A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

They say that old age doesn’t come on its own but I’d like to add pregnancy to that adage.  I mean, apart from stating the bloody obvious, seeing as you’re growing another whole person, it really doesn’t come without its “side-effects”.  I haven’t had a proper pooh in almost five months and my skin, hair, and nails have had all moisture sucked from them, it’s like I’m spawning a human dehumidifier, set to high.

Instead of a normal moisturiser, the only thing stopping my skin from flaking off in great sheets is a twice-daily slathering of the sunburn-soothing Biafine, left on as a mask overnight.  Even then, I still have to prime with a moisturising primer before a drop of foundation can touch my skin.  As for my lips, well I’m out of Lanolips at the moment and none of my alternatives are cutting the mustard.  It’s a drastic step but until I replace my overnight lip saviour, I’ve had to stand down the lipstick army in favour of… *spit*… lipgloss.

If you’re a regular reader, you may know about my distaste for the sticky stuff but I have to concede that it does have its merits.

Aveda’s Rehydrating Lip Glaze doesn’t go down the ordinary gloss route.  Yes, it’s kinda sticky… yes, it feels a little thick on the lips at first but… with this shade at least, you get some decent bang for your buck.  This innocuous tube of colour packs one hell of a pigmented punch and keeps my lips from puckering up into a dehydrated mess.

Winterberry is a purple-toned plum with a deep, vampy hue and colour that builds quickly from the very first swipe.  You can apply and blot without losing too much pigment if, like me, you’re not a fan of how glosses/glazes feel on the lips.

Priced at £16.00, Winterberry offers a little splurge that won’t break the bank for a slightly more unusual lip colour this season and is very much in keeping with Pantone’s 2014 Colour of the Year – Radiant Orchid.  Despite the minty aroma, the plumping effect is gentle and understated (though appreciated considering the vampy lip-thinning shade).

Are you reaching for more lip-friendly offerings as the mercury plummets?

Aveda Nourish-mint Rehydrating Lip Glaze is priced at £16.00 and available on counter and online from aveda.co.uk

* press sample

Whenever I write a post or a review about a lipgloss, I start it off with the words: “I don’t like lipgloss”. This is an absolute. It cannot be changed.  I don’t like lipgloss, I think it’s a horrible lip-covering that puts me in mind of windy days/sticky lips scenarios…. lipgloss lips that create strands of gloop as the mouth opens and closes, you know what I’m talking about.

For you, as a reader, it means that when I do review a lipgloss… I’m reviewing it because it delivers something that makes it more interesting than your bog-standard tube o’ lip-jizz.

The BareMinerals Marvelous Moxie range… (btw, “marvelous/marvellous”.. you say tomayto, I say tomahto – obviously I’m right and you’re wrong) does deliver something in addition to the norm.  It packs a fair-to-middling amount of lip-plumping goodness in that little tube.  It’s not as good as the old crew mind… do you remember the old Pout Lip plumper that used to feel like you’d actually been punched in the face to achieve the trout pout of your dreams?  Those were the days…

Anyway, Marvelous Moxie contains enough peppermint oil to deliver that satisfying tingle and pleasing fullness to the lip-line.  As I’m getting a wee bit older, I’m appreciating things like this more readily.

The formula is fairly typical though thankfully, not too thick or heavy in texture on the lips.  It spreads nicely and the applicator allows for some precision without overloading the doe-foot tip.

Game Changer is a somewhat cool-toned red, quite dense in its opacity (for a gloss) and will layer up on your lips, building in pigmentation as you apply.  For me, I can’t bear more than a single swipe, so the photos below show just that.  The texture isn’t too bad… it’s tacky but not to the extreme, just enough to ensure some longevity during wear.

If I’m honest, I begrudgingly like it and I’ve reached for it a couple of times in recent weeks.  Usually when I want something to brighten my look without screaming “bold lips” in your face.  That’s not to say that I don’t inevitably end up wiping the back of my hand across my mouth after an hour… but still, I’m always tempted to reapply.

Excuse the fringe…

One coat delivers semi-sheer coverage that, on my pale lips, delivers a fairly impressive amount of pigment.  It’s enough to give a hint to my love of red on those days when I’m not quite feeling brave enough to go the whole hog.  Red lips for wimps?  Absolutely… but with the added benefit of some super-sexy shine and a plumped-up lipline.

Bare Minerals Marvelous Moxie Lipgloss in Game Changer is available to buy online from feelunique.com priced at £12.80

* press sample

..at the risk of this being the most photo-heavy post in the history of the internet, I haven’t done the nail/lippy comparisons but totally can if anyone’s interested.  I ran out of light toward the end and now my lips are sore.

I talked about the formula of these lipglosses from Butter London a few days ago, if you need reminding – the post is here. Overall, I’m quite torn on them… I’m not a lipgloss fan, so we’re off to a bad start but I can’t deny their longevity is decent and the pigmentation on some of them, impressive.

