Spring is Sprung!

By Luke

Spring Week 2

We are sticking with the blue green theme this week, but turning the heat up ever so slightly, so really amazing colours, and products to brighten even the very dullest of days. Boredom, is not an option with any of these.

Terry De Gunzberg, Bleu Paradis and Fruit Défendu

You know what? The woman is a bit of a genius. Terry launched the Haute Parfumerie nigh on two years ago in true elegance and style, and is continuing in that vain for the latest releases of these two rather fabulous, vibrant fragrances.

The juice in the bottles is as easy on the eye as they are on the nose, being as they are in a bright blue and a vibrant green.  The boxes are embossed with a stylised rose motif that refers to the rose notes that carry throughout these.

The greener, in every sense of the word, Fruit Défendu is a sweet, herby dream of a scent. With mango and bergamot at the top , and soft delicate rosewood, and the refresher like scent of pink peppercorn at the base.  It does smell very similar to one of her previous efforts, al beit very much lighter, but I’m unable to put my finger on which one it is.

The blue addition, Bleu Paradis has a blue rose scent we are told (I wouldn’t know that from a red one to be honest, but it’s very nice) Mauritian lychee giving a light fruity glow and then coming down to a very soft and very warm smelling cedar.Smells fresher and altogether more ‘beachlike’ than the green.

Both have their merits, and complement each other beautifully, it’s a challenge to choose a favourite.

Available exclusively from Selfridges from March 13th, then nationwide from 27th, 100ml EDP £105.  

Leighton Denny Glamazone from The International Collection.

A bit of inspiration from the Spring/Summer 2014 catwalks apparently, the whole collection is an explosion of colour, andGlamazone is a gorgeous rich turquoise with a bit of a shimmer through it.

£11 Available www.LeightonDennyExpertNails.com, M&S, John Lewis and Fenwick’s.  

Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Pencil in Freak.

Relaunched in time for Spring, these really are the shizz.

A longwearing pencil that isn’t so soft it smooshes in the lid, or when you try to sharpen in it Hate that. They really do stay put as well. A MAHOOSIVE selection of 40 colours, I have chosen Freak. A really gorgeous shimmery bright green.  As well as liners, draw a really thick line, and use your finger to smudge it up over your eyelid to get a really great long lasting eye colour.  They also act a great base, and give a really good grip for an eye shadow over the top of it, should you so wish. I. Want. Them. All.

£14 available in Debenhams, and House of Fraser.

NARS Eye Paint in Solomon Island.

Another extremely versatile eye product, Comes in a tiny little pot PACKED to the lid with product.  These are an indelible cream colour.  To be used as an eyeliner (with a brush), or all over the eye as a colour they don’t budge and go on smooth so no mistake worries getting too much colour in one place. I have chosen Solomon Island which a fantastic azure blue shade to put us all in mind of a sandy beach. Comes out EXACTLY as you see it in the pot too.

NARS Eye Paints, £18 available nationwide.

Alien Eau Extraordinaire: If It Ain't Broke …

By Laurin

Oh, hey guys! It's the second weekend in March, and the temperature in London has finally risen over 15 degrees.  As the bearer of a British passport, I'm required by law to completely overreact to any glimpse of sunlight by baring eye-popping amounts of flesh and loudly announcing "SUMMER IS HERE!" to anyone who will listen on social media. Summer most emphatically ISN'T here, and won't be for another three months, but this island isn't known for letting like, GEOGRAPHY get in the way of good weather-relatedhistrionics. I'm only doing my patriotic duty.

The high street foliage has undergone a dramatic change in the past month, with the sludgy greys and rich purples of winter suddenly giving way to hues of icy blue and soft peach that seem designed specifically to showcases splashes of balsamic vinegar from my lunchtime salad. But don't think about that! Look, over here! A floaty silk chiffon dress! For your inner delicate flower! FOR GOD'S SAKE, WILL YOU PUT DOWN THAT HOT CROSS BUN AND - oh, you've had three? Might as well finish the pack then.

