Guerlain Abeille Royale Skincare Range

This is a guest post from the gorgeous Lila Des Gupta of Olfactory Events, who was kind enough to test some skincare for me.  Thank you so much for a great review, Lila!
 
Products Tested:       Guerlain Abeille Royale Nourishing Day Cream £102 for 50ml
                                Guerlain Abeille Royale Nourishing Night Cream £118 for 50ml
                                Guerlain Abeille Royale Neck & Décolleté Cream (SPF 15)   £82 for 50ml

What is it?  

Guerlain Abeille Royale Skin Care range that uses Royal Jelly.
 
I remember the first time I heard about royal jelly:  the romantic novelist Barbara Cartland, who was a great proponent, had written a book about its benefits called ‘The Magic of Honey. ’ I’d only just started university, so obviously, I wasn’t paying attention!
 
Looks

My first reaction at opening these 3 products was one of delight.  The packaging of the Guerlain Abeille Royale range radiates glamour – there’s a definite ‘ooooooh’ moment when you take each one out of the box.  Singly or together, they look beautiful on a dressing table, and let’s face it, who doesn’t like to have their spirits lifted in the morning with the sight of de luxe pampering products? Each pot comes supplied with a dinky little spoon, just in case you are not the slovenly type that uses fingers.
 
I would have given the design 10 out of 10 were it not that the print on the jars is too small for me to read without glasses.   It may not be an inconvenience for some, but since I’m always losing my glasses (or my equally long-sighted husband is always snaffling away the many pairs we have round the house),  I was forced to separate these beauties rather than keep them together on the dressing table, so that I could tell who was who.
 
A very minor quibble, I know.

Smell

As you would expect from a company with such a pedigree in the perfume world, these products all smell lovely but are not overpowering.   They have a mild, fresh smell which is pleasant, but never dominating.
 
Consistency
 
This is a very personal thing – I would describe these as middle to rich.  I usually use much richer creams than this, but I know a lot of people like rather light, fluid creams.   A strong point of all 3 creams I tested is that they are very easily absorbed, and you only need a little.  I think the consistency would keep a very broad range of people happy precisely because they are so easily absorbed.  
 
Nourishing Day Cream
 
On application it has a very definite ‘firming’ sort of feeling – if you are familiar with Clarins Beauty Flash Balm, you will know what that sensation is.  It feels as if the skin is being ‘tightened’ a little.  At the same time you get a (not unpleasant) very mild tingling feeling that you might experience with some toners.   The cream is absorbed straight away and never feels oily or heavy – you only need a little bit, which is great, because a pot will last you some time (there is a ‘use within 9 months’ logo on the bottom of each pot). 
This cream is a great base for foundation and I noticed that I needed to use less than normal afterwards.   I usually apply foundation with a large brush (Mac 187 Duo Fibre Brush), so it’s easy to achieve lighter coverage using this method, rather than using your fingers.
 
I have a hunch that the ‘tingling’ feeling is where the magic is going on.  I don’t have many wrinkles (probably genetic), so I didn’t notice a change there.  What I did notice, rather remarkably, was two-fold. First, I usually get quite a bit of dead skin at the sides of my nose which requires exfoliating every few days – this stopped happening, the old layers of skin just seem to be gone.   Secondly, my skin is ‘combination’ skin, but I notice it has been much drier since using the cream, and in a good way.   It’s unclear to me if this product comes with an SPF since this is not mentioned. 
 
Nourishing Night Cream
 
This is also an easily absorbed cream.   It seems to moisturise quite deeply without feeling heaving, which is certainly an achievement.  What I noticed here is that using this (and the day cream) seems to have somehow ‘balanced’ or ‘equalised’ my skin, if that’s the right word.  As I say, I have combination skin, but when I wake up in the morning, my skin is usually quite oily – using the creams seems to have regulated this and lowered the amount of oil produced overnight.  A remarkable difference I would say. 
 
Neck Cream & Décolleté Cream
 
I don’t normally like to put any cream at all on my eyes or neck – I find they are two areas where I don’t feel comfortable applying anything.    Of the three creams, I think this one is the slightly richer.  It has a very smooth texture to it and almost feels as if it has some smooth micrograins in it.     What I liked about it was that it didn’t feel like there was much on my skin at all, so I did actually like putting it on.  It has a very slight tingly feeling on application.  This cream comes with an SPF of 15.
 
