Pedicures - Heaven or Hell?

Feet freak me out.  It's a sad fact, but true, and they've always given me the willies (so to speak).  I can deal with the fact that I have feet, but, well, just don't talk to me about them, don't show me pictures of them, and don't, whatever you do, touch my feet unexpectedly.  More than once, when my mum was training to be a reflexologist and using me as a guinea pig, she got a swift (accidental!) kick in the head after a ticklish manoeuvre.  She's never really forgiven me.

All of this probably makes me the worst person in the world to attempt to review a pedicure, but hey, I'll give it a go! I was invited along to experience a Himalayan Signature Pedicure by Pinks Boutique recently, so I went along to their outpost at the Aurora spa in the Park Plaza Hotel in Waterloo last Friday to see how they coped with a terrified blogger ...

First impressions were that the spa is tiny, but very clean, and the staff were all very welcoming.  Nicole, my therapist for the day, had been made thoroughly aware of my little ... er ... problem before I arrived, and she took it magnificently in her stride (see what I did there?  I crack myself up sometimes, I really do.  Ok, I'll stop it now), and made sure that I was feeling comfortable at all times throughout the procedure.  At Aurora, they have a bespoke pedicure room which is liberally strewn with cushions and magazines, which is ideal for it's purpose (pictured left).  As I was having the signature pedicure, which involves a leg massage, I was in the more traditional spa room which was clean, smelled delicious, and had beautifully ironed sheets on the bed.

Starting with tea and cupcakes  - always a good way to set my mind at ease, at least - we started with removing the old polish, then went onto a trim and file (always the worst part of any pedicure for me), your cuticles are oiled, then your feet are soaked in warm water which is liberally filled with Himalayan salts and essential oils.  Once soaked, your cuticles are pushed back and then your feet are massaged with a salt scrub to remove the hard skin. This is where we discovered that my feet are exceptionally ticklish, and there was, I'm afraid, a bit of flinching - sorry Nicole!  A file was also necessary on my scaly heels, alas!   Feet are soaked again to remove the oils, and then it's onto the massage part of the pedicure.

Two words for this - utter bliss.  My feet and calves were given a thorough massage with glorious-smelling oils, and no flinching!  I absolutely loved it.  Even the bit where she was wiggling my toes ... we finished off by painting my toenails with OPI's India Mood For Love to match my pink patent Birkenstocks (yes, I did buy them, and I LOVE them, so there), and we were done.  My toes were looking beautiful, all the hard skin I'd carefully spent the winter storing up on my heels was finally dealt with, and I felt rested and refreshed rather than faintly sweaty, slightly stressed and somewhat resentfully twitchy as I tend to after other, rather more medical (and functional) pedicures.

If you're nervous about feet - and I suspect many people are, after I tweeted about the subject recently - then I can't recommend the Pinks Boutique Himalayan Signature Pedicure highly enough, the products are organic (the varnishes aren't, but then, there aren't any organic varnishes on the market, so it's not a black mark in my book), the therapists are highly trained, and the staff at the Aurora, Park Plaza will go all-out to accommodate mad phobias. And mad clients, but we'll gloss over that, shall we?

The signature pedicure costs £65 for a 75 minute pedicure, but there is a shorter version which costs £45 for 45 minutes.

The Fine Print: Pedicure was provided for free,  in order to help a me deal with a phobia that I'd admitted to on Twitter.  I'm not cured, but I thought I'd blog about it anyway. ;)

Beauty Blog Link Love

 
Over at theNotice, Rae has been bitten stung by the Misikko bug -- and she is not pleased!

Betty Girl Makeup is back, and continuing on with her series on contouring!

Vex in the City shares her delight at discovering the wonders of Mehron's new Celebré HD-Pro foundation.

Lisamarie from Beauty Crazed checks out the multitude of choices in lash enhancers.

Louise pens a love letter to a BLUE eyeshadow, and is now trying to deal with her embarrassment.

Mz. More from The Glamorous Gleam tells you all about her experience with the Zoya Nail Polish Exchange, and shows off her new goodies!

