Honeymoon Makeup Bag

I didn't want to take a huge amount of products with me to Paris last week, so broke out a tiny sampling of tried and trusted favourites, and new bits that needed a good testing, and made do with one - ONE! - lipstick whilst I was there.  I figured, hey, it's Paris, there's a Sephora on the doorstep if it all goes wrong!

Luckily,  it didn't.  Here's what I took:

Clockwise from bottom left:
DJV Beautenizer Volume Lash Mascara: I get mine from Cult Beauty, it's simply the best tubing mascara I've used.  I love it.  I occasionally use it in conjunction with the same company's Fibrewig mascara which is better for lengthening, and hey, I get to sing Fibrewig to the Spiderpig theme for the rest of the day...

Clinique Chubby Stick for Eyes in LotsO' Latte and Fuller Fudge:  Both taupe-ish shades, though Fuller fudge has a touch more orange/copper in the mix.  These are simple, and easy to use, and are very silky to apply without dragging.  They take a bit of building up though, and I discovered that they do need a primer underneath or they crease and fade quite badly (albeit slowly).  I like them, but I don't love them, to be honest, I think I'd like them more if they were slightly more pigmented, and (ironically) a bit thinner.  I may try some of the less neutral shades and see how I like those.  

Daylight

Flash

Chantecaille Just Skin Tinted Moisturiser in Glow: I love this.  I need a back up.  It's nourishing and gives good buildable courage with just a hint of a sheen.  It makes my skin look amazing.  I need a back up (possibly in a slightly lighter shade), did I mention that?

Illamasqua Liquid Liner in Abyss: My holy grail liquid liner.  This one is nearly dead after almost two years of almost-daily usage.  I need a replacement.

Green People Mineral Powder Blush in Peach (with Louise Young blusher brush): This is a delightfully soft blusher that gives you a slight glow without shimmer.  Very natural looking, and not too much on the orange side.

  
And finally: Givenchy Le Rouge in Carmin Escarpin: I'm a shallow so-and-so, and, I have to admit, that I mainly packed this because it's an extremely stylish lipstick, clad in chrome and leather, and, well ... Givenchy were kind enough to send me a sample that had been engraved with my name:

Who can resist such luxury?  Luckily for Givenchy (and the Lippie mush), the formula is a winner too.  Lightweight and matte, with great slip, it's a fabulous red lipstick, which felt perfectly at home in Paris! Lasting time is about average for such a bright colour, but reapplying is no real hardship, let's face it!

There we have it, seven products and a brush.  What would you take on holiday with you?
 
The Fine Print: Mixture of PR Samples, purchases and re-purchases, with more re-purchases to come.

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Competition time!

Just cos I'm on my (mini) honeymoon doesn't mean I'm not thinking of you guys!  Over on my Facebook page (I have one you know) there's a caption competition running, where you can win a bag of goodies fresh from Paris! 

Pop on over, hit the like button and say something funny, you never know what you might win ... (handy hint, I'm going to be spending a LOT of time in Sephora)

See you on Sunday! 

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#LippieWedding!

Photo by Priya Sonn (stunned-mullet faces, all our own work)

Well, the wedding was on Saturday, and, we had the best day. Seriously, the loveliest, funniest day ever. We were blessed with great weather, good friends, and getting to share our day with the people we love was an amazing experience!  And there was cake.  LOTS of cake!

Photo by Helen Burnham

There is no real post today, or this week really (I'll be back on a regular posting schedule next week) but I wanted to share a couple of our pictures with you and say a heartfelt thanks to some of the people who helped make yesterday so special:

In no particular order:

MakeUpByKaty who did brilliant makeup, and was wonderful company in the hours before the ceremony
Naomi at Neville Salon who does the best blow dries I've ever had.  EVER.  (full review soon!)
Helen & Caroline for sorting out the hen party, and allowing me not to ever worry about it.
Amy at The Beauty Slice for dragging herself out of her sickbed and making my family look wonderful.
Lovely's Vintage Emporium, where we found the most beautiful vintage wedding jewellery
Fushigi Shop, who designed, and made the beautiful gifts for the wedding party
Jack Howard for being best colourist ever, and a really good friend too.
Sheenie, who made the cupcakes, and Jane who made the wedding cake, all of which were so good people were having seconds (and thirds!)
There's also Sheonaidh, who is one of the best friends a girl ever had.  Especially to a bad-tempered unreliable midget  like myself. Thank you for being with me during the collywobbles.
Of course, big thanks to Priya Sonn for being a fun and wonderful wedding photographer. Looking forward to seeing the rest of the official shots!
There's also our friends and our families, too numerous to mention individually, who all came together on Saturday and made it such a warm, fun and friendly day.  You guys rock, and we're lucky to know all of you! 

Photo by Selena Peters

 

 

And finally, to my husband, who has my heart, is in my soul, is my partner-in-crime, and is always my best friend, even when I don't deserve it.  Being the partner of a dedicated beauty blogger isn't an easy thing, but, Matthew, thank you for always letting me have the run of the cupboard space. I love you.
 
