A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

Yum. Oh.

I’m a long-standing fan of Lush’s Honey I Washed the Kids soap. It’s got no whizz-bang exciting things going for it but it’s comforting. Like an old-favourite jumper washed many times over, I’ve been repurchasing it once or twice a year since my early twenties.

Which is why I was excited to see the scent launched into a new Limited Edition shower gel that goes by the name of: It’s Raining Men. Alongside the other limited edition launches for Valentine’s Day, It’s Raining Men will only be around for a short while… so I suggest you go sniff it out tout de suite!

It foams REALLY well… and to be quite blunt, when a shower gel (that doesn’t claim to contain magical properties) costs nearly £8 for 250ml, that’s an important thing to know about it.  It means that I can see this bottle lasting me for a good long time.  Judging by my usage of the sample I was sent, I’d estimate that it’ll still be going in 3 months time.  You really only need a drop on a bath lily to work up a huge lather.

As for the scent?  To me it’s a little sweeter than my HIWTK soap… just a touch.

It’s Raining Men is a saccharine feast for the shower that bubbles up beautifully and leaves my skin with a delicate honey-ed scent.  I like it and I’m purchasing a backup at the weekend in preparation for it leaving the shelves for good.

Lush – It’s Raining Men limited edition Shower Gel is available online or instore at LUSH

Due on counter next week (26th January), the new No7 Spring collection includes an array of delicately-hued goodies for the new season.

The collection includes:

Limited Edition Eye Palette – £12.50
Limited Edition Gel Eyeliners, in Navy Blue, Turquoise and Black – £10.50
Limited Edition Lipsticks, in Brigitte (pale pink) and Grace (pale coral) – £10.50
Limited Edition Nail Polish, in Sugar (pale pink) and Spice (pale coral) – £7.50

Lisa Eldridge had this to say about the inspiration behind her latest No7 collection:

“Inspired by St Tropez in the early 1960’s, the birthplace of the glamorous international jet set and Brigitte Bardot, the archetypal sex kitten, this collection focuses attention very much on the eyes – the key items being the three Gel Eyeliners and beautiful Eye Palette. The eye shadow quartet contains the prettiest washes of ‘barely there’ beiges, corals, pinks, shimmering turquoises and sea greens all evocative of the Cote d’Azur. When the strong liners and pretty shadows are combined with the pale pouty lip colours… the look is defnitely more than a little 60’s Riviera starlet.”

I’ll be diving in for a closer look at the Gel Eyeliner in Navy Blue (love a good, deep blue eyeliner!) and lippie in Grace (pale coral).

What will you be making a beeline for?

A rich, berry red with a small amount of shimmer… I’ve worn this beautiful shade plenty of times since I received it at a press event last year but never as ‘full on’ as this.

It’s pretty vampy!

I usually apply with my fingers and blot it down to a stain but in the image above, I’ve applied with a lip brush before blotting on a piece of tissue.

I would feel far too conspicuous to wear this so bold in the daytime but I reckon I could give it a go on an evening out?

Longevity was really good on this one… 4 hours of near perfect wear despite drinking and munching on a packet of crisps.  Plus, as it fades… I think I love it more as it gives a sexier, slightly smudgy round the edges look.

Extravagant Berry is a limited edition shade that was released for Christmas 2010… it’s still around, but won’t be for much longer!

Metamorphosis… was the first big word I learnt to spell.  I think I was 8 or 9 and I delighted in telling anyone who couldn’t get away from me quick enough exactly what it meant.  You would have hated me.

Something you might like a little better though, is this Spring Chinese-inspired palette from Estee Lauder, available exclusively at Harvey Nichols.

Metamorphosis, Tom Pechaux’s creation is described as an ethereal combination of five metallic shades: Glistening Gold, Lavender Star, Pink Drama, Glacial Blue and Black Crystals.

Looking much brighter in the pan than when translated onto skin it promises to give a look that is soft yet sophisticated, a look that is reminiscent of a butterfly at night, with its fluttering dark wings of delicate pearl and effervescent mystery. Right-o then!

