Illamasqua Birthday Competition!

Posted by Lipglossiping On November - 2 - 2010

To celebrate Illamasqua’s 2nd Birthday, the brand are unleashing a rather fabulous competition for their fans.

One lucky winner will walk away with a five-day course in Mastering Professional Make-Up at The Illamasqua School of Make-Up Art, including travel (within the UK) and accommodation, worth over £1000, plus £200 of Illamasqua make-up!

Five runners up will also receive the new Brush Roll, including five brushes.

To enter the competition and watch the new brand film featuring Vicky McClure, head over to the website now.


Guest Review – Clinique Repairwear Laser Focus (midway)

Posted by Lipglossiping On November - 2 - 2010

Back in September, I chose a reader to trial and review the new Clinique Repairwear Laser Focus – Wrinkle and UV Damage Corrector which had been picking up some rather fabulous reviews across the blogosphere.  Helen kindly agreed to provide us with two reviews…. one partway through her trial and another once she’d completed the 12 weeks.

Today, I’d like to share her thoughts on the product that she’s been using for the past 4/5 weeks.

Take it away Helen…

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Okay – so Charlotte very kindly chose me to review this product – many thanks Charlotte.

First impressions: Nice solid glass bottle with pipette type dispenser.  Product itself is a milky fluid – 100% fragrance free and allergy tested.  Love the bottle – looks and feels like it knows what it’s doing.  Slight drawback in that you can’t see how much product you’ve got left at a glance but I’m only about halfway through so should last til the end of this review.

What it promises: ‘striking improvements in as little as 4 weeks’… how does it do this… who cares…. oh, hang on… you do… let me quote… with ‘high-level peptides to boost the production of natural collagen’ and a ‘patented enzyme blend that works to mend visible UV damage’  So in just four weeks I should notice a ‘striking reduction in the appearance of lines and wrinkles.

What it’s up against: 45 year old mother of two who, although not a sun worshipper, wasn’t particularly good at applying facial sunscreen in her younger years and has only recently seen the error of her ways.   I also wear contacts so my delicate eye area is probably suffering a bit more wear and tear than it should.  I think the ‘before’ photo probably speaks for itself… (viewers of a nervous disposition may wish to look away!)

Usage: 3 to 4 drops to face and around eye area – twice a day.  Product is easy to apply via the pipette, and sinks into skin quickly.  Left my skin immediately feeling smoother and moisturised.  Have to say at this point I was pleasantly surprised as I wasn’t expecting my skin to feel so much better so quickly – but there was a distinct improvement in the texture and appearance after only a few days.

After four weeks – well….I do still have wrinkles/lines… BUT I would swear they are greatly improved in just this short time… please bear in mind the ‘after’ photo was taken after a very hectic weekend of late nights but even then I think you can see a difference.

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Thanks Helen, sounding really promising!  Can’t wait to hear your final thoughts once you’ve completed the trial and thanks for being our guinea pig!

Clinique’s Repairwear Laser Focus – Wrinkle and UV Damage Correcter is priced at £35.00 a bottle and available online or on counters nationwide.

Liz Earle offers Botanically Beautiful Hair…

Posted by Lipglossiping On November - 2 - 2010

…and she really, really does.

I rarely get really excited about haircare – it’s happened 3 times so far this year.  First, with Pantene’s new Aqualight which I’d still be using now if my sensitive scalp hadn’t kicked up a fuss about it.  Secondly with my mysterious high street deep conditioner (don’t get too excited, it’s only mysterious ‘cos I haven’t written the review yet) and thirdly, with this fabulous offering from Liz Earle.

If you’re a regular beauty blog reader, I know that you will have read at least 10 other reviews on these products seeing as they’ve done the ‘blog rounds’ in recent months and I wish I could bring something new and exciting to the table.  But really, all I can do is offer up another rave on how lovely these products are.

Whilst I may not be sold on the powers of the original Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish (I prefer my Cleansing Oil routines), I have always been impressed with the philosophy behind it of finding a gentle but effective product to suit all skintones.  The same philosophy has been applied to the Liz Earle Botanical Shine Shampoo (only for hairtypes) and for mine?  It works like a dream.

On a completely superficial level, I adore the scent.  I think it’s easy to underestimate just how big an influence scent plays in our bathing products.  In my bathroom, it’s right up there with performance… my haircare needs to smell divine, or I’m just not interested.  This smells… divine.  It’s understated, fruity and most importantly… clean-smelling and non-artificial.  It leaves my locks delicately scented without being overpowering.

