A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

When a product gets over 200 5* reviews on Amazon, I can’t help but take notice.  Which is how I ended up buying one of these Travalo perfume atomisers last Christmas to put in a care parcel for my sister in Oz.  I haven’t actually *sent* this parcel yet, infact… I’m looking at it with overwhelming guilt as I type this. Note to self: send the damn parcel already, it has creme eggs and a packet of twiglets with her name on ’em!

I’m tangenting…

Anyway, I was contacted by Travalo’s PR last month who wondered if I’d heard of the atomiser… “Yes!” says I, irrelevantly explaining what a completely awful sister I was.  Once I’d stopped rambling, they deduced that I hadn’t actually tried it for myself and kindly offered to send me one.

Behold.  The Travalo.  (and a nearly empty bottle of Hypnotic Poison).

The premise is simple.  We don’t want to carry big bottles of breakable perfumes around with us in our handbags and we *definitely* don’t want to pack them in our suitcases to take on hols but we still want to smell incredible right?

Old fashioned perfume atomisers involved fiddly things like funnels and swearing under your breath as you poured half your bottle of EDT over yourself, the kitchen counter and the cat before managing to eke maybe half a drop into the atomiser vessel.

Travalo uses a pump action to draw the juice from the original bottle into the atomiser chamber without a single drop going to waste.  Or that’s how it works in theory at least… look…

You just pop the nozzle off your favourite perfume and press the base of the Travalo onto the exposed, erm, errr, stump?  I’m sure that’s not the technical word.

It totally reminds me of watching my mum refill her BIC lighters in the 80s.  But again, with less swearing.

There’s something incredibly satisfying about pumping the Travalo up and down on the stump of the perfume bottle.  And it doesn’t even remotely make me think of sex either.

You get about 50 spritzes from a full Travalo which should be plenty for a week in the Sun.  I like that the atomiser has a decent nozzle too… it doesn’t dribble fragrance pathetically or force me to make do with my most hated of dispensers… the roller ball.

It’s a bit “form follows function” in its design and styling but it serves its purpose well without any major faults.  I’ve lumped it about with me in my handbag, given it to L to play with in the back of the car and even let Mr. L have a go at filling it after his curiosity got the better of him.  It has suffered a fair few scratches where the Travalo has bumped up against my car keys so I’d like to see the product come with one of those little drawstring pouches to keep it better protected.

When all is said and done though, it’s solidly achieved what it promises without fuss or palava, providing an affordable solution to a common fragrance dilemma!

Travalo Rapid Pump Fill Perfume Atomiser Bottle is available to buy online from CheapSmells and Amazon, priced from £7.10 with free delivery.

GIVEAWAY TIME!

Now, for the giveaway… I have one of these Travalo Atomisers (in PINK!) to give away to a lovely Facebook follower!  If you don’t already following Lipglossiping.com on the book of faces, why not? Oh, you hate facebook?  In that case drop me an email and I’ll enter you anyway.

If you ARE on Facebook, it’d be much easier to go here and click LIKE.  Or alternatively click the ‘like’ button over there on the right somewhere —>

T&C
1. Entry open to worldwide participants by liking the Lipglossiping.com Facebook page.
2. Alternative entry available for Facebook haters by email.
3. One winner will be picked at random from all participants.
4. Lipglossiping.com is the sole promoter of this giveaway.
5. Competition closes on Friday 13th May 2011 at 23.59.
6. Winner will be notified through Facebook or email within 5 days of the close of the competition.
7. No email addresses will be stored once the competition has closed and will only be used to contact the winner.

Smoky, boozy, warm and decadent.  Richly opulent with a vanilla that transcends all.  The vanilla is a true, gourmand vanille as opposed to anything too playful or overly sweet.  It harmonises and mellows the tobacco beautifully.

Tobacco Vanille* is a fragrance that oozes warmth, breathe it in deeply and you’ll feel the scent warm your belly like the sun.  This makes it quite a difficult fragrance for some to wear during Summer months where the headiness may become overwhelming… but for me, it’s the perfect accompaniment to sultry, Summer evenings.

