Makeover: Sam

Two weeks ago, when I did my makeover on Rebecca from le Salon de Beaute, she brought along her friend Sam for a makeover too.  It was lovely to meet them both, and I was really happy to get the opportunity to makeover two such lovely women.
Meet Sam:

Sam  has amazing bone structure, and beautiful glowing skin.  She spends a lot of time outdoors, and wanted a clean and simple look that complemented her colouring. 
As always, we started with the base, and this time we used Benefit Playstick foundation in Jax:

For a lovely, sophisticated, but not too intimidating look, I always like to dig out my Bobbi Brown Chocolate palette, I thought the differing shades of chocolate brown, and champagne would be a good match for the kind of look Sam was going for.  Initially I covered the eyelid in a shimmering apricot shade, then added a darker colour in the crease:


I then went on to add a slight bit of definition with the expresso shade in the palette, and added some mascara:
 

I added a gentle flush of colour on the cheeks with Cargo’s Illuminator in Wind, and added a little slick of Bare Escentuals lipgloss in Caramel:
and here’s the before and after:

Excited!

Today, I'm going to be tweeting live (backstage!) from The House of Blue Eyes event at London Fashion Week. Follow @Get_Lippie on Twitter, I'll be using the hashtags #LFW and #HOBE.

If you don't tweet, don't worry, there will be a full report here in the next day or so. I'm really very excited, Ilamasqua are doing the make up for the show and this is a unique opportunity for me to see what goes on in a professional setting!

Wish me luck, I'm going in…

Mission Statement?

I try not to  make Get Lippie political - I've said before, it's all about the products and how they work as far as I'm concerned, but I thought I'd share this email exchange that took place today regarding a product that a PR firm wanted to see featured here my blog:

"Hi Louise,


NAME from  PR FIRM here,

I'm writing today to see if you would be interested in posting a new piece of video content on http://www.getlippie.blogspot.com/

MADEUPNAME is a fun new campaign encouraging you to get creative, take a look at the video here: MADEUPNAME.com

...

We can pay you to post this video, to sign up as a publisher and for payment please visit MADEUPNAME.com

If you have any questions please get in touch."
 
(emphasis mine)
 
My response was as follows:
 
"Hi NAME


Thank you very much for getting in contact with Get Lippie.

Get Lippie does not feature sponsored posts, and nor do I accept payment for posts. Nor will I ever.

 I write about products I've tried and tested - 90% of which I buy myself for the purposes of review. All products, regardless of their source, are tested thoroughly, and the reviews posted on my site - good and bad - are, above all, honest and true. I also do not feature video content, and have no plans to do so.

I believe that the concept of paying bloggers to feature products (not to mention your requirement that the posting be in a specific format) to be a pernicious one, and one I have no interest to be involved with. Your products may be wonderful, and in fact I have tried them already, but I will be unable to be involved in this particular project at this time.

Again, I thank you for your interest in Get Lippie. I assure you that if your product is mentioned on my blog in the future, my review will be honest, thorough, in the format of my choosing, and I will NOT have been paid to feature them."

I'm reprinting it here as I thought it was as good as a mission statement.  What do you think about the concept of brands paying for posts?

EDIT:

It's been pointed out by another blogger (quite rightly) that my posting appears to misrepresenting what the email is actually asking people to do. I'm happy to make clear, and put right, that this email isn't asking for paid endorsement of a product, that it is in fact a request to rent "ad-space" on the blog. Whilst I'm more than happy to put that miscomprehension right - and I'm happy to have been corrected! - the above is still a genuine email conversation, and it was based on how *I* interpreted the request at the time it was put to me (actually I feel that the email from the company involved could have been much better-written to make their intent clear. But, then I would!), as such, I stand by my comments with regard to paid posts, and would like to make clear that my reply to the agency involved would still have been in the negative, for a variety of other reasons. Other people can, and will, feel differently. That's the beauty of blogging!



The foregoing post is merely a statement of *my* intent on *my* blog at this time.

