A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

So, I was in Poundland yesterday afternoon…  I was TOTALLY on my way to DIOR (I wasn’t), I just got kinda bundled through the door (I didn’t)…. swept in on an errant wave of pedestrians if you will… (nuh uh).

Anyway… aside from the HIDEOUS Christmas musak that they were blaring at 140db and the one sales assistant that I couldn’t look at because she had a bogey on her cheek… I was kinda impressed!

I’ve decided to economise on some of the essentials in order to free up the cash for some guilt-free luxury purchases.

I need a list.  Come on ladies, you’re savvy (if not always frugal), what are the things I can stop hammering my Boots Advantage card with?  I know I love collecting the points (I’m at £70 this year *whoop!*)…. but, it’s not really the most economical way to shop is it?  I’ve probably overspsent triple that in order to collect those points.

I’m not prepared to compromise on quality, because afterall… we’re talking the essentials here.

I don’t wanna swap my bath smellies for cheapies, ‘cos they’re exactly the kind of things I wanna luxe out on.  Same goes for shampoos until I’ve pinned down exactly what irritates my scalp.

But what are the things I could pick up for pennies and not really notice any differences other than to my purse?

Edit: Just to clarify for my one ‘reader’ who got her rocks off on a bit of comment spite this afternoon… I don’t think I’m ‘above’ shopping in Poundaland… I am the pikey queen of discount Maryland cookies.  So shut up and get a sense of humour.  You’re in luck ‘cos they’re on 2 for 1 next to the Toffifee.

My first ever eyeshadow was an Avon Color Trends lilac shade in a green case… I ground that thing down to the pan and then when I went to repurchase, couldn’t find the sucker!  I still have the occasional search on eBay for it for sentimental value, but have long forgotten it’s name 🙁

Anyway, I was invited to have a look at Avon’s new Winter cosmetics collection which goes by the name Luxe Lace… is it just me or is the name just a touch naff?  Fortunately, that’s where any naffness ends because the collection itself is really rather nice.

Let’s have a look at what we can expect…

Avon’s Luxe Lace True Colour Eyeshadow Quads (£8.00)

The Chanel-esque eyeshadow palettes offer 4 complementing shades that are suitable for both day or night depending on how you combine them.  The picture above shows the purple palette (Lace Electric) and the other (which I got in my goody bag) is a slightly more eclectic mix of champagnge/pinky-beige/green and blue (Lace Hues)  I shall swatch it v. soon!

In the photo, Lace Hues is hiding snugly behind Lace Electric.  Fail.

Luxe Lace Ultra Colour Rich Lipstick (£7.00)

Three new shades are due to be introduced from the end of October.  Instant Mocha, Frostiest Mauve and Pout will be priced at £7 each and promise to offer hydrating colour.  I found them to be hugely wearable in terms of pigmentation.  Not particularly long-lasting, but easy to apply and non-drying.

Luxe Lace SuperShock Mascara (£8.00)

I’m not a huge fan of Avon’s SuperShock Mascara though I know it’s very well-received. On me, it transfers and leaves little black spots just under my brows if I even remotely show any sign of getting a little ‘glowy’!  I love the big brush and the slightly dry formula… but there’s nothing worse than looking in the mirror and noticing funny black splotches undermining your appearance!

For the Winter Collection, SuperShock has been given a cute packaging makeover to bring it in line with it’s lacy counterparts.

Luxe Lace SuperShock Gel Eyeliner Pens (£6.00)

For me, the most impressive product in the collection.  These SuperShock Gel Eyeliner Pens completely blew me away.  Pigmented like you wouldn’t believe… creamier than a tub of Ben and Jerrys and long lasting?  Oh my…

I met up with a journalist the next day who’d attended the same event and we were both still wearing our swatches on the back of our hands despite showering and secondary scrubbing in an attempt to remove them!

Two shades: Black and Silver, perfect for the party season.  If you only get one thing from this collection, make it these!

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The new collection will be available to order online or from your Avon rep from the 28th October.

I’ll be back with swatches of the Black Eyeliner, Lace Hues palette and Pout lipstick as soon as I can get accurate shots!

Dark, grungy and all about texture… Topshop’s new Autumn/Winter makeup range, Heavy Duty… is set to launch at the end of the month.  From ultra-wet looking glossy lips through to slept-in smoky eyes the new collection is a far cry from the high-street store’s Summer offerings.

LIP MARKER: A felt tip pen applicator for long lasting gorgeously bitten looking lips. So efficient; use an oil based cleanser to ensure full removal.  Shade: Ultimate

GLOSS: The perfect formula for creating heavy lacquered lips that look dipped in paint.  Choose from three deep sultry tones for a full on wash of colour.  Shades: Volt, Gloom and Undertone.

