Rodial Glamoxy "Snake" Mask

Sometimes you choose a product because it makes promises you want to believe in.


Like Rodial's Glamoxy Snake Mask, which promises:


"...to instantly lift the face, freeze muscles and plump fine lines and wrinkles"

It's a black, peel-off mask that contains amino acids and licorice to deep cleanse your pores and has peptides to help deal with fine lines. The combination of ingredients is supposed to mimic "venom" in order to give you smoother skin.  It's a sticky, and  viscous gel, and I have to admit that it's a complete pain in the backside to apply, as it's thick, doesn't spread well, and starts to set the second you squeeze it from the tube.  But, that said, it's enormous fun to peel off in one sheet, and peer at the gucky insides.

It did leave my skin feeling smoother, but, at £68 per tube (which I estimate you'd only get three - maybe four - uses out of) it's an extremely expensive bit of fun, and, to be honest, I didn't notice the smoothing effects lasting much beyond the next day.

But ...

... sometimes you pick a product because you can take pictures like this when you're using it:

This, dear readers, is what beauty bloggers do to amuse themselves when at a bit of a loose end on a Saturday night.  Don't tell me you don't do the same.

The Fine Print: Samples sent by PR for review, actual cost £68.  Total fun: Priceless.

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

Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess Bronzing Blush

The ever-lovely Kellie over at BigFashionista was asking me last week how I go about updating my makeup for spring.  Well, the simple fact is that I tend to wear the same sort of makeup all year round (though I do switch to tinted moisturiser rather than foundation when it gets really warm), but in spring, I find that one of the simplest ways to update your makeup is to change your blusher.

Luckily, this time of year is when brands start to bring out their summer ranges, and switching to a warmer blush is easy.   Last year, my favourite blush was actually a bronzing blusher from the annual Bronze Goddess range released by Estee Lauder.  This year's limited edition bronzing blush is too cute, featuring a starfish design:

The darker pink that you see there is a shimmery overspray which disappears on first usage.  On first seeing this, I thought the shades were identical to last year's zebra-striped palette, so I decided to compare the two:

Turns out that my initial thoughts weren't quite correct.  Last year's palette has slightly cooler tones, and is, in fact, slightly more shimmery:

Top is the starfish palette, and bottom is the zebra, and I've swatched them in the order: bronzer then blusher then a mix of the two shades. the top palette has slightly more pigment, and is more matte, whereas the zebra bronzing blush (bottom) has a slightly more sheeny finish.

The bronzing blush is limited edition every year and costs £29.  The rest of the range consists of an eyeshadow palette, a couple of eyeshadow pencils, a beautifully coppery-bronze nail polish and a selection of lip products.  I'll bring you swatches as I have them ...

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

Andy Tauer's Carillon Pour Un Ange Review and Giveaway

 Bosky.  It's not a word I use enough on Get Lippie.  It's a word I like though.


Carillon pour un Ange is almost a textbook definition of the word bosky.  Earthy, damp, lightly green and redolent of lily of the valley, the latest release from Andy Tauer's Homages line is purest spring, bottled.


Above the intriguing notes of damp earth, wet leaves and cool cedar is a sharp peal of pure white spring flowers, reminding me of a walk through an English wood on a slightly drizzly spring day.  Lily of the valley and lilac get a bad reputation for being (perhaps) granny-ish, but this mixture of earth and ethereal flowers make this a floral scent which is very different and very, very appealing.  I've worn this a few times over the winter when I've wanted to remind myself that spring is indeed on the way.  


This is one of those scents that you'll find yourself sniffing constantly, being reminded at times of mud pies, and at others of sophisticated white bouquets, but at all times being reminded that it's spring.  The scent has amazing sillage (meaning other people will be able to smell it too - particularly if you apply  with too heavy a hand) and a mere drop or two will last the entire day.


And because it finally is spring, I've teamed up with the lovely Ronny at Scents & Sensibility to give away a full-size gift-boxed bottle of Carillon Pour Un Ange (worth £99) to one lucky reader, prior to it being officially launched for sale in May. 


All you have to do is leave a comment on this post telling me what your favourite spring scents are - perfumes, or otherwise.  Please be a resident of the UK, and please make sure that you leave me a valid email address.  I will make the draw on the evening of April 10th, so please get your entries in before then!

The Fine Print: Prize will be dispatched direct from Scents & Sensibility, however, Get Lippie reserves the right to disqualify invalid entries, or any entries obviously originating from competition listing websites. 


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

A Week in Lipstick

Here's what I wore this week:




From top to bottom:

Tom Ford in Pink Dusk,
MAC Viva Glam Cyndi
Dior Addict in Diorkiss
Lancome Gloss 132
Estee Lauder Pure Colour Crystal Lipstick in Elizabeth Pink
Guerlain Rouge G Serie Noir in Rouge Sensuel
Lanolips Lemonaid

Here's how the colours look:




Two nudes, two pinks, and two reds. And a balm (I alway wear something on my lips even if I'm not leaving the house, which I didn't on Saturday). Better mix of colours than usual!

