A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

If you’re gonna get boozy with your afternoon tea this Christmas, ditch the standard champagne flutes and do it in style.  In conjunction with fine perfumer’s Penhaligon’s, the head bartender at Sofitel London St. James has created four exclusive cocktails, inspired by some of the british fragrance house’s best-selling perfumes: Endymion, Juniper Sling, Peoneve, and Artemisia.

The cleverly-concocted cocktails are infused with essential oils, spices and unusual liquers… ensuring they represent an innovative take on the key fragrances that inspired them.

Endymion Cologne: Spicy and fresh, Endymion is a fragrance of contrasts, sensual, light and dark, velvety, sweet and sharp.

Artemisia Eau de Parfum: Artemisia is both floral and fruity with a sensual powdery dry-down.  Caramel soft, sweet, powdery and silky.

Peoneve Eau de Parfum: An exquisite portrayal of an English garden, bursting with green foliage and the scent of blossoming flowers.

With our five senses so closely affiliated, I love the idea of playing with taste and smell in this way – what a fabulous idea and a great touch to what is becoming a staid tradition in London’s hotels.  In addition to the cocktails, head chef Vincent Menager has created an afternoon tea menu that also includes some real scentsations: scones with rose-scented jam, cardamom-scented creme brulee tartlets, and pear mousse snowballs with violet flakes.

The bespoke cocktail and afternoon tea menu will be available at the Sofitel London St. James from the 28th November 2012

I found these Miss Sporty Metal Flip Nail Polish Duochromes in my local Boots store last week, they sure are pretty – and at £1.99 a-piece (aditionally on a buy-one-get-another-half-price offer), they’re also a flippin’ steal.  I can’t remember the last time I bought anything from Miss Sporty, infact, I thought you could only buy the brand in Superdrug?

Anyway… I’m pleased I had some time to kill for a proper “browse”, the kind of luxury I haven’t had in a while.

010 Beetle Wings (gilded green/brown combination)

030 Aurora Borealis (turquoise/lilac combination)

040 Fiery Blaze (purple/green/brown combination)

The Miss Sporty Metal Flip polishes aren’t the most groundbreaking duochromes in the world, simply because the colour combinations have been done many times over (don’t make me dig out my dupes!).  However, the formulas are really nicely done and each was opaque in two/three coats max.  Throw in a sub £2 price tags and these are such pretty little treats, thoroughly worthy of making it into your shopping basket.

Have you picked up any of these on your high street jaunts yet?  Which one is your favourite and will you be indulging?

I’m not your classic party girl… but if I were, I’d be panicking right about now.  You see, December is the most traditional of party seasons, that time of year when you’re really not supposed to wear the same dress twice.  And as thankful as I am for a red carpet-void lifestyle, I’m even more thankful for the fact that I don’t have to embark on strict beauty rituals to maintain an appearance fit for public consumption.

So why the hell did I agree to trial a Beauty Juice Cleanse for 5 days?  Well, because I had massive bloat, felt like a spotty teenager, and wanted a kick up the backside toward behaving more healthily again.

Almost everything is provided on the plan, the juices (and supplements) arrived by early-morning post and were still cold on arrival thanks to a well-insulated cool bag and a nip in the air.  I eyed them suspiciously, I’m of the firm opinion that rarely does anything green actually taste pleasant.  I was proven both right (and wrong), as you’ll soon discover.

The morning ritual consisted of starting the day with a barrage of powders, capsules and warm water that tasted suspiciously of sub-standard supermarket lemons (my fault) before consuming the first of the day’s three Purifyne juices.  The Colosan powder ensures that you purge the waste efficiently whilst taking on the benefits of the juices.  Unless you know your tolerance for herbal laxatives, start small and build your way up.  And don’t stray too far from a toilet at first.  Trust.

I continued to sip at my juices throughout the day, alternating them with filtered water – by the end of day one, I would have robbed your granny for a Pepsi Max.  I can honestly say that I didn’t feel hunger throughout the 5 days of the plan.  Not once.

But don’t confuse that for one-second with “not wanting to eat anything” because as your granny was getting back on her feet, I’d have knocked her back down again for the Greggs sausage roll in her handbag.  Infact, on day 2 and day 4, I had to put myself to bed early because I was quite the grumpiest of baggages without a square meal inside of me.