Now that I’ve worn them all, I can safely say that the scent is pretty cloying on some of the shades and a few of them (particularly the pale ones) apply more like pva glue than gloss. I’m pleased that the range has recently been reformulated into more of a liquid lipstick style – I think that the potential for Butter London to release nail/lip combos is massive.  For me, this release ultimately just misses the mark but I’ve asterisked the ones that I did really enjoy wearing.

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Butter London Lippy’s are available to buy online from powderrooms.com, priced at £13.95 each.

Have you tried any of Butter London’s Lippys?  From the swatches, are any of them catching your eye?

* press sample

Never have I cursed Winter as much as I have this past week.  I got my hands on these samples almost two weeks ago and haven’t been able to do face swatches because of the poor light.  That’s not to say I haven’t worn them, I’m usually meticulous about not breaking into samples before the photos.. but c’mon, you’d have to have nerves of steel to resist these babies.

The formula is consistent throughout the line, and as much as I wanted them to feel like liquid lipsticks, they are indeed lipglosses. They’re not light-textured on the lips and are quite strongly-scented but they’re long-lasting (for gloss) and match almost perfectly with their namesake polishes from Butter London’s regular line.

As for pigment, depending on the shade, these glosses have it by the bucketload but in a what-you-see-is-what-you-get kinda way – you cannot build the pigment, not unless you wanna walk around with jizz lips and gloss strings galore.  Similarly you can’t really sheer these out without them looking patchy although you’ll be pleased to hear that they fade kindly.

Butter London Lippy lipglosses are priced at £13.95 each and available to buy online from powderrooms.com (swatches coming soon)

* press sample

Over the last couple of months, I’ve come to rely on a handful of products to see me through the times when the majority of my makeup and skincare have been inaccessible, buried deep in the depths of a cardboard box.  A mis-labeled cardboard box as it happens.  I didn’t take much time over thinking about which cosmetics I’d like to keep close by me during the moving process.  To be honest, I thought that I would have everything unpacked within the week.  Naive.

If I’d thought more about which products I was going to keep available, I probably wouldn’t have chosen this one.  I assumed that it would be far too sheer for me, too much like an insipid lipgloss.

I was wrong.

Pixi Succulent Lip Twin in Poppy, as it turns out, is a rather wearable red that doubles-up as both a lip and cheek product.  It packs a decent amount of pigment whilst remaining a long-way from being an in your face red.  The Lip Twin comprises a squeezy tube of sheer-to-medium pigmented ‘goop’, suspended in a jojoba oil-infused formula that doesn’t feel sticky.  You could wear the ‘gloss’ part alone, adding just a hint of colour to your lips – but I prefer to use the balm initially to amp-up the pigmentation.

When it comes to cheek application, I actually prefer to use the ‘gloss’ part on my cheeks, the balm delivers a little too much pigmentation for my fair skin.

The trouble with a great red lipstick will always lie with the upkeep, the most difficult colour to maintain and once it starts looking bad, it lookds *really* bad.  The Pixi Succulent Lip Twin in Poppy Red makes a great multi-tasking casual red to tote around in your handbag, making on-the-go maintenance a doddle, which is just as well because longevity (at around 2/3 hours) isn’t its strong point.

Pixi Succulent Lip Twin in Poppy Red is available to buy online at pixibeauty.co.uk, priced at £12.00

* press sample

Contrary to popular belief (bloody blog name), I don’t much like lipgloss – I tolerate it because it’s so damn easy to apply and wear without any maintenance but I only wear it when I’ve got my hair tied back and even then, only in nude shades.  I’d like to tell you that this is the lipgloss that changed my entire opinion on the product genre, I mean… if any brand could do it, it would be a gloss that comes from the Kevyn Aucoin line right?

Wrong.  I still don’t like lipgloss, but don’t let that put me off telling you lipgloss lovers about a very pretty one from the U.S brand that has recently returned to our shores.

Lilium is a sparkle-packed nude pink which flashes silver reflects on the lips.  It’s packaged in a nicely-weighted, square tube with a wider-than-usual doefoot applicator and would look sleek in any makeup bag.  The formula is tacky but not super-sticky, though I still wouldn’t recommend you go out on a windy day without a pair of tweezers to pick off all the leaves/grit/small children that may become stuck to your face, it is still lipgloss afterall.

There’s no discernible scent and the product applies nicely without doing that jizz-lips thing.  Sorry, but you totally know what I’m talking about, lipgloss can look pretty rank when badly formulated or over-applied.  This one won’t leave you shame-faced.

