Guest Post: Go to bed in England and wake up in Jamaica

Today's guest post is from Liloo who blogs at Le Petit Jardin de Liloo but some of you might know her better as that Twitter powerhouse @tsunimee. She's very shy, so please be gentle ...


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My overnight failproof fake tan recipe for dummies 

I will simply never achieve a nice tan from natural exposure to the sun. I had to come to terms with that. Unless I spend 2 full solid weeks in the sun, I will never achieve a decent tan. I don’t go red at the first sign of sun, and my skin is quite used to the sun (I spent all my life in Mauritius) but it will take me for ever to develop a hint of colour. So I’ve always been fascinated by the world of fake tanning at home, and achieving a tan, artificially using a bottle for example. Problem is that for years, I was scared to try in case of turning yellow, orange, zebra and too brown. With the arrival of ‘gradual tanning products’ on the market, it was finally time I took the plunge. Months and months of hilarious and disastrous fake tan experiences, I think I’ve finally ‘cracked it now’ and I wanted to share with you my recipe.

I have been experimenting with all sorts of products, from traditional self tan products to gradual ones (self tan product mixed with moisturiser for a lighter tan), different textures (tan towels, cream, mousse, gel) with all unsatisfactory results until I realised where I had been going wrong all along:

It was more how I was applying the fake tan product more than what particular product I was using. My number one fake tan phobia was the dreaded orange hands and streaks everywhere: I was rushing through the application. I was forgetting where I was applying it. I didn’t leave enough time for it to dry to put my clothes back on (for how many hours are you supposed to stand there waiting for it to dry before you put your clothes back on anyway?) and I didn’t know for how long I was supposed to leave the product to take effect. I was aiming for a healthy glow bronze goddess. Instead I was a stressed out, streaky mess.

Until I decided to apply my fake tan OVERNIGHT, take all the time in the world to do it and it solved all my problems, and wake up like I had spent the night in Jamaica, all rested, like I wanted to be. For years now, I have been using a high street /drugstore, the Sublime Bronze, Tinted gel, for face and body all in one.

This product is just ideal for me. The smell is typical of fake tan products and you will stink, and it will do your head in after a while. But it has been giving me such a NATURAL result every single time, with no streaks, this natural “been spending a few hours in the sun’ glow without looking orange or fake” that it’s totally worth it. It is very easy to apply: because it is tinted & shimmering you can see where you have actually applied it. How do I apply it? How do I go round the overpowering smell on my body? How do I avoid streaks on my skin and on clothes? orange hands? Hear hear.

Ingredients: what you’ll need

- One night to yourself, with no boyfriend or guest staying in your bed

- 1 pair of skin tight medical gloves from eBay, (buy a whole box of them, you’ll use them for your hair colouring as well: totally worth the investment. The tighter, snuggier, the better! The aim is not to feel the glove at all. When I run out of medical ones, I go get some at Sainsbury’s (in the cleaning section, local supermarket)

- 2 Exfoliating products, one for the face, and one for the rest of the body.

- 2 Moisturisers, one for the face, and one for the rest of the body

- Fake tan product itself: L’oréal Dermo Expertise, Sublime Bronze, Self Tanning Gel, Tinted and Shimmering, for Face and Body

- Old bed linen: old pillow case, and sheets to sleep in

- Old rubbish light bath robe, (in case someone rings your bell once you’re in the middle of your tan operation lol)

- Hair Dryer

- (Optional) Moisturising Face Mask (Optional)

What you do:

1. Prepare your skin: In the evening, before going to bed, spend time in the shower/bath exfoliating face and body, spending extra time on the driest areas of your body: elbows, ankles, knees, hand knuckles, feet. If you have got a moustache (don’t tell me I am the only one with facial hair), make sure to lighten it beforehand or to have epilated it a few hours beforehand because the fake tan will make everything darker: skin and facial hair. Pat dry your skin, and spend lots of time moisturising face and body, paying extra attention again to the driest parts of body. Wait a few minutes till the moisturiser has been totally absorbed. While you wait, make sure hair is up and out of the way, and just keep your underwear to a minimum: a pair of knickers only. No pyjamas or nightie. If you’re cold at this stage, because of the moisturiser, blast a little hair dryer on you for a few seconds.

2. Apply fake tan: In front of mirror, put on your medical skin tights gloves on both hands, put a little bit of product in your protected hands and start applying on centre of face, then to the edges, blending in your skin as you would with a moisturiser. There’s no need to apply too much. Blend, blend, blend. Take all the time you need. Apply lightly to start with, you can always apply some more the following day. Make sure not to forget to put a little bit of product around the eyes and on the ears. You can apply a more liberally on the rest of the body.

When it comes to the driest parts of your body, (ankles, knees, elbows) mix a tiny weeny bit of body moisturiser with fake tan product in protected palm of your hand and apply mixture. The last part of the body should be your hands: partially remove gloves and apply very lightly on wrist and front of the hands. Rub the fronts of your hands together. Wash back of hands even though you feel you have not applied anything there.

3. Getting ready for bed, and letting the fake tan to do its magic while you sleep. Cover your existing bed linen with old bed linen, including the sheet you sleep on, the sheet covering you, and the pillow case you will have you face on. Again with just very minimal underwear on, wait 10 minutes or so till product has dried a little bit. If you still feel a bit sticky, before going to bed, blow hair dryer on yourself for a few seconds.

4. Wake up gorgeous and sunkissed. Wash face and body gently (no scrubbing) but thoroughly. Gently pat dry your skin (no frantic rubbing) and moisturise more than you would normally do. Fake tan tend to dry up your skin a lot! The advantage is that you have any little spots or little blemishes you’ll see them drying up faster as well. woohoo!

- If you feel the urge to scratch nose or whatever while fake tan is on, don’t do it with your fingers, or your fingernails could get stained in the process, use the old sheet you sleep to protect fingernails and back of the hands.
- Any stains left on bed linen using that product will still disappear through normal cycle machine washing but still make sure to use old bed linen anyway.
- On me, the tan will last about 3 to 4 days. What I do to top it up is to use my favourite gradual tanner, until the next time I exfoliate again and ready to do the whole operation again.

- Sounds obvious but avoid any exfoliating products (products containing AHAs also for example) for the next 4 days or so
- Finally, fake tan will have the tendency to dry your skin a lot, and you’ll probably find you need double the amount of moisturiser than usual.

Fancy waking up in Jamaica with me tomorrow? Try it and let me know how you get on. Any products or methods/recipes/tips & tricks /fake tan mishaps you would like to share? I’d love to hear! Thank you for reading and thank you Louise for the opportunity :) x

Guest Post: Esthederm Suncare

If you don't read MakeupbyKaty, you should!  She's a font of some amazing knowledge, and she's a lovely person to boot, I love her, and you will too.  Today, she's talking some sense about suncare:

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Hi!,

I recently came back from 10 days in sunny, glorious Greece. Great food, white beaches, hot sun. Perfect. Except that me and the sun, well let’s just say that it’s a one way love affair.

