A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

Courtesy of Jen @ MizzWorthy, I received this lovely polish.  It applied beautifully, the above shows 3 coats (although it only needs 2).  Barry M’s Pink Flamingo is such a gorgeous  coral summery colour.  The name describes the shade perfectly!

I’m on my 2nd full day, and it’s not displaying any tip wear yet – incredible.  The only negative is that I’m unsure how well this colour suits my cool skintone, I think it would look amazing on warmer toned people.  Regardless, I’m showing off my tips with my pride, this is one stonking shade!

No laughing… this has to be the boldest ‘look’ I’ve ever done.  And no, I didn’t leave the house.

This Shu Uemura Painting Liner in Citrine (Part of the Primtribe Fall Collection) is B.E.A.U.TIFUL, but how the hell do I create a toned down look with something so bright?

Is it destined to sit gathering dust?  I love you, beautiful liner… but there aren’t enough Mardi Gras’ in the world for me to wear this look to.

Suggestions most gratefully received!!

Eyes:
BeautyUK Eyeshadow Palette (2)
Boots 17 Solo Eyeshadow (Punky Purple)
Shu Uemura Painting Liner (Citrine)
Rimmel Volume Flash Mousse Mascara
Sleek Ink Pot Eyeliner Gel (Purple Rain)

Face:
Everyday Minerals Foundation (Cool-Fair/Medium)
Cory Cosmetics Mineral Blush (Lava)

Lips:
MAC Lustre Lipstick (Lustering)

I don’t usually wear pinks.. but these shadows from The She Space’s Taurus Astrology Collection were just too cute not to.

Face:
Cory Cosmetics Mica Free foundation in Bare Beige
Earthen Glow Minerals Blush in Berries & Cream
MAC Mineralize Skin Finish Natural & Shimmer in Light/Medium
The Body Shop Vitamin E Face Mist

Eyes:
Urban Decay Primer Potion
The She Space Mineral Eyeshadow in Little Explosions
The She Space Mineral Eyeshadow in Traditional Taurus
Ruby & Millie I-Writer in Black
Max Factor 2000 Calorie Mascara
GOSH Velvet Touch Eyeliner in Black Ink

Lips:
GOSH Pearl Shine Lipstick in Starlet (discontinued)

Since discovering cleansing oils about a year ago, I couldn’t go back to life without them.  I didn’t believe it could ever be possible to remove makeup so effortlessly and quickly.  If you’ve never tried including a cleansing oil as part of your beauty routine – you must.

My benchmark cleansing oil is DHC’s Deep Cleansing Oil.  This was my first foray into oils and I instantly fell in love.  One thing that I have never loved however, is the price.  At £16 + £3.95 shipping from the DHC website, this is venturing very closely into a price range that I’m not happy to pay.

So come, join me in my quest to find a purse-friendly alternative…

I have already blogged about the disaster that is Smashbox’s Cleansing Oil (thankfully now discontinued, although I still have my full bottle sitting in my bathroom cabinet *just bin it already*)

Next on my list was Shiseido’s Perfect Oil thanks to a recommendation by Kathi from Lotus Palace whose opinions on all products Japanese and Korean I hold in high esteem.

Let’s have a couple of quick fire comparisons:

Packaging… Yeah, Shiseido wins this one easy… simply prettier to sit on your shelf, plus it comes with a little ‘clip’ (not pictured) to put round the neck of the bottle to avoid the pump being mistakenly depressed whilst travelling – you do NOT want this shit leaking all over your holiday clothes!

The Shiseido oil has a fairly pleasant fragrance whilst the DHC smells like chip fat.

Shiseido’s formula is thin and watery compared to DHC’s heavier, oilier formula.   A lot of people would prefer Shiseido’s easy to spread formula I would imagine, but not me!  I actually prefer the heavier, oilier texture of the DHC as it feels so lovely to massage into my skin.

They perform equally brilliantly at shifting the makeup.  Heavy foundation?  “No problem!”  Waterproof mascara?  “Lemme at it!” – so yes, top marks for both on that score.

Shiseido easily triumphs with regards to cost… it literally piddles all over DHC.  I paid £8.50 for a 150ml bottle on eBay, compared to nearly £20 for DHC’s 200ml.  Also, because the Shiseido spreads so easily – I find that unless my makeup is particularly heavy, I can get away with using only 1 pump each time.

