Launching Today: YSL Rouge Pur Couture Vernis à Lèvres

Posted by Lipglossiping On February - 14 - 2012

Oh boy, oh boy.  Forget cards, flowers, and chocolates and check out these beauties from YSL new to the counter today.

The YSL Rouge Pur Couture Vernis à Lèvres are a new lipstick/stain hybrid in an impressive range of 20 shades, each featuring a nifty precision applicator.  They promise a light texture with buildable coverage.  From the few swatches I’ve seen online, they look to be sheerer than something like Chanel’s Rouge Allure Laque but I’m hoping that at least one of the reds fills the painful hole left behind by the discontinuation of Dragon.  I’m currently lusting after #05 Red Mauve to satisfy my ‘red’ craving and #15 Pink Lollipop for a more day-friendly alternative.

Watch the ‘behind the scenes’ video below for a further insight on this new lip-offering from the Parisian fashion house.

Are any of those shades calling you to the counter?


Men of the World. Y U No Smell This Good?

Posted by Lipglossiping On February - 14 - 2012

We all have definite ideas about the scents we like to surround ourselves with — be it the washing powder we use to clean our undies; the candles we light when we step through the door after work; or the bath oils we pour under a hot running tap at the end of the night.  When was the last time you chose a new shampoo in the supermarket before flipping up the lid and inhaling a quick whiff to make sure you shared the product’s olfactory persuasions?

But what about the people we share our lives with?  What control do we have over how they smell?!

It’s taken a long time to gently steer my husband away from the Umbro Aftershave of his early twenties and onto scents which don’t make me want to check behind his ears for dirt.  I sound like a fragrance nazi right?  I’m not… it’s not that he resisted either, he just didn’t have an opinion either way.  Over the past couple of years, he’s developed a greater understanding and passion for fragrance — and thankfully, we do share quite similar tastes — something which comes in very handy for sharing the cost of those more extravagant fragrance purchases.

On this day, St. Valentine’s Day — I thought I’d hand the reins over to my brilliant husband, who has picked out the fragrances from his collection that make us both swoon when he wears them.

YSL – M7 Oud Absolu | Molton Brown NTS – Rogart | Parfum d’Empire – Ambre Russe | Oscar de la Renta – Oscar for Men | Floris – Santal

I’m still an awful fragrance reviewer, I just don’t have enough words swirling around in my puny brain to conjure up enough ways to say “if this fragrance were a doughnut, you’d consume four of them in one sitting”.  Although, I’ll never get better if I don’t try, so – in our own bumbled together manner… (at least I’ve got someone else to blame)

Yves Saint Laurent: M7 Oud Absolu (£58.00) *

As part of the reworked YSL Heritage Collection which celebrates half a century of expert perfume creation, the brand have released a reworked version of M7 which first came to the public nose in 2002 under the direction of one Mr. Tom Ford.  From such an agent provocateur, you’d expect to experience something special and you won’t be disappointed with this fragrance, which despite the reformulation is described as the climax of male sexuality1.  M7 is a deeply smoky scent with notes of myrrh, french labdanum, patchouli and a resonating woody, almost leathery oud accord.  There’s a medicinal hint that lingers through the dry-down which we both find comforting.  It’s not sharp but resinous and syrupy, like a cough drop.  M7 is a fragrance for the night, of the night.  If Serge Gainsbourg were to walk in behind me right now, this is the smell I’d catch (and hold onto) as he passed.  An intensely sexy, dark scent.

1 yslbeauty.co.uk

 Molton Brown Navigations Through Scent: Rogart (£60.00)

If you prefer to scent your senses with a touch of the gourmand, you may be interested in Rogart’s unusual but profoundly delicious note more usually found on your pancakes than in your perfume: maple syrup.  The tasty fragrance from Jennifer Jambon opens with a bracing blend of juniper berries and fir balsam which gives it that ‘great outdoors’ feel and indeed it should, as it draws its inspiration from the Cobequid Mountains of Canada.  All this freshness contrasts wonderfully as it warms on the skin and develops a hint of campfire, resinous wood and that sweet, mouthwatering maple.  Jointly, we’ve purchased nearly all of the releases in the Navigations Through Scent collection but Rogart firmly remains my husband’s favourite.

Parfum d’Empire: Ambre Russe (£84.50)

Not sure we’ll ever fall out of love with the majestic, imperial notes contained within Parfum d’Empire’s exquisite nod to Tsarist Russia.  It’s all here: vodka, champagne, tea, leather, amber and incense.  It’s like the party you know will conclude with most of its guests going home in a meat wagon before sunrise.  It’s raucously obnoxious and it knows it.  It wants you to know it too and you can’t help but admire Ambre Russe for it’s audacity to even exist.  It manages to be simultaneously effervescent (that’ll be the champagne hic!) and creamy, with the boozy amber trumping all else.  If you like dark, oriental fragrances, consider this a contender for the big daddy – shy, delicate noses need not apply.

