Remington 5 in 1 Airstyler

I've had blow-dry lessons from some of the best hairdressers in this country - Yes, Ben Cooke (creator of Victoria Beckham's various 'do's over the years) I'm looking at you, and, it has to be said that I remain a cack handed muppet at it. 


The problems are that I have short arms and a lot - and I do mean a lot - of wavy hair.  So, the traditional hairdryer and brush method is backbreaking, not to mention, heartbreaking work with my thatch of frizzy fuzz.


Years ago, I had a Remington Airstyler that was basically a hairbrush with a built in hairdryer, and, I have to say, I loved it.  My only real problem with it was that the hairdryer was a rather feeble 300 watts, so drying my hair (which was a lot curlier back then) took hours.  Luckily for me, the new 5in1 Remington Airstyler is a massive 1200 watts so this solves that particular problem, and has made me a very happy chappy blogger.


The new Remington Airstyler comes with five attachments: two round bristle brushes (one with hard "fixed" bristles, and one with softer, flexible bristles), a targeted hairdryer nozzle, a ridge "tong" attachment, and my own personal favourite, the flat "paddle" brush attachment, which has a side each of fixed and flexible bristles.

I've found that I can give myself a nice (not great - I'm still rubbish), blowdry with lots of volume using the paddle brush attachment, in about 15 minutes or so, without really needing to follow up with my straighteners, or needing a massage on my aching shoulders - the fixed bristles glide through the hair smoothly with no snagging, and the flexible bristles provide a great deal of traction, which is great for making the hair smoother.  The dryer itself has three speeds: low heat, high heat and a cool shot, which is very handy.



All in all, a winner for me - and for around £25 it's a bargain, I paid nearly £40 for one with just a quarter of the drying power (and no attachments besides the round brush and the nozzle) around ten years ago!


The Fine Print: PR sample.  And an horrendously overdue review.  I'm nice like that ;)

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

Hob Salons - "Treat Me Like A Princess" Package

I'm an accountant (I may have mentioned it), and this is my busiest time of the year. That occasional KA-thonk sound you may hear in the distance is my hitting my head on my desk whilst trying to get to grips with the concept of deferred income vs restricted reserves and their associate release against spend schedules, and please do not even talk to me about auditors, or I might simply weep - but I digress.

All this was my roundabout way of saying that today I have a guest review for you - and from a work colleague, no less ... I found out about Hob's Treat Me Like A Princess package last month - which they're offering all through April, which includes a cut, colour, plus lots of other little extras that will make this feel like a really pampering experience - and I'd been looking forward to trying it out. Sadly, as it got nearer the time, I discovered I wouldn't be able to attend, so I drafted in one of my co-workers, the always-amazing Amy, to take my place ... here's how she got on:

I paid a visit to Hob salon in Camden on behalf of the lovely Louise to trial out a current promotion they are running throughout April called 'Treat me like a Princess' in celebration of the run up to the royal wedding. The package includes a colour, a cut, a treatment, a head massage, a goody bag and a voucher towards your next appointment with them.

Before my appointment I had to go for an allergy test to ensure I had no reactions to their products which is company policy and must be done 48 hours before colouring. Immediately I thought this was going to be hassle but as you can get it done in any of their salons you can pick and choose when and where and you don’t need to pre-book an appointment. I chose the Baker Street branch so I could walk there after work. It took roughly 5 minutes all in all and I was back on my merry way before long.

As I made my way to the Camden salon I soon realised the directions on their website were not so helpful and I walked past the turn off I was meant to take. (Hint: walk down Jamestown road and take a right after CBS offices).  When I finally got there the reception staff were very friendly but not too falsely over-friendly like you can get in a lot of other salons. They showed me to my seat and introduced me to Lindsey who was my colourist. 

She sat down and talked me through what would suit both my hair and my features. She suggested going for a halo bar which meant that the highlights would lie under a layer of hair,  which would make them not so prominent on the top of my head. We decided on antique blonde, which to be honest I was a little apprehensive about, as I am not a fan of blonde hair but I trusted her judgement and was delighted with the outcome. I did notice though that they must have drafted her in from another branch for the day,  as the other staff were asking her what she was doing there that day, but that’s nothing bad, they obviously wanted their best colourist to do my hair which I can hardly complain about now can I?

After the colour the next part of the ‘Treat me like a princess’ package was a conditioning treatment and a head and neck massage which was glorious and so relaxing I almost fell asleep at the sinks! The treatment was an intensive conditioner and a toner to help maximise the colour in my hair. My hair was amazingly soft afterwards and looked beautifully healthy.

Next was the hair cut and the guy to carry this out was Rodos who was very easy on the eye and a true gentleman. As you can see from my before photo:

this is no simple feat, and not a task for the faint hearted, with the amount of hair on my head. But Rodos gracefully accepted the mammoth task of removing a few inches, a lot of thinning it out, and giving it some shape and style. He combined the use of a thinning scissors and a blade. I felt he really listened to what I wanted but still gave his opinion of what he thought would sit best and look great and he really did know his stuff as I was delighted with the cut and finish.



