A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

I’m not going to wrap this up in my usual 4348390 words incase I somehow lose the point of this post.  Let me simply tell you that I experienced a miracle this morning (yesterday morning by the time you’re reading this!).

I worked a blob of the new Pantene Colour Seal Concentrate through my hair last night after doing the usual shampoo/conditioner routine, left it on for 2/3 minutes and rinsed it out.  I went to bed with wet hair, fully expecting to regret my laziness the next morning and instead woke up to the softest, smoothest hair I can remember having.

The coarseness had completely disappeared and I was able to gather my hair into a smooth ponytail with ends so sleek that I couldn’t stop stroking them.

It’s now 13 hours later and my hair is sadly starting to feel a little more like it’s usual rough self so I’m not sold on Pantene’s claims of long-term effectiveness… still, even a full day of glossy locks has brightened my mood.  Yes, I’m as shallow as that last statment makes me appear.  I don’t care how it works (probably silicones, smoke and mirrors), I just care that it makes my hair (temporarily) very happy.

Pantene Colour Seal Concentrate should be available in your usual Pantene stockists now as part of the Pro-V Colour Protect range, it’s priced at £3.99 and I really recommend that you stop whatever it is you’re doing to go and buy some.

With bamboo handles, 100% animal-free, antibacterial taklon bristles and priced at only £5.50 each… the new E.L.F range of mineral brushes are sure to be an interesting addition to the brand’s budget line-up in the UK.

From Left to Right: Powder Brush, Complexion Brush, Foundation Brush, Angled Blush Brush, Concealer Brush & Lip Brush.

From Left to Right: Liner and Brow Comb, Flat Eyeliner Brush, Smudge Brush, Contour Brush, All-over Eyeshadow Brush and Blending Eye Brush.

As well as individual brushes, you’re can also purchase two brush sets (£15 and £20 respectively):

The 4 piece set contains: Complexion Brush, Concealer Brush. Blending Eye Brush, Mini Kabuki Brush, Brush Bag

The 5 piece set contains: Complexion Brush, Eyeliner Brush, Concealer Brush, All-Over Eyeshadow Brush, Lash & Brow Comb, Brush Bag

It seems strange to me that they’ve doubled up the complexion and concealer brushes in both sets… it makes it far less appealing to purchase both sets.  Infact, you just wouldn’t would you?

I’ll be receiving a few samples from the new range shortly and will be keen to discover if these brushes are worth a punt.  I’ve learnt since first falling in love with makeup, that the one thing often worth spending a bit more on to get great quality… are brushes.

Will the new E.L.F bamboo range hold their own in terms of quality and usability?

Have you tried the new range yet?

Ahhh, that catchy #105…

O.P.I-esque shade naming this ain’t!  But the sample they sent me is a raspberry fire cracker regardless!

The above ladies… is one coat.  Swoon, go on… I’ll catch you.

Intensely pigmented and glossy enough to do without a top coat… consider me impressed.

For some reason, #105 is listed on the website under “glitter polishes” which as you can see, this isn’t.  I’m wondering if perhaps the webmaster still has some re-jigging to do.  If you’re thinking of ordering, keep this in mind and perhaps email them for confirmation about that ‘glitter’ category.

Wear has been consistent with the majority of polishes I use… nothing major to report, although in all honesty I often wonder if it’s even worth me commenting on longevity because I just don’t seem to suffer the same chipping problems that lots of you do – sorry about that!

This would make a cracking pedicure shade… infact, I think it’ll be gracing my toes before the week is out!

Paese Cosmetics Nail Polishes retail at a bargainous £3.37 each.  I’ve already got my eye on #110 and #120 aswell as some of the treatments that seem to cover every nail problem known to man!

First and foremost… this ain’t my find!  The delightful Virtues of Beauty told me to try this out when I asked for some brow gel recommendations on Twitter.

I hate the normal Great Lash mascara.  Hate. It.  This stuff though?  It’s good!  Especially for the money (I paid £2.99 on eBay).

I’ve been using it to hold my CURLY (yes, curly – thanks gene pool) eyebrows in place now that I’ve finally decided that I should pay them more attention.  There’s not a huge amount to say about this product except that it works.

The bristles do a good job of combing through and coating the hairs.  I’m not keen on how long this stuff takes to dry and for that reason, it means that I have to make using this… the very last step in my makeup routine.  I’d say that it takes a good 3/4 minutes to dry fully.  Until then, you have wet brows.

