A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

I was reading an article over at Marketing Magazine about Dermalogica being rather upset with Boots for stocking their products without permission…

Dermalogica claims that by doing so, Boots could “damage the brand”.  They don’t elaborate exactly how this damage would manifest itself, but with the word “exclusive” written in the same paragraph… it really doesn’t take a genius to figure it out.

Boots are “high street”, Dermalogica are “high end”.  And never the twain shall meet.

Now, I’m no product-snob – though heaven knows I try 😉  I just don’t have the money to indulge.  Perhaps if I didn’t LOVE makeup/skincare/haircare quite so much (thus not needing to try new things ALL THE FREAKIN’ TIME) I’d go high-end exclusivly.

Let’s face it, I have aspirations to makeup snobbery.  I don’t know why, I really don’t.  I flippin’ love a good bargain MORE than the next person.

I have a few select luxe pieces in my collection that I would repurchase over and over (hello Dior Capture Totale) but the majority of my collection lies in the low to mid-range price point.

The recent RougeBunnyRouge positive reviews and gushings have done little to dispel my aspirations, although honestly, I’m simultaneously HORRIFIED by their prices (£27 for a liquid eyeliner).  Combine that with waiting lists for Chanel’s latest offering to the Nail Polish world and I’m left feeling a little Jaded myself (no, no need to pardon that pun – I need shooting for that).

What is it that we hope to achieve by putting our money down for the brands that are deemed to be so exclusive?

The ‘exclusive’ E.L.F Complexion Perfection vs. Guerlain Meteorites Powder *removes tongue from cheek*

“Exclusivity” has much to do with cost, the two factors are often intertwined and the lower the cost, the less exclusive the product becomes.  If you do boil it down to this (true or not) how ridiculous does exclusivity become?  If that IS the case, the term should be “exclusively for mugs” because we all know that there are some fabulous cheap(er) purchases to be made.

Is it quality?  I’m sure for some… it is.  I think perhaps I’d understand my aspirations to product-snobbery a little better if I spent time in an environment where I could show off (discretely of course ;)) my latest finds as an extension of my ego in the same way Mr. Smith might drive his new Audi S8 back and forth outside his office window.

I don’t have that excuse (or is it justification!).  I’m self-employed & the only person who sees me for 8 hours of the day is Mr. Lipglossiping and Baby Lipglossiping and they really couldn’t be less impressed by me triumphuntly pulling out my Chantecaille compact.  If anything, I should really make more of a covert operation of it infront of Mr. L…

Am I trying to impress myself perhaps?  Does buying luxe simply place a greater worth in myself?  Do I enjoy the self-indulgence?  Perhaps it’s a bit of all those things.

All I really know is, my bank manager doesn’t like it much.  Now excuse me, I’m off to check out the latest “exclusive” import that is Hourglass Cosmetics whilst doing a fine job (if I do say so myself) of dodging Mr. Lipglossiping.

What are your thoughts on the term “exclusive” when it comes to products?  Is it a term synonymous with quality or sad gits like me hankering after items I can ill-afford to purchase.

That time had come… the moment I’d been dreading for almost 8 months.

It was time to sacrifice the UDPP packaging in the quest for more product.

Thanks to some advice and gentle nudges in the right direction from the lovely girls on Twitter (AbbieandBrian, Lollipop, Ally, cosmetic-candy, melovemakeup, get_lippie, slaphappybeauty & Rhamnousia) I felt a little more confident that I could depot without removing most of my fingers in the process.

Here we go:

The cast of (necessary) characters.  I’m using a Body Shop sample pot – did you know that you can ask for a samples in The Body Shop?

Grab your boyfriend, husband, dad (or someone else you can palm this thankless task onto) and get them to saw straight through the middle.  Make sure you’re using a knife with a serated blade!

Ta-Da! Look at all that product!

Look! That’s enough to keep me going for another month right there!

All scraped out..

Goodness me, that would have gone in the bin if it weren’t for all you lovely bloggers alerting me to the packaging shame that is UDPP

But wait! There’s more! – Get that knife back out and start sawing the bottom of the tube too, ‘cos look!

Yes! Shame on you Urban Decay!

Get every last splodge!

Et Voila! One dead UDPP tube and one very nearly full pot of Primer Potion.

I know, I know… there’s hundreds of these tutorials about now in the blogosphere and on youtube.  I should know, I’ve watched most of them…

Why add to it?  Well… because DESPITE that – I very nearly just binned the UDPP without doing this.  I figured it would be too much hassle, too hard, too whatever other lazy ass excuse I could come up with.

