A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

Another mini splurge from last week!  I know you’ve seen these 100 times now, sorry!

I only bought two things from the range though, aren’t I good?

I was tempted by the chunky lip pencils and the LE eyeshadow trio too (gold,blue,red one)… but I resisted!

At £6 each, I think these blushes are brilliant value for money and there are some lovely shades available.

Flush is a warm pink… I would say Guava, but I keep going on about Guava shades… *whispers* Guava.

Butterscotch is a natural neutral shade… it’s warm without being orange… lovely!

This is heavily swatched and unblended.

My favourite thing about these blushes is the finish… they’re cream to powder and they blend soooooooo smoothly.  I’m crap at blending and I can blend these with my eyes closed.  They’re completely forgiving to makeup incompetence.

I really hope that Topshop bring out some more shades in the blushers… is there a cool-toned pink in the range? I don’t remember seeing one and I want one!

If you don’t have a Topshop that stocks the range nearby, you can purchase online. Prices start from £4.

Straight ones, short ones, long ones, curly ones.  Pubes Eyelashes, they’re the business.

They’re the shields that protect our precious eyes from debris every second of the day, they’re sensitive enough to let us know when that mascara wand is getting perilously close to our eyeballs and trigger the reflex that clamps our eyes shut just before we stupidly poke ourselves with it.

The problem with eyelashes though?  They’re just not long enough.

Horses have fab eyelashes, have you ever noticed?  Straight as a poker… you’d need to put the Shu Uemura’s to work… but still, mega lashes.

I was contacted by the PR for Trish McEvoy who are going to love the fact that my feature about their lash enhancer has already managed to mention pubes and horses when we’re barely 100 words in… but nevermind…

Where was I?

Oh yes, nice PR lady said “Hello!” and “Would you like to try our new Lash Enhancer?”.

“Hmmm” said I… “I’m already using some lash enhancing stuff that I bought, but if you don’t mind a potential guest reviewer I have just the person!”

Meet my cousin… A.

I don’t like this before picture… she’s not as good at taking photos as me.  She says she has some more, so if and when she emails me them… I shall add them.  But this will do for now.

She’s desperate for longer lashes and infact… this photo is the first time I’ve seen her for ages where she isn’t sporting either extensions or a pair of falsies.

We’re gonna give it a couple of months and see how she gets on with the Trish McEvoy Lash Enhancer.

This stuff isn’t cheap by the way… around £89 for 4 months supply.  I hope she doesn’t drop it down the loo or something stupid like that.

Let me give you the rest of the blurb:

Lashes lose fullness due to day-to-day wear-and-tear, makeup removal, eyerubbing, and the aging process. Using highly potent SymPeptides™ and an abundance of powerful proteins, vitamins, and moisturizing ingredients, Lash Enhancer helps condition, hydrate, strengthen, and nourish lashes to help them withstand the mechanical, natural and environmental aggressors as well as aging process that may shorten their life.

A single nightly application of Lash Enhancer Nighttime Conditioning Treatment will promote the stronger, fuller, healthier lashes of your dreams. In just 2 weeks of daily use can you experience as much as a 25% increase in volume. A few quick seconds each night will put you on the road to fuller lashes.

So… fundamentally this stuff is different from the more pharmaceutical lash enhancing treatments.  Most importantly, you can apply this stuff without fear of your eyes changing colour or growing a second head.  Which is always reassuring.

The packaging is sleek, sexy and heavyweight…

A nice precision applicator so you don’t waste too much product during application and deliver the good stuff right to where it’s needed.

I’m excited!  I like these kind of trials… I like tangible results!

Fingers crossed for A that Trish McEvoy’s Lash Enhancer can turn those puny lashes into floor sweepers!  Stay tuned!

Set for a June UK release, here’s a sneak peek of the new Revlon Colorburst lipstick range.  Beautifully packaged in a sleek, quilted tube… Revlon Colorburst is a good-looking range!

12 Shades are set for UK release ranging from a deep vampy plum through to natural nude shades… I believe the US has 20 available, so we’re short a few!

The formula is creamy, smooth and pigmented with various finishes including cremes, shimmers and all out frosts.

Despite packing a vibrant punch of colour, the lipsticks feel extremely lightweight and easy to wear.  I’ve found them fairly… no I’m not using the term “moisturising”, ‘cos I’ve never found a lipstick GIVE moisture… but some steal more moisture than others, and these aren’t too drying at all.

Check out the REVLON embossing on the bullet!

Finally, some swatches…

Revlon Colorburst Lipsticks are set for a UK release of 2nd June, retailing at £7.99 each.

Any of the shades calling out to you?

Truly excited by this…

It’s gorgeous no?  I dug it out of my goody bag that I was given at the Sleek MakeUP blogger event this week.

