A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

When it comes to enticing us into a purchase, beauty brands fully understand the power of gluttony. When was the last time you bought a shower gel from a supermarket without giving it a good sniff first?

Foody smells in beauty products have always been one of the most popular experience-enhancers available to the industry and I’ve been trawling my bathroom cabinet in the quest to find some of the most deliciously scented products around.

Things are about to get tasty!

Milkshake Conditioning Whipped Cream* even sounds completely edible!  This tasty product from Milk_Shake contains some great natural ingredients, including a milk protein that promises to leave your hair soft, shiny and thoroughly swishable.  But the best thing about it?  It smells like a bonafide strawberry milkshake.  Make no mistake, you won’t know whether to stick a straw in it and lap it up or smoothe it through the ends of your locks.  £14.79, www.specialisthairsupplies.co.uk

Radox Berry Burst Shower Cream is a fruity reinvention from a high-street classic.  Packaged rather snazzily in hot pink, you won’t miss this in the back of your bathroom cabinet.  The scent reminds me of a cross between Starburst (I nearly said Opal Fruits – I AM OLD ALRIGHT?) and a fruit salad, ensuring that the blend between completely synthetic and somewhat natural is fairly well balanced.  The scent doesn’t last long on the skin but the cream itself is pretty moisturising for an el-cheapo! £1.99, www.boots.com

Who thought that Roger & Gallet was the kind of brand you’d buy your Nan for Christmas?  Yeah, me too.  But things are getting modern with the Roger & Gallet Fleur de Figuier* range and this Body Lotion punches well above its weight with a tantalizing blend of: mandarin, grapefruit, fig pulp, and musk.  Still not convinced… how about when I reveal the little-know-fact that the fragrance for this new range has been created by none other than fragrance maestro Francis Kurkdjian.  Got your attention now haven’t I?  Seriously.  Lap this beauty up.  £12.50, www.marksandspencer.com

Another super-cheapy here in the form of Lidl’s very own Cien Nail Polish Remover, oh the glamour!  I’m not sure we’re supposed to be sniffing our nail polish removers (pack it in at once!) but this bargain-hunter’s dream purchase puts me in mind of a bakewell tart with its almondy-goodness.  It’s a pretty decent nail polish remover too!  Also… it’s got that pro-dispenser pump thing going on up top, and anything that makes removing your nail polish just a weeny bit more fun is ALL good in my books.  £1.49, Lidl

Finally, what else would you expect from a brand named Fudge than some foody-related shenanigans?  Fudge were one of the first hair brands I reviewed on this here blog so I’m pleased to be adding the Fudge Urban Iced Coconut Cocktail Hair Spray* to my list of tempting treats.  It makes sense for hair spray (which is notoriously noxious) to be made more pleasing to the senses and I’m delighted to report that Fudge have done the business nicely with this offering.  A mega-strong hold and lasting scent in a compact can ensures that my hair will be smelling delicious for the foreseeable!  £4.99 (currently £2.99), www.superdrug.com

What are your favourite foody-scented products at the moment?

* press samples

I received a few Fudge bits and pieces through the post a couple of weeks ago and among them was this, which I initially mistook for hairspray…

We all have the capacity to become a bit green-eyed about certain traits other women may posess, things that we find ourselves lacking in, and one of those for me, is glossy hair.  The sort of hair that looks as though it’s made of one solid piece of polished-to-hell shine.

I might be sitting opposite a lady on the tube who runs her fingers through her hair and each piece falls back into place, as though she’s parted a wave… before the tide returns to reclaim the individual droplets.  If I do that with my hair, each strand happily stays at a 90 degree angle to my scalp.  Frizzies, I has ‘em.

Well, while the spray doesn’t do enough to tame them completely when I’m wearing my hair down, I’ve discovered a specific and useful application for it… you might find it useful too…

You know when you put your hair up… a bun, some cute plaits?  Anyway, those shorter strands… the slightly frazzled ones that won’t lie flat to your head and instead give the illusion of an explosion in a mattress factory.  Yeah, you know the ones I mean.  Shake the can, give it a quick blast over your head and then gently smoothe/flatten any frizzies with your palms and they do not spring back up.  More importantly, thanks to the super-matte formula, you don’t get the hairspray “look” that doing this with hairspray creates, I’ve tried both – this looks a lot more natural and far less “heavy” on my fine hair.