Having said that, with the exception of one… the juices were good.  Hilariously, out of all of them, it was only the very greenest of juices that I couldn’t stomach (there’s a picture of it toward the bottom of the post).  I ended up pouring it down the sink, I just couldn’t deal.

I must have gone into ketosis at some point between day 3 and day 4 because I felt a little shaky and light-headed on the morning of day 3 and recognised those symptoms from the Cambridge Diet – however, this isn’t a “diet”… not at all, and I definitely suffered less carb withdrawals (headaches etc.) on this plan.

Afternoons involved taking a beauty “shot”, of a substance quite hopefully named “elixir of youth”, and do you know – it was delicious!  Unfortunately, I had to follow that up with a shot of Aloe Vera juice, which… I could only get down my throat by holding my nose and praying for instant sinusitis.

One of the most enjoyable aspects of the Purifyne Beautifyne Juice Cleanse is the wonderful excuse for a bit of pampering.  Every evening, I bathed in Dead Sea salts whilst sporting a hideously unnattractive mud mask.  Creature from the Black Lagoon much?  You could have thrown in a bit of seaweed and I’d have been dodging harpoons left, right and centre.  I felt so completely relaxed (and slightly wobbly) after pulling the plug each night that I was more than happy to head to bed with my final drink of the evening, Brazil Nut Milk.  Not quite a hot chocolate… but refreshing nonetheless.

Day 4, the penultimate day…. was a strange one.  I felt SO ready to eat normal food, but I was also just starting to feel the benefits of four days of juice injection.  Mr L told me that my eyes looked sparkly.  I wasn’t sure if he’d caught me remembering what a KFC tasted like or whether I was actually reaping the benefits of all those vitamins, either way – he was kind enough to notice that I was looking more perky than usual.  Of course, I weighed myself every morning… I wasn’t going to, but I couldn’t resist.  I lost a total of 8lbs over the course of the five days.

I also put 4lbs back on within 72hrs, but then I didn’t follow the “aftercare” plan and I was well aware that a lot of what I’d lost would have been water, which pops straight back on when you start eating refined carbs, sugars, salt etc.  But anyway, I didn’t do it to lose weight… hell, this juice cleanse isn’t even about that.  The Beautifyne Juice Cleanse offers the opportunity to “enhance your beauty” through chlorophyll-packed Green Juices and carefully selected supplements.

Did it?

Well, I’ll let you be the judge of that.

I will say that my spots and blemishes healed remarkably quickly compared to normal and I felt that my “lush-flush” (a.k.a diffused redness across my nose/cheeks) seemed less angry.  I also think that you can actually see I’ve lost half a stone in the before/after pictures – even if it didn’t stay off for long…

The plan is cleverly-devised, simple to follow and well-supported.  Any queries I had over email were answered within the hour and I was also provided with a daily email alert reminding me how to stay on track and get the most from the experience.  My only complaint is that I would have liked to have been provided with an “in preparation” shopping list so I could have been ready with things like fresh, organic lemons/epsom salt/additional drinks.

Ultimately, would I do it again?  Well, if I had the money and was told that I’d be wedged between Watts and Mendes for a couple of pap shots, I’d be chugging back the “elixir of youth” shots in a heartbeat.

I definitely felt better for it but I also won’t pretend that I skipped around sipping at my pantothenic acid, folic acid, carotene and choline-rich juices like Mary Poppins’ cheerier sister.  I snarled on more than one occasion.  I’m also divorced now 😉

The 5-day Purifyne Beautifyne Juice Cleanse costs £345 and works well to hand-hold your way through what is, after all, quite a serious detox.  For more advice, you can talk to the guys behind the cleanse on Twitter and Facebook.

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Ayurvedic therapies have grown in popularity within the spa world this year.  The ancient holistic practices and treatments from Southern Asia are now increasingly available to book alongside the usual wraps and hot stone therapies.

Ayush Spa in Jersey – the UK’s first Ayurvedic Hotel Spa – is dedicated to the principles of Ayurvedic therapies and even offers its own Indian physician and therapists to preserve the traditions of the ancient therapies.

If, however, you don’t know your vatas from your pittas and think I’m talking a load of old kapha, don’t worry.  What has been a fairly niche buzzword within the health and beauty industry looks set to hit the mainstream.  And by “mainstream”, I mean, the “high street”.

