A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned it once or twice already but did you know I turned 30 yesterday? 😉

I had a marvy day and despite spending the entire day looking rather, well… makeup-less, I did put some effort into making my nails as bling-tastic as possible!  Wanna see?

What with it being in focus n’ all, you don’t really get the true OMGGLITTERYGOODNESS effect.  But trust me, it was super blinging!

I used two polishes… one was an Urban Decay oldie from my youth (ok, 5 years ago) called Cult and the other was my brand new Color Club spangly holographic top coat called Starry Temptress.

Do you have any favourite combos for the ultimate in nail bling?

I know a few of you have been keen to hear about how I fared with my trial of Urban Decay’s Lush Lash System*.  I started the trial back in February and finished up the tube a few weeks ago.

The system promises lashes that are…

– 25% longer and thicker in 2 weeks
– 40% longer in 4 weeks
– 63% longer in 6 weeks

Sadly, I didn’t experience anything as impressive as those results.  Infact, I’m not really sure I experienced anything much at all.  See what you think (the top image shows the BEFORE, the bottom image is AFTER using the system for 8 weeks).

I think I see more fullness to my lashline… but no increase in length.  Or at least, nothing worth shouting about.  (On a side note, damn… I think I’m in love with my eye cream LOL!)

As a peptide-based lash growth system, it works on the premise of protecting the lashes you already have and strengthening new ones coming through, thereby increasing their life cycle.  This is probably why I’m seeing a slight increase in volume as the lashes that would have normally fallen out are still clinging on thanks to the fortification.

At £28 it’s an affordable alternative to the more expensive systems out there which include the likes of M2Beauté, LiLash and Revitalash but I can’t help but wonder if sometimes, you really do get what you pay for.

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Urban Decay Lush Lash is priced at £28 and available to buy online from BeautyBay, LookFantastic and HQHair

* PR Sample

Be quick guys, this really might be your last chance to nab one of these beauties now that the brand have pulled out of Boots.

The Urban Decay Naked Palette is priced on the Debenhams website at £28.80, a 10% saving on the RRP of £32.00 – I’ve had a quick scoot around the web and can’t find any additional codes to bring that price lower but SHD1 still appears to work for free delivery.

Last time around, stock lasted for less than 24 hours.  Get it quick!

UK ladies, you don’t have long left to enter to win a fabulous prize…

WIN A £100 URBAN RETREAT VOUCHER PLUS A PAMPER HAMPER!

Head over to the secret page on Beautique that’s been reserved for Lipglossiping readers and answer one simple question.

Get your skates on and don’t forget that aswell as London, there’s an Urban Retreat in Manchester too!  Northern ladies – you’re not left out.  Good luck lovelies!

I’m hugely excited to be collaborating with Beautique.com for this giveaway. These guys are in my “oooh la-la don’t touch till payday” favourites folder!

Once upon a time (thanks to fat fingers)… the Beautique store link ended up in the same online shopping folder as my shortcut to WilkinsonPlus.  It was like the Sun and Moon colliding and I only just escaped with my debit card intact. 

Beautique.com have a seriously lust-worthy stock inventory that should probably come with a health warning. Or at the very least, a purse one!

Haven’t got a clue what I’m on about?  Well… listen to what they have to say about themselves (they’ll be far more eloquent than me).

Beautique.com is the sister site to Urban Retreat which is a beauty treatment paradise located in Harrods, London and Harvey Nichols, Manchester.

Beautique.com stocks hard to find, luxury brands such as Laura Mercier, Clive Christian, Connock London plus old favourites such as OPI, Daniel Sandler and Kerastase. Thanks to Beautique’s close links with the world renowned Urban Retreat, the girls behind the keyboards have access to hundreds of beauty insiders and experts and are able to bring you the best and latest beauty information and products.

Plus every new customer benefits from 10% off their first order with code welcome, so if you’re in to your luxury beauty Beautique.com is worth a click!

For a full list of treatments available at Urban Retreat click here: http://www.urbanretreat.co.uk/default.aspx?PageID=1

Told you.  Posh side of t’internet.   So what the hell are they doing getting in touch with me?

Well, Beautique have got a fan-flippin-tastic prize up for grabs and they want to offer it to one of you awesome lot!

WIN A £100 URBAN RETREAT VOUCHER PLUS A PAMPER HAMPER!

You know Urban Retreat right?  That bolthole of heavenly pampering and lavish treatments housed in Harrods, London and Harvey Nichols, Manchester?  Good, thought you did.

So… clearly, you want to win – but how?  Simple.

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Head over to the secret page on Beautique that’s been reserved for Lipglossiping readers and answer one simple question!

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I wish you the best of luck with this one my UK lovelies!

Firstly, a HUGE thank you to the wonderful Louise for tweeting me to tell me that the now Limited Edition (in the UK) Urban Decay Naked Palette was once again in stock online at Debenhams.com

But did you know that it’s also in their sale?!!

Not only that… but if you use the code PX9P on checkout, you’ll get an extra 10% off the sale price AND free delivery!