Christopher Drummond and Sue Devitt FotD

I've spoken of my love of "no-colour" makeup before.  This morning I was going for a totally neutral but slightly sunkissed look (so tired of it being dull and grey outside, so brought some sunshine to my makeup!), and so I reached for:

Christopher Drummond Veludo foundation in Fair
Christopher Drummond Finishing powder in Branco
Christopher Drummond Radiance Booster in Saude Pele
Sue Devitt Eyeshadow in Lonely Splendor
Urban Decay liquid liner in Smog
Cover Girl Lash Blast mascara
Cargo Illuminator in Wind
Chanel Rouge Allure in Incognito

Taupe is my go-to colour at the moment, and the Sue Devitt shadow has been a lovely addition to my makeup bag, it's a very soft and subtle shade:

As you can see, I'm still using Endora as my style icon at the moment, I love me a bit of swoosh on my eyeliner!  You won't be seeing any baby-blue shadow here though, I promise.

But what I really want to talk is the foundation, I've been having a lot of trouble with powder formulations lately, owing to having somewhat ... er ... mature skin, and it being a bit dry owing t the weather at the moment.  I find a lot of powders - and even some pigment-heavier creams are just sinking into lines and crevices during the day which I swear simply did not exist in the morning!

So it was some trepidation that I approached the Christopher Drummond foundation, powder and highlight, I'll be honest.  I was scared of looking cakey, dry and, well, old! I needn't have worried, these powders are silky smooth, and a delight to wear.

The Just Beauty Direct website (where my samples came from) says this about the Christopher Drummond range:

"100% natural, vegan, made with organic ingredients. These are products not only good for your skin, but good for the environment. Christopher Drummond believes that by having eco-friendly and animal-friendly cosmetics, we are contributing to the prosperity of our planet ... 

... Christopher's skin-friendly all-natural, organic based formulations include such soothing ingredients, including açai, and green tea, which contain healing antioxidants.

These products which have a natural sunscreen and are non-comedogenic will leave your s  kin feeling velvety soft and looking naturally radiant." 

What I liked about these was that you don't have to "buff" them into your skin, you just brush them onto your face, as you would with a liquid foundation, sometimes I find that the "buffing" required with other mineral foundations can aggravate a sensitive skin.  This foundation lasted really well, and didn't need a touch up until about three in the afternoon!  The finishing powder is very, very silky indeed, and the Saude Pele added just a touch of champagne coloured highlight to my cheekbones. I was delighted that there was no settling, no cracking, no caking and ... no ageing!

All that said, I'll definitely consider buying the full size product, even though it's priced at a wallet-thumping £50 - but that contains a travel container, full size foundation, and flat-topped kabuki for application - but, I'd be interested to see if Just Beauty Direct have any plans just to stock the foundation refills at any point, as I hate being forced into buying a brush everytime I just need a powder. Maybe I'll just get one of his liquid lip pots in the meantime, I think the samples are going to last a while!

You can buy Christopher Drummond products here and Sue Devitt products are available from QVC or Harvey Nichols.

Nail of the Day - OPI Crimsun

 Yes, it's another Holographic polish, but this is one I'm a little disappointed in ...

 Application was exceedingly sheer, meaning I still have visible nail lines, and ... it's pink. Not this orange shade you see here under my halogen lights, and not the crimson you assume from the name.  It's pink.  Fuschia-pink under most lights.  Not a bad colour, as it happens, but not what I wanted!

Also, the holograph-effect is barely visible on the nail.

It's a nice polish.  But not a great one. I like it, but I don't love it. It's also started to chip after about 18 hours on the nail.  Boo!  Holographic polishes are notoriously chippy though, so maybe that's me being picky. I bought mine from eBay.

Organic Wednesday - NEOM Candles

Candles.  Oh, how I love candles!  Jonathan Ward, Kenneth Turner and now NEOM, I love them all ...  was especially delighted when I found out this week that NEOM are expanding their fragrance library to 12 this March with the addition of two new varieties of candle.

Serenity, which has hints of vanilla and sandalwood and about which NEOM say: "For the ultimate piece of me-time, comfort in warming tones of vanilla, a fantastically comforting scent, combined with woody and calming sandalwood. Also works as a gentle aphrodisiac."  Hmn, now that sounds more interesting than I thought when I first read it ....

Also, (and this is the one I'm really excited about) they're bringing out a Sumptuous variety too, which combines rose and neroli - two of my all time favourite scents - and they have this to say about it:  "The most deliciously decadent scent in the NEOM library, rose is calming, soothing oil whilst precious neroli (orange blossom) lifts your spirit and calms the mind. Quite simply - the most opulent feel-good scent in the world."  