At £118 for 50ml, a Tom Ford Private Blend fragrance isn’t a purchase to be entered into lightly but these exquisitely blended perfumes stand alone with personalities that cut through the myriad of other frags on the market.  Complex and deep, I’ve sniffed the 12 scents in the Private Blend collection and appreciate the quality of each one.  This doesn’t mean I love all of them but it stands out to me that I only dislike certain blends because the personality of the scent disagrees with my tastes and not because it lacks anything in terms of quality.

The line of Private Blends are described as unisex and this is definitely true for Tobacco Vanille that wears just as smoothly on my skin as it does on my husband’s thanks to the craftsmanship displayed in creating the perfect balance.  The spicy tobacco adds a bitterness to the creamy vanilla whilst the vanilla and honeyed tones smooth the rough edges from the tobacco leaf.  The feminine/masculine tones simply dance a tango in the bottle.

My one wish would be for a couple more hours wear from Tobacco Vanille which lasts around 6 hours on my skin whilst my husband manages to achieve around 16 hours from a coupe of sprays!

If you like sweet, rich scents but feel that the majority of mass scents on the market smell a little too young or fruity… you must visit your local Tom Ford counter to experience Tobacco Vanille on your own skin, then make your partner fall in love with it too, there’s nothing like going Dutch 😉

Tom Ford Tobacco Vanille is available from Selfridges, Harvey Nichols and Harrods and priced from £118

* press sample

“He loves me, He loves me not…” is a rhyme that many of us will remember from the days when Summer holidays seemed to stretch an eternity and the biggest worry we had was whether or not we’d be able to sneak a jammie dodger from the biscuit tin before bed.

Of course, that particular rhyme meant very little unless we were clutching a fistful of daisies in our hands (we needed more than one incase we got the dreaded “he loves me not”).

Yardley LONDON, one of England’s oldest fragrance houses, re-launched last September with reformulated and repackaged products in a bid to re-energise the brand.  I would imagine that re-launching a brand so quintessentially English, with 240 years of history is not an easy task.  Obviously they need to stay true to their heritage and their loyal customers but in 2011, they clearly need to look to enhance the image of the brand in the eyes of the younger generations aswell.

Enter the Royal English Daisy Collection…

Perfume house Yardley LONDON have introduced the new fragrance collection to coincide with the imminent Royal Wedding.  Based around the perceived fragrance of daisies (the flowers have no actual fragrance), the limited edition range comprises of three products.

Royal English Daisy Eau de Toilette 50ml (£9.99)
Royal English Daisy Body Spray 75ml (£2.49)
Royal English Daisy Moisturising Body Lotion 250ml (£5.95)

Daisies have long been a favorite of many, as they represent loyal love and innocence. They have the ability to bring a smile to a face or brighten a room like a golden ray of sunshine.

Yardley London’s Royal English Daisy is an elegant dewy fresh, green floral fragrance, reminiscent of flower filled meadows in the spring sunshine. It opens with a burst of energetic top notes in the form of fresh green leaves and apple, combined with a heart of hyacinth and white rose, enhanced with warm base notes of sandalwood and musk.

It seems fitting to me that the brand who (are in possession of 2 Royal warrants), be the ones to commemorate and combine this Royal extravaganza with the classic British daisy.

The fragrance itself, was inspired by the future princess, Miss Catherine Middleton.  Yardley London wanted to create a new youthful, light and fun fragrance and they believe that they’ve successfully encapsluated her beauty, energetic and fun-loving character within the scent.

I find the fragrance in all three products to be light, airy and most definitely spring-like.  Not intoxicating enough for warm Summer evenings but perfect to spritz on in the mornings.  It reminds me of cool linens and long grasses… it’s sharp at first, the EDT… alcohol-heavy… but the dry down removes the acidity and what remains is crisp apple and white flowers.  It’s fresh, floral and a bit fruity.

