A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

Day 21 Winner (Liz Earle Pedicure Pampering Kit) – Alison

Day 22 Winner (L’Occitane Shower Gel Quatro) – Sydney

Day 23 Winner (Urban Decay’s Naked Palette) – Ann

Day 24 Winner (LUSH My Fair Lady Hatbox) – Shortiee31

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Congratulations!

I will be emailing all winners this weekend but feel free to drop me a line before that if you spy your name in the list and want confirmation.

Are you ready for the big one?  The winner of the Clarisonic will be announced tomorrow.

Are you ready for the 6th installment?  Looking fabulous ladies…

1.  Mia Farrow eat your heart out, JMTolman looks positively perfect in MAC Rebel.

2.  Fiona from AcousticDreamsHardcoreScreams should definitely wear brights more often!  Check out the shade Heartless from MAC’s Venomous Villains Collection.

3.  JennyW from MyFunnyValentine is rocking that red with some ‘tude!  NARS Heat Wave with MAC Redd lip liner to be precise.

4.  Fern from Fernlaura reminds us to remember the high street with Barry M’s Pillarbox Red!

5.  Jenni from NailPolishUK sets the scene with a powerful red lip in Rimmel’s Diva Red.

Ellis Faas fans will be pleased to hear that one of their favourite brands is now available to buy from Space NK online and in selected stores.

The Dutch brand launched in the UK a year ago exclusively to Liberty and have seen great success and growth on these shores over the past 12 months.

The sleek products, instantly recognised for their quirky packaging and iconic colours (Ellis Red anyone?) have garnered fans globally and I’m interested to see how they fare with the opportunity of a wider UK audience.

Initially, 14 Space NK stores will carry the line though I can’t hide my disappointment when I note that 13 of the 14 stores have London addresses.  The 14th and final store (for now) is in Glasgow… a little bit too far for a day trip methinks.

Here’s hoping for a all-encompassing nationwide roll out following this initial launch!

Prices start from £20 and the range can be viewed online on the Space NK website, here.

Day 16 Winner (Chanel Paradoxal) – Debbie

Day 17 Winner (Moroccan Oil Set) – Tanya T

Day 18 Winner (Jemma Kidd Palette) – Jaynee

Day 19 Winner (Philosophy Sets) – Lillian

Day 20 Winner (Le Metier de Beaute Goodies) – redtiger21

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Congratulations!

I will be emailing all winners this weekend but feel free to drop me a line before that if you spy your name in the list and want confirmation.

Days 21-25 winners are coming up tomorrow.

I’m a bit dubious about lash lengthening products that rely on conditioning agents and peptides rather than…yano… proper ‘drugs’ to promote growth.

Ok, so on the plus side, you’ve got no risks of iris darkening or other unsavoury side-effects, but on the negative side… will it really have any effect?

Urban Decay have released Lush Lash (£28.00), a double-ended system that boasts two products enriched with peptides that work to lengthen, thicken and fortify your lashes.

O Rly.

Let’s see shall we?

It’s flippin’ tricky to get dead on accurate before/afters for this type of trial but I’ll do my best and have memorized how I was holding the camera (and where I was looking) to try and achieve the same pose in 6 weeks time.

So what can I expect according to Urban Decay’s clinical results?

Sounds good to me…

I used Latisse last year so know the kind of results I achieved from a prostaglandin-based product and will be hugely interested to see if you can achieve the same kind of results from a trusted, high street name without the side-effect risk AND at a greatly reduced price.

Wish me luck!

Urban Decay Lush Lash System is priced at £28 and available online from BeautyBay, Debenhams and LookFantastic.

New York Cheesecake with an Edge, Vermont Va Va Voom, Toast to the Coast and Southern Belle promise scintilating flavours that leave me unsure whether I should be slathering them on my body or on my crumpets in the morning!

I’m gonna go with ‘body’… but only ‘cos I’m on a diet.

The Body America range of products has been notoriously hard to track down until House of Fraser scooped them up as part of their new Apothecary setup.  The range claims 72% organics which are enriched with Aloe Vera juice to soothe and soften the skin.

That’s all great in theory… but how does the range really perform?

