A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

I usually have a little more time to myself while writing my annual birthday letter to you beautiful, but just last week… we welcomed your baby brother into the world.  I keep looking at you, wondering what you’re thinking about this latest installment into our family but you know, if you don’t end up being Daddy’s chief game designer, I’m sure you’d make a great poker player.  When I think of you, the phrase “still waters run deep” springs to mind.  It’s not that you’re not vocal… it’s just that you’re always, always thinking, far more deeply and analytically than any child I’ve known.

For a Mum, this is something that I both cherish and despise.  Shouldn’t you just be living in the moment, shouldn’t I be the one doing all this deep-thinking for you?  The truth is, you love nothing more.  If you’re not applying this analysis to your own thoughts and feelings, you’re asking me and Daddy to quiz you on the Universe.  You want to know where you came from (not like that) and why you’re here.  You want to know all about Earth’s gravity and just how big is the Sun anyway?  But despite your adoration for all things planetary, you know for sure that you never want to be an astronaut.  Far too scary.  Clever girl, we don’t want you to be an astronaut either.

We’ve bought you a telescope for your birthday.  You may only be able to see into next door’s garden with it but all the same, I know you’ll cherish it for the way you’ll feel as though you’ve been given a key to another portal.  Let alone the opportunity to stay up a bit later for some moon-gazing.  You have a glow in the dark solar system hanging from your ceiling and your favourite planet, despite its rugged and inhospitable surface is Mercury.  I think that Venus, with its poisonous clouds, makes you feel a little in awe of just how incredible it is up there.

This is the year in which you started infant school, and after the tribulations of starting nursery, both Daddy and I were terrified.  Not about how you’d fit into an academic environment and the stresses of a work-load, but fearful of how you’d socialise with your friends.  Let’s face it… you still struggle to mount a climbing frame with any kind of grace at all, the monkey-bars don’t even stand a chance.  This makes you a little sad.  I know that for once, you’d love to be able to catch your best friend Issy whilst playing tag… but just like your Mum before you, we simply weren’t built for speed my love.  Unlike your Mum, however, just recently… we’ve noticed that you seem to have been blessed with a generous side-order of humour… comical timing and a quick wit that endears you to both adults and children alike.  This is something that, if we’re honest, has caught us by surprise… our little girl is a funny one!  Please stay self-confident enough to know that the things you have to say are worth the smile of others.

School is going really well, you’re almost up to box 6 for reading.  You love a bit of maths (though hate being wrong) and we often catch you belting out school assembly songs about all the different year groups and classes.  You’re not top of the class but slightly better than average and you know what?  That’s a very comfortable place to be in life.  One of my favourite things about your school life is the way you come home with a newly-learned word that simply must be slotted into our every conversation… “Hey Mum, let’s collaborate!”

Just recently, you’ve developed the kind of sass that makes me both roar with laughter and hold my head in my hands as I catch glimpses of the future teenager you’ll become.  From your street-dancing (single person grinding) in Asda to your desperate desire to have the last word, you’re finding your own way.  For now, I can hold my own but I know that a time will come when I need to allow you the occasional victory if I don’t want you to experience too many of those teenage feelings of resentment.  Give me a few more years of reminding you who the Mummy is though, eh?

When you see us looking at houses to buy, you worry that we’re going to move too far away for you to have your weekly sleepover at Nanny and Pop’s house.  We do our very best to reassure you that this will never happen and it’s true.  Our initial desire to roam further afield in the quest for a more affordable home has been quelled by the simple knowledge that such a move would break your heart.  So important are your Nanny and Pop to you, we understand and realise that they’re more like second-parents than grandparents.  You are so very lucky to be so very loved.

Hot on Nanny and Pop’s heels is your infatuation for your cousins.  If you’re not making cards and notes for Mummy and Daddy, you’re inventing ways to express your adoration for the cousins you get to see frequently: Mildred, Ava, Eli, and Ola.  From simple scraps of paper to sophisticated Cool Cardz, from Post-It Notes to hand-crafted greeting’s cards… our flat is awash with your arty creations.  Only around 10% of these find their way to their intended targets once life has gotten in the way… but still, they keep coming.  “I love you!”, “Thanks for being my friend!”.  They love you too stinky-bum.

Your brother is wakimg up and so I must find a way to close this letter to you.  I just want to thank you for being so bloody brilliant, so genuinely reasonable, and so infinitely enchanting.

Leila Jean (beauty queen), Happy 5th Birthday big girl.  We love you to Pluto and back.

xxxxx

Previous “Birthday” Letters: Four, Three, Two, Four Months

Question of the Week: What’s the last lip product you applied?

Answer: As I’m scheduling this post a couple of days in advance, I’m sitting here wearing the delicious RMK W Crayon & Gloss Lips that was such an unexpected and happy discovery.  And each time I pass the mirror, I swear it’s looking better the longer it wears!

Pink Sith – wonders if you can smell that? What is it? It’s Spring, and she has 8 great recommendations for a Spring fragrance.