I’m happy to admit that I enjoy the sun, that I embrace the sun, that, shock horror, I like to tan. It is an area that is controversial to say the least! As the sister of someone with Albinism and the daughter of a Dermatological secretary, I am educated in all matters of sun-damage. So when I do get the chance to see some sun, I take every precaution to protect as well as get some colour to my skin.

I like to think about my tan levels in terms of Biscuits. I generally never get darker than a Digestive…and that’s fine with me… I don’t hanker after russet brown skin. I just don’t have enough melanin. And I’m ok with that.

My husband on the other hand, with his half Greek genes, goes roughly the colour of a Bourbon biscuit within the first week. And that’s with no trying. I think that somewhere along his genealogy, he has an ancestor that was a mahogany table.


 All jokes aside, I do have to be very careful as I am prone to easily burning and the pink wafer is neither delicious, nor an attractive look. 

So how do we get a balance between over exposure and Vitamin D deprivation?

I am a huge believer in the good that the sun can give us. I treat the sun with respect, knowing that it’s just as likely to harm me as to help me.

I first discovered Esthederm Sun care when working as a visitor in Space NK a year or so ago. There was a huge buzz about it with the staff, and that for me is a very telling sign. Space NK staff are usually very skincare/sun care savvy and if they’re excited and purchasing, my ears tend to prick up.

My usual holiday sun care purchases are an SPF30 for the first few days, an SPF15 for the rest of the holiday. I have also used Tan stimulating creams and also tablets (with disastrous effects, I may blog about it another time). So when a friend suggested I could take just the one and it would suffice, I took the leap.

At £38, it’s not cheap. And I’m also going to have to simplify the technology to explain why. 

The one I opted for was the Adaptasun Body Milk for Extreme Sun. This is how the levels work at Esthederm. You choose your sun care by your skin sensitivity levels and the sun level of your holiday destination. Hence, I went for Extreme. The Website states the Result as ‘Optimal Tanning quickly and safely’

It also ‘Ensures a suitable protection under extreme exposure (glaciers, tropics, prolonged exposure to the sea or high altitude).

Here is what Esthederm have to say about their ‘different’ approach to the Sun.

•  Overexposure to the sun is dangerous, as is its absence
Sun is essential to life because of its heat, its light and its natural anti-depressant action.

•  Tanning does not age skin
Photo Cellular skincare protects cells from the attacks of free radicals.

•  Tanning is the best protection
On the skin’s surface, melanin pigments absorb some of the solar radiation.

•  Adaptation to sun rather than over protection
Completely depriving the skin of sun exposure makes it lose its ability to adapt to the sun, which is tanning.


•  Inequality of the skin’s behaviour under the sun is not inevitable
With Photo Cellular Skincare, fair skin tans; intolerant skins bear the sun.


•  SPF is not a reliable or sufficient indicator
SPF measures the risk of sunburn but not the risk of ageing, nor of photo-sensitisation.

My take on this? Instead of totally blocking my skin from the sun, I’m using the positive aspects of it to help my skin to adapt. I have no burnt skin. I have no peeling. I feel great. I’m tanned, safely.  Of course, we still have to take responsibility and be wise in our sun exposure. I don’t lay out in the sun for hours at a time. I religiously re-apply every two hours, sometimes more often. I apply it liberally, DO NOT SKIMP!! After swimming I re-apply, as I do before swimming, on my shoulders and forehead.

I tend to skulk off either under an umbrella or to a bar between the hours of 12 and 3 and I never fall asleep with bits sticking out of the shade, (anymore….).

I cannot really do the technology justice, I’m not a scientist, but I will tell you this. I will never go in the sun again without my Esthederm.

Here is a gratuitous picture of me on holiday. 

Yours, deep in post holiday blues

Guest Post: Cosmetic sell by dates and other nonsense.

Today's post comes from the lovely Modesty Brown, I adore her blog, and she deserves to be so much better known, so please, go show her some love!

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‘We wouldn’t hesitate to chuck out mouldy or bacteria-ridden food – and the same standards should apply to lotions we put on our skin.’

A few months ago I came across this article in the Mail Online. I have come across recommendations for discarding cosmetics before, but this particular article for some reason really got on my nerves. I suspect it was the spectacularly short shelf-lives prescribed for many of the products mentioned. As well as the rather alarmist slant (what was I expecting, it is the Daily Mail).

This is probably a good point to explain that I am actually a science nerd, specifically a skin microbiologist. I know quite a lot about the bacteria that live on your face (and have had a reasonable amount of experience with pharmaceutical companies). So, naturally I wanted to know if these recommendations were based on sound research or just a load of old flannel!

The bacteria living on your skin are there all the time, they don’t cause infection on your skin ordinarily so I don’t entirely understand the implication that bacteria will ‘breed’ in your make up and cause horrible infections like Impetigo. Unless of course you have been sharing your make up with someone that has open blisters? No, I thought not. Also, I’m not convinced that powdered make up like blusher and eyeshadows would make particularly good growth environments for bacteria.

With items such as mascara or lipgloss I agree there are good reasons to be cautious. Both mascara and lipgloss provide a good growth environment, it is moist, dark and pushing the wand/applicator back in drives air in to the tube.  Though having said all that make up does contain preservatives to prevent growth. With my background I was rather intrigued about what research had been done to investigate microbial contamination of make up. I also wondered if there was anything out there to explain the time frames for expiry.

Interestingly, I managed to find some research into contamination of mascara. In the study women were given a mascara to use daily for 3 months. Two different brands were tested, Avon and Maybelline. At the end of the study the mascara wands were tested for microbial contamination. Although their conclusions were that mascara should be discarded after 3 months, I wouldn’t necessarily agree with this based on their results.

 
Growth was discovered in 12% of the mascara’s but the numbers of bacteria were very small. I won’t bore you with exact figures but from personal experience I can assure you the level of contamination was very low. Also, of the bacteria they isolated, none of the species would cause an eye infection unless there was a scratch on the eye. They managed to grow bacteria from the unused control tubes as well, so some of the bacteria were already in the mascara tubes. Which suggests that contamination occurred during manufacture. Although the research made for interesting reading, for me, it wasn’t a terribly convincing argument that mascara is easily contaminated or poses a serious health risk. I was however horrified by this particular gem from the paper ‘Some will add water, and even saliva, to make their makeup last longer’. Who on Earth spits in their mascara to make it last longer?

I failed to find any research testing other kinds of make up for bacterial contamination. I found lots of articles stating eyeshadows, lipsticks etc., can become contaminated but no research or statistics to back it up. This leads me to think that these sorts of tests are being done by the cosmetics companies and I know they are rarely able (or willing) to share their results! I know that it is also the companies that set their own Period After Opening (PAO) dates, so of course the cynic in me thinks that the dates might well be a bit of a marketing ploy.

