Nail of the Day - Nubar Lustful Red

One from the Nubar Risque Reds collection that was released recently, I really like it.  A blue-red creme it applies smoothly (if a little on the thick side, but nothing that can't be fixed with a couple of drops of thinner), and evenly. There is no shimmer, and no glitter I really like it for a dramatic old-school"Hollywood" nails look.  Pic above is two coats shown over an Orly basecoat, and without a topcoat. Okay, it's not very edgy, but it is classic and pretty, and I like it. You can buy Nubar polishes from Beautyshed, who are lovely people, they cost £8 each.

Speaking of "edgy" though, I was at Boots No7 Autumn/Winter trends preview last week, and they're releasing a matte topcoat for nails in August, and I managed to snag a bottle.  I was wondering what a classic glossy red nail would look like mattified and here it is:

I think I kind of prefer this shade matte, to be honest, it's more of a raspberry/cranberry colour once the gloss is removed,  what do you think?  No7 Stay Perfect Matte Topcoat will be available in Boots stores from August 11th, and will cost £7.25.  I've just doubled my varnish wardrobe!  Hmn ... wonder what matte toenails will look like?

The Fine Print: Both items featured in this post were provided by PR for review purposes. Opinions are all my own work, feel free to ignore them though, it's cool.

Nailgirls

I held a tiny Twitter competition recently, and invited one of my readers along with me when I went to check out the Nailgirls salon in Islington.  The adorable Lauren Marks was my companion for the evening, and we had a fine old time. As much a great place to hang out as it is your traditional nail salon, we had a great time, we met the lovely and very friendly owners, had a glass or two of wine, and - of course - got our nails done! 

Here's Lauren's impressions of the evening:

I joined the lovely Louise at a manicure evening at Nail Girls in Islington and must say I wasn’t sure what to expect when I turned up at a small building in a side street – but it seems the best things come in small packages. I was greeted incredibly warmly and made to feel welcome within seconds of my arrival. All the staff were very friendly and chatty, making the effort to come round and chat to everyone – and even after doing tons of manicures they were all smiles. Now considering my nails are bitten to shreds – terrible habit I know! – the girls still made them look fantastic. I picked a coral/red colour, trying to be bright and colourful in preparation for the summer, and had many compliments on the colour as it was being painted on from fellow party-goers and staff – a great confidence boost. Certainly a lovely, pampering experience and I left feeling confident, happy with my bright, shiny nails and that despite the spa not being that local to me – I would definitely be returning. A great find, very reasonably priced and highly recommended by me!

I have to agree with all of that - I'll be going back, I'm wondering what their pedicures are like!  Sadly, we forgot to get a picture of Lauren's nails on the night, but I went for a gorgeous khaki shade shot through with golden shimmer, as below:

,

I adore it! This shade is Green #2.  I have to say that one of the most impressive things about NailGirls is that they use all their own products and treatments, it's great to see so much creativity and ingenuity around.  The quality of the polish is amazing too, the colour above lasted about five days before I chipped it! Fairly reasonably priced too, at £10 a bottle.

Where do you get your nails done?

Birthday Giveaway!

If you read my Zuneta post yesterday, you'll know I'm about to have a milestone birthday.  In many ways the milestone birthday.  Eek!

But, I thought I'll make the most of it and share some of the wonderful goodies I've discovered over the last few months with you.  So, with that in mind, I'd like to offer you a chance to win all of the following:

Chanel Nail Varnish in Particuliere (limited edition, no longer available in stores):

 A Guerlain Kohl in Oriental Metal (limited edition taupe shade):

 And finally, one Chanel Rouge Coco lipstick in the shade of your choice:

How to enter:

Okay, writing this blog makes me happy.  Discovering new products makes me happy.  Other bloggers make me happy.  Getting new comments on posts here makes me happy, Basically, this blog makes me a very happy bunny indeed, but I want to know what makes you a happy bunny!

So.  Basically, tell me what makes you happy. A story, a product, a picture, an anecdote, a makeup look, anything, it doesn't matter what it is,  if it gives you joy, I want to hear about it! There are two ways to enter (and you don't need to be a follower, either):

1) If you have a blog, write a blog post about what makes you happy - please link back to this post - and leave me a comment in the comments section here with a link to it, so I see it!  I'll comment on it so you know I read it! 

or

2) If you don't have a blog, (or you're just plain shy!) then drop an email to contest@getlippie.com and tell me about your happy things.  I just want to hear about good stuff in time for my big day!