Does your significant other complain about "too girly" shower gel scents? Want a happy medium? Look no further and discover what shower gel Hellcandy and her bf are raving about!

Jeweled Thumb shares how she spot cleans her brushes, and reviews 6 cleansers to help you find the best one for you!

Hot Beauty Health shares the top beach beauty buys for summer 2010!

Krasey Beauty meets Dany Sanz, the artist, legend, and creator of Make Up For Ever.

Spiced Beauty shows you that you can look fab in red lipstick... even if it just costs a dollar!

There's a new natural cosmetics line on the block! Lipglossiping casts her eye over Bourjois' little sister, Une.

Jolie Laide Girl is glowing with Make Up Forever's HD Blushes.

Learn how to get 'Perfect Skin' with the help of makeup artist Jon Hennessy at Makeup by Kim Porter.

Phyrra shows you the newest collection from Aromaleigh, Victoria’s Revenge. If you like steampunk, you’ll love this collection!


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Find out what Audrey Dao is giving away for June's Reader of the Month Giveaway!

Cindy from Prime Beauty is a Stila IT girl and you can be too, with her awesome Stila giveaway!

When accidents happen - YSL Summer Solaris Collection

Sigh.  I took the pictures for the FotD for this a couple of weeks ago, and I was just digging through the promo pictures (which I hadn't seen in several months!) to show you the range in full when I noticed this:

My FotD:

YSL Promo:

Notice anything? I'd even stolen the hairdo ...

Blue eyeshadow.  It makes me crazy.   Now, would you like swatches? It's a lovely collection - if you ignore the glitter.  YSL and I are going to have a chat about the glitter...

The Fine Print: YSL promo pic provided by PR, my face is entirely my own work.  And some genetics, but let's gloss over that, shall we?  As I mentioned earlier in the week, I'm as creative as a doorknob, and now I'm a plagiarist too.  I give up.

Review Clarins Instant Smooth Compact Highlighter.

Oh, it pains me to write this one, really it does. I bought, and reviewed most of the Clarins Instant Sunlight summer collection a couple of months ago, but I've been hanging back from covering this one, as I wasn't sure what to say about it.  Then I scratched my head and had a really good think about what I wanted to say, and this is what sprang to mind:

It's rubbish.

I did a series on highlighters recently too, and this one is notable for it's absence.  You know why?

It's rubbish.

Clarins promise:

Its melting, silky and non-oily compact cream texture smoothes and evens the skin while giving an instant healthy-glow effect. Optically reduces fine lines and wrinkles and smoothes skin. Moisturizing and nourishing, ensures skin looks fresh and comfortable. 

Well, one part of that is certainly right.  It's definitely a cream.  AND it's in a compact.  Sadly, this "highlighter" is invisible on the skin. I tried to swatch it.  Man, how I tried!  No joy.   I applied it on my cheeks, my browbone, my hands, my cupid's bow.  Seriously, anywhere you'd think of applying a highlighter, I applied this.  And how many photos did it show up in?  None.  Mind, I couldn't see it in the mirror either, so I don't know what I was expecting.

I've worn it in daylight, artificial light, candle light, fluorescent light, and it's invisible.  I've applied it with the sponge provided (useless, stained the sponge, none on my face), used a brush (nothing on my skin, but the stickiness of the product ensured that it pulled a few bristles from the brush out, so now I have a hairy highlighter), and my fingers.  Nothing works! Now, I'm all for the natural-look (you might have noticed) but I don't really want to pay £23.50 for invisible makeup again.  A case of The Emperor's New Highlighter?  Has anyone else tried this and had success with it?

It's a shame, as I normally really like Clarins products (except Beauty Flash Balm, which I've never understood the fuss about), and I'm feeling a bit guilty that this is the only product I've ever featured on here that I couldn't find a good thing to say about.  Shame on me.  It's a nice compact, shame about the contents.  There, that's the best I could do.  Sorry, Clarins!


