A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

Onwards and upwards with the Mother’s Day gift guides! Yesterday we looked at some gift ideas for those of us on a budget but what if you’ve got a little more in the coffers for treating Mummy dearest?

Here’s my pick of the best Mother’s Day Gifts for £30 and under!

1. LUSH Mum Hatbox Set (£25.96)

Reusable hatbox full of luxuriously indulgent products for the industrious mums out there on Mother’s Day.  They’ve earned it!  This extravagant Mother’s Day gift box is brimming with joy for mums, containing everything she needs for bright spring days filled with flowers, fruit, rainbows, green grass, fluff and honey.

If your Mum is a bathing belle, this hatbox is full to the brim with lovely bath goodies.  The set contains: Grass shower gel, Pop in the Bath Bubble Bar, Dorothy Bubble Bar, Space Girl ‘Mum Ballistic, Keep it Fluffy Ballistic, You’ve Been Mangoed Bath Melt and Sultana of Soap.  You’re bound to come up smelling of roses with this gift choice!

2. Don’t Go To The Cosmetics Counter Without Me – Paula Begoun (£18.75)

Paula Begoun is the most unique, respected, and controversial source of skin care and makeup analysis available.  In the 8th edition of Don’t Go To The Cosmetics Counter Without Me you’ll find out the benefits and failings of each product so you can easily shop for the best of the best-and get beautiful skin and makeup, regardless of your budget!

A perfect choice for Mum’s who are a little intimidated by the wide choice of products available.  We can’t always be there to guide them in their selections but this book would make a really good place to start if (like mine) your Mum is cultivating a blossoming affair with beauty!  Plus, you get a free Paula’s Choice Surprise Sample Set with every book ordered.

3. Aromatherapy Associates Miniature Bath & Shower Oil Collection (£28.50)

The complete collection of Aromatherapy Associates bath & shower oils in miniature sizes.

Rapidly gaining cult status, Aromatherapy Associates deliver rich blends of scent-driven bath oils that promise to make every day that little bit more special.  Who says you need a spa to pamper?  With this miniature collection of oils you don’t need to make the tough decision over which one to choose – have the best of both worlds!

4. Sanctuary Skincare Spa Heroes Kit (£20.00)

You might be spending a bit more but who says that you don’t still want a bargain?  Wahanda have teamed up with The Sanctuary Spa to launch an unbeatable Mobdeal on its skincare products!

The set will contain: Radiance Boosting Facial Oil (30ml), Perfectly Polished Hot Cloth Cleanser (175ml), Warming Microbrasion Polish (100ml), and Warming Charcoal Detox Mask (100ml).

The deal is set to go live on Monday 28th March via this link.  So log on after midnight on the 28th to discover over 50% off a kit containing some real skincare treats.

5. Elemis Enriching Body Treats (£20.79)

A sensational selection of new and classic bodycare favourites in handy travel sizes, worth over £35!

The set contains: Wild Lavender Hand and Body Wash, Uplifting Sharp Shower and Bath Gel, Exotic Lime and Ginger Hand and Body Wash, Exotic Frangipani Monoi Bath and Shower Cream, Skin Nourishing Shower Cream, Skin Nourishing Hand and Body Lotion.

Nothing gets this Mum’s heart racing faster than a bunch of Elemis treats and one of the things that this British brand excels at is putting together these value sets.  The Elemis Enriching Body Treats is perfect to take on Summer holidays or to the gym!  Your Mum would be the sweetest-smelling lady in the locker room!

6. Rituals Under A Fig Tree Fragrance Sticks* (£19.90)

Rituals are one brand that need a greater high street presence in the UK.  You can pick up products in John Lewis but I’d love to see more stand alone stores like their one in Westfield.  I love this reed diffuser which is described as a natural and stylish way of fragrancing your home.  They look stylish and deliver a long-lasting scent that makes an impression without overpowering.

* I received a set of these as a press sample.

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Hope that gives you a little inspiration for lovely Mums everywhere, I’ll be back tomorrow with the £30 – £50 range – get your purses credit cards ready for it!

Thanks for your submissions ladies!