The Usual Suspects in the fragrance hall are also poised and ready to take advantage of your buoyant good mood and all that money you're so tired of lugging around. Yes, it's summer flanker time, so limber up, bitches and get ready to get fresh!A flanker, if you've not come across the term is essentially a sequel to an already established perfume. If you're in a generous mood, you could say that brands issue flankers in order to build on an established fragrance without starting from scratch, or to attract a younger customer who may associate earlier releases with something their mother or even grandmother wore. Some flankers, such as Coco Mademoiselle or Hypnotic Poison become successful enough to be deemed fragrances in their own right. On the other hand, the disenchanted among us might say that flankers are cheap, cynical attempts from major brands to bamboozle unsuspecting consumers with evocative language and pretty bottles (CK One Shock Street Edition for Him, anyone?). I say: If you can't say anything nice, come sit next to me.

For my money, the house of Thierry Mugler showcases some of the bravest and most interesting fragrances on the high street. Everyone I know seems to have a story about someone they knew (and usually hated) who wore Angel in the 90's, and I still find the salty caviar and fig riff of Womanity an astonishing act of faith for a mainstream brand to release in 2010, when the buzzwords in department stores seem to be "dull" and "inoffensive". Mugler makes a habit of not treating its customers like simpletons, and judging by the space they occupy in my local John Lewis, it seems to pay off.

But even a brand with a killer offering needs to offer newness, and Mugler certainly delivers, producing  flankers of its four pillar fragrances (Angel, A*men, Alien and Womanity) once or twice a year. For autumn, we're treated to the darker sides of these scents with cuirs, liquors and absolues, and in the spring we get the eaus and the aquas. This year's first summer offering is Alien Eau Extraordinaire, a luminous take on the 2005 original.

Composed by Dominique Ropion, the genius who gave us such masterpieces as Portrait of a Lady, Carnal Flower andAmarige (as well as the first Alien), the beige juice is housed in a transparent bottle similar to the original, but shorn of its sharp angles and edgy, sorcerer-fabulous charm. Instead of the Intergalactic Time Traveller come to shoot the funkless with her bop gun, we have the tastefully-accessorised Manhattan socialite come to top up the glasses of the champagne-less. Which is fine if you like that sort of generic prettiness, but isn't that why Jo Malone exists?

The fragrance opens strongly with a sparkling hit of bergamot and neroli and the refreshing bitterness of white grapefruit. This citrus sun shines brightly for about an hour or so, illuminating the tangle of jasmine and tiare flowers on the forest floor. But the initial euphoria quickly wears off, and you're left with a wan jasmine and some lukewarm cashmeran that apologises for itself, then makes a hasty exit - in short, a shadow of the bold original Alien that feels like a waste of an idea and talent. It's a bit like finding out that David Bowie has gone to work as a cashier in the Guildford branch of NatWest. You know the Goblin King is under there somewhere, but it's hard to make him out under the cheap grey Burton suit. If you're after something fresh for warmer weather, pick up a bottle of Mugler's very excellent Cologne instead.

As for me, my feelings about flankers remain unchanged: 90% of the time, you should just buy the original. Unless we're talking about M&M flankers, in which case, you must ALWAYS buy the pretzel M&Ms. As well as the original M&Ms. And the peanut M&Ms. They may not make you smell great, but at least you won't be disappointed.

Alien Eau Extraordinaire is available in any good department store and starts at £50 for 60ml.

Deborah Lippmann and Instagram

Did you know Get Lippie has an Instagram account? You can find us on there as Get_Lippie, you can see odd snippets of launch events, meals, stupidity, and mostly, makeup … for example, behold the glory that is Deborah Lippmann's Ruby Red Slippers:

Someone described it as looking like I'd just ripped a man's heart out in Temple of Doom, and, as I can't think of anything better to say about the varnish than that, that will just have to do … this was a gift from a Facebook friend, thank you so much, T!  

Spring Time Colour!

By Luke 

Now I don’t know about you, but I am a bit over the whole grey windy wet weather we seem to be experiencing at the minute.  It affects your mood, your energy levels, and not to mention your enjoyment of just about anything worth doing.

So, in anticipation of the bright sunshine, and frivolity and frolics of the spring time, let’s have a look at some really lovely bits that are so colourful, Spring may come that bit earlier.... at least to your dressing table.

Week one!

Greens shoots! With the garden looking like its making an appearance with all sorts of springtime flowers shooting up, this is the perfect combination of spring sights and smells to get you in the mood for the new season.