I think a picture illustrating that (rather flowery) description might be more my cup of tea…

Doesn’t Liu Wen look beautiful?  Sophisticated, powerful and delicate all at the same time.

I think it’s a striking palette but sadly pastels look so pukey on me that you’d call an ambulance if you saw me wearing those shades.

The Limited Edition Pure Color Five Color EyeShadow Palette in Metamorphosis is priced at £34.00 and available exclusively at Estée Lauder counters in Harvey Nichols only from 3rd January 2011.

Are you a pastels kinda girl?  Or are you like me and holding out for Lauder’s Spring release (the Wild Violet palette looks stunning!)

It’s every mother’s worst fear… watching their child get sick and being powerless to wade in and fix it all.

Clinique are once again partnering with Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity for the KISS IT BETTER appeal which raises money to fund research into the causes and treatment of childhood cancer.

Throughout February, you’ll be able to purchase a special Limited Edition Smoothie Kisses Lip Gloss Set (£22.50) featuring the latest lip launch from Clinique, Vitamin C Lip Smoothie Antioxidant Lip Colour.

The set includes four Vitamin C Lip Smoothie glosses, in Pink Me Up, Goodness Grapecious, Nude-tricious and Mango-thon, all housed in a brightly coloured pink bag.

Sold exclusively in House of Fraser stores nationwide during the month of February, £4.00 from each purchase will go to the KISS IT BETER appeal (£2 from Clinique and £2 from House of Fraser).

If the new set doesn’t take your fancy, then A £2.00 donation will also apply to all Clinique lipstick or lip gloss (£15.00) sold at House of Fraser stores nationwide, throughout February. (£1.00 will be donated by Clinique and £1.00 will be donated by House of Fraser).

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If you want to learn more about the KISS IT BETTER appeal and discover other ways to donate, visit www.gosh.org/kissitbetter

The timing of MAC’s Wonder Woman collection seems a touch premature to me, with the long-awaited release of a Warner Bros movie slated for 2013, I’m surprised that they didn’t hold out a couple more years and ride that cash cow all the way to the bank!

Regardless, the new collection will be arriving in stores much sooner than that.  Temptalia has the lowdown on the collection which is due for an international (non-US) release of March 2011.

image courtesy of. Temptalia.com

The 32-piece collection (yes, I counted em – anyone wanna check my maths?!) is already kicking up a storm amongst beauty-loving MAC fans worldwide.  The biggest bone of contention?  The packaging…

Temptalia readers have been showing their contempt for the design with comments including:

“…reminds me of the toy makeup I used to beg for when I was a kid.” – source

“…this packaging is actually so horrible that I doubt I’ll be purchasing much (if anything) from this collection.” – source

“…I don’t like the packaging.  The packaging looks verry childish.  I’m gonna buy nothing.” – source

“…I wouldn’t be caught dead taking them out in public.” – source

Of course, there are many protesting in defence of the packaging too…

Me?  I’m not ashamed to admit that I love it.

Sure, I love my Guerlain palettes and the sleek lines of my Rouge D’Armani lippies which always make me feel a little bit posher than I really am when I flash them about infront of people (I totally do that).  But… I really think MAC have pulled the “Wonder Woman” theme off magnificently!

image courtesy of. Temptalia.com

Look at those contrast gold-rimmed pans!  Love. It.

I do understand people’s disappointment… if the theme isn’t for them, it simply isn’t for them and if we all shared the same tastes, wouldn’t the world be a boring place?  But I can totally appreciate that for the theme… this packaging is ticking ALL the right boxes.

As an aside, it’s something that I didn’t think MAC achieved with the Disney VV collection which left me feeling that they hadn’t put any real effort into doing Disney (and it’s fans) justice.  There’s no denying that if a brand can “plug-in” to a much-loved theme and capture it’s essence within the collection, then the tills won’t stop ringing until the last lipstick has been sold.  Easy money if you can get it right.

image courtesy of. Temptalia.com

Kudos.

What do you guys think of the packaging for MAC Wonder Woman collection?  Adorable or Deplorable?  Vote!

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This Christmas, it’s the Chanel collection that caught my eye more than any other.  Those beautiful pinks and coppers that contain the perfect amount of shimmer/glitter for the holiday season without being gaudy.

