Nail of the Day - Mavala Tokyo

There won't be too many Nail of the Day posts around here for a couple of reasons, the main one being that I'm lousy at applying it, and the other one is that I have truly dreadful nails that don't grow, and when they do, the second I start to think they're looking reasonable they start to split, peel, flake and then snap.  It's very frustrating! 

When I do wear polish though, I tend to favour dark shades, as I think they're a rare example of something that actually looks better on short nails (at least, that's how I justify it to myself, anyway!).   Mavala sent me some samples of their mini-polishes to try recently, and it was love at first sight for this shade!  It's a gloriously rich inky purple, and under natural light the colour is gorgeously vibrant and not at all "gothy". I'm wearing it in my rather staid office job right now!

Mavala specialise in mini pots of polish, and they promise a " unique formula" that is free from parabens, formaldehydes, toluene, camphor, cellophane, animal ingredients and heavy metal.  They also say that their product delivers microscopic air pockets to allow nails to breathe, so is allegedly a healthier option for your nails than some other varnishes on the market.  I love mini-products - seriously, give me a miniature version of anything, and I'll love it way more than the full size version, I'm a bit odd like that - so the dinky size of the bottle really appealed to me, and it means the polish won't dry up completely before I get to the end of the bottle.

I found the polish easy to apply (the pic shows two coats, with neither a top nor base coat, with flash), and although the brush on my bottle had a few stray bristles that I'll need to remove for next time I use this it, I really like it. I'll keep you posted on how the wear is!  I was slightly disappointed in that I was expecting the colour to have a matte finish, but I actually really like the satin-y shine of the polish, I'm looking forward to seeing if anyone notices it at work ...

You can find Mavala polishes for around £3.75 at good chemists and department stores.

Organic Wednesday - Green People Deodorant

Just a quick Organic Wednesday mention this week, as I'm ill with labrynthitis (truly, the most useless and pathetic disease ever) and the monitor is making me feel slightly nauseous ...

Anyhoo, I've been testing this Green People deodorant for the last couple of weeks, and I've been pleasantly surprised!

The Blurb:

Green People say: "This natural deodorant is made without pore-clogging Aluminium, Parabens, ethyl alcohol and artificial fragrances to bring you the purest deodorant that nature can offer."

Lippie Says:

I usually prefer my deodorants scented - I'm a big fan of  Vaseline Deodorant Cream ordinarily, as I love the scent of it, but it's gettting harder and harder to find in supermarkets these days - and I usually like an element of anti-perspirant too, it's the belt'n'braces approach to personal hygiene really.  This rolls on smoothly, doesn't take an age to dry, and, I've found that it really seems to work.  Yes, if you're a sweaty betty, then it won't really suit you, it contains nothing that will stop you perspiring, but it  really does seem to inhibit any whiffs.  I've worn it to work, and out on several  social occasions - I do leave the safety of the house and computer sometimes, I swear! - including a gig, a party and a rave (it was an accident), and no troublesome smells.


I was sceptical, I have to admit, but I tried it, I liked it, and I'll be continuing to use it till it runs out.  My deodorant came from Wholefoods (whom I'm currently boycotting - more about that later) and cost £7.50.

Organic Wednesday - John Masters Organics

Today I'm going to review two John Masters products: Sea Mist Sea Salt Spray with Lavender and John Masters Organics Hibiscus & Honey Hair Reconstructor

The Background:

John Masters is a NY hair stylist, famous for his colouring abilities and commitment to natural products. He's been experimenting with organic products for nearly 20 years, and is pioneering "clean air" salons, meaning that his salons only offer herbal and ammonia-free treatments, thereby avoiding those terrible chemical smells.

The Blurb

All John Masters Organics products must meet the following guidelines:

No SLS, parabens, No GMO's, no petrochemicals, no animal testing, no artificial colour, fragrances or fillers, all plant extracts and oils must be organic, fairtrade, proven to be beneficial, and  packaging is to be biodegradeable.

