2010 February | Lipglossiping

February, 2010

Sunday, February 28th, 2010

Hei Poa – Monoi Beauty Oil

Back when February was still so new I was calling it January, I blogged about this:

Hei Poa Pur Monoi Beauty Oil, my skin was bone dry at the time and as a fan of most body oils anyway, I was keen to try another.

I ordered from Zuneta and it arrived within two days with a couple of posh samples enclosed as a bonus!

It’s not particularly attractive in it’s solid state, infact… it’s not at all appetising until you unscrew the lid and give it a sniff. The unmistakable scent of Frangipani fills your nostrils, a beautiful tropical aroma.

So how do you turn it from that solid, waxy-looking state into a warm oily texture ready for use on your skin or your hair?

I fill a jug with hot tap water and simply sit the bottle in the water whilst I’m in the shower. It takes about 4-5 minutes to melt completely, but you don’t need to melt the whole bottle. If you only wanted a little, you could be done in 30-40 seconds.

Not a huge thing… but a point of note is that the labelling on the bottle is waterproof and has so far remained intact despite being submerged countless times! I hate paper labels on bath products that disintegrate as soon as they get a splash of water on them!

After about a minute in the hot water, I pulled the bottle out and although you can see it’s not completely melted, there’s enough there for one application.

I find the Hei Poa to be a particularly dry body oil, it’s not massively ‘glidey’ and once I’ve started to spread, it drags a touch on my skin. The flip-side to that is that I’m not left feeling at all greasy. It’s a trade off that I’m happy with. The oil leaves my skin feeling noticeably smoother with a beautiful sheen and delicate scent.

I’m a very happy Hei Poa convert!

What to try next? The ‘golden glow’ version or the shower/bath oil? – decisions, decisions!

Posted in Bodycare, Hei Poa, Skincare | 7 Comments »

Saturday, February 27th, 2010

Daniele de Winter – Choc Beaute

Back in December, I added a box of Daniele de Winter Choc Beauté to my Chrismas Wishlist.

Well who says you don’t get what you wish for?

The box is a lot smaller than I imagined. Priced at €17.94, you’d kinda hope for something bigger than your hand right?

Remember, the USP (unique selling point) for these choccies is the fact that: “Choc Beauté are delicious chocolates designed to make your skin more beautiful”

Wow, take a look in the mirror Choc Beaute! You look like poo. Literally. Rabbit pooh or Sheep pooh I can’t decide, but some kind of excrement regardless.

So basically, the chocs have added anti-oxidants and vitamins that help battle some of the factors that make skin lose it’s elasticity. Of course, you could just take some multi-vitamins and eat a healthy diet to get the same benefits, but where’s the fun in that?

But how about the taste test? That’s what really counts right?

Well… let’s just say… next Christmas, I’m gonna be asking for chocolates that make you UGLY.

Posted in Skincare | 8 Comments »

Friday, February 26th, 2010

Anyone for a random giveaway?

Jemma Kidd – Midnight Jewels Palette

Featuring:

1 Creme Highlighter (Star)
2 Eye Shadows (Dusk & Midnight Blue – the blue one can be used wet too)
1 Shimmer Dust (Ice Blue)
1 Lip Gloss (Rose Gold)

I had an early start this morning, I’m not very good at early starts.

To enter, tell me… Are you a morning or a night person and what are your top tips for looking alert when all you want to do is fall asleep in a corner!

Giveaway is open to my lovely international readers too and will close on the 5th March at 00:01GMT

Posted in Giveaway | 85 Comments »

Friday, February 26th, 2010

Get Glitterized with Jinny Rainbow!

I’ve never been fully sold on tattoos, I love looking at the designs and I appreciate the work that goes into creating a successful piece of permanent body art.

But truly? I can barely decide which socks to put on in the morning. Choosing something as permanent as a tattoo would send me into some kind of mental turmoil treatable only by electroshock therapy. It is with pure joy then, that I discovered Jinny Rainbow.

Recently launched in Selfridges, Jinny Rainbow offers beautiful glitter body illustrations that last up to 7 days. The glitters and powders used are hypo-allergenic promising skin-friendly artwork for all.

You can choose between selecting an on the spot design undertaken by a body artist or if you would prefer attempting a bit of DIY designage (is that a word?) you can purchse handy kits to create personalised designs at home.

Spoiled for choice, Jinny Rainbow carries a selection of over 100 vibrant glitter pigments and shimmers plus 200 exclusive stencil designs.

How beautiful is that? My inner 4yr old is climbing the walls with excitement and trying to work out if I’ve got time to swing by Selfridges this afternoon for a nosey!

So how much would this kind of frivolity set you back? With prices starting from £5 for on-the-spot designs and from £30 for starter kits it’s not exactly gonna break the bank is it?

Do you need a bit of glitter in your life? I’m thinking a sparkly bluebird on my shoulder.. Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah and all that.

Posted in Bodycare, Fashion | 19 Comments »

Thursday, February 25th, 2010

Urban Decay Primer Potion in Sin – At Long Last!

Here comes the older, more glam sister…

Urban Decay Primer Potion in Sin has been out in the US for over a year now, and I’ve been cooling my heels ever since I saw it pop up on Sephora many moons ago!

