A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

Look away now if you don’t like children.  I totally get it if you don’t.  It’s ok, I only like my child… normal service will resume in the next few days as I get settled back into my routine.

But I wanted to share the face that greeted me this morning.

Why the hell can’t I look that cute when I wake up?

While I’m here… I might aswell tell you that I finally booked my fishy pedicure for the 9th and I’m dragging my cousin along with me (Mr. L totally dodged that one!).  I’m all nervous, if you reviewed it… please link me up below!

I have comitted a cardinal nail polish sin, for which I’m being punished.

Don’t store your nail polish on it’s side kids.

For the love of everything brightly coloured and infused with solvents, listen to Oprah:

http://www.oprah.com/style/How-to-Store-Nail-Polish

But even more importantly, listen to Oprah’s commenter… Jeff1967 (at the very bottom of the page).

Any tips?  I can’t shake ’em… that induces bubbles!  Do I just keep rolling endlessly?

Monday Musings… Tuesday’s Twaddle… Wednesday Waffling…. Thursday Thuckery?  No, that doesn’t sound right.

And so on…

There just aren’t enough days in the week for the amount of shit I could come up with.

Anyway…

I wanted to acknowledge that I’ve been terrible at responding to comments over the last 10 days.  I’m home now, and I’m working my way back through them (well, I will when Leila’s gone for her nap and I’ve had another 3 coffees – screw proper work).  I haven’t forgotten that I owe a Pantene ingredient list to some nice soul and a comparison of Jo’Mina and Barry M… what else, what else…. I’m working on a nail-care maintenance type post which has been requested a few times and I’d like to do another photo-tip type one but I’m not sure what would be useful?  Any requests?

Ahhh I’m so excited to be home, I could snog my computer!  True to life colours, software that doesn’t freeze and the ability to have more than 2 windows open at once.  Life’s simple pleasures.

Oh and before I forget (yeah, right… like I *really* was gonna forget) – Lipglossiping.com was featured in last weekend’s Waitrose magazine (is it still a magazine if it’s not glossy?)

Anyway, look!

Look at me, inbetween Delia and a BOGOF on extra mature cheddar.  My mama would be so proud.

What might I be talking about?

Gerard Butler has been announced as the new brand spokesman for L’oreal Men Expert!

He says: “I’m excited to be working with L’Oréal Paris.  I have always liked the quality and innovation of their products.”

“With his charisma, confidence and modern style, Gerard Butler perfectly embodies the spirit of the Men Expert line.  A talented actor, he has enjoyed a string of successes on the silver screen and is renowned for his professionalism. Gerard is just so easy to relate to – his charmingly authentic, natural air will win him the respect of consumers, who can’t help seeing themselves in the actor.  I am delighted to welcome Gerard as a L’Oréal Paris Spokesperson!” says Vianney Derville, International General Manager of L’Oréal Paris.

Suddenly, the Men Expert range has become a whole lot more interesting no? *fans self*

Good choice? Or yano… in other words… would you?

If you do one thing today, do this.  Please.

It would be wonderful if you could take a moment to sign this petition to the UK Government.  It asks for a first name, surname and that’s it.  It will literally take you less than 20 seconds to click through and sign.

It’s a bitter pill to swallow, but the simple fact is that children are trafficked and exploited daily within the UK.

ECPAT say:

While trafficking for sexual exploitation remains the most common form of child trafficking in the UK, children are also trafficked to the country for other types of abuse including labour exploitation, forced participation in criminal activities, forced marriage, illegal adoption and domestic servitude. Even children who are not trafficked for the explicit purpose of sexual exploitation are vulnerable to rape and sexual abuse because of the dangerous and hidden circumstances in which they are kept.

The petition calls for greater care and protection for child victims of trafficking by ensuring every child is provided with a guardian to look after them.  Over half of all children that are put under local authority care whilst their cases are investigated go missing.  These vulnerable children are in dire need of protection and your signature is a significant way to make a difference.

The Body Shop have released a Soft Hands Kind Heart Hand Cream priced at £3.50.  Released in association with ECPAT UK, £2.36 from each purchase is donated directly to ECPAT to help fund their campaigns and projects.

For more information on ECPAT and their campaigns, log on to their website and check out their facebook page or twitter.

The frankly amazing Marina over at Makeup4all has only gone and done it again!

Makeup4all’s wonderful Summer issue is now available for your viewing pleasure…

I can’t even begin to comprehend the amount of work this lady puts in to creating these wonderful beauty issues.  When her email landed in my inbox announcing the release, I actually let out a little squeal of excitement.

Please go and check it out and show her some love… you won’t regret it, it’s a fabulous lunchtime read!

Celebrate with the brand for a chance to win a trip to Hollywood!

Established in 1980, Paul Mitchell, the professional hair care line is celebrating the big 3-0 and would like to give you the chance to take a friend to Hollywood.