The Second Guinea Pig
 
The person who has the most wrinkles in our house is my husband!   I wanted to see how the cream would work on person with dry skin, and I’m happy to say that it worked very well on his skin too.  As long as I was the one who was applying it, he was prepared to be a guinea pig.  The day cream was not too perfumed for a man to wear and it definitely worked to soften and moisturise his skin.  He found the cream very easy to wear and said his skin felt much more ‘comfortable’ afterwards.

Overall Impression
 
Despite initial scepticism, which always comes with being a journalist, I was very pleasantly surprised how good the Abeille Royale line is.  I used to think that one skin cream was much the same as another, but there is no doubt that this cream really does work on the cells and appears to somehow get rid of the dead skin on top.   It also works on a range of skins – combination as well as dry skin.  Overall, I have to admit, my skin does look better.  
 
After six weeks of the trial, I went back to using my old cream while on holiday for a week.   I have to admit, I found it too heavy and cloying.  
 
When I finish the Abeille Royale line, I will definitely buy these products again.

Bottom Line:  Expensive but absolutely worth having

Cream tested daily for 6 weeks

The Fine Print: PR Samples.
 
This post originated at: http://getlippie.com All rights reserved.

Estee Lauder Violet Underground Eyeshadow Palette

I may have let out a little "squee" of excitement when I saw the promo image of this palette from Estee Lauder, from the gorgeous purple packaging to the contents, this had Get Lippie written all over it.  Not literally, of course, but you know what I mean.  Anyway, take a look:

So pretty, and such an unusual selection of shades.  Fuchsia, Copper, Navy, Champagne and Black, and, it's surprisingly versatile, as I'll show you later - don't let that bright pink put you off:

I love how textured and gorgeous the shadow pans are.  The shadows are the "tribrid" texture, which is an amalagam of cream, powder and gel, and the shades are fairly pigmented, and quite complex as a result.

This is just one pass on bare skin with the sponges from the palette, you can get a heavier application with your fingers or a densely-haired brush.

 All the shades, even the pink are very wearable, the champagne shade almost blends with my skin, but I assure you that it's in the swatch pics!  Only the black has a matte texture, usable for lining with a thin brush.

Best of all, you can mix the shades, if you layer the pink over the blue, you get a beautiful multichromatic smoky purple, which I adore:

Perfect for more dramatic looks.

What do you think of Violet Underground?  It's limited edition, and available on counter now for £40.  There's an eyeliner and four new lipshades to go with it too ...

The Fine Print: I may have begged for this one.

This post originated at: http://getlippie.com All rights reserved.

Lipstick of the Week

The last time I did Lipstick of the Week, it was all a bit neutral, so I guess this week was a bit of an antidote to that, albeit an unplanned one - I don't plan my lipstick wearing in advance, I simply wear whatever appeals to me on the day. Oh! A warning for the squeamish: this post contains images of not one, but two celebrity makeup collections - I don't know what's come over me.  Anyhoo,  let's bring on some colour!

Clockwise rom left to right (starting at the back) we have: 

ByTerry Aquatint in 101 Dancefloor Flirt, 
Chanel Rouge Coco in Mademoiselle
Illamasqua in Magnetism
ArtDeco Dita's Classics in Art Couture
Rimmel Lasting Finish "By Kate" in 107
and at the front from left to right:
Guerlain Rouge G in Georgia
Guerlain Rouge G L'Extrait in Paresse

Let's take an individual look:

 
In the tube, this gel-stain looks a frankly terrifying shade of neon orange.  Luckily, on the lips, this settles down nicely into a soft pink stain that lasts for hours and hours.  Surprisingly easy to wear, this makes a nice base for other colours too.

 Possibly the classic shade from when Rouge Coco's launched from Chanel, this is a neutral on me (but only because I have very pigmented lips naturally), a dark woody rose, this a perfect shade for all occasions.  Or work, which is what I wore it for.

Illamasqua Magnetism is from the latest "Generation Q" collection, of which I wholeheartedly approve, featuring, as it does, men and women of all ages (sadly not all sizes, though) in the campaign imagery. Magnetism is a creamy deep raspberry shade that I love, and makes a great change from red.  Long lasting, and non-drying (unlike some other deeply pigmented shades from Illamasqua), this is a new classic pink for me.

