Lucy Annabella Organics - Spearmint & Lemongrass Candle

I love discovering new brands, especially new organic brands.  When Lucy Annabella got in touch, I knew there were lots of things from the brand that I wanted to try as soon as I looked that their lovely clean, and easy to read website, but I settled on this Spearmint and Lemongrass candle, as has been well-documented previously, I go a little bonkers for mint-scented products (in a good way), and hell, I'm always a sucker for a candle, and these are gorgeous candles.  I was a bit spoiled for choice though, as the bath milks sound amazing and so do the treatment oils, one of which I'll be reviewing soon too.

Based in Northern Ireland, Lucy Annabella has been founded by Collen Harte, a clinical aromatherapist (disclosure, my mum is also a clinical aromatherapist, such things do exist) and complementary therapist, and the brand is intended to bring "pure living" into your home.  Products are certified by both the Aromatherapy Trade Council and the Soil Association.

The Spearmint and Lemongrass candle is sharp and invigorating and scents the whole flat when it's burning.  Mint is an unusual choice for a candle, but it's one I enjoy very much whenever I find it, and it's great for a daytime burn, or for helping to clear the mind when you're working - in fact, I'm burning it now whilst I'm writing this review. Soy wax based - I find plant waxes always burn more cleanly than petroleum-based candles - with a cotton wick, the candles are clean-burning and have a great throw, our four-room high-ceilinged flat always smells clean, bright and inviting when we have this lit and it's lasted well, the company suggest that you will get a fifty hour burn for your £32, which is great value.  You will need to keep your wick trimmed though, as with all candles of quality.  The lemongrass tempers the mintiness, adding a separate layer of fresh scent, and not making it smell like you're burning toothpaste.

I adore the packaging too, my candle arrived in a box decorated with mint leaves, and the candle itself was wrapped in tissue, making this a glorious gift idea.

So, this is an exciting new brand discovery for me, more to come.


The Fine Print: PR Sample.

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Bare Minerals Marvelous Moxie - Risk it All, Call the Shots, Live Large, Lead the Way

A little overdue, this review!  I was sent this set of beautiful shades a few months ago, and they've been in regular rotation ever since. 

 A bit of a departure for Bare Minerals, the Marvelous Moxie range of lipsticks is a collection of extremely BRIGHT and deeply saturated shades in a much wider collection of colours than we've come to expect from the brand in recent years.  They're a bit of a revelation - beautifully packaged too, I love the off-set tops, and the push-button slide mechanism to open them.

From left to right here, we have: Risk it All, a cool bright pink, Call the Shots, which is a lovely tomato red, Live Large (my favourite), a plummy mauve, and Lead the Way, which is, quite frankly, purple.  In use the lipsticks are soft (more about this later), creamy and opaque, and they're unscented too, which is a bonus.

As you can see, they're all pretty true to the shades in the bullet (Lead the Way aside, this is quite a bit lighter and brighter on the skin, which is a good thing!) once swatched, this is one pass over unprimed skin, and the effect is much the same on the lips.  They're not super long-lasting, but you will get a good three or four hours wear out of the shades, if you can manage not to eat or drink for that period of time. 

For my Sci/Art readers, here's how they look against the Dark Winter fan: 

You can see from this picture that Live Large (at the top, against square 6.2)  is a bit beaten up, this is because the formulation is a bit soft, and in use the bullet has shifted in the case.  There's been a bit of a snapping situation, alas, which is a bummer, as this is a perfect "neutral" shade for my lips, and it's the shade I've worn the most as a result. Ah well.

The lipsticks are a little brighter than the fan, but I wear them anyway.  The Moxie collection is fun and bright, and a joy to wear.  Just try not to snap your favourite shades!

 The Fine Print: PR Samples.

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Estee Lauder Amber Mystique Eau de Parfum

 

Did you know Estee Lauder had a couple of unisex fragrances these days?  No?  Me neither.  But they do.  In 2011 they released Wood Mystique, which has been generally well received by those in the know, and this year, they're following it up with Amber Mystique, which is currently exclusively available in Harrods in the UK.