It’s actually pretty hard-wearing for a gloss formula, the colour fades after a couple of hours but the pale reflects linger on to give some natural shine and depth to your lips in an illusory lip-plumping way.  My only caveat with this particular shade is that the sparkle does feel the tiniest bit gritty on the lips… it’s not uncomfortable, but I can feel something there if that makes sense.

Kevyn Aucoin The Lipgloss in Lilium is priced at £23 and available to buy instore and online at SpaceNK*

* who need their butts kicked for such an awful swatch on the shade – can you remember when there weren’t beauty blogs and all our online purchases had to be based on those little damn circles?!

** press sample

*** I bought the Sensual Skin Enhancer in another shade before my no-buy, I’m gonna make it love me.

What is it?

The GREAT LIPS, GREAT CAUSE KEY RING features a heart-shaped ribbon charm, Clinique “C” charm and three mini Long Last Glosswear SPF 15 glosses in best selling Clearly Pink, Air Kiss and Cabana Crush.

How much is it?

It’s priced at £15.00

How much of our money goes to supporting PINK projects?

From every purchase made in the UK, £2 will go to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

How do I get it?

Currently available from Clinique counters at Boots while stocks last.

Despite the moniker, lip glosses aren’t really my bag.  I find them gloopy, sticky, uncomfortable to wear and unless careful not to overapply, can make you look like an extra from Saturday Night Beaver.

Admittedly, they’re less high maintenance than lipsticks and are undoubtedly nifty for quick touch ups when your lippie has all but been eaten away.  However, for me… they come a poor second to my faithful lipstick devotion.

So, how about a hybrid?

NARS Velvet Gloss Lip Pencils are still fairly new additions to the market.  Launched in February, they promise the convenience of a pencil with the application of a lipstick in a jumbo-size crayon design.

Well, first things first… you can kiss the gloopiness issues goodbye.  Thanks to this delivery method, you can apply a thin, even layer of gloss over your lips without any thickness or pooling.  Yes, they’re still a touch tacky on the lips but there is no risk of those disgusting stringy gloss strands when you open your mouth… and we’ve all seen too many of those on over-enthusiastic gloss wearers right?

I was sent two shades from the lineup: Hopi (Honey Beige) and New Lover (Strawberry Pink laced with Gold).

New Lover on the left and Hopi on the right.

The texture is soft, really very soft… take care when sharpening these babies.  I would have preferred to have seen them in a twist-up form but alas, they are what they are.

Again, New Lover is on the left and Hopi on the right.  They’re well pigmented with great, natural colour.  I feared that their pencil form meant that they might go down faster than a fat kid on a seesaw but they’re holding up better than I expected on that score.

Because of their convenience, I keep New Lover in my bag for when my lipstick wears off and have been substituting it for quick fixes post-lunch.  I also have my eye on Baroque which seems more to my taste with its bolder, raspberry undertones.

Finally, a lip swatch of both so you can see how they look applied…

They’re pretty, understated shades that dodge my lipgloss-hating bullet well.

NARS Velvet Gloss Lip Pencils are priced at £17.50 a-piece and are available online and on counter now.

The Christmas gifts are coming in thick and fast now that we’re approaching November at a blistering pace.  The latest are a pairing of festive gifts from NARS.

Kicking off with the Crazy Heart Set which contains 5 medium-sized lip glosses and features the shades:

Easy Lover (Ultra Sheer Hot Pink),
Babe (Sheer Orange Red)
Orgasm (Sheer Warm Pink with Golden Shimmer)
Turkish Delight (Pink Sorbet)
Misbehave (Sheer Cherry Red with Gold Shimmer)

Prices at £35 and available from November 1st exclusively at Selfridges.

Love ’em or hate ’em… NARS multiples tend to divide opinion… personally I’m a fan and so I should be considering I own 5 of them now – though none of these ones… *lightbulb flick*

The shades included in the Sweet Disposition Set are:

Orgasm (Peachy Pink with Shimmer)
Luxor (Iridescent Pink)
Malibu (Pinkish Brown)

Priced at £32 and availabile from November 1st exclusively at Selfridges.

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A couple of rather lovely sets no?  I’m a little disappointed that there’s no Holiday palette to get our teeth stuck into this year but at least that’s one less thing on the old wishlist.  Are either of these catching your attention?

Next up doing their bit for Breast Cancer Awareness Month is…

What is it?

Three gorgeous shades of gloss from Clinique together on an exclusive handy key chain complete with a pink ribbon charm.

Long Last Glosswear SPF 15 provides long-lasting, high shine with the added benefit of SPF 15.  Thanks to powerful film-formers that create a “seal” holding the gloss to your lips throughout the day, the high moisturising gloss stays put for up to 8 hours!

Price

£15.00

Donation

For each UK sale, £2 will be donated to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation’s study at the UK Institute of Cancer Research.

Availability

Exclusive to Boots, both online and instore.

I done did it!