Oscar de la Renta: Oscar for Men (£45.00)

We fought a little over the inclusion of this… I wanted to place Bvlgari Black above this one but Mr. L triumphed by making me a cup of tea and pointing out that, for once, he was entitled to call first dibs.  Oscar de la Renta’s Oscar for Men can be picked up online for as little as £17.00, which admittedly, ups the desirability stakes.  It’s a far sharper, more summery scent than the ones we’ve so far included – the top notes of bergamot, mandarin, and black pepper ensure that it prickles a little with a zestiness that makes you stand up and pay attention.  It has a floral heart that tempers the spiciness a little but if you’re a fan of the peppery notes of something like Marc Jacob’s Bang, you should enjoy this equally.  Oscar for Men trails with a suggestion of leather and vanilla which further smoothes the pepper without ever fully quietening it.  A spicy serenade that wears well in warmer months thanks to it’s sparkling opening.

Floris London: Santal (£69.00) *

As is my prerogative, I’m a woman of many contradictions.  Sometimes, I will eschew the feral, growling sensibilities of something like M7 (though never Serge) and want the man in my life to appeal as much to others as he does to me.  Floris Santal is the perfect scent to meet that need with its clean but never soapy existence.  Creamy sandalwood (and good sandalwood at that) gives Santal the most distinguished of edges in the overpopulated woody oriental category.  A hint of spiciness and musk keeps things warm and sensual whilst the crisp bergamot and trickles of lavender promote the balance beautifully and prevent this classic scent from ever feeling generic or old-fashioned.  Longevity is unparalled, displaying the kind of quality one would expect from a traditional British fragrance house like Floris.  I may have started with Serge Gainsbourg, but please… let me end with a young, freshly-shaven Paul Newman.  Rawr.

I’m feeling a tad hot under the collar now!  Happy Valentine’s Day you lovely lot.

Do you lust over leather or go crazy for classic cleanliness?  Do those animalic undertones bring out your wild side or perhaps you simply prefer a good old splash of Brut! 

Tell me, how do you like the men in your life to smell? (note: “of money” isn’t a valid answer!)

* press sample

The John Lewis Blogger Nail Art Challenge

Posted by Lipglossiping On January - 30 - 2012

I don’t do nail art very often, or even… ever, you just need to look back through my ‘nail of the day’ archives to see that.  It’s not that I don’t appreciate it, I look longingly on tumblr at all the cool kids and their striping brushes but the problem is that I’ve got an essential familial tremor.  It’s genetic – you can hear my Dad carrying a tea tray from the other side of town.  Because I’m still (fairly) young, you’d be hard pushed to notice it in everyday tasks but when it comes to something that takes skill, precision and a delicate touch… I get the shakey jakes and the more I concentrate, the worse it gets.

Which is why, I’m pretty damn impressed with my attempt at some Valentine’s themed nail art.  It’s not massively complicated and thank God for being able to play dot-to-dot with a dotting tool BUT, it took me about 3 hours to finish (stop laughing), and I feel like ronseal-ing it to my nail beds to last for all eternity.

So why on Earth am I spending frankly ridiculous amounts of time drawing not very symmetrical hearts on my nails?  Well, because John Lewis sent an email out to some bloggers, challenging them to create some eye-catching nail art using a selection of shades that they would send out for this purpose.  Here are the shades they sent me:

YSL La Laque in Sparkling Garnet | Nails Inc. Magnetic Polish in Trafalgar Square | NARS Space Odyssey | YSL La Laque in Copyright Red

Dudes, I even tried to magnetize the hearts.  Dedication.  Not that it worked very well.

I’m not sure who else is taking part in the challenge (Sophy Robson’s blogging twin knowing my luck) but the participants stand a chance at winning a £150 John Lewis voucher so I am totally trying to bring my a-game!

Good luck to my fellow nail art(istes) taking part and cheers to John Lewis (and the makeup and beauty team) for the polishes and the opportunity to play along.

Do you ‘do’ nail art?  Who are your biggest sources of inspiration?

Inexpensive Beauty Find: YSL Water Resistant Eye Shadow in Amethyst Grey

Posted by Lipglossiping On October - 18 - 2011

Inexpensive and YSL.  Not two words that you’d usually find in the same sentence but as I was browsing some of my usual late-night shopping haunts, I came across a lovely beauty bargain.

For less than the price of most high-street eyeshadows, you can scoop a YSL Water-Resistant Cream Eyeshadow in a non-disgusting shade.  £4.99.  Bargain of the week yes?

Let me show you how pretty it is…

It applies wet and blends to a sheer, crease-resistant base of smokey purple/grey.  It’s a great start for building up a smokey eye or worn on it’s own as a subtle wash of colour.  It blends nicely with either a brush or fingertip and is one of those great work-to-night out essentials.