Visit their special anniversary site to learn more about the brand’s history, how they’re commited to ‘giving back’ and of course, the chance to bag yourself an amazing prize!  Just remember to take me if you win!

I think I’ve finally got my overnight makeup bag packing down to a fine art.  I’m always moaning that Mr. L expects me to take about 3 items away with me yet still somehow look like a human being.

I thought I’d share what I took with me when I went on an overnight jaunt last time.

My requirements are simple.  Long-lasting makeup with the least amount of application time.  The key to this (for me at least) appears to be some simple layering.

Firstly, brushes.  I don’t take any of my good ones… I’ve thought about purchasing some of those brush guard thingies… but they’re such a boring and practical purchase and I’m always finding more exciting things to spend my money on instead!

A mascara spoolie, slanted eyebrow brush, cheapo no7 eyeshadow brush, Une Cosmetics flat top kabuki and my Pout Airbrush see me through a couple of days well.

Because I’m out and about all day, I need my makeup to go the distance and I’m finding a few key products are seeing me through the day.

Most importantly, I want my base to last and at the moment, I’m finding a combination of Bourjois Healthy Mix set lightly with Bare Escentuals Matte is seeing me through the day nicely.

Cheeks are a combination of Une Cosmetics Creme Blush in B02, with a light dusting of Bobbi Brown Illuminating Bronzer in Maui ontop.

My ever-faithful, ever-present Urban Decay Primer Potion gets packed time and time again and a combination of creme/liquid (Chanel Ombre D’eau)… and powder eyeshadows (Shu Uemura) remain solidly on my lids all day.

Diorshow Iconic and a Kajal eyeliner are foolproof to apply and never give me bother in the mornings.  The kajal smudges as the day goes on, but any errant smears are quickly wiped away whilst the majority of the product stays nicely between my lashes.

I never wear full-on lip colours when I’m travelling simply because they’re too high maintenance, I chose to take my Guerlain Maxi Shine with me this time… light yet long wearing, I’m definitely looking to increase my Guerlain lipstick collection!

God, that was a dull post… I’m absolutely dying up here on this poop laptop with weird colours.  I have many posts in my head and pictures to resize and edit, but the colours are so squiffy on this monitor that I don’t wanna upload anything colour crucial.  You’ll wonder why I’m wearing a green lipstick or something!

Have a great weekend ladies!

C’mon, tell me!

Here’s (a virtual) £60.

The catch is, you can only buy one thing with it and it’s got to be a palette.

And NO(!) it’s not allowed to be the new Urban Decay Naked palette or we’d all just say that one (mostly!)

Here’s my pick:

The LORAC Private Affair palette ($38)

Look at those beautiful cool tones!  I’m not saying that I’m wishing Autumn/Winter upon us… but if I had this palette, it would make the inevitable seasonal shift much easier to bear!

Anyone else fancy a bit of virtual Sephora Sweep – link me up!

2 eyes, 83 eyelashes (or thereabouts) and 2 mascaras.

On one eye, I’ve applied £21.50 worth of mascara (DiorShow Iconic)

On the other eye… £5.99 worth of mascara (Boots 17 Wild Curls)

There’s undoubtedly a difference, and the expensive mascara (on the left as you look at it) has done it’s job well.

But is the difference really worth £15.51?

Hand on heart, for me… I think it’s worth it.  My husband thinks I’m a sucker.

What do you think?

You’ve got one day left to tweet your beauty questions to none other than NARS’ very own Marcel.

They Say:

After weeks of a très chic travel schedule to promote his PRO-PRIME campaign, Marcel Nars is making a special virtual Personal Appearance on Twitter and Facebook!

The companion to NARS’ Founder and Creative Director, François Nars, this classy pooch has learned a thing or two about putting the best possible face forward.

So… if you think the mutt has all the answers, follow @NARSissit and simply submit your question with the special #MarcelNars hashtag by the end of the day and check back tomorrow at 1PM EST (6pm BST) when Marcel will answer questions submitted.

Alternatively, log on to Facebook (facebook.com/narscosmetics) for 2PM EST (7pm BST) tomorrow and you can chat live to the pampered pooch.

Being Marcel Nars typing fingers…. what a job eh?

I’m on holiday in the wild North East of England.

Somewhere near here:

I’ve had a busy couple of weeks with an even busier few coming up and you may have noticed that my posting rate has reduced to a couple of posts a day from the usual torrent of makeup related diarrhea that sprouts forth from my keyboard to your monitors.

It gets worse (for me!) ‘cos I’m once again unsure of the quality of the mother-in-law’s internet status.  Last time it was dial up.  I felt like I’d driven 325 miles to emerge in 1996.  If I can’t leech onto a neighbour’s internet connection, I’m coming home.

And if there’s snow like last time (admittedly, unlikely in July) I’m refusing to go further north than Watford.  What can  I say?  I’m a soft Southern chick!