It was fine.  I mean, it was hard work waiting patiently whilst my husband sawed through the middle bit… FASTER *whipcrack* – but he got there in the end.  So, I’m happy to saturate the UDPP depotting tutorial presence on the internet if it helps bully YOU (or your general dogsbody) into making sure you do this when the time comes.

I’m a few days late with this (should be an end of month post) – but here’s what I’ve been loving in September.

Shampoo: Aussie Miracle Moist Shampoo
Conditioner: Aussie Miracle Moist Conditioner
Styling products: Matrix Biolage Smoothing Serum
Shower Gel: Soap & Glory Clean on Me (yes, still – this stuff lasts and lasts!)
Body moisturiser: None – but I need to buy some
Deodorant: Vaseline Aloe Fresh Anti-Perspirant (same as last month)
Fake Tan: None
Cleanser: SKII Facial Treatment Cleansing Oil followed with Virgin Vie Fresh Face Cleansing Foam
Exfoliator: Queen Helene Mint Julep Natural Facial Scrub & Garnier Body Tonic Sugar Scrub (same)
Primer: L’oreal Paris Studio Secrets Smoothing Resurfacing Primer (Not for much longer!)
Foundation brush: Pout Airbrush
Concealer: Grimas Camouflage Concealer
Powder: Art Deco Silk Touch Loose Powder
Blusher: The Body Shop Blush Trio in Cool Dusk
Bronzer: Illamasqua Powder Blusher in Rumour makes a great contour colour for me
Highlighter: Prescriptives, The Illuminator
Eyeshadow base: Art Deco Eye Shadow Base
Eyeshadows: Kryolan Shades Palette in Santiago
Eyeliner: Gosh Velvet Touch on the lower waterline, Infinity Liners on the upper lids
Curler: None
Mascara: Maybelline Colossal Volum’ Express
Lipstick: MAC Hue
Lipgloss: MAC Lipglass Pas de Deux
Nail Colour: Various!

I tag anyone who fancies an end of month recap.  If you do it, link me up!

I thought the Husband was looking a bit shifty this morning.

Indulging his inner 12yr old. Again.

Now, despite fears that I may sound like your Mum… I HAVE to talk to you about sanitary wear, are you sitting comfortably?  Not fidgeting?  Good.  Now listen up.

Exciting news!

Bodyform are launching a new “Campaign for Confidence” and are very understanding of the fact that when us ladies look good, we feel good.  In light of that, they’re treating us to the latest lip gloss in two gorgeous, autumn shades.

Yes, you read that right!

From the 12th October you can snap up a Limited Edition Jemma Kidd Lip Gloss absolutely free with special packs of Bodyform!

The lip glosses come in 2 shades (Orchid & Rose) and are worth £10 each from the Jemma Kidd Makeup School range.

The limited edition packs will be available from the 12th October in all good supermarkets and pharmacies and will no doubt be in high demand so make sure you don’t delay!

Also featuring on these LE packs is some useful information on symptom awareness from The Eve Appeal, a charity working hard to raise funds into research for gynaecological cancers.  Ovarian cancer is the fourth most common cause of cancer death in women in the UK, so greater awareness of all gynaecological cancers should be of interest to every woman.

As if that wasn’t enough… I have a little “bodyform inspired” giveaway coming up, further details of that in the next few days!  Too exciting!

Bounce with me xx

1. Mood: Optimistic! Getting over a cold that caught the whole family by surprise.

2. I’m lovin’ it (makeup related): Estee Lauder Shadow Cremes in Vintage Violet and Antique Gold, Cutex Acetone Free Nail Polish Remover & Illamasqua Brow Powder in Gazed

3. I’m lovin’ it (non-makeup related): Halls Soothers in Cherry, I’ll miss them when my cold is gone.

4. Reading for the week: Your Baby Week by Week (sad, I know)

5. Hair: Over-straightened and under-nourished at the moment.

6. Something you’d never guess about me: I’m a huge Ghosthunters fan, but don’t get me started on Most Haunted – grrr…

7. Next on my to-do list: Transfer all my crap over to my new PC

8. Last person I laughed with: My lovely husband Paul

9. Purse: Dunno, some brown leather messenger bag my sister gave my Mum and I promptly stole.

10. Weekly goals: Sell some of Leila’s newborn bits on eBay and shake off the lurgy!

If you want to join in with the weekly (when I remember) Monday Poll shenanigans you can find the poll here

Right, that’s it. I can’t be arsed to wait for my 100th follower – lagging behind like the LAZY mare she is.