KOHL DUST: A revolutionary formula that crumbles and smudges to create the perfect smokey eye.  Perfect for both top and lower lid, inside and out, the 3D effect is the first of it’s kind.  Shade: Ash.

EYE PALETTE: Two beautiful and complementary shades encased in a mirrored palette.  Build them up wet and watch the diamond like formula reveal a deep and dramatic finish.  Palette Shades: Thunder and Greyscale.

CREAM LINERS: With four unique and fashion forward shades to choose from use as a liner, a wash or build up for an intense injection of colour.  Applicator included.  Shades: Facet, Steely, Etch, Ravine.

CRAYON: The ultimate pigmented kohl presented in a chubby crayon for buildable coverage.  A choice of two dark and sultry shades that easily smudge for a dramatic and smokey effect.  Shades: Graphite and Burnish.

MASCARA: High drama lashes in an instant.  Lifts, lengthens and defines for buildable volume, perfect for this season’s heavier lash.  Shade: Carbon.

NAILS: A collection of three intense nail lacquers of contrasting and complementing petrol hues.  Shades: Metallic Khaki, Iridescent Grey, Metallic Blue.

Heavy Duty will be available towards the end of this month instore and online with prices ranging between £6-£10.

Anything catching your attention?

Not the most exciting beauty product to be featured on Lipglossiping… but you can’t get much cheaper than a quid, and when it’s a staple… that makes it a precious find!

I’m not sure if it’s seasonal stock… but I don’t *think* it is.  I’ve tried most supermarket brands, ‘named’ brands, chemist owned brands… and this is simply the best.  It may not be the most moisturising (though it does contain glycerin), but I don’t care.  I just want last week’s polish off my tips and QUICK!

Classics Nail Polish remover is available from Poundland and really, really does the job!

Barbara Daly has some caaaaa-ute mini nail polishes (7ml) available in Tesco at the moment.  I’m wearing the shade Sunset which is a glorious pink-toned red.

It’s one of those shades that make your nails look like colourful little smarties and I’m definitely going to check out the other shades whilst they’re on 3for2.  (Currently £3 a piece)

The formula of Sunset is easily one of the best I’ve used.  Yes, it’s that good.  2 coats for a truly perfect finish the brush is well made, the polish glides on my nails and with a slick of top coat gives the most beautifully glossy yet creamy finish.

Not only that… but the above photo was taken on the third day of wear.  Erm… where’s the tip wear?

I just hope the other shades live up to my now hugely inflated expectations!

When better to put a so-called ‘cooling gel’ to the test than on some of the hottest days of the year so far?  Arnicare… you’re up against it!

I’m a big believer in the herbal remedy Arnica… but only recently.

I had umpteen women telling me to make sure I packed some Arnica-related products in my hospital bag when I was preparing to give birth to L.  They all said that it would help ease bruising…. “down there”.

I didn’t listen.  I couldn’t even bear the thought of bruising “down there”…. la la la la, “Can’t hear you!”.  Was convinced baby L would emerge into this world a little bit like this (infact, it was my mantra in the last few weeks):

Push
Push
Pain
PUSH
Pop.

Clearly, I’m a moron… but not spending my precious Boots points on tubes of Arnica was probably for the best.  There ended up being no ‘pushing’ involved and Mr. L struggled under the weight of my damn hospital bag anyway.

However, after some recent surgery and tremendous abdominal bruising, I remembered this ‘Arnica’ stuff and shuffled down to my local Boots to pick myself up a tube of Nelsons Arnica Cream.  I only applied it to the major bruise, which was roughly 6x worse than the other incidental bruises…. would you believe it?  The major one ended up fading more rapidly than the rest!  That’s me sold on the power of the herb.

I’m rambling really badly….

I was invited to sample Nelson’s Arnicare Arnica Cooling Gel.  I’ll let them tell you why we’d need it shall I?:

Nelsons Arnicare Arnica Cooling Gel combines the benefits of arnica with the refreshing sensation of natural grapefruit oil and menthol to cool and soothe the skin. Ideal for rubbing into aching muscles following physical exertion or to revive tired, heavy legs after being on your feet all day

On last Saturday, the hottest day of my LIFE (melodramatic pause) I pulled out the Arnicare Arnica Cooling Gel and applied.  Lots.

It didn’t cool me down AT ALL!

Gutted.  Maybe there isn’t enough of the whole ‘cooling’ properties to make a difference in this kind of heat.  I wanted it to feel like an Arctic breeze fluttering around my calves.  It didn’t.

