A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

I have a few: Debbie Harry, Anna Karina & Edie Sedgwick but here’s my fav:

Jean Seberg is incredibly beautiful with her trademark pixie cut and simple eyeliner-oriented makeup – just lovely!

Who’s your beauty icons, past or present?

Further to my post on the Debenhams sale, I nabbed a few colours.

Hello lovelies!  There’s 4 absolute stand out shades for me in this little lot, namely:

Sweety (Bubblegum Pink)
Velvet (Warm Taupe)
Lyric (Off-White v.pale coffee shade)
Miami (Dusky pink with lilac flashes)

Hmm, I think you can probably expect some NOTD posts coming up!

L’oreal’s Voluminous Mascara in good ol’ black.  It’s one of those purported ‘oldies but goodies’ thought of in the same way as Max Factor’s 2000 Calorie.

An unassuming rather plain tube greets you, indeed much like Max Factor’s 2000 Calorie.  Don’t let that put you off… as they say, appearances can be deceptive.

The wand is your standard bristle affair and rather large (although not as large as Bad Gal’s which seems to be the benchmark for chunky wand heads).  It’s a little longer than standard which can make for tricky application on the outer lashes, but it’s not a major problem on my longer lashes.  One thing I really like about this wand is the density of the bristles.  They’re really packed in there which makes for some great separation.

And here’s your comparison shot.  No mascara on the left, L’oreal Voluminous on the right.  It’s a nice deep black which offers some great volumising (as the name would suggest).  I would say that there are better lengthening mascaras out there, but I could imagine that this would work great paired with one of them.  I experience no flaking or smudging with this and it lasts all day long.

My only gripe with this mascara is that the neck doesn’t fit too snugly around the wand, which creates two potential problems.  Sometimes when I pull the wand out, there is a little too much product on the head and I also find that this mascara dries out a little quicker than my others.  Not sure if this is down to the tube design or the formula itself, but it’s something to be aware of.

Overall, it’s a nice solid mascara.  I prefer 2000 Calorie over this (as long as I pinch my nose whilst applying the Max Factor) but Voluminous is very buildable thanks to a formula that isn’t too gloopy or clumping – if you haven’t already, check it out!

[starreview tpl=14]

Check it out!  Click the image below for more details…

Available to purchase online and in selected stores from 18th August 2009.

I know it’s already available at some Debenhams stores (and I can browse the Illamasqua range on the Debenhams website already…) So I hope this means they’re rolling the brand out to additional instore locations.  Anyone any more clued up than me?

Fingers crossed my provincial local store is one of the lucky ones!

Mood: Treading water… badly.

First words out of my mouth this morning: I’ll get the bottle.

What I’m looking forward to this week: Seeing my family on Friday.

What are some words you try to live by? Don’t blow out other people’s candles to make your own burn brighter.

Eyes/lips/cheeks: The She Space Deafening Silence Eyeshadow, Cory Cosmetics Lava Blush, Revlon Super Lustrous Gloss in Get Ready

One thing I’d like to improve about myself: only one? ok then *yawn* lose weight

On my makeup lust list: Revlon Matte Lipstick – Pink Pout, Mac Gentle Blush, Rimmel Volume Booster Lipstick – Foxy, Zoya Pasha Nail Polish, Barry M Oyster Grey Dazzle Dust

What I ate: Lidl’s el-cheapo Fruit n’ Fibre with Semi Skimmed Milk

What’s your current favorite fragrance? This week? Dior – Hypnotic Poison

Weekly goals: Laugh a bit more than last week and tackle my google reader before I submerge!

So, my Nails Inc. freebie arrived (I bet Nails Inc. HQ was positively buzzing with nail polish elves fulfilling orders last week).

I ordered Jermyn Street, a beautiful deep mushroom colour with a slight lavender hint.  It’s certainly unusual and sophisticated enough to wear any time you see fit.

It has a stunningly beautiful high gloss finish (no top coat used in the photo) and longevity seems pretty decent aswell with only minor tip wear after two days.

If you’re a regular reader, you’ll know my rocky history with Nails Inc.  I just don’t love the formula of the polishes I’ve tried thus far.  I’d love to say that this is the polish to change my mind… but it’s not.  I don’t know if you can see… but on the outside edge of the little finger is what I’m talking about.  It goes on a little too thick and starts to dry a little too quickly for me to get a lovely smooth application.  Honestly though, for this shade… I’m happy to overlook my problems with the polish.

