Urban Decay Gwen Stefani Blush Palette and Brow Box

 I don't do much to my eyebrows (they're tattooed on, so I don't have to), but the Urban Decay Brow Boxes are lovely, and there's a special edition of them for the Gwen Stefani Collection, and it's this one in Bathwater Blonde.

Quite obviously defined for people with fairer hair than I, the brow box comes with two shades, and is most suitable for dark blondes/light brunettes.  Sadly, I am a dark brunette ... 

It comes complete with two brushes, two powders, one wax, one tiny pair of tweezers, and two mirrors, one of which is magnifying, there's really all you need to do your brows on the go.  Do you do your brows on the go though?  Admittedly I only brush mine through as a finishing touch last thing in the morning then ignore them for the rest of the day, but would a travel brow kit work for you?  Tell me, I'm curious!  It costs £19.50, but I think it's perfect for girls with medium shades of hair, there's no red in either of the shades, which is great too.

The blush kit though, I can totally get behind, even though it's a tad on the warm side.  Urban Decay describe the shades as:

Cherry - light pink satin,
Easy - deep rose w/gold shimmer,
Angel - champagne-nude shimmer,
Lo-Fi - soft bronze matte,
Hush - medium pink w/gold shimmer and
OC soft pink w/peach shift. 

So you basically have all your blusher, bronzer and highlight options covered in one palette, which I really like.  It's a good and hefty palette though, which will stand up to a fair bit of abuse in a makeup bag (the only other cheek palette I have is made of cardboard, which basically won't travel), and the pans are a decent size, so at £35 for the whole thing, it seems good value.  I'll do a Face of the Day featuring my picks of the collection (and I'll be doing a Gwen Stefani special over on my LipsNspritz hashtag on Instagram this week) some time towards the end of the week.  Light depending.

What would you pick up from the collection?

I reviewed the eye palette previously, here.


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Urban Decay Gwen Stefani Lipsticks Full Collection (with swatches!)

 So, after a bit of a snafu with the Urban Decay website the other week, I finally have the whole Gwen Stefani collection in my grubby little paws.  I wasn't intending to, I just wanted the Firebird and Wonderland lipsticks initially, but then circumstances intervened, and after a short delay, I now have everything in the collection, including the online exclusive shades.  Today I'm going to concentrate on the lip products, because there's a reason this blog is called Get Lippie, but I'll show you the rest tomorrow.

There are eight shades in total, and from left to right here we have:
Ex-Girlfriend - a sheer nude
Phonecall - a sheer candy pink (online exclusive shade)
Firebird - a shimmering fuchsia
Wonderland - glorious cherry pink
Spiderweb - glossy blue-red
714 - matte scarlet
Plaid - looks red here, but it's actually a juicy berry pink (online exclusive shade)
Rocksteady - deep blood red.

All the lipsticks except Spiderweb and Plaid come with matching liners.

The packaging is a little plasticky, but it's fun and finished in a funky black and gold graphic design. The bullets are firmly attached in the cases, and they're gorgeous, gorgeous colours in a range of finishes.

So, what are the colours like on skin?

From left to right here we have Ex-Girlfriend liner and lipstick, Phonecall (both), Firebird (both), Wonderland (both), Spiderweb (lipstick only), 714 lipstick + liner, Plaid (lipstick only) and Rocksteady (both).  Sadly, I haven't worn any of the lipsticks yet (cold sores, sorry, and a full diary of LipsNspritz precluded) but I'll update this post with my thoughts once they've been worn.

Initial thoughts are that if you're a red lipstick fan - and it must be admitted here that I'm a much bigger fan of red lipstick than I am Gwen Stefani! - then you'll love this collection.  There are a couple of shades here for non-red lovers, but this is basically a BRIGHT collection, and I love it for that.  Only time will tell if the formulas are as good as the colours appear to be, but I'll keep you posted.

Coming up tomorrow, pictures of both the cheek palette, and the eyebrow kit.
 

What are your thoughts on the Gwen Stefani collection?