First up are British clothing brand Monsoon, who are upping the ante with the launch of a bath and body collection, inspired by the Indian practice.  The collection features hand washes, hand and body lotions, moisturisers, body butters, body scrubs and more.  All containing natural, 100% pure plant actives that capture the spirit and knowledge of the ayurvedic tradition.  Prices start from £4.00 and there are even Christmas gift sets available to boost the well-being of your favourite aunties!

Taking the ancient principles to an even lower price point are Palmolive, with the launch of their Ayurituel shower gel range which promises a harmonious body and mind experience to leave you feeling balanced and energised.  Blimey!

The shower gels are available in three varieties: Energy, Joyous, and Tranquility – each containing exotic extracts of Indian origin including: sandalwood, Indian mulberry and neem and patchouli extracts.

You can’t beat a deliciously-scented shower gel on a cold morning and my pick from the range is Energy* (the orange one) with it’s warming combination of Indian Sandalwood & Ginger.  The Ayurituel range is priced at £2.99 each and available from Sainsburys.

Noticed any other buzzwords creeping in that look set to be a feature for 2013?

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Let’s get this straight… Pukka Nourishing Brightener smells like it needs to go in a curry. It looks like it needs to go in a curry and if I sneeze whilst standing too closely to it, chances are, it will end up in a curry. It’s aromatic in the extreme, horrendously messy to work with, and an eternally bemusing thing to put on your face.

That said, it’s bloody brilliant.

I don’t think I’ve actually ever used anything in 3/4 years of beauty blogging that’s had such an instant effect on my skin.  Long-lasting effects?  Well, I don’t know about that but in terms of the skincare miracle that you’d want to apply before a big night out for a glowing complexion?  Well, I think I might have found mine.

I don’t even know what it actually is… Pukka say that it’s got Amla and Gotu Kola in it.  Say what?

I mean, how can this little pot (and you don’t get an awful lot for your money) of… of… what looks like the scrapings off your burnt toast (sorry Pukka) coax my parched skin into such a glow?  It’s like a post-facial glow but without all the steaming, blackhead extraction (the blackheads are still there unfortunately), and skin pummeling.

Simply mix a little bit into your usual cleanser (I use a creamy one like A-Derma Sensifluid Cleansing Lotion), rub it in a bit (technical term) and then rinse off with a warm flannel.  HELL-O GLO!

Pukka Nourishing Brightener is priced at £13.00 for 15g and available online from PukkaHerbs.com – it’s probably awful in a curry.

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What is it?

Ojon Damage Reverse Shampoo and Conditioner – formulated with Ojon Oil, which helps instantly hydrate extremely dry, damaged hair and protect it from future breakage.  The brand are offering customers the chance to take home a full size Damage Reverse Shampoo and a full size Damage Reverse Conditioner, completely free of charge!

How do I get it?

Customers are invited to visit their nearest John Lewis, selected Boots stores, House of Fraser, Fenwick and Harrods on November 8th 2012  to take part in this one day event. Customers will receive the Damage Reverse Shampoo and Conditioner, worth £41.50 in exchange for an empty shampoo or conditioner bottle from any brand.  This offer is on a first come, first served basis and the offer will only stand while stocks last.

Really?!

Yep.

Get that date in your diaries ladies and don’t throw away your empties!

* for your nearest participating store call: 0870 034 2454

It’s been two years since the results of Olay’s first Big British Beauty Poll were published, and in beauty years, that’s practically forever!  Gauging public attitudes about how we view the notion of beauty revealed some fascinating insights: Audrey Hepburn was (perhaps unsurprisingly) named as the most iconic beauty of all time, while the poll also revealed that we might not be as keen to jump on the cosmetic injections bandwagon as we once were – a case of too many frozen foreheads on the telly?

Now it’s time to do it all over again!

Olay are launching the Big British Beauty Poll #2 to coincide with their 60th anniversary, and this time – it’s bigger than ever!  The brand want YOUR opinion on everything from skin-care to makeup, hair colour to hair-removal and everything in between. It’s time to have your say.

And this is how you do it….

1. If you’re female and aged over 18 years, simply visit www.facebook.com/beautyRecommendedUKandIreland and become a fan.

2. The Olay Regenerist Big British Beauty Poll will be open to entries from Thursday 4 October at midday to Thursday 1 November 2012.

3. If you complete the poll, you will automatically be entered into a free prize draw to win one of three x £1,000 cash prizes plus a set of Olay Regenerist’s three “hero” products: 3 Point Treatment Cream, 3 Point
Super Serum and Night Renewal Elixir (regardless of the responses).