Both Wood and Amber Mystique are quite firmly targeted at a middle eastern audience, being deep rich fragrances, and both utilising oud wood in their compositions.  I however, am a sucker for amber fragrances at all times, like on a cold day, when I want a hug in a bottle, I instinctively turn to Amber Sultan by Serge Lutens, which smells like a spice market, and I dragged my new husband all over Paris on our mini-moon back in February purely so I could track down a particular supermarket brand of amber-fraganced deodorant that I'm addicted to.  Yes, I like amber.  A lot.

And I do like this fragrance.  It begins with a rose-oud combination, smelling slightly medicinal, and a tiny bit fruity, there's a hint of blackcurrant leaves in the top, with their slightly herbal-soapy scent, then it's rose and pink peppercorns adding a hint of flora and spice to the mix, and then in the drydown there's a woody amber which is a little spiky, smelling more like pencil or cedar-wood shavings than the smooth, lacquered woods I think I was expecting from such an expensive entry from the Estee Lauder line.  It's not a criticism, more an acknowledgement that there actually is something a little unexpected in the heart of what could be a strictly middle-eastern-fragrance-by-numbers, if you were feeling a little cynical about the whole enterprise. 

After spending a couple of years smelling a lot of niche fragrances, I don't think this one from Estee Lauder is particularly original, but I do enjoy it's deep, dark richness, and if you're looking for something a little bit different to the recent releases from Estee Lauder (personally, I've found the recent rash of "Nude" fragrances to be rather underwhelming. Although, by "rather", I do in fact mean "totally"), then this might totally be in your ballpark.
 
The Fine Print - PR Sample.

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Tom Ford Aftelier d'Orient - Plum Japonais and Rive d'Ambre

The Aftelier d'Orient collection from Tom Ford has been on counters for a little while now.  Based on both oriental fragrance types and utilising ingredients from the east, it's an interesting collection, which I personally prefer over last year's "Dark Daffodils" or whatever it was called.  After sniffing all four fragrances, I was most interested in Plum Japonais and Rive d'Ambre.  Whilst I liked Fleur de Chine, it was a little too flowery for me, and Shanghai Lily couldn't - in my opinion at least - hold a candle to the divine Lily & Spice by Penhaligons, so I passed it by.

Plum Japonais is based around an accord of Japanese Ume plum.  I was expecting it to be tart, sharp, and fruity, but what you get is actually a surprisingly smoky scent, redolent with a tiny hit of stewed fruit behind it.  It is similar in feel to Serge Lutens Feminite du Bois, but it lacks a little of the spice that the Lutens contains in spades (and that always reminds me a little of Christmas), making it a little softer and rounder than its Lutens counterpart.  It lasts gloriously well, and this might well be my least sarcastic Tom Ford fragrance review as a result.  It's nice, and I like it a great deal, however, I'm not sure it's original enough for the price tag. It's sophisticated, and gently wearable, whilst being different enough from most things on the high street, but ... you could wear Feminite du Bois for £80 less a bottle ...

Rive d'Ambre I simply fell in love with, in spite of (or perhaps because of) its lack of originality.  It's a cologne, essentially, albeit one that opens with fruity, juicy almost photo-realistic orange juice.  It's bright, fresh and (oddly) adorable.  It's almost the scent of those orange juice ice-lollies you remember from being a little kid.  It's not quite as fresh or green or as bitter as a traditional cologne, remaining fresh, bright and cheerful more or less to the end.  When you do get to the end, there's a cuddlesome amber at the bottom, which is as friendly and lovely as the top notes.  Again, I'm not entirely convinced it's £140's worth of bright friendliness, but it is lovely, and it makes me smile whenever I wear it.

My favourite way to wear these fragrances is layered.  I spritz with Plum Japonais first, then a slight spray of Rive d'Ambre over the top.  Rive just seems to add a little brightness to the rather smoky plum fragrance, and layering extends the wear of both.

Still, at least none of them are called "Daffodil of the Night", I guess ....


The Fine Print: PR Samples
 
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Reiss Grey Flower Eau de Parfum

  
I don't go to Reiss very often.  Well, ever, let's face it, but now they've released a fragrance, at least there will be something in the shop that'll fit me these days ... anyhoo, I was very surprised when I first sniffed Grey Flower released by the brand in association with Azi Glasser, I'd been expecting some fizzy, flowery, sugary syrup designed to appeal to the lowest common denominator with the simple aim of being as innoffensive as possible in order to maximise sales.