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Wedding Prep - Nails (Featuring Nailtiques and Estee Lauder)

 
Getting married makes you paranoid about the oddest things - zits, blotches, weight, hair, and  ... nails.  My nails are weak, peely and friable in their natural state, and hands are so important in a wedding (the rings!) that I'm spending this last few days before the ceremony in a tizz about breaking one of them.

Actually, I'm in a tizz about a lot of things, but breaking a nail, stupid though it may sound, is definitely one of them! I think my nails are looking pretty good at the moment, and that is largely down to one product, this:

 I've been using it for around 18 months now, and it makes my soft, peely, (and really flipping annoying) nails hard as ... well, nails, really!   I don't, however, use it like it says in the instructions, (which are to use a layer every other day, and not with polish), but I do use it as a basecoat for my painted nails. A layer of this, a layer of Orly Bonder, and only then am I ready to get painting with a colour.  I've had my bottle so long now, though, that I can't actually remember where I got it from, yes, I'm still on that first bottle!  I remember wincing at the price, too, but it's worth every single penny.

It's made a world of difference to my nails, they peel a lot less, and they're strong and hard. I just can't imagine ever being without a bottle. I just have to not break a nail now till after Saturday ...

Oh, the polish in the top picture, which I love, is Insatiable by Estee Lauder.  A dirty lavender, which is a great alternative to all the "pretty" pastels appearing on counters at the moment.  It's limited edition, and on counters now, so go snap one up. God, I hate pastels ...
 

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Latest Basenotes Article!

 No real post today, but if you're missing my witterings, you can read my latest piece for Basenotes here.  It's a groundbreaking expose of  .... oh, who am I kidding?  I spent a week wearing perfumes from the pound shop, and, basically, it ends with me making death threats whilst fantasising about wet kippers and washing powder.  Kind of.  Go read it!

The Fine Print: I did not pay myself to feature this link to myself. 

Also, please tell me I'm not the only one who can see ... that ... thing in the illustration.

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Sleeping with Snor-Ring

This post might possibly veer into the Too Much Information-zone, featuring, as it does, talk of sleeping habits and routines.  Oh, and it's a MrLippie post, too.  Get Lippie advises readers of a nervous disposition to look away now ...

*****

Allegedly, I snore. [No "allegedly" about it - Ed] I am still not entirely convinced that I do, but the phrase "you sound like a Brazilian logging camp" has been used in my vicinity, more than once,and sometimes by people who weren't even in the same room overnight! So, when a package arrived and had Get Lippie beaming with excitement as she handed it to me saying "This is for YOU!", my reaction was perhaps not the most enthusiastic. I would even go so far to say that I rolled my eyes. [He did.  A lot - Ed]

Added to being unconvinced about my snoring in the first place, I have a fairly lukewarm response to an awful lot of alternative therapy. I have a healthy dose of scepticism, alongside an aversion to trying new things, and the fact that this had been sprung on me without knowledge or consent [Diddums - Ed], the likelihood of this ring being tried out - for any period of time - was a touch  on the low side. However, my long-suffering other half has been spending a significant amount of money on earplugs throughout our relationship, and, as she points out, the wedding wouldn't be going ahead if she hadn't [DAMN right! Ed] so, I sighed, looked at the ring, and resigned myself to wearing it for a few nights.

Now, the whole thing of wearing jewellery to bed feels odd. Wearing a ring on your little finger that is designed to hit a couple of accupressure points (which will apparently minimise your snoring) is DEFINITELY odd. Still, I went for it. I had to make a concious effort to put it on, as changing your bedroom routine is never the easiest thing to do, and I slowly drifted off, trying to ignore the nagging sensation of the ring on my finger. Obviously, I am at pains NOT to make any Hobbit/Lord of the Rings jokes, as I suspect I will be banned from the blog forever [tempting - Ed], but it's getting quite hard difficult. 

Anyhow! I slept. Then I woke up. Some would say this is not entirely good news, but I shall ignore them. Upon asking a relatively trustworthy witness [Me! - Ed], it transpired that my snoring had indeed gone down by a fairly hefty factor. Hmm. Did it work? Seems so! Fast forward to the next night, again, the ring goes on, and I doze off.  Then wake up. So, how was my snoring? Quieter. Definitely quieter. 

Interesting. Onto night number 3 it is then. Lights out, ring on, cold side of the pillow, unconciousness. Lower volume. Okay, 3 nights in a row is good enough for me, I think. I've continued wearing it, and I have to say, regardless of whether it's a psychological association or the fact that pressure points genuinely work, the affect has been quite remarkable. Basically, I snore less - it does what it says on the tin! 

*****

So there you have it.  I did notice, however, that a couple of weeks after this review was written, the ring was "lost" in a tragic "forgotten where I've put it" incident.  I give up.

If you suffer from a delusional snorer in your life, you could do worse than picking them up a Snor-Ring from an independent chemist, a Wholefoods store, or you can buy them online from http://www.snor-ring.com/index.php where the sterling silver version will cost you £29.95.  We have no idea how it works, but it definitely does appear to.

