A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

… an accidental case of perfect timing.

As the death knell sounds for the final issue of Britain’s biggest-selling newspaper The News of The World today, this newspaper manicure couldn’t have come at a more appropriate time.

China Glaze Pelican Gray provided the foundation for this one.

You can watch a tutorial on Newspaper nails below from Cutepolish, they’re SO easy!

This is for the lovely Deborah at ThisWeekIHaveMostly… who requested a couple of lip swatches before the weekend from my recent Hot Pinks post.

Hope this helps D!

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Oh and just because this post is super short, I’ll take a moment to tell you about yesterday. If you follow me on twitter, you may have already heard this story… so move along, nothing to see here!

So anyway, potty training.  I haven’t actually started the process… I’m just testing the water and seeing how she reacts to the potty/having her nappy off/talking about it etc.

Well, she crapped on the floor.  I don’t know why I didn’t prepare myself for something like this but I should point out in my defence that I’ve never owned a pet that’s crapped on the floor either.  I walked around the corner to see L pointing at this (impressive) turd, look of abject horror on her face while she explained to me breathlessly that she was just playing games when a coconut fell out of her bum.

Laugh? Cry? I did a bit of both to be honest.

Have a great weekend lovely people!

So, you know… I’m developing an expensive interest in fragrance. I thought it wouldn’t happen… I still have to work very hard to look beyond the obvious when it comes to perfume but the spirit is willing and my past experience tells me that this is all I need to entangle myself in a new obsession.

I went along to an Escentual.com press event some weeks ago and had the opportunity to smell my way around the room so to speak. From a personal point of view it was a real treat to be able to literally wallow in such an array of nice fragrances in a relaxed setting. It’s something so hard to do in a retail environment where you’re literally jumped on from the moment you show the slightest interest in the bottles on the shelves.

I must have raised over 30 different scents to my nose that evening, let me introduce you to some of the niche brands available at Escentual.com.

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Etat Libre D’Orange.

“Creative” only lightly scratches the surface of descriptive words one could use to describe this young, French fragrance house. Novel would be another but don’t mistake Etat Libre D’Orange simply as a cheeky maverick because there’s as much about quality as there is controversy to this unusual fragrance collection.

Their catalogue of scents include the unusually named: Putain des Palaces (Palace Whore), Fat Electrician and Don’t Get Me Wrong Baby I Don’t Swallow. And let’s not even delve into the provocative Secretions Magnifiques…

Oh ok, if I absolutely must…

Secretions Magnifiques* is their most famous scent which basically conveys bodily secretions in their full and frankly, unpleasant aroma. Blood, sweat, sperm and saliva… what more could you want to douse yourself in post-morning shower? Let’s just say… it has a certain amount of metallic authenticity to it and I keep the lid of my sample very tightly closed.

On the flip side, I adored Jasmin et Cigarette which is a floral like no other. Side order of ashtray anyone? But it works… it doesn’t pretend to be tobacco, just pure unadulterated ash tempered by the sweet floral notes of Jasmine. It’s a beautifully worked juxtaposition.

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Juliette Has A Gun.

Notorious makers of the Not A Perfume EDP that contains a single ingredient of dilluted Ambrox, this one didn’t set my world alight in the slightest. I found it as bland as quite frankly, it probably should be.

On the other hand, I recently took a passing sniff at a bottle of Calamity J which has landed itself squarely on my wishlist. A boozy, smoky, woody amber without a hint of floral or fruit to feminise it. Heaven!

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Costume National.

Finally comes a range from the Italian fashion house, Costume National. I could take or leave the feminine scents that to my nose held no interest… they’re mostly sweet, light affairs (with the exception of Scent Intense which allowed me to appreciate an amped up version!).

However, I did fall in love with the gentleman’s fragrance from the range!

Simply titled Homme, it’s a spicy scent with a base of musk and a heart of wood that is beautifully resinous without being syrupy.

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If you’re interested in sampling any of these niche fragrances, don’t forget that Escentual.com do rather splendid and affordable sample packs of many of their niche brands (and infact all of the ones I’ve mentioned above!)

* disclosure: Secretions Magnifique was a press sample

With our (very) mini heatwave in the UK, I propose that there’s never been a better Wednesday for whipping out the sunglasses and getting your Pimms at the ready for a look at the current limited edition China Glaze 2011 Summer collection, Island Escape*.

I wonder which isles the clever bods at CG were thinking of when devised this fruity collection, not the British ones… that’s for sure!

