A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

Back in the depths of December, a group of bloggers were treated to a fashion show from Fusion@London – an organisation which aims to unite students from across the capital whilst raising funds to support Cancer Research UK.

image credit: Fusion@London (www.fusionatlondon.co.uk) Giovanni Barsanti

Next month, on the 25th and 26^th of February Fusion@London will launch their first gala, which promises to be an inspiring combination of fashion, music and dance to be held at the Troxy, Limehouse.  The show has been designed by a creative committee who work alongside professional and student choreographers and designers to bring the show to life.

There is a real buzz and passion around the event, as evidenced by our sneak peek at the fashion show last month.

image credit: Fusion@London (www.fusionatlondon.co.uk) Giovanni Barsanti

The dresses were flowing, the laughter was infectious and the glamour a-plenty thanks to some surprisingly edgy looks from mineral makeup gurus Sheer Cover.  All in all, the main event promises to be a spectacular occassion and all for a good cause!

Tickets are available online now from the Fusion@London website.

To celebrate Stila’s new beauty counter in Harvey Nichols London, the brand are giving away one of their iconic Lip Glazes to every beauty lover who visits the new counter from 10am on the 19th January (one day only) to trade in a tired, old lipgloss.  It’s a lipgloss amnesty people!

It’s a Stila Steal that’s worth £15 – so rummage through your handbag, ‘cos it’s time to retire that old gloopster in favour of something altogether more sophisticated.

Also, Manchester ladies – keep an eye out on the HN Manchester’s What’s On page as this lip-smacking deal will be heading your way soon (along with your new Stila counter!)

Will you be doing an after-work dash to throw your lipgloss (and yourself) at the new Stila counter in Harvey Nichols next Thursday?

Fifty years ago, there was very little we could do about most cosmetic imperfections.  Children wore port-wine stains and birthmarks on their skin their entire lives and men and women alike have always suffered from cosmetic abnormalities that range from the mildly irritating to the full-blown debilitating.  Nowadays, of course, things are very different and the one technology that has made the biggest difference to non-invasive treatments is the not-so-humble laser.

You don’t need to read far back through this blog to discover the impact that cosmetic lasers have made to my life, I have a greater sense of self-worth now that I’ve achieved and am maintaining a worthwhile reduction in hair growth, perhaps a shallow sentiment but it’s easy to underestimate the devastating effects that cosmetic flaws can have on our self-esteem and confidence.

I headed back to my local Sk:n Clinic one morning in November to see what could be done about a skin imperfection that I’d noticed had gotten worse since giving birth to my daughter in 2009.  It’s a ‘condition’ that affects many women (and men) around the world and is particularly prominent among those of us with a classic Celtic complexion.  I’m talking about thread veins.

Thread veins, spider veins, broken veins — whatever you want to call them — come under many guises but these delicate blood vessels are generally harmless little blighters that may be clearly visible across the thinner areas of skin.  In my case, it was the tip of my nose that suffered a permanent red (purple in cold weather) flush.  Making me look not unlike a total lush.  The photo below shows my skin on the day of my consultation, it’s freshly washed and moisturised so a little more ‘stimulated’ (read: irritated) than it would be later in the day.

The majority of my thread veins are minor and conceal well with a good application of a medium-coverage foundation.  The one on the tip of my nose however, has slowly become more resistant to concealer.  I’m prone to redness and see it as part and parcel of who I am but when faced with the opportunity to correct the imperfections genetics has dumped on us, why not?

My consultation was enlightening, I discovered more about the causes behind these little red road maps that traverse my face just under the surface of my skin.  I couldn’t resist asking if squeezing spots too recklessly as a teen (ok, older) may have contributed to their irritation.  The nurse at Sk:n said that whilst it may have been a contributing factor (as with any physical skin damage), the biggest likelihood pointed at simple genetic inheritance.  Thanks Mum!

The procedure itself was painless.  Not ‘uncomfortable’ just completely painless.  For some reason, I assumed that due to the particularly bony location I might have felt a reasonable amount of discomfort.  Nothing, nada.  Does not even compare to laser hair removal (which I find pretty ‘uncomfortable’).

The biggest caveat the nurse at Sk:n warned me about was the likelihood of bruising.  And er… I’m glad she did, as the photos will demonstrate.

No, ok I really do look stupid.  There is no concealer in the world…

Scabby McScaberson.  DON’T PICK THE SCABS!

Halle-frickin-llujah, it fell off. Followed by: “Is this dent ever going to go away?”

“Oh, thank God for that”.  OOOOOooooohhhh where’s it gone?!

16 days people.  From start to finish.

A couple of laser bolts (not the technical term) fired at the tip of my nose, lots of giggles and comments about not needing “Rudolph” this Christmas and a fortnight later and cheerio biggest thread vein conurbation.  I’m really pleased to be able to show you something so tangible, often with all this beauty stuff results can be subjective and OK, it’s not the most groundbreaking cosmetic procedure in the world but it makes all the difference when a red nose isn’t the first flaw your critical mind picks up on when you look in the mirror. (I’ve moved on to something else, of course!)

