A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

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.

Whenever I buy from Boots No7, I feel like I’m taking a bit of a gamble.  Each purchase I make tends to polarise my opinion and I either end up LOVING the product… big LOVE, not just fleeting love (lip liners, exceptional definition mascara, eye mousse) or out and out hating it (most no7 foundations, shower oil).

I just don’t seem to occupy much middle ground where this brand is concerned.  With that in mind, I was curious to see how I’d like the bits I was recently sent from the range.

From left to right – Amazing Eyes Liner in black, Blush tint in 15 Blossom and Stay Perfect lipstick in 45 Tranquil Rose.

Let’s start with the liner…

Not my favourite type of application brush but perfect for thinner lines and precise flicks.  I’m a touch clumsy so generally fare better with felt tip type brushes.  Having said that, the formula is inky black, true and long-lasting.  The brush holds together beautifully to achieve dainty flicks with relative ease.

No7 Amazing Eyes Liquid Eye Liner is priced at £8.75 and available in black or brown online.

Blush sticks are always a temptation for me, they’re so portable and quick to apply.  The No7 Blush Tint in 15 Blossom is no exception, infact… it’s particularly foolproof.  It’s sheer with a non-greasy feel and applies well over both liquid and powder foundation thanks to a non-sticky, powder-finish.  I swipe this across my cheek back and forward about 5 times to build up the intensity before blending the edges with my fingers.

If you struggle with blush I can’t emphasise enough how well I think you’d get on with this product.  I’ve popped this one in my handbag because it gives me a really natural flush that I can touch up without even needing a mirror.  Really delighted with it’s performance.  I’d like to see No7 release this in more shades.

No7 Blush Tint Cream Blush is available online in Rosebud, Blossom and Clove, priced at £10.

Finally, No7 Stay Perfect lipstick in 45 Tranquil Rose.  First impressions are that it isn’t very ‘rose’ like… it’s far more vivid and corally than I’d expect for it’s name.  Second impression was a distinct “Woah!” when I applied and saw how pigmented it was… I ended up reaching for my lip brush to ensure a neat application.  If you go over the lines with this one, you’re gonna notice it!

For a long-lasting lipstick it’s remarkably creamy to apply but it will accentuate signs of lip dryness after a couple of hours.  And how about that wear?  Without eating… I achieved 5 hours of near-perfect wear but with eating… I needed to top up immediately afterward because the colour had still clung so well to the edges, it left a distinct ring!

I’m going to look into the other shades available as I do believe that Cherry might be calling my name!

No7 Stay Perfect Lipstick is available in 16 shades online, priced at £10 each.

Swatches from L-R: Amazing Eyes Liner, Stay Perfect Lipstick in Tranquil Rose and Blush Tint in Blossom.

A quick FOTD featuring the three products reviewed above.  How killer is that lipstick shade?!

Do you have any No7 staples that you return to time and time again?

Palmolive have released a new duo of handwashes with a little twist of vintage flair.  Admittedly not the most exciting of purchases but definitely one of those that I spend a little time on when in the supermarket.

If I’m going to be washing my hands X amount of times in the day… I want the process to not be too drying and above all, I want it to smell awesome.

I’ve been using a sample of the Bergamot & Verbena variety over the past few days which holds a lovely, zingy scent.  Bergamot is a real favourite of mine (lavender, not so much) and Palmolive has captured the aromatics of the fruit nicely.

Ok, so it doesn’t quite lift me from the kitchen sink and place me in Southern Italy… but it does make scrubbing my hands an enjoyable experience!

The vintage styling touches on the bottle are cute without being twee and with both scents priced at £1.99 each for 250ml, they’re not asking me to pay through the nose for these extra touches of luxury.

The Palmolive Authentics Liquid Hand Soap range is currently available in Sainsburys and Waitrose.

A few of you asked what nail polish I was wearing in this post, so I thought I’d put up a proper NOTD post to show it properly.

Following conversations with some of you U.S. girls, I’m thinking that this particular line of L’oreal polishes might not be available over the pond.

Maroon Sorbet is such an odd name for something so dark and vampy… sorbet always makes me think of summer!  The shade itself is a blackened purple with ‘hidden’ shimmer.  You may be able to make out a speck of the shimmer on my middle fingernail but it’s really quite subtle which is a shame as a little more visibility would have given this shade the lift it needs.

No complaints here about wear or application – it’s a solid high street polish that won’t break the bank!

L’oreal Resist & Shine Titanium Nail Polish in Maroon Sorbet is priced at around £6 and available at most L’Oreal stockists including Boots.

If you haven’t succumbed to the lure that is Urban Decay’s liner set… then may I gently steer you in the direction of this New Cid Eyes Lips & Cheek Palette.

I wasn’t sure quite how much of a bargain this palette was when I spotted it on ASOS a couple of weeks ago, but since having a closer look at the one that I was sent… I have to say, it’s a very good bargain indeed.  And at £12?  It’s a freakin’ steal!