Now, I’m not going to advocate you ignore all the guidelines but I would like to suggest that you follow your own instincts before throwing away the contents of your make up bag! As long as you are not sharing your make up, keep your brushes clean and store your cosmetics in a cool, dry place, you can keep it safely for much longer than the expiry guides suggest. My other key advice is to trust your nose! If a product changes texture or starts to smell, bin it. Don’t ask me to describe the smell folks, just believe me when I say you’ll know!

Guest Post: Lippman Nail Swatches.

Today's guest blogger is Sara from Daily Polish, she's an ultra-fun person - someone I really enjoy chatting with on Twitter, but I'll let her do the main introductions herself ...

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hellooooooooooo people of get lippie land! i'm sara, i run a blog called Daily Polish and madame louise was kind enough to allow me to guest post. so in theory i wanted to do something cool and different...be all guest post-y and not regular...but really? i know a lot about a lot...but mostly about random, nonsensical stuff (like - did you know if you put a banana by unripe fruit it will ripen the fruit faster because banana's release ripening enzymes? didja? didja! huh!?) and lots of stuff about shoes (that are way too expensive for my currently unemployed information professional lifestyle and that i cannot even wear as i am headed towards restorative ankle surgery...but i keep buying).

i love makeup and skincare...and i have my favourites...well, makeup i sort of have favourites. i don't really try lots of products so my 'favourites' are just the ones i use and don't make my eyes fall out of my head as a reaction (it could happen!). skincare has been a big trial and error process and i am quite happy with my current regimen (except for the massive spot on my chin that refuses to come to a head and just sits there in all its evil spot glory) BUT at the same time...my real niche is nail polish.

i fell into nail polish by accident, it was a remedy to cure a nail biting habit i developed in my early twenties and it sort of stuck around. i decided to create a nail polish blog that updates every single day during a long stretch of unemployment while i was waiting for my next visa to be issued by the UK Home Office. now that i'm unemployed again (go London job market!) it's again become a great way to pass the time. i puzzled quite a bit over what to post. i wanted to make it different from my usual posts and show off multiple nail polishes instead of just one.......but it isn't often i buy a complete collection of nail polish. so i was undecided between just showing some random ones or finding a cohesive theme amongst my hundreds of bottles. so in the end i decided to showcase one of my favourite brands, deborah lippmann (or lippmann collection depending on how old your bottles are) and her reds. she does reds like nobody else, so many variations and they're all fantastic. i went on a red binge in january and picked up about a dozen polishes from her and a whole bunch of reds. i haven't even tried most of them myself so i decided to use this opportunity to rectify that issue!

to me...there are two nail polish cardinal sins. visible nail line and vamp polishes that just look black. visible nail line is as bad as wear black knickers with white trousers. don't do it! i feel like my life is one quest to eliminate visible nail line...it just bothers me to no end. in this lippmann polish, 'holiday' you have a beautiful red jelly with red and silver glitter mixed throughout. to me it is the grown up version of china glaze's 'ruby pumps'. more refined and elegant. i find ruby pumps to be the unkempt sister to lippmann's holiday. despite how much i love this polish and how great i think it is to jazz up a simple outfit...i HATE that i can still see my visible nail line underneath. it might not be noticeable to anyone else...but i know it's there and it makes me into a crazy person (well...more of a crazy person). one of the secret tricks around a visible nail line is to wear a flesh toned colour underneath. it's completely wonderful and true. i did not do it for this swatch but i would if i were to wear it out and about!!



i'm doing my best to showcase not only different shades of red but different finishes, want to cover as much of the red and nail polish spectrum as possible! a moment of silence is required. i just finished applying this AMAZING lippmann polish for the first time EVER. i went to the kitchen to take photographs (that is where the light is best in my flat), i tripped and dropped my polish. i've NEVER broken a bottle...until now. i broke my beloved lippmann polish (not two minutes after i was just thinking to myself how amazingly beautiful it was, and how it was going to become a true staple in my red collection). DAMMIT. i'm really, really upset. my nail polish are like my children. all 600 something of them are my CHILDREN. ugh. this is devastating. i couldn't drop a $2 polish, i had to drop the one that costs $16 that i'd never worn before. anyway, it's called 'my old flame' and it's a GORGEOUS true deep red...just a gorgeous dark red that is not maroon, not burgundy...just a dark red. it would be a perfect cocktail outfit accompaniment. it's so beautiful. i have to repurchase it now after seeing how stunning it is! it's a creme, applies very smooth and very opaque. no visible nail line here...and no vamp. it doesn't look anything beyond the beautiful red it is.





fever is an orange based red with a very subtle gold shimmer. i wish i had a super powered camera that i could actually zoom in on my fingers and show you the shimmer. it's there, but you really have to LOOK at your nails to see it. it isn't something you really see in a passing glance. but i kind of enjoy the hidden shimmer, gives it this little oomph, this secret thing that makes it special. even if no one else notices the shimmer...it doesn't detract from the beauty of the polish!!





we've now entered the creme section....3 cremes in a row, starting with 'it's raining men'. it's raining men is the newest of all the ones i'm showing, it was released last year with a gorgeous bright purple, this duo was all about retro throwbacks. bright colours from the 50s and 60s, poodle skirts and tie dye. super fun and energetic...a bit more playful than the sultry reds i'll show in a bit! to me...it's an in your face kind of red but in the nicest way possible. you can't ignore this colour, it's just...bam! i do sometimes feel silly for owning SO many shades of red...but they're all so different and feel so different on the nail...and really sort of change your mood and outfit tone depending on the hue!



moving on! kiss from a rose is touted as a 'sanguine' creme on the lippmann website but i've had my blood drawn before and i don't think it's quite this dark! to me...this colour leans more towards maroon, almost heading into the start of purple/red hues, it isn't just a dark red anymore. i feel like it is still a gorgeous colour and in the red family.



here's a pic to show how kiss from a rose leans pink and lady is a tramp is a true red:



the penultimate colour i'm going to show you (i know, i am about to stop blathering...hooray!) is called 'lady is a tramp'. it definitely is more of a true red, probably the darkest red i own. oops. i lied. lippmann calls THIS one the sanguine red. and i can get on board with that one! it kind of reminds me of the scene in pretty woman where julia roberts is wearing the black lacy cocktail dress. this nail polish would be the perfect accoutrement to that kind of dress. it's grown up and risque and super sexy. i love love love love love it!



and finnnnnnnnnnally (have i bored you to tears yet? i hope not!) we have 'since i fell for you'. which is probably my favourite. well...that's a lie. it's my favourite red shimmer. how about that? it's described as a 'shiraz shimmer' (to get all fancy on you)..and it's a great dark pinkish leaning red with tons of shimmer. it really glows on the nail. i love a good creme polish as much as the next girl but there is something special (to me) about shimmers. they have a secret depth to them, i find it intriguing. just a quick apology on the picture, my polish got a bit nasty. you'd think by now i'd know to put on my spanx first and THEN do a manicure....but no, i always forget and always ding up my nails as i try to pour myself into a slimming thing.





you might rightfully think i'm crazy for buying so many red shades from one brand (especially at $16/polish) but lippmann is a brand that is justifiable. their colours are great, the formula...i've never come across a lippmann that was anything less than perfection. also they're replacing my broken bottle for free! winner! i also feel that to me...red nail polish are like power panties. you put them on and it's this instant burst of extra confidence and sass.

lippmann polishes are big 3 free.

thanks for reading and enduring my crazy!

xo

Sara

Guest Post: Less of your Lip

Today's guest poster, Peter Jones of http://www.spogblot.com, explains why less, is clearly more.

