A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

It strikes me that there’s a certain amount of appreciation for baked goods amongst beauty fans.  Cookies, cupcakes, muffins, cake-mix licked straight from the bowl… we’re just not fussy.  Perhaps it’s because we’re so finely attuned to appreciating the finer luxuries in life, or maybe we’re just a little big piggy – whatever the reason – I’m pretty sure you’re gonna get as excited as I have about today’s Christmas Gifting pick.

Let’s have a look at what we’ve got here…

~ A reusable and very practical cookie tin in which we can hide our multiple stashes of Fox’s Crinkle Crunch.  Don’t look at me like that.

~ A full-size tube of Hand Food™ hand cream which I blogged about back in June (and like very much)

~ A full-size maple-scented The Breakfast Scrub sugar body smoother.  Maple scented… excuse me while I make noises that a doughnut-spying Homer would be proud of hearing.

~ Finally, a squee-cute APRON!!!  OMG!!!  A Soap & Glory apron!

There is nothing about this gift set that I dislike and if Mr. L is reading this… (a.) please can you logon and change our Tesco delivery time to an evening slot and (b.) buy me this, kthanksbai.

The Soap & Glory Yum at Heart Christmas Gift Set is priced at a very reasonable (imo) £16 and available instore and online at Boots.  You should also know that this is included in the current 3for2 offer.

Do you suffer from an incurably sweet tooth too?

Remember I told you about this TSV last week?  Well – it’s gone live today and the remaining set details and price have been revealed!

Contents (details pulled from the QVC website):

1 x Pro-Collagen Marine Cream (30ml) – award-winning moisturiser helps to actively reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles whilst hydrating your skin

1 x Pro-Radiance Cream Cleanser (150ml) – formulated to deeply cleanse your skin, gently dissolving make-up and daily grime to a radiant, youthful-looking complexion

1 x Pro-Radiance Hand and Nail Cream (100ml) – luxuriously rich hand cream quickly absorbs to instantly hydrate hands and condition your nails. Only available at QVC

1 x Frangipani Monoi Body Oil (100ml) – super-hydrating oil designed to leave your skin feeling silky soft and beautifully fragranced. It can be used as a massage oil and a hair treatment

1 x Tranquil Touch Bath Elixir (300ml) – enriched with cocoa butter, patchouli, cedarwood and vetivert to leave your skin felling soft and delicately scented

1 x navy patent wash bag – 26.5cm x 17.5cm x 8cm (10.3″ x 6.8″ x 3.1″)

And the price? 

£39.96 on Easy Pay! (4 interest-free installments) – representing a massive saving off the original combined RRP for these products.

I’ve snapped one up but I’m gonna be a bit devious and split them into individual Christmas gifts.  However, this plan has ultimately left me umming and ahh-ing over whether or not to nab another one for myself, I don’t need it but it’s the Pro-Radiance Cream Cleanser and Monoi Body Oil that’s pushing me close to the edge!  Perhaps I’ll just have to come to the conclusion that I don’t know anybody who would like those two for Christmas.  Delusional much?

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Are you buying this set today?  And if so, is it for yourself or someone else?

Father Christmas must be feeling particularly generous this year because Elemis have released details of an exceptionally tempting Today’s Special Value (TSV) with QVC this Sunday.  Full details are being kept secret but I can reveal that you’ll be sitting on your fingers trying not to pick up the phone and place an order.

The TSV is set to include:

Elemis’ NEW sp@home Pro-Radiance Hand & Nail Cream, the number one anti-ageing moisturiser Pro-Collagen Marine Cream (30ml), a full size Exotic Frangipani Monoi Body Oil (100ml), full size Tranquil Touch Indulgent Bath Elixir (200ml) plus one other full size hero Elemis product that will be revealed on the show – all packed in a luxurious high gloss navy make-up bag.

Ooooh, mystery item!  Oooh Frangipani Monoi Body Oil!  Oooh Pro-Collagen Marine Cream! And a final “Ooooh” for the brand new Hand and Nail Cream that isn’t even being RELEASED properly until next year.

Are you all oooh’ed out yet?  I’m getting there.

Seriously though, if you’re looking for an impressive Christmas present for your mum/daughter/sister/best mate/mother in law, this is a very nice-looking set.  I’d prefer a snazzier bag to keep it all in but beggars can’t be choosers etc. etc.

So, let’s get down to the nitty gritty.  What’s it gonna cost you?  Well, the exact price – in true QVC style – will be announced live on air but I *can* tell you that it will be under £40 and offer a guaranteed saving of more than 50% off retail.