Sigh.  This is beautiful.  I had a suspicion it would be when I read about the range (c'mon, Dita Von Teese doing red lipstick?  I'm in), I thought the shades would be great, but I wasn't too sure what the formulation would be like, not knowing all that much about ArtDeco brand outside of their eyeshadow primer.  I needn't have worried, this is a perfect lipstick.  A great red, and it lasts.  And lasts.  And lasts and lasts and lasts.  People who follow me on Twitter and Instragram will have a good idea of how this lasts, at least ten hours or so without needing a reapplication, and there is no red ring of doom.  This lipstick has rocketed into my top five discoveries of the year, without question.

I can't remember the last time I wore a Rimmel lipstick.  Genuinely. Nonetheless I've been very impressed with these new matte lipsticks from the "By Kate" collection.  Only the red and the dark berry (107 - above), are worth bothering with shade-wise (the "nude" is of a shade that makes me suspect it's actually a rogue tube of Hide the Blemish, to be hones), but these are nicely pigmented, nicely lasting, nice lipsticks.  I can't get too excited, but for the price, they're ... nice.  Non-drying too.

I adore the Rouge G formula so much that it's exceptionally difficult for me to walk past a Guerlain counter without buying one.  This is one of my all-time favourite lipsticks, so much so that it was my lipstick of the year in 2010. 

And finally:

Dreadfully out of focus, I'm sorry!

I mentioned above that I can't pass a Guerlain counter without buying something.  Well, meet my latest acquisition.  I tried (and reviewed) the new Guerlain Rouge G L'Extrait recently, and I knew I had to have another shade.  A lot of the L'Extraits are quite bright, and I wanted to give a softer shade a go.  Hence, Paresse.  A mid-toned rose, without too many blue undertones, it's a lovely colour.  Haven't really tested it properly for wear yet, but I'll report back.

Swatches:

A bit of a brighter week all round, really!

What've you been wearing?
 
This post originated at: http://getlippie.com All rights reserved.

Penhaligons Peoneve and Jo Malone Blackberry & Bay Review

Two scents I've been really enjoying wearing lately are the lush floral Peoneve by Penhaligons, and the slightly astringent, green and very intriguing Blackberry & Bay by Jo Malone.

If you've ever buried your face into a bunch of peonies,  you'll know their blousy blossoms have a big juicy, lush and very pink scent.  Almost fruity, in fact, but delightfully fun and refreshing.  I adore this ladylike, but not too old-fashioned fragrance.  I've smelt it on a number of people, and it smells of various ingredients on them, on one of my friends this dries down to a salty vetiver scent, grassy with a hint of the ocean, and on others, there are the creamy musks at the end, but, on me, this stays a bright, fruity, and almost juicy floral scent almost right through the entire wear time.   Perfect for bright summer and spring days.

But, I've noticed that the nights are beginning to draw in now, and Jo Malone's Blackberry and Bay is perfectly timed for the beginning of autumn.  It captures the scent of blackberry leaves in an almost photo-real fashion, and has just a tiny hint of fruit, for which I am thankful.  As it dries down it captures just a hint of the soapy-notes that blackberry leaves can contain, but dries down to an intriguing almost savoury herbal green scent that I adore.  This is a fragrance that every single time I spray it, Mr Lippie asks me what it is, he likes it so much.  I wear so many different fragrances that he never usually bothers asking, but this one has captured his imagination in a very big way.

Both are definitely worth a sniff, but I suspect I'll be buying up all the supplementary products in the Blackberry and Bay range -  I definitely think the candle is one I'll love.  Peoneve is available now, and Blackberry & Bay is available from mid-September.

Penhaligons are great at bringing out little videos about their fragrances and the Monty Python-esque Peoneve one made me laugh, so here it is:

The Fine Print: PR Samples.
This post originated at: http://getlippie.com All rights reserved.

Elemis Papaya Enzyme Peel

  
In my recent post about Washi cloths, I mentioned that my skin was going through one of its more beserk phases.  It still is.  So, I've been casting about for something to exfoliate my face (it's been horrifically rough), that wouldn't irritate or worsen my red patches.

I consulted The Cupboard, which is the repository of all my skincare samples, and this tube leapt into my hands. Designed to be a gentle, non scrubby exfoliator, which uses the enzymes of both papaya fruit and pineapple to remove dead skin cells, the Elemis Papaya Peel was just what I wanted.

You apply the slightly sweet-scented peach-coloured cream in a relatively thick layer all over the face (avoiding the eye area), and leave it for around 15 minutes or so, then rinse off with warm water (I use a washi-cloth).  You're left with smooth, slightly pink skin, which is non-irritated, and has all those annoying rough patches removed.  