Here are the items on the shelf in my bathroom: toothpaste, antiperspirant, aftershave. There’s also a tube of Hydra Energetic, Anti-Fatigue, Instant Action Eye Care. My wife bought it for me. According to the side of the tube I’m supposed to apply it morning and evening, gently patting it into the “eye area”, and smoothing outwards from the corner of the eye to the temple. I’ve gone through this process only once. I followed the instructions to the letter, then stared into the mirror in anticipation.

Nothing.

It had made no visible difference whatsoever! I wondered briefly whether I’d misunderstood the instructions; whether their definition of “eye area” and mine were the same. And then I put it back on the shelf, and never gave it another thought until today. When it comes to understanding makeup, clearly I’m missing some kind of gene.

My wife loved makeup. That same shelf in the bathroom I now use for my four items was merely an over-flow area for all the jars, cans, bottles and sprays which occupied every available surface. Kate accumulated cosmetics faster than she could possibly use them. Much of it via the internet. Much of it from abroad. She had products that were allegedly infused with gold, and others that purported to have liquid oxygen in them.

When Kate died I wasn’t the only one who suffered a loss. Shares in Boots the Chemist dropped several points. The whole cosmetic industry entered a slump that they’ve wrongly attributed to early signs of the recession. In short, she should be the one writing this blog entry.

But I do remember this: Early on in our marriage Kate hired a Makeup Artist and Image Consultant to help her “discover a new look”. Whilst I tapped away in my office I could hear the exasperated sounds of my wife arguing with the woman who’d agreed to take on a challenge from which there could be no victory. And then it happened:
“Well let’s see what Peter thinks,” said Kate. And moments later she was standing in the door-way to my office, looking a little like the clown doll from the old BBC television test card. “Well?” She asked. I considered my reply carefully. By now the Image Consultant lady was standing behind my wife, desperately hoping that I’d come to her defence. But she was going to be disappointed.
“I’m not sure it’s really you,” I said.
“What don’t you like about it?” demanded Kate.
“It’s just.. it’s not.. I kind of prefer it when you don’t wear makeup it.” It was true.
“And that’s my point,” said Kate turning to the lady behind her, “Because Peter doesn’t even realise that he’s never seen me without makeup!”

At the time I was shocked. I felt foolish, and a little hurt. Like I was somehow one of those husbands who wouldn’t notice if my wife had had her hair done, or shaved it off, or was wearing a bin liner, or was actually there at all. But now I realise that’s not what she meant. Makeup, so it seems, isn’t supposed to be noticed. At least not all the time. Sometimes it’s there just to make sure your loved ones don’t miss the natural features you already have.

Which makes me wonder whether I should have another look at that barely used tube of Hydra Energetic, Anti-Fatigue, Instant Action Eye Care.

 

http://www.spogblot.com

Guest Post: Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy – Initial Thoughts

Long one of my favourite bloggers, I'm delighted to introduce you to Sirvinya from Confessions of a makeup Addict today, take it away, Sirvinya!

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Fyrinnae Pixie Epoxy – Initial Thoughts 
Hi everyone! I must say I’m honoured to be picked for one of Get Lippie’s guest bloggers. While racking my brains for something to share today, I had been messing around with Fyrinnae’s Pixie Epoxy. Since I have been talking about this stuff constantly, I thought I’d give you a little “mini-review” of my initial thoughts on this amazing, wonderful, miracle product.

Available on www.fyrinnae.com for $7.00 (samples are $1.50).

I saw reviews for this stuff everywhere for months before I finally got round to ordering it. I’ve got to admit, I was sceptical. As the make up addict that I am, I have tried a heck of a lot of supposed “wonder” products. I ended up over on the Fyrinnae one day to order some of the new shades and added a sample of Pixie Epoxy to my cart. Then I took it straight back out and added a full size.

This stuff is amazing.

Seriously, it’s completely changed the way I deal with mineral make up. You only have to apply the teeniest possible amount. A dot to my lid will spread to cover my whole lid. Applying too much will give a really patchy, clumpy result so apply half as much as you think. You can always add more. Then wait for it to turn tacky (no more than 15 seconds). I then pat on whichever pigment to get a covering on my lid, then sweep my brush over the top to blend.

I’d say this works better than foiling. You know how I feel about foiling (I love it, in case you haven’t seen my blog).

I’ve done some quick and dirty swatching for you!

Urban Decay Primer Potion – grabs the base colour of the shadow, leaving the sparkles loose. After I took the photo, the sparkles just brushed off my arm.

Pixie Epoxy – grabs everything. The base and sparkles were held fast! Nothing budged when I rubbed the swatch. This swatch gave the truest to pot colour swatch.

Foiling – again, grabs the base colour the best. The sparkles don’t move but are overwhelmed by the deep base colour.

I have been using Pixie Epoxy pretty much every time I apply my eye make up these days. It doesn’t prevent creasing on me, so I apply a very thin layer of a MAC Paint Pot to prevent creasing. The Pixie Epoxy will happily sit on the top without creasing.

Pixie Epoxy is very easy to remove as well. It will actually just come off with water but doesn’t seem to budge at all on my lids, even if my eyes have watered. After I removed the swatches on my arm I was left with a dark patch of base colour from the Primer Potion and Foiled swatch, but nothing at all from the Pixie Epoxy.

The best thing is that it works with pretty much anything with shimmer. However, it doesn’t work so well with mattes. I have been experimenting with some of my sheerer MAC shadows (why are they getting more and more crappy these days?) and Pixie Epoxy does amazing things to those.

If you’ve been considering this I’ve got to say it’s absolutely worth trying! Just grab a sample if you’re not sure, you won’t regret it!

Excuse me, I have to go and cover my arm in Pixie Epoxy and pigments...

Guest Post: So what is all this mineral-makeup stuff anyway?