CK One Summer

Nothing says summer like crushed sugar and Tequila, and this has it all in there! CK One do a summer fragrance every year, and I am always a bit in love with them, Not least for the bottles alone! This years is a supernatural looking ombre of green and blue that sort of moves around, Magic, and smells fine too. Available from April 2nd, £32 for 100ml.

L’occitane Zesty Lime

With its famous Shea Butter formula, mixed brilliantly together with a very zingy Lime fragrance this body cream will definitely put you in mind of sunnier climes. This does smell amazing! And the lome scent lasts for a little while too.A great mood lifter.  L’Occitane Zesty Lime Shea Butter Body Creme, available now £18.

Van Cleef & Arpels Aqua Oriens

Another annual favourite of mine for the sunny season. If the bottle alone isn’t enough to cheer you up with its glorious imitation of an actual ring by Van Cleef & Arpels (yes, I have tried the lid on my finger and felt like a fairy princess), then the scent will definitely inspire you. Light and fruity, with essence of pear, amber and honeysuckle, it’s a super girly scent with a bit of class. I adore this fragrance on account of it being so easy to wear, light, and lasts!  5oml EDT £54, available nationwide.

Heavy Metal Glitter Eyeliner by Urban Decay in Spandex

I am a big fan of the more extreme end of colour as far makeup is concerned, and Urban Decay always have it nailed.Their Glitter liners are some of the longest lasting, non flake off formulas I have used.  Use them as is, or over aneyeshadow to really get some sparkle. The clear fluid dries quickly and doesn’t crease either so very much a partyingfave. The Spandex has flecks of petrol blue and green through it, so would be amazing on brown eyes! £13 available from Debenhams and House of Fraser stores.

Orange Crush with Tom Ford, Models Own and Lipstick Queen.

By Tindara

 

 I’ve always been one for a bright lipstick. From the days when I was an indie girl Smiths fan with a pale face and a quiff, to now when I’m probably after more poise and glamour, there is nothing like the feeling of facing the word with a slick of something tomato coloured on my mouth. It feels right somehow. Finished, strong, ready for anything.

 

These days I have added deeps pinks and fuschias to my bright lipstick addiction but have yet to branch out into a really strong orange shade. So when I saw that orange lips are a strong look for Spring Summer 2014, I was eager to try some of the ones that had winged their way to Lippie Towers.

The first I liked the look of is a heavily pigmented liquid lipstick from lip colour experts Lipstick Queen. Vesuvius Liquid Lips in Coral is a lovely deep orange shade. It’s really hydrating and looks glossy but is not as sticky as a regular lip gloss. I really liked the depth of colour and the fresh minty feel of this. It lasted fairly well too and left a more neutral coral stain to my lips through the latter half of the day. Though the liquid gloop did leak a little into the lid after a day being battered around in my bag, but that could just be me and my rough bag handling. I will try a few more of these gorgeous colours, I think.

 

Models Own Matt Hyper Brite

 
Day two of my orange experiment and I felt like something brighter and more full on. I had been given Models Own Matt Hyper Brite lipstick in Orangeade a while back but hadn’t had the guts to wear it much. Time to give it another go. I got lots of compliments with this shade. It happened to be a really spring like day, the sun was out and my hyper-bright orange lips made me feel happy. The texture is actually quite sheer so I had to build up the colour to get a depth to it, but it is a bright matt orange that stays put fairly well for a lipstick at this price point.

Next was Tom Ford Lip Colour in True Coral. For various reasons I have always avoided Tom Ford products, I always thought they were pricey and overblown and I really didn’t like the past perfume marketing. But I have to admit that this lipstick is pretty bloody awesome, my lips are really dry at the moment and it glided on and hydrated well. The white and gold packaging is gorgeous and the coral packs a mean orange punch. I didn’t want to like it but I really did, what can I say. It’s a luxurious lipstick and a beautiful colour.
 

Ultimately, oranges and corals can be really flattering and wearable, I had to get my head round the idea of having bright orange lips, and now for me it’s just a small step from the likes of my fave scarlets to some of these shades. With smudgy or flicky black liner they can look really modern and fresh. I may go even brighter and lighter next time.

Lipstick Queen Vesuvius Liquid Lips in Coral is £22. Models Own Matt Hyper Brite lipstick in Orangeade is £6. Tom Ford Lip Colour in True Coral is £36.

The fine print: PR samples.
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