So I only did one leg… remember, I was really hot.  I could barely be bothered to breathe let alone bend over and massage ineffectual cooling gel into my legs.

Fast forward 9 hours… it’s 11.30pm and I’m sat there blogging.  Under my desk, one of my legs feels bizarrely fresh… fresh like I’ve just woken up.  I only noticed it ‘cos my other leg felt like it needed amputating after a day spent running around after a 14 month old.  What a strange feeling!

Arnicare Arnica Cooling Gel?  I think I like you.  You might not give me instant cooling relief, but I reckon if I’d massaged you into both legs I’d at least have been able to walk myself to bed.  As it was, Mr. L had to roll me.

I’m keeping this in the fridge from now on though.

Arnicare Arnica Cooling Gel is priced at £4.65 and available from pharmacies and health food stores nationwide.

A new limited edition polish release from Eyeko…

Rain Polish is a rather delicate smoky blue/grey amalgamation.  It’s instantly clear that a lot of thought has been put into the colour selection by the addition of a subtle amount of shimmer that really lifts the shade and stops it falling into the familiar pale blue trap of looking flat and chalky.

Application was a touch tricky, the formula felt fine…. nicely balanced, but on application it dragged a bit unless I was super quick.  The best way I found to prevent this was by applying thicker coats than I would normally… which then has the knock on effect of taking longer to dry, so I probably wouldn’t wear this without the addition of a quick dry top coat.

It reminds me of Essie’s Sag Harbor from last year’s North Fork collection but with less shimmer.

Do you like it?

Looking on the Eyeko website, I’m only seeing it available as part of a set of 3 (priced at £8.50).  Hopefully they’ll make it available as an invidual shade ‘cos it’s a fairly unique one.

Last year, they were everywhere and they divided opinion.  Some loved ’em, some hated ’em.

What am I talking about?  Matte Nails of course!

17 Nails Xtras Matte Top Coat Polish 8ml (£3.99) from Boots is due to be released in September and I’ve got a sneaky peek for you!

Well… finally!  A really, thoroughly decent matte top coat with great availability and a price tag to match!

It may a little late to the mass market to be considered the height of fashion, but this budget matte top coat from 17 Cosmetics is gonna be a hugely popular seller in my humble opinion.

It applies a true matte finish, none of this satin semi-matte nonsense.  So far, I haven’t noticed it accentuating any ridges or imperfections in the polish application underneath and it dries fully in minutes.  Actually, that’s my one caveat… you need to apply the top coat quickly as it will dry rapidly.  Once you realise this, it’s not a problem as the polish glides on smoothly anyway.

After wearing for a couple of days, the matte finish does get slightly shinier… more satiny.  But I haven’t noticed an increase in chipping or tip wear as a result of topping up my standard manicure with this little gem.

£3.99?  You’ll want to get this!  Hurry up September!

LUSH Tea Tree Water Popular Toner

No, no, no… not that kind of popular…

1 : of or relating to the general public
2 : suitable to the majority: as a : adapted to or indicative of the understanding and taste of the majority b : suited to the means of the majority : inexpensive
3 : frequently encountered or widely accepted
4 : commonly liked or approved

This is my second bottle, I have a toner addiction.  It sits nicely alongside my million other addictions, I’m allowed though… I gave up smoking 2 years ago, these pale into insignificance by comparison.  I’d quite like to give up my food addiction though… am I going off on a tangent again?

Where was I?  (About 150 words in, without having said anything useful)

Ok…. LUSH Tea Tree Water… the popular toner…

I find this one particularly refreshing on warm days, the tea tree water is a beautifully cooling astringent that isn’t too harsh for my skin.  I’m not THAT oily, so don’t really have much call for astringent and was initially concerned that this could be a little drying… it isn’t.  It’s just refreshing.

Last summer, I kept one of these in my glove compartment in the car and whipped it out often on long journeys for a quick spritz.  That’s it really, it’s not mega-exciting… but it’s something that I’ve seen fit to repurchase, a summer essential if you like.

I do appreciate a short ingredient list… would appreciate it even more without the Methylparaben, but I don’t really know enough about the paraben controversy done to hold any kind of educated opinion.

I paid £3.25 for a 100g bottle.

What have you picked up from LUSH recently?

…Eye Revival Roll On (£5.40).

Bearing more than just a passing similarity to Garnier’s Eye Roll On, Tesco’s Derma Intensive Eye Revival is enriched with many of the same ingredients as it’s pricier alternative.

• Caffeine Extract – Helps to improve the skins elasticity under the eye.
• Horse Chestnut Extract – Encourages the skin to stimulate the blood microcirculation under and around the eye.
• Hyaluronic acid – Is a wonderful moisturiser that helps the skin to rehydrate, essential for mature skin.