My particular favourite from the range has to be the Moisturising Body Lotion, though I’d personally describe it as a light lotion.  It contains the same gentle scent that manages to linger on my skin for a surprising length of time.  It absorbs quickly, leaving behind softened skin that also feels slightly cooled.  For me, this product is going to be a Summer essential.  I’ve enquired about whether or not Yardley London have any plans to introduce the body lotion formula to their other scents.  No plans at the moment, but my goodness they must!

The range is available to purchase now from Boots, Lloyds Chemists and online.  Be sure to go and give it a sniff while it’s still available to buy, you may be pleasantly surprised at what you discover from this re-invigorated, heritage brand.  I certainly was.

Smelly men. Let’s face it, they’re a real problem.  Stinky brothers, shower-dodging boyfriends and husbands who think that turning their undercrackers inside-out consitutes a legitimate change of clothes.

Thankfully LUSH are on the case and have introduced a whole range of pampering goodies for the fellas in our lives.

The inspiration behind the range comes from the original men’s Dirty scent that was released in 2009 by B Never Too Busy To Be Beautiful (LUSH’s defunct sister brand).  The scent proved to be such a hit that LUSH wanted to find a way to re-incorporate it into their current range of products.   That all sounds straightforward enough, launch a range of men’s products that smell like an old favourite cologne and watch the pennies roll in!

Though it gets a bit more interesting than that because Mark & Simon Constantine, otherwise known as The Gorilla Perfumers decided to introduce men to the concept of layering.

Us women know what layering is all about right?  Usually… we get our Xmas gift sets of our favourite fragrances and on special occasions we’ll use the shower gel followed by the matching body lotion before spritzing on the EDP before we walk out the door.  Simple!  A lovely layered scent that has been built up to full intensity and is guaranteed to last longer than our dates.

With the new Dirty range from LUSH, each product contains single notes from the original Dirty cologne.  Thus, instead of layering the same complete scent over and over, you’re actually building the fragrance from the ground up!  How freaking cool is that concept?!?!

Let me show you some of the products available in the new range:

Spring Wash Shower Gel (£4.25 100g / £8.50 250g / £14.95 500g) is a skin-softening and skin-tingling shower gel for the body and hair.  Sodium Bicarbonate works to soften the water and deodorise the skin, whilst the spearmint, menthol and fine sea salt will leave you feeling refreshed and revitalised… like you’ve showered in a mountain spring!

This smells like Spring and Summer rolled into the perfect package… it’s zingy, fresh and invigorating.  Mr. L likes it because he can wash his hair without having to reach for another bottle *tsk*.

Verdict: Steal it

Read the rest of this entry »

A survey by The Perfume Shop has revealed that four out of ten men buy gifts for their wives or partners at Christmas – just so they can use it themselves.  Gits.

But on the plus side, 15 per cent of these men have ended up having a row with their disappointed spouse, with one in ten even getting dumped because of it!  Dumped.  Not that we’re shallow or anything… but seriously, don’t screw it up.

By my calculations Mr. L, you have 10 days left to buy me something nice.  Not Call of Duty: Black Ops nice… proper nice.  Jewellery is a good option as long as it’s not from that dodgy looking stall on the market.  Or Argos.

Don’t bother attempting to buy me clothes… and if you buy me lingerie?  I’ll buy you a new pillow for the sofa.

Makeup?  Yeah… I could live with that but don’t buy me green eyeshadow or coral lipstick.  Or bronzer fit for David Dickinson.  I don’t mean to pile the pressure on… I know it’s not easy for you but living off Heinz Baked Beans for the next 6 months won’t be easy either.

Here’s my thoughts on some of the last-minute fragrance buys available to your lovely selves, including my thoughts of some fragrance samples that I’ve received recently.  Here’s hoping for a sweet-smelling, easy-living Christmas.

