Pleasure & Purpose With Aesop & Odette Toilette

By Luke

I have been meaning for a long time to write about Aesop.  I remember Aesop from eons ago when the only place you could buy it was in Space.NK. It looked very smart and sort of clinical in its modest and understated medical grade brown glass jars and metal tubes. It was always a bit of a favourite - sceptical and unwilling as I am most of the time to use any skin care that claims to be ‘natural’ - and has few of the ingredients in them that I know work. That said, there is no getting away from the fact that Aesop products do work, and are an absolute joy to use, not least because of their scent. 

Aesop then made like £10 Poms and disappeared back its native Australia for a little while. However, without me noticing until recently it has sprung up again in the UK in various locations in the form of the most beautiful boutiques and in selected department stores. It has several locations throughout London now, and each has a very distinct, and gorgeous character of their own.

We were invited along to the boutique in Covent Garden for a bit of an olfactory treat under the tutelage of scent expert Odette Toilette. Pleasure and Purpose was the title of the event, summing up the entire Aesop line rather well, so I was intrigued as to what exactly we would be doing and shuffled along. The store itself is an absolute haven of a space. The familiar brown glass is littered along the walls, and in amongst those were gorgeous seasonal blooms. It’s airy, clean and very, very cool looking, both figuratively, and literally. 

We were guided downstairs to a makeshift classroom and were each given a ‘workbook’ for our efforts, and several exercises were undertaken with the presentation of particular oils on a blotter. Rather than guess which oil we were smelling from the scent alone, we were asked in several different ways to demonstrate how a scent made us feel, or what colours it reminded us of, or how it made us feel, or if we felt it had a masculine or feminine quality to it. This was designed specifically to make you think differently about what you were smelling, and find out more about the emotional response you can have to a smell, without any preconceived notion about the scents from the names alone. Some of the oils were beautifully scented, and others … decidedly less so. 

Of course, all the oils that were presented to us were key ingredients within some of the Aesop range. Smelling them in their raw state, they were either extremely unusual, possibly even unpleasant at times, and some were very familiar, but you weren’t able to put your finger on exactly where you had experienced it before. One exercise saw us taking coloured pencils and using only the medium of the crayon, describe in colour and texture how the scent was, which was a genius way of thinking about something very differently.

One of the hero oils that lace the Aesop range is parsley seed oil, which on its own smells rather like slightly ripe food that’s been in the sun a little too long, or, if you're Get Lippie herself: vomit. Parsley seed of course is present in an entire line of its own at Aesop, and it is extremely high in antioxidants. The Parsley Seed Cleanser is easily one of the best smelling products in the line, despite the relative stench of the pure oil, it's masked by other ingredients, and the cleanser is a joy to use as a result.

There was also violet leaf, found in the really very smooth and gorgeous smelling Hair Balm, which is particularly good for hair that has a tendency to go a bit wild for no reason and is on the fried side of normal. And there was pure geranium oil, which is in the Geranium Leaf Body Scrub, which has natural bamboo stem to exfoliate and absolutely gorgeous rose like scent.

I ended up taking a mouthwash home with me. Clove oil was the main scent here, alongside extract of spearmint. It comes in a rather grand looking, and ENORMOUS bottle complete with a tiny little glass flask (which I broke immediately on getting home) and it now takes its place rather grandly on my bathroom shelf. 

Welcome back Aesop. Welcome back.

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The Reluctant Lippie. Part Two: Pinks

  

By Laurin

A few of the more pressing topics that have been on my mind this week include:  

1. Why do my jeans smell like barnyard dust even though I washed them two days ago?
2. Have my knickers been on inside-out all day? (Turns out yes, yes they have.)
3. Oh hey, is that the guy I dated briefly last year who was in the open relationship and his girlfriend had a girlfriend? (Turns out no, because that guy over there is weirdly sweaty and has a  strange mole on the side of his  face, but I didn't realise that until AFTER I smiled and waved, so maybe quick exit.)
4. Why  do  we  call  pink  lipsticks  pink  instead  of  nude,  because  I'm  pretty  sure  my  lips ARE actually pink when they're nude, AMIRITE?