All of which is pretty impressive, no?  Very admirable but by gosh, it makes the JMO experience a pretty expensive one ...


Review 1 - Sea Mist Sea Salt Spray with Lavender


The product says:
"Spray on and get that extra body and wave that you love at the ocean.  Essential oil of lavender helps protect the hair from natural drying effects of sea salt. Spray desired amount on wet or dry hair.  Style as desired".

Lippie says:
I found that a bit vague (and there's at least one too many "desired"s there, let's face it). What is the "desired" amount? I realise everyone's hair is different, but the first time you use a product, it's at least slightly helpful for a product to make some suggestions as to how to use the product properly.

Anyhoo, I spritzed my hair liberally (I can do vague too) and left my hair to air dry.  I do like how my hair looks at the beach, that kind of wavy and slightly matte texture, so I was really looking forward to using this.  However, I'd overlooked the word BODY in the blurb.  Those of you who read my Cloud Nine review may already have figured out how this review is going to end ...

Oh man.  My hair already expands to fill any available space at any opportunity unless it's regularly beaten into submission styled with straighteners, so using this product was a massive - and I mean that literally - mistake.  The bouffant candyfloss confection I ended up with would have made Barbara Cartlands heart skip a beat.  I got complaints from the neighbours about blocking out the sunshine.  On the plus side, I didn't need a crash helmet for a few days, so it wasn't all bad.


Would I buy it again?  Heck no!  Smells lovely, but it's hellishly expensive for what is basically a bottle of salty water with some essential oil in it (mine cost £16 from Debenhams).  Might work wonderfully on someone with finer hair than mine though, and it would be great for someone with oily hair to help keep that under control, but for me, it's a big fat zero.

Review 2 - Honey and Hibiscus Hair Reconstructor.

The product says:
"A super-intense conditioning treatment that helps revitalise and restore hair.  Using the same essential fatty acids found naturally in younger hair, it's the perfect conditioner for the very dry or damaged hair.  May be used after each shampoo, or as a weekly treatment as needed.  Apply to wet hair.  Leave in 2-4 minutes (or longer). Rinse"


Lippie says:
This is a gloriously-smelling product that's just a delight to use.  I was convinced this was going to be rubbish, but I've used this three or four times since I bought it and it leaves my hair shiny, sleek and lovely.  I hesitate to say it's worth every penny of the £28 I paid for it, but it is a very good product indeed.  I'd recommend it for anyone with coloured, dry or damaged hair.

RIP GHD? or How I Found Cloud Nine Straighteners...

*Warning, this post contains images that some people may find hilarious disturbing.

You do have to be careful what you say in public these days.  A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned on Twitter that you'd have to prise my GHD's from my cold, dead hands before I could be parted from them, and the next thing you know, Cloud Nine are offering to help me change my mind!  From the people who invented the original GHD Straightener, Cloud Nine claim that their irons can get a beautiful natural finish on your style at lower temperatures than other straighteners, so avoiding heat damage on your hair. 

Now, I don't just have hair.  I have BIG hair.  I have a LOT of hair.  I have hair that is not only wavy, but wavy, fuzzy and wonky, in that one side is curlier than the other.  My hair hasn't been seen in it's natural state in many years, and all due to the invention of GHDs.  A lot of my friends don't even know I have curly hair! I've tried many brands of straightener over the years, and the GHDs are the only ones that have been able to cope with the beast my hair so far.  It was with this knowledge in mind that I accepted Cloud Nine's offer, knowing full well what the result was going to be.

Boy, was I wrong.

A couple of days ago, a (beautifully packaged) pair of straighteners arrived at Lippie HQ, and, not being into delayed gratification, the first thing I did when I got home from work was to start beating my hair into submission styling my hair with them.  They don't, in all honesty, look that different to GHD's, but they are lighter, and I love the nifty (heatproof) cover that slips over the plates when you're done with them to keep them closed, and stop them burning your surfaces.

