A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

If you follow me on Twitter, you may be aware that I’m currently following the Cambridge Weight Plan.  I’ve been on it for almost 7 weeks and have lost just over 28lbs so far.

It wouldn’t be everyone’s choice to lose weight so quickly in such an extreme way and indeed, I have my own reservations about the cosmetic side effects that such rapid weight-loss may leave behind.  My biggest concern is keeping my body as toned as possible in an attempt to retain skin elasticity and firmness.

I’m no expert in how to achieve this but anything that claims that it can help me has my full attention.

I first came across Functionalab supplements in Harvey Nichols whilst I was having a look at some Nails Inc. polishes.  The first thing that drew me to the brand was the packaging.  Functionalab has curb appeal by the bucket load!

The brand’s Beauty Doses are presented in rather cute Erlenmeyer Bulbs.  Who knew laboratory glasswear could be so chic?!

The whole look is minimalist and doesn’t strike me as the usual holistic supplement brand.  I’m not only a supplement n00b, I’m also a skeptic.  I’ve written before about how I’m loathe to pay money for supplements that claim to achieve nothing that good old-fashioned diet and exercise can achieve.

That’s good, sensible advice right?  In fact, it’s just the kind my mother would give me.  My mother would raise an eyebrow to the ceiling if she knew how much I was handing over every week to my Cambridge Diet Counsellor.  “You’re paying them £40 a week… to help you diet?!”

“Yes, but they’re helping me do it in a quick, controlled way that I just can’t seem to achieve through normal healthy eating” would be my repsonse.  Regardless, that eyebrow of hers would stay raised.  I guess what I’m saying is… we’re all terribly tempted to take the path of least resistance through life.  Whether or not we should is immaterial… if it’s available to us and we can afford to do it, I’m starting to realise that it’s perhaps better not to judge one another’s choices.

So back to these Functionalab Beauty Doses… what are they and what do they claim to achieve?

Anything and everything (almost!).  You can purchase supplement solutions to help you lose weight, stay toned (as shown on the left), tan more successfully, encourage skin radiance and balance oily skin and that’s just a few of the available programmes!  There’s even a whole range of anti-aging supplements that promise to “help protect against the visible signs of aging” (we haven’t heard that one before right ladies?!)

Functionalab asked me if I’d like to try their Body Toning supplement programme after hearing me fret on Twitter about whether I’d be able to buy pockets big enough to stuff my excess skin into once I’d finished with this diet.  I was pleased to accept.  I’m hoping that by taking these supplements in conjunction with my newly discovered hatred for jogging 3x a week, OCD body moisturising and general boring scrunches and toning exercises… I may get away with a pair of very tight ‘hold it all in pants’ once  I reach goal weight.

Here comes the tricky part though… how do I review?  How do I judge whether or not the Functionalab Beauty Dose Body Toning supplements have actually done anything?  It’s going to have to involve instinct and finding the answer to the age old question:  Would I personally part with £32 a month until I’m through with this diet to continue on this course of supplements?

I’ll tell you more about the science and ingredients behind the cute packaging and tempting promises in my follow up post.  I have a month’s supply and I’m starting tomorrow.  I’m strangely excited at the prospect of popping these pills with every meal… I feel all space age and futuristic!  Heck, all my meals will come in powdered form next!  Oh wait…

‘Till next time! x

Fake Bake have introduced a new range instore at New Look designed to appeal to High Street bargainistas!

Four paraben-free products to fulfill your self-tan needs, the new high street range incorporates:

Pasty to Tasty wash off instant-tan £6
Rough to Buff perfectly smooth body polish £5
Dull to Delicious oil free moisturiser £5
Bland to Tanned sun-kissed self-tan £10

The packaging is not a hit with me it has to be said.  I might be partial to the odd high street bargain, but I’m not 7 – which incidentally is probably the last time I dotted my I’s with hearts.

Will you be giving this a try?

During one of my recent Fyrinnae splurges, I picked up their highly-regarded Pixie Epoxy to use with my mineral shadows.

In the tube, it reminds me of when clear mascara goes rank!  I used to buy clear mascara to set my brows, but it always went this cloudy consistency after a couple of months.

Anyway, Fyrinnae’s Pixie Epoxy isn’t supposed to be a primer… it’s a foiling agent.  Nothing to do with espionage and everything to do with making mineral eyeshadows extra purdy!

Slick some of this Pixie Epoxy over your eyelid… wait about 30 seconds and apply your mineral eyeshadow as normal.

