A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

Today will go down in history.

I finally reached the bottom of my seemingly bottomless bottle of Soap & Glory Clean on Me.  Usually, when I get bored of something shower-related I tell Mr. L to use it up for me.  That way, I don’t feel guilty cracking open something new when I’ve still got half a bottle/tube/whatever of something else on the go.  But Mr. L wasn’t playing ball with my S&G – too girly smelling apparently *eye roll*.

I picked the Boots No7 Luxurious Foaming Shower Oil up a couple of months ago and it’s been gathering dust ever-since.  Just as I’d turned the shower on this morning, I realised I was all out and hot-footed it across the landing, dripping water as I went.  Once I’d remembered where I’d stashed it, I dripped my way back into the shower only to realise that I hadn’t taken a photo of it for the blog!

I left the shower again and drip, drip, dripped my way into the bedroom, grabbing my camera as I went. Plonked the box on the windowsill and started snapping away.  3 minutes later, I’d finished snapping and glanced up to see my neighbour’s curtain twitch.

So now, not only does my neighbour know that I have one boob bigger than the other.  He know’s WHICH FREAKIN’ BOOB IT IS.

Dedication.  This review had better be worth it.

Oh yeah… the review…

I didn’t like it.  It barely lathered.  Wimpy, weak lather that didn’t smell of anything much at all.  Very, very lightly scented.

I tried again… and used enough to bathe Geoff Capes twice over and still…. it just gave me a thin surface layer of bubbles.  Didn’t feel much like luxury to me.  Being an oil and all… did it make my skin feel smoother or softer?  Nope.  Nothing more than any other moisturising shower gel.  It didn’t strip me of any moisture…. but let’s face it, this stuff is £8.75 a bottle (cheaper with a No7 till spit) but still… it’s a MEH kinda product.

And that’s my official rating.  At least my neighbour enjoyed it.

I was starting to run out of things to spend my £5 No7 vouchers on when I spied these unassuming little tubes on the No7 counter.  I’m a total sucker for cream eyeshadows and when I swatched these, I knew I had to have them!

They’re a very light mousse formula and although the tubes are teeny tiny, a little goes a very long way.  I keep squeezing out too much!  Easy to apply and blend, I usually use my finger before running a brush over the edges just to make sure that they’re softened.

I bought them without doing any blog research and was concerned that they’d last approximately 5 seconds before creasing on me.  In general, I’m not a HUGE No7 makeup fan… there’s definitely some real stand outs from the line, but it’s not usually a brand I purchase from without doing a bit of research beforehand.

I have to say though, I made a good choice with these!  They last a decent 5/6 hours when used with no base before they begin to travel upwards… combine with a slick of UDPP and I can get about 7/8 hours wear out of them.  I haven’t tried setting them with a light dusting of complementary eyeshadow… but I think that would prolong wear even further.

Not too shabby really.

The colours are beautiful and what attracted me to them in the first place, there’s one more (a bronzey shade) that I like the look of aswell, but I’ll wait ’till the £5 off No7 till spit comes round again before adding it to my collection.

£8.75 each from Boots instore or online.

Have you tried these?

Looking for some on-trend nail polishes to srpuce up your collection?

Then look no further!

Win these new Boots No7 Nail Polishes in must-have shades Beanie and Beautifully Black.

To be in with a chance of winning, simply “like” the Lipglossiping Facebook page and I’ll select a winner at random.

Open to my lovely international readers as always, winner will be chosen on the 20th May.

Boots No7 Summer 2010 collection will be hitting counters nationwide next month I believe and here’s what it should look like!

MizzWorthy and BeautyJunkieLondon have got sneak peeks of the collection, so go check them out!

I’m definitely gonna be checking out the silvery looking nail polish, the eye shadow quad and the bronzer.  I really like the look of the shadow quad, gold and silver are a lovely pairing to spice up those two neutrals.  I’m still useless with bronzers, always look like I’ve gone and rubbed my face on the garden.

The rest I probably won’t bother with… gloss in a pot?  Hate getting anything under my nails…  down with pots.  The other nail colour looks a bit of a snore too no?

Anything take your fancy?

The £5 off No7 and R&M Boots till spits are making an appearance again!

Get the the voucher instore from Wednesday 21st April until Tuesday 18th May.  The voucher will remain valid until Sunday 23rd May.

It’s less than a month since the last set of vouchers expired!  Boots must know a good marketing strategy when they see one!

If you’re not sure what to spend your voucher on, there are some ideas in this post:

How Do You Spend Yours?

Feel free to add some more ideas if you spot any great buys!

…your Boots till spits I mean!

If you’re not a UK lady, let me quickly explain…

Boots have a rather fabulous promotional period every couple of months that goes something like this…

If you spend over £5 you get a voucher.  The voucher entitles the holder to £5 off Boots No7 or Ruby & Millie (a British cosmetic brand).

That’s it… no catches, nothing.  How lucky are we?

The current promotion runs out on the 28th March, which means that I have 4 days left to spend the 3 vouchers I’ve rescued from the bottom of my handbag.  Which brings me to my original question…

How do you spend yours?

As there’s nothing specific I want from either of the permitted ranges, I’m thinking of plumping for some of the following items – note, prices shown are after voucher redemption:

Boots No7 Eyeshadow Blend and Contour.