I’m loving the new Sleek i-Divine cardboard sleeves… not so much the coloured cases, but the sleeves are a total win for me!

Visible from outer space.

It’s a bright palette… I personally wouldn’t wear these as eyeshadows… but I’d buy it anyway, ‘cos these are gonna make some cracking Summer eyeliners.  I’ve already worn both blues blended tightly along the lashline… fabulous!

Like the Bohemian palette before it, the Sleek Circus palette contains a mixture of shimmer and matte shades.  Mostly heavily pigmented (with 2 exceptions) this is an exciting selection.  It’s exciting because it’s pushing the boundaries of my comfort zone… without going too far.  It’s not the acid palette… I couldn’t wear that one.  This, I can work with… it’ll spice things up nicely!

Here’s a quick colour description of the shades…

1. Guava Pink (Matte)
2. Purple (Shimmer)
3. True ‘shrimpy’ Pink (Matte)
4. White (Matte)
5. Bright Yellow (Matte)
6. Fuschia (Slight Shimmer)
7. Black (Matte)
8. Greyed Lilac (Matte)
9. Chartreuse (Shimmer)
10. Azure Blue (Matte)
11. Midnight Blue (Shimmer)
12. Orange (Matte)

They will be getting named in due course by one of the lucky bloggers who won the opportunity at the event!

4 & 8 are crapola.  Heavily swatched, I’m just not getting any colour payoff from them dry or wet.  They’re write-offs unless you have incredible patience.  I’m not bothered about the white, but it’s a shame that the lilac is so disappointing… it’s an interesting shade.

Stand out shades for me are: 1, 2, 5, 9, 10 and 11.

Infact, I’d buy the palette for 11 alone.  It’s perfection.

The Sleek Circus Palette will be released in June, what do you guys think?  Impatient or Indifferent?

Listen up, this is exciting stuff!

One lucky person could win the job of a lifetime…and a prize package worth up to £50k!

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Are you a Social Media superstar?  Have what it takes to be a marketing genius?

Whatchu on About?

Simple are looking for an online spokesperson and marketer to join their team.  And it could be YOU!

Simple, the UK’s No. 1 Facial Skincare brand, are inviting people across the country to promote themselves to gain support and crucial votes – similar to any election campaign – as a stepping stone to secure a place at Beauty Boot Camp.

Group Marketing Director for Simple, Alex Pike, said:

“It’s really important for Simple to own online marketing. We don’t want to hire someone the conventional way, as we don’t want them to be constrained by text-book theories. We have developed this unique recruitment process to give applicants the chance to showcase their flair and creativity – which proves they have a natural aptitude and passion for marketing – but means qualifications are not necessary.

This is a real opportunity for someone who has no marketing qualifications to follow a life-long ambition into a dream role or change their current career.

We’ll be looking for someone who really embodies the brand – is down-to-earth, honest and confident, and believes in natural beauty.”

Think you’ve got what it takes to be a Simple Star?

Log on to the Simple website and answer some questions explaining why you think you should be the person selected to represent the Simple brand.  Don’t forget to submit a video or photo of yourself.

Entry opens on 4th May and closes on 3rd September 2010.

The 50 applicants with the most votes will be selected to go through to regional heats, with the final 10 being sent to a beauty bootcamp where you will be put through your paces by a judging panel.  Winners will be announced in October.

Why don’t these Body Shop Eye Shadows get more love?  I’ve collected a beautiful array of neutral shades over the last few years (yes, years… hygiene freaks – bite me).

I don’t think I’ve ever paid full price (£8) for one though…. I usually pick them up off eBay or when they’re in the sale on the Body Shop website, which… btw…. has some of the best sales and discount codes of any beauty website.

You get 1.4g of product for your money and the shadows come in either matte or shimmer finish.  The shimmer ones are just beautiful…. they remind me of the MAC Veluxe Pearl finish, heavily pigmented and smooth like butter.

Next time you’re passing your local Body Shop, go check out #07 and come back and tell me it’s not gorgeous!

What underrated products would you happily sing the praises of?

The £5 off No7 and R&M Boots till spits are making an appearance again!

Get the the voucher instore from Wednesday 21st April until Tuesday 18th May.  The voucher will remain valid until Sunday 23rd May.

It’s less than a month since the last set of vouchers expired!  Boots must know a good marketing strategy when they see one!

If you’re not sure what to spend your voucher on, there are some ideas in this post:

How Do You Spend Yours?

Feel free to add some more ideas if you spot any great buys!

Marian Newman is an acclaimed session manicurist of many years standing and has worked with a ton of legendary photographers, models and celebrities.  She was the first UK nail technician to work on the top level fashion shows and her work continued in this year’s London Fashion Week when she demonstrated some on trend looks with Ruby & Millie as her polish of choice.

