A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

Back when Justin Bieber was nothing but a twinkle in his Grandfather’s eye, Biba was turning heads as an iconic 70s London store bringing fashion to the high street as the Top Shop of its day. The label is currently enjoying its 2nd relaunch and doing rather well, so much so, that the House of Fraser owned brand is on the cusp of relaunching Biba’s iconic makeup line with a beautiful capsule collection.

Biba Face Palette (34.00)

Six luxurious eyeshadows, a rich oyster pearl highlighter and dewy pink blusher to create alluring and sensuous looks-perfect from dawn unto dusk.

Biba Lipgloss Ring (£15.00)

This chunky cocktail ring will draw admiring glances with its nod to the iconic Biba logo. The lid slides to one side to reveal a shimmery pink gloss for the perfect pout! It can also be used to adorn your bag as a charm.

Biba Baked Eyeshadow Palette (£26.00)

Velvety soft mineral eyeshadows in opulent shades of molten metal and precious jewels. Use a dampened brush for intense long wearing colour.

Biba Luscious Lashes Duo (£18.00)

Biba lashes are sure to make a statement. Two pairs – one show stopping evening pair and one for a more natural day look will ensure that you are never overlooked.

Biba Lip Palette (£24.00)

Luscious and indulgent lip colours in five luxurious shades. Custom blend the lip colour for a unique style all of your own.

Biba Nail Polish Trio (£21.00)

Nail polish is the ultimate finishing touch to any look and these three stand-out shades will add a little something to every outfit.

.

So there we have it, the re-launch of Biba Makeup. Not, as Barbara Hulanicki would have it, I’m almost positive of that. The collection most obviously strays from the affordable ethos that the original Biba held so close to its heart but I can’t deny that I’m loving the look of that nail polish trio and the baked eye palette for its Biba aesthetics and shade choices.

I was lucky enough to have been sent the lashes from the capsule collection and have passed them on to madame Lash Queen (Liloo) who has promised to give them an outing for us in the coming weeks, so stay tuned!

Biba Beauty launches exclusively in House of Fraser from the 1st October 2011.

Will you be checking out the return of Biba Beauty?

When a well-known skincare brand announces that it’s bringing out a professional line with professional results, it’s a point of interest.  When well-known skincare brand points out that its results are backed by a long-term, independent clinical study that’s been published in the British Journal of Dermatology – it’s a point of slightly more significant interest.

Introducing, Olay Professional.

You can keep your Thandie Newtons, show me the clinical studies!!!  Though to be fair, better dumb ’em down a bit, I only got a C in my GCSE Double Award Science.

The study involved a panel of women aged between 40-65 who tested the regime over a 6 month period against a leading anti-ageing prescription ingredient.  The study showed that the new Olay Professional range was as effective as the prescription ingredient, Retinoic Acid (the most powerful form of Vitamin A) at reducing the appearance of wrinkles.

If you want to find more about this study, there’s an article on cosmeticsdesign.com that you may be interested to read.

POP-UP SKIN CLINIC!

In celebration of the launch, Olay will be opening the doors to a temporary clinic where you’ll have the opportunity to pre-book for a free one to one consultation with a skin expert from the world of dermatology.

The Olay Professional Clinic will be open to the public for three days only (28-29 June and 1 July 2011) at 18 Maddox Street, Mayfair, London from 10am-5pm.  If you don’t want to pre-book, you can still drop by to receive a product demonstration by an expert beauty consultant, and relax in the lounge with an anti-ageing “mocktail”.

To book, call the Olay Professional Clinic booking hotline on tel: 0207 611 3770 and register your details.

Olay Professional went live on the Boots website today on a strictly limited pre-sale basis with only 300 Olay Professional Anti-Wrinkle Kits available for purchase and I hear that over 7000 women signed up for the pre-sale.  Scary stuff!

The full, nationwide launch is scheduled for August.

Do you feel like you’ve seen it all before or are you more likely to be interested by products marketed around the results of their clinical trials?