 

The salon I found had a great vibe and with trainees in full view practising on balconies above, gave it a nice full and bustling atmosphere.  The place was clean and had lovely Sanctuary soap and hand moisturiser in the bathroom.

Overall I found the experience really and truly worthwhile and would recommend it to my friends. You do feel like a princess as you get well looked after including receiving a glass of wine while your colour sets.

I left the salon feeling great about myself and my new hair style and with a goody bag of shampoos and hair masks to take home and a 25% off voucher for my next colour. 

I've seen Amy's hair since, and it does indeed look fantastic, Lindsey has given her a subtle sunkissed look, and it is amazingly healthy and shiny, I was very impressed.  And jealous.  If you fancy being treated like a princess too, then contact your local Hob Salon for prices.

The Fine Print: Amy was a guest of Hob Salons.  PS, Amy, you owe me a cup of tea ;)


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

A Week in Lipstick

Another week, another seven lipshades. From top to bottom here we have:




Guerlain Rouge G - Galante
Rituals Cream & Care - Sunset
Shiseido Shimmering Rouge - RS310
Guerlain Terracotta Gloss - Grenade
Revlon Just Bitten Lipstain - Frenzy
ELF Luscious Liquid Lipstick - shade unknown
Bourjois Effet 3D Max gloss - Rose Acidulé

And here are the swatches:




Bit of a glossier week than usual, what've you been wearing?

Some exciting (for me at least!) lipstick news coming up next week, keep your eyes peeled!

The Show Must Go On - OPI Burlesque Collection

In a "blink and you'll miss it" collection from OPI to celebrate the release of the Burlesque movie at the end of last year (did you blink? You missed it), were some of the prettiest, blingiest and just plain joyful nail polishes that this jaded blogger has ever seen:



A cool raspberry, this foiled-effect polish is packed to the rafters with layer upon layer of glass flecks:




It glows.




I'm wearing it for a board meeting today:




Work appropriate, schmerk appropriate.

The Burlesque collection was discontinued approximately three days after it was released, so I picked this beauty up off eBay recently (there are loads of the mini size multipacks on there at a reasonable price) I don't know if the film was any good, I blinked, and missed it.

(this is an emergency post as the original post planned for today has technical issues - normal service resumes ASAP)

Guerlain Meteorites Perles Perfecting Primer

Who can resist a product that looks like sago pudding?





Not me! I admit that I'm not much of a one for facial primers, but, as I am a big fan of Guerlain's Lingerie de Peau foundation, I thought I'm give their primer a try too. Mainly, admittedly, because it is by far the prettiest primer on the market.

Tiny pink opalescent pearls of light diffusing powder are suspended in a gel formulation, which feels cool and silky, rather than velvety like a lot of more silicone-heavy primers. Once pumped, the pearls burst and you get a measure of pre-mixed primer:






You can see how it reflects light already.

My favourite way to use this is to mix equal amounts of primer with my foundation (and I use it with all my foundations) then "slip, slap, splosh" it all over my face with my fingers. I'm too lazy in the mornings to bother putting on a layer of moisturiser, a layer of primer and a layer of foundation, so I skip a step.

I find that mixing the foundation with the primer gives the foundation a more "moussey" or airy texture, and also thins out the foundation a little, giving a slightly sheerer finish, also the primer allows the foundation not to gather in pores as a result.

This won't give you as "flawless" a finish as a silicone primer, but I do find it makes my foundation last a little longer through the day, but, that being said, I wouldn't class this - or indeed any - facial primer as a necessity. I've never found a single one that does what it says. Ever.

In essence, the Guerlain Meteorites Primer is nice to have, lovely to look at, and fun to use, but is it an essential? No.

It costs around £40.

Serge Lutens Jeux de Peau

Serge Lutens, how much do I love thee?  The first super-expensive bottle of perfume I ever bought for myself (at a whopping £45, back at the time when most "expensive" perfumes cost £18-25 depending on precisely how "fancy" you wanted to smell) was a bottle of Serge Lutens Sa Majeste La Rose. This was shortly followed by a bottle of A La Nuit, neither of which I ever wear these days, but I do still own the remnants of both bottles in their "vintage" formulations.


I can't really bear to part with them, because of the memories I associate with them, even though I realise they're two of the least complex of the Serge Lutens line, these days.  Back then I really just loved rose scents (Ombre Rose was a contemporary purchase too, and I used that bottle up in a matter of a few short months), and I thought jasmine - the primary, and some might say only ingredient in A La Nuit - was a much more innocent scent than it actually is.  I know different now, but ... do I know better?  Nowadays, I much prefer Ambre Sultan, and Femininite du Bois.


It would appear that dear old "Uncle Serge" has been playing memory games with his fans with this his new release.  I've read lots of reviews that talk about bread, jam, butter, and baked goods, and thought that as I'd recently come to terms with Guerlain's "patisserie accord" (more about that in a Guerlain post later on), that this might be a good one to try.