This ain’t gonna be in stock for long and I couldn’t tell you how many more opportunities there will be to get your hands on it.

I’d really appreciate an RT on this post if you’re on Twitter and you get a miute (button at the top of the post)

So pleased to finally get one, let me know if you nab one too!

I’m a bit dubious about lash lengthening products that rely on conditioning agents and peptides rather than…yano… proper ‘drugs’ to promote growth.

Ok, so on the plus side, you’ve got no risks of iris darkening or other unsavoury side-effects, but on the negative side… will it really have any effect?

Urban Decay have released Lush Lash (£28.00), a double-ended system that boasts two products enriched with peptides that work to lengthen, thicken and fortify your lashes.

O Rly.

Let’s see shall we?

It’s flippin’ tricky to get dead on accurate before/afters for this type of trial but I’ll do my best and have memorized how I was holding the camera (and where I was looking) to try and achieve the same pose in 6 weeks time.

So what can I expect according to Urban Decay’s clinical results?

Sounds good to me…

I used Latisse last year so know the kind of results I achieved from a prostaglandin-based product and will be hugely interested to see if you can achieve the same kind of results from a trusted, high street name without the side-effect risk AND at a greatly reduced price.

Wish me luck!

Urban Decay Lush Lash System is priced at £28 and available online from BeautyBay, Debenhams and LookFantastic.

This here post be ALL about the pictures…

The Packaging…

Read the rest of this entry »

Sometimes a favourite comes in an unlikely guise.  I love Urban Decay, I really do… they’re a brand that get me equally ecstatic when they get it right and just as hacked off when they screw up.  I think you have to care about a brand to experience proper emotions about what is, after all, only makeup.

So yeah, I like Urban Decay.  But I don’t generally get that excited by their lipsticks.  I was sent this one just before Christmas and because I had a Chanel to wear… this one got pushed a little further back in the queue.

Revolution is a glossy, creamy true red.  Pillar box and opaque as-you-like.  I used a lip brush but it practically painted itself on.  I can’t find fault with this product… the adorable ‘dagger’ packaging, smooth application, glossy finish (if glossy reds are your ‘thing’), and a longevity that’s competes up there with most of the other, less-creamy formulas I’ve worn so far.

I suppose, if pushed… it does have a greater risk of transfer because of the creamy formula but just do that filthy-looking finger pop trick to remedy any of that nonsense!

Urban Decay Revolution retails at £12 but I have seen it on discount websites for a lot less than that… but shhh, you didn’t hear that from me.  If you want a BOLD, creamy red… go forth and buy.

As requested, here’s a shot showing how Urban Decay’s soon-to-be-released Afterglow Cheek Tint in Quickie (the hot pink one) looks on my skin.

I’ve also applied it to my lips in the above picture.  Excuse the post threading forehead blotchiness.

I don’t like Quickie worn on the lips as much as Greedy which was infinitely more flattering and didn’t pale down my lips so much.

Both cheek tints are sheer but buildable.  To remind yourself about them, read my post on them here.

Hope you’re having a lovely weekend xx

I’m a little bit excited to be showing you these today.  I love Urban Decay, I love Blushes and I love cream blushes most of all…

They come packaged in Urban Decay’s signature purple acrylic emblazoned with a silver serpent… for sizing, they’re a hint smaller than a MAC blush… identical to a TopShop cream blush if you have one to compare.  Each pot contains 4g of product which is about standard when compared to Illamasqua, TopShop, Stila… but less than the generous 6g that MAC provides with their blushcremes.

I have two shades that I was sent to show you today:

Quickie is a vibrant, bubblegum pink that leans to the cool side.  Greedy is a plum/grape shade that is also ideal for cooler skin tones.

The first thing I noticed about these cheek tints are the vibrancy.  Both look rather intimidating in the pan, particularly Greedy which is an almost blackened grape shade.

The texture is interesting, there is a huge amount of slip and neither have that creme-to-powder feeling that you often get with cream blushes.

Quickie is shown on the left, Greedy on the right.

The best way that I can describe these is as having Illamasqua’s slip… but with Tarte’s gel-like consistency.  Another comparison would be to NARS Limited Edition multiple sticks they came out with this summer… especially in terms of the sheer, glowy finish these provide.

All in all, it’s a winning combination in terms of blending.  I would happily state that these are the easiest-to-apply cream blushes (sorry, cheek tints) that I’ve used.  They move around on the skin beautifully and don’t muddy or fade during blending.  The obvious downside to this is that they take a while to ‘set’ and until they have, they will transfer onto clothing etc if you’re not careful.

These can also be used on the lips… the texture lends itself to this well.  Feeling more like a balm when you apply, I didn’t experience any dragging or particular dryness though it’s still worth making sure that your lips are well exfoliated beforehand.  Again though, because of the extra slip… I didn’t find them particularly long-lasting when worn this way.

Out of the two shades I was sent, Quickie is punchier and more pigmented.. the above swatch shows two swipes of the shade.  Greedy is sheerer and the above swatch shows a good 4 swipes to achieve that pigmentation.  Not really a bad thing to be honest considering how intense the shade is… it would be easy to go overboard were it more pigmented I feel.