Vermont Va Va Voom Foaming Bath & Shower Wash (£7.00)

Green Apple, Maple and Blueberry… but particularly heavy on the apple.  Thankfully, although heady in combination, the scent that’s left behind on the skin is quite light and pleasantly fresh.

I’m not usually a fan of products that foam before I get them close to my body as I find I have to use a ton to get the same kind of luxurious lather as with normal soapy formulas.  This one gets a thumbs up for managing to go the distance before losing it’s fluff!

I should also note that I didn’t find this drying on my skin.

Toast to the Coast Lip Butter 8.5gms (£4.00)

All style and no substance.  It smells delicious (Ocean and Grapeseed), tastes incredible but does nothing to moisturise my lips.  It’s thin and spreads lightly which makes it a nice butter to apply under a drying lipstick but that’s about as far as my praise for this one can stretch.

New York Cheesecake Body & Face Scrub 100gms (£7.00)

My pick of the bunch and I will definitely be picking this up in the Toast to the Coast flavour.  It’s a milky thin fluid that spreads for miles and contains minute particles of ‘scrub’.  Touted as a light exfoliation, I’d say that on my skin it felt pretty full on and in my opinion, too harsh for the face.  But it’s perfect for bodycare and leaves a positively edible scent behind!

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I haven’t tried any of the body butters but they’re reportedly made by the people behind The Body Shop body butters and only £7/£8 each.  All products are available instore and online.

Have you tried the Body America range yet?

Day 11 Winner (Shiseido Maquillage Dramatical Gel Liner in Gold) – Stavroula Plag

Day 12 Winner (Monu Home Spa Set) – Eileen

Day 13 Winner (Du Wop Plumping Set) – Bourriquette

Day 14 Winner (New Cid Cosmetics i-glow) – Debbie

Day 15 Winner (Xen Tan Set) – Nic’s Notebook

Congratulations!

I will be emailing all winners this weekend but feel free to drop me a line before that if you spy your name in the list and want confirmation.

Days 16-20 winners are coming up tomorrow.

I picked this trio of blushes up in Debenhams when it was on sale a couple of weeks ago and I could barely wait until I was home to have a play!

Dandelion was my first Benefit purchase many, many, MANY moons ago and it nearly broke my makeup-loving heart.  I just couldn’t make it show up on me… and back then, I’d spent a considerable amount of my weekly student budget on the damn thing.  Thankfully, things started to look up when I discovered Benefit Creaseless Creams and now I’m back to give the powder blushes another go.

I know that loads of people hate the blush box-packaging, but it’s never bothered me… aslong as it’s sturdy, I’m ok with it.  I don’t generally carry my blush around with me on a day-to-day basis anyway.

You get three 3g blushes in the set.  Clockwise from top left: Coralista, Dandelion, Dallas.

And again…

I think this is such a great way to purchase your Benefit blushes.  At £578579 or whatever it costs nowadays to buy a single Benefit blush, it’s expensive.  Benefit keep releasing these blush boxsets though… and then discontinuing them.  I recommend POUNCING on the sets when you see them or if you can hold your nerve, wait until they go in the sale though you risk missing out alltogether.

Dandelion still barely registers on me but the other two are delightful.  I’m especially pleased with Dallas which I thought would be the ‘bum note’ of the set but I can see myself using this blush-cum-bronzing shade with a light hand.

The texture of all three shades is delightful, lasting power.. impressive and blendability… spot-on.

If you see one of these, pick it up and RUN to the till before it’s gone for good.

Whenever I buy from Boots No7, I feel like I’m taking a bit of a gamble.  Each purchase I make tends to polarise my opinion and I either end up LOVING the product… big LOVE, not just fleeting love (lip liners, exceptional definition mascara, eye mousse) or out and out hating it (most no7 foundations, shower oil).

I just don’t seem to occupy much middle ground where this brand is concerned.  With that in mind, I was curious to see how I’d like the bits I was recently sent from the range.

From left to right – Amazing Eyes Liner in black, Blush tint in 15 Blossom and Stay Perfect lipstick in 45 Tranquil Rose.

