A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

We all know how it feels to sneak five minutes of our lunch break on the way back to the office with our sarnies.  Some people will spend that precious respite browsing the news-stands, others may glance over the cosmetic counters.  The very last thing you want to do when you only have minutes to spare?  Get into a conversation with the shop assistant over the latest launches.

Alternatively, you just may be an anti-social bitch like me and prefer to shop without assistance until you request it.  Or perhaps you love hearing about the technology in the latest serums on the market but can never find an SA willing to talk shop with you?

Clinique have been looking at the way us shoppers like to prowl the counters and have come up with a potential solution to this common problem.  Complimentary wrist bands.

Three different coloured wrist bands to be precise.

Which wrist band do you go for?  Well that depends on your mood!

Green = Chat me up and tell me whatchu got!

White = Help me/Serve me, QUICKLY – The boss is coming back any minute now!

Pink = Leave me the hell alone unless I ask otherwise.

How effective this scheme will be, remains to be seen.  I popped by the Clinique counter in Selfridges (Oxford Street) on Tuesday afternoon and although the billboard was up, advertising the new Service As You Like It concept — there wasn’t a wrist band to be seen.  I asked about them and a friendly (though slightly suspicious!) SA explained that they were waiting on more bands to come into stock before they put them out on display.  She kindly let me have a look at the display box and seemed keen on the idea when I asked about it.  It was clear however that there had already been some teething issues with ‘customers’ picking them up in handfuls and simply walking away with them without even attempting to have a look around the counter!  Dreadful.

I have to applaud Clinique for tackling such an age-old problem with this scheme.  Hopefully it will ultimately mean that time is spent more effectively on customers who require assistance and will generate better relationships between the SA and the customer.  A potential win-win situation for both brand and shopper.

Here’s hoping!  What do you think?

The Clinique Service As You Like It complimentary wrist bands are on counter from Selfridges Oxford Street, House of Fraser Meadowhall, House of Fraser Glasgow, Debenhams Leeds and Fenwick Newcastle.

You can’t polish a turd but you can roll it in glitter…

Ta-da!!

Well, it’s not exactly subtle is it?  A warm brown base colour with a whole heap of chunky holo glitter embedded like sparkly shrapnel.  It needs a top coat to get rid of the grittiness and three overall coats to achieve full opacity.

I like it, but not as much as I thought I was going to.  Apologies for the no natural daylight photo – colour is accurate but the holo is obviously looking a little underwhelming.  You need proper sun for that kind of bling and we’re just not getting any at the moment.

What do you think?

China Glaze Mahoganie is priced at £7.99 and available online from RadiantBabe-Beauty.

What is it?

The GREAT LIPS, GREAT CAUSE KEY RING features a heart-shaped ribbon charm, Clinique “C” charm and three mini Long Last Glosswear SPF 15 glosses in best selling Clearly Pink, Air Kiss and Cabana Crush.

How much is it?

It’s priced at £15.00

How much of our money goes to supporting PINK projects?

From every purchase made in the UK, £2 will go to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

How do I get it?

Currently available from Clinique counters at Boots while stocks last.

Three new lip colours have joined the permanent range of Clarins Rouge Prodige lipsticks this Autumn and although they’re new shades for fall, they hark back to the Summer we never had.  Let me tell you why…

Summer 2011 was all about the glossy, sheer look for lips with shades like Chanel’s Boy making the biggest waves across the beauty blogosphere.  Clarin’s Autumn lineup has included three new Rouge Prodige colours* that replicate the sheer, glossy trend but in a more Winter-appropriate formula that’s less balmy and longer-lasting than the Summer offerings.

Rouge Prodige True-Hold Colour & Shine Lipsticks include include the new shades:

#105 Peach Sorbet
#115 Rosy Coral
#123 Creamy Toffee

Here’s a closer look…

The Rouge Prodige formula continues to feel quite different to most other lipsticks.  For a long-wearing texture, it feels moisturising on the lips and fairly tacky, though not in a gloopy, lipgloss way.  These don’t dry my lips at all but you may find the stickiness a little awkward if you’re prefer a matte-r feeling.