The Fine Print.  I bought this, and it's probably the only thing I've bought in about five years where I really wish I could get a refund from the manufacturer, still, keeps the economy afloat and all that, eh?

Birthday Giveaway Reminder!

Guerlain Oriental Metal, Chanel Particuliere, PLUS a Chanel Rouge Coco (you pick the shade!) are what you can win in my birthday giveaway/competition.  This is just a little reminder post, as the giveaway closes next week (midnight on Wednesday 9th June), prior to my giving away the goodies on my actual birthday on June 10th.

Click here to be taken to the post with the entry requirements

I want to say a MASSIVE thank you for the astonishing number of amazing, wonderful, heartwarming, funny, and occasionally tear-jerking entries that I've received so far, there have been so many more than I ever expected and every single one of them has made me smile! You're an amazing bunch of people, thank you so much for sharing your stories with me.  I'll be printing up some excerpts from some of them when I announce the winner on Thursday of next week.

So, if you haven't entered yet - and remember, you don't have to be a follower to take part in this one, and it is open internationally - please do take a look at the original giveaway post, and find out how to take part.

Estee Lauder - Blue Dahlia Collection

Hold on to your hats people, for I have fallen in love with an eyeshadow.  And it's BLUE ...

I was saying in one of my rambles on Zuneta recently that I much prefer the autumn/winter collections from the major cosmetic houses than the summer ones, and this a/w collection - the first widely available one from new Lauder creative director Tom Pecheux - is a beauty.  I don't mind admitting that Lauder are - for me - doing some of the most interesting collections of the major beauty houses at the moment, Michael Kors was a total winner, and Bronze Goddess is probably my most favourite of all the summer collections I've seen.

I was invited recently to take a look at the new Pure Colours collection which is shortly to be re-launched in new packaging complete with 24 new eyeshadow shades and 24 new lipglosses.  The new formulation is great, long-lasting shadows and some lovely glosses (though I do wish they had a brush instead of a rather stiff and hard to use does-foot applicator), but it was the capsule limited edition Blue Dahlia collection (above) that caught my eye ...

Here's the palette itself:

There's a teal, taupe, smoky blue, a white with an iridescent teal shimmer, and a black for defining.  Take a look at a close up of that white:

It's gorgeous.  It swatches quite sheerly, but with a teal-ish glimmer, it's very good mixed with the other shades in the palette, or patted over the top for a hint of sparkle.

I think the palette - despite my allergy to blues - is really very versatile, and I've created a couple of looks from it already.  Ha, Ha! Created looks - I hate that phrase, I'm about as creative as the average doorknob - what I actually mean is that I've done my makeup in a couple of (slightly) different ways with it already:

First off, a smoky eyed look:

I used the lighter teal shade in the inner corner, with the smoky blue on the outside, then blended the taupe into the crease, I used the black as a liner on the upper lid, with the smoky blue as a liner on the bottom, I then finished it off with a spot of Guerlain Kohl in Noir on the waterline.  Here's a (slightly fuzzy, sorry!) close
up:

I didn't use any base with these shadows, I wanted to see how they lasted (something I always do the first time I wear new shadows), and this is how they looked after ten hours wear:

Yes, the colour has faded somewhat, but the creasing is minimal, and it's still quite wearable.

For a simpler look (I can't, in all honesty, usually be bothered using more than two shades of eyeshadow on a daily basis), I used the taupe all over the mobile lid into the crease, then blended some of the teal into the crease and the outer eyelid:

I've also been using the teal for tightlining, alongside the taupe as a neutral shade, but I forgot to take photos of that one ...

The new pure colour shades will be available from July, and the limited edition Blue Dahlia collections (there's a lavender/lilac version too, which I think I may have to splash out on) will debut in House of Fraser at the same time.  Will you be indulging?  What's your opinion on blue eyeshadow?

The Fine Print: Palette was provided as part of a PR event, opinions are - as usual - as credible as you think opinions on PR-provided products possibly can be.  However, I've never had a good word to say about about any blue cosmetic ever, so he fact that I've used this every day since it arrived should speak volumes. That, or I've suddenly gone colourblind/mad/senile.