If, however, your delusional snorer is a delicate little flower who is likely to refuse an unexpected gift of jewellery, then you can buy ear-plugs from SnoreStore, which is probably my favourite website in the entire world ... tell them I sent you!


The Fine Print: The Snor-Ring was a press sample, however, I've been a paying customer of SnoreStore for years. It's safe to say there wouldn't have been a relationship (much less a wedding) without them.

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Wedding Preparation - My Current Skincare Regime

Spending a lot of time worrying about a) my skin, b) breaking my nails, and c) my wedding perfume at the moment.  The wedding is eleven days away now (seriously, where the hell has the year since we got engaged gone?), and I thought I'd share some of my routines with you. Nails and perfume will come later, but for today, I'm focusing on skincare.

All I want on the day is clear, soft, glowing skin, no spots, no irritated reddened patches, and no rashes.  So, alongside some cast-iron tried and trusted favourites that can't be beaten, and that I know give results without irritation, I've taken a few actives out of my routine, and swapped them for gentler formulations.  Above you can see my AM and PM routine, which I'll take you through product by product:

Aromatherapy Associates Soothing Cleansing Balm:  My skin can get a little irritated when there are too many essential oils in  my routine, but this is an absolute delight to use, not too scented, it has excellent slip, and I do indeed find it very soothing.  I use this as my PM cleanser, as a tiny pea-sized dollop from the tube (and how much do I love that it has a tube dispenser?  A LOT, is the answer) allows me to both get rid of even the most heavy-duty makeup, and give myself a good facial massage at the same time.  My skin is left calm and glowing after I use this, with no redness.  Result!

Elemental Herbology Delicate Cleanse: I use this gently rose-scented cleansing milk in the mornings, alongside one of my beloved Washi Cloths. It's gentle, and not too bracing, which is just what you want in the mornings.  Unlike many cream-cleansers,  I don't find this drying in the least, and when I want a less-oily cleanse these days, this is the cleanser I increasingly reach for.

Clarins Gentle Exfoliator: I am of the age where I do need some actives in my routine, but at the moment, I am a bit scared of over-stimulating my skin, which can lead to increased redness, and scaly patches when I've overdone something in my routine.  The Clarins Gentle Exfoliator contains glycolic acid, an ingredient I love, but find extremely easy to overdose on, particularly when using it in products containing a higher amount of the acid.  Lactic, and malic acids actually suit my skin better, but this watery fluid has "buffered" the glycolic with other ingredients such as glycerin, which means you still get a light exfoliation effect, but without any drying. I find it suits my crazy-sensitive skin very well, and is non-irritating. I use this every morning, and then immediately follow it with a spray of

Balance Me Skin Bright Hydrating Face Mist: Chock-full of hyaluronic acid, this gently-scented spray soothes away any tingles left behind by the exfoliating toner, and gives my skin an immediate hydration boost.  It's nice to use during the day too, and makes an excellent setting spray for makeup, owing to the, quite frankly, excellent spray nozzle which sprays s l o w l y over a wide area, meaning it's not a rude awakening to spray yourself in the face!  I use this both AM and PM.

Darphin Camomile Oil: I'm very rarely without a bottle of this. For my reddened and easily sensitised skin, it is a super-healing miracle in a bottle.  I use it as a serum both night and day, no matter what other products I'm wearing, and I find it healing, soothing, and also moisturising.  This is a great choice of oil for anyone with troubled skin, and I recommend it to people left, right and centre. This is my third bottle, and I find a bottle lasts for at least a year (I tend to only use it once a day in summer), so, whilst initially spendy, on a cost per wear basis, it's cheap as chips.  I have a backup too, from Decleor, as I tend to flip-flop between the two brands for my essential oil requirements.

Kate Somerville Goat Milk Cream: This turns up  in every skincare routine I do.  Why? It works.  This is my fourth jar, and I am madder than a wet hen that Kate Somerville has been withdrawn from the UK.  Once this jar goes though, I've sworn to try something else, any suggestions?  I have my eye on the "Gentle" range from Clarins at the moment, but I'm open to ideas!

And because wedding preparation isn't limited to merely the bride, here's some products I've forced suggested MrLippie starts to use too:

 
Here we have Facial Radiance Pads from First Aid Beauty, which are great acidic pads (mixture of gycolic and lactic, with lemon and licorice too) perfect for his slightly troubled yet less sensitive skin than mine, which is helping to both even out his skintone and deal with his (occasional) breakouts gently, and Melvita Argan Oil, as his moisturiser after peeling, which again is perfect for his less sensitive skin, and also comes in a nice big bottle which favours his rather heavy-handed application style! 

Hopefully we'll both be glowing on the big day!
        
The Fine Print: Mixture of purchases and samples.

This post:Wedding Preparation - My Current Skincare Regime originated at: Get Lippie on 6th February 2013 at 6am GMT.  All rights reserved. If you are not reading this post at Get Lippie, then this content has been stolen by a scraper