Here are the swatches in the same order:




There really is a swatch of the Lanolips there!

More about lipstick later on in the week.

Give And Makeup

I get emails every now and again from people asking me what happens to all the things I sample for Get Lippie, and wondering if they can buy the samples that I've featured, particularly if I don't seem that enamoured with them, and a lot of people have been asking me recently if I will hold a blog sale.

First things first, I would never, ever sell something that was sent to Get Lippie for review purposes, for me to profit from something that was sent to me free of charge wouldn't be right.  So, what does happen to products that I don't finish, or don't like, or even simply get bored with?  Simply,  I donate them to Give and Makeup, an initiative I've supported since it first started late last year.

In very many respects, I'm a lucky woman, I have a roof over my head, a good job, and a stable relationship, plus I have the means to be able to afford to buy myself those little luxuries that make life seem a little more worth living.  But very many women don't, and, in particular women who are fleeing abusive relationships have neither the time, the money, nor the inclination to remember to pack toiletries to take with them when the time comes to make the break from abusive partnerships.  Further, lots of shelters are extremely short of cash and simply can't afford to provide such "luxuries" as shower gel, skin care and hair care to women and children when they get there.


Give and Makeup is a non-profit making organisation dedicated to distributing unwanted toiletries and cosmetics from individuals and companies who find they have an excess (no matter how big or small) to Refuge and Women's Aid, who then make sure that the products get into the hands of the women who need them.  Founded by Caroline Hirons, it's a simple, but rather genius idea, and donating to Give and Makeup gets easier every week as more and more volunteers sign up to help them expand their distribution network.


I can't deny that being able to donate my unwanted products goes some way toward assuaging a slightly guilty conscience about being such a consumerist in the first place, but, as I've discussed before, being able to take care of yourself in a stressful situation provides a psychological boost that's hard to replicate any other way, alongside Look Good, Feel Better, (another charity I support in a variety of ways) Give and Makeup helps women come to terms with their lives, by helping make demanding life circumstances easier.


Please help. If you have toiletries, cosmetics, hair care, or baby products to spare - lightly used is fine, they don't have to be brand new (although if the product has an applicator - such as mascara or lipgloss - then please ensure they are unopened, for hygiene reasons) then please consider sending them to Give and Makeup.


So, er, yeah, this is why there won't be any blog sales on Get Lippie any time soon, sorry!


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

A sneaky peek ...

Some people are fascinated by my array of lipsticks, so here's a sneaky peek at something I'll be posting about in more detail very soon:




Doesn't look much there (well, to me it doesn't, but I'm aware that they are jammed in that drawer four or five deep), but that's only one part of my collection ...

Time for a heated debate!

In my spare time - you know, the time I get in between working twelvety million hours a week, and the time I spend blogging - I also moderate a debate forum.  I know, I'm a sucker for punishment.

There was a debate recently about women in positions of power, and someone suggested that the only reason women wear makeup is to attract men.  And that women who go out whilst wearing makeup and reject advances made to them by men are "ball-breakers".  Here are his actual words:

Has anyone ever noticed that there are allot of women in  {...} who will spend literally hours on their hair and make-up...wear hundreds of dollars worth of clothing and expensive perfumes...go out to a dance bar and...

SIT in groups of women, chatting and so on, while every so often a guy will make his sorry-ass way over to their table and ask one to dance. Can you guess the answer he gets more often than not? Sure ya can...

"No thanks...hehehe..." 

I pointed out that there are many reasons to wear makeup:

... women do not {solely} wear makeup to attract men. There are almost as many reasons to wear makeup as there are people wearing makeup. ... neither is it only women who wear cosmetics.  

To which the response was:

Now: "women do not wear makeup to attract men" To which I have to say, that unless the women in question happens to be a lesbian...then Bull S**t! Please...that's just silly. Women wear make-up in order to enhance their appearance and attract a mate...of either sex. Just as these men you speak of who also wear make-up...do so for the same reason. I'll admit there may be the odd exception, but please...its the same thing with jewelry, hair-do's, cloths even. I think that's rather self-evident.

(all spelling mistakes theirs)

So, I was wondering what my readers thought?  Is it self-evident that the only reason people wear cosmetics is to make them more attractive to potential partners? Why do you wear makeup?  


Personally, I think the existence of charities such as Look Good Feel Better disproves his entire theory - not to mention the fact that women who have  partners don't immediately stop wearing makeup, which, if his theory is to be believed, is what would happen naturally.  But I want to  know what you think, please let me know in the comments, thanks!

 

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