Raspberry Pie, Red Velvet and Backstage by Revlon

I *may* have done a little lipstick shopping last week ... I've had the Red Velvet Lip Butter from Revlon for a while now, and I really like the texture and opacity, so I thought I'd splash out on Raspberry Pie too.  Then, well, a hand swatch showed backstage was the exact same shade as the handbag I was carrying so, well, you know ... anyhoo, let's take a closer look:

The Lip Butter phenomenon completely passed me by then they first launched, being a rather under-pigmented (to me) collection of pale shades, I dismissed them as little better than lip balms.  When they launched a few darker shades recently, I was intrigued.  Raspberry Pie and Red Velvet are  bpth glossy and moisturising, and are pigmented enough to cover up my rather unevenly pigmented lips:

The lasting power isn't the greatest, but they're more than adequate given the price (and they're practically permanently on 3-4-2  in either Boots or Superdrug these days), and I really like both of these shades.  Well, I like all of them, really.

Raspberry Pie is a cool, bright blue-based pink.  In the bullet there's a hint of blue micro-sparkle but that's not visible on the lips.  Red Velvet is a lightly browned red, on my lips, it's a rather neutral shade, perfect for every day.  Backstage is a cool burgundy that dries to a matte-velvet finish.

It is, quite frankly, terrifying in the tube, but on the lips, it's a bright and pretty shade, with great lasting power.  I do find my lips need to be in absolute tip-top condition before using the Ultimate Suedes, as they can be a bit drying if you've not prepped your lips with balm beforehand.

  For me, this is a great collection of nice, everyday, easy-to-wear shades.  What say you?

The Fine Print: Red Velvet was a press sample, but the other two were purchases.

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Selena Gomez Collection from Nicole by OPI

I don't even know who Selena Gomez is, aside from some kind of Disney poppet, so I have no idea what I was expecting from this collection.  Certainly what I was expecting was a collection of uber-brights!

From left to right here we have: Love Song, Spring Break, Pretty in Plum and Hit The Lights. 

Love Song is a saturated lilac with a white-ish base.  Spring Break is a pretty cool bright pink.  Pretty in Plum is a shimmering royal purple (not quite enough red in the formula to be a real plum-shade), and Hit the Lights is YELLOW.

The colours are rich, glossy and deeply saturated with pigment, and whilst I'll realistically only wear the pink and plum shades from this collection, I was surprised at how much I like the colours! 

So, um yeah.  Selena Who? 


The Fine Print: PR Samples.

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Sally Hansen Autumn Collections

This collection doesn't scream autumn to me, but it's an unusual collection of lovely shades and some fashionably "ugly" shades ...  It's actually a couple of collaborations in conjunction with several fashion designers, but, as I am a bad, bad, blogger, I have to admit that I care more about the colours than the designers involved.  I am so NOT fashion, dahlinks.

 From left to right we have 
Stocking Nude
Coat of Arms
Loden Green
New Wave Blue and 
Night Watch 

Stocking Nude is a lightly greyed pink.  Coat of Arms is a platinum with slight hints of gold, Loden Green is a deeply browned khaki, New Wave Blue is a gorgeous blue with a greenish tinge, and Night Watch is a medium navy, which isn't quite dark enough to appear black on the nail.

The Sally Hansen Salon Manicure is said to have a lot of nail benefits (currently my nails are far too raggedy for public display, hence the nail wheels), has anyone tried these formulas?

Any of the shades catch your eye? I'm thinking New Wave Blue might make a great holiday pedicure ...

The Fine Print: PR Samples.

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Comparison: Black Sugar by Tom Ford, Sulfurous by Guerlain and Facet by Illamasqua

I was picking out my favourite polishes for autumn, and when I had  made my list, I realised that Black Sugar by Tom Ford, Sulfurous by Guerlain, and Illamasqua's Facet are quite similar, so I thought a comparison might be in order. 

When I got the bottles together, I realised that they were quite different, but possibly not *that* different.  

First up, Bottle impressions:

Tom Ford Black Sugar.  This is a browned-taupe, with a quite beautiful red shimmer visible in the bottle which is almost impossible to photograph, in my experience.  Not the end of the world though, as it's impossible to see on the nail too, as it turns out.
Guerlain's Sulfurous is more of a shimmering charcoal in comparison to the other two, and is much, much darker than either. 
Illamasqua's Facet is a softened medium dove-grey, enlivened with lots and lots of bronze shimmer.

On the nails:

Black Sugar has the thinnest formula and is a little prone to dragging.  This isn't helped by the super-long brush handle, which is required because of the super-tall bottle.  If you're a cack-handed muppet like myself, it's the least easy polish to apply in the bunch.  That said though, the Tom Ford nail polish formula is a good one, and the shades tend to wear very well indeed.  It's a nice, slightly flat, browned taupe on the nails, a cooler version of Chanel's Particuliere, in fact, and none the worse for that. It dries a little darker than it appears in the bottle.