1. Noir EDT – The White Company (£35)

Is there a woman in existence that doesn’t swoon over The White Company’s brochure?  It’s the epitome of the “my house would look like that if I didn’t have a real life to live” dream.  Noir is a fresh, fruity fragrance with a heavy dose of amber and a hit of orange that keeps it light.  Not the longest-lasting scent around, I find that I need to reapply after a couple of hours.  On the plus side – if she likes it, next year you can buy her the matching candle, bath soak, body creme and scent diffuser.  I’ve just sorted out your present-buying woes for the next 5 years!

2. Nina L’Elixir – Nina Ricci (fr. £29.50)

I’m a huge fan of the original Nina fragrance and this reincarnation has taken everything I love about the original and celebrated it.  It’s sugary and girly and packs one hell of a fruity punch.  Berries… big juicy cherries and blackcurrants.  I can’t go past a bottle without spritzing it and I’ve not long finished my original Nina…. oh Mr. L, won’t you make a girl’s Christmas? [probably not – Mr. L]

3. L’Eau D’Issey Noir Absolu- Issey Miyake (£59)

If your better half is an original L’Eau d’Issey lover… Noir Absolu should be an obvious choice.  L’Eau D’Issey Noir Absolu is a limited edition offering that takes the original’s floral empire and builds on it with notes that are less clean and more suited to the current time of year.  The ubiquitous amber is there, as is a dash of vanilla to warm it up.  I have to say though, that bottle… it’s stunning in black no?  My favourite of all Issey incarnations I’ve smelt so far and considering how many there have been… that’s saying something!

4. Jean Paul Gaultier Classique EDT – Jean Paul Gaultier (£66.50)

Another limited edition bottle masterpiece.  Don’t worry, the missus won’t think you’ve bought her this solely for the err… feminine bottle shape [tsk].  The beautiful charm that hangs around the bottle neck can be re-used as a handbag charm, whilst the classic fragrance itself has stood the test of time over the past 17 years.  Powdery, floral, soft and ultimately ridiculously feminine… there’s a reason why JPG can get away with retaining the same juice despite all the collectible flacon designs he releases.  It works for many, many women.

5. Naughty Alice – Vivienne Westwood (fr. £34.50)

Another lust-have for me is Naughty Alice by Vivienne Westwood… I think it may be slowly becoming apparent that I have a ‘thing’ for beautifully packaged perfumes.  There’s something to be said for a glamourous-looking dressing table!  Naughty Alice is actually Sweet Alice… it’s another flirty, light and rather girly scent that would have to work hard to offend.  I also think it would make a perfect Spring fragrance… and that lovely whimsical bottle and charm?  *sigh*

6. Elemis Eau de Parfum – Exotic (£35)

Out of all the perfumes included, Exotic is my tip for title of ‘most sensuous’ and with that comes the sub-title ‘most mature’.  I am an unashamed lover of flirty, girly scents but a lady always needs a heavier, headier fragrance in her arsenal aswell.  If Exotic is indeed exotic, then I’d say it comes from Marrakech thanks to the incense and warmth that lingers once the spice notes subside.  Infact, I wish they lingered a touch longer – for an EDP it’s a little short-lived.  But beautiful while it lasts!

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So, there we have it… my rambly thoughts on potential purchases for the lovely ladies in your lives.

If you’re still in doubt… raid her dressing table for a selection of the perfumes that she currently wears and take them to someone who can advise you further.  It’ll save you hassle in the long run… The Perfume Shop’s survey also revealed that one in five women said they were so annoyed with their partner’s choice of present, they made their bloke buy them another gift to make up for it!

You have been warned.  Don’t screw it up. [that goes for you too Mr. L].

When I was making a birthday purchase for a dear friend, I couldn’t resist keeping the GWP for myself.  I know that’s naughty… but don’t act like you wouldn’t.  You wouldn’t?  Ok… now you’ve made me feel *really* bad.

Dolce & Gabbana Rose The One has been a hit on counters since it was launched last year.  It’s a very soft, feminine floral that updates the traditional rose scent and reintroduces it to a younger generation.

Of course, as with most fragrance successes comes the spin offs… the body lotions, shower gels and in this case… the body shimmer powder.