I thought it might be useful to see Greedy applied… out of the two, it’s my favourite but one that I would have probably overlooked simply because of how it appears in the pan.

Greedy gives one of those natural winter flushes of colour to my skin and also looks lovely worn on the lips (shown above).  I wanted to make sure the colour would show on camera so I’ve applied more heavily than I would normally.

I’d recommend these Urban Decay Afterglow Cheek Tints to anyone but particularly if you struggle with getting blush to look natural.  You have to work quite hard to overdo these (though I’m sure that some of us will still manage!)

I’d also say that these would be particularly suited to those of us with older or drier skin, if you’re quite oily… you may fare better with a cream-to-powder formula for increased longevity.  Alternatively, you could always powder over the top of these to ensure a good ‘set’ that will last you throughout the day.

Hey UD junkies!

Here’s a preview of some of what we can expect to see hitting our shores next Spring/Summer from Californian uber brand Urban Decay!

The 15 Year Anniversary Collection features 15 of Urban Decay’s 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencils.  Whilst Avon may have recently taken the shine off UD’s long-wear eyeliner pencil crown for me, there’s no denying that UD still do some of the most scintillating array of colours around.

The full-sized liners (which ordinarily retail for £12 each) are packaged together like this for a limited time only and will set you back an eye watering £60.  I know that mathematically, you’re getting a good deal… but £60 is £60 is £60 right?  I’m thinking that this set will have limited appeal based on that alone, which is probably just aswell because there’s a very limited quantity available.

The thing that softens that thump to the purse (for me) is the fact that I don’t actually own too many of these shades already.  I have Bourbon, Ransom and Zero… that’s it.  This is mostly due to the fact that 6 of the shades are new and exclusive to this set.  Would I have preferred this to be a mini-sized set at a lower price?  Probably…

If you’re new to Urban Decay 24/7 Liners, this would make a great investment… if you’re a collector, you’ll be all over it.  If you’ve picked up most of the UD 24/7 shades already then you’ll probably want to double check that you wouldn’t be doubling up too much before purchasing.

Shades included:

*Asphyxia – pinky iridescent purple
Baked – bold bronze
Binge – deep metallic navy blue
Bourbon – medium brown with gold sparkle
*Corrupt – dark metallic brown with silver glitter
Electric – bright aquamarine blue
*Midnight Cowboy –  beige with gold sparkle
Mildew – deep mossy green
*Perversion – blackest carbon black (blacker than Zero!)
Ransom – bright iridescent purple
Rockstar – darkest eggplant
Stash – dark olive with gold sparkle
*Stray Dog – shimmery brown taupe
*Uzi – gunmetal grey with sparkle
Zero – zealous black

* connotes never-seen-before shades that are exclusive to this set.

the Urban Decay 15-year Anniversary 24/7 Glide-on eye Pencil Set will retail in the UK at £60 (€75)

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I think I’m most excited about the new blush launch!

The Urban Decay Afterglow Glide-On Cheek Tints remind me (and I haven’t seen them in person yet, so I’m speculating) of a cross between Stila Convertible Color and those NARS Limited Edition Multiples we saw last Summer.  They appear to be closer to gel than cream in consistency which is always good for Summer.

Going by stock pictures alone, I’m in love with about 5 of these shades in the swatches above… are any of them calling to you?

Fetish – sheer mauve w/fne pearlized fnish
Score – sheer pink lemonade w/fne pearlized fnish
Greedy – sheer blackberry
Quickie – sheer ‘bubble-pop-electric’ pink
Indecent – sheer apricot w/pearly gold shimmer
Bang – sheer coral red
Crush – sheer hot pink

The Urban Decay Afterglow Glide-On Cheek Tints will retail in the UK at £18 (€28).

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The U.S. girls got these in Autumn, but we’ll be seeing them hit the counters soon!

They claim non-sticky, sheer to medium coverage with a long-lasting finish.  Available in 11 shades.

Crush – sheer coral
Jilted – hot pink w/blue shift
Heavy – shimmering nude
Runaway – shimmering deep coral
Midnight Cowboy – shimmering sheer beige
Love Junkie – deep but very sheer wine
Naked – pinky-nude w/pink shift
Wallfower – medium nude
Red Light – sheer candy-apple red
Perversion – sheer sparkling granite
Peroxide – palest pink

The Urban Decay Lip Junkie Lip Gloss will retail in the UK at £13 (€18).

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Packed with pearl powders and coconut oil, Urbanglow Cream Highlight promises to leave your skin with an ethereal glow.

Available in 4 shades;

Brown Sugar – bronze shimmer
Wicked – scintillating pink
Sin – gold highlight
Moonshine – iridescent pearl

The Urban Decay Urbanglow Cream Highlight will retail in the UK at £18 (€28 ).

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I’ll try and get more info on exact UK release dates when they become available.

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What d’ya think… any must haves, any disappointments?  Talk to me people!