The swatch on the left shows a couple of layers built up, whilst the swatch on the right shows how I wear it most of the time with a slightly darker crease colour.

YSL Water Resistant Eye Shadow in Amethyst Grey is priced at £4.99, available online from DirectCosmetics.com

YSL Touche Eclat, the clicky pen has (re)landed

Posted by Lipglossiping On June - 21 - 2011

One of the most hyped products of the last decade has been given a long overdue update, YSL’s Touche Eclat* is finally available to purchase in darker-skinned shades, why this has taken so long?  God only knows… it can’t have been due to a lack of interest.

the un-numbered one on the left is #1

I’ve always had a love/hate relationship with this little clicky pen.  Many, many years ago I bought shade #1 and marvelled at its pinky paleness… delighted to discover a shade that would suit my skin so wonderfully.  Until I wore it and it made me look thoroughly lifeless.

Then a helpful MUA showed me where I was going wrong and drummed it into me that I was using a highlighter and NOT a concealer.  Huh?  First I’d heard of it… every woman and her cat had been shouting about how this was hiding their dark undereye circles!?  Confusion reigned…

the shade range swatched in the same order as above

Well, turns out that for me… I was applying WAY too much, WAY too close to the lashline.  Nowadays, I only really use it in the area that extends from the inner corner where my eye meets my nose (kinda), along the socket line to about halfway across the eye.  It brightens but it doesn’t really conceal… for me, Touche Eclat is a convenient everyday pick-me-up but no industrial strength fix for mega late nights!

You’ll find so many people telling you where to use it and how to apply it, personally…  I think it’s one of those products that you need to experiment with to find the best way to suit you.  I really don’t think Touche Eclat is a one-size-fits-all number.

the OCD in me wants to CLEAN these badly

For more information on selecting the right shade from the newly available selection, the YSL website has one of those ‘which shade are you’ thingamajigs that you may find useful.

I thought I’d leave you with this official YSL video, you can find it on their website.  I’m just wondering if he could have fit MOAR product on her face?  He should have just filled a bucket and let her dunk herself.

YSL Touche Eclat in all its glorious, new shades can be purchased online from Selfridges or instore priced at £24.50

What’s your take on this iconic beauty product from YSL?

* press samples

Red Lips Day 9: YSL Rouge Volupte in Red Taboo

Posted by Lipglossiping On January - 25 - 2011

I was a very nervous girl leaving the house in this YSL Rouge Volupte Red Taboo lipstick…

It’s a beautiful cool-toned red with just a hint of raspberry but it’s a Rouge Volupte.  It threatened to slip like me on ice skates and I feared that it was just as likely to land me on my bum.

You either love or hate the YSL Rouge Volupte range.  Creamy, non-drying, deeply pigmented and scented like a fruit salad.  These are pretty nice properties in a nude or mylipsbutbetter shade.  In a red?  A red that needs to stay put?  Uh Oh.

First things first… this lipstick needs a lip liner, it’s a braver woman than I who attempts to wear this bare-backed.  Application is effortless (nearly)… I applied straight from the bullet to the centre of my lips before pulling the colour outward with a lip brush.  Then I waited for dry-down.  And I waited… and I waited.  Then I checked my watch, panicked and wondered if I should blot and decided on the “bugger it, that’ll have to do” option instead.

A word to the wise (from the utterly stupid)… don’t attempt to eat, drink, lick your lips or indeed breathe whilst wearing this beautiful shade.  It WILL transfer faster than that email you clicked ‘send’ on by accident.

I get about 2/3 hours wear from Red Taboo before needing to stage a lipstick intervention.  On the flipside, because it is so creamy… I can dab a little more on from the bullet and get away with smooshing my lips together.  Obviously, that doesn’t give me the cleanest line in the world… but if you’re on the go – you can get away with it.

CheapSmells.com sent me this lipstick for my red lip series so I’d like to point you in the direction of where you can pick it up on their website here.  This particular shade is selling for £15.90 (a saving of 24% off the RRP).

What happens in London…

Posted by Lipglossiping On October - 12 - 2009

stays in Lon… usually comes home with me in a lovely iconic yellow paper bag 😉

So, I was up in London on Saturday for the wonderful Aussie Project Angel event (more details to come later..) and saw lots of lovely things to add to my stash.

londonhaul

Ok, well I didn’t get *all* these bits in London.. the Stila stuff I ordered a couple of weeks ago and turned up today so thought I’d throw them in.

I went on a bit of a lipstick buying rampage – and had to be physically restrained from buying another Shu one that I had my eye on.

ysl

lippies

On the left, the unmistakable Lingerie Pink… and on the right, the lovely Shu Rouge Unlimited BG907.