I first read back in January from the inimitable BeautyWooMe that kings of minimalism Muji were introducing their skincare line into the UK and as a huge fan of Japanese skincare, I was chomping at the bit for the release.

Comprising of two core product ranges:

Sensitive Skin: A hypo-allergenic skincare range formulated for delicate, sensitive skins.

The range is:

• Alcohol-free
• Paraben free
• Unperfumed
• No artifcial colouring
• Free from mineral oils

High Moisture: An intensive moisture rich skincare range formulated for dry skin.

• No artifcial colouring
• No added synthetic fragrances
• Free from mineral oils

The High Moisture range also contains Hyaluronic acid known for its moisturising properties and Lipidure ® (Polyquaternium -51), for locking in moisture, protecting and softening the skin.

In addition to the two core ranges, the skincare line also offers a Cleansing Oil (yippee!), a Cleansing Milk and a Cleansing Gel aswell as some rather nifty facial tools such as a Massager, Face Masks, Eye Masks and ever-useful Cotton Pads.

The skincare range starts from a very reasonable £7.95 and combined with the aesthetically pleasing packaging and somehow satisfying experience I always get from shopping in Muji, I’m gonna be making a beeline for the store every opportunity I get.

Or I could just be lazy and order online.

I have a couple of items that I’m testing at the moment so expect a review shortly!

My posts on the launch have been a touch hiccoughy – so here’s a little recap ‘cos I know there’s a lot of interest out there.

~ Launch Announcment & Thoughts

~ Review and lip swatches of Countessa Fluorescent, No She Didn’t & My Beautiful Rocket

Fully launched now, you should be able to find the Lime Crime lipsticks in your local store…. if you do go and have a play with some of the colours, please come back and share your thoughts with me (and everyone else!).

It would be great to get lots of varied feedback because judging by some emails I’ve received… I’m beginning to get the impression that some of you are really interested and excited by the lipsticks but hesitant to display your excitement for fear of ‘going against the tide of opinion’.

That saddens me.

Getting excited about super-bright lipsticks is your prerogative and we should all be excited about beautiful colours and new launches!

The majority of you who come here aren’t beauty bloggers and don’t leave me comments and are infact interested in one thing and one thing only:  “…are they any good ‘cos I don’t wanna waste £14 on a crappy lipstick”.

I say… read my review and then go and try a few shades!  While you’re at it, please come back and let me know what Airborne Unicorn is like ‘cos my nearest Space NK is a shocking 25 miles away.  Yep… feel for me.

And that (you’ll be pleased to hear) is probably my last word on it.

Cult US eccentric brand Lime Crime are currently enjoying a boost in credbility thanks to UK based apothecary Space NK.  In an unlikely but ultimately interesting pairing, Space NK will be bringing the full range of Lime Crime CandyFuture lipsticks to the store’s shelves later this month.

The collection of 10 lipsticks which range in colour from an opaque black right through to palest lavender will hit UK shores with a price tag of £14 each compared to US equivalent pricing of $16.  The price hike is pretty much expected, and perhaps slightly less than anticipated when you consider Space NK’s ill-fated launch of excessively priced Sonia Kashuk brushes last year.

The reputation of Lime Crime… with self-proclaimed “Unicorn Queen” owner/operator Doe Deere at the helm, has recently endured the internet equivalent of a “beat-down”.

The company may initially struggle to gain trust and loyalty from cosmetic connosieurs in the UK with the recent allegations raised against the brand, but I don’t doubt for one moment that the playful, fantastical nature of the brand will appeal to many high-street shoppers.

The launch has the potential to bring a fresh, younger audience to Space NK… which may ultimately validate this unusual synergy between conservatively styled Space NK and the whimsical Lime Crime.

As an interested observer (but ultimate fence-sitter) with regards to the recent Lime Crime dramas, this has the potential to be one hell of a launch.  I just hope that Space NK have ordered in enough glitter and life-size unicorns.