You know I’m a sucker for Elemis and on Sunday, they’re launching their brand new Melting Cleansing Gel to the fanfare of one of QVC‘s legendary TSVs.
I get excited when TSVs like this come up. They sometimes include products that I’m less likely to use which reduces the value of both the TSV and the set for me. This one? Love everything in it and the new Melting Cleansing Gel sounds exciting! (you know you need to get a life when you genuinely get excited at the prospect of cleansing gel).
But because I know you lot are as tragic as I am… have a listen…
This gorgeous cleanser is suitable for all skin types and transforms from a gel to a milky cream when it is mixed with water. (Love cleansers that emulsify like this and am sorely tempted to give it a try whilst ignoring the 4 half full bottles of cleansing oil still in my bathroom)
key ingredients include :
~ Argan Oil to tense the skin and support the skin’s fibre networks.
~ Rice Silk to eliminate shine.
~ Assai Fruit to protect the skin’s lipid barrier to avoid it getting dry.
~ Rosemary Leaf a powerful antioxidant to stabilize oil flow and the sebaceous glands.
Will you be checking out the Elemis TSV on Sunday (sky channel 640)? What’s been some of your favourite TSVs to date?
Appointed “The Complimentor” by new TV Channel QVC Beauty, he’s been dedicating November to dishing out feel-good compliments to people on the streets of London and online at QVCBeauty.
He says:
“The world is a very serious place at the moment, but there is always room for a compliment. They are simple to give and great to receive so I’m hoping that I can spread 100,000 little moments of happiness, which will brighten up the receiver’s day. To hit the target I have to give away roughly two compliments a minute, but I’m confident I can be chivalrous until the end.”
I haven’t even been paid a compliment and I’ve still got a smile on my face after watching that!
What’s the nicest compliment you’ve received lately? Or if you haven’t… be sure to drop The Complimentor an email at hello@thecomplimentor.com before the 15th November to receive yours!
Next up doing their bit for Breast Cancer Awareness Month is…
What is it?
The Breast Cancer Care Smashbox Smile Brightening lipstick duo from QVC – in luscious pink!
Light up your smile with this Smile Brightening Lipgloss Duo (each 6ml) from Smashbox. Each lipgloss is packed with light-reflecting particles for a gorgeous shimmering pout, as well as specially coloured pigments designed to reveal your brightest smile. It’s also infused with a cool minty flavour that will make you feel fresh and ready for the day or evening ahead.
Launching exclusively to QVC at midnight on Saturday 14th August is Decléor’s latest cleansing solution.
Decléor’s Aroma Cleanse (£28) is a mousse that promises to deliver well-balanced cleansing with an emphasis on skin-caring ingredients.
In the past, I’ve sworn off mousse or foaming cleanser in favour of cremes. As someone with combination/sensitive skin I generally find these kind of cleansers quite drying on my easily-irritated fizzog. However, Aroma Cleanse claims that it will leave my skin feeling (and I quote) “rehydrated”. Interesting…
The formula promises three distinct actions:
Deep Cleansing
When it comes into contact with water the rich, concentrated cream quickly lathers to a gorgeous mousse-like texture, creating tiny bubbles to swiftly deep cleanse and soften the skin leaving it clean and velvety soft. The inclusion of two cotton cloths with each pump dispenser also provides a further delicate exfoliating action and helps to ensure skin is left free of residue post-cleanse.
Skin Polishing and Perfecting
Grapefruit, Papaya extract and Japanese White Mulberry exfoliate and gently slough away dull dead skin cells to leave the skin crystal clear with visible clarity and luminosity after just one use.
Moisturising and Plumping
With nourishing Neroli essential oil – also known for it’s decongesting and calming properties – and Hyaluronic acid, a potent protein that occurs naturally in the skin and can hold up to 1000 times it’s own weight in moisture, immediate results on the skin are outstanding. The skin has renewed plumpness due to the injection and retention of moisture, which gives it an extreme feeling of firmness, while wrinkles appear reduced and skin feels intensely soft and balanced too.
Just a couple of claims to bear in mind while I’m testing the sample I received then… phew!
Mostly, I’ll be concentrating on this moisturising aspect… I’m sceptical! I’ve never used a mousse or foaming cleanser (and I’ve used a lot!) that hasn’t left me RUNNING for my moisturiser as my skin tightens uncomfortably within minutes of cleansing.
