Lippie Chat - Lynne Sanders of Cosmetics a la Carte

Just a wee while ago, I was lucky enough to meet and chat with Lynne Sanders who -  alongside Christina Stewart, now retired from the business - founded Cosmetics a la Carte back in the seventies, after working for both Unilever and Yardley.  Cosmetics a la Carte have been providing women with bespoke cosmetic shades for all occasions, and individually blended foundations for any and all skin types ever since their inception. Renowned for their naturally glamorous groomed looks, Cosmetics a la Carte provide make up for women that is made by women who care what they wear too.

Lynne very kindly agreed to be interviewed for Get Lippie, and I'm both delighted and honoured that she did, she's a lovely, funny and warm lady who I took to immediately when I met her (she was eating a cupcake at the time, and hey, who doesn't love somebody who loves a cupcake?), and I've been enjoying re-discovering a British institution that's inspired many cosmetic brands the world over.

Hi Lynne, thanks for taking part! Can you tell us a bit about yourself? 

I really enjoy making make-up and being actively involved in helping women ‘find their look and be fabulous’ and enjoy dreaming about new products, concepts and colours.  It’s difficult to believe that I am 60 and have been involved with Cosmetics a la Carte for over 30 years.

Apart from enjoying my daughter it is the most fulfilling thing that I do.

How did you end up in the beauty industry in the first place?

I have been a convert to the transformation qualities of make-up ever since I was a spotty, pasty, teenager studying Chemistry and conscious that the concealers available to cover those spots were all the wrong colour!

Inevitable then that I should choose Cosmetic Science as a career and start making my own colours. The rest is history.

How did Cosmetics a la Carte itself come into being?

Four Chemists, working in the corporate world of Cosmetic R&D, frustrated with the ‘copy-cat’ marketing approach to make-up in the 1970s; opened a little shop in Knightsbridge where we had a lab to create make-up while pioneering Make-up lessons in the shop.
I seem to be the only one left!

What are the philosophies behind Cosmetics a la Carte?

Make-up is a crucial part of self expression, part of finding the look to be taken seriously as a young person and then keeping the look fresh, glowy, and not disappearing into middle age.

It takes just 3 seconds to judge someone on first meeting so it is important to send the right personal message and be ‘truly top of your own game’.

What makes Cosmetics a la Carte unique, do you think?

The wide range and personal approach is part of our brand ethos. We are well known for blending the exact shade with variations for all skins and whatever our customers need.

We are totally customer led, and a lot of our range has a celebrity origin. From Princess Diana who ordered a flesh-coloured lipstick to Lady Gaga who was wowed at the idea of  Flush Blush and Bubblegum gloss that shows in UV light!  Dannii Minogue created Candy, our super glossy staining lipstick with sunscreen, and Boy George during the punk movement meant that we were the very first with super bright shadows… the list goes on.

Who are you targeting the Cosmetics a la Carte brand at?

We are a little different. Our experience with over 30 years making products for women by women means that we really understand what it means to have the right foundation and we go to extra-ordinary lengths to find that for those that care.

What do you hope is in the future for Cosmetics a la Carte?

CALC was the first luxury British makeup company to make all their own products, with a personal and individual couture service including makeup lessons to “Find your look and be Fabulous” and we have expanded and perfected the genre of natural with advice ever since. We would like to take this all over the world. 

What’s your beauty regime?

I love wearing make-up so I try to accentuate the good bits of my face with clever make-up colours and application. Naturally with a nod to fashion, and cleansing my skin completely every single night! 
What one cosmetic product couldn’t you live without?

Can I only have one??  I suppose it would have to be foundation or concealer to cover up the shadows, redness and marks.

What beauty advice would you give Get Lippie readers?

Make-up is a wonderful way to enhance anti-ageing skincare or procedures by concealing flaws and providing an illuminating glow to the skin. Furthermore, technology now means that we can enhance these qualities by incorporating anti-ageing ingredients into the products so delaying dermatological procedures or sustaining benefits in between treatments, naturally and without toxins.