Now my mum is an aromatherapist, a reflexologist and a reiki master (she needs to get out more) and she uses neroli like it's going out of fashion, so basically, this scent will make me think of home, and help uplift my spirits at the same time.  I can't wait to get my hands on one of these babies for a sniff.  I think I might also send my mum one for Mother's Day ...

The candles are entirely organic and have a natural base.  You can buy them from NEOM online, or Planet Organic.  I'll be chatting to Nicola Elliot about the brand very soon, so you'll be able to find out more about them then, keep an eye out!

Organic Wednesday - Dr Bronner vs Method

Doing things slightly differently this week - haven't done a side by side comparison for a while, so I thought I'd do one now.

I've mentioned how much I like Dr Bronner soaps before and they have a new one available from their Shikakai range, and in this trial, I'm using the peppermint version - I'm a sucker for peppermint:

And in the clear corner, I'll be testing Method's handwash in Sweet Water:

Now, both of these products are organic, and claim to be non-drying, and contain no ingredients known to irritate skin.

Here's how they look out of the bottles (Dr Bronner first, then Method)

 

Dr Bronners is a thin, runny liquid that's very difficult to control ... it's also an odd colour, how unnattractive is that yellow-y brown?  The Method is a more familiar gel-style affair (trust me, it is there in the photo, I assure you!) that won't run all down your arm while you're trying to take photos of it.  Of course, that might just be my problem ...

Here's how they foam.  I don't know about you, but I LOVE a proper foamy handwash, even though I know that many foaming agents are bad for your skin!  As before, Dr Bronner first, then Method:

 

Just to be clear, I used one full pump of each product, and hands were washed consecutively, in the same temperature water.  As you can see, the Dr Bronner has foamed up magnificently, very surprising as the main ingredients appear to be sugar and a seed extract! The Method doesn't foam up nearly so well, although compared to a lot of organic SLS-free cleansers, it's actually pretty good.  Even compared to Method's own moisturising handwash, this is good foam.  Dr Bronner's peppermint smells precisely like washing your hands with a stick of Blackpool rock (not as sticky though) where Method has a more generic, gentle, slightly perfumed scent, which is not at all unpleasant.

Neither soap left my hands dried out, which is great. Even though I do like a foaming hand wash I hate it when it leaves my hands feeling dry after, or worse, feeling like I need handcream.  I don't believe in handcream (or toner, or body lotion.  Yes, I'm a weird, I know), so don't use it too often, and hate feeling that another product I'm using is forcing me to use it.

I guess which one you'll prefer will come down to what you want from your handwash, Method's wash is undoubtedly the one that'll look more stylish in your bathroom, but Dr Bronner is the one that'll give you the most satisfaction when you use it!  Both of these have pride of place in the bathrooms around our house, and I guess which one we buy next depends on which one runs out first!

Dr Bronner is available from Victoria Health, independent health food shops and Liberty in London, whereas you can buy Method from Boots, Waitrose or from the Method website.

Onix Blowdry - Two Months on ...

Most of my readers now that before Christmas I had a three month blowdry at Comptons, and I loved it.  I gave a follow up post a little later but after a few requests, I thought it was time I gave an update on how it looks now.  Going back to the picture I took of my hair on Saturday, this is how it looks now:

I have to say though that yes, my hair is not as straight as it was when I first had it done, and it's no longer wash and go to keep it completely straight.  The above picture was taken after a swift five minute blow dry using my fingers instead of a brush or comb. Here's how it looks if I let it air-dry now:

As you can see, there's a little curling at the ends, but it still looks natural, and it's still a whole heap better than it was before the treatment.  I still haven't used my straighteners, and I only use my hair-dryer for special occasions.  Still not using any styling products either, which is wonderful and it STILL doesn't fuzz up in the rain.

I'd recommend this treatment - and Compton Hair- to anyone who's ever been fed up with wavy/curly or just plain fuzzy hair, it's been a life-changing experience for me!  Having just that little bit of extra time every day is wonderful, I love it.

Frontcover

I know a lot of people really like Frontcover boxes, which are available at Boots. A little bird has told me that they're re-releasing their infamous Rainbow box of eyeshadow shades on 25th February.  Originally released for Christmas 2008, they were a sell-out and quickly became a cult item. Boxes contain 25 shadows, applicators and a "Shadowline" which turns any eyeshadow into a liquid liner.