Only entries submitted either in blog posts or emails will be counted, the comments on this post should just be used to give me your links to your entry posts. 

This contest will close at midnight (UK time) on Wednesday 9th June, and I'll announce the winner of the contest on Thursday June 10th (which is actually my birthday, but I want to give someone else a little present on the day!). And yes, it's open to all my international readers too! I'm looking forward to hearing from you.

The Fine Print: All prizes in this competition were purchased by myself at various times throughout this year, prizes are brand new, in packaging, and unused. No PRs were harmed/hassled/bothered/asked/approached/emailed or tweeted about this, so they didn't supply anything.  The judge's decision will be final, random.org won't be used in this one.

Zuneta Tuesday

It's that time of the week again, where I wander off and spread my pearls of wisdom on the Zuneta blog!  This week I'm blathering about something that's been on my mind a lot lately.  Or something.  Go read it and see, please!

Chanel Limited Editions

I've picked up quite a few over the years, and these are my favourites. There are no reviews or swatches with these, but if you'd like to see any, please ask.

And a closer look at each:

This last is the newest addition to my collection (courtesy of the lovely Charlie at Lady of the Lane) I love how it appears to glow!

I sort of regret how bashed up and over-used some of these are - what I wouldn't give for a pristine version of the Rouges Noir palette again! - but I think makeup is here to be used, played with and loved, not stuck in a box and saved for it's rarity value.  What do you think?

Favourite Brands?

I get asked a lot what my favourite makeup brand is, and it's such a difficult one to answer!  There are so many brands out there, and they all do something well that picking out just one for praise is almost impossible.  Well, for me it is, anyway.

But, I guess, if I had to pick just one brand that I'd use for the rest of my life, that brand would be Chanel.  Yes, I'd miss my Lancome mascaras and Bobbi Brown tinted moisturising balm - my other desert island items, those - but my collection already contains a lot of Chanel. Foundations, blushers, eyeshadows, pencils, mascaras, lipsticks, glosses, perfumes, bathing potions, nail varnishes ... the list goes on! It's probably my most "complete" collection of products from any brand.

If you've been reading my blog for any length of time, then you'll know that I went a bit crazy and bought several Rouge Cocos when they were released recently, but I was very happy to realise that I'm not the only person who thinks they are fantastic, alongside a lot of other bloggers, lots of makeup artists have discovered their greatness too.  There are a few videos about the lipsticks floating about, but these are my favourites:

First of all, Peter Phillips talking about the inspirations behind the range, and how it came into being:  (can't figure out how to embed this one, I'm afraid).

This is the utterly fab Mary Greenwell showing three fabulous looks with three different shades:


And finally, this is Lisa Eldridge (who I met and chatted with last Friday, and I'll be telling you more about that later this week), showing how to use one Rouge Coco in four different ways:



Tomorrow I'll bring you some pictures of my favourite limited edition palettes from Chanel which I've picked up over the years, and will be bemoaning the fact that I've used and abused them instead of keeping them pristine and clean ...

What's your favourite brand?  Why?

Organic Weekend - Une Natural Beauty from Bourjois

I do love me a bit of Bourjois, long one of my favourite High Street brands, I was delighted to find out recently that they were launching a new range of affordable organic cosmetics!  Already available in a few Boots stores around the country (London readers, you can find your nearest stand in the Oxford Street branch), it's making it's official debut on the Boots website this week.  Every single product in this line is between 98 to 100%, there are no synthetic dyes or fragrances, and the range is sillicone, paraben, pthalate and petrochemical free, and the ingredients used are sourced as organically as possible.  Pretty impressive for a mass brand, and the prices start at a not too pocket busting £4.99 for pencils, through £8.99 for shadows, up to £11.99 for the foundations.

 I managed to get my hands on a few bits and pieces, so I could give you my impressions:

First of all the packaging, it's clean, it's functional, and it's also pretty stylish, I love the square pencils, and the mirrored tops to the blush and eye packaging, but it's bulky.  They're not really items that are suitable for carrying around with you - but that mirror (you peel the labels off) is a totally nifty idea, and I love it.