So here’s my 99 followers giveaway extravaganza.

Please note…

 ~ You DON’T need to be a ‘follower’ to enter.  I love lurkers too, and anyway… If you’re gonna follow, It would make me happier to know it’s ‘cos you quite like my blog.

~ You WON’T get any extra entries by posting this on your blog.  You can if you want to, although personally I’d keep it to myself – more chance of winning that way 😉

This little giveaway (and it is little I’m afraid) is just my way of saying thanks for taking the time to read my rambling, incoherent and often self-indulgent nonsense.  This blog would be here with or without you, but it’s much more fun with you!

Onto the goodies!

One lucky winner will receive:

~ Maybelline XXL Curl Power Mascara in Power Black
~ PURE Lip Gloss in Peggy (What would my first giveaway be without a lipgloss eh?)
~ GOSH Nail Polish in Carmine (better pic here, your one is of course new and unopened – I’ve been scouring eBay for one for my giveaway ever since posting the original NOTD)
~ Body Shop  Home Fragrance Oil in Almond (I’m addicted to buying these things)
~ RUSK Hair Toggle thingy (gorgeous for Xmas, I actually bought this for myself.. and then cut my hair short a week later)

Hope it’s not too measley… I did consider giving away my new Helena Rubenstein Mascara set too… but came to my senses just in time.

Giveaway is OPEN internationally, and I will be closing it in 1 weeks time! 00:01 Sunday 27th September (GMT).

To enter, you need to make yourself useful… read on…

I have a £25 Topshop voucher burning a hole in my purse.  Great huh?  Only problem is, I’ve been OVER a size 16 for aslong as I can remember sooooo I dunno what to spend it on?

Leave a link showing what you’d buy IF you were me (no size 6 leopard print bikinis please or I’ll poke you in the eye. with a pencil.)  It can be upto £35, £40 if it’s REALLY nice.

1 entry per person and if you don’t have a blog… please leave your email address too.

It’s a win-win situation! Good luck!

Remember last time? When we went to Somerset? We didn’t quite have enough room (see pic) and we’re going for 5 days this time, so we thought it best to take 2 vehicles:

Lucky old Bournemouth is playing host to our holiday this time round.  It’s only 40minutes away, so slightly galling to have to pack up the entire house only to unpack it again in less time than it takes to do my nails.  Oh well, at least it’s not enough time for a car argument (they’re different to normal ones) about who has control of the CD player.  Actually, who am I even kidding?  Neither adult gets a look-in.  It’s ‘Wheels on the Bus’ all the way.  On repeat.

I have no posts lined up for whilst I’m away.  Not a one! (Stop cheering at the back there!)

I do however, have lots of lovely things in the pipeline for when I get back including a giveaway when I reach 100 followers, a BIG Autumn/Winter Urban Decay Collection review, A FOTD featuring my lovely new Kryolan palette, Some more Nails Inc and Mavala NOTDs, A new Oil Cleanser comparison – will it live up to the DHC?, Gorgeous new gel liners and my favourite under-eye illuminator for less than £5.

Stay tuned, miss you already!

xxxx

I don’t own a normal diary, so please indulge me this post that I wanted to record someplace, somewhere for posterity.

You are 4 months and 1 week old today. 

I can’t believe how quickly the time has flown since I first found out I was expecting you.  9 months (+ 2 weeks, you lazy little bugger) of anticipation, excitement, fear and expectation culminating in one very early morning dose of pain that (at the time) I was sure I wouldn’t be able to survive.

For what?

For 3 weeks of disbelief, an adrenalin rush that will never be rivalled contradicted by falling asleep whilst eating my dinner.  3 weeks spent mapping each eyelash, every skin crinkle and being astonished by how perfectly we’d managed to make you.

For 5 weeks thinking “This isn’t how it’s supposed to be.”… 5 weeks of feeling like we were battling with you every step of the way, amazing ourselves with limitless patience we never knew we were capable of.  You seemed such a sad little girl, lost and homesick… perhaps you were.  We couldn’t comfort you, couldn’t make you happy and on top of that, I lost the ability to feed you and couldn’t get it back.

Then one day, the sun shone.  It shone until it blinded us and made the tears prick our senses.

You are a strong little thing, always trying to achieve feats that your tiny body won’t allow you to do.  You’re always listening, always watching, always learning… looking for the next person to charm with your infectious dimples.  You reach for anything and everything… straight in the mouth as if you’re going to taste your way to adulthood.  You talk to us, cooing and grumbling “ehgoowa” ’till we agree with your point of view.  Sometimes, we catch each other looking at you… soaking up the ‘pig in poo’ feelings that you instill in us.  We look at one another and smugly bask in that shared experience, silently congratulating each other on a job well done.