I want to say a massive thank you to Lynne for taking part.  You can find out more about Cosmetics A La Carte here

Is there anyone else you'd like to see featured in this series?  I have interviews lined up with several cosmetic-range founders, a celebrity makeup artist, and an international hair designer, alongside a couple of surprise guests, but if there's anyone specific you'd like to see featured here, please let me know and I'll see if I can make it happen.  You might also be interested in reading about the chat I had with Alex Box recently, too!

Upcoming on Get Lippie

I've got quite a few things coming up, I thought you  might like a little heads up!

For the past couple of months, I've been working on collecting interviews with women I admire, who I think are doing interesting things in the beauty industry! Tomorrow, I'll be kicking off my little series with a small portrait of a woman I think a lot of beauty brands could learn a few things from ...

I was at The Vitality Show recently, and I was lucky to meet and chat to some wonderful people with some really interesting-sounding (organic!) products, I'll be bringing you reviews, interviews, and more from some of the following:
100 Percent Organics
Lucy Russell Organics
Antonia Burrell
Spieza
Madara

I spent some time at Being Content recently too, and picked myself up a truckload of samples, so I'll be looking at brands such as, Amala, Dr Alkaitis, Absolution, Stem Organics, Inlight and Jurlique, some reviews will be in-depth, some will just be impressions based on the sample-size, but they're all interesting brands that deserve a better look, so if you get a chance to pop along, do go!  Imelda is very friendly and chatty, and you'll leave with a new impression of organic skincare, it's not all hand-knitted by muesli-wearing hippies, you know!

I've been trialling Mir Skincare for a while now, so I'll be reviewing that in-depth very soon!

I had lots of requests for lip-swatches, so I'll be working on those later today ...

In response to a reader-request, I'll be talking about my favourite highlighters, and sharing what I think might be my Holy Grail product - best of all, it came from Boots!

MrLippie is going to be sharing his thoughts on an aftershave, which could be interesting, seeing as he never wears it ...

Oh, and there will be all the usual rantings and ramblings, FotD and swatches you've come to know and love/dread (delete as applicable) complete with my signature terrible photographs!

Nails of the Day - Nubar Risque Reds and Fortress Collections

Beauty Shed very kindly sent me samples of their new collections recently, so I drafted in a volunteer so I could swatch two colours for you this week!  First up, from the Risque Reds Collection, Torrid Red:

Lovely red jelly with a glorious gold shimmer shot through,  it's a little darker than it appears in these pics, and is all the nicer for it. Both pictures show two coats over a Mavala base, and with a Seche Vite topcoat.  I could actually have got away with one coat, but I wanted to apply two, just to see how the colour came out.  I'm glad I did.  Formulation is a bit on the thick side for Nubar, but it applied and dried very nicely.

Picture of the ring finger there is a fairly accurate representation of how the colour looks in normal light.  Just lovely!







And from the Fortress collection - which is a selection of all grey shades, which is fairly unusual in itself - I selected the one which looked most interesting, Silver Sword, which is a mid-grey metallic finish, and I got the lovely Kerry to be my hand-model for this one:

Above pic shows two coats with a top coat (think it's from No. 17) application was good, and this is a lovely finish which doesn't seem to be blighted with brush strokes.

Looking forward to trying this one myself, it looks lovely! I will bring you more shades from both of these collections next week.

Which do you prefer, the greys or the reds?

Nubar polishes are available from Beauty Shed, and cost £8 each.

The Small Print: I was sent this for review purposes, so I reviewed them.  I'm nice like that ;) All opinions are honest, regardless of the source.

Avon Calling? Liz Earle joins up ...

I don't often regurgitate press releases, but there's been a lot of talk on Twitter about this today, let me know your thoughts!

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The Liz Earle Beauty Co. announced today a new partnership with leading global beauty brand, Avon Products Inc.


Co-founder Liz Earle, said of the deal “We are very excited to be joining forces with an iconic global beauty brand like Avon. We believe the Liz Earle Naturally Active Skincare philosophy and extraordinary brand loyalty we have built in the U.K., when combined with Avon’s presence in more than 100 countries around the world, will create an outstanding opportunity for international expansion for our company.”

The deal, designed to deliver international expansion opportunities for the leading British skincare brand, will see the company remain firmly rooted in its home in Ryde, Isle of Wight. The company will continue to operate as a standalone brand, under the leadership of co-founders, Liz Earle and Kim Buckland.