OOOOOOOOOOOOHHH!

The airing times on Sunday 20th November are midnight, 1am, 7am, 8am, 9am, 11am, 2pm, 6pm, 8pm and 10pm.  QVC is available on Sky Digital channel 640, Freesat channel 800, Freeview channel 16 and Virgin TV channel 740. To order call QVC on 0800 50 40 30 or visit www.qvcuk.com/elemistsv

The Five Piece Tranquil Indulgence Face and Body Collection will also be available to purchase at www.qvcuk.com/elemis (item number  200194) and will be live from 20th November 2011.

* I totally missed my calling as a gameshow host

These refillable perfume atomizers have revolutionised the way I transport and wear fragrance, you can read my review of them here.  The only problem I have with mine is that they’re always half full of my latest scent!  So I get a bit excited at the prospect of scooping up a spare (or two) when I see them reduced like this.

As well as the black version, Play.com also have the pink one available (though it’s more expensive at £6.99).

Also, at this price, I don’t need to tell you that they’d also make excellent stocking fillers do I?  If you missed out on the Cheap Smells £5.50 deal for these back in September, well here’s an even better saving!

Do you love your Travalo?

Superdrug have been raising the beauty stakes lately.  First with their new beauty card, some great new brand exclusives and now a new range of affordable makeup brushes designed for the more makeup-savvy among us.

The Superdrug PRO Make Up Brush range contains eight new brushes in total.  Each brush is hand-crafted with 100% natural hair and as you’ve come to expect from Superdrug, all are BUAV approved (bunny friendly).

I have a few of the brushes from the new range and have been putting them to the test over the past week or so.  My feelings on each brush vary, so I thought I’d do a quick speed-review of each one.  Let’s get started…

PRO: 02 POWDER BRUSH is a fluffy, domed brush with a softness that belies its price tag.  I would have liked to see a little more weight to it and there is a tiny hint of scratchiness but nothing that would particularly bother me.  It grabs product well and disperses evenly across the face.  The fibres are dense but fairly loosely packed ensuring a light but buildable application.  I didn’t experience much shedding either or on my face, or when washing.  Good stuff.   £9.99

PRO: 11 EYE SHADOW BRUSH – WIDE is a nice tool for applying a wash of colour over the lids.  Again, it’s not the most densely packed brush which means that you’ll be able to build pigmentation with this effectively but it may end up frustrating you if you like to pack colour on quickly.  It also works well to blend harsh lines in a pinch, easily soft enough not to irritate the delicate skin around the eye area.  I have quite small lids and did end up wishing that it were a touch smaller.  £7.99

PRO: 13 EYE SHADOW BRUSH – ROUND isn’t one of my preferred brushes.  It’s nicely shaped with an excellent taper that really allows for some precision work but I just found this one a little too scratchy to use comfortably.  A real shame  because it has some nice resistance to the fibres that will allow you to get right into the corner of the eye and underneath the lashline with confidence that the head won’t splay.  £6.99

PRO: 14 SLANTED EYE LINER BRUSH makes for the 2nd disappointment in the set.  I simply find it too large and soft to give enough precision to line my eyes.  As I draw the brush across my eyelids, it tries to find its own path of least resistance, buckling under the weight of the drag.  Not great.  £5.99

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Overall, I think the range is a useful but not outstanding addition to the store.  It’s always nice to have more choices where budget brushes are concerned but none of the ones I’ve tried above hold a candle to my favourite ELF Studio brushes.

If you want to check these out for yourselves, you’ll be interested to learn that Superdrug are offering the entire collection at a special introductory price until 22nd November with prices starting from only £3.99 (concealer, lip) and ranging up to £8.49 for the most expensive (foundation, powder).

Have you tried the new Superdrug PRO Make Up Brushes yet?

* press sample

This limited edition Living The Life in Laguna* palette from Stila landed on my desk the other day and once I peeked inside, I knew I had to make it the focus of my makeup that evening.  The darker shades are so rich and Autumnal, I was instantly sold.

The collectible palette is one of a series of five from the US brand.  It’s a little bigger than an iPhone and made of sturdy cardboard.  It contains a (slightly too small) mirror, four eye colours, a cheek colour and a highlighter.

All the eye shades included are shimmery and can be worn both wet or dry.  The cheek shades both contain a fairly subtle shimmer that makes them suitable for both day or evening wear.  I absolutely adore the bottom right shade (of the four eye ones) – a rich, chocolatey brown with copper shimmer, it’s exquisite for green eyes.