You don’t laugh too much, despite our best efforts (we’ve come to the conclusion that we’re just not that funny).  Instead, you are a smiling machine.  Your (slightly crooked) grin lights up the room, everything goes a little bit soft around the edges and the only thing we can see is you.  You make little piggy sounds that make us laugh (especially if you do them when you’re trying to be cross with us).  When you grizzle in the car, Daddy repeatedly puts his palm to your open mouth so that your complaints turn into Indian “wah wahs” instead.  We promise to take them more seriously when you get older.  You love to hear me sing (you’re the only one who does) and your favourite smile-inducing ditty is “Black Hills of Dakota“, so you’re already a Doris Day fan (yay!) and  just as uncool as Mummy (double yay!)

You drool like a St. Bernard, and sometimes… just when it’s got so long that gravity is sure to overcome… you suck it back up and make Daddy and me feel a little bit sick.  Then you blow a huge spit bubble just ‘cos you can.  You would walk if you could, you’d walk a marathon… we fear that you may leave home when you are 6 just so that you can have an adventure.  We can’t decide if your hair is red or blonde… we try not to hope too hard for red.  When Mummy holds you, Daddy says that we become the same person.  He says that because our complexions are identical, we merge into one.  I hoped that you might be a little more tan like Daddy… but no, you’ll be sharing my SPF before I can say “factor 50”.

We hope you will have Daddy’s temperament and gentleness, Mummy’s openness and loyalty and get some confidence from someplace else.  Don’t ever stop lighting up rooms.

We love you Leily-Bum, our joyful little girl.  Happy 17 weeks old.

I’m not going to give a blow by blow account of the evening as this will probably be the 27th recap of the event you’ve read on various blogs over the past 24hours, and they’d all be far better than mine.  Instead I will simply say that I had a lovely time, met lots of lovely people, got lots of lovely makeup and learnt a little bit more about one of the world’s biggest cosmetic brands.

What I want to do instead, is share a few pictures from the evening and finish off with a FOTD styled entirely with the Maybelline products I received and some very quick thoughts on each product.

haha! look at that saddo pointing at the L’oreal sign, what a mupp….oh.

One of the motivations for the blogger event was to demonstrate and promote 2 of Maybelline’s latest product releases: Pulse Perfection Mascara (new to me!) and Color Sensational Lipsticks (which I’m already a big fan of).  These deserve posts of their own, so you can expect some kind of review coming up in the next couple of weeks.

I also wanted to mention the friendliness of everyone involved in the organisation of the event.  It was heart-warming to see the Maybelline ladies so interested in our obsessive little world of beauty blogging, they seemed to be both fascinated and bemused by our community and how we all know one-another through the written medium, but meet up in real life and treat each other like long lost buds!  It was clear that they were enthusiastic for the brand and worked hard to explain and demonstrate the products.  Nothing was too much trouble.  So thanks Katie (x2 – one of which I baby bored to death, sorry!) and Charlotte (great name) for such an engaging brand experience.  Also, a big thanks to Natalie at HeadstreamPR for all her hard work, answering stupid questions and being a fab Saints fan (ok, so not relevant… but it SO is, shutup).

So, on to my Maybelline FOTD!

I’m not naked, honest.

She definitely wasn’t born with it *cough*.

Here’s the products used:

Face:
~ Maybelline Dream Satin Liquid Foundation in Light Porcelain (Really love the feel of this on the skin & a nice skintone match – average longevity… finish was beautifully soft and smooth and I can’t stop touching my face – spots for me tomorrow!) 
~ Maybelline Pure Cover Mineral Concealer (Nice match for my skin, works under eye without creasing – doesn’t give amazing blemish coverage though.)
~ Maybelline Expertwear Blush in Rose (Ha! Nearly didn’t bother opening this as I thought it would totally suck and I was really rather surprised.. shade was lovely on, a great matte blush which builds pigmentation nicely on my ultra pale skin for a subtle sweep of colour).

Eyes:
~ Maybelline Eyecolour Express in Vintage Rose (I REALLY like this, so easy for on the go.. it’s something I would normally totally turn my nose up, so I’m very happy to have received this to try.)
~ Maybelline Eyestudio Mono in Black Metal (blends much more easily than I thought it would, great with a swipe of UDPP underneath)
~ Maybelline Line Definer (well pigmented with a lovely firm but non-scratchy applicator.  Unfortunately, my pen is leaking  badly, so I’ve had to bin it.)
~ Maybelline Kohl Express (very soft, beautifully pigmented, average longevity)
~ Maybelline The Colossal Volum’ Express Mascara (hate the packaging; love, love the product!)