The boxes will be available for £15 until 23rd March when the price will increase to the RRP of £30. Will you be getting one?

Review - Perricone MD Cold Plasma

Oh, bad reviews pain me, they really do ...

At a blogger event recently, we were given a jar each of Perricone MD Cold Plasma cream to take away and try for ourselves.  As it retails for approximately £120 a jar, I was pretty excited to get this, as I knew one of my housemates would adore to try it.

Perricone MD are very proud of this cream, and it's taken them a long time to get it to market.  Now, Perricone make some very strong claims about this product, it targets TEN signs of ageing (why is it that every time a new anti-ageing cream comes out, there are more signs of ageing that it'll work on? Coincidence?) and indeed, it has a patented neuro-peptide delivery system, all of which go toward justifying the high price tag.

So ... does it work? Well, the answer to that is ... dunno.  Here's Helen to give us the skinny:


"One of the good things about sharing a house with Ms Lippie is that lots of goodies arrive for us to try out.  When the call came out for a tester for a £120 face cream – Dr P’s Cold Plasma cream, I leapt at the chance.  I was asked to try it out for a week with a picture to be taken of before and afterwards and then continue for a longer period to see what happens.

First impressions were that it’s a nice package, nothing too garish and a nice glass tub frosted, but quite small.  On opening, the cream is a lovely smooth texture, a pleasant smell and cool to the touch.

I started using it instead of my normal moisturising cream on the Monday.  The cream absorbed well, you didn’t require too much and it left my skin soft and smooth.  It certainly appeared to feed my skin as well as my other moisturising creams do normally. 

However, about an hour later, whilst sitting on the tube on the way to work, I noticed a strange smell. A bit like how your fingers would smell after shelling cooked shrimps.  I thought it could have been one of my fellow travellers and thought nothing more of it.  On the second day I used the cream again, still pleased with the results, pleasant smell in the pot and so on.  An hour later, I noticed the strange smell again, but I was with different travelling companions, so what could it be?  I wiped my face and realised it was coming from me.

This made me have second thoughts about wanting to continue to use the cream.  I don’t want people to think that I ordinarily, or habitually, smell of fish!  I decided to continue to use it in case the results were so good that I could ignore the aroma.  After a week of use, my skin still felt well nourished, and less dry, but not spectacularly enough that the smell faded into the background.

Overall, the cream works well, with as much moisture being absorbed as other creams I have used previously, and if the smell doesn’t appear for you or doesn’t worry you, and you don’t mind paying £120 for a small pot, then this is a worthwhile investment, however for me the smell is just too much to continue with."

So, er, there you have it. Incidentally, Helen was not aware of Perricone's salmon-related ingredients at the time of testing  ...

What's the most you've ever spent on a face-cream?  Did it work? Was it worth the investment?

Valentine lip colour

Mr Lippie and I went out for dinner last night, and this was the make up look I created for the occasion (forgive the crappy iPhone pic):

It's a very clean and simple look, consisting of foundation, blusher, some black eyeliner and mascara, and, of course, a red lipstick. A couple of people asked me what the lip colour was, and it's something I mixed up myself from some Bourjois Hi-Tech lipstains, specifically, these two:

 85 - Irresistible Currant - a cool fuschia shade, and 86 - New Caramel - a neutral brown.

I use these a lot, and I love them a great deal, they're water-based stains that last and last, and feel feather-light on the skin. I find them much easier to use, and far more flattering than, say ... Benetint, for example. Swatched individually in one layer on the skin, they look like this:

Swatched together in one layer on the skin, they look like this:

This is a nice sheer cherry-red suitable for daytime wear, which I use often as a base layer for brighter, or stronger reds, but I wanted something a little more dramatic last night, so I used two layers of each, which looked like this:

Nice shade, and one that lasted very well against an expensive meal and several drinks ...

Do you mix your own colours?  What do you use?

Bourjois Event

I don’t know how well my blogging about events I’ve attended fits with Get Lippie (my idea behind the blog is that  it’s all about the products and if they work or not, rather than about me) but I figured I’d tell you about this one, and see how well – or not – it goes down.