Here was the challenge:

This is my hair in it's natural state, after a backbreaking attempt to blowdry it straight - and after using straightening shampoo, conditioner, serum and balm. Bouff!

First impressions were good, the plates really do glide over the hair in a silky fashion, so much smoother than the GHDs I was amazed. Plus, the tips don't get as hot as my GHD's do, both these things making them a lot easier to use.  The lighteness of them is also a bonus in this regard, as I have a lot of hair, so straightening with my GHD's usually takes around 20 minutes minimum, and tend to get sore arms from it all.

After following the enclosed instructions for smoothing out a blowdry, I set to work, and this was the final result:

Still a fair bit of volume there, which is exactly what I wanted! I used the straighteners on 150 degrees - a lower temperature than I've ever used before - and  was delighted with the results.  I was even more delighted with the results when I checked my watch.  From start to finish, the whole thing had taken twelve minutes!  Nearly half the time of my GHDs! I was, I have to say, flabbergasted.  Very little gasts my flabber these days, but these babies managed it.

Cloud Nine say that their straighteners contain a "secret ingredient" to make your hair supershiny when you use them, I have no idea what it is - they've refused to tell me! - but lookit this shine:

Just glorious. I found them a delight to use, they turned a hair chore I hate into something approching pleasurable, and I loved the results. I'm going to try making waves with them later on in the week, and I'll show you the results then.  Go track down a pair, you'll love them too.  In the meantime, do you know anyone who wants a pair of GHDs?  Cheap?

Be Stila My Beating Heart ...

I believe Stila is exiting as a beauty brand from the UK, I'm not sure I'm surprised at this news, I've always liked the looks of their products, but have never really been grabbed enough by them to make them a regular purchase.  This wasn't helped by the discovery that I'm allergic to their lipglosses, which really are their star product. But Brandalley had a sale of Stila products recently, and the prices were waaaaay too good to resist, so caved in and bought their Marrakesh eye palette.

Look how pretty these colours are:

Pictures with flash and without

Two lovely pinks, a gold and a rich brown. Brandalley's shipping times can be a bit slow, so by the time they arrived, I'd been waiting for several weeks, and I was desperate to try them.  But ... look at the swatch:

All shades were swatched once with a humongous amount of shadow on the applicator. Hmn, I thought,  not very pigmented, and exceptionally sparkly.  So I set to work creating an FOTD from them:

I'm wearing four different shades of eyeshadow in this picture, which is not something I do often, but I was trying to build up something besides sparkle on my eye. The gold is in the inner corner, the pinks are over the lid, and the brown in the crease and as an eyeliner.  This is also applied over a primer, and with a not particularly light hand.

Very disappointed, both with the pigmentation, and the sparkliness that verges on glittery, I couldn't build up any depth of colour no matter how much I applied, and when some of the powder got into my eye (not something that bothers me too much ordinarily) my eyes were stinging for hours.

Sorry, Stila. I wanted to love you, I really did.

Organic Wednesday - Plant Love II: The Review

I already said a fair bit about Plant Love during the makeover part of Organic Wednesday, so this won't be a long post!  I've tried a few ranges of organic colour cosmetics recently, and I have to say that Plant Love is definitely a cut above as far as I'm concerned.  The colours in the eyeshadows are strongly pigmented, they're easy to apply and blend plus the colour selection is wider than the usual round of sludge colours you get in some organic/natural ranges. Genna has stated that the Parakeet e/s is one that she's going to use on a regular basis, she liked it so much!

I like the easy to apply lipsticks too, the one we had  (Joshua Tree) was shimmery without being frosted which is spectacularly difficult to pull off, staying power seemed about average, it had to be reapplied after a couple of hours, but we didn't have any issues with dryness.