However, there is one thing that sets them apart and unfortunately it makes the Shiseido a big fat fail for me.

Emulsification people, I cannot stress the greatness of DHC’s emulsifying abilities!  This thick, slightly smelly but extremely effective oil gently foams on contact with water before melting entirely leaving my face clean and residue free.  It doesn’t stick to my cloths, the basin or my skin.  I always ‘double cleanse’ with a mild soap afterwards out of habit, but when using the DHC oil, it wouldn’t bother me if for some reason I couldn’t.

The Shiseido just can’t compete.  It’s not THAT far off… It’s not a complete loser like the Smashbox, but it does leave a slight residue and I can feel an oiliness on my hands which doesn’t disappear until I’ve 2nd cleansed.  It also means that I have to scrub the sink after EVERY use or my husband calls me a minger for leaving the sink scummy. (Like he can talk with all those beardy little hairs he leaves behind after shaving, and he’s SO showing his age with that particular term of ‘endearment’… ).

I digress…

In conclusion, I won’t be repurchasing the Shiseido… but I also still refuse to spend £20 on a cleansing oil, so I need to hunt down my next contender!

Here’s a simple, summery one colour eye FOTD using BarryM Dazzle Dust in Bronze #44.

I love this shade, and normally use a little on the centre of my eyelid to give a neutral eye a little bit of a pop. When I got up this morning, the weather was beautiful so I decided I was gonna go a little brighter on the eye makeup than usual:

I can’t decide if I look ‘glowy’ or just plain shiny.

Eyes:
BarryM Dazzle Dust #44 (Bronze)
GOSH Velvet Touch Eyeliner in Golden Cadillac
Rimmel Sexy Curves Mascara
Sleek Ink Pot Gel Liner in Dominatrix (Black)

Face:
Clarins Truly Matte Foundation
Earthen Glow Minerals Blush in Copala Beach (♥)
MAC MSF Natural in Light/Medium

Lips:
Burts Bees Super Shiny Gloss in Sheer Lemon

And just for shits and giggles, we all know that it’s not easy taking these FOTD photos… arms outstretched, trying to find the right buttons to press (even harder on a DSLR), searching out the best light in the house and all the while trying not to gurn.

So here’s an outtake, “My… what a big nose you have.”  And fan-fuckintastic, I’ve ALWAYS wanted to see what my nose blackheads looked like in full macro, technicolour glory.

You lot just need to thank God for small mercies.  I must have picked my nose at some point before taking this picture or it coulda been a hell of a lot uglier.

Mrs ‘Keepin’ it Real’ Lipglossiping xxxx

The beauty blogosphere is buzzing right now with nail junkies across the UK enjoying Collection 2000’s “Hot Looks” range of polishes.

There are some fab 80s inspired shades and seeing as Button Moon was one of my fav shows as a tot, I had to pick up it’s nail polish counterpart!

Button Moon is a mint green creme that randomly reminds me of Rennie Soft Chews.  It’s a fun colour and fairly chalky in appearance.  Application wise, it achieves opacity in one coat, but needs two coats to even out the streakiness it suffers thanks to it’s pretty crappy brush.

The “Hot Looks” range claims to be fast drying, a claim I would take slight issue with.  Yes, the surface doesn’t stay tacky for very long at all… but the risk of smudging remains for a good half hour after application – not one to apply 15 minutes before bed unless you want lovely imprints from your bed sheets on your tips!

The picture shows the streaking fairly well, but I believe the culprit of this is the brush rather than the formula, so can easily be remedied by using another brush instead.  I should also note that the picture was taken without a top coat applied.

At £1.75 a bottle (they come in a super fab mini 8ml size) and despite the faults I’ve noted, I still think the range is a bit of a steal – ideal for trying out some funky colours.  They’re also currently on offer in Superdrug at the moment (2 for £2.99) – get ’em while they’re hot!  *snigger* Hot, “Hot Looks”, gerrit?

[starreview tpl=14]

Love.

Longwearing, 1-2 coat opacity, smooth application, quick drying, non-staining, cool-toned suiting, hot & striking.