The Fine Print: PR samples and purchases


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LipsNspritz of the Week 31 January 2016

 So, I take all my LipsNspritz pictures in one batch on a Saturday afternoon, then wear them throughout the week, taking different pictures of stuff on a daily basis is far too much like hard work for me!  I assure you I do wear them though.  LipsNspritz is my attempt both to wear my entire perfume and lipstick collection, and to help my nose "relearn" perfume whilst I continue my recovery from parosmia.  I'm no longer completely anosmic, merely hyposmic (I estimate that I have around 60% of my sense of smell back now) and I'm leaving my parosmia behind.  It still bothers me, but to a much lesser extent than it used to.  That said, I still struggle with recognising smells out of context, and I still struggle with some smells, though I have recently discovered that coffee no longer smells of sewage (it doesn't - yet - smell of coffee, however), and that has been a huge breakthrough.  

Anyway, on with what I was wearing this week.  The week began with Molton Brown Black Pepper, which is a divinely spicy, prickly, peppery hoot of an aftershave.  Or rather, it was before they reformulated it and called it Black Peppercorn.  It's still good, but a shadow of it's funny, unexpectedly sexy former self.  I wore it with Lipstick Queen Red Sinner, which as fine a red lipstick as a red lipstick can be.

I also tried a re-wearing of Escentric Molecules 01,  There's been a lot written about this one over the years (and if I read one more piece mentioning pheromones, or how it "melds with your personal chemistry to create a bespoke scent for the wearer" piece - ALL perfumes do that - I shall grind my teeth into powdery bloody stumps), and I shall not go on too much, but the "trick" of 01 is that it contains only one scented ingredient; a molecule named Iso E Super.  Iso E Super is a light and airy, slightly sweet and woody scent, and it can be difficult to smell in isolation.  On skin, it smells like clean skin, with a slightly cedary spect, and smells good, without really smelling like a traditional "perfume", much in the way ambergris-based fragrances smell to my nose.  As it happens, I couldn't really smell it whilst wearing it, but others could, and they liked it, without being able to say either why, or what it smelled like.  But this matches with my experience of wearing it before anosmia too, so that's that then.  I wore it with Lipstick Queen Butterfly Ball Lipstick in Smitten, something else which doesn't draw attention to itself, but makes you more polished just the same.

Right now as I write this, I'm wearing Demeter Wet Garden, and Lipstick Queen Deep Red Sinner lipstick (alongside my favourite polka dot pyjamas.  What?).  I smell like lilacs in April, and I'm - apparently - channeling  Norma Desmond.  In pyjamas.  Oh yes, it's glamorous alright in beauty blogging.  Aren't you glad I don't vlog?

I love the sour-rhubarb and white flowers of Jour d'Hermes.  The sour fruit of the opening is such a surprise compared to grownup and ladylike white flowers of the middle notes, and I like the opening very much.  Sadly, for my nose, the white flowers are a little too ... ladylike and so it's not a fragrance I reach for very often as a result.  The lipstick was Jean Queen by Lipstick Queen, which is something else I find confusing.  The concept of matching ones lipstick to ones jeans is a bit ... superfluous (and my jeans are black, anyway), but it's a pretty pink-mauve, which doesn't scream "I AM WEARING JEANS!", so it will do.

I also wore Diptyque's Phylosykos this week.   I love this fragrance so very, very much.  It smells of a fig tree in its entirety, from the leaves, to the bark, to the milky fruit, with just a slight hint of coconut oil in the base.  It's rather wonderful and it reminds me, every time I wear it, of my days off in Cyprus (I used to be a holiday rep over there) where I used to slather myself in Hawaiian Tropic (factor 2!)  and drink cocktails under the fig trees on the beach.  Not only is it the best fig fragrance on the planet, it's also an instant holiday in a bottle.  Get some.  I wore this with Lipstick Queen Sinner in Wine.  I also like wine. Wine is good.

And finally, Shay and Blue Atropa Belladonna starting with a savoury blackcurrant accord, Atropa Belladonna slides into a waxy and fat jasmine and sandalwood, which is interesting, before ending in a sticky vanilla kiss.  I like this very much (not quite as much as I like their surprising and lovely Salted Caramel, however), and it was a fitting fragrance to spend a Saturday (also in pyjamas) afternoon wearing.  I paired it with Revlon Red Velvet Lip Butter, which should never have been discontinued.