The cost of this procedure? £99 for a single, very minor treatment.  That’s all it took to shift mine and over a month later, it hasn’t returned.

I hope this helps to give an accurate timeline and a little background information into what you can expect if you decide to go for laser thread vein removal.

In the words of The Fast Show’s Mancunian teenage, “Aren’t lasers BRILLIANT!?!”

You can read more about the facial thread vein removal services offered by Sk:n Clinic by clicking through to their website.

* complimentary treatment courtesy of Sk:n Clinic

Smashbox is a brand that just isn’t that easy for me to lay may hands on – sure, it’s in Debenhams but my local Debenhams is situated a 10 minute walk from the main shopping area, making it a bit of a black hole as a far as I’m concerned.

Smashbox Bionic Mascara in Jet Black is currently available at CheapSmells.com — who knows for how long, they have a pretty rapid stock turnover — and they sent me a sample to put to the test.

The mascara has a “wet” formula, something which I noticed immediately because I can never help but worry when buying from online cosmetic ‘discounters’ that I might be getting very old stock… and in the case of mascaras, old stock = dry mascara.

I needn’t have been concerned as the Smashbox Bionic Mascara I received is most definitely wet, any wetter and it would have been an instant fail, like the Bourjois 1001 which I hated until it began to dry out.

You can see from the before/after that the Smashbox Bionic Mascara (on the right!) offers decent lengthening if not much volumising.  I like the inky black shade and the fact that it left my lashes feeling soft and flexible.

It’s not the showstopping mascara I’d have liked to see from Smashbox but it’s a better-than-natural daily mascara (I hate ‘natural’ mascaras) which won’t dry out any time soon and offers genuine single-sweep lash boosting.  Maybe not for nights out on the tiles but a really, very good daily choice for work.

Smashbox Bionic Mascara in Jet Black is priced at £12.95 (a £16.50 value, 22% discount) and available from CheapSmells.com

What’s your favourite ‘daily’ mascara?

* press sample

Perhaps the ultimate offering from the Boots Star Gifts this year is the Soap & Glory Big Splendour set which, from tomorrow, will be slashed to better than half price.

The set includes the following Soap & Glory bestsellers:

Clean On Me™ Creamy Clarifying Shower Gel – 500ml
The Righteous Butter™ Body Butter – 300ml
Pulp Friction™ Body Scrub – 300ml
Face, Soap & Clarity™ Fresh Facial Wash – 150ml
25 Off Your Face™ Cleansing Wipes
Heel Genius Foot™ Cream – 125ml
Hand Food Hand™ Cream – 125ml
Mist You Madly™ Fragrant Body Spray – 250ml
Sexy Mother Pucker™ Lip Plumper In Candy Gloss – 7ml
Calm One, Calm All™ Bubble Bath – 500ml

From tomorrow, the price will be £25 (was £60) and the offer will run until Friday, 24th December.

Stocks are going to fly off the shelves, so if you know a S&G fan who would love one of these under their Christmas Tree – please avoid potential disappointment by jumping on this offer quickly.

Sometimes, you know you’re going to love something before you set eyes on it and when I received an email describing an organic lip balm, delicately housed in a real-life sea shell?  I felt the love immediately.

Upon arrival, I wasn’t disappointed – something that had such potential to be overly-delicate and a little bit flimsy actually feels quite robust.  Sure I wouldn’t wanna drop it on the kitchen floor from any kind of height but I can’t see much harm coming to it from being toted around in my handbag.

The Shell Lip Balm itself is lightweight and adds a nice sheen to your lips without any thickness or stickiness.  As a constant lipstick-wearer, I need something a little more intensive than this during the depths of Winter but I haven’t been able to resist whipping it out and using it at every opportunity regardless!  This is a balm that would be perfectly suited to anyone who needs some added moisturisation but dislikes that heavy, balm-y feeling.  It’s a really very, very comfortable wear.

There are four different shell varieties available: Tiger Crown (mine), White Frangipani, Mocha and Oriental Fan.  The shells are recycled after being washed-up on the shore and go through a stringent cleaning process.  The lip balm is certified organic and contains: Coconut Oil, Rosehip Oil, Beeswax, Lanolin, Jojoba Oil, Macademia Oil and Mango Seed Butter.  There is a faint coconut smell but no taste.

Priced at £12.99 each, they make fantastic gifts (you could even pass a chain through the catch and wear it as a necklace) – I’m smitten with mine and have gone all Pokemon about them, gotta collect ’em all!

Shell Lip Balm is available to buy online at http://www.shelllipbalm.co.uk – if you’re still trying to think of what to buy the person who has everything this Christmas, I’ve just solved that problem!

* press sample

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?

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

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