It promises all the benefits of the original UDPP with a little added pizazz.

They Say:

~ Use it alone; it’s a crease proof shadow!
~ Maximise it’s potential by using it as a highlighter, dab on brow bone, eye corners and cheeks for a radiant finish.
~ Sin works perfectly with any eye shadow and doesn’t show through, experience vibrant colour all day, with absolutely no creasing!

I received the sample of this last week and as a fan of the original, I was keen to see exactly why I’d want to purchase this one instead.

The new-fangled angled (I’m a poet) wand which promises to reach into each dark primer-potion filled corner of your tube. I was initially sceptical about how putting an angle on the wand would *really* help, but having had a little play at ‘scooping’ from that very bottom jutting out bit, I think it might just work. I don’t like how it makes the wand more difficult to remove from the tube though, I keep thinking it’s gonna ping primer at me as it pops free.

Swatched beside the original UDPP you can see that it’s a champagne cream with a metallic looking shimmer. I instantly liked it… what with being a fan of metallic neutrals with a bit of shimmer n’all

It’s quite heavily pigmented and the first thought that struck me was that it may do a better job at evening out skintone on pigmented eyelids better than the original. I’m only speculating here as I don’t have a particular issue with red eyelids, but it makes a nice neutral base that sheers out well depending on how much you blend.

I really like this worn as a cream eyeshadow combined with a powder crease colour, as you would imagine, the staying power is rather marvellous.

The two primers blended out a little (not completely).

You can see that Sin retains it’s champagne shimmer whilst the original UDPP is well on it’s way to blending invisibly.

I’m an idiot and forgot to take a photo demonstrating how the same eye shadow looked applied over both primers. I promise I’ll do it before the week is out and just pop up a quick comparison post. Basically, if you’re applying a shadow over UDPP Sin… it ups the shimmer. I <3 it, but it’s important to see as it may put you off completely.

I find that staying power for eyeshadows applied ontop is pretty equal for both primers, if there is a difference, it’s not discernible to me. Blendability is still hard work over Sin and I’m a bit disappointed about that as it’s the only thing I really would have loved to see changed about the original UDPP.

D’yanowot… I’m on the fence about it with regards to my original question: “Why would I purchase this one over the original?”

Don’t get me wrong… I really like it, there’s nothing for me not to like. I like neutral, I like shimmer…

Might I sometimes want some of my shimmer eyeshadows even more shimmery… Possibly!

Do I want all my eyeshadows turned a bit shimmery by using it? Probably not…

Do I want a lovely champagne cream eyeshadow practically guaranteed not to budge in the summer? Yes please!

Would I purchase? I dunno! Stop asking me hard questions!! What say you?

Urban Decay Primer Potion in Sin is due out next month, priced at £11.50.

Posted in Base & Primers, High Street Brands, Reviews, Urban Decay | 18 Comments »

Thursday, February 25th, 2010

For my fellow bloggers, because you asked (lots!)

My camera is a Canon 30D DSLR. It’s a bit old now… I’d love to look into upgrading, but can’t really use ‘taking photos of my makeup’ as a justification for purchase *blush*. I own 3 wonderful lenses, but mostly use my Tamron 17-50mm 2.8 for blog photos.

I shoot in manual mode because it gives me the greatest flexibility.

Photography was my first love and I’ve spent 4 years learning and trying to get a good grasp of the technical side of the hobby. My ultimate goal was to be confident and never need to rely on P mode again, shooting in manual gives you control of the image, not just the camera.

I’m frequently asked how to take better FOTD photos, and my answer has nothing to do with the camera and everything to do with the lighting.

If you’re outdoors, open shade is lovely. Beware of trees, dappled sunlight is no good. One of my absolute favourite places to shoot portraits are in open doorways. Try it.

Stand at the entrance to your garage or open your front door. You get a lovely amount of soft, directional light. Flat lighting is fine but light that moulds around your features casting soft shadows and highlights is better! Try turning slightly and see how the light falls. I always hold my hand out and just watch how the light falls on it, tilting, angling and moving until I see a sweet spot. Then I go and stand in it.

If you have to take photos in the evening under artificial light, your biggest obstacle will be avoiding that “rabbit caught in headlights” look caused by the flash on your camera. Camera flashes are not kind to us ladies, they make shiny patches practically glow and accentuate any flaws whilst simultaneously washing out the great EOTD you’ve just spent the best part of twenty minutes creating.

The problem stems from the fact that the light in your image is coming from a very small physical source. Your objective is to take that small source (the flash bulb) and make it larger. This will diffuse the light and decrease the specular highlights and harsh shadows in your photographs. The easiest way to do this (if your camera allows it) is to angle your flash so that the light first hits a bigger surface (like the ceiling or a white wall/cupboard door) before reflecting back on your face.

See the diagram below:

Can you see the harsh shadows behind the object on the direct flash diagram?

If you don’t have the flexibility of a flash head you can angle, you could try one of the many pop up flash diffuser options available on eBay. I haven’t personally tried any of them so I can’t recommend anything specific I’m afraid.

Anyway, that’s a very basic lighting 101 for taking self-portraits, I hope it helps all those who have asked in the past.

Posted in FOTDs, Rambles | 14 Comments »