Above: Clinique All Heart, Kate Moss 05, Tom Ford Incorrigible, NARS Schiap

I  still  have  no  answer  for  the  last  one.  As  it  turns  out,  in  the  absence  of  a  colour  wheel  or some hot, hot SCIENCE, we call them pink and not nude BECAUSE WE JUST DO. Also, it turns out that I don't much care. Really though, pink probably should  have been my first stop on my  lipstick  tour:  it  was  the  first  colour  I  played with  as  a  little  girl  from  my  grandmother's make-up bag, and  it's much easier to  find a  pretty, flattering shade without  risking looking like a zombie. Belatedly, then, here are a few I like.

Clinique All Heart Long Last Lipstick, £17 at Debenhams Studio 10 Age Reverse Perfecting Lipliner, £22 at http://www.studio10beauty.com

I've had a soft spot for Clinique gift with purchase lipsticks ever since I won one in a game of bingo at a nursing home when I was ten (the other prizes were socks or bath salts). My prize lipstick  felt  fancy  then,  and  it  still  does  a  tiny bit  today.  All  Heart  is  a  slightly  plummy  pink warmed up with barely-there gold sparkle that makes it perfect for adding a bit of oomph to a  neutral  make-up  look.  I’m  wearing  it  with  Studio 10  in  the  picture,  but  it  applies  just  as well from the tube in a hurry, and indeed, on the Tube in a hurry. The texture feels creamy and nourishing, and it lasts through at least three cups of tea before lunch. HOUSE!   

Kate Moss for Rimmel 05, £5.49 at Superdrug

Anyone who refuses to shop for cosmetics and perfume on the high street out of misplaced snobbery is denying themselves a serious small pleasure. Cheap makeup is the business, and it's hard to beat the thrill of chucking a bright lipstick in the basket with your shampoo and hand cream. This is a girly (but not sugary) pink that I can imagine your Girl Next Door would wear  on  prom  night.  It  looks  great  with  flushed  cheeks  and  a  hint  of  mascara.  Also:  IT SMELLS OF CHERRIES. What could be more joyful?

  Tom Ford Incorrigible, £34 at Selfridges  Halfway  between  a  full  on  lipstick  and  a  gloss,  so somewhat  naughty  of  Tom  Ford  to demand the full whack of £34. On the other hand, this sheer fuchsia veil with just a dusting of warm golden  sparkle is perfect bridge between the "My Lips But Better" milkmaid  pinks and the full-on BRING IT bright end of the spectrum. Unlike a fuller-coverage bright lipstick, this is easy to apply without a lipliner and a brush, and as a result it’s barely left my handbag since I bought it.   

 NARS Schiap, £19.50 at Space NK  I had a consultation with Sali Hughes last month and she sold me on it as the perfect "fuck you" lipstick. "It suits no one," she assured me. The name of this full-coverage, satin finish lipstick references the legendary fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli, who used shocking pink as one of her signature colours. It does not suit me. It will not suit you. But you should buy it (and a good lipbrush – colour like this demands precision application) anyway. I wore it last week  with  a  flowing  black  skirt  and  Jovoy’s Psychédélique,  a  fragrance  so  patchouli-heavy that  my  friend  Angelica  once  described  it  as  “like being  trapped  in  a  phonebox  with  a hippie.” None  of these things suit me, and I spent most of the day  feeling as though I was having an out-of-body experience. Unless you are one of those rare souls who knows exactly who  they  are,  I  believe  we  all  have  something  to  gain  by  trying  on  (as  it  were)  different identities, discarding the parts that don’t feel right and incorporating the ones that do into our  own  personal  patchwork.  I  will  never  feel  comfortable  with  wearing  neon  pink  lipstick every day, but on days when I have a bone to pick with the world, I will wear it with Bvlgari Black and sneer. I will take no prisoners.    The fine print: Purchases and PR samples.

