A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

This is a tiny haul, it was larger but MsCuppyCakes was out of stock on a few items of my order.  How much do I hate it when e-tailers send half an order without giving me the option to adjust/add to my original order in lieu of the out of stock stuff.  I mean, I’m already paying the international shipping, so gimme the god damn option to choose alternative products or simply re-order from fresh if their online merchant service doesn’t allow exchanges.  *and breathe…*

Other than that, I was pleased with the service.  I received my items fairly quickly (within 14 days) and everything arrive in one piece and well packaged.  The value of my order was stated correctly on the customs form and not overinsured (important to avoid unecessary import duty).  I would order again, although I would definitely double check stock levels with a quick email and go to NonPareilBoutique instead if they were unsatisfactory.

Overall, 3/5… definite room for improvement with regards to stock updates and communication.

Anyway, here’s some of the infamous round lipsticks I selected:

From L -> R: Darling, Chaos, Ceto and Rea

and the swatches…

Darling and Ceto are a little too simillar for it to be worth owning them both.  Out of the 2, I prefer the slightly less sheer Darling.  Rea is a nice medium matte nude which isn’t at all drying on the lips like some mattes.

Chaos… beautiful in the tube, I’m really not sure whether I can pull this colour off or not… what do you think?  Yay or Nay?  Be honest now, or I’ll come round your house and pee in your cornflake box.

I also bought some of the NYX Loose Pearl Eyeshadows and Nail Polishes, although none of the polishes turned up *sigh*.  First impressions of the Loose Pearl Eyeshadows are positive (for the price).  Can’t stand the little pots they come in so I’ve ordered some pigment pots from eBay to decant them into.  I shall do some swatches of them soon.

Any kind of bronzer scares me, the thought of it leaves me feeling a little shakey, damp palmed and out of my depth.

I’m pretty pale.  Not in a beautiful Anne Hathaway delicate porcelain doll way unfortunately.  I’m her ruddier, blotchier capillaried sister.

Either way, I have never learnt how to DO bronzer successfully.  I know how it’s supposed to work and be applied.  In theory it’s easy.  I am just so far from achieving that gently sunkissed, delicately contoured natural look that it’s untrue.

Although thankfully, not as far as him:

So, when I saw the Eyeko tinted cream, I was both interested and horrified in equal measure…

Is it just me or does that look very, very brown…

I love the original Eyeko cream and add a small amount to my foundation every morning.  As long as I’m light handed, it leaves an incredibly beautiful slightly soft focus brightening glow to my complexion, without being shimmery or glittery.  As an aside, if I attempt to use the cream as a highlighter alone, it sinks into my pores rendering them insanely noticeable – weird.

The question is, would the tinted cream have the same lovely effect as the original cream if I mix a little with my moisturiser and apply sparingly to areas that I would ‘bronze’… or would I look like an Oompah Loompah with enlarged pores…

A quandry indeed.  If anyone fancies trying this out for themselves, it’s available from Eyeko for a meagre £5 with free shipping, and feel free to use my ambassador code (E3208) for a free gift.

So, I’ve been wearing Max Factor’s old volumising favourite 2000 Calorie mascara for a few days now, and I’m really rather impressed.

Firstly, I hate, HATE the smell of the stuff.  It’s quite pungent and chemically, a horrible whiff as the wand passes my nose on it’s way to my lashes.  It also sports a chunky brush not unlike Benefit’s Bad Gal.

Not sure if it’s just mine but the formula is quite dry aswell which I’m actually really liking.   My initial reaction was irritation that I had picked up one that was drying out… but it really doesn’t seem to be – it just seems to collect the perfect amount on the wand every dip without any big splodges (gotta love my technical expressions)…

Anyway, here’s a before/after:

My left lashes (right on the image) always clump a little more than the right.  It’s a bit tricky to get to the very outer lashes with this chunky wand, but not impossible.  Can’t see too much lengthening or extra curl going on here, but there’s definitely some decent volumising and the pigmentation is a really nice solid black.