For me though, the stand out product has to the Natural Baked Illuminator.  There are three of these in the range: Earth, Wind and Fire.  Earth is a selection of bronzing shades, Wind has a hint of subtle pink blush with the bronze and Fire has a gorgeous bright pink blush in there.  I have Wind (if you'll pardon the pun) and I've used it every single day since it arrived, it's perfectly pigmented, and makes your skin just glow, I adore it, and it's now a makeup staple of my very own.  Just swirl your blusher brush over the marbled powder and either use it as you would your blusher, or use as you would a bronzer (for Earth and Wind) for a brightening effect.

I do have to say that I think the packaging is a bit of a misfire, I love the fact that it's all vegetable based and compostable, but these are actually serious cosmetic products, and whilst the pink packaging is pretty, it's a little too "girly" and makes the items look cheap.  That said, I'll be investing in at least the other two illuminators, and a couple more of the lipsticks, pretty soon.  I've discovered that blusher is a lot more important to my make up bag than I ever previously suspected!  The range starts from £10 and is exclusively available from Puresha

Nail of the Day - Zoya Coco

I don't do these often, as I'm completely cackhanded at applying nail varnish, but I had to post about this colour, I love it so much.  It's a lovely, velvety, chocolatey-purple shade, not too warm, and not too brown. It's a cream finish, with no shimmer or glitter.  It's rather unusual, and reminds me a great deal of the colour of proper, old-fashioned cocoa powder in the tin.

Zoya's varnish is a massive cult in the US, and should really be better known in the UK. Their formulas are  toluene and formaldehyde free (and vegan friendly!),  and though the the varnish itself s a bit thin and runny  (I found it very streaky after one layer) but I was very pleasantly surprised at how rich the colour was after two coats. The above pic is of two coats and is finished with a layer of seche vite top coat.

I got my polish from Organic Pharmacy, but you can buy it online in the UK from Nail Care Club for £9.29 a bottle.

Have just realised the colour matches my blog (nearly!) maybe that's why it was calling to me in the shop ...

Lip of the Day - Studio Secrets 411

Today, I wore my new L'Oreal Studio Secrets 411 lipstick.  It's a lightly pink "nude" shade, and I bought it as part of my ongoing quest to find the perfect nude lipstick.  What I want is a lipstick that'll make it not look too obvious that I'm wearing it, yet give me a polished look.

Here's how it looked on:

L'Oreal have arranged their Studio secrets by hair and eye colour, which is a fad I thought went out in the late eighties.  I'm also bemused by the blurb on the stand that says "light brunettes" should go crazy with colour on the lips, then provide a selection of all nude shades to "go crazy" with.  It's a nice lipstick though, gave a good coverage after just one coat, and didn't wear off too quickly.  It lasted till lunchtime without really needing touching up, even though the transfer onto cups was dreadful. It feels moisturising when you're applying it, but I think after a few hours of it totally wearing off, my lips feel slightly drier than they did this morning.  The colour doesn't quite work for me, I don't think, but it doesn't make me look dead, which is a nice change for a nude.

But we really have to talk about the packaging.  I like the idea of the clear central section - so you can see what colour the lipstick is without taking the lid off- but this packaging just doesn't work for me.  It looks cheap.  In fact, it's beyond cheap-looking, it is cheap.  The plastic feels flimsy and brittle in the hand, and the top just barely snaps into place, so it doesn't feel very secure.  It's a shame, as this isn't cheap lipstick, it's currently £8.99 at Boots, many of the budget ranges do better packaging than this, it's the sort of plastic that will shatter if it gets left at the bottom of your handbag.

All in all, I give it 6 out of 10.  Nice lippie, shame the packaging belies the price.

Organics - A new series

Long gone are the days where I could slap just any old thing on my skin and pay no heed to the consequences.  Too many years of recklessly painting myself with the most chemical-laden and powerfully-perfumed old muck - then using the equivalent of paint stripper to take it off - has left me with a face that breaks out and flares up into welts and red scaly patches if I so much as look at certain skin care ranges these days.