I will always be drawn to palettes that promise to create a wonderful smoky eye and this was no exception.  The only thing that could possibly dampen my enthusiasm would be pigmentation.  I wasn’t sure how much power this quad would pack.  I needn’t have fretted.

Come to Mama….

I know I usually take blog photos before I start sticking my sausage fingers in my shadows but I think I had this one opened and swatched before I’d even left the shop.  Excuse the shadow dust!

And the swatches (swatched over eye primer)…

To say that I love this palette would be an understatement.  The coppery tones in the two darkest shades really accentuate the green in my eyes and the paler, more ethereal hues brighten my eyes beautifully.

I don’t kno if you’re interested in lazy girl’s makeup application… but mine goes something like this:  The darkest copper shade… I apply all over the mobile lid, right up to the socket line.  Then I take the pink (on the far right) and use this to blend the harsh edges.  I pat the glittery shade (on the far left) ontop of the copper and finally, use the ivory to highlight the inner corner and brow bone.

All that takes me less than 2 minutes because I don’t do anything intricate in the socket line, nor do any fancy stuff in the outer corner.  This palette gives me a gorgeous smoky look in minutes.  And that’s why I love it.

For me, it’s more than worth the £35 I paid for it.  Can you tell I love this palette?

I won’t be parted from my brushes.  It doesn’t matter if I’m only leaving home for a single night, I can’t make do with powder puffs and spongey applicators now that I’m used to brushes.

Which can be a bit of a problem when I’m travelling to far flung exotic lands (Bournemouth, London, Darlo).

I took one of my MAC 217s away with me the last time I travelled to London and damn near killed the poor thing.  Flapping about in my makeup bag, it returned home looking like Leila had painted the walls with it and it’s so far resisting my best efforts to coax it back into shape.

With this in mind, Bare Escentuals have released a set of brushes that I was sent to try…

A magnetic brush collection with carry case!  Great!  Another cosmetic ‘innovation’… can you see my eyes rolling?

Except… this is actually useful.  But does it work in practice?

I’ll shut up for a minute and let you see the brush collection properly…

Read the rest of this entry »

Marrow was the shade that I had been looking forward to… the one that caught my attention back in February when it debuted on the catwalks at Vena Cava during New York Fashion Week.

It was finally released alongside the A/W collection and was one I didn’t pick up because swatch shots from the US girls hadn’t impressed me anywhere near as much as I hoped they would.

The Butter London Marrow that had been haunting my dreams (melodramatic, moi?) was this durgy purple and swatches had proven the release version to be a truer, safer shade.

And it just goes to show the value that great swatches has on my buying choices because they were right!  It’s not that Marrow is an unnattractive colour… far from it, it’s quite a striking blue hued purple… regal and perfect for winter.  It’s just different to what I had wanted it to be.

Marrow has a lovely subtle silver shimmer that was far too tricky for me to pick up in the above swatch… it’s touches like this that really set the brand apart from their rivals.  I am a big fan of Butter London and I get hugely excited at the rumblings of new releases to see if I can spot any emerging trends for future seasons.

Not the easiest brand to get hold of in the UK but you can pick them up online from Powder Rooms priced at £9.75 each.

…geddit? rides? as in horses… as in cowboys? as in Tex… oh forget it.

Due for UK release in February, OPI will be introducing 12 new shades for their Spring/Summer collection which takes it’s inspiration from the U.S’ 2nd largest state.

Talking of O.P.I (which, I quite clearly will until I get bored)… does anyone know what O.P.I stands for?

No googling… no cheating… I DO actually know (‘cos I cheated) but that’s not the point.  Let’s pretend it could stand for ANYTHING!  In your mental little world, tell me what O.P.I would stand for?

For me and my bank account, it would have to be something like… Overall Purse Invaders.  I read one on Google that proferred “Ohmygod Pooh Inside” – I chuckled, though being over the age of 4… I probably shouldn’t have.

Um.  Where was I?  Oh yeah…  Texas Collection!