Prime Beauty – checks out the new Japonesque Color Cosmetics line. Does it live up to the fantastic reputation of the brush line? Find out!

Phyrra – shares her favorite coral and peach lip products! Find a new favorite to love.

we heart this – shows you the trippy packaging and gorgeous shades of the MAC Proenza Schouler collection (repeat after us: pro-EN-za SKOOL-er.)

Clumps of Mascara – adores butter LONDON. But how awesome (or not so awesome) are their products outside of nail polishes?

EauMG – have you tried the newest addition to the Thierry Mugler fragrance family? The new Alien has had a makeover and she’s looking great!

Gouldylox Reviews – I don’t think of myself as a warm or a cool person normally, but this warm Monarch palette from Kat Von D is one of my new favorites!

Lipglossiping – celebrates the discovery of a fabulous mineral foundation for those of us with a deathly-pale complexion!

My Beauty Bunny – Bunnies, bunnies, bunnies! My Beauty Bunny celebrated its 5 year anniversary with a day at the park with the Bunny World Foundation, and oh yea, lots of cute, fuzzy bunnies!

Nouveau Cheap – The new Wet n Wild Summer 2014 Limited Edition Bronzer & Blushes have landed and boy are they adorable!

Guest Post of the Week, as chosen by Pink Sith – Obsessed with high end makeup? Want lots of pictures and swatches? Yeah, you needs you some Ommorphia Beauty Bar! Eugenia, who writes the blog from Montreal, Quebec, always tempts me with products to lust after. For example, this week she is enticing me with YSL Baby Doll Kiss & Blush! Check it out…but keep your wallet out of sight!

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After spotting the Actifry cauliflower “rice” recipe that I blogged about a few weeks ago, Tefal got in touch to ask if I’d be interesting in trying their latest kitchen innovation, the Tefal Optigrill.  I’m sure you’ve seen the TV ads for the grilling machine recently, it’s somewhat similar in appearance to the iconic George Foreman-style grills in as much as it allows you to move the grill out of the oven and onto your kitchen counter.

The major differences are found in the machine’s objectives.  While the George Foreman has traditionally focused on being a “health” machine, the Tefal Optigrill concentrates its motives on “perfecting” the art of home-grilling with clever technology that allows the user to customise their grilling preferences and make light work of family cooking.

At home, I do try to grill a lot of food… it’s healthier and less messy than frying but there’s definitely an art-form to the technique and one that I don’t always get right.  I’m forever setting the smoke alarm off, not necessarily because I’ve burnt the food but because excess fat spits onto the heating elements!  And then there’s the skills needed to grill food well.  I don’t mind admitting that pork often emerges from my grill a little dry and I don’t even bother attempting some fussier foods such as chicken and fish, I just use the oven instead.

I suppose what I’m saying is that I find working with a conventional grill a bit hit-and-miss.  When you get it right, the results are amazing… belly pork crisped to perfection under a hot grill cannot be beaten.  But when I get it wrong, I’m either left with a kitchen full of smoke or a disappointingly uneven result.  Because of this, I only ever fry steak.  If I’m going to spend £8 or £9 on a couple of pieces of high-quality meat, I’m loathe to roll the dice on my cooking abilities to get it right.

And this is where the Tefal Optigrill promises to excel.  Great results, first time… all of the time.

But does it?  Let me throw some photos of recent meals into the mix and let you be the judge!

garlic & herb stuffed boneless chicken thighs (still juicy!)

lamb & mint quarter pounders cooked from frozen

lamb leg steaks, tender and not overcooked

Over the past few weeks, I’ve tried many different things with my new countertop grilling machine.  From lamb to pork, steak to chicken and even a bit of cheese.  The results have been mostly brilliant.  My only disappointment has arisen when cooking something that requires the technique to really crisp the fat.  In this case, the Optigrill produced a massively underwhelming and somewhat flacid pork belly.  I was gutted!  I guess belly pork really does need the kind of heat that requires me to flap a tea-towel around infront of the smoke alarm as the fat spits and crackles under a conventional grill.

Everything else that I’ve thrown at the machine has been cooked marvellously.  And not only that but with minimum fuss, mess, and indeed thought because the clever device will actually tell you – through a series of flashing lights and beeps – when your food is ready.  Not only when it is cooked, but also at what stage of “readiness” it currently sits at.

If you like your lamb a little pink… turn off the Optigrill and remove your meat at the “orange for medium” stage.  If you like your steak to be well-cooked, you’d want to remove your food from the grill when greeted with the “red for well-done” light.  There’s definitely a learning curve to the machine, especially if you’re simultaneously preparing a timing-is-critical side-dish and you’re not quite sure how long the Optigrill will actually take to cook your food!  But this is something that is easily surmountable with a little practice, once you’ve cooked a favourite dish… you’ll know for next time.

