeling a bit uncomfortable about something, just forget about it and focus on something good about yourself!  If you’ve had a bad ‘eating’ day and your belly’s bloated, focus on… your legs! Or do a nice face and makeup.  Concentrate on the things that you’re feeling happy about and the things that you’re feeling unhappy about will blow away!

Sound advice, so what’s next for you this year?

Lucie:  Well, I’m in Les Mis until June.  I will be auditioning for other musicals in the West End, I’ll be doing TV castings and trying to get into acting a little bit more.  I’m writing my own music and have been working with song-writers and producers so we’ll see how all that goes really and I’ll carry on doing modelling aswell…

A bit busy then?

*laughs* yeah, just a bit!

With all that in mind, what advice would you give young girls who hope to follow in your footsteps?

Career-wise, I would say to someone… just be yourself, don’t try and feign that you’re someone else.  If you think that someone will like you more if you act in a certain way, they’re obviously not the right person to be around or to be working with.  There’s always a team of people out there that you should be working with and you should be happy with the people around you.

Remember yourself, remember who you are and don’t change.  You are the only person who can get you to where you want to be, so why become someone else?

LMS Spotlights is a new skin care range that uses red light therapy, a natural skin treatment that’s clinically proven to help clear spots fast.  Available online at www.lmsspotlights.com and at Harrods.

I’ll be putting the device through it’s paces over the next month and will report back on whether it lives up to the hype!

I would love to tell you about this shade, but I’ve drunk 3/4 bottle of really cheap, crap merlot and it’s taken me a good 5 minutes to make this sentence readable.

What’s that Mr. L?  Vogue are onthe phone?  They want to employ me?  Tell them that I charge double for posts this shiteous.

Right, let me put a bit of effort into stopping these letters dancing around the monitor.

Pearly Queen reminds me of everything I wanted OPI Moon over Mumbai to be… but in less coats.  3 coats gives the elegant finish shown above (though 2 will do if you don’t mind a slight VNL)… and it really is elegant and elongating with a pretty satin finish.  My nails feel proper lady-like without being frou frou or bridal.

Pearly Queen is available to buy online from PowderRooms, priced at £9.75

I do love these retro reds… they always make me feel a little ‘pin up’… it doesn’t matter how much the rest of my body lets me down on that score, a quick peep at my tips is enough to convince me I am Bettie Page personified!

Is it the ratio of orange to red that does it?  It’s something that this shade, Eyeko Saucy and Models own Red Alert all seem to have in common.  I should do a swatch comparison to see if they’re as simillar in the flesh as they are in my head.

Anyway, rambling aside… All Fired Up is a neat-o shade.  It applies a little more sheerly than I anticipated and took three coats to remove all traces of VNL (two if I’d layered it on with a trowel).  It dries fairly slowly so would always use a quick dry top coat… I do anyway, so this isn’t really an issue for me.  It scores big points for long-wear, it lasted a full 3 days before tip wear became noticeable.

I really haven’t checked out many Revlon polishes, I kinda jumped straight from not digging polish into my OPIs and Essies… infact, I’m sure there’s some sick part of me that just loves the chase of a good product.

Giving this some wear over IMATS weekend has convinced me that I need to delve into the lower shelves of my nearest Revlon stand to investigate further, I like the bottle design and the brush which was a pleasure to use.

Revlon All Fired Up is priced at £6.29 and exclusive to Boots.

If you had told me 5 years ago that I’d get excited over the thought of a blue eyeshadow duo, I’d have pointed you in the direction of this photo and told you not to be so stupid.  So it surprises me to recognise that Bateau Ivre was the duo that captured my imagination when I first saw promo images from the NARS Spring 2011 collection last month.

They say: The Spring 2011 Collection is the epitome of minimalism, reaching a sensual peak with fresh, forward color. Jeweled earth tones for eyes and nails are infused with a metallic finish that lends a subtly sleek finish. Cool compliments of sheer and sparkling lips pair with unexpected accents of parrot green and vivid blue.  It all adds up to a look that’s indisputably modern.

Let’s take a look at those eyeshadow duos:  Bateau Ivre & Nouveau Monde*

Read the rest of this entry »

It was around the same time last year that NARS released the first in their line up of liquid illuminators, the NARS Orgasm Illuminator.  This year, NARS are releasing not one, not two but THREE new illuminators to sit alongside the original.

Due out a little later this month, the three shades will be well-known to NARS fans out there:  Copacabana, Super Orgasm and Laguna.

NARS Copacabana Illuminator is a pale pearly pink shade shot through with a hint of silver sparkle.  The sparkle stops it from being the kind of illuminator that I’d want to mix in with my foundation (at least during the daytime).

It has a thin, blendable texture and like it’s predecessor, a little goes an extremely long way, the 30ml bottle should last and last.

It is such a pretty shade for pale, cool-toned skin and I’m pleased that NARS have decided to extend the shade collection in this range.  Although I was a fan of the original Orgasm illuminator, I did comment that I felt it suited darker skin tones than mine.   This one?  The Copacabana Illuminator?  Made for me.  Not you, just me!

So far, I’ve worn this dotted along my cheekbones and it blended quite happily over liquid, cremes and powder foundations with no clumping issues.  I’ve also dropped a couple of dots into my body cream before slathering over my decolletage.  There are endless ways to wear illuminators… well, 4 or 5.

The illuminator dries down to a powder finish after a few minutes, so although it’s easy to blend… I feel that I have to be a bit quicker than with the original Orgasm version.