Lips:
~ Maybelline Superstay Color in Red Passion (Sian already told me I’d love this, she was RIGHT!) Awesome pigmentation, look at that glossy red! As long lasting as you’d want without fading unevenly.  It is still drying though… benchmarks: Less drying than Revlon Colorstay Ultimate Liquid Lipstick, more drying than GOSH Everlasting Lips.

I shall definitely be adding The Colossal Volum’ Express Mascara to my mascara series for further review and I’ll be testing the foundation more before passing final judgement.  I also have another Superstay Lip Colour in my stash and I really want to try some of the more pinky or nude shades (26 shades in total!).. so stand by for further posts on those too!

OK, so about my FOTD (or perhaps FOTN is more apt.) I chose a slightly more dramatic FOTD (for me, anyway) because I’ve been noticing that Maybelline products are pushing the envelope more than ever in terms of their reputation as just another high street/drugstore brand for cosmephobes* (that word is in the dictionary, go look it up if you don’t believe me). 

You only need to look at some of the recent releases to draw this conclusion, which is why I tried for something that would not be particularly work or school-safe… in essence, a look that you’d usually use your ‘best’ makeup to achieve instead of the high-street brands.  Well, looksee… this high street brand is keeping up admirably!

None of the products gave me application difficulties (unless you count my leaky eyeliner) and all powders blended seamlessly.  The effect is slightly more smoky than the photos suggest and I’m still wondering what the postman thought of me rocking this look as I opened the door early this morning burp cloth in one hand, baby in the other… pair of fluffy slippers completing the ensemble.

I lastly want to give a quick shout out to the lovely ladies who went shopping with me yesterday afternoon… we had a neat time in Charles Fox, MAC, Shu Uemura, Space NK et al… perfect enablers… each and every one of them!  Sian, Sophie, Lydia and Leanne – thank you for being so much fun!

* cosmephobe – ok, I lied,  Did you really try look it up? Go on, tell me! Did you really? I would be so embarrassed if I was you right now…

Did you miss me? No, of course you didn’t thanks to my post scheduler.

We went here, here and here

This place sucked (perhaps would have been better if it hadn’t been chucking it down at the time).

This place surprised me by not sucking as much as I thought it would.

This was fun (despite the rain)

&

This place does a mean bacon & brie baguette

Leila was lots of fun to be with on her first holiday… although we did get treated to a total meltdown every evening at bedtime… too much stimulation, too much awake time, too much out of routine… etc… but the morning smiles more than made up for it.

There!  Our holiday summed up in less than 8 pictures and not too many more words.  Hope you all enjoyed your bank holiday weekends!

Shamelessly stealing this tag for a bit of filler whilst I’m on my hols!

Shampoo: Dove Colour Care for Dark Coloured Hair
Conditioner: Dove Colour Care for Dark Coloured Hair
Styling products: Fudge Erekt and Tresemme Heat Defence Spray
Shower Gel: Soap & Glory Clean on Me
Body moisturiser: Body Shop Coconut Body Butter – yes I smell good!
Deodorant: Vaseline Aloe Fresh Anti-Perspirant
Fake Tan: None
Cleanser: Shiseido Perfect Oil followed with DHC Mild Soap
Exfoliator: Queen Helene Mint Julep Natural Facial Scrub & Garnier Body Tonic Sugar Scrub
Primer: L’oreal Paris Studio Secrets Smoothing Resurfacing Primer
Foundation brush: Pout Airbrush
Concealer: Art Deco Camouflage Cream
Powder: Art Deco Silk Touch Loose Powder
Blusher: Illamasqua Cream Blush in Sob
Bronzer: Barry M Natural Dazzle
Highlighter: Prescriptives, The Illuminator
Eyeshadow base: Urban Decay Primer Potion
Eyeshadows: The Body Shop Eye Colour Mattes 05 & 10
Eyeliner: Gosh Velvet Touch on the lower waterline, Shu Uemura Painting Liner in Brown on the upper lashline
Curler: None
Mascara: Rimmel Sexy Curves
Lipstick: Revlon Matte in Pink Pout
Lipgloss: Barry M Lip Gloss Wand in Toffee
Nail Colour: Nails Inc. Mayfair Mews

I tag anyone else who has yet to do this (there can’t be that many of you still about!)