Of course, you’re going to need to like neutrals to feel any joy in this palette – but if you do… or if you’re just looking for a palette that would fulfill your needs for when you get overtaken by an urge for a polished day look.  This is the palette for you.

The palette includes:  4 eyeshadows (3 shimmer, 1 matte), 2 lipsticks (round pans – the 2 on the left), 1 lip gloss (the 1 on the right) and a blush.

The eyeshadows are generously sized at 5.4gm apiece.

The set also includes a brush but it has no shape… it’s next to useless.  I don’t know why they even bothered.  Horrible thing.  Gah.

The shadows are a dream.  They’re smooth, pigmented and blendable.  The shades are spot-on and IMO particularly suited to cooler/neutral skintones.  Simply some of the prettiest I’ve come across, and I’ve seen a few!

As for the lip and cheek ‘tray’… it’s also delightful.  I’m not a big fan of lipsticks and glosses in pans like this… particularly when combined with powders.  One would have to ensure that they swipe the blush in the opposite direction to the lip pans to prevent a big old mess of product cross-contamination.

The blush is swatched on the bottom and the lips from left to right as ordered in the palette.

I do also find the palette a little bulky.  Whilst still completely portable for a weekend away, it’s not particularly slimline.  I’m nit-picking… and at a cost of £24, that’s fair enough.

But for £12?  For 4 beautiful shadows… a popping blush and lip colours that aren’t shit?

I’ve just bought one to give as a gift – it’s a cracking bargain and I suggest snapping it up while you still can!

Ok, I’m finishing up with the review of the bits that I was sent last month.  Click here to read my other posts on the brand.  I’m battling a bit of a backlog at the minute thanks to the frustrations of losing the site over Christmas.  Bear with me!

Milky Lips in 602 (£4.44) is a pale cool-toned pink gloss that does what it says on the tin!

It’s a bit “Barbie” for me but I can imagine it being a hit among a younger crowd.  It’s tacky and long-lasting but prone to sinking into the furrows in your lips as these milky type glosses and pale lipsticks tend to do.

Moving on…

The Eyeshadow Trio Dancing Queen in 803 (£4.24) whilst nicely pigmented is frosty as hell.  It’s just too much for me though I was impressed at the texture which was a lot softer than I would have expected considering the amount of glitter these shades hold.  Fall-out is an issue when using these so be prepared to deal with it!

The darkest charcoal/blue shade in the trio is particularly nice but like I said, it’s all a bit too sparkly for me I’m afraid.

On with the next product…

I was VERY pleased with the Paese Pen Liner (£6.08) which I’ve been using daily ever since I received it.  So far (in over a month), it hasn’t dried out at all.  It could do with a little more pigment… as it stands, you do need to go over any lines you draw twice to get a solid, opaque finish.  So why am I holding it in such high esteem?

I love pen liners, I find them the quickest, easiest way to accomplish a simple black line along my upper lashline.  You can’t beat gel for pigmentation but I’m pretty cack-handed and keep falling back on these felt-tip type pens when I don’t have all day to get a perfect line.  The tip on this is a cracker.  Not even remotely scratchy and with a fine point that allows for a nice thin ‘flick’.  There’s a bit of bounce in the tip and it never skips as I draw along my lashline.  It’s solid and dependable… something I want in my eyeliner.

And finally…

Paese Blusher in 25 (£3.32) didn’t do anything to impress I’m afraid.  It’s a nice enough peachy/rose shade with a lovely, soft texture but it’s dusty as hell.  A real shame because it also happens to contain one of the nicest and most delicate shimmers I’ve ever seen in what is essentially a drugstore blush.

It’s very pigmented and a little goes a long way but if you take more than a couple of swipes during blending you’ll notice that you start to blend the blush into oblivion and will be left wondering where the hell it went.  One of those blush on, blush off blushers!

Final Thoughts on Paese Cosmetics

I have some concerns about the website which has those horrible block swatches that don’t give a great indication of the shades available.  There seems to be some mis-labelling amongst the categories and it all seems a bit like a work-in-progress rather than a finished consumer-ready website though I can’t emphasise enough how refreshing it is to see such reasonable shipping charges within the UK!

It’s a brand worth exploring with some little gems hidden among the standard less-impressive drugstore-esque fare.  In particular, I’d recommend the eyeliner and primer as well as the nail polish.  These are the products that I would personally re-purchase.

Are you planning to give Paese Cosmetics a try?

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!

A galactic explosion of coloured glitter pieces in a glossy black base.  It’s a lovely polish apart from one failing… even after two top coats, the finish was still gritty.  It didn’t bother me hugely but I would have prefered to have a lovely non-bumpy surface.

Everything else was pretty spot on with this little number.  Very nice!

Eyeko Cosmic Nail Polish is available to buy online from PowderRooms priced at £3.50

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?

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?