Once it has dried… it thankfully doesn’t leave my eyebrows crusty.  Just sets them nicely in place and stops me looking like Dennis Healy‘s lovechild.

What do you use to keep your brows in place?

If you’re looking for beautifully silky, thin banded, flexible lashes…. you should close this page.

If you’re looking for robust, striking, shockingly cheap lashes that you can use to fine tune and hone your lash applying skillz, read on!

What? I told you they were cheap…

I decided about a month ago that I wanted to learn how to apply false lashes (as you do) and so I started buying up pairs of Ardells that I found in T.K. Maxx.  Lovely lashes they are indeed but at £2.99 a pop – not the best for a n00b who doesn’t know how to apply OR (more importantly in terms of lash preservation) remove the damn things without destroying them.

I went through 6 pairs before I decided that what I needed was the eyelash equivalent of a WWII Nazi Panzer tank.  Something that would withstand my ham-fisted attempts at elongating my own lashline.

Enter these false eyelashes from eBay seller GlamLabel.  The seller, based in HongKong dispatched immediately… but unfortunately the post is painfully slow from the far east at the moment, so they took over a month to arrive.  Not the seller’s fault… but something to be aware of if you thought you’d be able to buy them in time for the New Year.

You get 20 pairs in two sets of 10 pairs each.  One is a more natural “day” lash, whilst the other is more dramatic and appropriate for going out.  The lashes feel plasticky… they’re quite coarse and need softening up before wear.  To do this, I spend five minutes flexing them which works well to loosen up the band and make them easier to apply.

Application was actually a bit of a doddle… I genuinely believe that this is down to the fact that they aren’t as soft, fluffy or good quality as more premium brands.  They didn’t flop about as I was trying to apply the glue and they didn’t buckle under the pressure of my sausage fingers trying to smoosh them about on my eyelid to get them in the right place.

See that crappy dangly end?  Yeah… chop that.  Infact, because the band is thicker and the lashes heavier than good quality ones, I chopped them about 3 lashes from the outer edge to make the band a good bit shorter.  I didn’t want them stabbing me in the outer corner of my eye.

What d’ya think?  As always with false lash photos, they’re far more obvious looking in the photo than they are in real life.

I can feel them while I’m wearing them though not enough to be irritating and to be fair, I could feel the Ardells too…

Ignore the funky brows… at the time of taking this photo they were still a “work in progress”.

This set of 20 lashes cost me the same as one pair of reduced Ardell lashes… until I’m a false lash maestro, I know where I’ll be spending my money!

Do you buy cheap false lashes or do you only invest in quality?

We’re always moaning about how expensive high street cosmetics have become… it’s not uncommon nowadays to see high-street mascaras topping the £10 mark.  They’re supposed to be accessible… no way could my younger self have afforded those prices in Boots!

Which is why I’m pleased to be bringing you news of a little Deal Alert courtesy of Savers..

From now until the 28th December, Savers are capping the top price you’ll pay on any Rimmel cosmetic to £5 – the most noticeable saving is on the new Rimmel MAX Bold Curves Mascara which would usually set you back £6.99 in store.

I think perhaps, now’s the time to go score that Rimmel Diva Red you’ve been telling me I need!

What are your favourite Rimmel products?

Mr L doesn’t like me in red lips, so on that basis I’ve decided to wear red lips everyday until I run out of reds to try.

Infact, call it a series if you will… I’m on a mission to discover my favourite reds.  Totally inspired by my beautiful friend and MUA @pinkyspanish who rocks a bright lip better than anyone I know and who is always encouraging me to get that little bit bolder!

Today was the first day that I’ve ever worn a true red lip out of the house without wiping it off before lunchtime.  Yes, it takes a little more maintenance than normal because I’m the kind of girl who can’t be arsed to reapply her lippie.  On a nude shade, this isn’t an issue… but patchy red lips don’t look good and so I was forced to reapply twice today.

I’ve also learnt that discretely licking the edge of your cup/glass before drinking to avoid lip stains is a trick discovered by red-lipped angels.

Anyway, today’s lip is brought to you by the letters N, Y & X!

NYX Hot Red Jumbo Lip Pencil to be precise.  Everything I’ve read online told me that Hot Red was an orange based red and as such probably wouldn’t suit my pale skin.  I think it does – it also doesn’t give the impression that I’ve stuck corn kernels to my teeth everytime I smile.  On appearance alone, this is a winning shade!