Please welcome the first of my guest-bloggers, today is the turn of  LiAnn, from Sparklecrack Central and she's writing about one of her main passions, mineral makeup:

While the definition of “mineral makeup” can change depending on who you
ask, generally it’s loose-powder makeup with minimal ingredients – most
specifically, few to no preservatives. There is no government guideline or
definition for what mineral makeup is, just as there is no government
definition for “organic makeup” (at least not in the United States). This
makes buying mineral makeup a bit interesting.

People use mineral makeup for a number of reasons: they want to put as few
chemicals on their skin as possible, they want to avoid certain chemicals
altogether (because of sensitivities or personal lifestyle choices, such
as veganism), they want to support companies that don’t do any animal
testing, they want to support small businesses, they want to buy local,
they prefer the way mineral makeup applies/lasts/feels…and more.

The reasons a person chooses to use mineral makeup impacts their choice of
vendor, either a little (want loose-powder makeup with no preservatives)
to a lot (want or need to buy only vegan products). I do not have chemical
sensitivities, nor am I vegan. Instead, I chose to start using mineral
makeup because I liked the idea that this stuff would never go bad. (I had
a tendency to buy a makeup palette, use it for a week or two, then leave
it in the drawer for a year…or three. Since I usually bought the cheap
palettes, by the time I thought of using the palette again, most of the
pressed-powder items were still somewhat usable, but any semifluid items
like glosses were on the verge of developing language skills.) I continued
using mineral makeup because I liked the wider range of available
eyecolors, the relative ease of blending my own blushes and foundation,
and the lack of a “face-submerged-in-axle-grease” sensation that liquid
foundations always seemed to give me. I started with Bare Escentuals,
arguably the grandmommy of the modern popular mineral makeup revolution;
and quickly branched out to buying on Ebay and trying indie MMU as a way
to avoid the high price of BE’s products. I chose some bad vendors, I
chose some bad products, I found some inexpensive suppliers, I found my
Holy Grail foundation, and I learned a lot. Makeup forums and blogs were a
significant help in finding new vendors to try.

Where you choose to get your mineral makeup will depend on your reasons
for trying it, your own preferences in mineral makeup, your budget, where
you’re located, and possibly your own patience in mixing your own makeup
from pigments, oxides, and base mixes available from wholesalers like TKB
Trading. (I have little patience. I’m more than happy to pay someone else
to find the perfect mix of micas, oxides, and bases.) Whomever you choose
to patronize, you should realize that what works for someone (let’s say
me) might not work for you – even if you have similar skintone,
coloration, and general health issues. Don’t be discouraged if you can’t
find a great foundation right away, and have to try several vendors. When
I started using MMU, BE had 15 different foundation shades. Now they have
25, so it’s easier to find an exact match. (I ended up going with a
different vendor, and am quite happy with my choice. Others very much
prefer Bare Escentuals. It’s all up to the individual.)

Wherever you start off, you’ll need some basics:
Good brushes. There are various brush sets available with starter kits,
travel sets, et cetera et cetera. While much of the makeup world
(including mineral makeup users and artists) raves about the quality of
MAC’s brushes, they are pricey…and they’re not the only high-quality items
available. EcoTools’ sets are good basic MMU brushes, some of Sephora’s
travel sets work quite nicely, and of course there are others. Start with
a set, figure out your preferences for tool usage, brush
firmness/coarseness, et cetera, and build from there.
Brush cleaner. Part of the appeal of MMU is the lack of contaminants –
that includes the bacteria from your own skin. Keeping your brushes and
lids clean helps keep your MMU free from contaminants, extending its
lifespan. Clean your brushes after five uses, or once a month – whichever
comes first. Clean a makeup brush the same way you would clean a paint
brush…just be more delicate.
Cleaning wipes. Loose powder spills, drifts, and wafts all over the place.
You may want to have these on hand for the initial small spills.
Artist’s palette. I use this for foiling or for mixing my powders – to go
just a little further toward keeping my minerals dry and uncontaminated.
This isn’t 100% necessary, but it can keep your MMU lids from getting
gunky while you’re trying to figure out that “foiling” thing (applying
eyecolors wet, for more staying power / more vivid effects.) A $1 three-
or four-well plastic palette from your local craft store will work fine –
no need to go out and spend more than that unless you want something
fancier.

Good reading-comprehension. Some descriptions are a bit more artistic than
useful. I had no idea what “a fondness of purple” was, but familiarity
with the vendors’ product line helped me zero in on the eyeshadow’s color
(a cool berry-wine, as it turns out.) Since shopping with most indie MMU
vendors means shopping exclusively online, you’ll have to learn how to
mentally “color correct” for your monitor.

Also helpful, no matter what makeup you use:
Patience to try multiple products, vendors, and techniques. It’s not as
simple as opening the compact, using the supplied sponge applicator, and
spreading on the foundation. Wet application, dry application, mixing with
a moisturizer, using fixing sprays, “finishing powder sandwiches”,
stippling versus swirling…you may have to play around a bit before you get
the perfect application technique even after you’ve found the perfect
product and shade.
Strength to ask for what you want, and to refuse what you don’t need.
Maybe it’s because women are taught to catch more flies with honey than
with vinegar, but we’re just not very adept at asserting ourselves – even
at the makeup counter. If you go in for a makeover and the sales associate
uses a shade that you don’t like, or glosses over a technique too quickly
for you to catch it all, speak up! This is especially true if you’re just
learning to use mineral makeup.

•If you decide that you like the results, but not the storage/travel
issues of loose-powder mineral makeup, there are tutorials on YouTube that
show you how to press your own eyeshadows, blushes, and foundations. You
can also buy pressing media, pans, and palettes from several sources,
including beauty supply stores.
•While a lot of makeup – and specifically, indie MMU - vendors mark
themselves as “cruelty free”, this doesn’t guarantee that their suppliers
didn’t test the raw materials on animals. While the cosmetics industry has
been working – hard – to come up with testing methods that do not involve
animals, they haven’t yet found 100% reliable methods and procedures that
will spot any harmful effects while the products are still in the lab.
Don’t let the “cruelty free” symbol be your deciding factor to buy from a
company.
•While we’re on the subject of labels, “organic makeup” doesn’t always
mean a whole lot, either. There is no US government certification for
“organic makeup”, so something can quite legally be marketed and labeled
as organic even if it contains preservatives or artificial ingredients.
(“Natural makeup” is also no guarantee of perfection for everybody – many
of Sephora’s “natural” line of products contain a substance which causes
skin reactions in quite a few people. But because this substance is a
fatty acid derived from coconuts and not adulterated with any inorganic
substances, it’s counted a “natural” ingredient.)
•If you buy any semiliquid products (lipsticks, balms, cream shadow
bases) from a mineral makeup vendor, be aware that these products will
have a shorter lifespan than your average drugstore lipstick – generally 6
to 9 months, but a good vendor should have the estimated product lifespan
prominently available (on the website’s product page, on the packaging,
somewhere.)
•While a lot of mineral makeup lines focus on naturalistic colors and a
more neutral palette, there are mineral makeup companies that sell
brighter, bolder, more deeply pigmented eyeshadows. I have purchased from
several of them, and I know that there are others out there.

