SLiNK Magazine is out now!

Posts are thin on the ground this week, I know, but normal service will be resumed shortly, I promise.

If you've missed me at all  in the meantime (and if not, WHY NOT, eh? Eh?) then you can read the latest issue of SLiNK Magazine, which also happens to be my first full issue as beauty editor!  I'm super-excited about it (totes!) and hope you will like what I've done.  The next issue - which is the Beauty issue - will be even bigger, better and brighter, I promise. It had better be, I've been working like a Trojan on it for the last couple of months, with the help of a few other people, and some "celebrity guests"!

Click the picture or the SLiNK link to go through and buy the magazine:

It's meant to look like this - got any 3D goggles handy?  Put 'em on now!

My especial thanks go to both Caroline Hirons and Jack Howard for their help in getting this issue together, thanks, guys. You rock.

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

Carter & Bond Barbers

Back by "popular request", today Get Lippie is proud to be hosting a guest post from that most "august" of "occasional* contributors", yes, it's Mr Lippie!**

*****
The last time I went to a branded barber shop, I have to admit that the experience was less than overwhelming, and as a result I have been fairly wary of venturing far from my local barbers' where I've been going for about 4 years. 

So, when I was offered a haircut and a wet shave from Carter & Bond, I experienced a certain amount of apprehension. Getting the balance right at a barber shop can be incredibly difficult. Whilst most little local, independent shops charge very little and depend upon a high volume of customers who are happy with something that can be achieved with clippers and a minimal amount of scissor action, the moment you start to up the price past the £15/£20 mark, customers want something special. Some brands try to appeal to the "lad" market, with big screens playing various sports shows, beer on offer, and generally trying to bring a bar feel to the whole concept. Others go high end, bringing the feel of a Savoy tailor and treating customers as king, with a host of added extras - for a price.

So, which would Carter & Bond be? To judge from the logo - an elegant bowler hat - I thought it would be high-end, catering to a market which would be a long way above my price range. The only question, in my mind, was whether the value for money would be there. Carter & Bond are situated over in West London, a few minutes walk from Latymer Road Tube Station. When walking up to the address given, a bit of confusion did start to set in - we were heading up to what was obviously a combined industrial/commercial unit. Given it was a Sunday afternoon, this was even more odd! However, we found Carter & Bond on the buzzer, pressed it, mentioned I had an appointment, and in we went.
 

When we got to the barber shop, the barber (an amiable gent by the name of Yusuf) was just finishing up with another client. There was just one chair, but the room itself was a call to every young boys' dream. Model planes adorned the room, plastic soldiers were lurking everywhere, and - best of all, in my humble opinion - a STACK of Commando comic books were piled up at the back. It was just great. Yusuf was chatting quietly to his client, and I just wondered around, slightly awestruck, wondering precisely how much of this stuff had been nicked from my parents' garage. I gathered my wits, refocussed, and looked at what was actually being sold.

There were, in actuality, a tonne of really interesting products alongside the memorabilia. Everything you would expect at a barber - the hair gels, the aftershaves - but all sorts of extras which caught my magpie-like eyes - cufflinks, full-on cutthroat razors & shaving kits, and even toothpaste! It was all very intriguing, and I barely noticed the time pass as the previous client - who was obviously here for the first time as well - was finished with, took a peer at the extras, and walked off with toothpaste and a couple of other odds & sods, looking very satisfied.
 

I took a seat in the big chair and Yusuf looked expectantly at me. "Erm....I usually have a Grade 6 back & sides, with about an inch off the top" - yes, this was my opening gambit. A quiet chuckle ensued. "Sorry sir, we don't do that sort of thing here" - accompanied by a waggle of the scissors. Gosh! I gathered my wits, and tried to remember the last time I'd had a haircut like that - and, to my shame, I still can't! Some brief negotiation & discussion ensured, and Yusuf went to work on my barnet. I have to say that I was very impressed. Quick, efficient, and obviously highly skilled, Yusuf rapidly sorted my hair (of which there is copious amounts, not always amenable to direction) into something which genuinely suited me. The past couple of weeks have been even more impressive, as the style has held its' shape very well and is still recognisable, despite my lack of skills in sculpting hair with product!
 

Once the hair was done, it was time for the shave - my first wet shave ever! I had a couple of ideas of what to expect, but the sensations absolutely blew me away. The hot towels steamed my head to perfection, and the various oils suddenly cooled my face with serious intensity. Add the slide of the razor across the skin, and it was fantastic. I would easily recommend it to anyone (at least, anyone who needs their face shaved!). Overall, the entire process took about an hour, which was capped off with me emerging incredibly red-faced, but feeling hugely revived. The various photos show me somewhat mummified, but they have no way to depict the furnace that was hitting my face!

Afterwards, we had a brief chat about the experience - and the astonishing fact that that whole hour would only cost £50! For a once-a-month experience, that's not bad at all - admittedly, the real trouble would be from spending as much if not more on the extras - a cufflink addict like myself could easily blow a tonne of cash without blinking.

Overall, I really enjoyed the whole thing, and am looking forward to returning - I just hope Yusuf doesn't mind that the side parting he gave me has disappeared....!


You can find Carter and Bond at 15-17 Baseline Studios, Whitchurch Road, London, W11 4AT, and calle them on 020 7243 0319.  They also have a great online grooming store at http://carterandbond.com which is all kinds of aces ...
 
*  If by occasional, you mean, like, once a year or so.

** Will that do, MrL?

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

Chanel Rouge Allure: Inimitable, Coromandel and Passion

  
Very little gets my heart racing like a red lipstick. When three red lipsticks turn up on the same day, well, that's an event my friends.  I was delighted to hear that Chanel are re-launching their Rouge Allure range, to go alongside the successful Rouge Coco lipsticks.  Whilst I like (and own about six) of the Coco's, I do prefer something more pigmented, and the Rouge Allures deliver pigment in spades.

I was sent three of the brightest shades from the newly-relaunched collection, Inimitable, Coromandel and Passion, all reds and all beautiful.  Shall we take a look?

Inimitable is a bright berry red, slightly blue-based in tone, but with a golden shimmer running through it that warms it up a little in wear.

Hard to tell from this picture, but Coromandel is an orange-red, but without the brown undertones that would normally make you describe this as a brick-red.  There is a fine (finer than that in Inimitable) gold shimmer running through this lipstick too.

Passion is a classic blue-based red without shimmer, and is a little more pigmented than Inimitable. It's a lot more dramatic in wear than that shade too, and will suit cooler-toned wearers.

Let's take a look at the bullets together:

You can only get an idea of how different the shades are when they're on skin, so I won't keep you waiting:

As you can see here, Coromandel really does pull orange in comparison to the other two shades, but on the lips, this isn't as noticeable, especially if your lips have a lot of red to them already.  I'll show you lip swatches later on in the week.

The formula on these is very good, excellent slip without feeling greasy, a high level of pigment, a glossy finish and that classic Chanel lipstick scent.  Wear time is about average, but they're not billed as long-lasting lipsticks, so I don't mind that too much, to be honest.  There's very little more glamorous than pulling out a Chanel lipstick for touch-ups, and the Rouge Allure casing is a classic - you push down on the gold Chanel logo and the lipstick pops up out of the black metal casing.  You don't get that distinctive lipstick "click" that you do with more traditional casings, but it's satisfying all the same.  I remember when the Rouge Allures were first launched, and they were making a big song and dance about how the packaging was operable with one hand.  Er ... it isn't, but hey ho, it's a nice case all the same.

What's your pick of the Allures?

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

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.