The texture of the shampoo is almost slightly gel-like and the quantity shown above is about the amount I use to wash my hair.  Adding just a small amount of water, I lather the mixture up between my hands before applying to the roots of my hair.  Considering this is a SLS/SLES shampoo, I’m impressed with the amount of lather I can achieve.  My hair rinses clean in under a minute and actually feels clean (though not squeaky).  I only need one wash… none of that rinse and repeat stuff.  It cleanses my hair effectively and leaves my scalp happy and calm.

I was also sent the conditioner for dry or damaged hair (one of the three varieties available) and it’s a very thick, almost masque-like opaque cream.  Rich with shea butter and yangu oil (known for it’s inherent uv protection), the conditioner offers a deeply moisturising experience.  I tend to keep this away from my roots and concentrate instead on the ends and main hair shaft.  It lacks the tell-tale silicone slip that if I’m honest… I still miss but does prevent my hair from taking on a straw-like appearance once dry.

The scent of the conditioner is heavier than the shampoo and to my nose, I smell licorice which I’m putting down to the Rose-Scented Geranium essential oil… a scent that has always reminded me more of anise and licorice than roses!  Love it.

Both shampoo and conditioner come in two sizes (50ml and 200ml) and are priced at £4/£7.50 respectively.  Despite a full month’s use… I’ve only used half a bottle of the shampoo and will absolutely be repurchasing.  The conditioner tube is nearly empty and I’m not quite in love with it enough to repurchase.

Liz Earle’s new haircare ranges can be purchased online.  I’m not sure if they’re available from John Lewis, which would be my preferred source (I know the candles/bath oils aren’t) – I’ll check and get back to you on that one.

Cargo Plant Love – The Haul

Posted by Lipglossiping On November - 1 - 2010

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

The SpaRitual Winter Imagine Nail Collection

Posted by Lipglossiping On November - 1 - 2010

The new SpaRitual Winter 2010 collection is titled Imagine and features 6 on-trend shades for the season ahead.

Unconditional Love – Deep rose foil metallic
Living in the moment – classy, understated mushroom crème
Health, Wealth & Happiness – Luxurious dramatic two-tone blue, purple metallic

Endless Possibilities – Intense black cherry plum crème
Dreams Becoming Reality – Dramatic teal blue crème
A World of Compassion – Deep lilac crème

Not only big 3 free, all SpaRitual shades are also vegan.  One of my favourite things about the brand is the packaging.  The bulbous bottles feel luxurious and curvy, whilst the caps are simply perfectly shaped and proportioned for use.  The patented design features rubber grips which are moulded for a comfortable experience.

I was sent two of the shades from the collection to swatch… I’ll start with Endless Possibilities:

Endless Possibilities is a cherry black creme, incredibly glossy with a smooth glass-like finish.  THe above photo shows no top coat… nice huh?

It applied very nicely, and was opaque in two coats.  Impressive.  I didn’t experience any chipping but as with most very dark shades like this, tip wear was apparent by the end of the 2nd day.

Another 2-coater, Health, Wealth and Happiness is one incredibly sexy shade.  A Blue/Purple duochrome… the two-tone flashes are spell-binding yet sophisticated.  Application was consistent with the other polish and again, the swatch shot features no top coat.

Wear was a little better on this polish… again, no chips but tip wear wasn’t quite so apparent.

SpaRitual polishes are priced at £7.23 (exc. VAT) each and available online from SpaRitual

Recommended!

GIVEAWAY – Smell like a Sugababe!

Posted by Lipglossiping On November - 1 - 2010

It’s Monday morning and to lighten the inevitable back-to-work blues, Lipglossiping has teamed up with the people behind the new Sugababes fragrances to offer three readers the chance to win 1 of the new fragrances worth £19.99 each!

The collection consists of three essences: Tempt, Tease and Touch.  They’re described as spirited, uplifting, and perfect for the modern young woman.

When describing this new venture for the band, Heidi remarked: ‘Working on Tempt, Touch and Tease has been absolutely amazing for all of us, and the fragrances are everything we wished for!  I hope everyone out there loves them as much as we do.’

For more information on the fragrances and other updates including further competitions, check out the Sugababes Fragrance facebook page!

Want to win a bottle of your own?  Here’s how to do it…

Fill in the form below and click submit – that’s it!

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GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED!

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THE SMALL PRINT: Giveaway will close at 23.59 GMT on Sunday 7th November 2010, Personal information is collected only for the purpose of this giveaway entry and will be deleted as soon as winners have been notified, 3 separate winners will be chosen at random and will receive one bottle of fragrance each – personal preference cannot be guaranteed, one entry per email address, duplicates will be deleted, all decisions are final, open worldwide.

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