That’s all for now, otherwise I’m going to get accusations that I’m trying
to take over Louise’s blog in her absence :D If you want to see which
makeup companies I use, pop over to my blog. I’ve got a page where I’ve
actually listed out every single eyecolor I own, grouped by vendor. You
can also check out the blogs and forums I link to, and see what vendors
those folks use.


--
Sparklecrack Central - http://www.sparklecrackcentral.com
Twinkle twinkle little jar, look how many of you there are.

What's happening on Get Lippie this week OR Bye, bye Barry!

This post is coming to you via the magic of scheduled posting, because as anyone who follows me on Twitter should know, I'm in hospital right now having a minor operation.  Nothing too serious, but I'll be out of action for a good few days. Now, as I'm cranky at the best of times, I thought rather than subject my lovely blog readers to a few days of my complaining about being too hot/cold/itchy/tired/grumpy/elderly/hungry/not hungry and the like that I'd enlist some people to take over my blog for a few days.

I put out a call for volunteer bloggers on Twitter recently, and what a response I had! I have some great blog posts coming up for you this week, on the magic of mineral makeup, about some wonderful products you might never of heard of, about the perils of too much makeup, about microbes (seriously), about sunscreens, lipsticks, nail varnish and some other great stuff too.  So Get Lippie will look a bit different for the next week or so, but, I hope you'll all enjoy reading the posts that have been lined up for you, as much as I've enjoyed receiving them.

Finally, to all my guest bloggers, thank you so much for helping me out, none of you had to, and I've been very moved by you all making the effort to make sure I had some articles to cover when I wasn't feeling up to it!  You're amazing.

Urgh!

Sometimes, I can't help gilding the lily:

Had a perfectly good Rococo Utility manicure, and I went and added a layer of Inglot flakies to it, and ended up with this hideous mess. Both gorgeous shades on their own, added together just made me feel all "urgh" about it!

Have you ever made any terrible errors of combination?

Nail of the Day - Mavala Mango Orange

Oh, this is just too pretty, it arrived courtesy of the Nail Varnish Fairy and I was wearing it within about 30 seconds of opening the envelope! This will explain - I hope - the rather messy application ...

Housed, as always in one of Mavala's mini-bottles, this gloriously hot metallic orange shade is perfect for summer fingers, although I can see it working beautifully on toes too. The above picture shows two coats over a rather beige base.  It's very sheer, and highly sparkly - almost frosty, if such a hot shade can be said to be frosty - but it catches the light very well, and it's gorgeous in sunlight!

What shades do you love for summer nails? Mavala polishes are available from John Lewis and leading independent pharmacies.

The Fine Print: As there isn't actually a Nail Varnish Fairy - sorry kids! - it should be disclosed that this is a review sample.  I wish there was a nail varnish fairy though, I know a few people who'd keep her very busy ...

He's Baaaaaaack!

Yes, MrLippie is back reviewing again.  And I think he may have been drinking! Take a look at his latest post over on Ape to Gentleman, and don't forget to let him know what you think.  All the filth in the final paragraph has nothing to do with me, that's my story and I'm sticking to it.  So there.

Ellis Faas: Ellis Eyes Lights Eyeshadows FotD

As you may know, my birthday treat to myself was a couple of Ellis Faas Ellis Eyes Lights shadows. I created a FotD with E305 - a rich burgundy brown with amazing green duochrome - at the time, but I've since got around to wearing the E304 - a shimmering lilac metallic - and this is how it looked under a variety of lighting conditions:

As you can see, depending on the lighting conditions it can look very different. Also, depending on the angle you're looking it from, it can appear very sheer with a hint of sparkle, or a vibrant lilac shade, accordingly.  For me, in all honesty, I actually find it a slightly easier shade to wear than the E305, possibly because I like to play up the green tones in my eyes, and this is an excellent vehicle for that.

It's maybe not entirely suitable for office wear, but that's never stopped me wearing glitter for work before, to be honest! I teamed it with a taupe eyeshadow in the crease alongside my beloved Guerlain Oriental Metal kohl, and a very nude lip (Becca's Giselle topped with Le Metier de Beaute's Manhattan gloss), here's how it looked in the full context of my face:

Yeah, my hair looked insane in the full picture, so I had to crop  it out, that'll learn it.

The Fine Print: Bought them!  Nyah Nyah!!

Mannequin Hands? Precision Nail Lacquer P300 Kismet

A couple of months ago you couldn't move for blogs with people showing you their "Mannequin Hands".  Basically, a mannequin hand is one where you've painted your nails the same colour as the skin of your hand, making you look like you have longer, slimmer fingers.  Sadly, my hands are more sausage fingers than mannequin, but this polish - P300 Kismet from Precision - seems to have worked better for me in this craze than some other, more beige shades I've been trying.

Yes, it's a bit frosty - and therefore not a "real" mannequin hand, as you're meant to use a creme shade - and yes, it's a lot paler than I thought the skin on my hands was in the first place, but I do kind of like the shade, I can't deny it.  But I also can't deny that this looks dated in the picture, because what you can't really see here is the amazing green/pink duochrome that's in the polish! It's very visible in the bottle, but sadly not on the nail, and not in these pics ... The pics have also washed out the shade a little, it's actually slightly more pink than it appears here.

Pics show four coats - I still had some visible nail line, but I can live with it - over an Orly sticky basecoat, and under a layer of OPI Rapid-Dry top coat.  The polishes last well, the picture above is several days old now, and there's no chipping or signs of tipwear.

Precision polishes cost £5.95 and are available from Venus nail and beauty supplies.  I've not bought from these people though - this polish was a gift - so buyer beware, and all that.

What's your take on mannequin hands?

Elf High Definition Powder vs Urban Decay Razor Sharp Ultra Definition Finishing Powder

You can't move at the moment for High Definition cosmetics. I'm not - entirely - convinced that for day-to-day wear you need cosmetics that provide coverage designed for such a specific purpose (essentially a High Definition cosmetic is one designed not to look dreadful for digital photography), but some of them do have their uses.

I'm a fan of HD powders, they're a lot finer than traditional talc-based powder, and for that reason, on my slightly dry skin, I find them quite easy to wear.  They're also slightly lighter than talc-based cosmetics, so they won't clog your pores, and they're also suitable for summer-wear over a tinted moisturiser.

I own two HD powders, firstly Elf HD Powder:

Mainly consisting of silica, this powder costs £6 and is available from the ELF website.  It's housed in a bulky black box with a sifter, and comes complete with a velvet puff to buff the product into your skin.