Anyway, last Saturday, along with a couple of other bloggers, I was invited along to Bourjois HQ to see their latest summer releases, it’s always exciting to be invited “behind the scenes” and this was no exception.  The champagne and cupcakes on offer made it a delightful afternoon and were very welcome after a bit of a stressful morning!

I was a bit worried when they said this year’s summer collection was inspired by “brown and tangerine” as I still have horrendous memories of my mum’s brown and tangerine decorating scheme back in the early 80’s … anyway, Bourjois’ take on it is actually very lovely, coral lips and nails and a new limited edition brown eyeshadow Tabac Blond (much more exciting than it sounds, honest!) alongside new liner shades, 4 new blushers, a new mascara and new range of foundations and concealers.

Sadly, we weren’t able to pick up samples of the lipstick and the nail varnish, but celebrity makeup artist Cassie Lomas was on hand to show us how to create this gorgeous look:

(horrific photo – sorry Giorge!)

I’ve had a chance to play with the bits of the collection I do have now, and I have to say that Bourjois are really impressing me at the moment!  For the price point, their products really are excellent quality, and more and more these days I find myself reaching for their products over and above their more expensive counterparts.

Here’s my thoughts on the new launches:

Healthy Mix Foundation and Concealer

I’ve been using the foundation for an entire week now, and I really love it.  It comes in 8 shades, which is the widest range of colours Bourjois have introduced in a foundation range to date – but, I’m sad to report, they still “don’t really cater” for darker Asian or African  skins.  It is infused with Apricot, Melon, Apple and Ginger for radiance, hydration, anti-oxidant and “energy” (um … not entirely convinced I need an energetic foundation, but hey  ho …) so it smells delicious.

It’s a semi-matte formulation (what I usually refer to as a satin), a rich, thick liquid, it’s easy to apply and spreads well.  I find it gives a medium coverage, and leaves a slight sheen on the skin:

I’m shade 52, warm vanilla.  The bottle states it’ll last up to 16 hours, I find it lasts around 8, but that’s not really a big deal.  I’m a big fan of this product, it’s impressed me a lot more than some high-end foundations I’ve tried in the recent past.

The concealer, I’m not such a big fan of.  Don’t get me wrong, it’s actually an excellent concealer in itself, pigmented and creamy with excellent coverage, but the lip balm-style tube with a wedge applicator strikes me as a bit wasteful – it’s very easy to squeeze too much out.  Other people might not find this so much of a problem though, I am notoriously cack-handed!

Tabac Blond Eyeshadow 

This is a lovely golden-taupe shade, with a little golden shimmer to it.  I’ve worn it four or five times over the last week – both with and without primer – and I’ve been really impressed with it’s staying power.  Even without primer it lasts around six hours with only minimal creasing.  Sadly, I took the worst swatch pics of this EVER, so will retake them and bring them to you soon.

Blush

Out of the four new shades they’re introducing, I chose Tomette D’Or, which Bourjois are referring to as a browny-pink. Personally, I think there’s a hint of red in there, and it’s a beautiful, beautiful shade:

Eyeliner

This is the green duochrome shade that Cassie used to line the lower inner lash-line of her model:

Love the shade, and it’s a lot easier to wear than I expected it to be, but I find it doesn’t last all that well on me.

 

Ultra Care Mascara 

This is a great mascara, excellent for lash-building and doesn’t dry out on your lashes or make them crispy.  I’ve used it in all my makeovers lately, and it’s been great, definitely my new default makeover mascara, as because it’s formulated for sensitive eyes, I don’t really have to worry about my models having a reaction:

And that’s all she wrote!  What do you think?  Do you want to hear more about events I’ve attended?  Will you pick up any of the new Bourjois products?  What new high street products have impressed you?

Review - Liz Earle

Liz Earle were kind enough to send me some of their products to try out recently, I thought it was about time I had a fresh look at the brand, so was happy to give them the once over.  Here's what I thought of their basic skin-care products.

Cleanse and Polish 

I first tried C&P about 10 years ago, and I remember not loving it then. At the time I was addicted to foaming face-washes and thought that the soft-feeling skin I got after using this eucalyptus-scented cream was "wrong" somehow and gave up using it without really a second thought.