What have you been wearing?

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Skincare of the Week 31 January 2016

A short and sweet Skincare of the Week this week because I was ill, and hanging around a cold bathroom taking pictures of my skincare (like you do) took a deserving backseat to me being wrapped up in the duvet, and slathering myself in Pommade Divine, frankly. Nothing better for a sore nose than Pommade Divine, if you ask me.

Anyhoo, yes, I'm still a bit obsessed with Tata Harper, but I'm finally swapping things around a bit, they're still great products, but I do need to keep mixing things up a bit.  I was in the mood for something rosy on Monday, so I pulled out my bits from the ByTerry Cellularose range, including the cleansing oil, and the Hydra Toner both of which are softly scented with rose, and leave the skin soft and clean without stripping.  I followed those up with Pixibeauty H20 Serum and Glowtion Day Dew after prepping with their rose oil blend.  I have to say, the H20/Glowtion combo is quickly becoming a firm favourite, adds hydration and glow without greasiness, and no matter how little sleep you've had, always leaves you looking well rested - a great base for foundation, too.

A new brand I trialled this week was Eloquence Beauty, which is based in Chester (my old home town!), and their Eloquence Beauty Nourishing Treatment Oil made it into my routine this week when I realised I needed a little more oomph than Tata Harper Rebuilding Moisturiser alone could provide.  Eloquence specialise in mid-price beauty products (the 50ml oil costs £29.99 and is the most expensive product in the range) containing Sacha-Inchi oil, which is high in fatty acids and proteins, and is similar in effect to argan oil.  It absorbs quickly, and I've enjoyed using it, but I'll be trialling a few more bits from the range in the coming weeks.and I'll be sure to let you know how I get along.

But mostly, this week is dedicated to Pommade Divine.  And Kleenex.  And duvets. 


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Omorovicza Miracle Facial Oil

Oh, I do love an oil in the winter, and I've been adoring this one, recently. a blend of sweet almond, apricot, borage, cotton and evening primrose oils, the Omorovicza Miracle Facial Oil also contains an ingredient called: bakuchiol which also, alongside having anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory properties, has been shown to have a retinol-like effect on the skin, only without the side effects.  Allegedly.  And only if you use it twice a day, every day (the study I'm citing wasn't funded by Omorovicza, btw) though.

I wear an facial oil almost every day in winter, but occasionally despair of how thick and heavy some of them are.  Having an oily-combination (occasionally dehydrated) complexion means heavy and thick oils really don't suit that well, but Omorovicza Miracle Facial Oil is a wonderfully "dry" oil, and it is exceptionally light too. It absorbs into the skin very quickly indeed, there's enough time to have a swift massage when applying, but it absorbs fast and leaves no greasy residue.  I use it in place of a night cream, as a serum in the mornings, as a moisturiser, and (my favourite), I use it as the carrier for my much loved Cover FX Custom Cover Drops.  I find three drops of Custom Cover to four or even five drops of the Miracle Facial Oil gives great coverage, and really beautiful glow.  I'm wearing the combination in the following picture:

You can also use it on your hair, your cuticles, any dry patches, etc. It's on the pricey side though, so I keep it for my face!  It smells (gently) of mimosa, but the smell disappears very quickly.  It feels very nourishing on the skin, whether you've used it during your skincare or your makeup routine, and it's very protecting in cold weather. I've found it's a great addition to a not-quite-moisturising enough face cream, in this weather. But, because it's so light, you can use it year round, it's a great multi-tasker.  Whilst I haven't seen any retinol-like effects, I don't use it twice a day every day, so I haven't been expecting to.  I do love it though, and I love the hefty glass jar with a dropper, which makes application easy, and adds just a touch of luxury to the bathroom shelf.

Omorovicza Miracle Facial Oil costs £75 and is available from Liberty, or from Omorovicza's website.