I pay a lot of attention to the labels on my products now, and, chances are, if the label states it contains parabens (particularly in eye creams) or SLS (lauryl or laureth) then it's highly unlikely that I'll be able to give that product the time of day.   Cleansers in particular have been a mine-field, foaming ones burn my face and make me red and scaly, and creamy ones make me break out really, really badly. That's why I'm really happy at the moment that organic ranges of skin care are becoming a lot easier to find - and, as the organic revolution moves on, they're becoming a lot more affordable too.

With websites like Puresha making the more high end "cult" lines such as Pure and True or Pai (they are also the exclusive suppliers of Cargo's Plant Love range of organic make up - which is beautiful, and funkily packaged!) easier to get hold of, alongside a  proliferation of affordable ranges such as Organic Surge coming to the high street it's never been a better time to be a sensitive skinned soul.  So I'm planning on trying out a few products, and bringing you my reviews of them over the next couple of months.  Some of the brands you will have heard of, but some of them might be new to you, but it'll be fun trying them out, and letting you know what I think.  I've already written about Dr Bronner, which I adore, here

Since I moved to using more natural products, my skin has never been better. Instead of spots being a weekly (and multiple) occurrence, I now get maybe two or three a year. Them being more rare never stops it being a drama when they do pop up though, I have to say! And I only get red, scaly, itchy skin when I know I've been really neglecting my routine.  Welts are no longer a fact of life.  Of course, a large part of this is because I'm actually better at taking my make up off before I go to bed now, but, it can't be denied that when I go back to using the - expensive - ranges I was using before, my skin simply isn't as well-behaved as it is when I'm avoiding products with packed with cheap chemical fillers and heavy perfumes.

What are some organic products that you've used, and which really work for you?

Review - Eyeshadow Primers

Today, I've decided to to a side-by-side product test. Two of my all time favourite products are MAC Paint (which I use as an eyeshadow primer, as well as a colour) and Urban Decay Eyeshadow primer. Up until now, I'd be hard pressed to say which was better, so I'm trying them both out at the same time, with an eyeshadow that I already now disappears in the blink of an eye ... so here goes:

WARNING: This post will contain pictures of me without makeup.

Stage one: In which our blogger goes barefaced

At this stage, what I mainly notice is that I've neglected to groom my eyebrows, no matter, won't be making that mistake again! What I also notice is that the MAC Paint on my right eye (left on these pics) reflects the light a little more than the Urban Decay primer on the left eye (right in these pics), I think this is because there is a little hint of shimmer and pigment in the MAC, which the UD is missing.

Stage Two: Wherein the experiment begins in earnest



At this stage, with both eyes open, there is little difference, but with my eyes closed, you can see that the UD primer is definitely better at grabbing the pigment, and the colour is truer. I'm using a loose shadow from Bare Essentials (Smoked Clay), which is a nice greenish grey, but that's hard to pick up with your brush. However, there is a price to pay for this extra pigment being visible, as you'll see in the next stage.

Stage Three: Wherein the colour deepens

I thought that the shadow I was using was too wishy-washy in the first pics, so decided to go for another layer of colour. When applying this, I realise that the Urban Decay is damned difficult to blend over. In fact, it's damn near impossible to blend over after it's had a chance to set for a minute or two. This means that there is a visible line in my socket-crease on my left eye (on the right there), which I'm finding infuriating. Blending is important, vitally important, to any good make up, and the Urban Decay simply won't let you do it.

Stage Four: In which my mascara is uneven.



Here, I've finished adding my eyeliner, and just wanted to see what the difference was between no mascara and one layer of Hypnose Drama (upper, pic) and with two layers of mascara (lower). What it has done is highlighted the fact that I have thicker lashes on my right eye, but longer lashes on my left. I'll be sticking with one coat from now on, I think.

Stage five : in which the finishing touches are revealed

I got around to powdering, adding blush and putting on some lipstick (Ellis Faas in L307, a lovely glossy coral shade) but not fixing that damn eyebrow. That's obviously why I'm looking so unhappy.