I’m exhausted!  Leila has managed to maintain a constant whinge since Thursday when she had her second round of immunisations.  I’m gonna submit her to the Guiness World Record people if she doesn’t pack it in soon.

So yesterday, I went and got my hair cut.  I’ll preface this by confessing that I haven’t visited a hair salon in about 9 years.  There wasn’t any need.  My hair has been down to the middle of my back for what seems like forever and whenever it started to look scraggy I called on my trusty Mum to cut as straight a line as she could possibly manage.  I’m not precious about my hair… infact, I considered it a high-end haircut if my Mum bothered to wear her specs whilst chopping.

 When I was pregnant, my hair was thick and glossy… I was a walking Pantene advert (that whole ‘pregnancy glow’ thing really IS true by the way!).  Unfortunately, since the arrival of The Grizzler, (or Leila, as I try to remember to call her in public) my hair has changed.  The thickness fell out within weeks and the glossiness faded along with the last contraction.

In recent weeks, I’ve noticed a strange smell lingering about my person.  To my shame, I realised 2 days ago that my hair stunk of drool.  Leila loves nothing more than to suck on her fingers… I use the word ‘fingers’ loosely as she spends most of the day attempting to get the whole fist wedged in there.  These copious amounts of ‘gob’ are then transferred to my hair whenever I am within 50 yards of her.  It’s not like I don’t wash it… don’t underestimate the magnetic powers of saliva.

So… long story short (if this is a short story, I don’t know what a long one is) I finally made that long awaited, much needed hairdresser’s appointment.  And here’s the outcome!

It’s a layered chin-length bob with a side swept fringe and I have no idea how I’m going to stop it looking like an explosion in a mattress factory come the first hair wash.  I don’t own straighteners *shock, horror!* and I only use my hairdryer if I’m going somewhere posh.  This could get ugly – wish me luck!

p.s. My sincere apologies as I have been much neglecting reading and commenting.  My google reader is full of unreads that I’m itching to catch up on.  Hopefully little miss grizzle guts will settle down next week and I can resume my usual parenting routine of sitting at the computer whilst poking her with my foot if she gets a bit bored.  She likes that.

…on a Sunday.  *Shh* I won’t tell if you don’t.

IN

Nails Inc. Freebie (NOTD to come soon!)
New hair do!
Popping my NARS cherry
My local Boots store’s clearance shelves (been picking up some lovely bath stuff lately)
Friendly neighbours
Organising my makeup stash in it’s new home!
My lovely readers
Shopping for my 100 subscriber giveaway (halfway there!)

OUT

Baby immunisation appointments
Gall Stone attacks (boo!)
Getting the house “visitor ready”
No Maybelline invite (who do you have to blow to get some event love round here?)
STILL not getting to a Sleek stand (not funny anymore)
Breaking my sunglasses by sitting my FAT arse on them (that’s twice so far this year)
Neglecting my Google Reader

Green, not the best colour choice for me… typically one of my favourites – boo hoo!

I’m still showing the I-Divine Original palette some love…

Face:

Revlon Colorstay in Ivory
Silk Naturals Blush in Climax (Orgasm Dupe)

Eyes:

Sleek I-Divine Original Palette (Green and Gold shades)
Shu Uemura Painting Liner in M Brown
Ruby & Millie Metallic I-Writer in Green
GOSH Velvet Touch Eyeliner in Green Grass
Kanebo Kate Enamel Glow Waterproof Mascara in Black

Lips:
Avon Glazewear Lipstick in Pink Kiss (shade now discontinued)

…popped my NARS cherry – hoorah!

Angelika is such a beautiful true pink, often described as bubblegum… but it shows up slightly softer on my skin (or perhaps I’m being majorly cautious with the application!)  Either way, I love it – the perfect pink with just the right amount of silver sparkle.

What are your favourite NARS blushes?

Courtesy of Jen @ MizzWorthy, I received this lovely polish.  It applied beautifully, the above shows 3 coats (although it only needs 2).  Barry M’s Pink Flamingo is such a gorgeous  coral summery colour.  The name describes the shade perfectly!

I’m on my 2nd full day, and it’s not displaying any tip wear yet – incredible.  The only negative is that I’m unsure how well this colour suits my cool skintone, I think it would look amazing on warmer toned people.  Regardless, I’m showing off my tips with my pride, this is one stonking shade!