Due to be launched on QVC on the 10th July (that’s just a few days away!), Matte is the latest foundation to be released by mineral foundation pioneers Bare Escentuals.
Available in 15 shades to suit every skintone, I purchased my pot of Bare Escentuals Matte SPF15 (shade: Fair) in a blog sale a little while ago and have been putting it to good use in the warm weather we’ve recently been enjoying.
Just as finely milled as the original version, the foundation feels silky and light to the touch. I’m starting to realise there’s a bit of a love/hate vibe around mineral foundation. I will happily swear by the coverage it gives and I rarely get a cakey finish when wearing it. Infact, I’ve often (ok, twice) been asked what foundation I’m wearing when shopping on beauty counters and both times when I’ve replied with the answer ‘mineral’ – the look of shock from the SA’s has been in “kodak moment” territory.
As with the original Bare Escentuals SPF15 foundation, I’d call this medium coverage. You *can* build, but that’s when you begin to run the risk of it looking more obvious, especially on dryer skin. You can purchase fuller and more sheer mineral foundations, it all depends on the ratio of the minerals, but Bare Escentuals in my opinion, offers straight down the line medium coverage.
An irritation with mineral anything, is packaging and portability. In the past, Bare Escentuals foundations have been fine sitting on your dressing table… but take it anywhere without sellotaping up the holes in the sifter? BIG MESS! The new Bare Escentuals Matte foundation offers a very simple solution that quite frankly, should have been implemented years ago…
A little rotating lid like you’d find on your pepper pots covers the holes in the sifter and stops excess product leaking during transportation. I told you it was simple!
Application is the same for the new Bare Escentuals Matte foundation as it is for the original. Swirl, Tap, Buff!
Mineral still affords me the quickest and most forgiving of foundation applications. I have a few great brushes for application: My Body Shop kabuki, my MAC Flat Top 180 or my Bare Escentuals Full Flawless Face Brush. They all work equally well to provide an even finish, though flat top brushes tend to give a fuller coverage.
I’ve talked about application, packaging and my experiences with mineral foundation in general… let me tell you how I find the new Matte version in comparison to the Bare Escentuals original formula.
On initial application, it is indeed a completely matte finish (thanks to additional oil-absorbing minerals)… it wipes out all traces of shine and oil from my skin, leaving a wonderfully even surface. The original leaves me with a touch of…. not sparkle, that’s comletely the wrong word. Natural luminosity? I would say that if you have more mature skin, you may prefer the more forgiving finish of the original formula. If your skin is younger and more prone to oil… the Matte formula is something you should definitely try. Alternatively, something I’ve had success with is wearing my original formula lightly all over before buffing a little Matte into my T-Zone.
I’ll share a little tip that SJ (Bare Escentuals National MUA) told me when I was introduced to the new foundation. If, in the middle of the day… you think you need a little foundation touch up, grab a brush and simply buff your face with it (no product). It re-distributes the minerals that are already on your face from the initial application and simply recharges your foundation. It totally works and is something that I’ve always done with minerals anyway… but it seemed funny to hear a proper MUA confirm something that I do without any thought as to why or how it works. Silly anecdote, but a tip is a tip!
Here’s a before/after application with the new Matte foundation (no concealer):
Longevity? Well… that’s my other bugbear with mineral foundations. It’s a shame that I have to take a brush and buff my face in the middle of the day… but I do. Bare Escentuals Matte foundation is no different and generally lasts about 5 hours on me before I need a pitstop to the Ladies with my brush in hand to ‘redistribute’ the powder. Then, I probably get another 3/4 hours out of that before I wanna apply more product.
The nature of the product however, means that it doesn’t matter if I apply a bit more over the top of the rest of my makeup. It has no ill-effect at all and now that Bare Escentuals has made it portable… well, it’s just not much of an issue for me anymore. Worth mentioning though.
Overall, it’s not an improvement on the Bare Escentuals Original foundation (bar the new sifter)… but it does sit very nicely alongside, offering an additional choice which may or may not be for you depending on your skin type.
Bare Escentuals Matte SPF15 Foundation will launch on 10th July exclusively on QVC priced at £19.50.
Hmmm… that makes this post sound far more dramatic and exciting than it actually is.