  

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Caudalie Polyphenol C15 Skincare

 

 

By Luke

It is with some irony that I write this with one mother of a hangover. Despite the warnings, I am partial to a glass or five of wine, and hang the consequences. So, imagine my delight when I read the press information for the new skincare range from super affordable (and rather excellent) skincare brand Caudalie on how damaging the effects of everyday living - and that includes alcohol consumption – are to ones face. It is especially ironic as Caudalie have based pretty much their entire ethos on the benefits of the antioxidant polyphenol from the grape seed. Clearly our priorities with regards to the use of the grape are at some odds here. 

Notwithstanding that (and my imminent vow to never drink again) I am pleased to tell you about the new skincare line Caudalie have added to their ranks, Polyphenol C15. As mentioned earlier, Caudalie use Polyphenol in a stabilized form derived from grape seed. Polyphenol, as you may well be wondering about it, is one of the most powerful antioxidant ingredients from the plant world. Allegedly about 70% of ageing is the result of free radical action on the skin, a result of all sorts of things like a hectic lifestyle, alcohol, smoking and sunshine, polyphenol can a pretty useful tool in the arsenal against ageing. Up to now they have used the antioxidant ingredient on its own, but have just developed a vitamin C complex that is stable enough to mix with hyaluronic acid.

Vitamin C is typically a fragile ingredient, and is notoriously difficult to get it to remain active in a pot of cream. Often vitamin c products are presented in a slightly unusual way, with a separate powder, or capsule of the ingredient. Because, once exposed to the environment, once it is out there it breaks down very quickly, and becomes ineffective. The benefits of vitamin c on the skin are numerous, and these include a brightening quality, and an ability to fight oxidisation, which is a main culprit in the skin ageing process. So trying to keep the little sucker alive long enough to be effective in a face cream has always been a bit of a challenge. Caudalie are now claiming to have cracked that.

There are three products in the range: Anti Wrinkle Defence Serum, Day Fluid, and an Eye Cream. I have been using these for a good few weeks now, and am happy to say they are all really good, and actually seem to have made a visible difference to my skin. 

I love the serum in particular, as it’s just heavy enough to nourish my dry skin. It smells great as well, as you’d expect from most Caudalie products, but this time it is not the traditional Fleur du Vin scent, but it has more of a cucumber-y sort of minty smell. It does a good job of providing a certain amount of ‘plumping’, but mainly it seemed to add a clarity to my skin that wasn’t there before. Redness has died down, and my skin looks a little more even. Perhaps it was counteracting the effects of alcohol, I don’t know. What’s more, it is a very acceptable £35.

The Anti Wrinkle Protect Fluid is also an excellent moisturiser, for £29. I have said many times before, that I am extremely fussy when it comes to moisturiser as I have very dry skin, and I was sceptical about a fluid texture. Normally, anything on the ‘oil free’ end of the market is not nearly nourishing enough for me, but this was actually pleasantly surprising in its moisturisation qualities. Perhaps it was with the benefit of the serum underneath that made it this way, but nonetheless, it did seem to do the job, and with a broad spectrum (UVA and UVB) SPF of 20 to stave off any potential environmental damage (as well as the aforementioned Vitamin c and Polyphenol) it was a real pleasure to use.

Finally, the Anti Wrinkle Eye & Lip Cream, which is £26. I am not a fan of eye cream per se, as to be perfectly honest (and borderline boastful), I don’t have dark circles, even with a hangover – sorry about that! – and wrinkles around my eyes are not really a concern of mine. As such, I tend not to use one, unless I am suffering from dry eye in which case I will grab whatever is nearest to try and rectify this.

Despite that, this was a nice eye cream. It is not earthshakingly amazing, but then eye creams rarely are in my opinion. It was light, and disappeared easily, has no fragrance and it didn’t sting my eyes, so it was a thumbs up from me. The added bonus of being to use it around the lip area as well, an often neglected area of visible ageing, was a coup. It also contains the latest wonder ingredient Matrixyl 3000 which apparently boosts collagen synthesis. I couldn’t really see any difference in my eyes to be honest, but then as I said, what’s to notice. Definitely worth investing in if you like the rest of the range.