It’s quite a specific benefit but if you’re a fan of the Croydon facelift, it might be a very useful tool in your arsenal!

Fudge Matte Mineral Textures Anti Frizz Deconstruction Spray is currently priced at £8.60 online at BeautyBay.com

* press sample

I have had the same hairstyle for the last 10 years – well, not really a hairstyle, it’s just down to the middle of my back, no fringe with an off centre parting.  I couldn’t get my hair styled shorter than my shoulders because I’d miss the flexibility of being able to wear it up and pull it away from my face.  I also can’t be arsed with hair straighteners to be honest.  I have a slight wave to my straight hair which has never bothered me and I really am not high maintenance enough to get into the whole poker straight thing so I’m limited really with styling products I can play with.

However, the one thing I’d love that my hair lacks is more shine.

Enter Fudge Head Polish.  This is marketed as a ’hair shiner’.  I’ve previously tried Tresemme Salon Silk which does add a bit of gloss to my hair but does absolutely nothing to control flyaways and if anything seems to make them worse especially if I wash my hair and apply it before bed.  I also haven’t worked out how to successfully apply it to dry hair without making myself look like chip pan head.

Fudge Head Polish is less ‘sticky’ than the Tresemme – it’s thicker and gloopier, but doesn’t leave a residue on your hands.  I can detect a strong scent which I’ve spent all day sticking under my husband’s nostrils to see if he can help me identify it.  So far, we’re thinking aniseed… but we’re not 100% confident on that – either way, it’s really rather nice if a little pungent!

I’ve used this on both wet and dry hair and achieved the same results of instant super shine – again, it’s not massively taming the flyaways (works better on dry hair) but it does a better job than Tresemme.  It also really seems to smooth the hair shaft near the ends and make them feel less ‘prickly’ for want of a better expression.  I purchased this from Tops-Hair-Salon on eBay who are great for Fudge products and delivered super quickly.

I would definitely repurchase this, although I think Fudge have discontinued it (typical) - so if you want to try it out, head to eBay and grab a bargain while they’re still available!  I paid just under £2 inc. postage.

[starreview tpl=14]

Fudge isn’t a brand I know much about.  Infact, my idea of haircare is Head & Shoulders followed by my beloved Mason Pearson hairbrush that I’ve had since I was 2 years old and leave the mop to dry naturally.

You’d think that using no styling products or heat would mean my hair is in fantastic condition.  Unfortunately, that’s not the case and I’ve got more split ends (thanks to an aversion to hair salons) and frazzly bits than I care to count.

Since becoming pregnant though, my hair has enjoyed somewhat of a reprise.  It’s been glossier, thicker and fuller than ever before.  I can go 4 days without washing it (I normally have to wash every other day or look like chip pan head).  I’m due to push this little flump into the world (no doubt swearing and screaming for the drugs) on the 5th May, so my days of unnaturally lovely hair are sadly numbered.

In preparation for my return to crap hair, I’ve dug my hairdryer out from the bottom of the wardrobe and ordered 2 products on eBay from Fudge:

Fudge Head Polish (discontinued from website)

which states:

A smooth polishing glaze that leaves hair soft with an incredible reflect.

I also grabbed:

Fudge Erekt (£7.99 – currently on offer)…

Get it straight up with Erekt for dead straight hair.  Get into your power tool and blow up those locks for soft, shiny, frizzless hair.
 
What it does:

• Straightens and smoothes curl and frizz
• Creates shine, softness and manageability
• Makes blow drying curly hair easier to control

I’m hoping for good results!  Either that, or I’ll just have to get pregnant again.*

*I should just point out to my lovely husband that I am of course joking before he scrambles for the Yellow Pages blind panic sending him scanning the ‘V’s’ for vasectomy.