I received a ‘mini’ 6g size free with my fragrance order and have been thoroughly loving it.

As an objet d’art, it’s a really pretty thing to have sat on my dressing table.

As soon as you remove the lid you become aware of the delicate scent of roses and grapefruit.  It smells like a really clean floral… immensely feminine and quite suited as a body product.

The shimmer that this product imparts is beautiful.  Delicate, rose coloured with gold accents… it’s shimmer for grown ups.  I tap a little into the lid and use my powder brush to dust along my collarbone.  I’ve tried to catch how it looks in the photo below but not sure I’ve done it much justice.

I would definitely repurchase this in a larger size if/when I run out.  The scent it leaves on my skin is just the right amount and I would imagine that when layered with the complimenting EDP is a force to be reckoned with.

Don’t you just love a good GWP?

D&G Rose The One Shimmer Powder (in the huge 26g size) is available to buy online from John Lewis, priced at £34.

The three lucky winners of my Sugababes perfume giveaway are….

Georgie Foster

Monika Wykurz

Asmaa Mangera

Well done ladies!

Expect an email from me shortly to request your postal details!

Thanks for taking part everyone, if you weren’t lucky enough to win this time round – head over to the Sugababes Fragrances Facebook Page where they’re giving away 30 bottles!

If at first you don’t succeed and all that!

It’s Monday morning and to lighten the inevitable back-to-work blues, Lipglossiping has teamed up with the people behind the new Sugababes fragrances to offer three readers the chance to win 1 of the new fragrances worth £19.99 each!

The collection consists of three essences: Tempt, Tease and Touch.  They’re described as spirited, uplifting, and perfect for the modern young woman.

When describing this new venture for the band, Heidi remarked: ‘Working on Tempt, Touch and Tease has been absolutely amazing for all of us, and the fragrances are everything we wished for!  I hope everyone out there loves them as much as we do.’

For more information on the fragrances and other updates including further competitions, check out the Sugababes Fragrance facebook page!

Want to win a bottle of your own?  Here’s how to do it…

Fill in the form below and click submit – that’s it!

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GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED!

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THE SMALL PRINT: Giveaway will close at 23.59 GMT on Sunday 7th November 2010, Personal information is collected only for the purpose of this giveaway entry and will be deleted as soon as winners have been notified, 3 separate winners will be chosen at random and will receive one bottle of fragrance each – personal preference cannot be guaranteed, one entry per email address, duplicates will be deleted, all decisions are final, open worldwide.

I don’t get excited by shoes (yeah, I know – freakozoid)… so this is probably the closest I’m gonna come to getting excited by a Jimmy Choo debut.

Jimmy Choo by Jimmy Choo is set to enter the perfume market next January as the brand’s first foray into the beauty world.

I’m bowled over by the beautiful bottle which co-founder Tamara Mellon stated has been inspired by Murano glass (there’s worse things to be inspired by right?)  It’s elegant, shapely and there’s not a stiletto-shaped flacon in sight.  Amen.

But enough of how it looks… how’s it gonna smell?!

The fragrance is being described as a a fruity chypre with notes of exotic tiger orchid, sweet toffee and Indonesian patchouli.  That sounds right up my street… feminine but with a little more sophistication than your average floral.  Sweet toffee?  One for the gourmand-fragrance lovers?… i.e. me, as long as it’s not too sweet.

Regardless, I’m sure that Jimmy Choo by Jimmy Choo is destined to be a Valentine’s Day sellout.

Jimmy Choo Eau de parfum is set to retail at £39 (40 ml), £49 (60 ml), and £68 (100 ml).  Available from Harrods, Selfridges and selected Jimmy Choo boutiques.

Estee Lauder’s Sensuous Noir is the original’s sexier, sassier and more mature sister… it was released this Summer as a rich, seductive and ‘after dark’ version of the already popular Sensuous.

After reading that description, I was expecting something heady, dark and sophisticated… and it very nearly is.

