A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

I’m bubbling over with love (geddit?) for the product development team at NEOM who have managed to inject actual bubbles into an sls-free bath foam formula.  Which, by rights, shouldn’t have much in the way of foam to write home about.

Did I mention that it smells heavenly too?

NEOM Organics new Tranquility Bath Foam delivers a sudsy hit of relaxation with plenty of (albeit not massively long-lasting) bubble-age.  By the time I was reaching for a towel, there was not a bubble left in sight, which Mr. L said was “rubbish”.  I happen to disagree because there’s nothing I hate more (except for spiders) than having to karate chop/swipe bubbles off my legs as I’m about to step out of the bath.  Also, the final head dunk for Leila… her hair is washed, I don’t want it bubbled up again!

But I digress…

If your skin is sensitive to the usual bubble bath offerings on the market, you’d be wise to take a look at the bubbling sls-free alternative that is Tranquility Bath Foam by NEOM Organics.  Available online, priced at £20.00 for 200mls.  You can just about get away with half a capful per bath, which will probably bring the price down to around 60-70p a bath.

Or… even better, you could take advantage of an exclusive 25% discount code for Lipglossiping.com readers….

www.neomorganics.com
Code: lipgloss (enter at checkout)
Discount: 25%
Terms: Can only be used on full price items.  One code per order.
Expires: midnight Monday 1st October

Bubbles… do you need them to enjoy your bath?

There was nothing that my teen-self liked better than spending a Saturday afternoon sniffing her way around the carousel of fragrance oils in my local Body Shop.  I used to lose hours in that store, coming away smelling like an odd fuzzy peach/dewberry fruit hybrid.  I can only imagine the Pepé Le Pew-esque trail I must have left in my wake as I wandered up the high street toward Pilot.

This August will see the launch of The Body Shop’s first 100% organic fragrance collection.  The hand-picked, natural extracts have been blended with community fair-trade alcohol under the supervision of fragrance experts and I, for one, am I excited to see if I can relive my youth, turn back the clock, erase some crowsfeet, re-ignite some fond memories when they hit the shelves next month.

The range comprises five new scents, described thus:

Japanese Cherry Blossom: Fruity and floral, with top notes of Fuji apple and Chinese magnolia, alongside real Japanese cherry blossom.

Indian Night Jasmine: Spicy and seductive, notes of sandalwood and violet leaf fuse with orange blossom and jasmine from India.

Atlas Mountain Rose: Amber and musk combine with citrus notes, exotic spices and mountain rose extracts from Morocco.

Madagascan Vanilla Flower: An Oriental gourmand delight with notes of amber, frangipani, and vanilla from Madagascar.

Amazonian Wild Lily: Green and fresh with iris, orchid and papaya alongside white lilies from Brazil.

One of my favourite “lighter” day scents (you know I like the heavy stuff!) is a Body Shop one that was a limited edition release last year, so I’m really hoping that the brand will have conjured up something special with this new range.

The new Scents of the World fragrance collection will be available from August.

EAU DE TOILETTE RRP £15.00 50ML

FRAGRANCE MIST RRP £7.00 100ML

BODY LOTION RRP £9.00 200ML

BODY WASH RRP £8.00 200ML

PERFUME OIL RRP £7.00 15ML

Were you a Dewberry, White Musk or Fuzzy Peach kinda girl?

Sometimes, you know you’re going to love something before you set eyes on it and when I received an email describing an organic lip balm, delicately housed in a real-life sea shell?  I felt the love immediately.

Upon arrival, I wasn’t disappointed – something that had such potential to be overly-delicate and a little bit flimsy actually feels quite robust.  Sure I wouldn’t wanna drop it on the kitchen floor from any kind of height but I can’t see much harm coming to it from being toted around in my handbag.

The Shell Lip Balm itself is lightweight and adds a nice sheen to your lips without any thickness or stickiness.  As a constant lipstick-wearer, I need something a little more intensive than this during the depths of Winter but I haven’t been able to resist whipping it out and using it at every opportunity regardless!  This is a balm that would be perfectly suited to anyone who needs some added moisturisation but dislikes that heavy, balm-y feeling.  It’s a really very, very comfortable wear.