I was wrong.

Grey Flower is an amazing fragrance to be launched by a high street store, and from the slightly medicinal (almost oud-like) opening, to the challengingly prickly and spicy wood base, it feels decidedly "niche" to the nose, and I was expecting a higher price point than £49 after I smelled it, too.  This smells expensive and intriguing, and not like anything else for the money.  The formulation also contains pimento berry, frankincense and amber, and the nose-tinglingly spicy woody base is sequoia wood. There is not a flower, or a stewed fruit nor a even the slightest hint of candyfloss in sight. It's a deep golden-seeming fragrance, making the perfume rather peculiarly named ...

It's dry, spicy, and rather unusual, I genuinely can't think of anything else (that I've experienced) that it smells like, and it's rather marvellous for that.  Whether the average perfume customer will appreciate it is another matter, however, and I look forward to finding out the first set of sales figures.  Oh, and I bet the first flanker is a whole bunch more conventional ...

The Fine Print: PR Sample

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Ellie Saab Le Parfum - Eau de Parfum Intense

This is the second flanker to the original Ellie Saab le Parfum, which was released in 2011, the original was, I found, a rather sweet and diaphanous orange blossom and honey fragrance.  I liked it, but it always felt rather "thin" to me, and whilst I do wear it once in a while, I don't adore it as some people do.

In 2012, they released an Eau de Toilette version (which I haven't smelled in all honesty), and that was supposed to evoke a fresh Meditterannean morning to the original's warm midday, and in 2013 they've finally released an "evening" version of the fragrance which is deeper, richer and more intense in almost every conceivable way.

Where the original fizzes on first spraying with bright light citrus, Intense sets its stall out early with an intriguing and heady - intensely heady - burst of orange blossom and rather animalistic honey, letting you know right away that this isn't some flighty little wisp of a fragrance that'll disappear after an hour or so.  Whereas the original finally settles into a powdery blossom fragrance, there's a meaty and distinct amber at the bottom of Intense, which is warmer and more intimate than the EDP.  

I find it a fragrance perfectly designed for the evenings, and I think it'd be a great "date night" fragrance, it seems designed almost to make people want to get closer to you to smell it more. It lasts well, and surprisingly for such a deep fragrance, it sticks close to the skin, having only a rather modest sillage. It's a thick and intense scent, but it also has a hint of playfulness not usually seen in "intense" fragrances, and I think that's down to sparkle of the blossoms used.  It's also, of course, down to the talents of Francis Kurkdjan, who is fast becoming the favourite perfumer of this particular blogger. 

30mls of Ellie Saab le Parfum Eau de Parfum Intense will cost around £40, which is a bargain. 

The Fine Print: PR Sample 

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Mugler Cologne by Thierry Mugler

I'm in a funny kind of limbo at the moment, summer is most definitely over, autumn is well under way, winter is approaching on the horizon, and yet here I am preparing for my "summer" holidays.  We delayed our honeymoon quite considerably (the wedding was in February), and there's still the best part of two months before we go away, so I  have a kind of odd reluctance to part with my summer scents, not to mention the clothes!  Mugler Cologne, like so many cologne-scents is perfect for summer, (and it's the fragrance I'm taking with me on my honeymoon as a result) but how insane is that ad above?  I keep looking it and screaming "WHY ARE THERE ONLY THREE ARMS? WHERE'S THE OTHER ARM, THIERRY????", only, you know, inside my head, I'm not insane.

Mugler Cologne is fresh and slightly bitter, clean-scented with hints of laundry-musks, orange blossoms and herbs, it's about the most mainstream fragrance from the Mugler line (if you ignore Angel, that is.  Let's face it, Angel is, essentially, in a league of its own, let's face it). Certainly, it's the easiest Mugler fragrance to wear, no candyfloss (Angel), no space-jasmine (Alien), no caviar and creamy grapefruit (Womanity) and no strange hallucinations of giant Twixes wandering around your flat as on those occasions when MrLippie wears A*men.  Mugler Cologne is simple, free and easy almost.