Perhaps if myself and VexintheCity hadn’t been gently chaperoned to the exit when it was time to go home, I’d have had the opportunity to ‘lose myself’ and run around QVC HQ in a style akin to Mission Impossible… camera flailing… whilst being chased by 3 burly security guards and papping Dale, (the ‘Housewive’s Choice’) secretly devouring all the biscuits in the QVC kitchen.
Not that it wasn’t exciting or interesting… It was! But the one thing that struck me above all else was simply how quiet and relaxed the place was. Now, I know we arrived after ‘home time’ for most, so the offices were understandably peaceful… but the live studios were also incredibly relaxed, almost serene.
Anyway, let’s have a look around…
The offices… where all the model booking, show planning, product organising and general adminy stuff takes place.
The prep room! Like a well-oiled machine… all the trolleys get stacked with products relevant to the show they’re destined to appear in. This is the beauty trolley for that evening’s 10 o’clock airing. I spy Decleor, Nails Inc, Bare Escentuals and other lovely things.
The prep Kitchen! They were showcasing utensils and a range of cookware. Gotta have some food to put in ’em right? It was HOT in there, but the gorgeous foodie aromas that were wafting down the corridor were immense!
Check me out, I done a panoramamama! What a geek! (Click the picture to see it LARGE)
This is one of the studios (I forget which number – there’s 6 in total I think). QVC headquarters and studios will be relocating in the next couple of years to Chiswick. Their current location was never supposed to be permanent, though they’ve been there 17 yrs now!
The building they’re in wasn’t designed to house studios. Natural light floods in from the atrium above and needs to be blacked out and checked before they go live each time, which obviously isn’t ideal.
Oh, oh, oh! We got to stand behind the cameras whilst a show was going out live! Mobile phones OFF and super quiet creeping about was the order of the day. At one point, I had to physically restrain VexintheCity who admitted an overwhelming urge to run infront of the camera waving her arms about like some day-release. I would have TOTALLY pretended not to know her.
As I said earlier, the studios were really quiet…. even the live ones. Imagine it… big room, two presenters, 1 floor manager (have I made that job title up?) and 1 camera man. That’s it. Eerie! It was pure QVC cheese too… I loved it. Jilly Halliday was demonstrating some funky *cough* clothing, whilst Dale Franklin was asserting his charm over the nation’s ladies, encouraging us to part with our cash for some of the latest and greatest jewellery on display. Flippin’ fabulous!
Control Room/Production-y bit…. Like the bridge of the Starship Enterprise! Lots of buttons…. wanted to dive forward and press a couple. Accidentally slip and sit on about 20 at once, you know the score. I behaved myself.
This lady was watching Dale do the jewellery presentation… she was nice. Are you still with me? Hello? Hellooo?
After all that tour excitement, we retired upstairs to where Bare Escentuals had set up a little room to give us a sneak preview of their new (to the UK) matte foundation. I’d had the pleasure of meeting their national makeup artist SJ previously but it was good to see her work her magic again.
Bare Escentuals Matte is due for release on QVC on the 10th July… we were given a sample, but I’ve already got a pot (in a better colour match) that I scored in a blog sale a month ago. I promise to review it before it releases over here (tick tock). It’s a great alternative for those among us who like the idea of mineral makeup but dislike the dewy finish that minerals tend to give. I predict it’s gonna be a big seller throughout the Summer.
SJ getting to work on the beautiful Keren who’s currently guest blogging for Lindsey at Beauty Mecca.
And the finished result. Subtle but flawless.
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It was a fabulously fun evening and a real change from the norm for me. I hope you enjoyed a little sneak peek behind the scenes. Don’t forget, it’s beauty month at QVC… there’s lots of tempting TSVs coming up and check out the Bare Escentuals big Matte launch day on the 10th July.
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For more info on what you can expect from QVC’s Beauty Month, watch this video with Alison Young below:
Like it’s not TOTALLY obvious from the snap below.
QVC HQ!
I was tempted to slip my shoes off at the entrance before entering the temple of home shopping, but that would have looked kinda uncool right?
Walking round, it was interesting to hear more about the channel that’s been beaming beauty products (and more) into our homes for the past 17 years.
This is just a teaser post really, I’ll tell you more about behind the scenes at QVC over the weekend, but I’m back in the big smoke today ‘cos a little birdy told me that there might be an exciting MAC collection getting it’s first airing?… and I’m all over it!