“Joining forces with Avon is a dream come true for us,” said co-founder Kim Buckland. “Just as Liz Earle Naturally Active Skincare has its own ‘Precious Recipe’ which lies at the heart of all we do, Avon has a long established reputation for its high levels of customer service, its great workplace environment, and its contributions to the wellbeing of society.”

Andrea Jung, Avon’s chairman and chief executive officer, said “We are delighted to welcome Liz Earle Naturally Active Skincare to Avon and we see this new partnership as a perfect fit for both companies. Liz Earle’s tightly edited range of award-winning, naturally active skincare products is highly complementary to Avon’s anti-aging skin care and broader beauty portfolio. It also represents a long term opportunity to develop a standalone Liz Earle direct selling Representative channel.”

Terms of the arrangement between the two companies remain private and will not be disclosed.
 
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What do you think?

Lancôme L'Absolou Rouge Creme de Brilliance swatches

Surprisingly, considering my utter worship of practically any mascara made my Lancôme, I don't own a huge amount of their colour cosmetics.  I have no idea why this is, but after their recent Pop Petrol collection, which I thought was really lovely (I ended up buying half of it for Other People, and have none of it for myself!), it's obviously something I'm going have to correct.

I do, however, always spend time searching for the Chris Benz Pout-A-Porter lipstick releases when they're out, but I was told recently that they're only ever released in the US due to lack of interest in the UK! Very frustrating to hear that after you've dragged yourself around every department store within tube-distance, but them's the breaks, I guess. It's a real shame though, as I always think they look just that little more interesting than the regular releases we get over here. That said, it's nice that Lancôme are doing UK-only releases (like Pop Petrol) these days, as we very often get short-changed a little bit by the bigger brands when it comes to Limited Editions.

Where was I?  Oh yes, the latest Lancôme release is this set of  L'Absolou Rouge Creme de Brilliance liquid lipsticks, which is a very lovely set of colours indeed.  When I was at the Lancôme offices staging my recent Precious Cells sit-in, they also presented me with a set of these little beauties to get me out of the place.

Containing Pro-Xylane, which is said to be anti-aging, there are nine shades in the set (in the same order as the picture at the top of the post):

More liquid than a lipstick, but less gloopy (and they are not at all sticky) than a gloss, these are really super-comfortable to wear. I've found that they're surprisingly long-lasting for a liquid formulation, taking about four hours before requiring a touch up - even after coffee and a croissant. They also fade very evenly, without leaving you with the tell-tale ring of doom.  I'm not, in all honesty, a big fan of the heart-shaped applicator, being the cack-handed muppet that I am, but the lippies do apply very evenly without dragging, and they  leave your lips feeling beautifully soft and moisturised after a day spent wearing them, almost as if you'd been wearing a balm rather than a coloured product. One further criticism: the numbers on the labels are too small!  You will NEVER know the trouble I had trying to get them into numerical order for the product shot at the top of this post.

Or maybe you will.  Hey ho ...

Now, would you like lip-swatches?  Which colours stand out to you? My favourite (surprisingly) is number 11 Rose Nature, which has an almost duo-chrome finish in the tube and is a lovely warm brown-rose shade on the lips.  I'm not normally known for my love of brown, but it is absolutely gorgeous on the lips!

The small print: I was given these as a bribe to leave the Lancome office and never darken their doorstep again. No PRs were harmed in the making of this post.  As always, reviews are honest regardless of the source.

Organic Wednesday - Organic Surge, the return

I'm delighted that another of my very favourite bloggers, Helen from the lovely Just Nice Things site has offered to guest blog for me this week. If you're interested in nails - and other cosmetics! - then you simply have to make Just Nice Things a port of call on the internets!  Helen won my first ever blog giveaway way back in November last year, and she's reviewing on the prizes I gave her, Organic Surge Eye Gel.

Take it away, Helen:

Isn’t it strange the way that wonderful ageing issues that suddenly become a factor when you hit 30-something? Like the fact that the extra half stone you put on every Christmas just doesn’t shift? Or the fact that you still have the marks on your face left by the seams of your pillow at 9am because your skin hasn’t sprung back? Puffy eyes? Well, not only do I have to contend with all these concerns, I am also blessed by having chronic psoriasis.