San Tan-tonio – The Perfect Honey Tan
Y’all Come Back Ya Hear? – Texan Tangerine
Guy Meets Gal-veston – “Engaging” Coral
Big Hair… Big Nails – Rosy Blush

I Vant To Be A-Lone Star – Starry Silver-Blue
It’s Totally Fort Worth It – Shimmering Lavender Grey
Austin-tatious Turquoise – Bodacious Blue Green
Don’t Mess With OPI – Lean, mean kick-grass Green

Too Hot Pink to Hold ‘Em – A hot pink winning hand
Do You Think I’m Tex-y – A ‘berry’ sexy shade
Houston We Have A Purple – Galactic violet
Suzi Loves Cowboys – Rich campfire chocolate

I couldn’t make the preview but have already picked a personal favourite (or two) after having looked at Helen’s shots from the event.

Her swatch shot:

image used with kind permission from JustNiceThings

Are there any shades in particular standing out amongst this little lot for you guys?

After seeing the swatch shot over at Just Nice Things – I’m lusting after It’s Totally Fort Worth It, but do have my reservations on how many coats I might need to apply to get the look I want from this jelly finish.

Other than that?  I’m not sure… nothing is filling me with overwhelming excitement, however… O.P.I (more than any other brand) have the ability to create slow burners for me.  I’m actually still indulging in the odd Swiss Collection bottle that I’ve now decided over a month after release that I simply cannot live without.

The O.P.I Texas Spring/Summer 2011 Nail Collection will be released in the UK in February, priced at £9.95 a bottle and avilable from LenaWhite.

Following the roaring success of Estee Lauder’s previous nail polish release and the fact that I simply couldn’t have anymore love for Surreal Violet than I do, I had super high hopes for their Christmas collection.

I was given Extravagant Pearl at a recent event and I have really mixed thoughts on it.

Extravagant Pearl is one of two polish releases for Christmas 2010, the other being Extravagant Night (a dark plum with mesmerising micro-glitter).  Looking at Extravagant Pearl in the bottle, I expected it to be a sheer, layering polish… it isn’t.  The above shows three thin coats and if you don’t mind a visible nail line, you could be done in two.  Oddly enough, the reviews I’ve read of the darker Extravagant Night show that one to be a 4 coater!

Anyway, I’m going off on a tangent…

Extravagant Pearl is quite a difficult colour to describe… but I think I’d call it NARS Albatross in a nail polish.  A pale, warm gold with shimmer.  Lots of shimmer.  A little too much for me.

It looks quite frosty and for some reason makes my normally narrow nails look wide and fat.  It needed a top coat too thanks to the micro-glitter making the surface of the nail quite gritty to the touch.

I want to love this shade, I really do… it is packed so completely full of beautiful multi-coloured sparkle in the bottle I was sure I would be on cloud nine with this on my nails.  But I’m just not feeling it.

I tried layering it over black to see if I loved it more… I still don’t.

Urgh, what’s wrong with me?  It’s clearly very pretty and sparkly and totally Christmassy.  It even works well against my skintone… perhaps I just don’t like frosts?

Wear has been marvellous… 3 days now with no tip wear at all though it was a little slow to dry between coats.

What do you guys think?  Am I crazy for not loving it?

Estee Lauder Extravagant Pearl is a Limited Edition shade released as part of the EL Christmas/Holiday Collection.  It’s available online or on counter and priced at £12.

I just wasn’t expecting to like it… but strangely, I do!

Bumster from Butter London’s Autumn/Winter collection is one of those ugly colours that you either love or hate.

It’s one of the two McQueen-inspired shades in the collection, named for the designer’s famously low slung trouser creation that shocked the fashion world at the time. Not a natural nail shade choice for the more conservative among us, it sits oddly against my skintone. However, I simply love how creamy it looks, opaque in only two coats and perfect for the camel trend we’re currently experiencing.

As much as I’m drawn to it, I do have to admit that it looks far, far better on my cousin’s olive-toned skin than it does on my pasty pink complexion.

Will that stop me wearing it? Not a chance… I can’t stop checking out my nails!

Butter London Bumster is available to buy online from Powder Rooms, priced at £9.75