Now though, after spending many years re-educating myself to remove those oil-stripping facial washes from my routine, and using oils to cleanse my face instead, I do like this stuff a great deal.  For the uninitiated,  you spread a glob (scientific term there) of the cream over your face, then use a muslin cloth dipped in hot water to remove it.  I've found it spreads easily, removes even the toughest waterproof mascara and leaves your skin feeling soft and smooth. I'm delighted to have rediscovered it, and will be using it as my go-to cleanser from now on.  Liz Earle was the brand that introduced me to the hot-cloth cleansing method - which I've used in the decade since first using the cream, no matter what cleanser I've used since! - so on some level I owe a great deal to the brand for at least teaching me one good habit!

Instant Boost Skin Tonic 

Okay, it's possible I'm not the best person to review this product, I don't really like the smell, and - if I'm being really honest - I don't, in all honesty think toner is a necessary step in a cleansing routine, particularly if you're already rinsing off your cleanser with water, and a cloth anyway.  But, if you like toners, then it's likely you'll like this one.  It has a herbal scent, and I find it nice and refreshing, but I find that it's just one more step in my routine, and so ... I tend to skip it.  I have put some in an atomiser though, and I find spraying a little over a too-powdery or too-matte foundation helps me stop looking cakey.

Superskin Moisturiser
Oh, how I love this stuff! It's a fragrance-free moisturiser full of ingredients such as borage and pomegranate alongside cranberry seed and rosehip oils.  My winter-parched skin has just been drinking this stuff up over the last month, and it's something I can totally see myself buying again.  I find it leaves my skin silky smooth and velvety, without leaving a greasy film like so many moisturisers geared towards dry skin tend to do. 

I've also been trying a few other products, but I'll bring you reviews on those later.  What do you think of Liz Earle products?  Will you be giving them a try?

Organic Wednesday - Balm Balm

My love for lipbalms is well known worldwide (seriously, I don't think Badger have forgiven me for kicking up such a fuss about Chai Rose yet, but they're still lovely people! And lovely balms too), so I thought I might be forgiven for talking about yet another one that I really like.

BalmBalm I love, because unlike a lot of organic companies, their labelling is clear, and they don't make claims that their products can't possibly live up to.  Plus, their products are both 100% natural and 100% organic, which is a refreshing change at the moment. If you saw my post last week, you'll know simply how refreshing it is to see a company commit to it's aims properly without resorting to desperate claims for it's products (SLS-free face powder anyone?  Oh no! I'll really miss that lovely foaming action!) in order to seem more "worthy".

Okay, I'll come down off my soapbox now.  The other major reason I'm a big fan of BalmBalm is the simply beautiful scent of the rose geranium balm, I have this one in a pot my the bed, in a tube in my handbag, and now, in the new lipbalm-sized tube which I'll be taking everywhere with me.  But if you're not a fan of flowery scents, the balms also come in unscented and tea-tree varieties.  If you have any other scents that you're a fan of, you can add a couple of drops to the unscented variety and make yourself a customised flavour - I'm always tempted to make a proper rose-scented one (not artificially flavoured and pumped full petrochemicals like some rose balms - which shall remain nameless - are), it'd be like smothering yourself in Turkish Delight ...

Where was I? Oh yes, the balms are vegetarian (not vegan - although I understand some vegans will use bee-products) and have a shea butter, jojoba and beeswax base, meaning they're a bit more solid than some balms you can use, but I don't find this a problem as it means a little goes a very long way once you've warmed it on your  fingers or played with the tube in your hands a bit before applying.

I'm looking forward to trying the tea-tree variety, as I think it'd be just the ticket for cold-sore affected lips, or on spots!  How else do you use lipbalms?

Balm Balm lipbalms cost £3.99 (£2.99 for a tub!) and are available from Balm Balm's website and well-known health food shops. Plus you can read the Balm Balm Blog here.  Glenda's lovely, do go and say hello!

Review - Philip Kingsley Elasticiser

I was recently invited to a PR event where we were introduced to look at some new brands, and one of the products we were invited to try was this pre-shampoo treatment for dry hair from Philip Kingsley. I’ll be honest, I thought Philip Kingsley was a celebrity hairdresser, and I was a bit embarrassed to discover that he’s actually a trichologist (and has been for 50 years!) who believes that healthy hair starts with a healthy scalp.
Elasticizer was first introduced 26 years ago, and it’s still going strong, mainly because it works.  Here’s what Kerry had to say about her experience using it:
“Rarely do I get to take a bath with something so exciting... 
My hair is highlighted, over-straightened, overdue for a trim, dry, porous and frizzy.  So the promise of shine, bounce and manageability was impossible to resist and I had read good things about this product.

