Life in plastic, it's fantastic ...

So ... there's another range of Barbie makeup on the market, after both MAC and Stila have released Barbie collections in the last couple of years, this time New Look are on the case!

I'll be honest, and let you know that this was something I wasn't really that interested in featuring on the blog - I'm definitely not New Look's target market these days - as I wasn't (still not to be honest) convinced that this would be something my readers would be interested in.  It's a budget range, from a budget store, and it wasn't something I'd tried.

Add in that I'm not entirely sure I approve of grown women using Barbie as a role-model for their looks, and you have no small amount of confusion.  I was a Sindy girl (moving onto a Girl's World the second I had a chance - I ruined her, and don't even get me started on the crappy crayons they called "makeup" in those days!) and Barbie's plastic-fantastic looks and lifestyle I always found a little ... well ... flashy. So I was bemused when both Mac and Stila brought out ranges  based on Barbie (what next, Bratz?) and ignored them completely, thinking they were for - frankly - those misguided middle-aged women who are clinging onto their youth like a limpet*. Certainly that's who the price ranges and brands involved seemed to be aiming themselves at.  Retro-irony is not a bad thing, but ... well, Barbie is famous for blue eyeshadow and pink lips, it's hard to pull that look off, even in an ironic fashion!

*No offence intended to the people who bought them and loved the products, it's my own prejudice I'm highlighting here, not the tastes of anyone else!

I have a small policy on Get Lippie that I will only write about products I've actually tried for myself, so I can be honest about them.  The PR company involved in the New Look launch know all about my little quirk, and they sent me a few products to have a play with.  I can't, in all honesty, say they're the best cosmetics I've ever tried, but they're are very much better products than their price tag would suggest - in particular I like the glitter-french manicure nail set, which is £5, and the false lashes are really very nice indeed (also a fiver):

There is also a face pack, a blusher which looks very high end (I didn't see this, so can't speak for it's texture or anything), a mascara, eyeliner and concealer pack which I haven't tried yet, but will have a go at playing with soon.  These aren't products I'd personally buy for myself, but if my niece were a few years older, I'd be happy to buy her some, and have her play with them to her heart's content.  They're nice products, not great products.

What's your opinion on Barbie, and Barbie products for adults?

Makeover: Kerry

After a bit of last minute confusion with one of my other volunteers, the lovely Kerry stepped in to have a makeover, and I'm glad she did, as this is one of my favourites!

Meet Kerry:

Kerry is really very pretty already, with enormous green eyes.  Sometimes Kerry thinks she looks a bit young (never an issue as far as I'm concerned!) so was looking to create a sophisticated "grown-up" look, that was hopefully a bit glamorous too.

As always, we started with the base.  Kerry has beautiful porcelain skin, so we used Bobbi Brown liquid foundation in "porcelain" as the main base, and Benefit's You're Bluffing as a concealer on the birthmark on her upper lip.  I decided against using Bluffdust as a powder because Kerry is so pale, and we used ELF HD Powder to set the look instead:

Then, to make the most of Kerry's gorgeous eyes, I made use of a Bobbi Brown palette I have that features mainly chocolate shades, I applied a shimmer wash of colour over Kerry's lids, then defined the crease with a darker shimmery brown shade:

Once they were in place, I lined the eyes with "coffee, and applied just a little more shimmer to Kerry's  lids:

 

 

Once that was in place, I darkened Kerry's brows just a little (with Smashbox brow powder kit), and added a single layer of Clarins Wonder Perfect Mascara, the difference was amazing!

A light touch of Cargo Plant Love's Wind (please note no schoolgirl jokes today, thank you) around the cheekbones and temples to warm the look up a bit, and then I used NARS Sex Machine on Kerry's lips, and finished with a tiny slick of Dior lipgloss (the name of which has worn off, but is a very pale pink with a hint of green iridescence.  Nicer than it sounds, honest!)  Here's how it looked when it was all put together:

And here's the before and after:

Many thanks for stepping in Kerry, hope you liked your new look!

Onix Blowdry - the aftermath ...

