Get Lippie

Saturday 4 June 2011

Gah! Essie Apricot Oil

Don't you just hate it when this happens?

I knocked over my beloved bottle of Essie's Apricot Cuticle Oil earlier this evening, and the neck of the bottle broke off in the cap. INFURIATING!

And it was a present, so I've no idea where/how I can replace it!

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

I do like a bit of Elemis, so when I found out they were launching a more "affordable" range of skin care, I was delighted. Then, when I discovered that the aforementioned range of skincare was designed for 16-24 year olds, I was heartbroken.

But, I'm not one to brood, so, being the kind-hearted soul that I am, I passed a selection of the products onto my workmate Bel, who agreed to try them out for me. Take it away, Bel:

My teenage years weren't all bad, excepting the flat chest, train-track braces and highly temperamental teenage skin - all of which would eventually pass. Wouldn’t they?

I'm now twenty-something and when it comes to my skin I'm still stuck in a teen time warp. So believe me when I say I have tried all manner of things to sort my face out! Antibiotics, chemical peels, classic facials, microdermabrasion, and an excruciating treatment involving a laser, a humongous pair of suctioning tweezer things and a three inch needle - and yes I paid a hideous amount for the "pleasure".

So when Get Lippie offered (read as "had to wrestle out of my hands") me a testing opportunity for the brand new Elemis Fresh Skin range I was only too happy to oblige.
Elemis packaging has always looked a bit old ladyish for me. And although pretty inoffensive, the cerise and white packaging of this new range is probably hitting it’s target market - which admittedly may not be me (10 years too ahem, "mature").

The Peachy Perfect Skin Wash Cleanser (£12) came in a handy dispenser, lathered well and had a lovely zingy fresh smell (chicory, elderflower and lemon apparently). My skin felt pretty tight after the first wash, but I persisted for a few days using it in the morning with my gentler Darphin cleanser in the evening. However after a week I had to stop using it as my skin got seriously dry. Having said that, with my skin like an arid desert, all my spots seemed to wither away.

Next up was the Skin Glow Exfoliating Face Wash - quite granular and abrasive. But then again that is what an exfoliator is generally required to be. It was too much when used in conjunction with the cleanser but used once/twice a week with a gentler cleanser it worked a treat, particularly for sweeping away dead skin cells around the nose. (My favourite exfoliator is in fact another Elemis product - the Papaya Enzyme Peel). The Day cream was a great consistency - the dispenser delivering the perfect amount of cream for my face. It gave a good level of moisture throughout the day but felt a bit cloying on the skin and my make-up didn’t sit too well.

Last but not least the Dreamy Sleep Night Time Moisturiser (£22)- which was my favourite product. A lovely rich (what I thought was) lavender scented, moisturiser - that sent me into a blissful sleep! Turns out it was blackcurrant seed oil and barley extract. But how would it contend with my oily but dehydrated skin? Pretty well. By the morning my skin looked more glowing than usual. But that may be more to do with the sleep inducing properties of the "lavender" rather than magical skin glowing ingredients.

Overall not the range for me but I think "genuine" teenage skin would see a lot of benefits.

The Elemis Freshskin range is available from Timetospa

The Fine Print: PR samples - as always, the link to products is unaffilliated. Many thanks to Bel for being this week's guinea-pig!

MUFE Smoky Lash Mascara Review

I am utterly invisible without mascara, more and more these days I realise that it truly is my desert island beauty product. Well, if you ignored lipstick, foundation and skincare it would be ...

[ahem]

I've heard some amazing things about Makeup Forever's Smoky Lash mascara, but the name - and the difficulty of actually getting hold of it - has always put me off. For some reason, I thought it would be a not particularly pigmented mascara, or it would be more grey than black. Any mascara that isn't black just makes my lashes look dusty, and disappear, and are a complete waste of money, no matter how good the formula. Nonetheless, on my trip to Paris recently (sorry, I'll stop going on about it soon, I promise), picking up a tube of this was absolutely top of my Sephora shopping list.

And boy! Am I glad I picked it up. It's black - very, very, very black - it lengthens, it adds volume and it curls my lashes beautifully, and all without going crispy.

These are my lashes after just one coat of Smoky Lash. Not impressed? Here's how it looks in comparison to having no mascara on the other eye:

See? The lashes on my other eye are completely invisible, even though I'm wearing both shadow and liner on that eye.

Another view:

Difference isn't quite as distinct from this angle, but you can see that you can't see the lashes on the other eye ... if you see what I mean ...

The mascara lasts well, and is very easily buildable if you decide you need more than one coat. I found that the clumping was minimal, and it neither runs nor flakes throughout the day, which is completely amazing. It's a rather dry formula, which I prefer to a wetter one, and the brush is on the large side, but it's not so large as to be completely unmanageable.

And here is how it looks in the full context of my face. Other products used are Le Metier's Penelope Kaleidoscope shadows on the eyes, Peau Vierge on the skin, New ID coral blush and Dior's spinning lip polish in Fresh Expert on my lips - expect little peeks at these a lot coming up. Yeah, I don't know why I'm raising one eyebrow in that picture either, but it's the only one that came out in focus, so ...

Makeup Forever Smoky Lash has rocketed up my list of favourite mascaras, and is currently up in my top five alongside Armani Eyes to Kill, Trish McEvoy High Volume (which I think they've changed the formula of on recent re-purchase), Bourjois Volume Fast and Perfect Rotating Mascara and Le Metier's Anamorphic Mascara. What are your top mascaras?

Sephora Paris Giveaway

Man, I miss Sephora! Subject to a couple of caveats - more about which later - I wish they'd bring it back to the UK, I think the time is right, and the market is more than ready this time around.

But, as Sephora has seemingly no plans whatsoever to bring Sephora back in the near future, I thought that I would do my part and bring a little bit of it back for my readers!

There is a duochrome nail varnish (dupe for Deborah Lippman's Wicked Game/OPI-Katy Perry Just Like The Movies), a Sephora lipgloss in Ballerina Pink and an exclusive Sephora "Paris" palette which includes four lip colours, a blusher and nine eyeshadows. Plus, in the bag you see above are a couple of other bits and bobs for you as a mystery bonus!

All you have to do to win the Sephora goody bag is to leave me a comment on this post, (alongside a valid email address) and let me know which brands/products you'd like Sephora to stock if/when they do come back to the UK.

I will make the draw next Sunday (5th June - where on earth has this year gone?) and contact the winner the same day. Usual rules apply - editors decision is final etc.

Get your thinking caps on!

Bioderma Crealine Winner!

By the Oh So Scientific (TM) Method of asking MrLippie to pick a number between 1 and 33, I'm delighted to let you know that the winner of both the Bioderma Crealine cleanser and wipes is ...

Peonies And Lilies!

Well done lovely, I'll drop you an email later today.

Thanks for all your entries everyone, keep your eyes peeled for another giveaway, this time featuring Sephora goodies very soon...