Iiuvo Emmie Candle

Candles.  I fupping love candles, and I love finding new candle brands, especially when the scents they are offering are a little different to those you can find on the market already.  Iiuvo, an independent British candle brand, founded by Leo Gibbon and Tomi Ahmed (whose experience runs the gamut from Commes Des Garcons to Dover Street Market), offer beautifully minimalistic candles with interesting scents.  

This one,  Emmie, smells of an evergreen hedgerow, just after a light rainshower at the beginning of spring.  Galbanum and cedar combine with a mossy, bosky base to make this quite the greenest and most interesting candle I've smelled in a long while.   They're clean-burning and good-looking, and the scent - even when unlit - will fill a room really well.  I love the jar, and am looking forward to keeping my favourite coloured pencils in it once the candle has burned down completely.

Iiuvo candles cost £50 and they're available from Liberty. 

The Fine Print: PR Sample


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Max Factor Marilyn Monroe Colour Elixir Lipstick Collection

 I love lipstick.  I love Marilyn Monroe, so when the press release for this Max Factor Marilyn Monroe Colour Elixir Collection came in, it was a bit of a no-brainer.  A collection of four reds, inspired by the iconic looks of Marilyn, and selected for every skin-tone, I leapt to take a look at this one!

The four shades are Marilyn Ruby Red - a blue-based red cream.  Marilyn Sunset Red - an orange-based red cream.  Marilyn Berry, a pink-based red, and Marilyn Cabernet, a sightly deeper true red, with just the tiniest hint of gold shimmer.   Here's how they look in the bullet:

 For some reason, my camera is making Marilyn Berry look like a baby-pink there, but I assure you it's actually a pink-red (as you'll see in the swatch pic below).  I love the shades they've picked out, actually, I think Sunset Red is the nearest to a lot of the reds Marilyn actually wore - she did love an orange-toned red, in pictures - but Berry and Ruby would work well for paler and cooler skin tones, respectively, where Sunset and Cabernet are good for warmer and darker skins.  Me, I'll be happy in all of them except Sunset, as I am both pale and cool, and find anything with an orange tone quite difficult to wear.  It's still lovely though.

(L-R) Ruby, Sunset, Berry, Cabernet

The formula is a silky and relatively opaque one, the swatches show several passes with the bullet on my skin.  This pic is a much better representation of Berry too (third from the right, there).  I found the formula to be averagely long-lasting - four or five hours or so, unless you're eating and drinking - and oddly, a little bit sweet-tasting.  All in all a great collection for your money, and at £10.99 per lipstick, it'll be a little easier on the pocket, not to mention easier to get hold of than MAC's recent Dita Von Teese lipstick, so if you missed out on that (I only got mine by accident, I admit) then pick up one or two of these instead ... they're in-store now.

The Fine Print: PR Samples


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LipsNspritz of the week 10 January 2016

I fell in love this week, and I never expected to! It started on Monday with a brief squirt of Estee Lauder Youth Dew, and it continued later in the week and it ended up with my buying a bottle (or two!) of the matching bath oil, which is divine, by the way, and every home should have a (tiny) bottle. Youth Dew opens surprisingly bright with bergamot, and is fresher than I remember it, then once the top notes wear off, it is deep and rich with almost-medicinal balsams and resins.   It's not a fragrance for you if you prefer "clean" scents, but it's a grown-up, sophisticated and no-nonsense kind of a fragrance. I love it very much.  

On Tuesday (top row, middle), I wore Carven Le Parfum, which, after the confident brass balls of Youth Dew, seems a tiny, ladylike whisper of white flowers and office-appropriateness.  It's incredbly light and sheer and pretty, and as I generally prefer a bit of attitude with my fragrance, it's not something I'll wear too often in all honesty.  But if you like clean and pretty and light, it's very lovable indeed.

Wednesday (top right) saw me in Estee Lauder Sensuous Nude,  which is another light and office appropriate fragrance, and one which I don't wear too often as a result.  It's a little more interesting (to me) than the Carven, because this really does smell like warm, clean, freshly showered skin, and I like it, but it doesn't feel very "me".

Thursday saw me right back in my comfort zone, with Voyage d'Hermes by Hermes, in the parfum concentration.  A spiced (cardamom and juniper) rose over a bed of amber, this is surprisingly sexy for a diaphanous Jean Claude Ellena concoction, and is one of my all-time favourite fragrances of all time. It's one both myself and my husband wear (when I'm not hiding it from him that is), and we both  love.  Completely backup-worthy, this one.

Friday, I wore a vintage bottle of Nu by Yves Saint Laurent.  The first fragrance released by Tom Ford for YSL, Nu is a symphony of black pepper and incense, and was a) the first time I'd ever heard of Tom Ford, and b) realised that perfume didn't have to smell of just fruit and flowers.  Nu is spicy, peppery, and at the time that I bought it (around 2001) didn't smell like anything else on the market.  It was truly and original, and the fact that around approximately 60% of all new "niche" perfumes try to rip it off just goes to show how influential it was.  Another one of my favourites.