I’ve had a read through and would be delighted if Lucy from MissLucyLoves would be the next guest reviewer for Lipglossiping.com – simply because I think that loads of us can totally relate to those under the skin blemishes that are plaguing her at the moment!

Thanks Lucy, could you please email me your details and I’ll pop the kit in the post to you this week.

Look out for Lucy’s review shortly!

I’m looking for a guest reviewer please to trial and review a range of skincare products for blemish-prone skin.

The reviewer will receive a The Doctor Brand Blemish Relief Kit (£19.95) which includes a 3-step programme to help clear skin.

Step 1 – Purifying Cleanser – 75ml
Step 2 – Pore Clearing Gel – 30ml
Step 3 – Oil Free Soothing Lotion – 30ml

If you’re up for the challenge, please register your interest below and remember to put your email address in the bit where it asks for it so that I can contact you!

I’d like you to give the range a minimum 3 week test period before letting us know your thoughts…. so if you can commit to a new skincare routine for that period and are happy to share your thoughts with my readers then let me know in the comments below!  I’ll chose a reviewer on Tuesday 15th March.

Thanks ladies!

Since the 90s, I’ve been in posession of at least one form of blemish busting treatment.  Hence my excitement at devices like the LMS Spotlights… it all stems from growing up with ads like these (and Grange Hill!):

They must have made a long-lasting impression!

I think it’s the promise of being able to regain some control over your skin at a time when your hormones are doing everything in their power to relinquish you of any say at all in how your body behaves.

How times have changed!  Sure, many of the active ingredients remain the same: salicylic acid, witch hazel, benzoyl peroxide, tea tree oil, toothpaste… (not really), but blemish-busting is a slick, billion-dollar business and far less blush-worthy than it used to be!

Here’s some blemish-busting treatments to suit all skin-types and budgets:

1. Murad Blemish & Wrinkle Reducer – £57.00

More sophisticated than your average zit zapper, Murad’s Blemish & Wrinkle Reducer is aimed at those of us who are (quite frankly) too old to be putting up with spots!

On the blemish-busting side, it features encapsulated salicylic acid to deliver a slow-release, prolonged treatment alongside Silver Citrate, the product’s anti-bactierial of choice.  The formula also claims to minimise fine lines and wrinkles with something called Kombucha Collagen Defense™

A good option for anyone with problem skin over the age of 30.  You can buy online in the UK from LookFantastic.

2. Proactiv Repairing Night Lotion – £17.95

A Salicylic Acid/Retinol blend that is known globally for its brand affiliations with some of the biggest teen-sensations on the planet: Jessica Simpson, Katy Perry, Justin Bieber…

This is one targeted toward younger consumers with skin concerns and a quick google shows just how well-known and widely-used the brand’s products are.

You can buy online in the UK from their website.

3. Origins Spot Remover – £10.00

Origins Spot Remover promises to be a gentler alternative to the harsher side-effects of chemical zit zapping!  We’re all familliar with the dryness that can be left behind once a spot has been busted.  It’s sometimes just as annoying to deal with the flaky skin as it is the initial blemish!

Another Salicylic Acid based formula with the added antibacterial benefits of witch-hazel and clove.

This seems to be a good all-rounder for many skin types.  You can buy online in the UK from the Origins website.

4. Nelson’s Pure & Clear Anti-Blemish Treatment Gel – £8.17

Tea Tree Oil and Arnica extracts work together to calm blemishes in this high-street treatment gel.  I’m a fan of Arnica’s ability to relieve aches and hopeful that it can work its herbal magic on zits too!

A natural, purse-friendly option with ingredients that suggest a more gentle approach.  You can buy online in the UK from the Boots website.

5. ELF Zit Zapper – £1.50

An impressively priced product that still manages to squeeze in active ingredients such as Salicylic Acid, Tea Tree Oil, Witch Hazel and Camphor.

Housed with a convenient roller-ball delivery method, this would be a great option for those of you who only need something for emergencies.

You can buy online in the UK from the ELF website.

