A sneaky peek ...

Some people are fascinated by my array of lipsticks, so here's a sneaky peek at something I'll be posting about in more detail very soon:




Doesn't look much there (well, to me it doesn't, but I'm aware that they are jammed in that drawer four or five deep), but that's only one part of my collection ...

Time for a heated debate!

In my spare time - you know, the time I get in between working twelvety million hours a week, and the time I spend blogging - I also moderate a debate forum.  I know, I'm a sucker for punishment.

There was a debate recently about women in positions of power, and someone suggested that the only reason women wear makeup is to attract men.  And that women who go out whilst wearing makeup and reject advances made to them by men are "ball-breakers".  Here are his actual words:

Has anyone ever noticed that there are allot of women in  {...} who will spend literally hours on their hair and make-up...wear hundreds of dollars worth of clothing and expensive perfumes...go out to a dance bar and...

SIT in groups of women, chatting and so on, while every so often a guy will make his sorry-ass way over to their table and ask one to dance. Can you guess the answer he gets more often than not? Sure ya can...

"No thanks...hehehe..." 

I pointed out that there are many reasons to wear makeup:

... women do not {solely} wear makeup to attract men. There are almost as many reasons to wear makeup as there are people wearing makeup. ... neither is it only women who wear cosmetics.  

To which the response was:

Now: "women do not wear makeup to attract men" To which I have to say, that unless the women in question happens to be a lesbian...then Bull S**t! Please...that's just silly. Women wear make-up in order to enhance their appearance and attract a mate...of either sex. Just as these men you speak of who also wear make-up...do so for the same reason. I'll admit there may be the odd exception, but please...its the same thing with jewelry, hair-do's, cloths even. I think that's rather self-evident.

(all spelling mistakes theirs)

So, I was wondering what my readers thought?  Is it self-evident that the only reason people wear cosmetics is to make them more attractive to potential partners? Why do you wear makeup?  


Personally, I think the existence of charities such as Look Good Feel Better disproves his entire theory - not to mention the fact that women who have  partners don't immediately stop wearing makeup, which, if his theory is to be believed, is what would happen naturally.  But I want to  know what you think, please let me know in the comments, thanks!

 

This post originated at: http://getlippie.com All rights reserved.

Project Perfume - an update

Oof, it's been a little while since I did an update, I have to admit!  It's not been because I've had a lack of things to think about, rather the opposite in fact.

If you take a look at the Project Perfume page itself you'll see that I've sniffed, or obtained samples of around about 50% of the list now, which is due in large part to three websites: Luckyscent, one is Scent and Sensibility and last, but by no means least, Escentual.com.  

Luckyscent (based in the US) and Scent and Sensibility (based in the UK) both specialise in niche, or hard to find perfumes, and I've been purchasing samples from both of them for a while now, I ordered a bunch of Andy Tauer perfumes from Ronny at Scent & Sensibility at the end of last year, and they turned up very quickly and beautifully packaged, and there was a little treat of a sample of Hilde Soliani's Vecchi Rossetti perfume included too, which is about as perfect a scent for a beauty blogger as can possibly be, as it's inspired by the scent of theatres and theatrical makeup.  Violets, roses and beeswax combine to make this smell of the makeup your grandmother used to wear, ladylike and powdery, and just a tad old fashioned, it's a gloriously glamorous scent which evokes the forties and fifties and just needs a beautiful powder compact to make the image complete.  It's not something for everyday wear - it's definitely a fragrance that requires a bit of dressing up to accompany it, but for those days when I prefer my pearls to my edgy silver jewellery, it's wonderfully evocative.

I'll talk more about Luckyscent and Scent & Sensibility next week (look out for a special post next week where I've teamed up with S&S to bring you something I'm very excited about indeed), but I wanted to talk about some scents I've been sent by Escentual.com this week.  

I'm hugely indebted to the lovely Louise (are there any other kinds of Louises?  I rather think not - however long term readers of this blog may have views that differ ... ) at Escentual who saw my list of perfumes and got really on-board with the project, thanks to Louise, I was sent samples of fully a fifth of the perfumes on my list, and it's been wonderful over the last few weeks having a "lucky dip" of some wonderful - and some er ...slightly less so - perfumes to choose from every day!  I suspect my workmates have been a little confused by some of the scents I've been wearing recently, but hey ... 

First off, Calandre by Paco Rabanne:

On first spray this is metallic, and flowery.  And, as is the way of these things, I had an initial impression of tinned peas.  The perfume doesn't, in fact, smell anything like tinned peas, but everytime I wear this, they're what I think about, at least for the first few minutes.  There's a tinny, metallic accord on first spray, which will tickle the back of your nose - and in my case, get the old brain cells working overtime - but, once this ticklish phase is over, there's a beautiful (and I do mean beautiful) essence of roses and glorious full-bodied florals, which leaves me sniffing my wrists in ecstasy.  It's perfume-y, but not at all old-fashioned, which is rather a wonderful trick to pull off, particularly for a scent that was first released in 1966. It's fresh and floral, and rather lovely, I've worn my sample of this one a lot since it arrived, to the detriment of a few other samples that appeared in the same batch.