I’m loving these custom polish mixes for the catwalks and ‘Black Tulip’ is no exception:

The Look:
Black Tulip is for strong, confident ‘grown up’ women.  Longer and perfectly oval glamorous nails matching a strong  lip.  The deepest purple; reading black but with a glimmer of luscious purple in the light.

Ruby & Millie Nail Color:
Mix Nail Color Blue 620C and Nail Color Purple 550C – Price: £9.50 each

Marian’s Top Tip:
“The Black Tulip is a deep ‘midnight’ with just a hint of purple. The purple only appears in certain lights.  The key to this looking so fabulous is a smooth nail, smooth finish and a super glossy top coat. It should look almost PVC.”

I can totally imagine this for AW/10… purples are usually hot anyway but it’s lovely to see such a vampy colour wearing well on longer nails.

Problem is, I’m far too lazy to franken polishes… so Ruby & Millie need to get their bums in gear and just make sure it’s released at Boots in time for my Christmas Dinner.

Ringing up the till at £3.99, one of Sleek MakeUP‘s latest product releases is the Kajal.  A deeply pigmented eyeliner made with smudgy smoky looks in mind.

Based on the traditional Southern Asian kohl… Sleek MakeUP’s kajal is a much waxier, crayony affair.  It’s an eyeliner that never needs sharpening and is ready to go with a quick twist of the tube.  Compared to PURE’s now discontinued version, I find Sleek MakeUP’s version a little waxier… not quite so soft to apply but perhaps a touch more waterproof as a result.

I was sent the version in matte Black (Nocturnal).  The Kajal is also available in purple (Odyssey).

As already mentioned, the eyeliner twists up to reveal it’s full length.  It tapers to a smooth point, which is great for applying along the waterline and depending on how you angle the eyeliner during application… you can achieve different effects and amounts of ‘smokiness’.

The swatch on the left shows the Kajal applied directly from the tube, whilst on the right… I’ve smudged the line.  It smudges readily and thus I would only recommend this eyeliner for when precision is not important.  I don’t have particularly watery eyes and found that the Kajal remained happily on my waterline for many hours.

If you’re wanting something soft, easy to apply and richly pigmented for a ‘rock chick’ look (I hate that expression)… then beat your way down to your local Superdrug and pick one of these babies up!

I hear that the new Superdrug MUA £1 range *should* be landing in around 80 of Superdrug’s brick and mortar stores on Thursday, I’m not sure which ones will be getting stock… but if you’re passing, pop in and let me know if yours is one of the lucky ones!

Mine doesn’t even have a Sleek MakeUP stand, so I’m not gonna hold my breath!

Also… the entire MUA range will be available to purchase online from Superdrug.com, perhaps this means that they will start adding the full ranges from other brands to the website… I live in hope!

I haven’t got a side by side swatch comparison and I’m not claiming this dupe discovery as my own (a quick Google search threw this up) but it’s been said that Revlon Colorburst Lipstick in Soft Rose is a colour dupe for Chanel’s Rouge Coco in Mademoiselle.

Is it?

It’s pretty darn close!

I’ve got a full lip swatch post coming soon(ish) of all the new Revlon Colorburst shades… I’ll try and get it live by the end of the week.  I don’t believe the Colorbursts are out in the UK yet… so cool your heels lovely ladies, they’re a-coming!

What d’ya think?  Close enough?

…gloop, gloop, gloop.

After a while (not even that long in all honesty), the quick-drying saviour that is Seche Vite starts to lose it’s magic.  The formula thickens, goes stringy, straggly and gloopy.  Quite literally, it becomes unusable and you end up turning the air blue after it ruins the manicure you’ve just spent the last 40 minutes applying.

There is a solution, although it comes at the cost of having to buy another product.

Enter Seche Restore…

Seche Restore is a thinner designed to breathe life back into not only your bottle of Seche Vite, but other polishes that thicken over time.

Taking the dropper, pull some of the thinner into the chamber and simply drip about 6 drops into your bottle of Seche Vite.  How many drops of thinner you need to add will depend entirely on how gloopy your Seche Vite has gotten.  I needed to add quite a few… (more like 14/15 overall).

The thinner liquid will kinda sit on top of the Seche Vite, so you need to take the bottle and gently roll it between your fingers, encouraging the thinner to mix with evenly through the top coat.

And you’re done!  Check consistency until it’s as you remembered it.  If it still seems gloopy… add a bit more!

Now… the *other* trouble with Seche Vite…

Why is the brush so darn stumpy and what am I supposed to do when the level goes below it huh? huh?

I bought my bottle of Seche Restore on eBay and paid around £8 for it inc. postage.  I’d rather not have to… but the bottle will last me a hell of a long time and I’m sure I’ll put it to other good polish-restoring uses aswell… now where did I put those gloopy Ciates?