For the price, I am really impressed.  It’s very forgiving to apply – often if I go in for more than one coat, my lashes start to clump whilst I simultaneously begin to curse.  I didn’t have a problem at all with this mascara doing that.

Overall… I will absolutely buy this again especially when you can often pick this up for less than a fiver from the online discount cosmetic websites (although not before I’ve tried the new 2000 calorie extreme lash plumper with the apparent MEGA wand!)

As a direct comparison to Benefit’s Bad Gal (click link for my review), I really can’t say that Bad Gal is worth spending the extra money on.  Bad Gal is slightly blacker, thinner in consistency and feels a little more conditioning to your lashes – but I’m not sure those 3 differences justify spending double the amount of money over this drugstore cheapy.  It’s a tough one.

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I’ve read that Cory Cosmetics offer some of the highest coverage for mineral foundations and despite the mixed reviews on MUA, I’ve plumped for a selection of foundation and blusher samples for those days when we need that bit of extra confidence in our foundation.

Cory Cosmetics is also purported to be one of the ‘purest’ mineral makeup lines – even doing mica free versions of their products.  Not hugely relevant to me, as I don’t seem to have too much in the way of sensitivity problems towards mineral makeup.

Samples are $.45 each – I’ve ordered 13 samples which combined with shipping came to a total of $10.80.

I’m really looking forward to comparing them to my Elemental Beauty foundation (review) which I am still totally in love with.  Infact, the only reason I’m cheating on it is because I want to try some mineral blushes and can try so many more different shades for the same price from Cory Cosmetics than I could from Elemental Beauty.

Will be back to let you know how they fare!

How cute?

£18.00 and available from Lisa Stickley

Love it!

…look what I’ve got in my grubby little hands!

Hello lover, please don’t disappoint me.  Anyone got one of these little beauties, any tips?

I’m a consummate lip gloss addict (hence the title of the blog!) – they’re easy to apply, completely portable for quick touch ups and feel more moisturising on the lips than lipsticks.  I have a particular fondness for glosses which contain a little bit of sparkle.  Yes I am 4 years old.

Here’s one of my latest acquisitions!  Elizabeth Arden is one of those lines that I’m perpetually unsure of – it always feels so elegant and timeless but usually ends up disappointing me.  Not this time!

Elizabeth Arden’s High Shine Lip Gloss in #10 Pink Champagne is such a beautiful natural peachy colour with a hint of warm golden sparkle.  It’s your standard doe foot applicator in a classy little square tube.  Consistency is thick and a little gloopy to apply but not uncomfortably sticky… I’d give it a 6 out of 10 on the stickiness scale (where Lipglass is  a 7 and superglue is a 10!)

It has a beautifully soft sheer finish with a subtle plumping effect thanks to the multi dimensional high shine.  It doesn’t dry out my lips and is completely flavourless – something I always like!

My complaint (and unfortunately it’s not a inconsequential little one) is staying power.  You’ll need a touch up after eating or drinking, the shimmer survives – but the tint of colour sadly doesn’t.

All in all, a great buy for the summer!

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So after loving a Joe Blasco concealer I’d recently hit pan on and lemming the Ben Nye concealer wheel palette for about 100 years but not having the willpower to save up for it, I hit a dead end in my search for an industrial strength concealer.

I don’t really bother with many high street concealers nowadays, although I still carry my trusty stick of Rimmel Hide The Blemish in my glove box.  Having said that, seeing as I literally can’t remember the last time I used it, I probably shouldn’t get within 10 feet of it without wearing full on hazmat gear.

Where was I?  Oh yes, Grimas…

Grimas are a Dutch company who as well as being founded the year I was born are also sharing enough to let us know that they employ 3 mentally disabled members of staff.  I kid you not, check here – it really does say that.  Equal opportunities rock!

Anyway, back to the products…

I picked up a camouflage concealer in shade G0 and a creme make up base/foundation in G1.

Camouflage Concealer:

Creme Base/Foundation:

The texture of the concealer is quite hard, but very pigmented (as you would expect from a stage makeup brand) – a little goes a very long way!