Nail of the Day - OPI Meet Me At The Starferry

This might not be the most exciting nail polish you've ever seen, but I adore it.  A work-safe mauvish-pink with multicoloured sparkles, it has a lovely depth on the nails, and is very pretty.  I spent several days last week admiring it. I'd seen it on a lot of blogs recently, and it appealed to me a lot more than, say, Jade is the New Black, for some reason!

Swatches shown are two thin coats over an Orly base and with an OPI topcoat, and are around three days old at the time of photographing, it wears much better than a lot of polishes in my collection!

The day before I removed it, I decided to mattify it just to change it up a little:

Unlike the red creme I tried this with last time, I think this one looks better shiny, what do you think?

The Fine Print: I bought this from Selfridges.  I might as well get my entire salary paid to them and have done with it, let's face it.

All for Eve Launch - Pt II

All for Eve have just released a video of their official launch, which I was lucky enough to attend recently, and it's a far better record of the event than my gushing about stalking talking to Daniel Sandler, so I thought you'd like to see exactly how it was, so here it is!


You can rest assured that I'm not in it, but  Johnathan Rhys Myers is, so I hope you watch, and that you enjoy it as much as I did. Now, don't forget to buy the products, as the cause is a very important one.

Organic Weekend - Melvita Guest Reviews

A couple of months ago, I asked for some volunteers to try some products that didn't agree with me.  Both of the products came from Melvita, but with my dry, sensitive gel-resistant skin, I thought it would be better to get them tested by people they really suited.  Here's what MakeupbyKaty and DinkyLondon made of their products:

MakeupbyKaty tried the Foaming Facial Scrub:

When the lovely Louise at Get Lippie posted an opportunity on her blog to try and review this product, I shamelessly jumped up and down with my hand in the air shouting “ME ME ME!”. Okay I actually wrote a witty and apparently persuasive argument as to why I should review it. It was along the theme of this;


I have oily, problematic skin. I cannot use most products that everyone else adores. Yet I seem to be bombarded on a daily basis by ‘intensively moisturising’ creams or ‘nourishing anti-aging’ promises. The majority of products that are aimed at an oilier skin are the teenage acne blasting products which I am also not really in the market for.


So, a foaming facial scrub sounded right up my street. I love a bit of foaming me.


I gave this product just over a week and tested it 3 times on both my husband and myself. He is a keen exfoliator and always has an opinion so I thought I’d utilise him.


Dry skinned husband used it in the shower first and gave me a running commentary throughout. His first comments were that it had a ‘nice texture’ ‘not too oily’ (?) and that it felt ‘airy’, like someone had left the door open on his face (really). He then proceeded to rinse off and screw his face up and ask for some moisturiser. From someone who only ever moisturises after shaving, that told me that it may not be great on dry skin.


Here are my thoughts. It’s a nice reasonably firm scrub. Not scratchy, not gritty but most disappointingly, not foamy. At all. No foam anywhere! How very dare they? However it rinsed off well and didn’t leave that annoying bitty residue that a lot of exfoliators can.


Here comes the bad news- I also screwed up my face and begged for moisturiser. I mean my skin felt seriously tight! That’s never happened after using a scrub. I wanted to give it a fair shot so I used it twice more later that week. Once mixed in with my face wash to dilute it a bit. The end result was always the same.


My skin felt parched and stripped and, shock horror, dry! It’s done one thing and that is made me appreciate my oilier skin now, I’ve been to the dark (dry) side and I did not like it.


So with the combination of dry, tight skin and NO FOAM, I’m afraid it’s a ‘No thanks’ from me.


DinkyLondon tried the Eye Contour Gel:
 

When I saw Get Lippie was looking for someone to test Melvita’s Eye Contour Gel I knew I had to put myself forward. I’ve been hunting for the perfect eye cream for years with what can only be described a great degree of failure.