Each palette in the Beach Girl series comes with a helpful set of instructions on a possible method of application.  I followed Stila’s instructions to the letter for this palette which created the following look…

I adore this little palette, even more so when I checked the press information and discovered that the price is set at a mere £10.00 – bargain.  If you want some real bang for your buck in an easy-to-wear palette that provides not only a complete ‘look’ but also a range of shades you’ll mix and match time and time again, look no further.

Stila Living The Life in Laguna Beach Girl Palette is priced at £10.00 and available to buy online from BeautyBay.com

* press sample

Another supermarket, another vintage-inspired bodycare range… all I can say is, these must sell really well!  Sainsbury’s have Dirty Works, Asda have Ella & Rose and now Tesco have jumped on-board with the new Along Came Betty!

These ranges all look a bit samey (I guess that’s the point) but I can totally see the appeal for those who can’t afford to fill their S&G addictions and I bet Grandmas are forever picking them up for younger, female members of the family!

The lineup features a range of body and skincare products inspired by 1950s screen stars and beauty icons. It includes:

~ So Much Bubble Skin Softening Bath Soak (£3.99)
~ To the Skin and Beyond Ultra Rich Body Butter (£4.00)
~ Hey Sugar Sugar Easily Spreadable Body Scrub (£5.99)
~ Clean Around the Clock Soft Skin Shower Wash (£2.99)
~ It’s a Skin Thing Ultra Light Body Butter (£3.99)
~ Say you Scrub me Scrubby Skin Polish (£3.99)
~ The Big Scrub Mitt (£2.00)

Along Came Betty will be selling at 1/3 off from 16.11 to 06.12 and also available on 3for2 from 7.12 to 03.01 January making it ideal for stocking stuffers and hamper builders alike!

Following on from last week’s FrontCover set, this week’s Star Gift of the Week at Boots is a Ted Baker Make It Big Vanity Case, picture below:

Until Thursday, 3rd November – the set will be priced at only £19 (regularly £40) and includes:

Butterfly Wings Body Wash (250ml)
Butterfly Wings Body Lotion (200ml)
Butterfly Wings Body Spray (150ml)
Butterfly Wings Body Scrub (300ml)
Origami Bath Foam (250ml)
Origami Body Souffle (300ml)
Origami Body Spray (150ml)

For a closer look at the actual case… you can watch the short video below:

Ted Baker Make It Big Vanity Case is available online and instore at Boots priced at £19.00, though be aware that the GotW’s usually sell out online fairly rapidly.

Rituals Sunglow Cheek & Eye Glow in Peach is a multi-tasking palette filled with some truly lovely warm-toned shades that work well even on my cool skin tone.

The palette (which contains a generous 9g of product) is currently on sale on the Rituals website and reminds me of a more affordable version of something like Laura Mercier’s Shimmer Bloc or Bobbi Brown’s Shimmer Brick.

A total of five colours that harmonise well together to create some different eye-variations or if swirled gently with a large, fluffy brush will impart a warm glow to the cheeks.

My preferred way of using this is as an eye palette, it’s one of those no-nonsense palettes that does the hard work for you.  The shade placements are pretty obvious and the mineral formula means that these shades blend together effortlessly.

The high shimmer finish means that this won’t be to everyone’s tastes and when I use this on my cheeks, I use just the tiniest touch over the top of my blusher and edging my cheekbone rather than the apple of my cheek.  In other words, I use this more as a highlighter than a blusher.

I’ve got some swatches below and I’ll make this the feature of my next FOTD – it is quite Autumnal after all no?

A comparison with my other peachy shimmer palettes (Prescriptives The Illuminator, Rituals Sunglow Peach, Bobbi Brown Shimmer Block in Nectar)…

Of the three, the Rituals is the most genuinely multi-functional but also the softest-textured, meaning that it imparts a lot of product onto the brush and creates a little dust when working with it.  The Bobbi Brown is hard-textured and doesn’t work anywhere near as well as eyeshadow but is my preferred option for blush.  The Prescriptives?  Well, seeing as you can’t get it anymore… there’s not much point me going on about it!

Rituals Sunglow* also comes in a range of pinks and a bronze-toned version.  Currently on the Rituals website priced at £17.90

* press sample

I’m not a great self-tanner. I mean that in both senses of the word — I don’t do it very often and when I do, I’m pretty shit at it. The historical exception to this rule is with Sally Hansen’s old Airbrush Legs… you can still buy it, but the formula is a little different now and they’ve ditched my shade. I used to love it and would go through cans of the stuff when the weather called for a bit of leg-display.