It is very, very green-smelling, and it's quite difficult to pull out the different scents on the skin whilst you're wearing it, but there are hints of grassy vetiver, and lots of beautiful orange blossom, and I think I can detect something a little creamy, and possibly salty deep down, close to the skin.  It's crisply refreshing, and I'm hoping it'll be the perfect accompaniment to my tropical winter holiday.  It lasts about as long as you'd expect an eau de toilette to, which isn't very long at all, but it's a big bottle and constant reapplications aren't the worst thing in the world.  Sillage is moderate, so you won't be gassing anyone by reapplying, either.

Best of all, it's only £31 per 100ml in Debenhams, and the matching hair & shower gel is £17.  That's about half the price of a similar cologne from Guerlain and - get this - it's a seventh of the price of the same size bottle of Tom Ford Neroli Portofino ...

The Fine Print: The fragrance was a PR sample, but I've been and bought the bathing products as a result of the sample ...

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Guest Post by Kitty at Not A Nose - Home Keratin Treatment 2

A month ago I tested this kit that I purchased on Amazon http://www.amazon.co.uk/Brazilian-Straightening-Blow-Dry-Keratin-Treatment/dp/B003YUEF7C and wrote about it for Get Lippie. So how is it now?

Well, the super-straight wore off after a week, so I’m left with hair that looks more like ‘my’ hair, but more under control. This photo is my hair the day after I left it to dry naturally. As you can see the wave has returned but it isn’t as frizzy.

I’ve noticed lots of positives about the treatment:-

• My hair does not frizz up as quickly, normally the day after washing my hair just starts getting bigger and fuzzier (see the last picture on this post for an example http://getlippie.blogspot.co.uk/2011/11/guest-post-charles-worthington-straigh.html)
• I don’t suffer from terrible helmet hair after I’ve been horseriding, and I now dare return to the office after sneaking off for a lunchtime lesson, rather than having to hide my bad, sweaty hair shame at home.
• When I can be bothered to straighten it, the process feels a lot quicker.
• It seems to suffer from humidity based frizzing less. So I went on a drizzly night after straightening my hair, and it stayed straight the whole night.

Negatives of the treatment:-

• It slightly limits your choice of shampoo and conditioner, as you have to avoid Sodium Chloride.
• It takes quite a while to apply, but in some ways you’re spending 1.5 hours on one night to save you lots of little bits of time over the subsequent month.

Will I be doing this kit again? Hell yes! (and not just because I’ve got half a jar left!) I’ve liked having better than normal hair for a month, and I can only hope it keeps going for another month.

You can find more writing by Kitty at http://notanose.wordpress.com/

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Guest Post By Hair Advice and All Things Nice - How To be Victorious in Voluminous Hair

Getting volume in our hair that stays put and doesn’t fall flat is something most of us struggle with. Too much backcombing and you look like a birds nest, too little and you’re left with limp locks. Read on for some hair-boosting advice and a few product recommendations.

Good volume is all about the prep. Go for a volumising shampoo (Redken Body Full is great!) and avoid using conditioner on roots; this tends to weigh hair down. Concentrate on the ends to help hair look big without sacrificing the condition. Using a mousse or spray pre blowdry will with styling and avoid using too much product to finish as this can weigh hair down. A light spritz of hairspray should do the trick.

If you can’t give yourself a salon quality blow dry yourself without getting in a tangle, use Velcro rollers to give hair added lift. Simply blow dry as normal then pop some large rollers in the top section of hair (crown and parting) and blow dry on a low setting for a couple of minutes. Leave to cool completely and don’t take out until you are just about to walk out there door. 

There are tons of hair products on the market that promise to boost our hair but luckily I’ve tested and trailed most of them and have found a couple of gems that will hopefully make your hair look so big, people will ask if it’s full of secrets.

1. Lee Stafford Double Blow Mousse – this stuff is great for creating volume and comes with the signature scent
2. Oribe Dry Texturising Spray – whilst a little pricey, this stuff delivers volume without the product feel to hair, great for those with fine tresses
3. Indola Innova Volumising Powder – this little tub of hair texturising powder works wonders sprinkled along roots.
4. Ojon Volume Advance Shampoo & Conditioner – this will give hair a volume kick and can also help make it stronger and thicker thanks to high protein ingredients.
5. Boar Bristle Backcombing Brush – you can pick these up from any good salon supply store. Use the fine point end to section hair, and tease from underneath to get instant volume.