Here’s how they look applied and in context with the rest of the face.  You can see here that each shade is fairly transparent with a hint of base colour.  The most pigmented is #105 and I felt that each shade would particularly suit specific skintones: #105 for warmer skins, #115 for cooler skintones and #123 for darker complexions.

The new shades add polish and shine to a made-up face without injecting too much colour.  Balm fans will be delighted to find a longer-lasting alternative to the Summer trends, colour-freaks?  Not so much.

The new Clarins Rouge Prodige shades are available to buy now online at Clarins.com and on counter, priced at £17.00 each.

* press samples

What is it?

A special edition PINK Cherry ChapStick offering SPF 15, providing protection from UV rays whilst helping raise money for charity.

How much is it?

Available to purchase in a twin-pack, priced at £2.49

How much of our money goes to supporting PINK projects?

20p from each sale will go to Breast Cancer Care

How do I get it?

Available throughout October from most supermarkets and pharmacies.

Phew, what a mouthful!

Clarins Ombre Minerale 4 Couleurs Eye Quartet in Rosewood is a new release from the French brand and comprises one palette from the new 6-piece eye collection for Autumn/Winter.

The packaging includes a face chart displaying some useful positioning tips for makeup newbies.

Four mineral shades that can be used wet or dry.  Two satin shades, a darker eye shadow liner and an iridescent highlighter.  The highlighter is very sheer and provides a sophisticated sparkle rather than any real colour.

Swatched dry without base or primer.  Around two/three swipes each.

The Rosewood palette contains four very wearable, neutral shades that would suit most skintones.  It’s a sheer but buildable palette – something that I’ve come to expect from Clarins.  If you want immediate, intense pigmentation – you’re looking in the wrong place.  If you want something that you can wear to work without fear of overcooking it, this could be just what you need.

You can see from this (rather goofy) FOTD that the palette provides a delicate iridescence.  I think it would really suit anyone who feels they might be a bit too mature for sparkle or metallics but aren’t quite ready to go down the all matte route just yet.  I found the shades to be exceptionally long-lasting though the darkest (and most matte) was not quite as smooth as I would have liked.

Clarins Ombre Minerale 4 Couleurs Eye Quartet in Rosewood is available to buy on counter or online at Clarins.com, priced at £30.00

* press sample

Clarins have released a radiance powder this Autumn which promises to melt into the skin for a naturally radiant complexion.  For a dry-skinned gal like me, those claims make my heart beat just a little bit faster.

Let’s take a look at their new and limited Color Definition 3D Radiance Face Powder…

The theory behind the varying hues in the palette remind me of my Guerlain Meteorites.  My understanding of this colour correction is that the lilac tones should normalize any sallowness while the deeper pink will give a lift/highlight to the complexion.  Those harder working pixels sit on a base combination of beige and peach to create an overall luminous finish.

Isn’t it pretty?  OK, so it’s lacking the WOW! factor that the Guerlain delivers but as a Computer Repair chick in my alternate life, that pixellation speaks to me.

The packaging is as luxe as you would expect from Clarins, the signature pale gold – so shiny that the outside totally works as a mirror.  I should know, I plucked my eyebrows using it because I was both too lazy to find my proper mirror OR actually bother opening the compact to use the ‘proper’ mirror provided.

The Color Definition 3D Radiance Face Powder is firmly textured, I don’t get any product dust when sweeping my brush over the surface.  I’d recommend using a natural hair brush to pick up the powder as you could well be there all day with something that doesn’t grab product so efficiently.

The effect is subtle but noticeable, it seems to soften the effect of my pores but unlike my Guerlain Meteorites, leaves behind no trace of sparkle.  If you’ve always wanted the luminizing, softening effect of the Meteorites but were concerned about the sparkle, this could be the product you’ve been waiting for.  There *is* sparkle in the peach shade (the indented parts of the palette) but this doesn’t seem visible on my skin.

The swatch shows it looking quite pigmented, but it’s not – You’d have great difficulty using this as a blush… which is just as well really, seeing as it, err, isn’t one.