So, when St. Tropez’s new Perfect Legs Spray landed on my desk, I had barely opened the envelope before I was prising off the lid and putting it to work, ever-hopeful that I might find my pasty-leg saviour.

Look how stained my hand is!! I’ll tell you more about that in a minute…

The new St. Tropez Perfect Legs Spray promises an instant, natural bronzing effect combined with a longer-lasting self tan. The aerosol can contains 75ml of product, which isn’t a lot — about enough to do your legs twice/three times at most. The product is fairly reasonably priced at £10, making it a cost-effective choice for special events or big nights out. Don’t forget that as-well as the instant bronzer, you’re also benefiting from a normal self-tan at the same time. Although, I’d obviously like to see more for my money, I think the price is reasonable for special occasions when compared to alternative options.

Unlike my old Sally Hansen cans, this isn’t like makeup for your legs. It won’t conceal veins, freckles or give you a massively airbrushed effect but it excels at what it does deliver: healthy-looking, bronzed pins.

It’s ridiculously easy to use and dispenses a very fine mist. Any slightly larger droplets that appear from holding it a little too close blend easily into the skin for a completely streak-free finish. I blended one leg with my hands and the other with a mit. Use the mit, this stuff sets faster than an 80s perm and despite rushing to the basin mere minutes after my first blend – my hand is perma-tanned. Looking on the bright side, this is obviously great news for my legs as it didn’t transfer once touch-dry.

Product doesn’t leak/drip from the nozzle during operation and the spray works regardless of the contorted angles you put the can through. It may just be, that as a novice, I’m having a hallelujah moment with tans in a can but I simply didn’t run into any problems with this one.

And as for my legs? Oh god, hold on to your breakfasts…

It works well right?  My left leg (right as you look at it) was tanned with the St. Tropez and it doesn’t look remotely orange or streaky!  Honestly, if I can use it… a total fool can use it and make it look good in under 5 minutes. I’m so pleased to be able to recommend this to ultra-pale girls who suck at applying fake tan like me. I’m so jealous of wimmen to whom this stuff comes naturally. It’s a bleedin’ art-form to get it right I tell ya!

St. Tropez Perfect Legs Spray simply takes the hard work out of bronzing. Definite repurchase for those times when tights just won’t do.

St. TropezPerfect Legs Spray is priced at £10.00 and available from the usual stockists.

* press sample

Do you remember Streetmate?  That thing with Davina Mccall terrorising innocent people and trying to get them to cop off with other equally innocent strangers out doing their Saturday shopping?

Well, Soap & Glory’s Cheekmate has absolutely nothing to do with that, sorry.

Cheekmate* is a new gel blusher from the British brand best-known for their cheeky one-liners and ever-popular bodycare products.  I received a sample from their cosmetics launch which I was unable to attend and it arrived in the shape of this unassuming tube of red liqui-blush.

I say unassuming because this thing packs one hell of a pigmented punch.  I’ll let some pictures do the talking…

Easy to dispense and a little goes a very long way!

It imparts a nice rosy glow which blends well into moisturised skin.  Definitely apply this before any powder products and my top tip would be to apply before foundation too as inevitably, you’ll want to tone down the clown cheeks just a touch before venturing outside the front door.  Or perhaps that’s just me.

I love the translucency of the product that allows it to appear more of a flush across the cheeks as opposed to something that’s been painted on.  I would love to see this available in a peachier shade too.  As for use on the lips, I don’t recommend it because it tastes, frankly revolting until it sets dry.  I would never reach for this to use on my lips over a simple swipe of coloured balm as a less-drying alternative.

A final point to note about Soap & Glory’s Cheekmate is that this stuff STAINS.  The above photo shows my fingers after washing my hands.  This obviously means that the product sets and stays in place on my cheeks for most of the day but it also renders my fingertips unsightly.  A little thing, but worth noting.

Soap & Glory Cheekmate is available online and instore at Boots, priced at a very reasonable £8.00

* press sample

What is it?

Vegan nail brand, SpaRitual have released a Cancer Awareness Collection of nail polishes comprising three absolutely beautiful pink shades.  Knowledge, Strength and Clarity sparkle, shimmer and shine in the best ways possible: A holographic pink glitter, a solid pink glitter and a pink foil with golden shimmer.  Amazing.

How much is it?

The shades are priced at £8.50 each

How much of our money goes to supporting PINK projects?

20% of all proceeds from the sale of these three shades will be donated to CancerSchmancer, a U.S. based charity focused on supporting early cancer detection.

How do I get it?

SpaRitual’s In Pink collection is available to buy online in the UK from sparitual.co.uk