As you probably already know, I had an  Onix keratin treatment/Brazilian blowdry at Compton Hair earlier this week, and I was very, very pleased with it. Well, I let it airdry the other day, and it was with some trepidation I did it, I can tell you!  I was still convinced that the very second I washed my hair, all the FLOOF would be back, and I'd have to break out the straighteners again.

This is how it turned out:

This is my hair, airdried, without any styling product, and just after my having raked it out with my fingers.

Here's a close up of the crown, so you can see how shiny it still is:

Seriously, my hair has been gleaming all week, people in the office have commented on it!

I couldn't be happier with my new hair, it's a whole new lease of life for me!

Competition Entry

I'm entering MizzWorthy's "Think outside the box" competition today, so here's my entry (again, the photos aren't fantastic, but I was rushing this and trying to give myself a facial ready for my work Christmas party tomorrow!) It's not my greatest work, but I was trying to show one very precise look, an one slightly destroyed look at the same time:

Whaddya think?

 

 

Organic Wednesday - Surya Brasil

To continue with Hair Week at Get Lippie this week, we're going to have a look at Surya Brasil's Amazonia Preciosa hair masks, and we have another guest blogger, the lovely Helen, who is going to review the product for us.

About Surya and Amazonia Preciosa

Surya's Amazonia Preciosa line is an incredibly natural range of haircare, all products of which are ecco-certified.  According to the website, each of the products contains: 

• No sodium lauryl sulfate, sodium laureth sulfate, artificial colouring or fragrance
• No parabens, solvents, GMOs or other components that are harmful to health
• Ethically wild crafted raw materials from the Amazon Forest
• The Preciosa essential oil is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council.
• The Andiroba essential oil is certified by IBAMA, Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources
• All flasks and packages are made of recyclable material.
• Innovative, mild preservative system. No formaldehyde releasers or potential xeonestrogens.
• Five formulas utilizing Brazilian fruits and nuts to address different hair types.

All the products are suitable for vegans, and are tested on humans rather than animals! Today, we're going to look at the Brazil Nut hair mask which is specifically formulated for dry and damaged hair.

Helen Says:

"Whilst the whole of the UK was watching the X-Factor final on Sunday night, I decided to wash my hair.  This was prompted by the fact that Ms Lippie had passed over a hair mask to try out for her Organic Wednesday slot.  Now I know that she often complains about her ‘difficult’ hair, but I do think that mine puts up a good fight in that category. It has a mind of its own on most days, and any dampness causes a ‘frizziness’ overload.  This Surya Mask was made especially for dry hair and mine was certainly in that state having just come back from a ski holiday where I wore a helmet all day, every day

After washing my hair with my normal shampoo, I took the top of the tube and squirted some onto my hand.  It had a pleasant nutty smell – reminding me a bit of a Christmas stocking from my childhood – the flavour/aroma was Brazil nut. The understated packaging didn’t indicate how much to use so I used a walnut sized lump to start with. As my hair is very short and doesn’t normally need much product, I thought this would be enough, however, this amount disappeared virtually straight away. I'm not sure if I didn’t use enough or my hair was so dry that it needed more help than usual.  I then added extra, using an amount about the size of half a small apple in the end. It went into my hair very easily with no greasiness or stickiness, but unfortunately the smell faded quickly – it would have been nice to smell like nuts for a while.  After 15 minutes sitting in the bath with a towel wrapped around my head, I rinsed off the remainder of the mask.  This process happened very easily with no residue left after a very short period of rinsing.

As for the results, although my hair was definitely softer and more controllable afterwards, it was not a life changing transformation. I must confess that I have had better results from other leave-in conditioners previously. However, the mask was very easy to use and to rinse out, had a pleasant smell and texture and did not feel ‘gloopy’ when on my hair. If you are looking to use a mask with no chemicals in it, it works well enough, but I think I will be sticking to my usual conditioner."  

So there you go.  Have you tried Surya?  The masks are available from Liberty, and cost £10.  I estimate you'd get about four treatments from one tube. I actually have someone else trialling this particular mask (I'm trying to limit the amount of products I use at the moment) and I'll bring you their thoughts on the product when I have them.

Thanks for your input, Helen!

The Small Print: This product was sent to us for review purposes.  All reviews are honest, no matter how the product arrives at GLHQ.