I also own the Urban Decay Razor Sharp Ultra Definition Finishing Powder (catchy name!  But it's essentially an HD powder like the ELF above):

This is housed in a round container, which has a built-in applicator, which makes it slightly less likely that you'll end up spilling the powder all over your feet when you're using it.  Not, of course, that I'm speaking from experience!  Their are two major differences between the Urban Decay HD powder (seriously, I cannot be bothered typing the full name out every time) and the ELF, and that is the UD is beige, and it costs £17.

So, given that the major component in both powders is silica, is there much difference between them?  Actually, yes. And no. Both feel silky on the skin thanks to the silica, and both work well as finishing powders, giving the skin a matte-ish, but not flat finish.  In fact, the ELF powder is the one I use as a finishing powder in the vast majority of my makeovers, but I do find that the Urban Decay does, in fact give a finer, softer finish on the skin, and feels a great deal silkier when rubbed between your fingertips. There's not a huge amount to choose between them to be honest.  Both involve patting the applicator over your skin, then I like to sweep away the excess with a large powder brush, to give an even finish.

All that said, which one would I buy again?  The ELF. Most likely. For my purposes, it's just that little bit more versatile.  Yes, it doesn't have the "sexy" packaging of the UD, but I don't think the fancy container justifies a three times higher cost considering the similarity of the contents. I did find, in use that the UD reminded me a great deal of Prescriptives (now discontinued) "Magic Powder", and I think it has some of the same "water-burst" technology, so people who've been yearning for a duplicate, here's your chance! For me though, I'd still buy the ELF, I can always put it into a fancy container ...

Do you own any HD cosmetics, what do you think of them?

The Fine Print: I bought these. A little while ago, admittedly, but I've still got the box the ELF came in.  I really need to tidy up.

Guerlain Kohl Swatches

I own four of the Guerlain Kohls now, I thought it was time to show you how they compare to each other:

Here are the three darks, Noir is a rich, sparkly black, Mirage is a matte, slightly flattened grey-brown (it's not quite a taupe, but it's not as red, nor as sparkly as Guerlain's "Brun" shade), and Oriental Metal is the most beautiful lightly metallic taupe-shade, which has very quickly become a staple in my daily make up.

There is one missing from the hand-swatch here, and that's the Guerlain kohl in Secret Glow.  The reason for this is that it's almost impossible to see, so I thought I'd show it to you "in action" as it were:

It's a flesh-coloured powder with a light hint of iridescence, you use it in the same way you use the other kohls (a quick swipe along the waterline with the stick), and instead of darkening and defining the eye, it lightens and brightens your eyes, by getting rid of any residual pinkness.

It's VERY easy to overdo though.  Very, very, very easy.  This doesn't look too bad in the photo, but I spent all day boggling at how "odd" my eyes looked.  I'm not sure I'll use Secret Glow again for a while - it was just too different - or at least, I might try and see how I can use it to get a slightly lighter application.  I'll say this for it, it's got some MEGA-staying power!

The Fine Print: I bought these, and I loved them so much I've bought them for other people too.  Don't fear the stick, people!

Organic Weekend - Madara Eco Cosmetics

Madara is Latvian for Cleaver  - a plant that features a great deal in Madara cosmetics.  Launched four years ago, Madara have released a capsule range of skin care and cosmetics concentrating on plant and herbal extracts which have weathered the short Latvian summers and  the long, long Baltic winters.

Prettily packaged - a nice change for an organic range! So many of them you buy for their worthiness rather than thair looks - in airtight vacuum containers, the range concentrates a great deal on moisturisers of differing intensities, and has a small range of cosmetic products such as tinted moisturisers and lip glosses.  I saw the products at both The Vitality Show and The National Organic Products show this year, and I was impressed enough to want to give their tinted moisturiser a thorough look-over.

Being slightly warm-toned, I chose their "Sunflower Tinting Fluid", but there is also a "Moonflower Tinted Fluid" for cooler skintones.  Sometimes, even a cool-toned gal wants a tinted moisturiser!

Here is what Madara have to say about the Sunflower product:

Tints, illuminates and lightly moisturises the skin of the face and neck. Evens out skin tone. Gives the skin freshness, radiance, and the look of a summer tan. Disguises imperfections and fine lines. A lighter alternative to foundation.

CONTAINS Baltic St.John's-wort, plantain, chamomile, algae and rose water, as well as cocoa and jojoba. Colour and shimmer are obtained from natural plant minerals and mica.

USAGE: Apply evenly to cleansed and toned face and neck. For deeper moisturization use MÁDARA moisturizing cream, fluid or gel beforehand.

I've used this a lot in the weeks since it arrived, it's light, fresh, easy to blend and melds well with the skin.  Also, it's not got a huge amount of pigment in, so it's not going to turn you orange.  It has a vague "green" scent, remiscent of grass and hay, but the smell doesn't linger upon application.  It also doesn't leave you looking greasy!  I like it a great deal, Madara say it's suitable for all skin types, but I'd suggest that if you're dryer skinned then you might have to use a regular moisturiser underneath, but as it is, it won't clog up the pores if you're slightly oiler-skinned, which is nice.

Sadly, like many organic moisturisers, it doesn't contain an SPF, so you will have to use a separate product for that, which is a bit of a pain - it's also the reason why this won't be knocking my beloved Bobbi Brown Tinted Moisturising Balm of it's perch at any time in the near future - but, whenever I've worn this my skin has looked great, even with just a tiny touch of HD powder over the top, and it's light, long-lasting and easy to wear.

Madara Eco Cosmetics Sunflower Tinting Fluid costs £21.50, and is available from these online stockists

The Fine Print: Review based on samples acquired from a variety of sources.  I cannot reveal my sources, because then I'd have to kill you.

Review - Andrew Barton Salon Covent Garden

I've been a bit obsessed with hair this year, I can't deny it. I've had four visits to different salons since Christmas (which is at least three more than usual, I'm notorious for leaving it far too long between visits), and, hand on heart, there's only one of them I'd definitely go back to.  And that is this one.

I was invited along for a pre-birthday hair makeover by the Andrew Barton team last week - in spite of all my other salon visits recently, it can't be denied that I've been in a bit of a hair rut the last year or two - and I was delighted to pop along to see what they could do.  If the name seems familiar to you, that will be because Andrew Barton himself is the hair stylist responsible for those amazing transformations you see on Ten Years Younger.  Unfortunately, Andrew wasn't available on the day of my visit, but I was left in the more than capable hands of Tracey and Declan, and neither myself nor my hair have any complaints about it!