Papaya Punch: Crème based vivid orange.

A bold orange that commands attention, a little on the thick side but opaque in two coats as a result.  No top coat… amazing glossiness.

108 Degrees: Flirtatious berry pink with specks of micro glitter.

A juicy sparkler that looks great on cool skintones thanks to the violet undertones.  Photo taken on a very overcast day so the colour in the sparkles isn’t prominent… a mix of gold and violet.

Senorita Bonita: Passionate purple shimmer with pink micro glitter.

If you can only have one from the collection, you need to make it this one.  Senorita Bonita is the most impressive of the sparklers… hot pink sparkle against a red-toned purple?  MOAR.

Blue Iguana: Bold and daring sparkly blue.

My 2nd favourite from the collection, all the boom chicka wow wow of Senorita Bonita with a heap of gorgeous turquoise glass fleckiness.  However, it did give me mega smurf fingers upon removal and was the sheerest of the bunch.  4 coats – boo.

Cha Cha Cha: Vivacious shimmer green.

A gilded green that packs a punch!  This one practically glows… very beautiful and opaque in two coats.

Electric Pineapple: High intensity crème based lime green.

I’m not digging the colour but again, I have to admire the uber glossiness of the formula.  All of the swatches were photographed without a top coat.  Noice!

Buy China Glaze instore at Sallys or online from radiantbabe-beauty.co.uk

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Got some favourites?  AND if you could escape to ANY island in the world, which one would it be?

* press samples

“But you said you were completely bored of shatter top coats?”

“I never said I was bored of silver ones.”

Out of all the 24 billion photos of seen of manicures done with shatter top coats this year, the silver ones always look the prettiest to me which is why I actually couldn’t quite restrain myself from adding this to a recent eBay polish haul.  I mean, it’s Color Club… it cost me less than a coffee.

I was too much of an impatient child to apply it over anything over than what I was already wearing so it jazzed up the Nails Inc. OMP! nicely.  It also reminded me how nice it was to have something to breathe new life into a tired looking mani without having to redo the whole thing.  Forty seconds later and I’m getting another 3 days wear from something that should have bitten the dust days ago.

I like it.  But I won’t buy anymore.  No, really.  I’m totally bored of them… unless someone brings out a holographic one…

Ok, we’re really done with this trend now yah?  Just one more? Nooooooo!

I first gave Ciate Starlet a blog outing in 2009 but it was in the depths of Winter and I couldn’t get the light to demonstrate the beautiful beetle-wings effect this lovely shade gives.

LOOK!

Pretty no?

Any excuse to show off a pretty polish (even the second time around) and I’m there!

Can we begin the weekend countdown now?

Seeing as I’m embarking on the sun protection series, it would be remiss of me not to mention that throughout the month of June, Cover FX will be making donations to Skcin, The Karen Clifford Skin Cancer Charity in the UK.

But we can get them to donate MOAR!  Check it out…

If you’re looking for new Summer skin protection and like the look of their wares… Cover FX will rightly donate more on purchases of Cover FX SkinTint FX (SPF 30) and Cover FX BritePrep FX (SPF 50).

And here’s something we can all do to get them coughing up with no spends on our behalf…

Click “Like” on the Cover FX Facebook Page to ensure a 25¢ donation to skin cancer research.

Cover FX products are available from select Harvey Nichols, Harveynichols.com, House Of Fraser and houseoffraser.co.uk.  You can follow their efforts via the #saveface hash tag on Twitter.

I’m not a tutorial blogger, I don’t have the skills to teach anyone much about anything but I thought a few photos and a quick rundown of my experience with the Colorsport 30 Day Mascara might be useful to any scaredy-cats out there who are nervous about home tinting!

The kit contains enough product for ‘upto’ 16 applications but I found that I had lots left over when I used the amount suggested by the instructions.  Your mileage may vary!

I think this would make a great Summer holiday purchase to darken those lashes before you hit the pool.  No running mascara worries, how cool would that be?!

Here’s a shot of the products I assembled before attempting to dye my eyebrows with the kit.  I was feeling a little apprehensive and wanted to have everything to hand incase I panicked and wanted to wipe everything off halfway through!

Cotton Buds for application on my eyebrows.

Lanolips to protect the skin around my eyebrows from being dyed too!  You could replace the Lanolips with something less expensive like Vaseline or a heavy moisturiser (I would next time but had neither of those to hand!)

Oil Free Makeup Remover, I used my Bioderma Crealine.

