A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

I received my VERY exciting Sugarpill Cosmetics order last week, and I wanted to share the beautifully presented packaging with you…

Free with every order, check out the cute decal-type sticker!

The artwork on these boxes is simply beautiful.   It’s abundantly clear that a huge amount of personality has gone into this new cosmetic venture.  Thoroughly charming and there’s no way I’m ditching the packaging to save some space in my makeup drawers!

The base of my two Chroma Lust eyeshadows (Starling and Goldilux)…  I love the adorable little bird and bow on each sticker, cute touches such as these really make me appreciate the efforts involved.  It’s also nice to note the ‘made in California’ blurb and a full list of ingredients.

The lid design has been printed directly onto the plastic and not onto a sticker.

I posted a FOTD last week, and have swatched them alongside some Urban Decay Alice in Wonderland shades to give you a hopefully useful and ‘current’ comparison.

I’ve been struggling a bit with being poorly this week (both me and the baby) so in response to a couple of naggy (but thoroughly lovely) emails.  I’m trying to get the swatch post up for tomorrow!

Just a quickie to show-off my lovely new Sugarpill loose eyeshadows (proper review and swatches coming VERY soon!)

Eyes:
Sugarpill Cosmetics in Starling on the lid and lower lashline (dry)
Sugarpill Cosmetics in Goldilux in the crease and inner corner (dry)

Cheeks:
NARS blush in Angelika

Lips:
Lanolips 101 Ointment
OCC Lip Tar in Pageant

In March 1976, the late Dame Anita Roddick founded The Body Shop in Littlehampton – a small seaside town on the South coast of England.  Fast forward 34 years to the present day and The Body Shop now boasts the second largest cosmetic franchise in the world.

I went along to The Westbury Hotel in Mayfair last week to hear a presentation on behalf of The Body Shop who are currently celebrating 22 years of community trade across the globe.  From India to Namibia, Guatemala to Samoa the world is their garden and as a company, they want us to know that they’re taking measures to protect it and the lives it supports.

It’s currently Fairtrade Fortnight (22nd Feb – 7th Mar) and The Body Shop were keen to highlight and explain exactly what Community Trade (CT) means and what it involves.

4 of the 6000 women that make up the Eudafano Women’s Cooperative (EWC) in Namibia.  The EWC supplies  The Body Shop wih Marula Oil (used in nearly all their cosmetics).

Community Trade works along the same principles as Fair Trade, but was established back in 1987 before the Fair Trade mark was available or had indeed become fashionable.  From what I understood, the main difference is that the foundations of fair trade are laid much deeper in the CT program and work to support the producer’s whole community, not just the producers themselves.  The Body Shop also made it clear that they never enter CT relationships for the short term and only commit to sustainable trading relationships that help affect real social change.

Click play on the video below to learn more about The Body Shop’s involvement with Community Trade:

Two of The Body Shop’s major CT suppliers were in attendance and it was a rare and interesting opportunity to hear how their involvement with The Body Shop affects the communities and co-operatives they represent.  It became clear very quickly that the democratic relationship between the ‘industries’ was a precious one to both parties.

Whilst I was sitting there, the antagonist in me kept thinking “What do The Body Shop get out of these CT arrangements when it means they have to pay more for their ingredients?”.  Thankfully, Christina from The Body Shop didn’t shy away from that subject and explained that it is simply expected of them to uphold the core values that, as a company, they’ve always claimed to represent.  Community Trade allows them to continue their commitments to trading with a conscience whilst benefiting from the (often ancient) knowledge of real experts and assured quality products.

I’m willing to admit that in the past, I’ve accused The Body Shop products of being overpriced and in comparison to products I can buy in other high street stores, they are.  I still may only be able to afford to treat myself to my Olive Glossing Shampoo & Conditioner when I’m feeling flush, but I will now hand over my money with a degree of contentment.  It’s good to know that every purchase made contributes to making a real and sustained difference to communities.  Communities that without the CT backing by The Body Shop would be powerless to break into global markets or risk plundering by unethical industry.

I was recently sent two products from Sleek Makeup‘s range, focusing on a couple of shades that are suited to this year’s Spring trend.

On the left we have the Dip It in Pastel Green and on the right, an Eye Dust in Livid Lilac.