The salon itself is monochromatically decorated, with hints of wit - have to say I adored the flock wallpaper with the dog silhouettes all over it -  being a fan of the monochrome, I felt right at home! I found the salon quite restful, and it was nice to have a little respite from the pounding dance music that a lot of salons pour into your ears in order to make your visit appear cool'n'trendy.  Prior to my appointment, I'd attended a consultation with Declan and had a colour test (the salon only uses Redken products, and I hadn't had a colour with Redken products for a while) to ensure I wasn't allergic to anything.  Declan and I had a good chat about the state of my hair (back to it's usual insanity), and my attitude towards styling (non-existant). Declan took all of this in his stride, and suggested a style that works with my hairs own natural tendencies, and also discussed some colouring options.

On the day itself, I was delighted to be recognised by other staff members who I'd chatted to briefly during my consultation visit, and was gratified to see that Declan, my stylist, and Tracey, my colourist, (who hadn't been available on the consult day) had obviously chatted about my requirements in the meantime - or if they hadn't, they were remarkably in tune with one another! - we decided to not change my colour too drastically, but even up the ends and the roots, and add in a few subtle highlights to break up the colour around the front.  There was nothing drastically wrong with the colour as previously done, but I'd been aware that my hair was looking rather "block-y" and heavy recently, and I wanted to add some movement.  Both Tracey and Declan got what I was trying to explain right away, and I have to say that they are both extremely talented at taking some vague, mumbled instructions about "boringness" and "heaviness" and taking on board both appropriateness for lifestyle, and appearance, and turning that into a hairstyle.

Staff were friendly, professional, and very easy to chat to, there was no pretentiousness, snootiness or patronising of the clients, all things other salons are occasionally guilty of (sometimes all three in one go, with an added side order of rubbishness. I'm naming no names, but this post might remind you of how annoying any and all of those things are).  It's the small touches that make a salon friendly, and re-visitable, and the Andrew Barton salon has these in spades.  Everyone took a turn in manning reception, anyone and everyone offered to make drinks, and I noticed all of the team taking their turn in cleaning up after themselves too, it was nice not to see a stressed out "junior" doing all the donkey-work.  Most importantly, these guys seem like a team, one who genuinely enjoy working together and, after a few disappointing and/or stressful visits to salons this year, it was a refreshing delight to see and be part of.

As for my hair, well, I love it. It's a bit darker than I anticipated (considering I had highlights!), and a little shorter than I was expecting after the consult, but both the cut and the colour work very well, it's very shiny, and just it feels so much lighter and bouncier, it's almost like a new head of hair! It's garnered lots of compliments, so, sometimes, I guess it's okay to just trust the stylist. You just need to pick your stylist carefully ...  

Andrew Barton isn't a cheap salon - although considering the location, it's reasonable in context. Colour services start from £60 and go up to around £170 dependent on both the service requested, and the technical level of your stylist.  Ask for Tracey and Declan, tell them I said hello.  And warn them that I'll be back.

The Fine Print: Service was provided free of charge as a pre-birthday review opportunity. I'll pay next time though, you betcha.  And I'll be stealing that wallpaper. And possibly one of the backwash chairs. All pictures in this post - aside from the one of my ugly mug - were shamelessly stolen from the Andrew Barton website.

Review - Armani Blushing Fabric Second Skin Blush

I first had a sneaky peek at these a couple of months ago when BritishBeautyBlogger kindly let me swatch her sample, and I was lucky enough to be sent a couple too just recently. Not ordinarily a massive fan of blusher (I'm much more an eye and lip product kind of girl), these are gorgeous, and I've enjoyed using them a lot.

Weightless owing to their silicone base, these are easy to apply and spread well over the skin, giving a "lit from within" glow that's very flattering.  They're fairly pigmented, and a little goes a long way.  I have two shades, 1 & 2, and here's how they look straight from the tube:

No 1, on the left there, is a lightly gold-flecked peach, and No2 is a sheer strawberry shade.  I find these a lot easier to blend than normal cream blushes - owing to their light texture, there is little or no "drag" on the skin when blending, Certainly I much prefer using these to something like Benefit's Benetint, as they don't dry as quickly, and you're not left with dreadful stripes.  Blended here's how the shades look:

There's not a huge difference between them once blended, but shade number 2 is slightly cooler-toned and is without shimmer, whereas there's just a tiny hint of gold shimmer on the swatch on the right.

Here's how they look on the face:

There is a little bit of a learning curve in using these blushes, it can be very easy to use too much - just a dab'll do ya, but if you do get too much out of the tube, the shades work well on the lips too. I've noticed that the Blushing Fabrics work much better over a foundation with a matte finish rather than one something dewier, a dewy finish-foundation will make them wear off a lot faster, whereas if I wear it over something like Clinique Anti-Blemish foundation, they will last a good 12-16 hours without fading. Tubes of this aren't huge, but you need so little at a time, that I estimate a tube would last quite a few months of daily wear.

Armani Blushing Fabric Second Skin Blush (catchy!) will be available on counters from July 1st, will cost £28,  and will be available in three shades.  Will you be investing?

The Fine Print: These were sent for review by a PR who owed me a favour.  No blue eyeshadow was harmed in the making of this post. Opinions, honesty, yadda, yadda, yadda.

Creative Heads Most Wanted Awards 2010

A couple of weeks ago, I was contacted by Creative Head magazine and invited to be a judge of one of their "Most Wanted" awards. It's a massive honour (other judges this year include both John Frieda and Andrew Collinge, amongst a load more respected people both from inside and outside the industry, sadly, I don't have a full list to hand), and it's an offer I was delighted to accept. Can't help thinking that Creative Head haven't heard about my insane hair though, otherwise they may have thought twice about the invite ...

I spent some of yesterday at the Wella Professionals World Studio in London, and, after a couple of hours alongside my fellow judges discussing our category (Best Online Salon) we had to come to what was a very tough - for me - decision.  All the entrants on our list had some great points, and it was excellent to see so many of them making use of Facebook and Twitter (which most of you already know I'm a massive fan of), so it was hard to decide who should win! I had my own set of criteria, which may have been a little different to the other judges, but it was nice to see where our thoughts were all on the same page, and that we had had some identical reactions to some of the entries!  Some spirited debate took place, I can tell you!

We did all eventually make our decisions, but obviously I can't reveal any details as yet! I'm looking forward to the awards ceremony in September though, and getting to know who wins all the other categories, some of the entries looked amazing, I'm sure the ceremony will be tonnes of fun. One thing I won't enjoy (the less said about Jimmy Carr being the host, the better as far as I'm concerned) seeing will be my VT - yes, I was filmed giving my opinions on hair again, I'm afraid! It keeps happening by accident, GHD made me talk to Fashion TV a few months ago ... I hate seeing myself on camera, I sound (to myself) like an idiot and I spend the whole time I'm watching just counting my flaws.  That reminds me, my eyebrows need doing ...

So, just out of interest, what do you guys look for in a hairdresser's website?  Do you even look for hairdressers online? What's important, and what would make you decide never to darken their doorstep?