I have a few of these (ok, about 6) that I grab from my brush pot when I’m too lazy to go and wash my ‘good’ blending brushes but obviously don’t want to muddy my eye look.  They’re not the softest nor the most well constructed, but for £1.50, they’re pretty darn decent backups!

Boots No7 Quick Thinking 4 in 1 Wipes.

Love these wipes, they really do a stand up job at removing makeup.  I mostly use them to clean off swatched hands or if I’m playing with my makeup.  I prefer a proper face wash before bed!  These are great for travel too, but I wouldn’t pay the full price.

Boots No7 Ultimate File and Buffer.

You can’t get a better bargain than free!  I have one of these in the glove box incase of an emergency broken nail.  Don’t laugh at me, you’re not even a proper GIRL unless you have an emergency nail file set.  Go redeem yourself down at Boots immediately!

Boots No7 Eye Colour Brush.

I haven’t tried this one, but I used to pick up ones from the No7 range which looked simillar (except they had black bristles) and I swear by them for depositing a healthy amount of colour on my lids.  Unfortunately, they’ve been discontinued and I’m wondering if these are the replacement?  Anyone know the old ones I mean?  They used to come in little black cardboard boxes (usually found on the bottom shelf of the No7 stand), I think they were £5.75 each (before voucher redemption) so they worked out at 75p each after, total bargain!  Anyone tried these white bristled ones?

Ruby & Millie I-Liner Brush.

I haven’t been hugely impressed with much from the Ruby & Millie range and some of the brushes are (imho) pretty awful.  This one however, I like.  It’s great for pushing gel and cream liners right into the lashline slightly under the lashes.  Don’t try and line above the top lashes with it though… well, not unless you’re incredibly nifty with an eyeliner brush.

Boots No7 Radiance Boosting Hot Cloth Cleanser.

£3.75 for a Hot Cloth Cleanser and muslin cloth is a total bargain I reckon!  I’m currently trialling the original Liz Earle version (review coming soon) and I’ll be picking one of these up in the next few days for a bargainous comparison.  It’s worth noting too that this No7 version has clocked up no less than twenty 5 star reviews on the Boots website.  Having said that, if it’s anything like the Boots Time Delay Cleansing Balm (Eve Lom ‘replica’) then it’ll leave me in tears.  Literally.

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So, that’s my ‘picks’ for your £5 “till spit”.  What do you rush to stock up on everytime the offer rolls around?  Don’t keep your bargains to yourselves, did your Mama never tell you it’s good to share?

I never generally use more than 2 or 3 eyeshadows at once, I know lots of ladies manage to create spectacular looks with 5 or 6 shadows all expertly blended across the eye lid.  But I’m pretty cack-handed and can barely stop 2 from muddying together.  That and I just don’t have the time anymore to play, so here’s a very quick smoky eye…

Please excuse the stupid expression, even though I have no excuse.

Face:

~ No7 Essential Moisture Foundation in New Ivory mixed with NARS Orgasm Illuminator

Eyes:

~ eBay Generic Gel Eyeliner used as a cream shadow (Shimmer Skyline) – hard to blend but worth it.
~ Laura Geller Fire/Water Eye Shadow pressed onto lid (water half of the duo)
~ MAC Naval Blue pigment blended (badly) into the crease and above
~ L’oreal Super Liner Carbon Gloss Liquid Liner in Black
~ L’oreal Voluminous Mascara in Black

Lips:

~ NARS Cruising Lipstick

I can’t get enough of blue eye shadow at the moment, anyone else going through any shadow phases?

Ruby & Millie make some decent brushes at reasonable prices, and this one is my favourite.  It’s great for gel eyeliners and brow powders… firm but supple.

The Ruby & Millie I-Define brush is priced at £6.00 in Boots, but is currently available for a recession-busting £1.00 with a No7/Ruby & Millie till spit*.

I’ve bought a couple since the offer’s been on and plan on getting some more of the Boots No7 Eyeshadow brushes which I enjoy using alongside my MAC 239.

The Boots No7 Eyeshadow brush is priced at £5.75 rendering it a 75p super-bargain with a till spit.  Only larger stores appear to carry these brushes though.  You can usually find them on the bottom shelf of the No7 stand (rather than amongst the general makeup brushes) housed in cardboard boxes.

*till spit = a voucher automatically printed by the till when you spend over £5 in a transaction.  I’m a geek and purposefully split my transactions into roughly £5 amounts to maximize my till spits *blush*

Till spits are valid until the 31st January, so get shopping!

Have you tried either of these brushes?  Do you recommend any other ’till spit’ bargains?

Welcome to my world of boring but wearable neutrals.  I love colour, but I’m not sure it loves me – I’m still experimenting though so hopefully my FOTDs will get a little more adventurous over time!

Face:
Smashbox Photo Finish Foundation Primer
Grimas Concealer – Shade G0
Bourjois Lilas D’or Blush – (I was a bit too light handed)
Lavshuca Blush/Highlighter Duo – PK1
SK-II Airbrush Foundation Shade OP1 – (my first test with it! ‘citing!)

Eyes:
Revlon Brow Fill in Powder
Urban Decay Primer Potion
Sleek i-Divine Eyeshadow Palette – Storm
Stargazer Cake Eyeliner – Brown (Upper) – still loving it!
Some random Boots No7 Brown Kohl (Lower)
Max Factor 2000 Calorie Mascara

Lips:
Art Deco Waterproof Lip Liner #17 – used as base and liner
Elizabeth Arden High Shine Lip Gloss – #10 Pink Champagne