Overall, I am mightily impressed by this, not least from the price perspective. So if you are on the lookout for an accessible anti ageing range, you’d have look quite hard to find one as good as this in my opinion. 

Caudalie C15 is available from www.caudalie.co.uk and they also have a gorgeous brand new boutique on Monmouth Street in Covent Garden.

This post: Caudalie Polyphenol C15 originated at: Get Lippie All rights reserved. If you are not reading this post at Get Lippie, then this content has been stolen by a scraper

Colour Wow - Root Coverup.

By Get Lippie

Inside this rather unassuming little black monolith is one of the bestest, most amazingest, most belovedest products I discovered in 2013.  It would have been one of my products of the year (if not the product of the year) if I wasn't such an idiot.  Part of the reason it's taken so long to get this review together is because I have a hairdresser extraordinaire in Jack Howard, and, as such, I rarely suffer from grey roots.

For a cosmetic for covering up grey roots is what this is, and it's pretty bloody amazing at it.  I've been going grey since I was 18, and without the help of hair dye I'm pretty much a badger.  It's all stripy, I have grey temples, and a grey streak through the front, but most of the rest of my hair is as nature (and Jack Howard) intended.  Now, whilst I have the utmost envy and admiration for those who embrace their grey in full, as it can and frequently does look simply beautiful, I'm simply not ready yet to embrace my inner grey goddess.  I have enough trouble embracing both my inner accountant and control freaks, there's simply no room left for anything else in here ...

Er ... anyhoo ... Colour Wow is a root cover-up that comes in six shades (Light/medium and dark browns, black, and there are also two blonde shades: Blonde and Platinum), the one above is medium brown, and you can see it's had a lot of use.  As it's a powder, it's super easy to use,  you simply load up the brush with the powder, then paint it on to your grey hair, then presto!  No more roots till you wash your hair again!  For a cackhanded badgermuppet like myself, it's foolproof.

And here's the results.  First of all, the grey at my temples, in both normal daylight and with flash:

Pretty grody, huh?  Here's the same part of my hair after a 30 second application of Colour Wow:

Coverage isn't quite 100%, but this is because I've been using medium brown rather than dark, but I can live with that.  Best of all, it looks like hair.  It doesn't dull your roots like coloured dry shampoo can, it doesn't drop (it has a kind of static charge*, so it clings to your hair, not your scalp), and wonderfully, it doesn't leave your bathroom looking like an abattoir.  Also, it doesn't run in the rain, trust me, I've tried it ...

It's wonderful for extending the life of your most recent hair colour for a couple of weeks, and as such, it'll pay for itself over the course of a year.  Hair dye, even home hair dye, doesn't work out cheap over 12 months. If you use a home dye every six weeks over the course of a year that'll cost you around £90, but if you can move to using it every 8 weeks with this, that'll cost you £65 (assuming your dye costs around £10, that is), saving you around £25.   Colour Wow costs £28.50 from SpaceNK, so, in technical terms, this actually costs you £3.50 for a years worth of colouring-in.

The blonde powders are really quite something, as they'll actually cover up the dark roots and make them blend in with the rest of your blonde, which is rather astonishing when you think about it.  All the shades are pretty multi-dimensional, not just a flat matte shade, which makes them more realistic on your hair. I think the light brown would work well for redheads, even though there isn't a specific auburn cover-up, which is a shame) I find they last on me till the next wash (bear in mind, I don't wash my hair every day though), so this packet, which I've had for the best part of a year now, has lasted extremely well.  

Colour me (you see what I did there?) extremely impressed.  And better groomed as a result. 

Colour Wow.  Don't be an idiot like me, if you dye your hair, go out and get some now.  It's a fairly hefty initial investment, but if it stops you having to dye your hair as often, it's worth it, believe me.