I sneaked a peek at both the Laguna and Super Orgasm illuminators as well.  Whilst Laguna looked ah-mazing for darker skintones, Super Orgasm disappointed me a little… it’s uber glittery (as you might expect) and I’m just not sure it was a needed addition when we already have an Orgasm illuminator available.

NARS Copacabana Illuminator will be available from the middle of this month onwards from all NARS counters and online.  Priced at £23.50.

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Are you liking the look of NARS Copacabana Illuminator or are you cooling your heels for swatches of the Laguna version?

I have a love/hate relationship with these Guerlain Rouge G lipsticks.  They’re stupidly expensive and I blame it ALL on the elaborate casing.  Yes, the packaging is kinda delightful… it’s sexy and tactile and all those things but it also weighs my bag down and brings guilt to my purse.

Greta is a cool toned, creamy red that delivers maximum pigmentation with little effort.  It’s a formula that’s comfortable to wear for many hours despite drying down to a slight satin finish.  It’s fairly well behaved but I still wouldn’t recommend wearing without a lip liner.

Wear is slightly better than average.  I’m not sure what ‘average’ is, I haven’t really quantified it that definitively… but if I’m pleased with the wear (which I was) it means that a).  I wasn’t infront of a mirror every hour reapplying and b).  I didn’t scare myself with patchiness when I made it to the mirror.

£28 is a lot of money to spend on one lipstick and it’s not something I do that often. (honest guv)

If you wanted a signature red with classy packaging, a great formula and bold colouring… I would recommend checking out the Guerlain Rouge G reds… they also do a more orange-toned one too (the name escapes me atm).

Mineral makeup tends to attract followers of great dedication.  Some people are almost evangelical in their adoration for their swirl, tap, buff methods that they leave my head spinning.  I do count myself as a fan of most mineral foundations, I find them quick and easy whilst leaving behind pretty good skin!

My biggest issue with them would be lasting power (or lack of!)… especially in the Summer and particularly on my nose!

Enter Bare Minerals‘ new Prime Time Brightening Foundation Primer*.  They already have a ‘normal’ primer on the market, this is the new one that promises to deliver an “extraordinarily luminous, healthy-looking glow” to our skins.

It’s a very peachy-looking primer… I was expecting to see the usual, white or cloudy viscose liquid dispense from the pump.  Instead, it’s creamy, sparkly and a little on the orange side!  Eek!

So how does it fare?

Well, the colour blends away into my skintone and doesn’t leave a trace behind… it has a slight silicone slip though not as much as primers like the Smashbox one.

When I buff the foundation into my skin, I can definitely feel a difference in the application… it’s smoother and seems to give a little more glide to the buffing action.  I’d even go so far as to say that I get a better finish than without the primer.

But longevity?  Nuh Uh… I’m not noticing a discernible difference.  Not only that… but the “luminous, healthy-looking glow”?  Well… that’s just a bit of sparkle.  All over mah face.

Look.

See the gold flecks?  They sure are pretty!  But they make me wanna break into Saturday Night Fever.  They’re discoball… albeit subtle discoball once spread out over the face.

In any luminizer, I prefer subtle sheen over glittery particles.  It’s not that the effect isn’t pretty… it is.  It’s just too much for daywear, for me at least.

Little primer. we can’t stay together, I’m sorry.  It’s not you… it’s me.

Bare Minerals Prime Time Brightening Primer is available from this month at Bare Escentuals Boutiques, department stores and selected spas/salons nationwide priced at £19.00.

*Press Sample

If you haven’t succumbed to the lure that is Urban Decay’s liner set… then may I gently steer you in the direction of this New Cid Eyes Lips & Cheek Palette.

I wasn’t sure quite how much of a bargain this palette was when I spotted it on ASOS a couple of weeks ago, but since having a closer look at the one that I was sent… I have to say, it’s a very good bargain indeed.  And at £12?  It’s a freakin’ steal!

Of course, you’re going to need to like neutrals to feel any joy in this palette – but if you do… or if you’re just looking for a palette that would fulfill your needs for when you get overtaken by an urge for a polished day look.  This is the palette for you.

The palette includes:  4 eyeshadows (3 shimmer, 1 matte), 2 lipsticks (round pans – the 2 on the left), 1 lip gloss (the 1 on the right) and a blush.

The eyeshadows are generously sized at 5.4gm apiece.

The set also includes a brush but it has no shape… it’s next to useless.  I don’t know why they even bothered.  Horrible thing.  Gah.

The shadows are a dream.  They’re smooth, pigmented and blendable.  The shades are spot-on and IMO particularly suited to cooler/neutral skintones.  Simply some of the prettiest I’ve come across, and I’ve seen a few!

As for the lip and cheek ‘tray’… it’s also delightful.  I’m not a big fan of lipsticks and glosses in pans like this… particularly when combined with powders.  One would have to ensure that they swipe the blush in the opposite direction to the lip pans to prevent a big old mess of product cross-contamination.

The blush is swatched on the bottom and the lips from left to right as ordered in the palette.

I do also find the palette a little bulky.  Whilst still completely portable for a weekend away, it’s not particularly slimline.  I’m nit-picking… and at a cost of £24, that’s fair enough.

But for £12?  For 4 beautiful shadows… a popping blush and lip colours that aren’t shit?

I’ve just bought one to give as a gift – it’s a cracking bargain and I suggest snapping it up while you still can!