I'm a little bit in love with it.  Not, so much, in love with this limited edition packaging (I prefer the old-school silver tubes), but, as Elemis are making charitable donations to SOCCO with every tube sold, I can't possibly complain, really.  Does your skin good, does the planet good. 

Get some.

The Fine Print: PR Sample.
 
This post originated at: http://getlippie.com All rights reserved.

Lipstick of the (last) Week

 It's been a while, eh?  Anyhoo, I thought I'd show you what's been adorning my lips for the last week or so.  With one or two exceptions, it's been a pretty neutral kind of a week:

From left to right, we have: Clinique Chubby Stick in Bountiful Blush, Tom Ford in Indian Rose, Illamasqua in Magnetism, Guerlain gloss in Grenadine, Chanel Rouge Coco in Bonheur, and Hourglass lipstick in Fresco.

 So that's neutral pink, mauve-pink, BRIGHT RASPBERRY, neutral coral, berry pink, and mauve-pink.

Could I be in a lip-rut?  Let's have a look at the swatches:

Hmn, possibly.  That said, these are all old favourites though, with the exception of Illamasqua Magnetism (third from the left), which is from the brand new Generation Q collection, out very soon, and is destined to become a new favourite, for it is beautiful.

What've you been wearing on your lips lately?

This post originated at: http://getlippie.com All rights reserved.

It's Vaseline Mystery Flavour Time Again ...

I get sent some random things here at Get Lippie, but a recent package of an unbranded pot of Vaseline alongside some "clues" to the new flavour:

Alongside a parcel of decorative items:

had me a little stumped.  I'm about as creative as the average doorknob, so the press release urging me to decorate the tin, whilst guessing the flavour had me scratching my head a bit.  Then I read the part where I could win a trip to Paris, and all my fears flew away.  The following bit that said one of my readers might also win a trip to Paris meant I kind of had to take part, really.  I'm nice like that.

I think the flavour is pink champagne, btw.  The signs all point to it, the champagne truffles, the champagne glass bubbles, the birthday candle, the balloon. The goo iself is pink:

And the tin is pink - oh and there's another clue to the flavour on the bottom, let's see if you can spot it too:

It tastes kind of sweet, but not fruity, btw.  It's nice.  You're still eating petrol though, bear it in mind.

I'm still crap at art, or anything even slightly creative, but I gave it my best shot.  First, I covered the lid (and my hands, and my desk, and the carpet, and my hair, and MrLippie - I'm a cackhanded muppet) in glitter:

Lovely, lovely glitter.

Then, eschewing the rather ... erm ... colourful decorations I was sent, I decided to go monochrome.  Silver stars, to be exact.  Trust me, if you've never spent a sunny Sunday morning picking all the silver stars out of four mini-packs of confetti, then you simply haven't lived.  I'll be picking them out of the carpet for weeks.  Anyway, here's the finished product (sorry for all the pics, the light was on my side for once, and I got carried away with the camera):

The mystery Vaseline flavour goes on sale in Selfridges on the 5th of September.  What do you think of my "artistic" efforts?  Leave me a comment and let me know - who knows, one of you could win a trip to Paris if my efforts are good enough!  You can find out more about the new Vaseline flavour at www.facebook.com/Vaseline You know, if you want to ...
 

The Fine Print: PR Sample. It's a gift that's kept on giving.  You know how sand gets everywhere?  Well, imagine the glitter and confetti version of sand in your crack.  You're welcome.

This post originated at: http://getlippie.com All rights reserved.

British Gas Safe & Secure Trial

This is a non-beauty-related post, and I'm making no apologies.  As part of an official partnership with British Gas Smarter Living this year, I'm here today to talk about my 6 month trial of their Safe & Secure home security system, and this is my first blog post in an occasional series.

*****
Having lived in shared and rented accommodation for years, home security hasn’t always been a high priority of mine, but after a harrowing experience in a flat last year, being offered a chance to review a security system such as “Safe & Secure” by British Gas has been a bit of a godsend.

For a time last winter, I was unable to leave my home unattended at any point. Owing to a rogue landlord, we had to have our friends and family flat-sit during the day, and have friends over at the weekends so we could go and do our shopping.  Needless to say, we soon got out of that situation, but I’m aware that if Safe and Secure had existed back then, our lives – and those of our friends – would have been a lot easier!