There are four different shell varieties available: Tiger Crown (mine), White Frangipani, Mocha and Oriental Fan.  The shells are recycled after being washed-up on the shore and go through a stringent cleaning process.  The lip balm is certified organic and contains: Coconut Oil, Rosehip Oil, Beeswax, Lanolin, Jojoba Oil, Macademia Oil and Mango Seed Butter.  There is a faint coconut smell but no taste.

Priced at £12.99 each, they make fantastic gifts (you could even pass a chain through the catch and wear it as a necklace) – I’m smitten with mine and have gone all Pokemon about them, gotta collect ’em all!

Shell Lip Balm is available to buy online at http://www.shelllipbalm.co.uk – if you’re still trying to think of what to buy the person who has everything this Christmas, I’ve just solved that problem!

* press sample

Ecorganic – each time I look at that word, my fingers itch for an extra ‘O’ and a hyphen…

I’ve been trying this ECOCERT certified night cream for the last month.  It hails from Swedish brand Estelle & Thild who have recently launched in the UK exclusively at Urban Retreat in Harrods and online at Beautique.com.  It’s one of those brands that exude loveliness… beautifully packaged, whimsical designs, natural ingredients and this night cream is no exception.

From the Estelle & Thild Rose Otto Age Prevent Line, the night cream* is rich and nourishing without sitting on the surface of my skin all night.  I’m actually not convinced it’s quite rich enough for my skin in the winter but can’t deny that it’s pretty much the perfect formula for these warmer months.

I do have one problem with this product though: it stinks.  It took me a little while to pin it down… infact, it was Mr. L who hit the nail on the head when he leant into me one evening and sniffed my face: “Why do you smell like a freshly painted room?”

Not just any paint either, we’re talking gloss which is really a big shame because if it weren’t for this simple olfactory issue, I’d be tempted to give it top marks.  I feel especially mean when you consider that the reason it smells like the inside of the Dulux factory is probably because it’s completely lacking in the crap that would otherwise synthetically scent it.

I’ve been persevering with the smell simply because I like the results I’m seeing from daily use.  Upon waking, my skin tone is remarkably more even and although I can’t say I’ve seen any particular anti-aging benefits from it, I can tell that it’s a ‘calming’ formula for my reactive skin.  I’ll be taking a closer look at the brand’s popular ‘baby’ line for when L’s eczema starts playing up this winter.

Estelle & Thild Ecorganic Night Cream is priced at £46 for 50ml and available online at Beautique.com where you can check out the rest of the range with prices starting from only £14.00

* press sample

Originally intended for my red lip series, Inika Mineral Lipstick in Electric Red is formulated with natural shea butter and jojoba oil and prides itself on being a completely natural and vegan lipstick.

I say ‘originally intended’ because once I applied it to my lips, I could see that it wasn’t really a fit for my red lip series what with it not really being red n’all.

Inika Cosmetics are an Australian brand boasting over 79 permanent products in their lineup.  All natural products are guaranteed to be completely free from petrochemicals, fillers, talc, bismuth oxychloride, GM ingredients, parabens, preservatives, mineral oils, phthalates and fragrances.  That’s quite a list… but usually consumers often find themselves making compromises in terms of pigmentation or wear when it comes to natural products….

Inika’s Electric Red* is indeed lacking in pigmentation.  While this will disappoint some, others will be delighted to find a more wearable version of a strong shade.  I can’t help but feel that with a name like “Electric Red”, I want something a little bolder to translate to my lips.

It has the prettiest metallic sheen… and in truth, I’m actually quite delighted to find such a wearable warm red that neither makes me look like a clown, nor a cheap tart.  It’s quite an unusual shade and perfect for summer.  Texture-wise, it’s quite hard but softens up as the warmth of your lips encourages the mix to spread.  Once on, it feels light and comfortable.  Despite the natural ingredients, I can’t say that I found it particularly moisturising but it definitely didn’t dry my lips out either.