4. If you then go on to share the poll with a friend on Facebook, you will also be automatically entered into a further prize draw to win one of three x £500 cash prizes.

For full terms and conditions and to read about the competition disclaimer, please visit www.facebook.com/beautyRecommendedUKandIreland

* this is a P&G/Olay sponsored post

I’m bubbling over with love (geddit?) for the product development team at NEOM who have managed to inject actual bubbles into an sls-free bath foam formula.  Which, by rights, shouldn’t have much in the way of foam to write home about.

Did I mention that it smells heavenly too?

NEOM Organics new Tranquility Bath Foam delivers a sudsy hit of relaxation with plenty of (albeit not massively long-lasting) bubble-age.  By the time I was reaching for a towel, there was not a bubble left in sight, which Mr. L said was “rubbish”.  I happen to disagree because there’s nothing I hate more (except for spiders) than having to karate chop/swipe bubbles off my legs as I’m about to step out of the bath.  Also, the final head dunk for Leila… her hair is washed, I don’t want it bubbled up again!

But I digress…

If your skin is sensitive to the usual bubble bath offerings on the market, you’d be wise to take a look at the bubbling sls-free alternative that is Tranquility Bath Foam by NEOM Organics.  Available online, priced at £20.00 for 200mls.  You can just about get away with half a capful per bath, which will probably bring the price down to around 60-70p a bath.

Or… even better, you could take advantage of an exclusive 25% discount code for Lipglossiping.com readers….

www.neomorganics.com
Code: lipgloss (enter at checkout)
Discount: 25%
Terms: Can only be used on full price items.  One code per order.
Expires: midnight Monday 1st October

Bubbles… do you need them to enjoy your bath?

I’ve been dragging my heels when it comes to getting excited for Autumn. Everyone around me has gone chunky-knit/boot-buying crazy while I’ve been trying to eke out one more wear from my floral palazzo trousers before I vacuum pack them away under the bed for the Winter.

But I’m feeling zen about it now. Infact, I feel quite vindicated seeing as Autumn has now clearly arrived with a vengeance this week. Yeah, you go ahead and shiver in your new chunky knit. You brought this on yourself.

It’s not that I hate Autumn… despite my protestations, it is indeed my favourite season too and I am particularly partial to the new collections that the cooler weather brings.  I’m already contemplating vampier lips and more Autumnal blushes.  Infact, here’s five Autumn blushers that I bet you don’t own…

1. Cargo – Tonga: A beautiful, muted matte rose with a hint of mauve

2. Makeup Store – Sugarpink: A soft, dusty pink with a touch of earthiness.

3. Becca Pressed Shimmer Powder – Princess: A muted plum with a hint of bronze, scrumminess.

4. Jane Iredale – Cotton Candy: A sparkly plum with shimmer that flatters without looking too glittery.

5. T. Le Clerc – Brun Voile: A sheer, neutral brown that will go perfectly with everything.

What are your favourite Autumn blushers that don’t get the hype they deserve?

While my heart will always remain true to an undying love for peachy pink, or even better, guava blushes… I won’t deny an eternal hunt for that perfect pop of pink.  For some pale girls, it’s Benefit’s Dandelion… for others, MAC’s Well Dressed.  I’ve been partial to a bit of Cargo’s Catalina in the past but I’ve now fallen head-over-heels for an alternative: MyFace Cosmetics Pink Paradisio (or Paradiso as it’s spelled on the website).

The blusher’s packaging is pretty cumbersome… plus, the whole “look, don’t I remind you of an iPod from 2003?” dates it somewhat, in my opinion.  Having said that, it’s always handy to make space for a mirror and brush for on the go applications.  Except, this brush isn’t very good and picks up far too much product (whilst flinging it about all over the place FALL OUT STYLE).

But the product itself? Oooh, it’s good… so, so good.  A beautiful, slightly warm pink, vivid enough to provide a true ‘pop’ without delivering instant clown cheeks.  If you’re particularly fair, I’d recommend reaching for something like a stippling brush to apply Paradisio Pink with… it does pack a punch but will be kind enough to all pale skintones if treated with a little respect.  I rescued this from my untried pile before going on holiday and whilst the brand are unfortunately no longer available to buy at Boots (which is a real damn shame because I also love the MyMix foundation), you can still purchase online from myfacecosmetics.com or at the new BeautyMART retail space in Harvey Nichols.