Lasting power is acceptable.  For the price of the product, it’s amazing.  I generally apply, blot the crap out of it and apply lightly again.  I get about 3 hours wear from it (less if I eat).

I kept the rest of my makeup to a minimum.  I didn’t even use brow powder which was a VERY strange feeling… did I make the right choice?  I didn’t want anything to overpower the lips at all… but I’m not sure if perhaps I need the definition for balance?

NYX Hot Red Jumbo Lip Pencil is available to buy online in the UK from Cocktail Cosmetics, priced at £2.75

What are your favourite reds and do you wear them BRIGHT or toned down?

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If anyone wants to join me on my red lip crusade, please email me a photo of your lovely selves rocking your favourite red lip – I’d love to do a collage with your photos!

If you’re up for this, I need an email with the following info (not forgetting the photo!):

Your name/blog name (if relevant):
Lip shade name:
MAC Foundation Shade (if known):
Link to blog (if relevant):

Blimey do I ever love these Accessorize duochromes.

If wealthy Elizabethan women wore nail polishes, they’d look something like this.  I think I need a sumptuous velvet gown to go with it no?  There’s something so rich and luxurious about this polish.  It’s smooth and almost creamy.

It flashes between pink, bronze, gold, amber, green.  Spell-binding.

Application was three coats but each dried fairly quickly so didn’t cause much annoyance.  The whole mani was done in half an hour from base coat to top coat (INM Out The Door).

The last Accessorize polish I picked up from the new range is called Pink Spice and I think I’m gonna save that one for Christmas Day.  Here’s a link to my other Accessorize polish, Aztec.

Am I missing any from the range that I absolutely must have?

I was approached by BeautyUK a little while ago when they asked if I’d be interested in taking a closer look at their range of affordable products.

I’d seen their stands in Superdrug before and own a couple of eyeshadow palettes but I have never paid much attention to the rest of the range.  Infact, I didn’t even realise that they had a website until I was pointed towards it.

With the party season fast approaching, it’s the affordable brands like BeautyUK that will be taking my pennies when I’m on the hunt for party-specific makeup.  I’m not gonna drop £50 on party makeup that I might wear twice a year or a nail polish shade best reserved for C3PO.

So it’s with this in mind that I wondered “Just how sparkly can I get on a budget?”.

BeautyUK Glitter Liquid Eyeliner (£2.99)

With an impressive range of 12 colours (inc. holographic), I had high hopes for the trio I received.

The beauty blogosphere has already picked out a favourite brand for crown of the glitter liner wars but I find the ones from Collection 2000 unwearable.  They’re almost too much of a good thing and make me look trannylicious with their solid, bold lines of glitter.  I want something sparkly but a touch understated.

Out of the three that I was sent, it was only the pink that lived up to my expectations.  The silver was too weak and the base colour on the black insipid and grey.  The pink glitter liner gives a lovely pop of interest along my lashline without screaming WOAH YOU’RE NOT 14 ANYMORE!  I also don’t have to apply it 100x to notice anything (unlike the silver).

BeautyUK Metallic Eye Sparks (£2.49)

These are beautiful right?  I adore the way these chunky pencils look… check out those adorable colour-coded gems stuck to the ends.  If that isn’t cute… I don’t know what is.

They’re soft, pigmented, creamy, apply like a dream and last approximately 3 seconds on the eyelid before creasing.

Aren’t they lovely though?

I make these work by lining my eyes with them and in fairness, that’s enough for me.  I’m loving wearing them just below my lower lashline for a pop of colour.  You may not be able to get away with this if you suffer from watery eyes though.

I did wear a NYX Jumbo Pencil on one eyelid and one of these on the other (both without primer or powder eyeshadow) and the difference between them in terms of longevity was negligible.

If you’re a fan of wearing the NYX Jumbo Eye Pencils as bases, these are worth a further look.  Not only that but the shades are really quite exceptional.

BeautyUK Dazzling Lips Lipgloss in PlumFun (£2.99)

I didn’t think that I would be recommending this for one second…. but I am.  I’m not a gloss girl but if I were… for the money, this would be ticking a lot of boxes.

Tacky but not TOO sticky, pigmented, completely tasteless and unscented, doesn’t clump on the lips.

For £2.99, this is a great sparkly party lip gloss.

and finally…

BeautyUK Metallic Gold Nail Varnish (£1.99)

It’s frosty.  Very, very frosty!  But it’s a Christmas cracker!