If you’re looking for light, wearable shades to suit all skintones, take a closer look at the Inika Cosmetics range of highly wearable lipsticks.

Inika Mineral Lipstick in Electric Red is priced at £12.77 and available to buy online from the Inika Cosmetics website.

* press sample

A few weeks ago now, I made a haul from Puresha when they were offering the Cargo Plant Love range at half price.  It’s an organic ECO-CERTed range that I’d been eyeing up for ages but this was the push I needed to commit to a closer look.

I picked up 4 things which were delivered super quickly by Puresha and tied up in a rather beautiful furoshki wrap.  I’m loving this company’s commitment to ‘beautiful living’.

But enough about the stockist, how about the makeup?

I have mixed thoughts.  For one thing, the packaging feels flimsy and unfortunately one of my eyeshadow pans had come unstuck and was rattling about inside the casing.

But… I’ll get my single biggest problem outta the way first shall I?  I experienced an epic eyeshadow fail in this order.

One of the eyeshadow solos I ordered was a rather lovely looking shade called Loon.  Here it is on the left:

It’s described as a glimmering khaki bronze.  I’d describe it as tea leaves.  And I’m not talking about the colour.

Nice texture… how about swatched?

Sadly, a completely unusable eyeshadow.  On the other hand… Blue Jay is a truly truly beautiful slate blue.  Has anyone ever experienced an eyeshadow with a texture like my Loon?  I contemplated contacting Puresha about it, but to be completely honest… at the price I paid for my order, I’d rather feel that I was robbing them by asking for a replacement.

Anyway, one eyeshadow win… one fail…. what else did I get?

I bought a lipstick in shade Yakushima.  I wanted a soft, sheer plum… which is exactly what I got.

I’m not massively keen on the scent… it’s very waxy smelling, but I do love the shade.  Sheer, rich plum with a subtle gold glimmer.  The glimmer gives the illusion of fuller lips and makes this a fantastic choice for the festive season.

The final thing I picked up was the Green Goddess Collection palette that contains 4 eye shadows and 2 blushes.  I absolutely adore how slimline this thing is… check it out…

With the exception of Rose blush, all products are incredibly shimmery.  The eyeshadow in Lily is reminiscent of Urban Decay’s MCRA-type glitter… it’s too much.  I’m not entirely sure how much wear I’ll get out of this palette to be honest.  All shades are well-pigmented although Thyme (the pale shimmery green) has a little of that tea-leaf thing going on again.

The blushes are so-so… Rose is more of a bronzer on me because it applies with quite a deep, warm almost brick-like appearance, though it looks nice with a small amount of the very shimmery Peony dusted ontop.  I just need to use a very light-hand with these two.

So overall, it’s a mixed bag.

From the rattly loose-panned packaging to the eyeshadow textures that just won’t apply properly, I think that Cargo’s Plant Love range may well have some quality issues that will prevent me from exploring the brand further.  I did wonder if perhaps I’d received one from an ‘off’ batch.  Infact, that’s what I assumed… until I read this on MakeUpAlley.  Sound familliar?

The things that I’m happy with… I’m very happy with.  The rest, a bitter disappointment.

You can purchase Cargo Plant Love products online from Puresha with prices starting from £6.50

I don’t know about you… but when I think of ‘natural’ or ‘organic’ makeup… it’s all I can do to stifle the yawns that try desperately to escape from my body and expose my feelings.

So when I opened an email and was greeted with this London Fashion Week image…

…I was a little surprised to learn that it came from Louise Amstrup’s SS11 show, where the makeup was represented by none other than natural brand Dr. Hauschka.

Known more for their iconic Rose Day Cream than their colour palettes, I couldn’t resist having a closer look at some of their pieces when I found myself in Whole Foods this week.

I was particularly taken with this palette:

Part of this year’s Summer Impressions collection, the Cool Breeze palette is creamy, pigmented and interesting.  Quite frankly… pretty much all the things I didn’t expect it to be.  Though, I will never like having my lip products in the same palette as powders and all this loveliness comes at a price.  £40 to be exact.