Mascara Spoolie or an old mascara wand to run through my brows midway through the tint process.

Now it’s time to mix-up the solution…

stop sniggering…

The final mix should look something like the above.  Creamy and non-drippy!

I wiped my brows over with a wash of the non-oily makeup remover, smeared the Lanolips over the surrounding area and then painted the dye over my brow with a cotton bud (q-tip).

2 minutes later and a quick wipe-off with a dampened cotton pad… here’s a before and after shot.  Only the eyebrow on your right has been tinted.

The Results…

Well, it’s subtler than I expected… which I guess is a good thing really.  I’m not keen on the fact that it appears to have warmed up my naturally ashy brows.  The skin underneath the hair that has caught some of the dye and I expect will fade in a couple of days, it’s not hugely noticeable but I will gently exfoliate the skin tomorrow to speed up the fade.

They also have a version in black which I was concerned might be too harsh for me but now I think it could work well with less developing time until I’m more confident in the results.

Other things to note…

The application/mixing wand provided with the kit isn’t up to the job.  It’s not unusable but you will probably end up reaching for something else to use instead.

I experienced no irritation or sensitivity with this product and was careful to conduct a skin sensitivity test 48hrs before use.

Overall…

I’m really enthused by how easy and quick the process was compared to how I imagined it.  Neither was it messy or particularly fiddly… it was quite good fun!

I think it would most benefit people with fair brows and lashes.  On me, the difference wasn’t huge on either my lashes or my brows.  I would recommend the Colorsport 30 Day Mascara Eyelash & Brow Dye Kit but with a caveat about the dark brown being quite warming.

Colorsport 30 day Mascara Eyelash & Brow Dye Kit is available to purchase instore or online from Boots where it is 1/3 off at only £5.44 a pack.  (usual price £8.16)

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Do you tint your eyebrows or lashes at home?

* this is a review of a PR sample

How completely bloomin’ cheerful does this new Summer nail collection from Cosmetics A La Carte look huh?

The British company who are well-known for their bespoke makeup have released 5 bold shades that promise to extend this season’s hottest trends beyond our clothes!

Flash: An envious bright green
Inka: A warm shade of zesty tangerine
Viola: A tranquil lilac
Bonheur: A bold hot pink
Rhythm: A classic red go-to shade for timeless style.

Perfect poolside shades if ever I saw ’em!

The Cosmetics A La Carte Purely Floral collection are priced at £10 each and available to buy instore or online from their website.

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Do any of those shades set your fingertips a-quivering for Summer?

Is it a berry?  Is it a pink?  Can we call it a berry pink and be done with it?

Ciate Main Stage is a lovely rosy pink (I thought we were going with berry?) shade.  I do love pink… not for my clothes or things around me but chuck a pink lippie or polish at me and I’ll doll myself up quicker than Barbie would topple over were she made of flesh and bones.

As with most Ciates, the formula leans a little thick but gives great coverage.  Shown above without a top coat.

Ciate Main Stage is available to buy online from PowderRooms priced at £9.00

I’ve been wanting this discontinued China Glaze polish for the longest time and when I saw it on the ‘Bay, I had to jump on it!

Unfortunately, my swatch is pretty darn naff but just look at the bottle to see the gorgeousness that exists within those glass walls.  It’s like looking into a gilded nebula of awesomeness.  Or something.

I wore China Glaze Wagon Trail to destruction, literally.  I’ve just spent 14 days at the inlaws and it was still on my fingernails 12 days into the trip – ok, it looked pretty horrendous on most of my fingers by that time but to give you an idea of longevity, the above photo was taken on day 4 of wear (with my usual top coat).

It’s a two coater with a smooth, fluid consistency… a really great polish that I’m happy to cheat on my Spring/Summer shades with.

Aside from being completely in love with the name, I’ve fallen pretty heavily for the polish too!

Ciate Velvet Tuxedo is a lovely gunmetal grey with some rather special multi-coloured micro shimmer!  Sadly, the shimmer is pretty much undetectable in my photo so you’ll have to trust me that it’s there if you look closely enough!

The formula on this one was a delight and practically opaque in a single coat.  I did two coats more out of habit than necessity.  So, it’s not a very Spring/Summer shade… but do keep this one in mind next Winter because I can’t see you  being disappointed by its performance!

Ciate Velvet Tuxedo is priced at £9.00 and available to buy online from PowderRooms.

Are you a gunmetal fan?