You can read more from the lovely Kelly at http://www.klghairadvice.com/

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Guest Post by Kitty at Not A Nose - Home Keratin Treatment

My dream is to have low-maintenance hair, and I’ve tried other straightening treatments to achieve this (http://getlippie.blogspot.com/2011/11/guest-post-charles-worthington-straigh.html) with limited success. This is my hair on a good hair day – it’s wavy, thick and quite coarse. It only looks this good in the photo thanks to the conditioning spray that I liberally applied before letting it air dry. The waves will turn into frizz by the next morning, and no amount of spray or scrunching will get them back. If I straighten it, it pretty much inhales humidity and becomes really big and scruffy within a day.

[picture 1]

I’m trying this Brazilian Keratin kit that I purchased on Amazon http://www.amazon.co.uk/Brazilian-Straightening-Blow-Dry-Keratin-Treatment/dp/B003YUEF7C . It contains everything you need to carry out the treatment apart from a hair dryer and straighteners. Unfortunately it did come with those horrible disposable gloves that are stuck onto the paper. These always remind me of lobster claws and they always end up letting stuff run down your arm into the glove.

The instructions supplied were pretty clear with the step by step process described, and a page of FAQ. The instructions advise a patch test for 48 hours before applying the kit. You MUST do this. In the Amazon reviews there are people complaining about reactions to the product, and as the product will be left on your hair for 48 hours you do need to be certain it won’t cause you any problems.

So – down to the process. All in all this took me about 1.5 hours, if you have a friend to help it probably will take less time.

Step 1: Wash your hair with the supplied clarifying shampoo. Comb your hair first as this shampoo left my hair quite tangled and hard to comb.

Step 2: Blow dry your hair on medium heat.

Step 3: Put on the gloves, section up your hair and use the brush to apply the product. I wasn’t actually sure how much product I should use, in the end I’d used half of pot on my relatively short hair. The product doesn’t smell too bad at this stage, a bit sugary sweet. Help from a friend at this stage would be useful, I had to use 2 mirrors and a lot of uncoordinated hand waving to apply it to the back. Comb through the product just in case you’ve missed a bit.

Step 4: Blow dry your hair straight on medium heat. Hooooo boy! Now the product smells like I’ve fallen into a vat of toxic crème caramel. This stage really has to be done in a well ventilated room, by the end of it my eyes were streaming. It also seemed to take a lot of drying, at one point I was really thinking it wasn’t going to dry at all. At the end of this stage my hair felt a bit ‘claggy’ as if I’d applied too much mousse/product.

Step 5: Straighten your hair with hot irons, going over each section up to 7 times. Use a comb to hold your hair while you do this as the hair will get mighty hot. The smell was still there, but not as eye-wateringly powerful, and my hair didn’t feel sticky any more.

And here is the finished result. It looks pretty flat and straight doesn’t it?

Now I am into the RULES

Rules for first 48 hours until you can wash your hair for the first time (you can leave it longer if you want and if you’re a dirty mare like me)

• Keep your hair dry, if it does get wet, blow dry and straighten.
• do not tie your hair up, push it behind your ears or kink it in any way.
• Re-straighten your hair if any kinks develop .
• don’t feed it after midnight.
• Avoid hair products that contain salt (sodium chloride) as it shortens the lifespan of the treatment. It can be found in shampoo, conditioner and non-obvious products like heat protection spray.

I used Tresemme Naturals shampoo and conditioner, but you can buy specialist salt free shampoos on Amazon.

I ended up leaving it 72 hours before washing my hair due to general laziness, I didn’t find the treatment left it greasy. I washed it, did a very quick blast dry with a hair dryer just running it through with my fingers, and here is the result.

I’ll be back in a couple of days to to let you know how the treatment held up.

Kitty talks too much on social media, and is trying to keep her essay writing mojo alive in the summer vacation by writing about perfume http://notanose.wordpress.com/

This post: Guest Post by Kitty at Not A Nose - Home Keratin Treatment originated at: Get Lippie All rights reserved. If you are not reading this post at Get Lippie, then this content has been stolen by a scraper