Do you have any preconceptions about all-natural makeup lines – are my sterotypes out of date?

Bubble & Balm may only be a year old, but their products are already making a splash at one of the UK’s top supermarkets!

The range includes a selection of liquid and clear glycerine bar soaps that are the first natural soaps to carry the FAIRTRADE Mark in the UK.

Available in Citrus or Lavender and made in the UK using traditional methods, each product is naturally formulated with plant and essential oils and enriched with glycerine to soothe and moisturise. The entire range is suitable for vegetarians to use and is free from parabens, sodium lauryl/laureth sulphate and phthalates.

The luxury hand wash retails at £4.95, and the bar soaps – which are packaged in a watertight aluminium tin that doubles up as a soap dish are priced at £4.85 each.

Have you spotted these whilst doing your weekly shop yet?

Yesterday I went along to the Bourjois Press Office in central London to have a look at a new line of cosmetics that have been launched exclusively to Boots in the UK.

Une Natural Beauty is a new brand backed by Bourjois. The main focus of the brand is on it’s natural and eco-credentials.  The brand’s formulas are 98% – 100% derived from natural origin, contain no oils from petrochemistry and are paraben and silicone free.  14 out of the 20 products carry the French ECOCERT label which means that the products adhere to strict ecological and environmental regulations and standards.  You can find out more about the ECOCERT label here.

Une Natural Beauty is a brand for those who take a keen interest in ingredients and the environmental impact their cosmetics may carry with them and simply want to discover a more natural way to wear makeup.

This is all great stuff and frankly an exciting concept for a new high street brand, but only if the products are as good as the philosophy behind them right?  I chose a few products from the range to bring home with me to have a play with and I’ll share my thoughts on them (and some of the products I didn’t choose) later in the week.

For now, I thought you might like to see some photos from the unveiling.

Beware… it’s image intensive beyond this point!

Read the rest of this entry »

I received a press release a few days ago alerting me to a store called ToxicFreeBoutique.

To be honest, I didn’t pay much attention to the email.  As soon as I saw the name of the store I was all “yeah, yeah… organic… dull… where did I put the biscuits…”

It was only a few days later at about 2 in the morning, when any normal person would be tucked up in their bed that I remembered the email and opened it up to have a look at what ToxicFreeBoutique was all about.

As it happens, it’s far more interesting than I initially gave it credit for.

They have bath tea bags! Tea Bags! For your bath!  I love it, it’s quirky and cute and I want one.  I love all things ginger (except cats), therefore “phew” has my name written all over it.

The website is kinda sucky (sorry, but it is) but I was well and truly snared when I read the following…

Mezaya water-based nail colours are an innovative concept to traditional polish. If you are used to traditional polishes you will immediately notice some differences.  Mezaya polishes do not have the potent smell usually associated with nail polish.

Wait.. what? Non-stinky polishes? Admittedly, I’m not hugely knowledgeable about nail polishes… I love ’em in a very shallow un-learned way.  But this is news to me!  Not only that, but the day Mr L. doesn’t nag me about the smell painting my nails creates, is the day the world will fall of it’s axis.  This sounds like it would give my ears a welcome rest from his “GOD, that stinks!” declarations.

Of course, I’m sure there are other “health” type benefits from toxic-free nail polish… but meh, whatever… just stop the nagging already.

My 3 favourites from the collection: L-R: Pink Tea, Navy Angel, Big Kisses

They also have some transluscents… but they just annoy me.  If I wanna see my nails, I just won’t wear polish.

I also have to give the company props for the images… it’s nice to see “swatches” of shades next to the product information.  How many times have we been disappointed when a colour has applied NOTHING like how it looks in the bottle?  Too many, that’s how many.

Also… for the love of God.  Tell us!  Is it a cream? is it a sheer? metallic?  There’s honestly not many things that annoy me more than getting home a gorgeous opaque (in the bottle) shade only for it to take about 12 coats to achieve opacity on the nail.  So thank you for including the finishes in the description Mezaya. Kudos.