I’m a beauty addict with eclectic tastes and try not to discriminate based on price or accessibility of products.  So, I approach this review with a fully open mind.  Even when I held the Dip It pot in my fingers, twirling it…. marvelling at how incredibly cheap Sleek had managed to make it look.

The eye dust packaging doesn’t fare much better.  I mean, they’re both obviously plastic, but they’re SO lightweight I’m surprised that they’re not defying the rules of gravity.

Having said that, I ultimately only really care about how it looks if I’m gonna be seen in public with it (shallow soul that I am), how about the actual contents?

How ABOUT those contents…

Well, there they are.  In all their ‘spilled across my new desk cos the sifter fell out when I tapped the bottom of the pot’ glory.  You can only imagine how much I was loving that purple Eye Dust at this point.

When I grumbled about my little dust-spilling incident on Twitter, it turned out that I wasn’t the only one who had nearly ended up with a lapful of Livid Lilac.  Something for Sleek Makeup to investigate perhaps?

Anyway, the colour is pretty… it’s more vivid in the pot than it is swatched, a good thing seeing as it’s called ‘Livid Lilac’ afterall and looks thoroughly ‘Royal Purple’ in the container.

The top swatch shows the Dip It liner in Pastel Green.  It’s an opaque mint, and really does look like a fabulous shade for Spring.  Livid Lilac is far softer once swatched (dry) and slightly metallic.  I was really impressed with the choices for this season’s shades.

Application of the Dip It was a bit tricky.  The wand and narrow tip allowed for a precise sweep across the eye lid, but as I was drawing the line, I found that the applicator dragged at the pigmentation leaving the line of colour less pigmented in the centre than at the edges.  To be fair, nothing that a second coat didn’t remedy.  The liner dried almost instantly without transferring to the hooded part of my eyelids.

I had no issues applying the Eye Dust, it blended smoothly and the colour depth was nicely buildable.

Here’s a FOTD, don’t laugh… the shades are a bit bright for me, but I enjoyed playing!

Unfortunately, that’s where the fun ended, 20 minutes later, I looked in the mirror and saw that the eyeliner had begun to flake…

Bits of Dip It kept getting caught in my eyelashes, so I ended up using an eyeshadow brush to work back and forward until I’d dislodged all the flakes.  I wasn’t left with much.

Fast forward to bed-time and my cleansing routine.  I cleansed with my ever faithful cleansing oil and a blob of Cetaphil to finish, towelled my face dry and then shrieked at the mirror when I saw a matching pair of pink-dyed eyelids looking back at me.  I would have photographed them for the comedy value, but it was kinda late and I’m kinda lazy so you’ll just have to use your imagination instead.

On the plus side, it showed that my sense of symmetry has improved.  Those dyed patches were perfect.

Overall, I was disappointed at the quality of the 2 products I was sent by Sleek Makeup which is a shame, because in the past I’ve been mostly impressed (how ’bout them 12 pan palettes eh?).

Sleek Makeup products are available from selected Superdrug stores, the Eye Dusts and Dip Its both retail for £2.99 each.

…is my hair dye.

I’ve been using Superdrug’s Colour Performance for the best part of 5 years and simply haven’t found anything better for the price.

It’s a permanent dye which is gentle on my sensitive scalp.  A few others that I’ve used in the past *cough Excellence Creme cough Nutrisse* have irritated and left my scalp sore despite patch tests.  Colour Performance leaves me with no irritation at all.

I generally either plump for the shade shown (3:0 – Natural Rich Darkest Brown) which is a very dark brown or (4:0 – Natural Dark Brown).

One of the reasons I give these hair dyes so much love is because the browns are ashy in tone.  Red or mahogony based browns tend to clash with the pink tones in my skin, so I’m happier with these ashier shades which are surprisingly hard to find on the high street.

Dying my hair is a chore I hate the thought of, but once I’m done… I’m always left wondering why I left it so long.  This dye is foolproof and has consistently returned great results for me *whispers* even over my dodgy grey roots… I’ve unfortunately been going grey since I was 19 *sniff*.

And then there’s the price… I usually buy 2 of these at a time when they’re on offer. 2 for £5.  I think individually, they’re around £3.20.  Amazing.

I actually had a mini panic attack when I saw these new packs on the shelf:

Colour Radiance 10. I emailed Superdrug, worried that it meant they were discontinuing my beloved Colour Performance.  “Of course not”, was the reply… “they’re very popular!” Phew!