I've reviewed Guerlain Sulfurous before, and it's clear I really like the deeply complex shimmering charcoal of it.  I notice in macro-mode, however, that it's a little brush-strokey, but this isn't visible in real life.  It has a wide brush which makes application easier. 

Facet by Illamasqua is an unusual colour on the nail, being not quite grey, and not quite bronze, whilst appearing also not quite khaki too. Whilst it lacks some of the complexity, and (in my eyes) beauty of Sulfurous, it has its own unique loveliness, which I really like.  The brush is a standard round brush, and the formulation is a little thinner than the Guerlain, but spreads really nicely over the nail.  Illamasqua polishes also tend to be extremely hard wearing.

So, all very similar, and all rather different too.  Personally, if I could only have one, it'd be Sulfurous by Guerlain, but the other two are very beautiful too.  Which would be your choice? 

The Fine Print: PR Samples.

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Silent Sunday ...

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Win an entire year's supply of Alpha H Liquid Gold!

Anyone who's read my blog for any length of time knows I'm a big fan of the Alpha H brand, Michelle, the brand owner, is a wonderful woman who I admire greatly, and I'm always aware that the products in the range are ones that have her own personal seal of approval, Michelle knows great skincare*!  They get my seal of approval too, so when Alpha H asked me if I'd like to give away a year's supply of their cult (and hero) product, Liquid Gold, I leapt at the chance!

Featuring ingredients such as glycolic acid and licorice, Liquid Gold is an overnight treatment with a slight difference.  It looks and feels like a toner, but will exfoliate and smooth your skin a treat - there's nothing quite like the Alpha H tingle before bed! Oh, and you don't need a separate night cream, either, so so faffing.  I love waking up to skin you can really tell has had a difference made to it overnight! 

QVC like it so much that they've made Liquid Gold their product of the month, and to celebrate, there's a special "supersize" 200ml edition available at the bargain price of £37!  ml for ml, this would normally cost £63, so this is a heck of a saving, if you ask me.  Which you didn't, but keep reading anyway.

However, you could win an entire year's supply, for free, simply by answering this simple question in the comments on this post:

"Other than Glycolic Acid name the key ingredient in Liquid Gold, known for it’s calming and anti-inflammatory properties, that could be mistaken for a traditional confectionery sweet?"

Please leave your answer, your name, and an email address you can be contacted on in the comments on this post before 8pm on Friday 30th August. 

If you're not lucky enough to win, you can pick up your own supersize bottle of Liquid Gold here, but be quick, as the offer ends as soon as the month does!  Good luck!

Winners will be drawn at random by an independent party on 30th August, and the prize will be delivered by a third party.  Editor's decision is final, and no correspondence will be entered into.  Email addresses will not be used for any purpose other than to contact the competition winner, and will be removed from the post as soon as the draw is made.

* She also knows origami, but I've been told not to mention that in this post, so just forget you read this, okay?

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Aesop Shine Oil

I've been styling my hair curly recently, and I've found that it always tends to lead to dryness at the ends.  Luckily, this turned up recently, and I'm a little bit in love with it.

It's an extremely lightweight oil, that spreads easily in the hair - you just need two or three drops which you spread over your palms, then smooth lightly through the mid-lengths and ends of your hair.  It doesn't build up, and - best of all - it doesn't contain silicones.  Far, far, far too many hair "oils" on the market are basically cocktails of silicones with just the scantest addition of argan oil or something, it drives me crazy, as some silicones can build up and actually make the condition of your hair worse.  Not to mention that a lot of them can be heavy and lead to greasiness if you overapply, as what they're actually doing is forming a coating on the outer layer of your hair (therefore making it look smoother, and shinier), rather than being absorbed by it and conditioning your hair from the inside.

Ironically, actual oils are less greasy!  Counter-intuitive, I know. But if you just use a couple of drops, your hair should absorb the oil, and make it less dry or brittle from the inside.  And I do mean DROPS, btw, if you need more just add it drop by drop until you feel like your hair has softened up.  When I style my hair straight, two drops is enough, but when I've had it curly for a day or two, then three or four would be more in order.

You can also use a full pipette (or two), as a pre-wash conditioning treatment.  The oil is chock full of conditioning ingredients such as borage, sweet almond, olive and jojoba oils, and smells lovely, herbal, and somehow fresh at the same time.  You can leave the oil on overnight, or just an hour or two before washing it out.  Whilst it hasn't cured my dry hair problems overnight, (I need a protein treatment or two, I think), it sure has made it less of an issue.

Aesop Shine hair oil will be available from Aesop very soon.

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