Something had to go and spoil it though didn’t it… I looked at the price.  £12.95 for a 10ml (not even your standard 15ml) bottle of toxic free polish.  And then they want £3 to post it to you.  £16… for a 10ml bottle.  That’s 26 of your US Dollars… for a bottle of nail polish.  That doesn’t even smell of nail polish 😉

They’re a bit too rich for me, even if they would work better than earplugs.

Are you an organic kinda gal? If so, you’ll be particularly interested to hear about Cargo’s new Plant Love Collection which will be available in the UK exclusively from organic beauty boutique Puresha from the 30th September onwards.

Plant Love is the first Ecocert™ premium makeup line to be launched in the UK, and Puresha are (understandably) rather excited about it!

They say:

PlantLove™ combines earth-friendly formulations and packaging with CARGO’s dedication to creating professional-grade make-up, for a line of cosmetics that represents true beauty with conscience. One brand, with so many benefits. The entire PlantLove™ Collection is natural in origin. 

PlantLove™is free of parabens, phthalates, petro-chemicals, synthetic dyes and fragrances.  The cosmetics are only manufactured in countries with solid environmental and product labour records.  This means that PlantLove™ is entirely in harmony with the Earth.

The collection includes:

Natural Origin Lipstick – £12 (available in 20 shades, 11 of which are celeb-designed)
Natural Origin Loose Powder Foundation – £16 (Talc-free and infused with natural oils – 5 shades)
Natural Origin Pressed Powder – £16 (infused with organic olive fruit extract – 2 shades)
Natural Origin Bronzer – £15 (made with all natural terracotta ingredients and baked for eight hours)
Natural Origin Baked Illuminator – £15 (a blend of blush, bronzer and highlighter in one – 3 shades)
Natural Origin Blush – £14 (rich in natural Karanja Oil, Argan Oil and Grape Seed Oil – 6 shades)
Natural Origin Lip Gloss – £12 (high-shine in a non-sticky texture – 8 floral inspired shades)
Natural Origin Lipliner – £10 (formulated with Organic Beeswax and Jojoba Oil – 2 shades)
Natural Origin Lip Balm – £8 (infused with Organic Cocoa Butter, Beeswax & Grapefruit Extract)
Natural Origin Eye Shadow – £11 (available in 18 shades inspired by tropical gardens)
Natural Origin Eye Liner – £10 (available in six easy-to-wear shades)
Green Goddess Collection – £22 (A collection of 4 eye shadows and 2 blushes)

The lippies hold particular interest for me, 11 of the available 20 shades have been celebrity-designed.  “Celebrity-designed” products usually make for popular choices, so I’ll be very interested to hear how these fare.

I’ve scoured the net for some images to get more of a feel for the collection, and would like to share what I’ve found with you!

How cute does this look?

Cargo Plant Love Baked Illuminator in Fire (£15)

I’m a total sucker for baked products and this looks like it might flatter my pale skin-tone really nicely without just being a highlight product.

Pretty! This is Cargo’s Plant Love blush in Peony.  I’m fairly new to Cargo products in general, but am already a fan of their blush formula which is finely-milled and long lasting.  I hope these live up to their parent company’s existing line!

The last product I’ll show you is the Green Goddess Collection, I love the convenience of palettes, but they often disappoint by usually containing 1 or 2 bogey shades!

This one certainly doesn’t seem to be suffering from that problem with a selection of lovely, easy-to-wear shades.

Hand on heart, I can’t say that I get particularly excited by the word ‘organic’, if anything I’m usually a little sceptical as to whether the products may sacrifice quality in return for their ECO-credentials but CARGO Cosmetics are a well-respected Canadian brand that have already achieved a good reputation for quality cosmetics.

Not only that, but the more I’ve read about and dribbled over the images of the products in the collection – the more hopeful I’ve become that these won’t disappoint.  I’m already in love with the cute retro yet modern packaging – which incidentally is made from a special plastic manufactured entirely from plant materials (not petroleum).  Now, that’s what you call innovation!