Jemma Kidd Pro Lip Perfector is a product clearly designed to fulfill three uses: Anti-feather, Prime and Plump… all housed in a single double ended pen-esque container.
I am terribly dubious about most primers (excluding my beloved UDPP) and it wasn’t too long ago that I tried the new Urban Decay Lip Primer Potion, which went a long way to solving my pigmentation issues but was a drag (literally) to apply and left my lips feeling a little dry.
I expected something similar from this.
One end houses the anti-feather ‘nib’. A waxy translucent lip liner that creates an impenetrable barrier in the same way you would Vaseline your hairline to stop your hair dye from seeping down towards your eyebrows. The other end holds a concealer-coloured bullet which claims to ‘prime & plump’. And it does so nicely.
The primer glides on in comparison to the Urban Decay version… it’s a joy. The concealer colour that it imparts blanks out the colour from my lips and allows for a neutral base. I would recommend blotting the primer before applying a lipstick ontop just to remove the excess product but keep the neutral colour base.
It does indeed tingle like a true plumper should and doesn’t leave my lips feeling any dryer than normal. Infact, I applied the primer to one half of my mouth before using a lipstick… and in all honesty, couldn’t see a massive difference in application BUT the primer’ed half felt far more comfortable 10 minutes later, whilst the non primer’ed side began to feel a little dry and tight.
The photo above shows my lips wearing just the Jemma Kidd Pro Lip Perfector with nothing ontop. You can see that it blanks out all natural pigmentation successfully. I would recommend this over the Urban Decay Lip Primer Potion because it is so good at creating a blank canvas without drying. I’m not convinced it gives me any extra wear from my lipsticks, but the addition of the anti-feather product makes this an extremely useful tool to own.
The Jemma Kidd Pro Lip Perfector is £15 and available from QVC online.
To celebrate the launch of the Jemma Kidd Make Up School range on QVC, Hi-Shine Hydrating Glosstick SPF15 is EXCLUSIVE to QVC from the 18th April 2010.
Available in 5 shades: Bridgetown, Hibiscus, Sugar Cane, Holders, Paradise
I love these chisel shaped lippies… ever since my Besame’s, I appreciate how much they aid application straight from the bullet… though I’m not sure they’re really necessary for a more balm-like product as this.
The Jemma Kidd Gloss Sticks promise a super sheer wash of colour for lips with a hi-shine gloss finish and light reflecting particles to give the illusion of fullness.
Jemma will be presenting a special two hour launch show today on QVC’s Beauty Day.
HI-SHINE HYDRATING GLOSSTICK SPF15, £13.00 available via your telly box (don’t make me tell you what channel) and online at QVC
L – R: Dry, Foiled – not a huge amount of difference there is there? Amazing pigmentation.
Fire Water:
Sorry, no pan shot (forgot!), check out the very top picture to see what it looks like.
L – R: Fire (Foiled), Fire, Water, Water (Foiled)
The Blue out of Fire Water is indeed beautiful, and the swatch does it justice… but it’s still too glittery and crumbly to be classed as anything other than a pain in the arse.
Here’s a quick EOTD with Pink Icing/Devil’s Food (my favourite):
Very simply: Pink Icing on the lid, Devil’s Food in the crease and foiled as a liner.
Sorry for the manky eyeball shot, hopefully you’re not eating or anything… I woulda shut my eye, but then you’d have had manky creasey eyelids to look at instead.
Thanks for all your recommendations on which other Laura Geller products I should have a look at, I’ve now got *quite* the shopping list! Enablers, the bleedin’ lot of ya!
…I’m cultivating it gently… I don’t want to go all out and mega haul, I’m dipping my toe 1 product at a time. eBay, QVC, my mother’s makeup collection… nowhere is safe.
Out of the three, the pink icing duo is my favourite… it’s the most beautiful combo for a neutral eye.
Bewitching Bronze is lovely too but I’m slightly disappointed with the Eye Rimz, as it’s mostly glitter that doesn’t stick too well either as a shadow or a liner. It’s a gorgeous colour though.
All Laura Geller baked shadows can be used wet or dry, so they’re pretty darn versatile.
Laura Geller are a brand I don’t hear too much about. The fact that it’s stocked exclusively by QVC in the UK may have something to do with it, rendering it fairly inaccessible. I’m looking forward to continuing my exploration into the brand.
Are you a Laura Geller fan? Anything I *must* try?