Overall, this is a really strong offering from Clarins and if there is nothing similar in their core product line, it SO shouldn’t be Limited Edition.  I’m flagging this one up as something that should be checked out on counter ASAP – it’s cheaper than the Guerlain, sensitive noses will be pleased to hear that this isn’t highly-scented and will be more forgiving on oilier skins.  It’s a realistic and worthy alternative to the iconic Guerlain Meteorites.

A FOTD showing a sheer/medium coverage foundation with the Clarins face powder dusted ontop (and a bit of a “Tim Nice but Dim” smile).

Clarins Color Definition 3D Radiance Face Powder is regularly priced at £30 and available on counter and online from Clarins, FeelUnique (*cough* £27) and Escentual.com (£24 *chokes*)

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* press sample

Vogue’s Fashion Night Out is once again upon us, and in celebration of the occasion, Chanel have created an exclusive nail trio that pays homage to our love for the quintessentially chic, denim jean.

Perfect for the ombre nail trend, the three shades graduate from the medium to the very pale blue and promise to capture the essence of our well-worn old faithfuls.

Blue Rebel, Blue Boy and Coco Blue are available in Selfridges W1, Chanel Bond Street and Selfridges boutiques from today, priced at £17.50 each.

The trio will see a wider roll-out to Chanel Makeup Studios in: Harrods, Fenwicks Newcastle and House of Fraser Glasgow as well as Chanel fashion boutiques from 10th September 2011

Do you have a favourite?

I’ve talked before about over-processing my hair to within an inch of its life and the difficulties I’ve encountered trying to find a happy compromise between routinely covering my greys and keeping my hair in a healthy condition.

Well, I’ve found the answer.  Almost.  It’s not completely perfect… but it’s close enough for now.

Clairol Nice n’ Easy Root Touch Up.  There’s something about paying the same amount of money for LESS product that kills me everytime I approach the counter to pay for this box.  The dye is intended only for use on your roots (you don’t say…), hence you get less in the pack than you would normal hair dye.  It’s not that it’s phenomenally expensive, infact, it’s really good value but compared to my Superdrug own brand Choc Brown that I’ve enjoyed using previously, it is a small step up in price.

However, it’s a little box of awesome.

I pick up shade #4 which claims to blend with all manner of dark browns and I will absolutely back those claims.  It’s never looked at all out of place alongside my older dye jobs and really does blend quite seamlessly.

I part my hair in its usual parting and apply the dye all along any visible roots, not forgetting the hairline.  Once I’ve saturated these parts, I usually part my hair a little further over in both directions and re-apply to allow room for error.  I usually still have some more dye left over and cover my centre parting too (just in case!)

It only takes 10 minutes before I jump in the shower and rinse.  The entire process is completed in under 20 minutes and because it doesn’t go anywhere near the ends of my hair, is a lot less messy than usual!

My only caveat is that I’ve seen a couple of photos of myself recently (where I’m trying to take snaps of my curls etc..) and I can see a bit of grey peeking through the roots toward the back of my head.  It’s probably been about 4 months since they’ve last been dyed and I either need to grab a normal box dye (which I don’t want to do) or get Mr. L to tackle the harder to reach areas with an extra pack of this stuff.  Better solution I think.

Either way, my ends are getting some MUCH needed respite and my overall hair colour is looking beautifully natural and non-blocky.

Win.

Clairol Root Touch Up is priced at around £4 a pack and available at all the usual outlets (Boots, Superdrug, Supermarkets…)

Perfume ‘jewellery’ has been big news for some time now and will again be found on many wishlists this Christmas.  I spotted this Chloé Solid Perfume Necklace at a recent press day and made a bee-line for it because I loved the simplicity of the design.  There was a release last year that did the blog rounds, it was a solid perfume ring that was hugely OTT and possibly, the ugliest thing I’d laid eyes on.

This, is a little more understated…

The Chloé Solid Perfume Necklace contains the brand’s signature scent and will be available from all Chloé stockists from the 21st September 2011 with an RRP of £45.00/€56.30

Are you a fan of solid fragrance turned into jewellery?

I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned it once or twice already but did you know I turned 30 yesterday? 😉

I had a marvy day and despite spending the entire day looking rather, well… makeup-less, I did put some effort into making my nails as bling-tastic as possible!  Wanna see?