Great for keeping in the fridge during the Summer!  Yeah… I have a bit of a ‘thing’ about keeping my products in the fridge *blush*.  And even more amazing… I’ve just checked on the Tesco website… and it’s only flippin’ half price at the moment!

£2.76? – Bargain!

Stargazer are a budget brand that I’ve had some real success with in the past… infact, one of the first things I ever reviewed was a Stargazer cake eyeliner that I still enjoy using to this day.

I received a couple of their liquid eye liners to have a play with and initially… I was mega OVERLY excited.

Look! I thought they were gonna be huge chunky felt tip type liquid eye liners.  The idea really appealed to me in theory (in reality of course, great big sharpie-type liquid eyeliners would ensure I made even more of a mess than I usually do).

Anyway… this is how they look:

The ‘nib’ is a flexible nylony bristle type affair.  It holds together well and doesn’t splay or flop about during application.

It produces a substantially pigmented black line that’s thin enough to tightly line the lashline.  The above photo shows the line after I’d built it up to get the kinda thickness that I usually like.

I received two shades, black and blue.  Both are true to description… the black is pure with no charcoal ashiness.  The above swatch shows one swipe from each shade.  Impressive huh?  My only negative is that drying time was a little slower than I’m used to thanks to a wetter formula.  I’d estimate that it took around a minute before I felt comfortable enough to let my (hooded eyelid) droop back over my lashline.  However, once set… this stuff isn’t budging or transferring ’til makeup removal time.  It doesn’t flake and it doesn’t fade.  Phenomenal.

If you’re looking for a purse-friendly “does what it says on the tin” liquid eyeliner… I’d wholeheartedly recommend these from the Stargazer range.  They do a host of shades and I’m gonna check out the violet and red (though I could probably use an intervention… I’m not gonna use a freakin’ red eyeliner am I?).

You can buy Stargazer’s Liquid Eyeliners online or from New Look at the ridiculously good price of £3 each.

As previously threatened, I went and picked up the new Bourjois Elastic Mascara yesterday. I ended up going to Superdrug to make the most of the £2 off promotion and ended up paying £6.99 for mine.

I know some of you think it’s daft.. but I kinda love the packaging! I have a billion mascaras, so being able to spot the one I want immediately is always useful. It does look a bit like a toilet brush holder though (well spotted Rhamnousia!)

The brush is one of those spikey bristle affairs… ideal for separation and lengthening, not so good for volume. The emphasis on the Bourjois Elastic Mascara is on lengthening, so I wasn’t surprised to see this brush design.

What I was surprised to see was the amount of product the wand picked up in those reservoirs. Too much. Combine this with quite a wet formula-ed mascara and I knew I was going to have issues with application before I’d even lifted the wand past my nose.

I was right. It actually reminded me a lot of the issues I had with the last Bourjois mascara I bought (1001 Lashes). Admitedly, 1001 Lashes has actually grown to become one of my favourites… but it took 3 months for the formula to dry out enough for me to fall in love.

I love the brush on this Bourjois Elastic mascara. It actually ‘grabs’ my lashes. I can feel the pull as I drag through from root to tip. It keeps hold of them like no other brush I’ve tried. So if that formula thickens up a bit after a couple of months, I could have an winning combination on my hands!

Having said that, once dried… it’s a slightly crusty mascara, this doesn’t really bother me – but I know some of you prefer more flexible and soft finishes. It doesn’t actually *look* crusty… but you can feel the crispiness going on!

The weird handle is actually another thing I love about the Bourjois Elastic Mascara. It makes me more ‘light handed’ with the wand and I find myself applying with fluttery light but sweeping strokes as opposed to my usual ham-fisted, poke yourself in the eye efforts.

Another cool thing about the handle is that you can ‘twizzle’ the wand whilst applying to get maximum coverage. Didn’t think about that did you?! Rolling the wand between my thumb and forefinger feels quite a natural action as I’m pulling the product through the lashes. Unfortunately, the action just encourages this damn formula to clump… I’m still clinging to the hope that with a bit of age, the formula transforms into something amazing.

Definitely lengthening… not volumising or even very defining (I’m blaming the formula).

I’m on the fence with this one.

Something I’m not on the fence about?

This promo image:

Seriously? Just. Sod. Off.

Bourjois, you may be my favourite high street brand… but you hands down win the sucky Photoshop bs eyelash promo image award.

EDITED TO ADD:

The above promotional image shouldn’t be on the website under Elastic Mascara apparently, some kinda mistake as it’s a few years old.. here’s the correct model image!: