A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

Deborah Lippmann’s Autumn / Fall shades have been slated for a September UK launch with sadly no word yet on whether we’ll be seeing the glorious glitters that make up the Nordstrom Anniversary set (unless, they’re re-released in a different format, I very much doubt it).

But anyway, wipe away the tears and check out these infinitely more sensible shades instead.

Stormy Weather: an edgy granite shade created in collaboration with Narciso Rodriguez
Brick House: a shimmering rust
Billionaire: a moody, dark olive green

I can’t say that any of them are really shouting my name… Billionaire looks interesting but I just wanna chuck some sparkle in there.  Brick House has the potential to be better on the nail than in the promo and Stormy Weather just does nothing for me I’m afraid.

The Deborah Lippmann Autumn shades are set to launch in the UK exclusively at House of Fraser on the 19th September priced at £14 each.

Estee Lauder’s Autumn 2011 collection goes by the name Modern Mercury and features three limited edition matte lipsticks that are perfect for bold-textured lips as the longer nights begin to draw in.

I have one of the three shades: Fuchsia Velvet (£18.50), a hot, hawt pink with violet/blue leanings.  It’s as matte as they come and with a depth of pigmentation that will beat most lipsticks into the ground.  Have a look:

please excuse the blotchy “just been threaded” eyebrow area

The texture is creamy but not too heavy on slip, I recommend a lip brush to apply (my favourite is by Lancome) such bold shades.  If you don’t like such a harsh line you can always soften it a little once it’s on there but I think this formula really benefits from being ‘worked’ into the lip a little with a good brush.

As a matte, it is a touch drying… it doesn’t suck my lips of moisture like some but it does feel a little uncomfortable after a couple of hours.  The flip-side to this is that it stays put.  Like, seriously.  I applied, blotted, applied and it saw me through an entire morning and a good amount of the afternoon.  This would make an excellent choice for evenings out or special occasions (I’m considering wearing it to Saturday’s wedding).

I thought I’d compare it to some of my other hot pinks (I like hot pinks).

1.  Estee Lauder Fuchsia Velvet
2.  Tom Ford Pure Pink
3.  Illamasqua Atomic
4.  Benefit Pillow Talk
5.  Barry M #145
6.  MUFE Rouge Artist Intense #36

If you’re on a budget, you’ll be pleased to hear that the BarryM is the closest alternative available to Estee Lauder’s Fuchsia Velvet but on my lips, the BarryM leans a little more cherry.

Estee Lauder Modern Mercury Collection is available to buy on counter and online now.

* press sample

Butter London’s Founding Creative Director, Nonie Creme was on a flying trip to the UK earlier in the month and I was excited to get the opportunity to see her for a chat about the upcoming Fall collection and preview the shades…

Frequently looking to the catwalks for nail inspiration, Butter London’s Autumn/Winter 2011 collection is no exception.

Nonie Creme says of her new collection:

“My inspiration was a variation on jewel tones.  Imagine taking a traditional jewel tone palette, then moving each shade about two notes to the left, this means a garnet instead of a ruby, a dirty teal instead of a sapphire and an olive or patina gold instead of a brassy or yellow tone.”

The Limited Edition shade No More Waity, Katie finds itself in the main lineup and I’m very pleased to see Knees Up (one of my enduring BL faves) put in a reappearance.  Wallis, Bluey and Toff are all-new shades for the season.

Wallis

Inspiration: In honour of the Saucy Yank who ran away with the King’s heart.
Detail: A tarnished, metallic, olive gold, as mysterious and regal as its namesake.

Bluey

Inspiration: Vintage British slang for a pornographic film.  Ah, the good ‘ol days.
Detail: A slightly metallic dark peacock blue, perfect for fashionable birds.

Toff

Inspiration: A slightly derogartory name for a member of the British upperclass.
Details: A darker, dustier, brownish variation on rose pink.  Stop to smell them.  The roses, not the toffs.

No More Waity, Katie

Inspiration: One day my prince will come, and I will wrap him around my tiny, sparkling finger.
Detail: A soft griege littered with lilac glitter for the perfect marriage of fashion and fun.

Knees Up

Inspiration: A smashing metallic red for getting smashed in.
Detail: Brit slang for a drunken party.

Butter London A/W 2011 will be available instore at Harvey Nichols and online at The Powder Rooms.  Priced £12.00

What do you think of the new collection?  Any must-haves, disappointments or “mehs”?  Stay tuned later in the week for my interview with Nonie!

I was in London on Tuesday with Mr. L and made him go for coffees whilst we were en route to Regents Park to smell the roses (quite literally).  I had good reasons for these diversionary tactics.  I wanted to have a nosey at the QVC press day to check out the beauty goodies coming this coming Autumn/Winter!

I snapped the things that caught my eye…

NEW Smashbox 5-in-1 Beauty Balm and Waterproof Shadow Liner Pencils in Bronze and Shimmering Plum.

A selection of OPI Shatter Coats – not new but they looked too pretty lined up like that!

Some Louise Galvin potential hair disaster saviours on their way to QVC

I did a little intake of breath when I saw this Laura Geller Baked Eye Accent.  Use wet or dry, stunning blue!

I’m itching for a sniff of one of acclaimed florist Jane Packer’s scents but I had my hands full of camera!  Adore the attention to floral detail with the packaging on these bottles.

Shiseido Benefiance!  The luxe Japanese brand is returning to QVC this Autumn!

I’ll always stop to ogle a bit of Elemis!  I particularly liked the variety on offer in this upcoming set.

Anything in that small selection piquing your interests too?

The second shade that I was fortunate enough to preview from the upcoming OPI Touring America collection is this olive green number called Uh Oh Roll Down the Window.

Autumn/Fall’s OPI Touring America collection is set for release in the UK this August and sees an eclectic mixture of Summer brights and Autumnal earthy shades making the cut.

Uh Oh Roll Down the Window is an olive green creme with more than enough grey to keep it muted and work-appropriate.  The above photo shows two coats in hindsight, I should have given it a third for a perfect finish.  Wear has been solid and without issue as I’d expect from the professional nail brand.

The shade bears more than a passing resemblance to Nails Inc. Battersea Park which isn’t available to buy anymore but after receiving a few enquiries about it last year, you might be pleased to hear that you can get your hands on something similar..

O.P.I – Uh Oh Roll Down the Window will be available on our shores this August from LenaWhite.

From the upcoming Fall 2011 collection, Touring America…

Personally, I eat Mainely everything but if you want your nails to look like the inside of a ripe, juicy watermelon this Autumn, you’re gonna need a bit of OPI’s I Eat Mainely Lobster* in your life.

I Eat Mainely Lobster is a shimmering almost-neon coral with enough pink in it to keep it looking good on cool skin tones.  It has a pretty under-stated shimmer that catches beautifully in the sunlight.

The image above is underexposed so don’t trust it for shade depth but I wanted to be able to capture the almost molten shimmer particles in this polish… aren’t they pretty?

Formula is quite thin for OPI but it packs enough pigment to have your nailbed covered in two coats.  It dries quickly but lacks glossiness which I’m putting down to the intense brightness of the shade… a quick lick of top coat rectifies that issue.

Overall, I Eat Mainely Lobster is an unusual but winning choice for Autumn/Fall 2011 and I can envisage many toes catching the last few rays of Summer sunshine whilst flashing this shade!

O.P.I – I Eat Mainely Lobster will be available on our shores this August from LenaWhite.

* press sample

OK, enough with Spring/Summer… here’s my favourite season (in terms of colour – definitely NOT weather!).

OPI have previewed their Autumn/Fall collection, titled Touring America and it looks a little something like this:

It’s a large, 12-piece collection which can be split into the usual sophisticated yet dirgy, autumnal shades and rather awesomely, some fall-toned brights too!  From the bottle shots, the brights look like they may be metallics but I’m not 100% on this – I’ll have to wait to see some swatches before I can confirm!

Let’s have a breakdown:

Are We There Yet?: Melon
I Eat Mainely Lobster: Luminous Coral
My Address is “Hollywood”: Vivid Rose
Color to Diner For: Iconic Red
Honk if You Love OPI: Rich Raisin
Road House Blues: Deep Sapphire

Suzi Takes the Wheel: Grey
French Quarter for Your Thoughts: Sexy Grey
Uh-oh Roll Down the Window: Chic Olive
A-taupe the Space Needle: Creamy-Rich Taupe
Get in the Expresso Lane: Amped-Up Dark Brown
I Brake for Manicures: Eggplant-Plum

I’m pretty divided on this Touring America collection.

Autumn is the pinnacle of nail polish collections for me, it rarely gets better and if this represents the best of what I have to look forward to from one of the biggest players in the polish world.  I’m just not sure I’m as excited as I hoped I would be.

Coming from someone who loves their grungy, dirty shades… I would have liked to see OPI mix things up a bit.  Get adventurous with the dirge!  Some different textures maybe?  I don’t know… as I said, I haven’t seen these in person so there may well be something about them that lifts from the standard cremes.  I hope so but at the moment I’m left with an overwhelming feeling of deja-vu.

Thinking back to last year’s Swiss Collection (of which I own the majority!), I’m just not getting the same buzz from this year’s offerings although I am pleased to see OPI carry over some Summer shades whilst giving them an interesting Autumn edge!

These will be available from LenaWhite, priced at £10.50 each.

What are your first impressions of OPI’s Touring America Collection?

Autumn/Fall… Pavement/Sidewalk… Bonnet/Hood… Tomato… um… er.. TomAto…. whatever you wanna call it, I was going back through some emails before archiving and came across this press release that included some images from the Marc Jacobs Fall 2011 Runway Show.

It looks like Autumn might be all about the blush.  Yes, that’s me you can hear me fist-pumping and whooping from thousands of miles away…

INSPIRATION & LOOK: “The look started with a picture that Marc had of Christy Turlington with really fresh skin and rosy cheeks,” said François Nars, Founder & Creative Director of NARS Cosmetics. “Marc wanted ‘icy cold cheeks’ and so the blush is drawn down in such a way that’s unusual…unusual, but decadent. Like a Renaissance painting.”

Look at those proper Autumnal colours!  Warm reds and ambers… God, it makes me grateful it’s still only April and we have the whole Summer stretching ahead of us!

The key products used in the looks featured here are:

FACE

• Concealer (NEW for Fall 2011; for now, try the existing Concealer £17.50)

• Lokoum Cream Blush £20.50

EYES

• Grand Palais Duo Eyeshadow (for now, try using Lokoum Cream Blush £20.50)

• Larger Than Life Long-Wear Eyeliner in Via Veneto (NEW for Fall 2011; for now try Black Moon Eyeliner Pencil £16.50 )

• Larger Than Life Volumizing Mascara £18.50

LIPS

• Greta Pure Sheer SPF Lip Treatment £18.50

Interrrrestingggg…. so, it looks like we’re getting (at least) a newly formulated concealer range, duo eyeshadow (orange-based?), a new long-wear eyeliner range?  I’m speculating a little bit….

Not too sure on that blush placement… but that’s fashion for you (darling) and I love the heavy liner… oooooh, I’ll be a happy Lipglossiping if we’re all about the heavy liner this Autumn!

But in the meantime, let’s have some bloody sunshine first eh?!

How much do we hate it when we look down at our fresh manicures to realise that yet again, we’ve managed to daub more polish on our fingers than we got on our nails?

Well, worry no more ‘cos Butter London set the scene at Vena Cava yesterday for a forward-thinking, fabulous faux pas that’s achievable for anyone with a nail brush (and an unsteady hand!)

image stolen borrowed from Nonie Creme’s twitstream here

Check out the finger bands painted by Nonie with some of the bestselling Butter London shades!  Such a fun touch, much cheaper than hunting down the latest high-street jewellery and at around 24hours, probably longer-lasting too 😉

Wanna see my late-night take on the trend?

Shades used: Marrow, Scoundrel and Come to Bed Red!

If you give it a go, make sure you play safe and only use Big 3 Free polishes in the creation of your finger art masterpieces.

I love anything in beauty and fashion that doesn’t take itself too seriously and this daftness reminds me of being at school and tippexing the crap out of myself in an ‘artful’ manner…  and anything that reminds me of those playful days is a win in my book.

What do you think of Butter London’s Vena Cava Finger Bands?