Stage six: In which your blogger fixes her hair, and her expression
There we go, I've covered up my pointy spock-ears, and am feeling more human again.

Verdict:

At the moment, they're fairly evenly matched. Whilst you do get a better coverage, and colour trueness with the Urban Decay, this is outweighed with the MAC Paint being easier to blend with. Now, I'm going to see how this look lasts throughout the day, and report back.

Products used:
Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer
MAC Paint in Untitled
Bare Essentials powder shadow in Smoked Clay
Revlon Wet/Dry Liner in Chocolate
Lancome Hypnose Drama in Black
Bare Essentials Blusher in Poppy
Benefit Bluff Dust face powder
Ellis Faas Glossy Lip in L307

Review - REN Rose Otto Bath Oil

It's been a funny old week. I got a job offer out of the blue, which caused much soul-searching as I've only just started a new job. This new job offer comes with a shorter commute, more money, and it's back in the industry I love ... A hard decision had to be made - do I leave my cushy new job, and go back to the private sector, or do I stay and spend the next six months wondering if I've made the wrong decision? - and I needed some help making it. After consulting everyone I could get hold of by phone, then asking my adorable Twitter followers what I should do, AND after talking to my boss, I was still at a bit of a loss.

So, I took a bath.

Now, I love baths at the best of times, but, when I'm a bit flummoxed, or just need to escape from the cares of reality for a couple of hours the bath is usually where you'll find me. I do a lot of my best thinking in there, it's a peaceful and comforting place for me. I actually find showers stress me out a little bit, funny but true.

Now, I wanted a nice bath, I needed a nice bath. Then I remembered that last week, I got a parcel of REN goodies from Puresha, so I decided to crack open the Rose Otto bath oil. I confess, I've had a bottle of this before, but it's good stuff. Beyond good stuff, actually. It makes your entire house smell like a rose garden just after a shower of rain, and the smell lingers for hours. It leaves your skin lightly moisturised, and, because the oil disperses entirely into the water, it doesn't leave a greasy ring around the bath, nor will you have an oil-slick on the surface of the water whilst you're in there. I hate that so much when it happens.

A couple of hours later, I had a decision made, and was feeling heaps better. REN don't make any claims for aromatherapy effects from this product, but it certainly helped me relax, and all in all, was probably better for me than the several glasses of wine that I would have ordinarily used to chill out ...

I took the job.

Product Review - Lancome Hypnose Drama

I am a massive fan of Hypnose, I've used it constantly for years. Well, I say constantly, I've had occasional flirtations with Max Factor, and Benefit Bad Gal once in a while, but I always come back to Hypnose. I found it's lengthening and fattening properties to be second to none.

But ... I've always liked the original Hypnose, Lancome attempted to improve the original a couple of years back with an "Onyx" version, which I really didn't like at all. It was supposed to sparkle, and leave your lashes glossy with a shine that was meant to be visible to all. It didn't do any of those things, that I could see. It was just a slightly runnier version of the original formulation, and it dried out very quickly after only a few uses.

So, when I discovered Lancome had reformulated yet again, I was exceedingly sceptical, especially when I noticed it has a curved brush. I am notoriously cack-handed at the best of times, and to be honest, I've never really seen the point of these curved brushes. But I gave it a go anyway ...

And, I'm very glad I did, setting aside that I still don't entirely see the point of the curved brush, it's a very good update to the formula. It lengthens, and thickens even better than the original formulation, and, most importantly, it lasts better too. Some of my friends complained that the original used to flake, I never had that problem, but it didn't wear well much after about six or seven hours on me, I used to notice.

The Orange-Faced Lady on the Lancome counter said you could layer up to 12 coats, but I think that way madness lies. I notice a massive difference after just one coat, and two coats is more than enough for anyone, I would have thought.

So all in all, this is an excellent addition to the already superlative mascara range from Lancome, I'm a complete convert.

Pics of lashes to follow ,,,