When I swatched the concealer I thought it was going to be wayyy too pale for me, but it actually blended in really nicely and although I wasn’t expecting it, I found that it neutralized redness better than anything I’ve ever tried before – including various specialized green and yellow concealers.

The foundation is a little dark for me to be honest so I may end up going back for shade G0… I need some honest opinions from my husband and some good light to see if I’ve tangoed myself so I’m reserving judgement at the moment.  The texture of the foundation is a lot thinner and oilier than the concealer making it easier to blend.  However, it’s still highly pigmented and a light touch is the order of the day!

The foundation applied nicely with my stippling brush which I was pleased about as I’m loathe to use sponges which always seem to make cream foundations streak terribly on me.

On to the swatches…

G1 Foundation on the left/G0 Concealer on the right – note* my face is a shade or two darker than my hand!

Considering they’re supposed to be 1 shade different from each other – that shade difference is a yawning chasm and I’m blatantly somewhere in the middle of it.

As I said, I’m not completely convinced that despite this, it doesn’t still work for my skin tone.  However I’ll let you be judge, jury and executioner with another of those hideous before/after shots.

The concealer (like most thick concealers) will settle in fine lines, so I’d avoid the undereye area with this stuff.  I was also impressed by the fact that it didn’t seem to need setting with powder.  Before I’d had a chance to set it – the doorbell rang with my Asda food shop so I was distracted for over half an hour and when I remembered that I hadn’t powdered and looked in the mirror expecting to see huge amounts of shine and slip – it still looked as matte as it had when I first put it on.  Not massively high maintenance then!

I purchased Grimas from Facepaint UK as they were the only company I could find that charged a reasonable £2 p&p within the UK.  I’m also pleased to report that delivery was super quick (1 working day from ordering).

Overall, I’m really pleased with my experiences with Grimas – especially at how good the concealer neutralizes any redness.  My only disappointment is with the shades on offer – I’d love there to be something inbetween G0 and G1.

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…Why is it when I finally earn enough Pigsback points to get myself a lovely £10 discount on Nars Orgasm (which I’ve never tried and have been lemming like forever) HQ Hair don’t have it in stock.

One day my pretty…

As you may have noticed, I have an eclectic range of cosmetic tastes.  I couldn’t really be much further from a makeup snob if I tried – mainly because my budget simply wouldn’t allow it.  I’m as happy as a pig in shit to trawl both Space NK and Superdrug looking for new products (although I’m always a little happier at the till in Superdrug!)

I quite like it this way, it means that I have to work that little bit harder to find good quality products at great prices, it also means that I have accumulated more crap than the average beauty junkie, but there’s always a friend or relative nearby who is happy to play with my cast offs and vice versa!!  It really works for me.

I’d love to hear about your tastes – the high street/drugstore brands that work so well for you, you haven’t found better value for the money.  Tell me about those higher end products that you’ve been craving for so long that they’re now firmly ensconced on that pedestal and the thought of purchasing them fills you with fear that they’ll never live up to your now exagerrated expectations.

Anyway, to cheer myself up after being so close yet still so far from my pedestal product, I went and bought a Max Factor 2000 Calorie mascara to keep me going whilst I wait for HQ Hair to pull their fingers out!

You’ll have to do for now!

Yes, I’m behind the times… by about 7 years.

Let me start by saying that my name is Charlotte and I am a total mascara whore.  I love it and I have a real problem staying faithful to any particular brand.  There’s just too many to choose from and companies come out with shiny new ones all the time to tempt me.  If there’s one product that I can’t leave the house without.  This is it.

Anyway, back to Benefit Bad Gal…

I got accosted this time last year by a pink clad MUA from Benefit whilst browsing The Vitality Show at London’s Olympia (which I really recommend for a fantastic day out!).  The MUA proceeded to cover me in You Rebel (nice but too dark for me), You’re Bluffing (meh), and Bad Gal Lash Mascara (which wowed me).  I couldn’t stop fluttering my eyelashes at everyone.