For those of you who don’t know, psoriasis is a non-contagious skin condition that affects approximately one in every one hundred people. No-one knows what causes it, but we do know that it is essentially the same as having super efficient skin that just renews too quickly, pushing the old skin cells to the surface, where they gather and flake off. This can be incredibly painful, itchy and sore, not to mention unsightly. I’ve lost count of the number of people that have gone “Eurrrgghhh! What’s wrong with you?” to me, or people who haven’t wanted to shake my hand because of it.

What this also means is that I have to be extremely careful with what I put onto and into my skin. I don’t smoke (any more), I drink plenty of water. I have found out, over many years, what the triggers are. Fizzy white wine, chillies, strawberries and tomatoes are likely to have me clawing at my skin in agony. The same goes for beauty products. Anything containing sodium laureth / lauryl sulphate, perfume, or parabens is anathema to me. I don’t wear foundation, and I can’t get overly excited by the Sleek palettes that everyone loves, because they contain parabens. Once a week or so is fine but if I were to use something daily that contained any of the above ingredients, I know I’d be flaring, itchy and irritable. I haven’t narrowed it down precisely – for example, despite all their claims to be nasty-free and hypoallergenic, I can’t use either Jergens or Simple products. Don’t know why, I just know they hurt like hell when I apply them.

Similarly, I was a bit scared to try Organic Surge. Usually the only skincare I use is Liz Earle as I know from trial and error that it doesn’t have any sinister effects on me. I had an Organic Surge handcream a while ago and I don’t know what was in it but it set my psoriasis ridden paws on fire. However, the lure of a free lipstick is too much for any beauty blogger to deny, and so I entered one of Luce’s Get Lippie reader competitions, and won! I couldn’t believe it. The only thing I’d ever won before this was the odd £10 on the lottery, and a very classy silver plated after dinner mint tray at a school fete once. The Get Lippie prize bag contained several Organic Surge products, and so, with some trepidation, I reached for the eye gel.

I love eye gel. I used to nick my mum’s elderflower and vitamin E eye gel when I was little (and certainly in no need of it). I remember liking the way it felt on my skin and immediately made me feel brighter and more awake. So, I couldn’t resist trying this one out. I usually approach new products with a cynical “what reaction is this going to get then?” , so imagine my glee when it did….nothing. As in, I had no reaction at all. Brilliant. No stinging, no itching, just that lovely tightening and smooth feeling. Fantastic. I haven’t been over egging it and using this daily as I know my skin can sometimes get fed up with certain items, but I’ve been using this eye gel a couple of times a week since Christmas with no ill effects.

 
OK, so it doesn’t banish the dark circles (perhaps I need to look into drinking less wine…but then again, nah) but it does make the skin around my eyes feel smoother, look brighter and generally feel zingy. A little goes a long way here, hence the reason that this little 15 ml pot has lasted me since December. So as far as I am concerned, it’s a hit. It makes me feel nice and just perks me up a bit. And anything that can do that without rendering me like the Elephant Man deserves to score highly in my book.

Oh and I apologise for the slightly soft focus Wheel of Fortune “modeling the prize” photos. As you can tell from the product shots, I’m a nail blogger and you don’t get to see my face all that often. Mainly because it’s usually covered in creases from my pillow…

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Thanks, Helen!

Kat Von D - swatches

I've been doing some swaps with my international readers, and last month, I managed to get hold (in return for a truckload of Barry M) of a set of Kat Von D shadows and lipglosses from Sephora. These are so pretty!

I'm not sure if you can pick it up in these shots, but each of these pans has two different textures of shadow, one shimmer, and one matte, meaning you actually have six different shadows, rather than just three.

Here's how they swatch on skin, primer at the top of the swatch, and bare skin at the bottom:

As you can see the two textures are very similar in shade, and intensity, but the shimmery shades do have a more glittery appearance.

The lipglosses are rather unusual too, being one in orange, and one in black.  Black lipgloss is pretty cool, but these swatch out on the sheer side:

They're really shimmery, and feel very light, but not gritty on the lips.

Do you own any Kat Von D?  What else should I look out for in Sephora when I have someone passing by? I have some Tarina Tarantino on the way, and I can't wait for it to arrive!