What with it being in focus n’ all, you don’t really get the true OMGGLITTERYGOODNESS effect.  But trust me, it was super blinging!

I used two polishes… one was an Urban Decay oldie from my youth (ok, 5 years ago) called Cult and the other was my brand new Color Club spangly holographic top coat called Starry Temptress.

Do you have any favourite combos for the ultimate in nail bling?

…Le jour de gloire est arrivé!

I have strong connections to our neighbours over the other side of the English Channel and I’m not just talking about my love for Steak Frites!  I spent every Summer, the entire 6 week school holidays practicing my rubbish French and playing with the local kids not too far from La Rochelle.  My parents still visit for a few months every Summer and still try to drag me over there for family holidays fifteen years later!

It’s been a good few years since I visited for longer than a day trip, I think the overkill when I was a child/teenager may have put me off a little but the country will always hold a special place in my heart.

So, in honour of Bastille day and the fact that ordinarily (were it not ‘weigh in day’) I would be stuffing my face with Brioche and Pain au Raisin to mark the occasion, I’m gonna pay tribute to some awesome and lesser-known French brands that you ought to know more about!

1.  Darphin – Hailing from Paris, Darphin is a professional, botanical skincare line that takes a more holistic approach.  Priding itself on its aromatic, plant-based formulas, the latest addition to the line: Melaperfect* is an Anti-Dark Spot Perfecting Treatment designed for skin with hyper pigmentation.

2.  Rouge Baiser – This French drugstore brand is best known for creating the first ‘kiss-proof’ lipstick in 1927.  I own #405 L’Authentique… isn’t the packaging to die for?

3.  Nuxe – Born out of a small laboratory in Paris, Nuxe is now one of the best-selling brands in pharmacies today.  Another brand firmly based in natural origins, their dry oils have a global fan-base.  Apply a few spritzes to your skin, face, hair… anything that could do with a gentle golden shimmer!  The Huile Prodigieuse Or* is an iconic holiday essential.

4.  Payot – Created in 1927, this Parisian (I’m sensing a theme) Spa brand offers a huge range of products and spa treatments.  The philosophy of the brand is also heavily invested in massage techniques and facial exercises, practically pioneering beauty rituals that are still used in spas today.  The Payot Lift-Performance Firming Remodelling Care has been put to work on my (many) wobbly bits in the hope of some remodelling of my own!

5.  Caudalie – Born from French vineyards, the philosophy behind the brand is based in the anti-oxidant properties of the grape and the grapevine polyphenols.  The Caudalie Beauty Elixir promises to tighten pores and provides an instant burst of radiance to the skin.  I’m a long-term fan of the Grape Water spritz as an alternative to my Avene in hot weather so I’m looking forward to seeing if I can achieve any ooh la la miracles with the power of wine grape.

6.  T. LeClerc – The T. LeClerc line is steeped in heritage and prestige, best known for the iconic T. LeClerc powders in various correcting shades.  One day, I will get my hands on Banane but as things stand, I will make do with my blush and lipstick in all their beautifully packaged glory!

7.  Bioderma – You can’t enter a French pharmacie without being greeted by the same staple lines: Avene, Vichy, Bioderma, La Roche Posay and Biotherm to name just a few.  Of course most people know about the Bioderma Crealine H2O by now but the brand make some other lovely products too!  Bioderma Sebium Foaming Gel is a gently foaming wash for combination skin that doesn’t strip my face of moisture.  I’m getting my Pharmacie dealer (a.k.a Mum) to bring me back some more Pharmacie goodies this Autumn!

8.  Parfums D’Empire – My most expensive perfume purchase to date is Ambre Russe from Parisian fragrance house, Parfums D’Empire.  The most decadent combination of rum (though I think I’m supposed to smell vodka), amber, leather, tobacco and tea that catapults you straight into the grand corridors of an imperial Russian palace of yesteryear.  It’s completely over the top and a love it or hate it scent.  Can you tell I love it?  Love.  It.  Next on my list is Cuir Ottoman… just as delightful.

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What are your favourite French brands in honour of Bastille Day?

* press samples