So yeah, product of the year, 2013.  And still a front runner for 2014 too, now I come to think of it ...


* I am not a scientist.  I met one once though.

The Fine Print: PR Sample
 
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Nuxe Prodigieux le Parfum and Parfum Divin de Caudalie

 By Get Lippie

Those two great French skincare competitors, Nuxe and Caudalie, have both brought out perfume versions of their cult body oil products this summer, and I managed to get my hands on both so I could compare and contrast each of them.

Nuxe is probably the cult body oil product in the UK, and this summer, the iconic rectangular bottle has been re-issued with a cute limited edition design,  which I surprisingly rather like.  The perfume bottle is a flat oblong with a bronzed ombre effect over.  It looks rather staid in comparison to the limited edition bottle though, I think!  

The scent is warm, redolent of jasmine and sunshine, with a small hit of coconut. It actually has a rather sunscreen-y scent, instantly transporting you to a beach and the tropical cocktail of your choice.  On first spraying, it is intensely heady and rather strong-seeming, but this headiness wears off rather quickly, just leaving a floral-musk skin scent behind, which is rather nuzzly and lovely.  It's very discreet in wear, you're not going to offend any perfume-phobics in the office in this one.  

In comparison with the scent of the oil itself, it holds up very well indeed - on first sniff, they're practically identical - the oil has a more rounded profile, and because of the oil base it's less sharp-seeming than the parfum, which feels a little thinner than the original formulation.  That said the two are to all intents completely indistinguishable from each other.  Lasting power for the fragrance, even though it's a parfum formulation, is around 4-6 hours, but as it wears very close to the skin, sometimes you'll have to hunt for the scent whilst you're wearing it.  Nuxe Prodigieux le Parfum costs £43 for 50mls.

Packaging is, for me, a very important part of any product, and hands down the Caudalie bottles win this particular context.  Not only is the circular shape of the oil bottle easier to handle (I struggle with the flat rectangle of the Nuxe, owing to having very small hands, and the bottle is too wide for me to grip properly in use), but the metallic ombre effect on the Parfum Divin bottle is quite, quite lovely.  I also like the wooden lids, which add just a little extra touch of luxury and texture to the overall presentation.

Divine oil is just a couple of years old, but has spawned a couple of offshoot products already - a body scrub, and Divine Legs, which is a lightly tinted body moisturiser - and the perfume is a natural extension.  A lighter, fresher, fragrance than the Nuxe Prodigieux. In comparison, Parfum Divin has an almost cucumber-y ozonic scent, atop a base of blonde woods, cedar and white flowers.  I can catch a hint of jasmine here, but it's far less punchy than in the Nuxe. It dries down to a more woody skin-scent than the Nuxe, but they are both somewhat on the discreet side, and dry down to a gentle inoffensiveness.

Whilst less initially heady than the Nuxe fragrance, it's actually a slightly more sophisticated scent overall, being more redolent of a spa than a sunscreen,  but it does still manage to smell almost exactly like the original product, in the same way.  Again, the fragrance is a little sharper, and a little fresher than the oil, but this is down to the formulation, as an oil fragrance will always seem a little "fatter" to the nose, than an alcohol-based spray. The lasting power for both fragrances is about the same. Parfum Divin de Caudalie will be available for £39 for 50ml when it launches shortly.  There's a candle version of the fragrance too, which really, really, really needs to join my candle collection, tbh.

So, do you need both fragrances?  Probably not, to be honest.  Both the fragrances are wonderful companions to their respective oils, being respectful recreations of the originals, and they're both wonderful for layering over the oils for a little extra oomph (the oils will anchor the fragrances to your skin, making them last longer), but which one you prefer will depend on which oil you have a preference for.  I can't actually pick a winner - the Nuxe is a cult product for a reason, it smells great, and is instantly evocative, but, the Caudalie is sophisticated, and (for me) a better bottle.  Which one do you prefer?