Roll forward nearly a year and I still hadn’t picked myself up a tube.  I dunno why, well actually I do.  I bought Benefit Dandelion after having it dusted over my cheeks by an over-enthusiastic MUA in Boots and it was a super huge disappointment.  I just couldn’t get it to show up on my skin, despite my uber paleness and I was worried Bad Gal was gonna disappoint in the same way.

Anyway, last week I finally succumbed and spent some of my hoard of Boots points on a lovely shiny tube of the black stuff.

I know some people think it’s over-rated.  I think that it’s probably suited to a specific type of eyelash (of which I’m lucky enough to include myself).  If you’ve got small eyes and short stubby lashes, this isn’t gonna do anything for you.  The brush is too large and unwieldy and you’re bound to make a mess.  I’ve got naturally long and curly lashes – they just need some serious darkening and beefing up which is exactly what this mascara does for them – and it does it well!

I love the density of the brush that really allows me to ‘brush’ my lashes from root to tip and create some proper separation to enhance the volumising effect.  My lashes tend to clump (especially on a 2nd coat), so the even distribution provided by the brush is particularly welcomed!  This mascara also leaves my lashes super soft and flexible and not at all crunchy, not a big deal for me – not bothered by stiff lashes, but I know some are – so thought I’d mention it!

All other mascaras in my stash are currently being ignored (apart from a Blinc tester that I’m slowly falling in love with – see, I told you… fickle!).

However, my one and only problem with Bad Gal is the price.  I know it’s not exactly break the bank expensive at £14.50… but, there’s so many other lovely mascaras out there begging me to buy them (don’t cry Diorshow I haven’t forgotten you – despite your eye watering price, nor you Lash Blast you lovely drugstore temptress you)… and with new ones appearing on the market quicker than I can apply a second coat of this one.  What’s a girl to do?

Are you a faithful Felicity? or a shamefully promiscuous Pandora like me when it comes to Mascara?

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Enter discount code at checkout (not sure how long this is good for):

BLINCTRADE

to receive a 20% discount off your order.  Famed for their water resistant mascara that tubes your lashes rather than painting them, I can happily recommend it (review coming soon) and I’m very tempted to try the liquid eyeliner next.

Click to check out BlincUK.

Happy Tuesday!

This is a really soft wearable palette – not massively pigmented but with just the right amount of shimmer.  I particularly like the cream blush which is ultra blendable and not too sticky.

The lip glosses were not pigmented enough for me to be honest, as you can see they added more of a shine to my lips rather than any actual colour.  The eyeshadows are soft and shimmery, again – not highly pigmented, but not so subtle that you have to pack the colour on.

I’m also wearing Blinc Mascara and Stargazer Cake Eyeliner in Brown (which I’m currently loving considering it’s price – full review coming soon!).

The eyeshadow shades are perfect for wearing to work, the highlighter shade (bottom right) is particularly nice, as is the brighter pink to it’s left.  The darkest shade in the middle of the palette is one that could have easily done with being a little more pigmented.  All colours were easily blendable ontop of UDPP.  I didn’t use the top 2 colours in the FOTD.  The pink is actually a little more saturated in real life than it is in the FOTD photos which aren’t quite doing that particular shade justice.

I didn’t use the concealer (bottom right) or the darker brown gloss (top right).  The cream blush (bottom left) looks brighter in the palette than it does on the skin, it’s a coral type colour.  I initially just applied the top left bright pink lip gloss – but added the middle one aswell when I wasn’t getting ANY colour payoff from it.  I still didn’t achieve any pigmentation to speak of after adding the second colour.  Disappointing really.

Overall, I’m pleased with this palette.  My first impressions from yesterday confirm that there’s nothing earth shattering contained within.  But it’s a completely wearable ensemble that would particularly flatter paler skin tones to create a subtle but fresh daytime look.  I’d definitely recommend everything bar the lip glosses, which seem to be a waste of space.  The packaging is cheap looking but very cute, and totally portable – complete with mirror, you could quite happily cart this around in your handbag for any touch ups.

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