Thanks lovely ladies!  With your help, guidance and lack of “LIKE DUH, she doesn’t know where to apply her shadowz”, I created a look with the soon-to-be-released limited edition Estee Lauder Blue Dahlia palette I received at the recent blogger launch:

Excuse the wayward eyebrow, I’m honestly not raising it… why DOES it do that?  I look perpetually dubious about something.  I only included it so that I could show you how it looks like with eyes open.

That’s better! (slightly).  How gorgeous is the teal on the lid?  I wasn’t sure I’d be able to carry teal next to my blue/green eyes very well, but I can just about get away with it.

So here’s what I used (and where):

(Shade #1) On the lid and blended just into the socket line

(Shade #2) In the crease and blended above

(Shade #3) Underneath the lower lashline

(Shade #4) Blended in the outer-v and inbetween the upper lashes to darken

(Shade #5) Just above the upper lashline for a little sparkle when I blink!

Hoorah, I used all shades!  I totally forgot to highlight with anything… so lazy.

I really wasn’t sure about using the teal and navy adjacent to one another, but you guys inspired me and you were completely correct!

I found that all the shades were easy to blend and nicely pigmented.  The white lacks pigment, but I’m certain that it’s inended use is as a layering shade rather than a highlight… it adds a good amount of sparkle without disrupting the tone of the shade you’re applying it to.

The taupe is the softest shade in the palette, with an almost buttery finish.  The blues are slightly rougher in texture, but apply beautifully nonetheless.

I also used a sample of one of the new Pure Colour Glosses in shade Twilight Petal, a very pretty pinky-nude infused with sparkle.  It’s a bit sticky, but the flipside is a long lasting finish.

The Estee Lauder Blue Dahlia palette and Twlight Petal gloss are due for release in August.

Arbonne… you won’t find them on the high street, their products are sold through a network of independent consultants… like the old Avon lady/Mary Kay situation, but with a 21st Century twist.

The Swiss brand are particularly well-known for their skincare, with an almost cult fanbase in some countries.  More well-known in the U.S, Arbonne have only been active in the UK for a couple of years.

Now, the products aren’t cheap… and I’ve so far experienced some rather (how can I put it delicately) “full on” interactions with Arbonne consultants over the internet.  They come across a bit ‘motivational video/live your dreams/come join us and be happy!’ for me and I find it off-putting.  It’s a shame that you can’t just bypass the whole independent consultant bit… but it is what it is.

Having said that, I’m rapidly falling for the products I was sent to try, and one in particular…. the Arbonne Nude Lip Polish.

Exactly the same size as a Revlon Super Lustrous lipgloss, 5.9ml is a pretty average quantity.  Sadly, Arbonne’s version will set you back £16.  I did say it wasn’t cheap.  What I didn’t say, is that in the week I’ve been wearing it, it’s quickly become one of the nicest products I’ve ever worn on my lips.

It’s semi-sheer… but where most lipglosses aren’t buildable (unless you like 7 inches of gunk stuck to your lips) this somehow is.  I usually apply 2 or 3 layers and in doing so, I achieve a more opaque finish without the product becoming denser and gloopier.  On my lips, it feels like a cross between a lip gloss and a lipstick with a satin gloss finish as opposed to a glassy one.

I guess what I’m saying is… if you don’t generally like lip glosses but kinda wish you did, there’s a very good chance that you’ll love this.

The packaging feels pretty luxe, with a nice weight.  The applicator is your standard doe foot affair, and the colour in the tube is true to life.  It’s also extremely long wearing… 2 cups of tea, 2 4 chocolate digestives and a cheese string later and it’s still holding on!  Oh, and another thing I’ve noticed that I’m really impressed by is Arbonne’s comprehensive website.

I can’t link you directly because it’s (stupidly) built in flash… but if you click through to “lips –> lip polish”, not only do they give you a full ingredient list… but they also state the purpose of each ingredient present in the product.  An extremely worthwhile addition to the website in an age where consumers are so information driven and ingredient conscious.

I love doing heavy eyes, so the Arbonne Lip Polish in Nude is pretty much the perfect accompaniment.  I’m still trying to make peace with the price tag and I guess compared to Beaute’s Weightless Lip Creme (around £20) I’m getting a bargain.

Anyway, wanna see?

You can see the satiny finish and how it’s glossy but without being pornstar full-on sucking on a greasy pork chop… (that’s not a euphamism btw).

I’m also wearing Arbonne’s eyeliner in Plum on my eyes and whilst it’s perfectly lovely… it’s also £15.  There’s no way I’m gonna attempt to justify that when I can buy almost 4 GOSH Velvet Touch eyeliners for the same price.  It’s nice… but it’s not £15 nice yano?

The Nude Lip Polish?  Definitely is.

Arbonne products can be purchased through a consultant and you can find your nearest consultant, here.

Have you tried Arbonne?