I had no intentions of buying Lingerie Pink until I tried it on out of pure curiousity at the counter.  Instant love.

I first saw the Shu one when I went to the Maybelline Event last month and have lusted after it ever since.

essie

How pretty?! – L-R: Pound Cake, Strawberry Sorbet, Baby Cakes

supracolor

supracolorswatch

Kryolan Supra Color Black Greasepaint recommended to me by LondonMUGirl.  First impressions… wonderful to blend eyeshadow over compared to UDPP, but it starts creasing after 3hrs 🙁

woodwinkedkryo

woodwinkedswatch

L-R: MAC Woodwinked (been on my wishlist a LONG time), Kryolan Matte Highlight (got this by accident after SA put the wrong eyeshadow in my bag… grrr.)

Well, that concludes my first proper “haul” post… hope it wasn’t too dull.  I enjoy reading about everyone else’s newest acquisitions, but everyone is different so apologies if this was a boring read – move along, I’m done now!

Oh, and the Stila can wait ’till the rest of my order turns up 🙂

RANDOM

Vaseline Creme Brulee Giveaway Winners…

…stays in Lon… usually comes home with me in a lovely iconic yellow paper bag 😉 So, I was up in London on Saturday for …

Body Shop Baked To Last Blushers

…stays in Lon… usually comes home with me in a lovely iconic yellow paper bag 😉 So, I was up in London on Saturday for …

Winner Announcement: Revitalash Volumizing Mascara – FIVE lucky winners!

…stays in Lon… usually comes home with me in a lovely iconic yellow paper bag 😉 So, I was up in London on Saturday for …

Poor Service - Are you a complainer?

…stays in Lon… usually comes home with me in a lovely iconic yellow paper bag 😉 So, I was up in London on Saturday for …

Red Lip Series: Urban Decay Supersaturated High Gloss Lip Colour in F-Bomb

…stays in Lon… usually comes home with me in a lovely iconic yellow paper bag 😉 So, I was up in London on Saturday for …

Clinique Lash Power Feathering Mascara Review

…stays in Lon… usually comes home with me in a lovely iconic yellow paper bag 😉 So, I was up in London on Saturday for …

A year on Lipglossiping – Lookback (September 2009)

…stays in Lon… usually comes home with me in a lovely iconic yellow paper bag 😉 So, I was up in London on Saturday for …

Inglot Freedom Eyeshadow Palette

…stays in Lon… usually comes home with me in a lovely iconic yellow paper bag 😉 So, I was up in London on Saturday for …

The She Space Mineral Pigment Haul

…stays in Lon… usually comes home with me in a lovely iconic yellow paper bag 😉 So, I was up in London on Saturday for …

Estee Lauder Autumn 2011 Modern Mercury - Graphite Liquid Eyeliner

…stays in Lon… usually comes home with me in a lovely iconic yellow paper bag 😉 So, I was up in London on Saturday for …

POPULAR

CLOSED: Competition Time: Givenchy Very Irresistible L'eau en Rose Perfume!

…stays in Lon… usually comes home with me in a lovely iconic yellow paper bag 😉 So, I was up in London on Saturday for …

CLOSED - Win it! The Body Shop Expert Brush Collection

…stays in Lon… usually comes home with me in a lovely iconic yellow paper bag 😉 So, I was up in London on Saturday for …

Win a gorgeous "glow" trio with prizes from Urban Decay, New CID, & Arbonne!

…stays in Lon… usually comes home with me in a lovely iconic yellow paper bag 😉 So, I was up in London on Saturday for …

Hello? Is this thing on?

…stays in Lon… usually comes home with me in a lovely iconic yellow paper bag 😉 So, I was up in London on Saturday for …

Avoid the brush off with Oral-B Pro-Expert

…stays in Lon… usually comes home with me in a lovely iconic yellow paper bag 😉 So, I was up in London on Saturday for …

Big savings on French Pharmacy brands, win my Escentual.com top picks!

…stays in Lon… usually comes home with me in a lovely iconic yellow paper bag 😉 So, I was up in London on Saturday for …

Win it! 3 EcoTools Bamboo Bronzer Brushes to win!

…stays in Lon… usually comes home with me in a lovely iconic yellow paper bag 😉 So, I was up in London on Saturday for …

FOTD Busting out of the comfort zone!

…stays in Lon… usually comes home with me in a lovely iconic yellow paper bag 😉 So, I was up in London on Saturday for …

Dear Obesity...

…stays in Lon… usually comes home with me in a lovely iconic yellow paper bag 😉 So, I was up in London on Saturday for …

Urban Decay The Black Palette - Photos & Swatches

…stays in Lon… usually comes home with me in a lovely iconic yellow paper bag 😉 So, I was up in London on Saturday for …

COMMENTS

  • Categories

  • Archives

  • Admin

  • Ads