6. The Doctor Brand Blemish Relief: Step 2 Spot Eliminator – £6.95

As the name suggests, this is step 2 of a 3-step programme designed to clear the skin from blemishes.  Interestingly, it bucks the common ingredient trend and lists Sulfur as the top active ingredient (though good old SA still puts in an appearance further down the list!)

I’m also pleased to see Allantoin in the list which is known for it’s anti-irritant properties and is something I used to actively look for in mineral foundation mixes that I wear.

You can buy online in the UK from the Boots website.

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What are some of your favourite anti-blemish treatments?

…or hairy wimps, we can be passive or active about this… I don’t care whose voice we use.

I was bullied into this purchase by the good folks on Twitter who told me that if I didn’t buy one, my first born would hate me forever.

Always open to a bit of parenting guilt, I went for the black.  If in doubt, always buy something in black I say!

It arrived a few days later, looking all sleek and shiny and I couldn’t wait to put it to the test.

Now, to be fair… I don’t have particularly tangly hair.  Nowadays it’s a lot finer that it used to be and I don’t have to do that whole “clench it at the roots” thing to reduce pulling and pain.

My first impressions of the Tangle Teezer are that it’s a lot lighter than I anticipated and to be blunt, it’s a lot ‘cheaper’ feeling too.

I’m used to paying out for a Mason Pearson and was hoping that this would be the brush that would help extend the last bit of life left in mine.  In other words, I wanted the Tangle Teezer to be my workhorse… and the Mason Pearson to be my finisher!

The Tangle Teezer feels quite rough around the edges… construction is fully plastic and it is literally quite ‘rough around the edges’ with bits of plastic that catch on your skin.

On a more positive note, Mr. L has told me in no uncertain terms that if I can’t find it, it’s because he’s stolen it to scratch his head with which means that my MP is off the hook.  Anyone who owns a Tangle Teezer will understand what I mean when I say that the plastic bristles (I know that’s an oxymoron) really reach through your hair and give your scalp a great ‘brush’.

Another problem I have with the Tangle Teezer is it’s tendency to fly out of my hand mid brush… this thing needs rubber grips on the handle like I need an Apple Martini… i.e. now.

I would imagine that if your hair is thicker, this would be even more of an issue because of the additional pressure one would have to apply to draw the brush through the hair.

It fits nicely in the palm, even in my small hands though it would be far too cumbersome for a child to hold.  I believe they have a flowerpot designed Tangle Teezer especially for small hands!

So… overall… I’m torn.

It does exactly what it’s supposed to, I can’t fault it on it’s detangling abilities on my fine hair.  The teeth work through my hair like a hot knife through butter.

But having said this, I still think it’s over-rated and overpriced.  It feels cheap (but isn’t) and it’s quite poorly designed.  I can’t even carry it around in my bag because the prongs look like they would bend out of shape if I blew on them too hard… but perhaps their flexibility is part of the reason it detangles so painlessly?

Would I purchase it again?  No… but that doesn’t mean I regret my purchase either.

The Tangle Teezer is priced at around £10 and available online and instore at Boots.

…plus a free £5 Love Your Body™ card if you don’t already have one or yours needs renewing!

The offer is only open until midnight tonight, so if you’re partaking… get your skates on!

This offer is an IDEAL opportunity for you to stockpile your favourite products and I’m sorely tempted to buy two to ensure that I’ve got a huge enough supply of Ice Blue Shampoo to see Mr. L through the next 2 years!

What would make it even more amazing would be to combine this offer with their current awesome “buy more save more” offer on shower gels (also available instore).

You could have enough bubbles to fill a hundred bathrooms for less than £25!

Gosh, I love a good bargain me.

Let me know if you buy the deal and tell me what you’re gonna buy, I want some inspiration!

I know it’s LFW but I’ve never been particularly fashionable.  I like clothes, a lot.  I like to buy clothes, a lot.  I just don’t know how to combine them to ‘create’ looks.  I’m truly envious of women who have an unforced style… me?  If it looks good, it tends to look like I’ve ‘tried’ really, really hard to make it look good you know?

So anyway, it’s not that I’m eschewing LFW… not at all, I love to look at the makeup from the shows… but when it comes to trends?  Completey superficial and frivolous posts on eyebrows are more my thing!