In my mid-twenties, standard anti-aging eye creams are often too thick and rich for my skin and leave me puffy looking and swollen by morning – not a good look and quite the opposite of what I was hoping for. So, I was always left with two choices; keep dabbing on creams which are too rich for me, or sit and wait for the crow’s feet to set in.

With Melvita Eye Contour Gel I’ve thankfully been given another option. A milky white, fluid gel in a small tube, the formula dries to a slightly tacky film within a few seconds and totally dissipates in less than a minute, leaving the eye area feeling soft and looking radiant. I can use it morning and night without any puffiness and I can even use makeup after application without my eyeshadow slipping down to my cheekbones.

I’ve been using the gel for several weeks and I love how I can use it all over the eye contour and even the eyelid. Whilst I haven’t seen a massive long term improvement in the fine lines I’ve already developed around the eyes, I’ve been hugely impressed by how it changes the look of the eye area on a short term basis. If I’m stressed or tired and my eyes are showing it, then I know I can reach for this tube and look ten times better. Even better, I can rest easy knowing that I’m protecting the fragile skin around my eyes from future wrinkles and premature aging. I’ll definitely be repurchasing – my hunt is finally over!

So there you go, a mixed bag there, but a massive thank you to both Katy and Joy (and MrKaty!) for taking the time to review the products for me!

Get Lippie - An Announcement ...

Time passes, things move on, and sometimes you need to make some changes. I've done a lot of soul-searching recently, and have been trying to think of ways to make Get Lippie a bit different.

Then I thought, stuff that, I like what I'm doing!  But, sometimes it helps to have a different viewpoint on things, and some of my very favourite blogs have two writers, so I thought I'd enlist someone to help me out sometimes. And I'm happy to announce that Get Lippie now has a new co-blogger!

Now, I could have, as I've seen on some other blogs, put out a call to my readership, and ask people to submit their writings in order to "audition" them for a regular guest spot.  Seemed like a lot of work for both me and for my readers.  As I'm both lazy and a control freak (some of you might have noticed) my search for a new writing partner went as far as the other side of the sofa and the immortal words: "Oi! Write me some articles, bugalugs!" and they delightedly* agreed.

Some bright sparks on Twitter may have already figured out who the new correspondent is ... and with that in mind, I guess I should let  the new blogger introduce himself ...

Please give a nice Get Lippie welcome to ... MrLippie!

Let's see. I'm 'the posh boyfriend' according to some, and, looking at it in a vaguely detached light, I suppose they might, begrudgingly, have a point! I follow rugby rather than football, I have some random white-collar job that has some sort of connection to the oil industry, and I speak with a fairly generic southern accent which is often found in the BBC when they're not actively encouraging the many and varied regional accents across the UK. If that makes me posh, then so be it!

I'm still not entirely sure how I've ended up blogging - or even volunteering to on a semi-regular basis! - but I'm willing to admit it's my own fault! Having actively encouraged GetLippie in the creation and formation of this blog, I couldn't help but get interested, and I've found myself commentating on many a lipstick or eyeliner (much to the horror of my internal monologue). So, here I am. I'll be occasionally dropping by to review some male grooming products, and possibly offering my outlook on the world....but there is just one thing:


No Guyliner**. No. No. No.


And NO.


That is all...

So there you go!  Ironically, he does in fact know his taupes from his tans, and where to put chunky glitter ("not in a highlight FFS!"), I'm just hoping writing on a regular basis will get him to learn to love moisturiser!  He'll be writing here when he can be bothered once in a while plus he's also going to be contributing on a regular basis to Ape to Gentleman, a great and wonderful blog dedicated to all things male-grooming related. His collected writings will be collated in a page under the header (that black and white picture at the top of the page)  which I've cunningly titled Mr Lippie, and I'll give him the odd aftershave to sniff once in a while on my/your/someone's behalf.  He likes smelly stuff.  He may mention whale bottoms a lot.  You have been warned ...

*Not true.  At all.
** Also not true.  There WILL be guyliner.  Oh yes.  You watch.