A closer look at the items and their formulations:

As you can see, the mirrored sections slide up  on the colour cosmetics to reveal the contents.  A lot of the range is based around creams, from left to right we have: Breezy Cheeks blusher, a cream formulation, which goes on smoothly with fingers or a synthetic brush, and leaves a pretty, stained looking glow.

A matte finish without shimmer, these are lovely, almost foolproof shades which are buildable to the intensity you desire.  Longevity isn't bad, but you will probably need to reapply towards late afternoon time to keep looking flushed and lovely!

There are three formulations of eyeshadow, Sfumato (powder), Glimmer (cream), and Nude Eyes (cream to powder), as seen below in the same order as above:

All of these shadows tend to swatch on the sheer side.  They're great for layering (I like to use the nude eyes cream on the bottom as a base, then use the powder sfumato for definition around the crease and as a liner, then dot a little of the glimmer over the whole thing for a little sparkle), and as I found out the other day, they last pretty well under stressful situations such as crying, and eye-rubbing.  The range of shades tends towards the neutral/sludgy spectrum (which, for me, is a plus!) and they're good for creating natural, polished looks.  I'll definitely be picking more of these up.  Oh, but throw away the dinky brushes, they're worse than useless, if you ask me.  These are ideal for applying with fingers for a quick application, they sheer, so they're pretty difficult to go wrong with.

Pencils: mixed feelings about the pencils, to be honest.  Above is shown one eyeliner (the Sfumato, top) and a "Skin Glow" pencil.  The Sfumato eyeliner I find to be slightly on the hard and crumbly side, gorgeous shades, but I'm not sure they're great for the delicate eye area, as they appear to drag slightly on my skin.  The Skin Glow pencil, I love, even while I freely admit that I'm not - entirely - sure what it's supposed to be.  It's a creamy flesh-toned pencil, which I've used both as an eyeliner (on the water line) and as a concealer for small areas, plus I've used it to highlight my cupids bow, and add a little light to the inner corners of my eyes.  It worked well on all of those tasks - surprisingly versatile! - but ... I'm not sure what it's "official" function is meant to be, so if you know, do tell!   Here's how they swatch:

The lipsticks are probably the standouts of the range though.  A selection of lip-toned (not nudes, please note the difference!) shades, they're creamy and moisturising, and they add a polished finished look to your makeup whilst flattering your skin tones:

Again, they swatch on the sheer side, but, as with the shadows, this is deliberate in order to let your natural colouring through:

I love these, and I think I'll definitely be picking up a couple more when I get a chance, they're delightful!

I was also sent a foundation, but owing to circumstances beyond my control, I've not had a chance to wear it properly yet so I can't give it a proper review!  Long story ...

In essence, this is a good solid collection from Bourjois, some hits, some misses, the colour-range won't appeal to everyone, admittedly, but the textures are generally excellent, they're wonderfully easy to apply, and it's and range ideal for someone who wants to avoid particular ingredients whilst not spending a fortune. Personally, I think it's a great range for neutral, polished looks, and, I'm a fan, what do you think?

Organic Weekend - Bulldog Eco-System Shave Gel

MrLippie's been dying to get some more review action in, so it's a double-whammy of organic goodness for you this weekend (I have something rather lovely to show you tomorrow, so stay, er, browsed!).  Again, this is a sample I picked up at the Natural and Organic Product show recently, and I made the boy change his shaving habits for a while to try it out - I don't think I was the target market for this one, somehow - and these are his rather ... random ... esoteric ...  geeky ... er, you'll see, thoughts on the shaving gel in question:

Ever since a Roman took a look at a hairy tribesman and thought ‘I’m not going out like that’, shaving has been a mainstay of Western male grooming habits for nearly 2000 years. Admittedly, there’s been the odd blip, such as the Vikings, or those fantastically moustachioed men of the 1800s, but, by and large, smooth-skinned cheeks have been the norm. With the slow demise of the professional shave by a high street barbers and the rise of the handheld razor as championed by Gillette/Wilkinson Sword/Bic/etc, companies that produce shaving products have merrily marketed themselves as the “Mans’ Choice”, and often featured sports stars of varying fame and the occasional scantily-clad lady in a shameless appeal to the machismo and testosterone that surrounds the whole idea of running very sharp blades of steel over your face and throat.