Only thing I don’t love is the application brushes, which I find a little on the thin side, requiring up to 8 strokes to cover the nail evenly and smoothly – but thankfully it’s not SO quick drying that it starts to drag if you go over it a few times.

Another thing I love is the price!  £2.89 each or 2 for £4.99 at the moment in Superdrug.

I’m off ‘oop North’ for a week to introduce my lovely daughter to her paternal grandparents.  Hope the weather follows me!

I don’t have any posts lined up, I’ve been incredibly slack this week, I even let my next NOTD post slide and am now sporting chipped nails with no photos taken of them back when they were fresh (and thus no blog post) *sigh*

To make up for it, I’ll leave you with a current Benefit discount code celebrating Wimbledon…

Enter code: BENETNNI at the checkout for 10% off all orders valid ’till 5th July.  Click the Benefit logo above to be taken to the Benefit (UK) website.

If you happen to make good use of the code, let me know what you bought!  Since I’m now spending every penny I earn on Pampers and Gripe Water… I’m living vicariously through your hauls however big or little they may be!

Cheerio for now fellow beauty addicts xx

I shouldn’t even call this ‘bronzing’… it’s more about finding a summer look that works and toning down the blueness of my complexion and replacing it with a subtle wash of warmth.  I’m liking this simple and fast look for the summer.

Products Used:

Face: Cory Cosmetics Mineral Foundation in Ivory Beige
Cory Cosmetics Mineral Blush in Whatever

Eyes: Sleek Ink Pot in Black
Avon Color Trend Mascara in Black (trying to use up this nice but dull mascara!)

Lips: NYX Round Lipstick in Darling

A gorgeous, vibrant shade shot through with a sophisticated glitter.

This polish is fantastic and would easily make it into my top 10 list. 

It’s a lush cherry red that I can’t stop looking at!  It goes on smoothly and evenly.  The texture feels a little gritty thanks to the glitter, but it’s nothing that a sweep of top coat wouldn’t fix. 

The above image shows 1 coat(!) after 4 days of wear.  There is very minimal and even tip wear.  This is my first experience with China Glaze polishes and I’m so impressed by the formula of this one, I’m looking for more!  Anyone care to share their favourite CG polishes?

So I’m getting a little braver – go me!  Still nowhere near as accomplished or imaginative as some of you lovely ladies, but – baby steps!

As you can see, with this FOTD – the focus is on the eyes.  There’s a slick of sheer lipgloss there but it’s barely pigmented and again, I’m crap at making my blushes show up.  I either go too subtle or all out Bozo the clown stylee – grrr, it’s something I really need to get the hang of!

I can’t bring myself to apply above the crease either… I always end up attacking it with a q-tip.  It just doesn’t suit me – I look in the mirror and shout “Eurgh, garish – gerrit off!” – and yet it looks so lovely on other ladies.  Maybe my eyes are too deep set to carry it off?  Maybe I’m just a big pussy who doesn’t deserve to own any makeup if she can’t wear it proudly and unashamedly – I’m on the fence with that judgement.

Products used (Eyes):

Sleek – I-Divine Palette (Original) – Colours used shown below:

Sleek Ink Pot Gel Liner – Purple Rain
Barry M Glitter Dust – Black Purple (outer V and under eye)
Max Factor 2000 Calorie Mascara – I love it!

I’ve read that Cory Cosmetics offer some of the highest coverage for mineral foundations and despite the mixed reviews on MUA, I’ve plumped for a selection of foundation and blusher samples for those days when we need that bit of extra confidence in our foundation.

Cory Cosmetics is also purported to be one of the ‘purest’ mineral makeup lines – even doing mica free versions of their products.  Not hugely relevant to me, as I don’t seem to have too much in the way of sensitivity problems towards mineral makeup.

Samples are $.45 each – I’ve ordered 13 samples which combined with shipping came to a total of $10.80.

I’m really looking forward to comparing them to my Elemental Beauty foundation (review) which I am still totally in love with.  Infact, the only reason I’m cheating on it is because I want to try some mineral blushes and can try so many more different shades for the same price from Cory Cosmetics than I could from Elemental Beauty.

Will be back to let you know how they fare!