It wasn't until I went back to Luca Turin and "the book" that I realised where the tinned peas thing came from. Luca talks about Rive Gauche a lot in conjunction with Calandre (allegedly, the two are almost identical), and Rive Gauche is a perfume that my mother wears.  As for the tinned peas, well, there's a very metallic note in Calandre, and my mother ... well ... my mother fed us a lot of tinned vegetables growing up, and that's the scent-memory my subconscious dragged up ...  

Lippie Rating: Lovely.

 Carrying on with the vegetable theme, I next tried Fahrenheit 32 by Dior.  Described as an unpretentious "minty vanilla" by Luca Turin, this is exceptionally difficult to find in stores, I tried everywhere before it turned up.  Yes, it's very definitely a minty vanilla, it's both herbal and sweet, cool and comforting.  For some reason, I do find a lot of vanillas rather too reminiscent of custard, and I'm uncomfortable in them for that reason, but this is very green, and I'm occasionally reminded of watercress (this isn't a criticism, I love watercress, and would eat it every day if I could), with a hint of orange blossom, and the vanilla just takes the edge off the sharp, green herbs, and rounds off the orange blossom a little.  If I want to sharpen it up, I add a little "fizz" with a drop or two of Commes des Garcons Rhubarb (from their "Sherbet" series), and the minty rhubarb'n'custard that results is perfect for carefree weekend days, and wearing with jeans and sitting down the pub in.  
Somehow though, I can't convince MrLippie to wear this, the big wuss.  Although, that might be because I've refused to hand it over to him since it arrived.


Lippie Rating: Weird - but good.


More on Project Perfume coming soon ....


This post originated at: http://getlippie.com/ All rights reserved.

Dior Addict Lipstick 578 Diorkiss

Apparently, some people think I'm a bit obsessed with lipstick.  I cannot imagine why people might think this.

[looks up at logo]

Oh.

Alright, they might have a point.  But, I'd like to make clear that I only own three drawers worth of lipsticks/glosses and balms.  For the purposes of the point I'm making, I'd like to - of course - ignore the box of lip products in the bathroom.   And the fact that I always have at least 10 lip products in my handbag at any one time.


Where was I?  Oh yes, Dior are relaunching their Addict range of lipsticks, and they very kindly agreed to send me one so I would stop sending them begging letters could take a look at them for you.  I was sent 578 in Diorkiss which is a pink.  I think my search for the perfect pink has overtaken my search for the perfect red over the last few months, which is a surprise!

This lipstick is also the shade you'll see Kate Moss wearing the advertising campaign.  In the bullet, this looks quite a deep shade:

But be not scared if you're wary of dark lipsticks, for in what appears to be an increasing trend this year (like the Guerlains and Chanels I've shown you recently), these have a gel base and are perfect for a more sheer look:

As you can see from the swatch, this is a soft and gentle pink on the skin, a little less "bright" than a lot of the other pinks I wear, and it feels very emollient on the lips.  If you like a deep, opaque look from your lip colours, then it's likely that the newly released (they're currently in Selfridges, but you will be able to buy them nationwide from 11th April)  Addict line isn't for you.

On the lips, it's a gentle wash of glossy colour, perfect for no-fuss looks.  Lasting power is about average for a glossy sheer - about three hours if you can abstain from eating or drinking for a while, less if you must indulge in a coffee in the morning.


I love the pearlescent packaging, and, even though it took a little while for me to figure out precisely to get the lid off (look, I'm old, and opening things seems to not be my forte these days), it's a lovely bit of kit.  I think I might have to indulge in a couple more.


Dior Addict lipsticks will be available nationwide from April 11th and will cost £22.  Which is cheaper than the new Chanel Rouge Coco shines (by 50p), and a good few pounds cheaper than the Guerlain Rouge Automatiques which will be released later in the month.


The Fine Print:  I was sent this to review.

This post originated at: http://getlippie.com All rights reserved.

A Week in Lipstick

So, after last week's accidental all-pink lipstick extravaganza, let's take a look at what I've been carrying around with me this week:




From top to bottom:

Max Factor Xperience - Pink Opal
Chanel Rouge Allure - Incognito
Bourjois Effet 3d - Brun Rose Academic
Chanel Rouge Coco Shine - Boy
Tarina Tarantino - Cameo
Chanel Rouge Coco Shine -
Bonheur
Dior Addict Lipstick - Diorkiss

And so, what colours did this week's lips entail?




Sigh. Nearly all nudes.




Swatches in (almost) the same order - the Dior is the odd one out, but there's a in-depth review of that one coming up tomorrow.