On Saturday I actually left the house and went for dinner with my husband (I never leave the house on Saturdays if I can possibly help it!) and to celebrate, I went with Elizabeth Taylor White Diamonds.  Because: Elizabeth Taylor, White Diamonds. All powder and aldehydes, White Diamond is a true 80's classic, as long as you don't mind smelling like an exploded makeup bag.  Which, of course, I don't.

Lipsticks this week included (Mon-Sat) Max Factor lipgloss in Polished Fuchsia,  Guerlain Kiss Kiss in Very Cherry, Estee Lauder Pure Colour Envy in Rebellious Rose, Dior Addict Extreme in Paparazzi, Nars Satin Lip Pencil in Grand Palais, and (not pictured, but please see Monday's post this week), Max Factor Marilyn Monroe Collection No1 Red Ruby.  Pictured bottom left is actually Bare Minerals Moxie lip colour in Live Large, which is excellent.

So, what've you been wearing? 


The Fine Print: PR Sample


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Skincare of the Week 10 January 2016

 I took a couple of weeks off blogging over Christmas, which was fabulous, but I still kept at the "cleaning my face" thing.  It being a new year, I thought trying out some new products would be a good idea, but I think I tried too much new far too quickly, and my skin fairly quickly let me know it wasn't entirely happy with the idea.

Top left, Monday, I tired the Murad Correcting Moisturiser, which has a slight green tint to help neutralise redness. It's a nice moisturiser, and I'm looking forward to trying it again properly in a couple of weeks time.  On Tuesday/Wednesday I introduced some Kiehls skincare to my routine, beginning with Kiehl's Calendula Herbal Extract Toner, and Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream. Now, I have to say, I absolutely loved using these products - the moisturiser in particular made my skin feel velvety, rather than oily, and left a semi-matte finish that was a great base for makeup.  However, the effect of trialling three new products in three days (not something I'd normally do, but I got a bit excitable!) made it's mark on my skin a little bit - bumpy bits around the edges of my cheeks and temples - and so I pre-emptively swapped to my SOS skincare kit to head off any breakouts or irritation.  I've written about my SOS Sensitive Skin kit before, and you can read that if you click the link. 

The second half of the week was spent trying to soothe irritation, and (as I took delivery of a massive skincare order from Being Content last week too) being desperate to try MORE new products!  I'm my own worst enemy sometimes, I really am.  Nonetheless, Thursday found me trying a new cleanser from Tata Harper - one designed for sensitive skin, natch - the Tata Harper Refreshing Cleanser.  I haven't come to any firm conclusions about it yet, it's a cream cleanser, and I'm always somewhat ambivalent about cream formulas, but it hasn't cause any irritation, so hoorah for that!

So, what's been on your face this last week?  

The Fine Print: PR Samples and personal purchases, as always.


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LipsNspritz of the Week 20.12.15

Well, unlike last week, there were no hugely stunning nasal revelations, alas, but there was still a lot to love about LipsNspritz this time around, and one nice discovery, which is good.  If you're wondering what LipsNspritz actually is, it's my way of smelling something different every day in an attempt to cure my parosmia, and a way to force myself to actually wear ALL of my something like 6/700 different lipsticks.  I'm documenting them daily over on Instagram, where you can join in with the hashtag if you like! As well as lipstick and perfume, there's also generally gin, handbags, candles, the occasional sweary makeup bag, and very rarely (don't panic) a glimpse of my face.  

Anyhoo, this is how this week went:

Monday: Mercure Ombre by Terry De Gunzberg and Estee Lauder Empowered.  Mercure Ombre is a warm and rich blend of violet and orris with hints of a very lipstick-y rose, and powdery ambre-sandalwood base.  It's really rather lovely indeed, and I liked wearing it a lot. Empowered is a sheer warm tomato red, which is really nice to wear. 

Tuesday was L'Artisan Perfumer Nuit de Tuberose, alongside Givenchy Interdit Vinyl in Rouge Rebelle. I love Nuit de Tuberose, and it was a definite contender for my wedding fragrance back when I was searching for "the one".  It's an unusual take on tuberose, starting off with a bright but sour (and slightly green) mango, which also has something a little damp and bosky (even ... swampy?) alongside.  Then the chewy bubblegum confection of tuberose arrives, and it's fun from that point on.  I love the unusual mango-opening (I love sour things generally), and this is a great fragrance.  Givenchy Interdit Vinyl lipsticks aren't actually in-store yet, but they're sheer and lovely, and have some of the most pleasing packaging it has been my pleasure to photograph!  Full review on this (I have a couple of other shades to wear yet) coming up soon.