Let’s start with the liner…

Not my favourite type of application brush but perfect for thinner lines and precise flicks.  I’m a touch clumsy so generally fare better with felt tip type brushes.  Having said that, the formula is inky black, true and long-lasting.  The brush holds together beautifully to achieve dainty flicks with relative ease.

No7 Amazing Eyes Liquid Eye Liner is priced at £8.75 and available in black or brown online.

Blush sticks are always a temptation for me, they’re so portable and quick to apply.  The No7 Blush Tint in 15 Blossom is no exception, infact… it’s particularly foolproof.  It’s sheer with a non-greasy feel and applies well over both liquid and powder foundation thanks to a non-sticky, powder-finish.  I swipe this across my cheek back and forward about 5 times to build up the intensity before blending the edges with my fingers.

If you struggle with blush I can’t emphasise enough how well I think you’d get on with this product.  I’ve popped this one in my handbag because it gives me a really natural flush that I can touch up without even needing a mirror.  Really delighted with it’s performance.  I’d like to see No7 release this in more shades.

No7 Blush Tint Cream Blush is available online in Rosebud, Blossom and Clove, priced at £10.

Finally, No7 Stay Perfect lipstick in 45 Tranquil Rose.  First impressions are that it isn’t very ‘rose’ like… it’s far more vivid and corally than I’d expect for it’s name.  Second impression was a distinct “Woah!” when I applied and saw how pigmented it was… I ended up reaching for my lip brush to ensure a neat application.  If you go over the lines with this one, you’re gonna notice it!

For a long-lasting lipstick it’s remarkably creamy to apply but it will accentuate signs of lip dryness after a couple of hours.  And how about that wear?  Without eating… I achieved 5 hours of near-perfect wear but with eating… I needed to top up immediately afterward because the colour had still clung so well to the edges, it left a distinct ring!

I’m going to look into the other shades available as I do believe that Cherry might be calling my name!

No7 Stay Perfect Lipstick is available in 16 shades online, priced at £10 each.

Swatches from L-R: Amazing Eyes Liner, Stay Perfect Lipstick in Tranquil Rose and Blush Tint in Blossom.

A quick FOTD featuring the three products reviewed above.  How killer is that lipstick shade?!

Do you have any No7 staples that you return to time and time again?

Day 6 winner (Denman Brush & Batiste Diva set) – Lisa (TinyTownGal)

Day 7 winner (MyFace Blingtones Trio) – FragrantWitch

Day 8 winner (Denman Brush & Batiste Shimmer set) – MsWedgie

Day 9 winner (Pixi Cosmetic Set) – Anitacska

Day 10 winner (St. Tropez duo) – Stephanie Cummins

Congratulations!

I will be emailing all winners next weekend but feel free to drop me a line before that if you spy your name in the list and want confirmation.

Days 11-15 winners are coming up tomorrow.

This has become my go-to ‘quick mani’ as it doesn’t seem to matter how shoddily I slap it on, it always comes up looking pretty neat and polished!

The above shows three coats but it’s the kind of polish that you can wear sheerly to good effect.  It has a slight ethereal quality in the sunlight thanks to the pale hue and subtle silver shimmer.  It’s a very pretty polish with good wear and one I’m pleased to have in my collection.

Pelican Gray is from the China Glaze Spring 2011 Anchors Away collection.

Do you like grey polish for Spring?

Palmolive have released a new duo of handwashes with a little twist of vintage flair.  Admittedly not the most exciting of purchases but definitely one of those that I spend a little time on when in the supermarket.

If I’m going to be washing my hands X amount of times in the day… I want the process to not be too drying and above all, I want it to smell awesome.

I’ve been using a sample of the Bergamot & Verbena variety over the past few days which holds a lovely, zingy scent.  Bergamot is a real favourite of mine (lavender, not so much) and Palmolive has captured the aromatics of the fruit nicely.

Ok, so it doesn’t quite lift me from the kitchen sink and place me in Southern Italy… but it does make scrubbing my hands an enjoyable experience!

The vintage styling touches on the bottle are cute without being twee and with both scents priced at £1.99 each for 250ml, they’re not asking me to pay through the nose for these extra touches of luxury.

The Palmolive Authentics Liquid Hand Soap range is currently available in Sainsburys and Waitrose.