You can either apply the elasticizer, comb through and then shampoo out immediately or leave it on as a mask for 10-20 minutes.  I really wanted this to work, so I decided to give it a full 20 minutes to do it's magic.

You need to apply this product on wet hair before shampooing, which I thought sounded a bit strange, but actually wasn't too bad.  I applied liberally to my wet hair and covered it with the nice little branded shower cap included in the box.

The product had a nice thick, rich texture.  Moisturising, but not greasy feeling.  This is perfect for my hair, which does need a rich conditioner, although it might be quite heavy on fine hair and the instructions do suggest being a bit more sparing with the product if this is your hair.  There is no particularly strong scent to the product.  It doesn't smell 'scented', but neither does it smell of yucky underlying ingredients.

Although I did apply the product pretty liberally it didn't look like I'd used much out of the pot, so I reckon it would last you quite a long time, at least 10 treatments I would think.

After 20 minutes, the product rinsed out easily, not leaving any residue even before I'd shampooed it out.  As per the instructions, I used shampoo and conditioner in the normal way.

I then dried and styled my hair with all my usual products.  My hair was noticeably softer and silkier to touch.  It styled much straighter and more easily than normal.  In fact, it was almost too silky to style!!

The next day, it still feels very soft to touch and has only started to frizz a little on the ends, although it has been a pretty damp day (and my hair does need cutting).  It does suggest using the product regularly for the best results and I am sure I would notice a definite improvement in the condition of my hair if I used this as a weekly treatment.  In fact, that's exactly what I will be doing!!”
How do you look after your dry hair?

Urban Decay Stardust Eyeshadows

I was sent these little lovelies last week by Urban Decay, and I’m delighted to bring you some swatches as I’ve not been able to find any more details about them in the UK!
They’re the latest in sparkly eyeshadows, here’s what Urban Decay says about them: 
“An explosion of stars. Stardust shadows’ silky texture delivers an incredible amount of sophisticated, twinkling sparkle. Boasting 40% more glitter than our most sparkly shadows, Stardust delivers a sheer wash of color, topped with teeny bits of iridescent sparkle that glisten like wet snow.”
I received the shades 54 and Moon Spoon (and how I wish it were called Button Moon!) which are a lovely light lavender-purple and an iridescent grey, respectively.
I love the squeezy rubber packaging, they’re great fun to use, and they do indeed sparkle and twinkle in the package. Urban Decay say you will get no fall out with these, so I put them to the test, but first off, here are some hand-swatches:
First things first, Urban Decay aren’t kidding when they say these are sheer!  I’ve swatched these over Urban Decay Primer Potion here (there’s a dot of UDPP in the centre of these swatches, and the shadow has been swatched in a much larger circle around them), you can see there’s a hint of purple on the 54 swatch, but you can barely pick up the colour of the Moon Spoon at all.  Here’s a swatch from a different angle:

These are very shimmery, and very lovely. They’re not gritty (surprisingly non-gritty, in fact!) and the fact that they’re so sheer actually makes them a lot more versatile than they would be if they were more highly pigmented. I’ve not experienced much fall out, and they’re very definitely NOT chunky glitter.  Here’s a look I created – and wore to the office! – recently with Moon Spoon:

Apologies for the slight creasing there, this was taken after I’d  been wearing it for around 14 hours.  This is a base of the two lightest colours of my Chanel Kaska Beige quad, (with a Kat von D King Cobra liner, more about that later this week!), and with some of the Moon Spoon pressed over the top.  It just gave me a gorgeously glossy shadow look without being too OTT for day wear.
These shadows really come alive under artificial light though, and I’ll bring you some more looks with them when I’ve had a chance to see how they work foiled.
Urban Decay Stardust shadows are available in 9 colours (including white and black) and will be available from Boots and Debenhams stockists very soon, will you be picking any up?

And we have a winner!

Or winners, rather!  The lucky winners are the comments numbered:

Winner of the Liz Earle package (comment number 46) is Beauty Junkie London

And winner of the mystery package of goodies (comment number 8) is JellyMinx

Congratulations to both of you! And thank you very much to every single one of you who entered, it's been great fun, and I'll be doing this again soon.