 The Fine Print: PR Sample


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A Blow Dry at Bardou

Last week I popped along to Bardou on Shelton Street in Covent Garden and had a wonderful blow-dry from the team there. There are a few blow dry bars around London now, but quite a few of them are "dry" bars (meaning they don't wash your hair first), and me and my insane barnet have never got on particularly well with those.  I'm pleased to say that Bardou is (mostly) a wash'n'blow-dry bar, and the staff are really talented.

Originating in a salon in Reading, Bardou have recently finished a pop-residency in Kensington, and have now moved to their new home in Covent Garden. It looks pretty groovy in a session-stylist kind of a way, with the movable stations (which they occasionally pack up and trundle over to other nearby destinations like the Hospital Club, for special occasions), and a small backwash area.  I really liked it, there's plenty of space, and it doesn't feel like you've been packed in there like a sausage factory.

I was pleased to note that they have their own product range too, no fly-by-dry-by night operation, this one!  The products used on my hair were great, and my blowdry lasted a couple of days afterwards, which I always love.

A one-day old blowdry - I was really impressed!

They're open 9am-9pm, Tuesday to Saturday, so whatever occasion you need special occasion hair for, there's bound to be a slot that suits you, and prices begin from £20 (if you don't need your hair washing), to around £35 for a dry in one of their signature styles.  They can even do your makeup, if need be!  If only I still worked just around the corner ...
 
The Fine Print: PR Sample


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Tata Harper Refreshing Cleanser

I'm not generally a massive fan of cream cleansers, but this, the Refreshing Cleanser by Tata Harper has slipped in under my radar, and made me its willing slave.

I first tried the Tata Harper range, as so many people did, as a result of the serum which was included in the Caroline Hirons Cult Beauty Box last year (which I mostly bought for a back up of the May Lindstrom Blue Cocoon Balm and the Zelens PHA pads, both of which I already adore, and the whole box cost the same as just those two products, so why not?) and I liked it well enough to want to investigate the rest of the range.  But, and I'll be honest here, I found the range difficult to navigate, particularly when you're looking at it from a sensitive-skinned point of view.  As Tata Harper is most definitely a luxury-priced range (the cleanser is £60 at Content Beauty, where I bought this from) these weren't decisions to go into blindly.

However, I finally decided on the Refreshing Cleanser, as it was the one described as most suitable for sensitive skin, but the description saying it contained salicylic acid, and enzymes to cleanse the skin gave me slight pause (salicylic acid can be drying, and sometimes the fruit acids used to give a chemical peel in some cleansers can cause irritation on my skin), but the formula also contains pink clay and neroli, both of which are soothing, so I pressed buy with some trepidation.

A grapefruit-scented peachy cream, you apply Refreshing Cleanser to dry skin, and massage it in to allow the enzymes to dissolve the dead skin cells, then you remove it with a hot damp cloth as you would with a normal cleanser.  Once removed, you are left with soft, smooth, clean skin.  It definitely delivers on the cleansing side of things, and it also  - I've found - provides a gentle exfoliation effect which means that you can effectively stop using acid toners quite so often.   If you have sensitive skin, over-exfoliation can lead to redness and irritation very easily, and I've definitely found recently that exfoliating less often (two or three times a week maximum as opposed to every day) definitely leads to happier, less pink, skin.

It's not great for makeup removal, and I definitely wouldn't use it around the eyes, but it is a fabulous second cleanse, and I use it as my morning cleanser most days.  You can't use it for a massage in the same way you can with a balm, or an oil-based cleanser because it's clay-based and it dries on the skin quite quickly as a result, plus you don't have the same "slip" you do with a greasier formula.  I find any "rough patches" of skin I have on my face, such as on my forehead or nose, are dealt with just with this cleanser, instead of having to resort to acid toners, which is a good thing for my redness-prone skin.  My skin loves this stuff, it's tough enough to soften, and gentle enough to do that without irritating.

I'm getting through it rather fast though, and at £60 a bottle, it's definitely an investment purchase, but it's the only cleanser I've wanted to use since it turned up, which is both a blessing and a curse ... 


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