And, on initial sniffing, my immediate reaction was "bread and butter pudding!".  I was delighted, as bread and butter pudding is one of my favourite things.  Sadly, on closer inspection, the butter in this particular pudding turned out to be margarine.  The scent of cheap spread was cloying and clinging, somehow managing to be both fat, and flat.  It also - for me - crowded out the scent of anything else for the first three hours.  Then, when something else did turn up on my skin, it was curry.


Oh yes.


Actually, it wasn't curry, it's actually the scent of Immortelle, which has cumin-ish aspects on my skin.  Margarine and curry.  Yummy!  Then, finally, about six or seven hours of wear, there was a lovely, slightly peppery maple syrup scent that stuck very close to my skin.  Had this been more prominent, or had appeared sooner, I'd have loved this.  But, alas, it wasn't to be.  Me and margarine have never got along all that well, and this was terrifyingly close to being a scrubber throughout the entire day of wear.


Serge Lutens definitely tries to create art with his scents, and even his more challenging fragrances deserve a shedload of admiration. Jeux de Peau is a skillful creation, and it's a rather playful one, too.  However, this is Serge playing games on my skin, and I'm not sure I liked it.  I have to admire it, but I don't think I'll be wearing it again any time soon ...


Jeux de Peau costs £65.36 and is available from escentual.com


What's the worst scent you've ever put on your skin?


The Fine Print: Review written from sample.


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

Daniel Sandler Brushes

I've lot count of how many makeup brushes I own, there are a lot.  Besides which, I have two sets, a set of brushes that I keep for myself, and a set (from Crown brushes) that I keep aside for makeovers, that I rarely use on my own skin.  I was made a gift of some Daniel Sandler brushes a while ago, and I've been using them on practically a daily basis ever since, so I thought it was time to share my thoughts!


Some of the most used brushes in my kit are the ones with short handles, I much prefer a short handle to a long handle for some reason (probably to do with me being a cack-handed muppet), and so I'm really happy that these brushes are "handbag" sized.  Above (l-r) you can see the concealer, smudge, waterbrush, base and bronzer/powder brushes, and I find they have varying levels of usefulness, as you'll see below.

Concealer brush:


Made from taklon - a polyester derivative, so the brush is vegan - this helps with applying concealer in a thin layer (always the best way to apply concealer), and the long, somewhat flexible bristles make blending very easy, particularly around the eye area.  It's not a very wide brush, so it's great for applying concealer to blemishes, without adding too much product to unaffected areas.  Cost: £12.30

Smudge Brush:

Made from hair (non-vegan), this picks up powder beautifully, and it is probably near the top of my list of all-time favourite brushes (of all time). It's perfect for creating smokey eyed looks, and it is very handy for - as the name implies - smudging creamy eyeliners to create a softer effect.  You can, as I frequently do, also use it as an eyeliner brush, where it's practically foolproof for even the most cack-handed of us to use.  Simply dip it in the powder eyeshadow of your choice and then dot'n'dab around the base of your lashes.  Cost £10.25

Waterbrush:

If you already own one of Daniel's Watercolour Blushes (and if not, why not?) then you'll most likely already own one of these synthetic-haired beauties too.  They're ideal for applying liquid products, as they aren't as absorbent as natural-haired brushes, and that will allow you a little more time to blend your product.  A top tip from Daniel is actually to apply a tiny dot of moisturiser to the back of your hand then run the bristles of this brush through it before adding a drop of the water colour blush to the bristles and this will also allow you a little more time to blend the products.  I do this when I use this brush, and it really works!  You must, of course, ensure you wash the brush thoroughly after doing this technique though.

The synthetic bristles of this brush also allow for a practically flawless application of any cream blushers too.  It cleans up a treat as well, with no shedding or dye loss.  Cost: £15.35

Base:

I'll be honest, I don't use a brush to apply my base very often (I prefer to use my fingers), but this is a good example of a base brush, as it's very thick, and this means you have more bristles to spread your foundation or tinted moisturiser with.  I do prefer it to the similar brush I have from MAC, as it has a thicker bed of bristles.  If you like a flat base brush, you could do worse than this one.  Cost: £20.45 

Bronzer/Blush brush:

This is a lovely soft and dense synthetic-haired brush, which makes applying powder a breeze.  The bristles pick up about the right amount of product (you may need to tap off any excess if you're using a loose powder) to swish over your face.  The bristles are flexible enough to cope with harder pressed powders too - although it was defeated by a Top Shop bronzing blush the other day, but I won't hold that against it!  At a cost of £25.55, it's more than comparable with the MAC powder brush which is a lot more expensive, and that one is long-handled, so I was always going to prefer this one.

So there you have it, a small selection of Daniel Sandler brushes.  You can tell a fair amount of thought has gone into the creation of this range (the shorter handles, the variety of materials to suit the task, etc), and they're really nice to use.

Who makes your favourite brushes?

The Fine Print: The brushes were a gift, which doesn't affect my opinion.  As always links are for informational purposes only, I get no financial recompense for reviews.

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