Wednesday was my work Christmas party, so I dug out my bottle of Nuit de Noel by Caron and paired it with a fab red, Raspberry Blush by Pixibeauty.  I love Nuit de Noel, and always save it for this time of year, it's gently spicy, and doesn't fall prey to any of the orange-pomander-cliches you expect.  It's soft and lovely, and a real skin scent.  Raspberry Blush is a great example of the slightly pinked-reds I love, and the texture on this soft matte shade is great too.

Thursday I wore Alaia by Alaia for a full day for the first time, and wore it with ByTerry Rouge Terrybly lipstick in Cherry Cherry.  Alaia by Alaia is a difficult fragrance to pin down, it has hints of suede, of rose, of apricot, but it also has a strangely addictive creamy quality (it smells like perfumed and well-lotioned skin after wearing suede gloves, I think) that reminds me slightly of the now sadly-discontinued Amaranthine by Penhaligons. All in all, rather lovely, but it'll take me a couple more wears before I can really pin it down, I think.  Cherry Cherry is a really matte red, that wears very well.

Friday saw me back in tuberose, but this time in a classic version, Fracas by Robert Piguet.  I first heard about Fracas in Rivals by Jilly Cooper, and I've been a bit obsessed with it ever since.  Jilly described it as a "sharp, dry scent", and it was worn constantly by Cameron Cook.  Jilly is sadly wrong about the fragrance, it's neither sharp nor dry, but it's a loud, strident, neon pink confection of hefty tuberose, and ... just a hint of sex.  And bubblegum (all tuberoses eventually smell like bubblegum to me, I have no idea why, luckily, I rather like the smell).  I love wearing this.  Almost as much as I love Jilly Cooper, now I come to think of it. Worn with my other Art Deco Dita von Teese (I have two, the other one is pinker), lipstick, which is blood red and hot.

Saturday was me in 1970 by Bella Freud (composed by Azzi Glasser), and Revlon Balm lipstain in Crush.  My parosmia has caused 1970 to be troublesome to me since it arrived chez Lippie, as it opens with both vetiver and patchouli - both of which my post-parosmic nose still struggles with and registers as burned - but on Saturday something clicked and the smell finally registered properly for me.  A happy occasion, as 1970 is really rather nice. Alongside the aforementioned patchouli and vetiver, there is saffron and rose, and after a rather full-on inital hippy-chick vibe, the rose and saffron take over, from that point on it's a lovely and warm and slightly spicy rose.  Happy to have discovered this one at very long last!  I do seem to default to tinted balms at the weekend though, it's too much effort to put on a full face of slap on a Saturday ...

There's one more LipsNspritz of the week to come, featuring all my favourite Christmas fragrances, and my brightest reddest shiniest lipsticks of the year, but that'll be my final post of the year ...


The Fine Print: PR Samples and purchases.


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Skincare of the Week 20.12.15

I got a bit obsessed with a couple of products this week, namely the Pixibeauty Skintreats H20 Skindrink serum and Glowtion Day Dew moisturiser.  Mixing them together, and using in place of my regular moisturiser has lead to a lovely, fresh glow that's rather addictive.  I find the cream just a little too glow-y on it's own, but mixed with the H20, it's ideal.  I used it four times this week, and I'll be wearing it  a lot over Christmas too ... Definitely back-up worthy, these two products! 

Zelens was back in my routine in a rather big way this week too - my prep for my  Christmas party involved PHA+ pads, antioxidant serum, and the balm cleanser, a great mix with the Pixi combo mentioned above over the top!  I've also been giving Dr Dennis Gross Retinol Eye Cream a thorough workout this week too, and results are still yet to be decided on.  My cough is nearly gone, but my skin still needs some TLC, so it needs a couple of weeks more before I decide if it's a miracle product or not.

This is the last Skincare of the Week for 2015, because next week I'll be travelling.  In the meantime, Merry Christmas! 


The Fine Print: PR Samples and purchases.


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Pixi Books of Beauty

Currently available as limited editions at Marks and Spencer you need to rush to pick these up for Christmas presents this year!  I love a bit of Pixi Beauty and they do great kits.  This year they're in book form, and I have three of them to show you.  Minimal Makeup, Brow Know How, and Touch of Blush.

Each book comes with six large pans of colours, some of which are split, so you get 6, 8 or 12 shades in each book.  Let's take a closer look.

Minimal Makeup

Comes with two highlighters (top), a blush and a bronzer (middle) and four eyeshadow shades (bottom), all in beautifully neutral shades.

A Touch of Blush

Six shades of blush, three warm, and three cooler, there are infinite mixing and matching possibilities for this one.

And finally, Brow Know How:

More of a pro-palette this one, it contains six split pans of eyebrow powders to suit every single eyebrow eventuality.  I love this one, and none of them are maroon, either ...

Run, don't walk, to your nearest branch of M&S beauty to pick one of these up for the makeup obsessed friend of yours this Christmas!


The Fine Print: PR Samples


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