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.

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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 ...
 
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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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LipsNspritz 24 January 2016: The Lavender List

Lots of people don't like lavender, and I have no real idea why. Its distinctive scent is unusual in having both floral and herbal facets to the scent, and the smell can range from menthol, to balsam, or (just a little, if you get a screechy batch) like cat pee.  But a good lavender fragrance is a thing of beauty, and this week, I thought I'd wear my favourite lavender fragrances and show just how many different faces lavender can wear.  

On Monday, I wore the dirty lavender of Jicky by Guerlain.  Every perfume lover who considers themselves a bit of a perfumista owns a bottle of Jicky,  because it is a classic, created in the late 1880's, and one of the first fragrances to include synthetic ingredients,   When I first discovered Jicky, it was long before I knew anything about perfume, and I just thought it didn't smell like anything else, it smells of coal tar, and leather soap, and it actually took me several years to figure out that the herbal-fresh scent that plays amongst the leather scraps in the coalyard was lavender, and that's when Jicky finally made sense to me.  Less a perfume, and more a statement of intent, Jicky's the lavender scent that won't remind you of your granny.  Ironic really, as your granny probably did wear it at some point.  My bottle dates back to the early 90's and it's a full-throated roar of a fragrance, even now.

Tuesday brought the spicy, warm lavender of Diptyque's Eau de Lavande.  Unlike most of the lavenders on this page (Jicky is the main exception) which have a cool, or fresh-seeming quality, Eau de Lavande is warm and cosy, positively inviting cuddles and becoming a beguiling skin scent at the end as a result.  Opening with cardamom and ground coriander root alongside nutmeg, the menthol of the lavender is somewhat muted, and it's only after wearing it for a while does the lavender reveal itself. There are some lightly bruised woods at the end, which comes quickly because this is an eau de toilette, and it's simply a pleasure to wear.  I'd love this in an EDP concentration, and I'd probably never wear anything else, if it did come in just a little stronger formulation.

On Wednesdays I wore the woody-chocolate of Creed's Aberdeen Lavander (sic),  which to me starts off quite funky-smelling and rather animalic, but which softens slowly over time to reveal an unexpectedly creamy-chocolate aspect to the lavender flower, atop a leathery base. I've seen it described as a "modern Jicky", and, whilst I wouldn't go that far (it's cleaner and far more definitively "lavendery" than Jicky), it's certainly a very interesting lavender to wear.  Interestingly, it's the only one on this list that I could easily convince MrLippie to wear, having more elements of the "fougere"-style of fragrance than many of the perfumes on this list.

Thursday brought the gender-bending citrus lavender of Tom Ford's Lavender Palm.  A fragrance I've written about before, and enjoyed, I described it back then as smelling like "a burly granny with a mean right hook", and, whilst I wouldn't go quite that far this time around, I can see what I was getting at.  A lively dance of bergamot and lavender in the opening gives a slightly misleading fresh quality to the first few moments of wear, before the scent opens out, and becomes a darker, smokier proposition, filled with vetiver and olibanum.  Somehow meant to evoke California,  it's more of a damp English garden, and a little tweedy.  A lavender you wouldn't be surprised to find Miss Marple wearing, showcasing the steel trap mind behind the affable appearance.

On Friday I wore the classic lavender soliflore of Caldey Island Lavender. Much closer in form (though not in execution) to a classic lavender "toilet water", and most certainly a bargain, Caldey Island lavender begins with a photo-realistic peppermint whoosh, like you've just inhaled an entire packet of polos in one go, then swiftly settles into a cool menthol-herbal lavender which smells precisely as if you've crushed a few fresh lavender blooms in your palm, and that's how it stays, right until it disappears.  Simply beautiful.  A few drops of this added to the water in your iron, by the way, is divine, and can make even that most-boring of chores more of a pleasure.

This week, I also work lipstick (as pictured), but, who wants to talk about lipstick when there's lavender to discuss?

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Skincare of the Week 24 January 2016

 This week was another Tata Harper-heavy week, I've totally fallen in love with one of the products, and I *like* the others, but for me, the Refreshing Cleanser really is the outstanding product of the range so far.  There's a full review of just why I like it so much coming up later this week.  I also went for a Tata Harper facial, at the always-excellent Content Beauty and Wellbeing in Marylebone this week, and you can look out for a full review of that later this week too.

It has been a very cold week this week, and I've found that the Tata Harper Rebuilding Moisturiser, whilst being otherwise excellent, hasn't given quite enough protection from the weather as I would like, so I've been using the wonderful (again, a full review upcoming this week!) Omorovicza Miracle Oil as a base for my foundation, which adds just a tiny extra boost of hydration, and weather protection, without adding an extra layer of skincare.   I'm still formulating my thoughts on the Dr Dennis Gross Ferrulic + Glycolic Eye Cream, but thoughts are mostly positive so far. 

Even though I've mostly dropped acids from my routine this week, skin has been quiet and smooth and less red.  Result!  Just a short roundup this week, because I'm doing a few in-depth reviews to supplement in the coming days.  How's your skin been?

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