Review - Armani Blushing Fabric Second Skin Blush

I first had a sneaky peek at these a couple of months ago when BritishBeautyBlogger kindly let me swatch her sample, and I was lucky enough to be sent a couple too just recently. Not ordinarily a massive fan of blusher (I'm much more an eye and lip product kind of girl), these are gorgeous, and I've enjoyed using them a lot.

Weightless owing to their silicone base, these are easy to apply and spread well over the skin, giving a "lit from within" glow that's very flattering.  They're fairly pigmented, and a little goes a long way.  I have two shades, 1 & 2, and here's how they look straight from the tube:

No 1, on the left there, is a lightly gold-flecked peach, and No2 is a sheer strawberry shade.  I find these a lot easier to blend than normal cream blushes - owing to their light texture, there is little or no "drag" on the skin when blending, Certainly I much prefer using these to something like Benefit's Benetint, as they don't dry as quickly, and you're not left with dreadful stripes.  Blended here's how the shades look:

There's not a huge difference between them once blended, but shade number 2 is slightly cooler-toned and is without shimmer, whereas there's just a tiny hint of gold shimmer on the swatch on the right.

Here's how they look on the face:

There is a little bit of a learning curve in using these blushes, it can be very easy to use too much - just a dab'll do ya, but if you do get too much out of the tube, the shades work well on the lips too. I've noticed that the Blushing Fabrics work much better over a foundation with a matte finish rather than one something dewier, a dewy finish-foundation will make them wear off a lot faster, whereas if I wear it over something like Clinique Anti-Blemish foundation, they will last a good 12-16 hours without fading. Tubes of this aren't huge, but you need so little at a time, that I estimate a tube would last quite a few months of daily wear.

Armani Blushing Fabric Second Skin Blush (catchy!) will be available on counters from July 1st, will cost £28,  and will be available in three shades.  Will you be investing?

The Fine Print: These were sent for review by a PR who owed me a favour.  No blue eyeshadow was harmed in the making of this post. Opinions, honesty, yadda, yadda, yadda.

Creative Heads Most Wanted Awards 2010

A couple of weeks ago, I was contacted by Creative Head magazine and invited to be a judge of one of their "Most Wanted" awards. It's a massive honour (other judges this year include both John Frieda and Andrew Collinge, amongst a load more respected people both from inside and outside the industry, sadly, I don't have a full list to hand), and it's an offer I was delighted to accept. Can't help thinking that Creative Head haven't heard about my insane hair though, otherwise they may have thought twice about the invite ...

I spent some of yesterday at the Wella Professionals World Studio in London, and, after a couple of hours alongside my fellow judges discussing our category (Best Online Salon) we had to come to what was a very tough - for me - decision.  All the entrants on our list had some great points, and it was excellent to see so many of them making use of Facebook and Twitter (which most of you already know I'm a massive fan of), so it was hard to decide who should win! I had my own set of criteria, which may have been a little different to the other judges, but it was nice to see where our thoughts were all on the same page, and that we had had some identical reactions to some of the entries!  Some spirited debate took place, I can tell you!

We did all eventually make our decisions, but obviously I can't reveal any details as yet! I'm looking forward to the awards ceremony in September though, and getting to know who wins all the other categories, some of the entries looked amazing, I'm sure the ceremony will be tonnes of fun. One thing I won't enjoy (the less said about Jimmy Carr being the host, the better as far as I'm concerned) seeing will be my VT - yes, I was filmed giving my opinions on hair again, I'm afraid! It keeps happening by accident, GHD made me talk to Fashion TV a few months ago ... I hate seeing myself on camera, I sound (to myself) like an idiot and I spend the whole time I'm watching just counting my flaws.  That reminds me, my eyebrows need doing ...

So, just out of interest, what do you guys look for in a hairdresser's website?  Do you even look for hairdressers online? What's important, and what would make you decide never to darken their doorstep?

Mr Lippie Reviews: Guerlain Homme L'Eau

Back again, with a new scent that GetLippie and I are currently arguing about....

Guerlain Homme's L'eau comes in a chunky translucent bottle that looks somewhat ominous, on first viewing. It's big, angular, and has a GINORMOUS spray nozzle that just dares you to press it.

Once you get over that, however, the scent itself is actually quite light. It's ever-so-slightly lemony, but there are so many other undertones in there that are only really noticeable upon repeated sniffing. Yes, I applied this to my wrist and sniffed it lots - so by the time you read this I am likely somewhat high on the fumes and have started talking to trees, but it'll be hard to tell the difference from normal, so I wouldn't worry too much about it...

Anyway...moving on. It's not a spectacularly uber-masculine scent, it's quite complex, preferring to sneak up on you rather than hit you over the head with how powerful it is. Think ninja rather than boxer, if you like? I would say this is also a scent where less is most definitely more...overapplying this, whilst it wouldn't necessarily be unpleasant to those around you, could get a touch cloying. With that in mind, I'd wear this possibly once, twice a week at most - it's something I'd prefer for an actual "event" rather than for everyday grind, where it's less likely to be actually appreciated.

It lasts really well, too - I've still been sniffing it a good 7 hours after first applied, and the subtle changes throughout the day still make it quite effective and interesting.

So, the argument myself and GetLippie are having....is whether I should keep the bottle or she should. It's a scent that lends itself well to women too, I think, so we could be having this argument for some time....