Unlike the George Foreman’s seemingly default setting of “squeeze all fat out of food until it no longer has any taste or texture”, the Tefal Optigrill does a great job of getting super-hot in the pre-heating stage, allowing the machine to effectively seal in a lot of the flavour before it actually starts cooking your meal.  You will still see excess fat and/or water drip into the tray underneath but it certainly doesn’t make a habit of drying out your food.

halloumi slices on a beef tomato and pesto open sandwich

I’ve stopped using any oil at all on the plates prior to cooking, I seem to get an equally good result whether I use oil or not… so why add the extra calories?  I was also pleased to discover that both the upper and lower grill plates can be removed completely for easy cleaning and I recommend giving them a quick wipe with a piece of kitchen towel prior to washing up/putting in the dishwasher.

I’ve found that I’ve been able to work the Optigrill quickly into my routine, which is always the key as to whether or not it will end up stuffed in the back of my cupboard once the novelty has worn off.  Ultimately, a kitchen “gadget” has to be usable in multiple and varied situations… it needs to be versatile.  Whether I’m cooking lamb leg steaks to go with a full roast dinner (sticking the roasties and yorkshire puds in the Actifry means that I don’t even have to turn my oven on!), grilling halloumi to go with a posh Summer salad, or chucking frozen burgers onto the machine for a quick weekday evening meal, the machine hasn’t left me disappointed.

So far, the Tefal Optigrill has more than earned its keep on my kitchen counter.

The Tefal Optigrill is available to buy online from lakeland.co.uk, johnlewis.com, and debenhams.com (where it is currently 10% off) priced from £135.00

* press sample

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Do you ever make snap judgements about products only to be proven very, very wrong?  I don’t mind admitting that I do… and in this case, I got one hell of a shock when the product put me firmly in my place.

The RMK W Crayon & Gloss Lips is a new release from the Japanese beauty brand and features a duo crayon/gloss system designed to impart big colour and shine.  When it comes to lips, I don’t tend to expect much in the way of pigment from Asian brands… my past purchases have taught me that it’s all about the sheer juiciness and moisturising formulas.

Generalising much, I know… but this is just what I have come to expect.

ignore the foundation, that’s coming in a later review!

The crayon end of the wand did two things to surprise me.

First of all, it dragged… it dragged across my lips like a dog not wanting to be taken for a walk.  It feels hard, a little waxy and not what I was expecting.  To be fair, this did mean that I could achieve a great, sharp line around the edge of my lips but I wasn’t impressed.

The firm texture meant that it took a fair amount of “colouring in” before my entire lip area had been filled and I couldn’t smoosh my lips together to spread the pigment, the formula just wasn’t creamy enough.  This does mean that it is however, extremely long-lasting.

The second surprise came from the amount of pigment the crayon imparted.  We’re talking serious colour.  Bold, opaque and a little startling.  In other words, fabulous.

So there I am… crayon on, thoughts a little jumbled at this point.

Ahh, the gloss end of the equation.  I hate gloss.  You know I hate gloss, we all know that yes… Lip”gloss”iping hates gloss.

Prior to actually trying the W Crayon & Gloss Lips out in person, I did toy with the idea that I’d probably just wear the crayon alone… but once it’s applied, it needs something more.  It just looks unfinished with the crayon worn alone on the lips.

And so I dived into the gloss section of the tube, pulling out the silicone spatula-esque applicator and layering a coat of the glitter-filled semi-transparent gloop across my lips.

“Oh!”

“It looks nice!”

“Really nice!”

The truth is that I just didn’t expect it to look like the perfect combination between pigmented AND juicy.  It didn’t expect it to plump and fill my lips to the point where I found it tricky to resist snogging myself in the mirror.

The gloss is completely non-sticky (trust me, I’m a massive fusspot) and refreshingly light on the lips.  It doesn’t try to migrate or pool unattractively, waiting for me to open my mouth and share strings of globby gloss with the world.  It just sits gently across the surface, sparkling away and making the crayon underneath feel far more comfortable than it did prior to the partnership.

Transfer is a bitch, so be aware… although my teeth were unaffected, my glass and cup both took a shocking hit.  Having said that, there’s so much pigment in the product that the transfer had no impact on how it looked on my lips.

After around 45-minutes, the shine gradually dissipates and it (to my eye) looks even better.  It loses the screamy “look at me” shine but retains the juiciness, appearing much like a well-formulated creamy lipstick.  Roll forward a couple of hours and you can just start to feel a little dryness creeping through from the crayon.  As your lips press together, there’s more texture and at this point, it would be a good idea to give your pout a quick blot with tissue or reapply another layer of gloss.

It’s not completely low-maintenance but for such a bold shade, that undercoat of crayon sticks like you-know-what to the proverbial blanket, making touch-ups with the gloss a lot less hassle than re-lining your lips or dealing with an ugly ring of colour around the lip-line.

Well, there you have it.  Massive, big and completely unexpected love from me for this unassuming tube of lip colour.

RMK W Crayon & Gloss Lips in 01 Cherry Red is priced at £22 and available in 5 limited-edition, seasonal shades.  You can find them online in the UK from BeautyBay.com, LookFantastic.com and instore at Selfridges!

* press sample

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