However, with the emergence of Organic Products, and the whole Green lobby, these companies have found themselves in a bit of a quandary. Mainstream Male aversion to ‘metrosexuality’ is still fairly strong, but it’s tempered by a growing eco-awareness, which begs the question: HOW can we market these products without diluting the aura of “manliness” that surrounds shaving? In Bulldog’s case, their Eco-System Shave Gel has an obvious difference to their normal range. It’s green. Not just any old green, but olive drab, which immediately put me in mind of army colours. Soooo…an interesting start. Then, looking over the tube, there’s a prominent label of ‘Natural Grooming’. Ok…Bulldog….Natural Grooming…ok, that’s a BAD image in my book. Moving on. I had a bit more of a look at the packaging, and came across a little homily about Dad saying how “Nothing in life is fair, son”…which left me sighing, to be honest. The whole thing just SCREAMS mixed message…I just thought they were trying too hard!

The Gel itself is aromatic. Very aromatic. It reeks of herbs and green tea, and it’s not really the nicest smell to rub into your face first thing in the morning. That said, it lathers up nicely, and yes, your skin feels smooth & doesn’t sting at all as you shave. Which is nice. So, functionally, it works, quite well.

Sadly, for me, the mixed messages and the overwhelming smell rule out this as a long-term option. It was nice to try, but I think I’d probably prefer to try some of the original Bulldog products, just to clear my head of the whiff of green tea and the horrible image of a Bulldog getting involved in “Natural Grooming”…

So, er ... there you have it!  This product is from Bulldog's new Fairtrade range, and the shave gel contains green tea from Sri Lanka, organic shea butter from Ghana, organic sugar from Paraguay, sesame seed oil from Nicaragua, and Brazil nut oil from Peru. Personally, I think it smells rather nice, fresh and green actually. The products are available from leading supermarkets, and you can find out more about the range here

Review - Le Metier de Beaute Anamorphic Mascara

I've been very lucky, and have been invited to a lot of beauty-related events lately, and I'll be drip-feeding my reviews of some of the things I've been introduced to as a result of these events throughout the next few weeks, you know me, I like to test the heck out of stuff before I talk about it here.

Recently, I was invited to Liberty to find out more about Le Metier de Beaute, a brand I'm familiar with from reading the likes of LondonMakeUpGirl, Visionary Beauty and The Beauty Look Book (who are three of my favourite blogs, do check them out if you haven't already), but hadn't got around to trying yet.

I have to admit to being very impressed with the quality of many of the products, the powder items seem to be extremely pigmented, and are beautifully soft and blendable.  They have a unique style of application too, based upon layering to build up pigment, rather than applying in a sort of regimented order.  I'll bring you a FotD with one of their beautiful shadow palettes right after payday ...

Anyhoo, onto the mascara, the shades shown above are (top) brown-black, a nice subtle shade for daytime wear, which still manages to give a decent amount of definition to your lashes, and aubergine (below) which is a purplish-black, which is a touch more dramatic.

As you can see on the brush, there isn't a huge amount difference in the shades, but on the lashes, there is quite a difference.  The brush is a little on the large side, which means it can be easy to blob it on your lids when applying until you're used to handling it, and the first time I used it, I wasn't that impressed with it as I was applying it.  It didn't volumise as much as I normally require from my mascara.

However:

(one coat on uncurled lashes)

That is one heck of a difference!  What it lacks in the volumising department, it makes up for in lengthening, and in spades! It's a fairly natural-looking mascara with one coat, but with two, you can get a far more dramatic look, which I've been pairing with lots and lots and lots of kohl lately (but more about that another time), this has very rapidly become a favourite mascara for me, which I've been alternating with my Precious Cells, for different looks.

Le Metier de Beaute Anamorphic mascara costs £22, and is available exclusively from Liberty

It's that time again ...

... Yes, I'm guest-blogging on Zuneta once again.  This week, I'm talking about being how I'd describe myself, which two words  aren't synonyms, and there's a mention of what I had for breakfast.  I'd love to hear what you think, so come take a look and tell me how mad and wrong I am.

See you over there! Lx