With this in mind, brow gods Tweezerman reckon they’ve got their fingers on the Brow Trends that’ll have us going “ooh nice brows” this Summer.  Don’t say that I’m the only one who “oohs” over nice eyebrows in this way… no seriously, don’t.

[stextbox id=”custom” caption=”Tweezerman say…” ccolor=”ffffff” bcolor=”b0c4de” bgcolor=”e6e6fa” cbgcolor=”b0c4de”]Brows – last season it was all about an over sized, wild & bushy brow.  This season, full brows are still on trend but now they are more tailored & groomed, the hairs aren’t as wild and often they are slightly elongated and tapered at the ends creating a touch more drama.


This Spring/Summer’s full brows have a great arch that is both feminine and strong.  Brow colour should be 1-2 shades lighter than hair colour and should be powdered across the whole brow rather than just used to fill in.  A new trend is also to highlight under the brow, which makes it look more substantial and showcases the brow perfectly.[/stextbox]

Strong brows are still in, just a little more ‘tailored’!

If you’re not blessed with a well-defined arch, Tweezerman recommend the use of a little cosmetic trickery to give the impression of a master eyebrow-raiser:

“You can use a touch of a highlight of makeup underneath the brow to create a bit of lift; a light-toned fleshy nude or very pale vanilla colour to illuminate the underneath.  You can also use your brow powder or brow pencil to emphasize the arch.”

Here are some of the most popular products on the market for emphasising a beautiful brow!

1. E.L.F Eyebrow Lifter and Filler (£3.50)
2. Clinique Instant Lift for Brows (£13.00)
3. Pixi Brow Lift (£16.00)
4. Benefit High Brow (£14.00)
5. MAC Shroom Eyeshadow (£11.50)

But what my eyebrows want to know is this… how long are they going to have to wait until curly brows are in huh?

Oh… that long?

Well in that case, I’d better stock up on mega-hold hairspray and hone my use of brow shaping scissors instead.

Do you have brow envy?

A quick heads up incase you’re planning on heading into town over the weekend, the new Sandstorm Spring Summer trends collection from Topshop should now be instore for your makeup purchasing pleasure.

The premise of the collection evolves around the theory of warm tones contrasting with washed out neons and there’s a couple of pieces I’m keen on taking a close look at (local store permitting!)

Check out these swatches on RougeDeluxe for a closer look… I’m really taken with the look of the Creme Lipcolour in Daze (£7.50) and the Crayon in Zephyr (£8.50).

Also, if you can’t get into store, Topshop are currently offering free UK standard delivery for all orders until Tuesday 22nd February.

*cue Barry White* duh duh duh duh duh… duh duh duh duhduh…

Give it up, ain’t no use… I can’t help myself if I wanted to…

I’m hung up, no doubt… I’m so in love with you, for me there’s no way out…

Cause deeper and deeper, In love with you, I’m falling…

I’m gonna love you, love you, love you just a little more, baby…

I’m gonna need you, need you, need you every day…

I’m gonna want you, want you, want you in every way, yeah…

Phew!

So, I got my first Tom Ford lipstick the other day.  I figured that Valentine’s Day was almost here and that you need to love yourself before you can love others right?

So… me and Tom.  Tom and I… it’s an expensive relationship.  Some men are just like that.

I picked up Pure Pink… I hovered for an indecent amount of time over Smoke Red but in the end, figured that I have some really lovely reds already.  What I don’t have is a pink that’s going to make me long for Summer.  I do now!

Pure Pink is a bright POP of colour on my lips, somehow it stops short of looking like one of my Mum’s fuchsia lipsticks from the 80s.  Thank god right?  That would have been an expensive alternative to vintage Constance Carroll by Christ!

It’s creamy but firm with a subtle shimmer and a hue that makes my teeth look whiter than they really are.  It doesn’t feather and fades evenly.  Not moisturising but comfortable.

It’s lovely.  It’s not £35 lovely of course… I haven’t taken complete leave of my senses.  But if you’re as daft to spend £35 on a lipstick as I was, then I hope you thoroughly enjoy it as much as I am too!