Opaque in 2 easy to apply coats… what can I say?  You need a gold nail polish that’s gonna look good on all skin tones?  This one is neither too warm nor too cool… it applies beautifully, is super metallic and will give you change from £2!

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Overall

I’m impressed… I thought I’d be fence sitting through this review and constantly reminding myself of the brand’s price point as a justification for it’s shortcomings in quality.  This hasn’t been the case.

Nothing feels luxe but neither does it feel terrible.  All the applicators are good for the job, none of the products have that cheap makeup smell that I associate with… well… cheap makeup and a couple of items really stand out.

If pushed (I like being decisive!) I’d say…

Love: Dazzling Lips and Metallic Eye Sparks

So-So: Nail Varnish

Leave: Glitter Liquid Eyeliner

You can find the above items in your local Superdrug or buy online at BeautyUK – either way, BeautyUK are definitely worth a closer look next time you’re in Superdrug.

Have you seen the new Mark Hill hairstyling tools?  Take a walk on the wild side with me to check ’em out!

RAWR!

The striking animal-print inspired range goes by the name RAW and includes three hairstyling tools that wouldn’t look out of place in our Christmas stockings this year.  We need bigger stockings don’t we?

The real reason I’m showing you this range is because a little birdy told me that for one week only… the limited edition Mark Hill RAW Zebra Power Hairdryer is gonna be selling at LESS THAN HALF it’s usual retail price!

Usually priced at £59.99, from the 12th – 18th November, Boots will be selling this online and instore for a very tempting £24.99!  If you’re after a new hairdryer… I’d be all over this like a zebra-printed rash!

But don’t be thinking that it’s style over substance… read on for the hairdryer’s impressive specs…

[stextbox id=”custom” bcolor=”b0c4de” bgcolor=”e6e6fa”]

Mark Hill Raw Zebra Power Hairdryer Technology:

~ Ion technology
~ Shine technology
~ 2000W

Get the Look:

~ Smooth
~ Reduce frizz

[/stextbox]

After your helpful tips on achieving the perfect blow dry the other day, I’m eyeing up that particularly narrow nozzle attachment thingy with a new found A-HA!

Tempted?

As soon as I saw the veining in one of the latest Accessorize Merged Blushers… I knew I’d seen it before.  I didn’t even really want the shade but my curiosity got the better of me, so I picked it up along with the rest of my little haul yesterday afternoon.

On the way home, the penny dropped and I dug out my discontinued MAC Moon River mineralize Blush.

MAC Moon River mineralize blush was released as part of the Grand Duo collection in Spring ’09 and has recently been spotted in a few CCO’s up and down the country.  It’s a particular favourite amongst pale skin types who just want a hint of colour.

Compared to Accessorize’s Merged Blushed in #3 Pretty Pink, first impressions as a dupe possibility are promising.  The veining is simillar: Pink, Lilac and Soft Yellow.  Accessorize’s offering looks slightly less glittery in the pan and also just a hint warmer/peachier.

Accessorize gives us 8g of product for £5.50 compared to MAC’s 3.2g of product for around £17.50.

MAC on the left, Accessorize on the right.  Are you seeing dupes?

Obviously… Accessorize Pretty Pink isn’t a duo… the veining is consistent throughout the pan.  Do you agree that Pretty Pink looks a little warmer than Moon River?

As for texture…

Moon River feels a little softer and my brush picks up the powder more readily when swept over Moon River.  Despite this, pigmentation is pretty simillar.  I’d say that Moon River appears to be more glittery than Pretty Pink, though strangely the sheen on the Accessorize dupe is a little more apparent…. a touch more ‘metallic’ once on the skin.

The most important swatches are the two on the left.  I added the third just to show the marbled half of Moon River alone.

What do you think?

MAC Moon River vs. Accessorize #3 Pretty Pink – Dupe or no dupe?

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Bedcrumb is a wonderfully flirty, young brand from designer/illustrator Heidi Cannon.  Spending more than five minutes browsing her site leaves my fingers twitching at my debit card.

Check out this pretty little pocket mirror…

The mirror comes wrapped in a presentation pouch complete with a keyring tag and priced at £6.50.  Even better, all fashion accessories are posted for free within the UK (and most international orders are only charged £2).

A lovely stocking filler for lipstick lovers everywhere!

You can check out Heidi’s other beautiful designs and illustrations at Bedcrumb.co.uk