Have you ever tried Superdrug Colour Performance or Superdrug Colour Radiance 10?

For someone who can’t be bothered to find the time to moisturise… I’m doing an awful lot of moisturising recently.

My skin is DRY DRY DRY… and nothing is making it better.  Not even tried and tested solutions that have kept my skin in good condition over the years.  Infact, not even my trusty body oils are providing long-term relief.

I re-discovered this Lula Bloom Body Butter in the parcel that housed the GOSH smoky eyes palette I was sent by Superdrug PR.  I was in two minds about it, remember?  I hope this fares better.  I have a bit of a backlog I need to work through…

I wasn’t gonna crack it open, ‘cos it looks like one of those all style-no substance products doesn’t it?  Plus I wasn’t sure if it was aimed at teenage skin… it just has that look…  I was gonna give it to a younger family member, except I forgot.

After having a quick look at the ingredients and noticing that one of my favourite moisturising bases (Cocoa Butter) is right up there near the top of the list, I decided that I’d give it a go.

Lula Bloom Body Butter (stupid name) is housed in a satisfyingly heavy glass jar.  This won’t appeal to half of you, but I’m not wanting to carry it about anywhere other than to and from my bathroom shelf so I’m not bothered.  I like it.  I’ve already mentioned that the artwork on the packaging gives me the impression that this is aimed at a younger audience, but the price tag doesn’t really match those impressions.

£6.99 for 250ml.  That’s quite pricey.  I know as a teenager I wouldn’t have been able to afford something like this.  I had more important things like 20 Lambert & Butler and 3 litres of White Lightning to spend my pocket money on.

Ignoring my misspent youth for a moment, I was truly surprised by how creamy and smooth the texture proved to be.  The consistency is very thick and a small amount spreads a long way.  I can see a pot of this easily lasting me at least a month of daily use.  Yet, despite being thick, it feels quite light once it’s on the skin.  A winning combination.

The scent is overpowering… it’s nice, but it’s too “in your face” for me.  Again, it makes me think that the product is aimed at a younger audience.  It’s fruity, tropical… everything that a 14yr old girl would want to saturate herself with.  It reminds me of my younger self stood at The BodyShop’s perfume oil carousel display.  God, I’d come out of that store with a dewberry/fuzzy peach induced headache.

Overall, I really like the product… but it suffers from some kind of Body Butter schizophrenia.  It’s a top quality moisturisier, leaving my skin soft and conditioned for many hours… but it’s as if some prat in the development team (probably a bloke) has come along and ruined the delicate balance by chucking half a ton of tropical pot pourri in the mixing vat.  What gives Lula Bloom?

It needs to either ditch the overpowering smell and horrible artwork…. or shave about £3 off the price.  Have you tried this?  Am I too harsh?

I’ll tell you what though… if you happen to know a 12-17yr old you fancy treating… *points at the body butter* you wouldn’t go wrong with this.

Superdrug has a whole Lula Bloom range going (the body scrub is decent too! Lurid pink packaging though…).  Check out the range on the website here

Transformulas tagline reads: Beauty without Surgery.

It’s an ethos that stands out.  It packs a punch… but it better make sure it can deliver the results.

I was sent a couple of Transformula’s products to try and the one that piqued my curiosity the most was their Lip Volume.

I’ve tried many lip-plumping products before, and I used to favour Pout’s Lip Plump before they selfishly went out of business.   These products are mostly based on the same concept.  The Tingle.

The Tingle is an odd thing, some women can’t abide it… other’s kinda like it (kinky).  I actually quite like it… the only one I couldn’t stand was a Boots Time Delay one which had me wiping tears from my eyes and begging Mr. L to point his desk fan at my face.

As fellow beauty addicts, I know you won’t look at me with a mixture of concern and bewilderment when I tell you that my lips have been pissing me off all winter.  You’ll know what I mean.  For you, it may be your skin, your oily eyelids, that blackhead that won’t shift from the end of your nose… Regardless, most women have something on their face that’s troubling them.  For me, this winter… it’s been my lips.  The furrows that map their contours ensure that all lipsticks look like crap on me.  I’ve been resigned to using only the glossiest lippies I have in my collection.  Mattes? Only if I want to look like I’ve been smoking 60-a-day for the past 45 years.

Would Transformulas Lip Volume come to my rescue?