Safe and Secure enables you to leave your home in total assurance that if anything goes wrong, you’ll be made aware of it, and be able to take action.  Controlled via either the internet, or via an app on your smartphone, it’s simple enough for even this technophobe beauty-blogger to be able to figure out. You can protect your doors, your windows, have a smoke detector, get motion detectors, control key electrical equipment via a “smart plug”, and monitor just who is in your home at any time.  Handy for control freaks (me), and nosy people (also me) alike.

I’m not going to lie, there’s been some hiccups along the way recently, but British Gas have been made aware of where they’ve gone wrong (nearly getting my security system stolen because their courier company – since fired - screwed up, is the most amusing, however infuriating it was at the time), and they’ve promised me that they’ll make no more mistakes.  That said, I’ve made some mistakes too, and I’m certain that my neighbours haven’t quite forgiven me for the day my siren went off five times in an hour because I’d overlooked something very simple indeed, but these are stories for another time. I look forward to finding out how well everything works over the coming months.

*****

You can find out more about my journey with British Gas, Safe & Secure and Smarter Living if you click this link. 

The Fine Print:  I'm an official spokesperson of the  British Gas "Don't Take Our Word For It" campaign.  

This post originated at: http://getlippie.com All rights reserved.

Dolce & Gabbana Passion Duo Gloss Fusion Lipstick in Rose

Sometimes you accidentally find yourself in Harrods, wanting a treat.

As is perfectly natural, you find yourself drifting towards the beauty hall.

Dolce & Gabbana call your name.  Well, not literally, after last time you went to their counter, anyway, but you  know what I mean.

What falls into your sticky little fingers is a new "passion duo", a fusion of colour and balm, designed to keep lips hydrated whilst wearing colour.

Packaged in the D&G signature embossed gold, these are definitely a touch of luxury in your makeup bag.

I selected the shade rose, which is a good, wearable everyday neutral:

The lipstick is creamy and well pigmented, the balm in this has a slight purple tone, and appears to have a hint of microgllitter in it.

It doesn't feel at all gritty on the lips though, and feels very hydrating in wear.  Whilst possibly not as hydrating as my beloved Chantecaille Lip Chics, these are a little more pigmented:

So, what treats have fallen into your life, recently?

The Fine Print: Purchase.  I'm not to be left alone in Harrods in charge of a debit card EVER again.  Or at least until after the wedding.
 
This post originated at: http://getlippie.com All rights reserved.

My Tiny Hermes Collection

My Hermes fragrance collection is small, and almost perfectly formed, at least, for my purposes, anyway.   I didn't realise I really liked the scents of Hermes so much until recently.  I've long been a fan of Eau d'Orange Vert, which is a minty-orange cologne, meant more for men, but I find it to be a very refreshing scent on hot summer days.  Sadly, it doesn't last nearly long enough.

Eau de Pamplemousse Rose is an effervescent sparkling pink grapefruit scent which is the latest addition to my Hermes collection, it's light, refreshing, fruity and simply marvellous for repeated sprays on hot days.  It's not a complicated scent, but it's not sickeningly sweet and it's very enjoyable to wear.  I'm loving it.

I bought Un Jardin Sur Le Nil after reading The Perfect Scent by Chandler Burr, which takes the story of Jean Claude Ellena's creation of this scent, and makes you long to smell it for yourself.  It's a fabulous and fascinating book, which if you get a chance to read, and you're at all interested in fragrance, you should grab it with both hands.  Fair warning, you will end up buying Un Jardin Sur Le Nil and a bottle of Lovely by Sarah Jessica Parker as a result of reading the book though.  That said, I find I have less of a connection with this mango-drenched scent than I do with the others.  It's very nice, but ... I don't love it.

Finally we have Voyage d'Hermes in perfume format.  This is an icy-cool fragrance, which has had me and MrLippie fighting over who gets to wear it on particular days. It has rose and amber, underneath a citrus-spicy (cardomom and juniper, mainly) opening, which is hard to resist.  It's hard to say why we like this so much - once it dries down a bit, it smells rather like an expensive barber shop, warm and a little soapy, but luxurious with it - but this one is very definitely back-up worthy.  It's rather sexy, too, in an understated kind of way.

I now want Eau des Merveilles to round out my little collection - I tried some on my skin the other day, and the salty dry-down is simply gorgeous.

All these Hermes fragrances are a little more "diaphanous" than my usual fragrance choices - I usually prefer darker, more heady fragrances, but I'm definitely coming to appreciate the "less is more" approach of Jean Claude Ellena these days.

The Fine Print: Mixture of PR Samples and purchases.
 
This post originated at: http://getlippie.com All rights reserved.