MyFace Cosmetics R&B Rouge Blusher in Paradisio Pink is priced at £14.99 – yeah, I’m sure that price has JUMPED from what it used to be *sad face*.

What’s your favourite “pop of pink” blush?

I don’t have quite the owl fascination that I know many people share but I can’t fail to appreciate a pretty design when I see one and this owl-inspired eyeshadow set is sure to get many of you hooting (groan – sorry).

The eyeshadow palette from the M&S Limited Collection features five neutral shades, and one flash of bold colour in the form of a jewel-toned blue.  All shades are shimmery, but is it a case of style over content when it comes to usability and value for money?  Or should you be owl over it before it flies from the shelves? (sorry, SORRY!)

The packaging is lovely, a substantial cardboard design reminiscent of many popular palettes featuring some extremely cute owl motifs on the front.  There’s no obvious mention of M&S as a brand, the packaging alludes simply to the Limited Collection rather than the shop where you buy your comfiest knickers.

Under the lid sits a generous, distortion-free mirror and six eyeshadow pans, each featuring a cut-out owl design.  These cutouts prove to be a little tricky when it comes to accessing the eyeshadow and I imagine that the sharp edges will begin to look fairly worn shortly after the initial use.  The palette comes complete with a sponge applicator… an actual brush wouldn’t have gone amiss when you have six shades to work from.

The textures are quite hard and sadly, I achieved little to no pigment from the top left shade, which on paper, was easily my favourite.  Taupe anyone?  The other shades deliver better results, some only marginally.  Swatches coming right up…

As previously stated, the top left shade is no bueno – don’t buy the palette because you think you’ve fallen in love with a new pretty taupe, you’ll be disappointed.  The remaining two shades on the top row are also a bit of a let-down.  They’re patchy and unpigmented for such strong colours (the swatch shows two swipes for each) – workable, but they make you graft to get a result.

The bottom row, however, tells a different tale.  All three shadows sitting across the lower half of the palette are quite delightful.  Rich in colour, smooth to apply and softly shimmering without any chunks of glitter.  The highlighter on the bottom right in particular is a very pretty warm champagne which will open up the eye area beautifully.

Ultimately?  Unless you absolutely must have it because you’re batshit crazy about owls, you don’t need this palette.  The shades are infinitely dupable in better formulas on the high street and because of the underwhelming performance of those top three shades, it just doesn’t offer value for money.

If you are a bit of an owl-obsessive, who cares what the shadows are like because let’s face it – you’re probably just going to stroke the box anyway.

M&S Limited Collection Shadow is available to buy instore and online at M&S, priced at £7.50

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Over the last couple of months, I’ve come to rely on a handful of products to see me through the times when the majority of my makeup and skincare have been inaccessible, buried deep in the depths of a cardboard box.  A mis-labeled cardboard box as it happens.  I didn’t take much time over thinking about which cosmetics I’d like to keep close by me during the moving process.  To be honest, I thought that I would have everything unpacked within the week.  Naive.

If I’d thought more about which products I was going to keep available, I probably wouldn’t have chosen this one.  I assumed that it would be far too sheer for me, too much like an insipid lipgloss.

I was wrong.

Pixi Succulent Lip Twin in Poppy, as it turns out, is a rather wearable red that doubles-up as both a lip and cheek product.  It packs a decent amount of pigment whilst remaining a long-way from being an in your face red.  The Lip Twin comprises a squeezy tube of sheer-to-medium pigmented ‘goop’, suspended in a jojoba oil-infused formula that doesn’t feel sticky.  You could wear the ‘gloss’ part alone, adding just a hint of colour to your lips – but I prefer to use the balm initially to amp-up the pigmentation.

When it comes to cheek application, I actually prefer to use the ‘gloss’ part on my cheeks, the balm delivers a little too much pigmentation for my fair skin.

The trouble with a great red lipstick will always lie with the upkeep, the most difficult colour to maintain and once it starts looking bad, it lookds *really* bad.  The Pixi Succulent Lip Twin in Poppy Red makes a great multi-tasking casual red to tote around in your handbag, making on-the-go maintenance a doddle, which is just as well because longevity (at around 2/3 hours) isn’t its strong point.

Pixi Succulent Lip Twin in Poppy Red is available to buy online at pixibeauty.co.uk, priced at £12.00

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