The Fine Print: PR Samples.  But I'm ordering a candle, oh yes.  No, I am NOT obsessed.
 
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Beauty Project at Selfridges

By Tindara

If you’re into beauty and its associated pleasures it can’t have escaped your notice that Selfridges has something rather special going on at the moment. The Beauty Project started on the 1 May and continues till 12 June. I went along for a sneak preview on Thursday morning and not only are there plenty of new launches and limited editions; there are lots of interesting events planned; poetry workshops and advice from some of the most knowledgeable in the business, as well as serious debate and discussion. Subjects include aging, body image, self-esteem, sexual stereotyping, tattooing and body modification with the likes of two of my favourites, beauty guru Sali Hughes, and psychotherapist and campaigner Susie Orbach, as well as countless other big-hitters. 

 

There are also interesting collaborations with artists, Jo Malone are working with London studio collective Calm and Collected who are live screen-printing in store to decorate a suite of bottles. Their sketchbooks and inspiration boards are also on show and it’s great to see how their designs have developed. Acqua di Parma have also worked with artists to produce some beautiful limited edition hand painted lids for their Blu Mediterraneo collection. Bobbi Brown have launched Art Sticks with giant pencils about the place, and MAC have their full range displayed in giant lipstick storage too. I love a massive lipstick or eye pencil. Reminds me of my days as a window dresser in Boots. My office was full of giant lipsticks and enormous fake perfume bottles. Sigh.

For those of you against cosmetic surgery but interested in softening the signs of aging, Spa Junkie has recently unveiled her new venture, the Face Gym, which works on the premise of exercising the face in the same way that you would the body. There are also a couple of Fingers 2 Go manicure machines that paint nail art directly onto fingernails or stick on falsies then and there. There are hundreds of designs to choose from and you can even print a selfie or group friend shot onto your nails. I predict groups of teenage girls going mad for them.

In short, lot of fabulous new products and a fascinating series of events. I’ll be at ‘Sali Hughes: Beauty, Good Or Bad For Our Body Image?’ And may even do some shopping. Join me! Have a look at the programme and get down there

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Nikki Lissoni

  
By Get Lippie

We like a bit of bling here at Get Lippie, and Nikki Lissoni is a brand of mix and match jewellery that we were introduced to recently.  Now, anyone who knows the story of how I ended up with an accidental collection of FIVE engagement rings (chronicled here, and here) knows that I'm both a bit of a magpie, and that I am cursed with obsessive-compulsive collecting tendencies, so a new range of collectible jewellery?  Oh, I am SO in.

The Nikki Lissoni range is quite simple, it is essentially a collection of coins, which you use to accessorise a range of coin holders, either in necklaces, bracelets, or earrings.  All the coins come in silver, yellow and rose gold, as do the coin holders and chains.  So you can have a yellow-gold coin in a silver surround on a rose-gold chain if you wanted to, or go slightly more restrained with  a more monochrome look.  I am not generally known for my restraint, so I picked a silver chain with a silver coin and a rose gold surround.

The lockets open a bit like a pocket watch, allowing for really easy swapping of coins, but they feel very secure in wear too - I've barely taken mine off since I got it, and it's never yet fallen open. 

There are three sizes of coins, what you're seeing here is a medium silver (it's around the size of a £2 coin) tribal heart piece. The large size is perfect for a big statement piece, and the smaller is lovely for something more discreet.   

As well as silver, gold and rose gold, there is also a selection of swarovski crystal coins, and some natural gemstone coins too.  What follows is just a small selection of the Nikki Lissoni collection which is currently available:

 

See anything that catches your eye?  Me, I'm gonna be picking myself up a swarovski-encrusted pendant and coin ASAP. Prices are extremely reasonable, beginning at around £20 or so.  You can find Nikki Lissoni jewellery online, or at independent jewellers around the country.

The Fine Print: The Tribal Heart necklace featured in this post was a press sample.

Also: Pictures for this post were taken with a Nokia Lumia 1020 lent to me by Microsoft.

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