Fyrinnae advise that you use the teeniest amount you can manage… and for super staying power, apply it ontop of your usual eye primer.

On the left is a mineral eyeshadow applied over bare skin, and on the right… the same eyeshadow applied over a small quantity of Pixie Epoxy.  Look how much more vibrant it is!  The bottom photo is after I did a single heavy-handed smudge in an attempt to dislodge the product.  You can see that the Pixie Epoxy has great staying power.

Available online from Fyrinnae and priced from $1.50 ($7.00 full size)

Have you tried Fyrinnae’s Pixe Epoxy?  How do you make it work best for you?

…another cheeky Fyrinnae haul, mostly lip lustres… wanna see?  Don’t say no… ‘cos you don’t actually have a choice.

I said I was going back for some more and I did!

The formula is great for me… not so opaque that I feel like a clown in bright colours but with more than enough coverage to make it worthwhile.  A couple of these are slightly gritty in texture which I didn’t notice with my first order, but this doesn’t bother me… Infact, I don’t even notice it after a couple of minutes, I’m not sure if the warmth of my lips dissolves the grittiness.

I ordered sample sizes of: Pink Guitar, Mege-Hold, Glitter Kittiez, Ryo-Pinko, Meloncholy, Trickster and Devil Horns and full size versions of: Shangri-La and Visual Kei

I’ve hand swatched because I’ve not long lip-swatched the new Revlon Colorburst Lipstick collection and to be honest, I was kinda bored of swatching!

If there’s any of these shades that you did want to see a lip swatch for though, please tell me ‘cos I’ll be happy to make sure I include it in a FOTD.

Fyrinnae Lip Lustres are available from the Fyrinnae website and are priced from $2.50 each.

Which of the shades above are your favourites?

I’m smitten.  My heart is won.

Move over, make room… I’ve finally discovered Fyrinnae Lip Lustres.

I only own 4… I’ve already remedied that little problem and have another 10 winging their way to me as I type.

Wanna see what I’m going so crazy for this week?

4 mini tubes, each one sample sized and priced at a ridiculously cheap $2.50.

A standard little doe foot wand with an unassuming looking substance…

…produces the most beautiful hybrid between a lip stain, lipstick and gloss that I’ve ever encountered.  The colour is pigmented and glossy yet it feels like I’m wearing nothing more irritating than a slick of water on my lips.

As the day progresses and the initial burst of colour fades, I’m left with a beautiful stain that remains even and true despite drinking and snacking.  Not only that, but I’m not finding these at all drying and I was almost positive that I would need to combine them with lip balm.

I just wasn’t expecting to be bowled over by these little lip lustres quite as much as I have been.

Here’s some swatches of the shades I own, I prefer to do full face shots simply because when searching for lipstick swatches I feel that I personally get a truer impression of the colour if it’s put into context of skintone etc rather than just a pair of lips on the screen!

~ Visual-Kei is my perfect pink….

~ Romantique is a stunning golden peach nude…

~ Lollipop-Pop is a punkier pink with blue flashes….

~ Type A is an almost metallic garnet that cries out for some heavy lashes and winged eyeliner.

.

They’re perfect.  Oh and they smell ah-mazing too.

Ok, I need to think of something I don’t like about them… this is so gushy, I’m gonna make myself vom.

*thinking*

Oh yeah, the lead time on the Fyrinnae website isn’t great for impatient types like me.  It took 3 weeks before I had them in my hot little hands and now I’ve got to cool my heels for the same time again to get my new order…

anything else, anything else?  Um… no, I really can’t think of anything I don’t like.

I feel like I need validation after such a sickening gush, if you have them… tell me I’m not a mental and that they really are this great?

I don’t know about Face Stockholm, but I was intrigued when I saw these in the sale at HQHair and couldn’t resist adding them to my basket.

These were a wee bit of an impulse buy for me… a cream blush (shade Tokyo) and a silver highlighter (shade Glamour).

Hmmm… not really sure what to make of them!  The cream blush has a nice consistency and blends smoothly, but the colour is a litle warm and brown toned for me – I just can’t see it working.  Future blog sale material perhaps.

The silver highlighter reminds me a little of Illamasqua’s new liquid metal Phenomena so at least I’m on trend for once… it’s pretty… only thing is, what the hell do I do with it? 

Damn my “see a bargain, snap it up” mentality!

Any ideas of how I might rock the silver?  Perhaps try it as a cream eyeliner? I’d need to get it to spread very finely for it to work for me as a highlighter I think.

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.