Tom Ford Private Blend Lip Color in Pure Pink is priced at £35 and available online and on counter.

Happy Valentine’s Day beautiful people, love your lipsticks especially hard today xxx

The thoroughly lovely Annabella from SkinScrubs kindly picked this up for me from her local T.K. Maxx, I’ve been wanting it for quite a while and was really pleased when I finally got to lay my grubby hands on it!

The packaging is kinda cute… I guess… I dunno, I think I’d prefer a scantily-clad fella on it.  Actually, I don’t really give a shit if I’m honest.  The cardboard housing it comes in is thankfully solidly-constructed and has already survived a clumsy drop.

It looks scarily orange in the pan… a pink/bronzed orange.  My kinda nightmare.  Thank heavens for blogs and swatches that have shown me not to fear the Hot Mama!

Texture-wise, this blush is quite beautiful.  It’s silky, smooth and doesn’t create masses of dust when I pass my brush over the surface though it is quite soft and easy to nick with a fingernail.  It’s shimmery without being glittery unlike it’s famous dupe counterpart; NARS Orgasm which has a fine textured amount of glitter running through colour.  The shimmer in The Balm’s Hot Mama! may be a little too much for those of you with particularly large pores though, definitely something that needs considering.

The Balm’s Hot Mama! wears a little pinker than NARS Orgasm on my skintone but the simillarities are plain to see.  The swatch above shows one swipe from Hot Mama… the NARS Orgasm swatch took a few goes to build up to that intensity.

I love both… they’re sheer but incredibly buildable and probably some of the easiest to wear blushes I own.  I can pair these with any look and it just gives me a flush of colour that brightens up my NW15 skin.

I would say that I get an extra hour or two wear from the NARS and the cardboard sleeve surrounding Hot Mama! is a bit finickity to remove and replace everytime I want to use it… but it does have such a delightfully blendable texture.

You get just over 7g of product from The Balm, compared to 4.5g from NARS and unless you can spot one in your local T.K. Maxx, Hot Mama! will set you back around £15 in the UK.

Are you a shimmer, glitter or matte girl when it comes to blush?

Browsing the Sephora website late at night is a dangerous pastime.

I’ve talked before about how Too Faced is a brand that tends to skim under my radar… it’s all rather cutesy and whilst I have nothing against cutesy per se… I just never feel quite so inclined to pay good money for ‘cutesy’ as I do for ‘sleek’.  Catch 22, I mean I might adore it all right?

I think I may finally be forced to indulge this coming Spring (or whenever the hell the UK imports this stuff).

I’ve admired the Too Faced Shadow Collections from afar and I think this might be the one that gives me the shove I need to purchase.

Too Faced Romantic Eye Collection – quite possibly the worst stock image ever.  If you go onto Sephora you can use that fancy zoomy picture feature to get a better idea of what the actual shadows look like.  A top down view would have been nice though.

I’m a sucker for purples and cool toned taupes.  In the Summer, I’m a sucker for copper… but Winter/Spring it’s all about these cool-toned shades.  I’m also excited to be so delighted by ANYTHING makeup-wise in the Spring.  Usually it’s all too pastelly/corally for me.

Another Too Faced release that’s got my interest piqued is this little Glitter Glue number…

Is a brand finally jumping on the Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy bandwagon?

They Say: This colorless cream formula is designed to grab and hold loose glitters, pigments, and shimmers so they won’t come off until you take them off.

I’m not sure when we’re getting this in the UK or how much it will retail at but I’ll guess… around £11 (the same as the original primer).  Roughly the same quantity of Pixie Epoxy is cheaper (despite international shipping) but that won’t stop me from comparing especially as the availability of the Fyrinnae website seems to be conspiring against me recently.

Either of these two products making you stop in your tracks?

I’ve always thought that The Body Shop Golden Pink blush (04) was considered as a reasonable dupe for NARS Orgasm?  But when I swatched the two… they were quite different.  TBS’ Golden Pink seemed a darker and far more intense.

Then I dug out my NARS Deep Throat blush and got a much better match!

What d’ya reckon ladies?  Dupe or Poop?