I received my bottle from the press officers at EL after attending their Christmas Launch (of which I’ll have more detail on v. soon!).

First, let’s take a look at the packgaing because we all know how influential the bottle can be.  Who wants an ugly bottle on their dressing table right?

The bottle (lightened here by the fact that I photographed it in the window!) is basically the same design as the original fragrance except that it’s been vamped up with a midnight blue colour change.  It’s simple… nothing extravagant or particularly memorable but the ripples make it quite tactile and nice to hold.

The embossed lid is a nice touch but I found it quite hard to remove, I had to clutch the bottle to my chest and really pull to expose the spray nozzle.

The scent is initially as heady as I expected.  With my amateur nose, I can detect a spice that seems almost oriental and immediately disappointed me.  So many ‘night-time’ versions of day-time scents fall back on the old oriental/vanilla trick that I was worried this would be heading in the same direction.

But then the patchouli hit me squarely on the nose!  I’m not usually a fan of patchouli-heavy scents, but this one isn’t really earthy at all.  It’s much woodier, fresher… cleaner.

If I had to describe this in the shortest way possible… I’d describe it as a perfect Autumnal mid-evening scent.  It has notes of Amber which always remind me of Autumn and when mixed with the spice, vanilla and patchouli – I can almost taste the crisp, cool evenings.

After an hour of wear, the Amber really takes over and it becomes a far softer, more feminine affair without being too powdery.  I think that this is where it excels.  On my skin, those lovely, soft and hugely feminine tones linger for hours.  I would reach for this whenever I wanted to simply smell great without attracting too much attention to the perfume.

It’s not a “knock your socks off” sexy, “sensuous” fragrance by any stretch of the imagination, it’s just not exciting enough for me… but that won’t stop it from having broad mass-market appeal.

Estee Lauder Sensuous Noir is available on counter and online now, priced at £32 for 30ml.

Next up doing their bit for Breast Cancer Awareness Month is…

What is it?
Versace Bright Crystal is a contemporary fragrance with delicate notes of juicy pomegranate, magnolia, peony, and lotus flowers.

The luxurious set features:

• Limited Edition Versace Bright Crystal Pochette with pink ribbon charm
• Versace Bright Crystal Eau de Toilette Natural Spray (50ml)
• Versace Bright Crystal Perfumed Body Lotion (50ml)

Price
£42

Donation
Unspecified percentage of the sale’s proceeds going to Breast Health International.

Availability
Exclusively in House Of Fraser Stores from the beginning of October 2010, whilst stocks last.

Ohhhh, I dunno… it’s all a bit macho innit… cheesy 90s machismo.

Maybe it’s the bottle, maybe it’s the whole locker room sport scent thing…

They say

[stextbox id=”custom” bcolor=”b0c4de” bgcolor=”e6e6fa”]Davidoff’s latest men’s fragrance Champion will trigger in men a desire to develop the latent potential within them. That deep, fundamental instinct for victory and power. Davidoff Champion is about the daily ritual of taking the time to build physical and mental strength. To become a champion.[/stextbox]

I say

I’m not a snob (well, alright… I am) but it’s a bit mainstream isn’t it?  I hate this just as much as I’d hate a stiletto shaped bottle of scent (there must be one out there?).  I know, I know… look past the packaging… but I’m struggling.

Having said that, I think the packaging will probably tempt just as many men as it puts off… I can see this on the Christmas wish list of many 16yr olds.

As for the scent?

Well… it’s not my favourite and it does border slightly on the generic fresh scent for “manly” men… but… it just about dodges the bullet.

Davidoff Champion has a nice citrusy kick that although never really fades enough to reveal anything beyond this, is almost pleasant enough on it’s own.  Staying power is pretty good too… I just wish it were a bit more complex.  This ain’t gonna beat Marc Jacobs Bang as men’s scent of the season, that’s for certain!

Having said that, I’m strangely addicted to the ad… *shrugs*

Davidoff Champion is available in 50ml & 90ml EDT and priced at £35.50/£43.50 respectively.