Hmmm… Increase your lip size without needles…

To be fair, my bottom lip is the size of China… it’s hereditary.  My top lip doesn’t match for which I am actually fairly thankful, for if it did I’d surely be able to wipe out whole continents with a lip smack.  So increasing size is not something I’m really looking for… what I want is less fine lines, a smoother palette for lipstick.  That’s not a huge amount to ask when some people really do want the product to deliver trout pouts is it?

Now, the thing I need to make clear about Transformulas Lip Volume is that it claims not be a simple lip plumper.  It promises to deliver cosmeceutical results… semi-permanent results.  It boldly claims to stimulate natural collagen to increase the lip shape within 30 days.

Opening the product, I felt excited!  It reminded me of that scene in “Death Becomes Her” when they’re unveiling that vial containing the secrets to immortality…

You get 10ml of product, which by their reckoning should last you about 6 weeks of daily use.  As I said, I don’t want bigger lips, so apologies if you feel short-changed by my review but I’m not really testing for the claims of increased lip size.  I wanna use this as a lip plumper… but what I am hoping, is that after using it 3 times a day for a prolonged period, I will notice an effect that works beyond that of much cheaper alternatives.  Make sense?

The applicator is a standard doe-foot affair and seems to grab onto just the right amount of product per application.  The product is really nice, it’s non-sticky… smooth to apply, it literally glides on and doesn’t make your lips feel as if they’ve been coated with gunk.

Then comes The Tingle.  It’s niiiiiice, just right.  Not too strong but it’s enough to let you know “Oh hai! I’m here to irritate your lips with a peppermint blast”.  I’m assuming that the peppermint oil it contains is what creates the initial effect of plumping, but that the other (more sciencey ingredients) are what helps to achieve a more semi-permanent result.

As a temporary plumper, I’m liking it a lot… It has the balance just right.  I also appreciate the texture qualities that I mentioned before and the fact that I can still feel it working when I wear it ontop of lipstick.  Oh, I also like the sheen it gives my lips and the fact that it doesn’t appear to dry them out.  If I had noticed any dryness, it would have been in the bin in a flash.

Does it have any more lasting effects after using it for the last 3 weeks?  Well…  I’m pleased to report that my lips seem to be smoother.  The canvas for lipsticks is more velvety and it feels as though I don’t have to ‘drag’ my lipsticks over my lips quite so much.

I know I said that I wasn’t testing for increased lip-size, and that I’ve only used it for 3 weeks so far… but I have to say, I haven’t noticed any increase in my lip size… but perhaps it needs longer testing?

Anyway, would I buy this again?  I would.  But only if I felt that my lips were in trouble yano?  I’d buy it as a treatment rather than an ongoing concern.  It’s not cheap.  10ml of product will set you back £25.50 on their website.  Although, you’d be a fool to pay that.  Half Price Perfumes has it in stock for £7.99 if you wanted to give it a go yourself.

Ruby & Millie make some decent brushes at reasonable prices, and this one is my favourite.  It’s great for gel eyeliners and brow powders… firm but supple.

The Ruby & Millie I-Define brush is priced at £6.00 in Boots, but is currently available for a recession-busting £1.00 with a No7/Ruby & Millie till spit*.

I’ve bought a couple since the offer’s been on and plan on getting some more of the Boots No7 Eyeshadow brushes which I enjoy using alongside my MAC 239.

The Boots No7 Eyeshadow brush is priced at £5.75 rendering it a 75p super-bargain with a till spit.  Only larger stores appear to carry these brushes though.  You can usually find them on the bottom shelf of the No7 stand (rather than amongst the general makeup brushes) housed in cardboard boxes.

*till spit = a voucher automatically printed by the till when you spend over £5 in a transaction.  I’m a geek and purposefully split my transactions into roughly £5 amounts to maximize my till spits *blush*

Till spits are valid until the 31st January, so get shopping!

Have you tried either of these brushes?  Do you recommend any other ’till spit’ bargains?

This has been on my hitlist for a little while, and was confirmed to me as a must have by GossMakeupArtist’s post on brushes here.  I use a lot of cream foundation in the winter and have struggled to find a brush that I *love* to use with my foundations.

Any of you lovelies own one of these or any other Shu brushes? At $39 dollars, this brush isn’t cheap… but we all know that sometimes it’s worth paying more for good quality brushes right?  What brushes do you use for cream foundations?

I’ve been waiting to write this review for a long time, I’ve owned the SK-II Facial Treatment Cleansing Oil since the summer, but was being a good girl and using up my Shiseido Perfect Oil before commencing a new product!

The SK-II Cleansing Oil is another string to the bow of the Japanese Skincare Line SK-II (owned by Procter & Gamble) – the USP of SK-II is a single “anti-aging” ingredient called Pitera which they claim works to allow the skin to rejuvenate more effectively.

For your money (and rather a lot of it, I might add) – you get 250ml of oil, which, thankfully… is a generous sized bottle.  The packaging itself is plastic but at a glance looks like frosted glass.  I prefer the fact that it’s plastic, which allows for safer transportation.

They say:

This delicate oil with Wild Rose Extract and Pitera emulsifies with water and ‘Lifts and Locks’ onto hidden sebum and impurities. The ‘Lift and Lock’ formulation allows oil to transform with water to gently lift away make-up and impurities from the skin. Leaves it soft and fresh.

I never notice any discernible scent when using this (unlike the NUDE Cleansing oil – review to come soon!).  It’s a clear liquid of medium consistency which spreads quite easily over my face.  It’s lighter than the DHC Deep Cleansing Oil but heavier than my Shiseido Perfect Oil.  A happy medium!

I’ve never had to use more than 2 pumps, 1 pump will suffice if I’m not wearing mascara.

As you can see from the above list, mineral oil is the central ingredient… which is a shame, and at over £30 a bottle, I’m disappointed to see that they’re using such a cheap filler that is widely known to cause skin congestion thanks to it’s pore-clogging abilities.  Did you know that mineral oil is a byproduct of the distillation of gasoline from crude oil and that it actually costs more to dispose of it than it does to purchase it?  Now, I’m no Organic junkie… sometimes, chemicals just work and I admit to being endlessly suspicious that Organic products in general don’t work as effectively as their chemical-laden alternatives… but in this case, I’d rather my £32 bottle of cleansing oil wasn’t full of one of the cheapest substances on earth.

But, how does it clean?

It cleans well… It removes all mascaras (inc. waterproof) and leaves my face feeling fresh and (as promised) soft.  As with most cleansing oils… I do however, find it a little drying with continued use.  It also doesn’t emulsify as well as my DHC Deep Cleansing Oil, leaving a slightly oily residue behind untl I’ve followed up with another cleanser (which I always do anyway).

This puts it in the same category as the Shiseido Perfect Oil… but let’s remember… gram for gram (or ml for ml) the Shiseido would work out less than half the price of the SK-II for the same quantity.  The DHC Deep Cleansing Oil also works out cheaper, and thus rendering it still my #1 choice for cleansing oils.

I mustn’t forget the Pitera… and if I were comparing anti-aging night creams, I’d have a harder time eliminating it as a reason for purchasing.. but to be honest, I want my cleansing oil to clean – I’m not fussed about it’s anti-aging, skin regenerating properties.  I’ll save those concerns (and money) for my moisturiser.

You can purchase the SK-II line from Harrods, both in store and online.

I was eavesdropping on Twitter (as you do) and overheardread VexintheCity tell Cosmetic-Candy that Revlon Pink Pout was a reasonable dupe for MAC Angel.

“No it isn’t!” thinks I… “They’re completely different!”

So off I rush immediately to test out this theory! (as you do)

Left-Right: Pink Pout, Angel

I’m serving up my humble pie at this point….

They are simillar aren’t they?

So I swatch…

*sigh* I don’t like being wrong…

Dupe Alert!

but then… I apply…

L-R: Pink Pout, Angel

Woah there Nelly!  Pink Pout is… well… pink.  MAC Angel is distinctly beige-toned on my lips.

How on earth?

So there ya go.  Revlon’s Pink Pout is a definite dupe for MAC Angel (albeit a matte one) on everybody in the entire universe…

…except for me.

Now, what I want is a Revlon Pink Pout dupe that isn’t a moisture sucking matte… um… don’t say MAC Angel 😉

…with Pass The Christmas Parcel from The Body Shop!

Click the image above to be taken to the site where you can claim your voucher.

After you’ve saved yourself some money, make yourself uber popular by sending the link on to your friends!

You can redeem online or in store, I got a 20% off voucher and Mr. L nabbed himself a 15% off voucher.  That 30% voucher eludes us this time, can you do better?  Find out now.