***

Get Lippie says:

Redolent of limes, mint and hints of rhubarb, I love this. It reminds me a great deal of Guerlain's Herba Fresca - one of my all-time favourite summer scents - but Guerlain Homme L'eau is a less green, more citrussy version, and has a slightly longer lasting effect on the skin. It's cooling and fresh and it's MINE.  I will admit that it smells good on MrL - it's a slightly woodier scent on his skin - but it does work astonishingly well for either gender. I'm keeping it.So ner.

The Fine Print: We were sent a bottle of this to review several months ago and we've been fighting over it ever since.  Currently the bottle resides with Get Lippie in London and MrLippie has weekend access. Sometimes.

Organic Weekend - Pat & Rub

I'm featuring another one of my finds from the Natural and Organic Product Show this weekend, Pat & Rub Relaxing Hand Balm.

This is what P&R say about their products:

The plant ingredients that make up our recipes are responsibly cultivated, unprocessed and 100% natural. They contain none of the following, found in many skincare products:

• mineral oil and other petroleum derivative: paraffin and vaselin
• silicons and other PEG substances
• polypropylene glycol
• artificial colourants
• synthetic aromas
• preservatives (eg parabens)

Pure and natural, Pat&Rub is skincare as it should be.

A Polish company, Pat & Rub is run by women for women, and the products are largely put together for their therapeutic properties.  They have both a relaxing and a revitalising range and I was given a sample of their Relaxing Hand Balm with coconut and Lemongrass - and a little hand massage! I do love a good hand massage, and the balm seemed ideal for the purpose keeping a great deal of slip throughout, and my hands were left feeling smooth and soft for the rest of the day.

This is what P&R say about their handcream:

A cornucupia of benevolent nourishing substances. For very tired and dry hands. Renews, moisturises, softens, brightens, soothes, elasticises the skin of your hands and strengthens your nails. Absorbs beautifully. The ingredients in this balm minimalise the negative influence of detergents and other drying and irritating factors. It contains natural UV filters and the scent of coconut and lemon grass.

• Lemon Grass Oil - invigorates the mind, enhances the look of your skin: smoothes and cleanses
• Lemon Peel Water* - brightens and disinfects
• Jojoba Oil* - strengthens and firms
• Avocado Butter* - oils, regenerates and protects
• Olive Butter* - smoothes and soothes
• Camomile Extact* - soothes irritations
• Hyaluronate Acid - moisturises and protects
• Allantoine - soothes and softens
• Provitamin B5 - reduces pigmentation, elasticises
• Natural Vitamin E* - smoothes, firms, oils and moisturises

I've used this balm several times since the day of the show, and I have to say that it is an excellent handcream, it takes a little while to massage in, and it does leave your hands soft, fragrant  and it deals with any dry patches. I like the bottle too, it's an airfree bottle with a pump dispenser that's easy to get just the right amount out with.

However:

I use the word "fragrant" advisedly ... The balm is wonderfully redolent of both coconut and lemongrass, and will perfume your hands for several hours.  And therein lies the rub.  Coconut on it's own is a great smell, personally I love it.  Lemongrass is also a great smell, aromatic and refreshing, it's a great addition to this cream, I think.  However, together, you get curry.  Specifically, Thai green curry.  In itself, not a bad smell, just ... a touch too evocative for me, I think.  The smell is very distinct, and it lingers for a good while too.

That said, this balm had an odd effect on the men in my office when I used it.  They LOVED it! I always have about five or six handcreams around my desk, and not one of the others has had the men in my office asking what it was, and begging to be allowed to try a sample of it.  One of the guys loves the scent so much that I actually gave him my sample bottle!  He uses it a couple of times a day, and is often to be found happily moisturising himself and sneakily sniffing at himself when he thinks no one is looking ...

So, girls, if you want men flocking around you grab yourself a bottle of this stuff.  You might think you smell like your local Thai restaurant, but the boys will LOVE you ...

Ellis Faas: Ellis Eyes Lights Eyeshadows.

My birthday treat to myself was a trip to Liberty to have a look around the Le Metier de Beaute counter, and play with the Ellis Faas eyeshadows. I love me some Ellis Faas, and I was delighted when I discovered that she's recently introduced a new range of shadows to go alongside her Milky and Creamy shadows (you can see my post about those here).  Most people know that the Ellis Faas range is based on shades found in the human body, but the shades in the new "Ellis Eyes Lights" range are metallics and duochromes, and were inspired by silver shimmers. They're beautiful, and they had my name written all over them:

How could I resist? Yes, yes, my name is Louise, but most people call me Luce - only my mum and my boss really call me Louise!  I bought two.  I had to. Shades E304 - a shimmering metallic lilac and E305, a reddish-brown with a beautiful green duochrome.  Here's the swatches:

See how the colours change depending on the angle? Simply gorgeous.  Housed in the signature Ellis Faas bullet applicators, these have a brush tip for an easy application.  The swatches above have been applied quite heavily to show them in their full glory.

Applied more sheerly to the eye, here's how the brown E305 looks:

I've added a touch of a darker brown in the crease, and along the upper lash area, but this is just one coat that I've sheered out a little with my fingertips towards the socket line.  The green flash is far more visible in the flesh.  The shadows do dry quickly so you have work quite quickly, but they are long lasting, and hard wearing, and will last a full work day without wearing off.

This is how the shadows look in the full context of my face:

Do you own any Ellis Faas?