Available from the 30th September exclusively from Puresha.com

What gorgeous weather we’re currently enjoying!  Over the weekend I was looking for something a little lighter than my standard liquid foundations to wear on my face.  As I was digging around in my collection, I happened across a little pot of tinted moisturiser by a company called Mádara which I’d received as a free sample with an order I’d made a couple of weeks ago.

Now, I would normally consider my skin not clear enough for tinted moisturisers, so I approached this ‘try out’ with slight apprehension (and my eye on my Revlon Colorstay incase it all went horribly wrong).

Mádara are a Latvian organic company who carry the tag line ‘ecocosmetics’ under their brand name.

Here’s a blurb from their website:

Today we shape, create and nurture MÁDARA. MÁDARA is our story about love towards the place we come from, about good design, high quality natural and organic products and good honest business practice.

How good does that sound?

Well, let’s see if it’s too good to be true.

Mádara Decoface Tinting Fluid in Moon Flower (the lightest of 2 shades)

What they say:

Tints, illuminates and lightly moisturises the skin of the face and neck. Evens out skin tone. Gives the skin freshness and radiance. Disguises imperfections and fine lines. A lighter alternative to foundation. Like daisy petals shimmering in the moonlight.

What I say:

The first thing I noticed was the smell, it has a slightly herbal scent to it.  Not musky herbal, more floral – really rather nice, especially as it isn’t at all overpowering.  The formula, although thin, is very pigmented – a little goes a long way!  I used my fingers to apply and found that it spread evenly and easily across my skin.  I was also pleased to discover that it contained sunscreen, although to what extent/rating I can’t find out, not that it matters hugely to me as I always slap on my DHC facial sunscreen anyway.

Application finished, I looked in the mirror and was disappointed to discover no difference in terms of coverage.

However, after uploading these photos, I’m re-evaluating my thoughts on the coverage.  If you look at the before and after, there is definitely more evenness in my skintone in the after shot (the one on the right).  I think it is most noticeable across my nose.  Yes, it is pretty sheer – but I need to remind myself, that’s exactly what I was looking for!  I don’t want to be caked in makeup on days where it’s liable to melt!  I hadn’t applied any concealer, but I will apply a little to key areas  next time I wear this tinting fluid.

Before on the left/After on the right

I have typical combination skin which also suffers from sensitivity and I experienced absolutely no burning/stinging or tightness during or after using this product which is obviously crucially important and something that Mádara prides itself on achieving. 

One negative (and unfortunately one my ultra pale skin won’t let me overlook) is that I did encounter a little oxidisation very quickly after application.  It certainly didn’t tango me, but I did smooth over my neckline with some untinted moisturiser to re-blend the colour and ensure there were no giveaway ‘foundation’ lines.  It didn’t oxidise further.

Mádara Decoface Tinting Fluid comes in 2 shades, so there’s not much room for error for pale gals like me.  The 2 shades are Moon Flower and Sun Flower, could they give them prettier names?!

Once out in the heat and the sun, I was pleased with the longevity of this product.  It lasted pretty well all day.  It did nothing to tame the oilies, but I didn’t expect it to and was simply surprised that it could last despite them!  My skin continued to feel moisturised and supple throughout the day and into the evening.  I had no issues with flakiness (which I sometimes get with my Colorstay).

I would really recommend this product to anyone looking for a lighter alternative for the summer.  It doesn’t offer the greatest coverage in the world, but if you’re looking for that… then I believe you’d be hard pressed to find it in a tinted moisturiser.  As a bonus, you know that what you’re putting on your face is natural and organic.  You can read more about Mádara’s Eco credentials here.

In conclusion, this is on my purchase list, but I definitely want to make friends with a reliable concealer too!

My simple summer FOTD featuring Mádara’s Tinting Fluid (please excuse the stray hair)!

Mádara Tinting Fluids are available at LoveLula.com£21.50 for 50mls.

[starreview tpl=14]