Givenchy Mini Gloss Interdit - Travel Exclusive

I do have my boy trained well, I was delighted last week when he came home from a trip to Aberdeen with a little airport exclusive for me.  I've not tried too many lip products from Givenchy (albeit that one of my all-time favourite reds of all time is a Can-Can Red by them), so it was a nice way for me to try the range.

There are five shades in the kit, skewed towards pinks, lilac and rose:

I was delighted that the glosses are intensely pigmented, if a little on the thick and sticky side, with quite a fruity scent:

Lasting time is about average for a gloss, a couple of hours before fading, and they will get all over your coffee cups and everything.  You know how glosses are.

I've found them to be non-drying, and a pleasure to wear (I don't mind a bit of stickiness, to be honest), but a couple of the shades do contain a bit of glittter, which, whilst it doesn't feel gritty on the lips, it does tend to stay ON the lips long - long - after the gloss itself has disappeared ...

You bought anything on your travels this year?


The Fine Print: Purchase.  And for once, not one made by me ...


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

Wedding Update - Yaron Morhaim Jewellery

After an exceedingly frustrating couple of weeks trying to deal with an independent jewellery maker who thought not answering emails, not sending promised samples, putting up "joking" insults on my blog facebook page, making off-colour remarks on Twitter, and worst of all (for the jewellery was to be personalised) getting the groom's name wrong on multiple occasions, I finally caved into the inevitable and started consulting regular jewellers.  I'd reached the point where I realised that any jewellery we bought from this independent "artisan" would end up constantly reminding me how awful the purchasing process was, and I didn't want bad memories associated with my a piece of jewellery I'm planning to wear for the rest of my life.

 

I'm happy to say that we've now bought MY wedding ring as a result of our changed plans.  Turns out Mr Lippie is a fussy customer beyond compare, but hey, we can deal with that.  Eventually.  We had been planning to have matching rings, and we're going to buy something in a similar style for our bridesmaid too, but that's no longer the case.  We actually bought my ring in Cornwall, somewhere that has positive associations for the both of us, as we've spent a lot of time there during the course of our relationship.  A small jeweller in Falmouth introduced us both to the work of the Yoram Morhaim studio, and it was, I'm happy to say, love at first sight.

All the pieces have a artisan, slightly "boho" feel to them, and are stunningly beautiful.

And, considering the amount of work that's gone into the making of each piece, they're not that badly priced, either.

The best thing I can say about the ring (it's not on this page, I'm keeping some things secret - it's not on the Yoram Morhaim website either, ha ha!) is that I simply cannot wait to wear it.  I keep taking it out of the box and simply admiring it.  Silly, maybe, but I do love it.

Now, where in hell do we get MR Lippie's ring?

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

Washi Cloths from Lucris.

 
 It's not a flannel.  Well, not quite, anyway.  I was having a chat over on Beaut.ie the other week, and someone was raving about Washi clothes, so naturally, the first thing I did afterwards was hit up Google and discover what they were. I found Lucris, which proudly proclaims itself "the home of the Washi".  And so they are!

Essentially, they're a style of Japanese wash cloth, a little thicker and less scratchy than a muslin cloth, and a little thinner, and slightly more abrasive than a traditional terry-towelling flannel.  My skin is going through one of its more berserk phases at the moment, and muslins are just proving too darn scratchy on my face, (and I don't, personally, like flannels that much) so I indulged and bought myself a couple (or ten) Washi cloths.

The cloths are available in a range of packaging styles, from cute through to plain, but I was more interested in the cloths than the packaging, to be honest, and I've been very impressed, so far.  Even better, so has my face!

The cloths hold heat better than a muslin cloth, so you can give yourself more a steam treatment, and, whilst they're more gentle than a muslin, they will still give you a little exfoliation treatment too.

The cloths are professionally finished, having neatly hemmed edges, and I've discovered that they wash well, too, I stuck them in 40 degree wash, and they came out clean and white, and haven't shed too many fibres.  They're 100% cotton, by the way.

Best of all about these washcloths is the price, you can buy five for £4.25, seven for £5.45, or, as I did, ten for £6.95.  For 69p each, they're insanely hard to beat.  I like having ten, I can use one a day for over a week, then shove them all in the wash, and still have a couple left over. Size wise, they're just about big enough to cover your face, but they're a little smaller than your average face-flannel, to be honest.

Lucris also stock a couple of other things, I treated myself  (well, if you can treat yourself to something that costs 99p) to their spiral cotton buds, which a very cute, and highly useful:

The cotton is nice and tightly packed onto the bud, so they don't shed fibres everywhere, which is my particular bugbear when it comes to cotton buds.  And they're very cute, as these things go!

Image from the Washi Website.

I also acquired a Washi Skin Polishing Towel,  which is considerably bigger and thicker than the original Washi cloths themselves - about 50% bigger than a face-flannel, and it's designed to be used as an exfoliating body-treatment after showering.  It won't dry your entire body - it's too small, FAR too small - but I've found it invaluable for drying off my (dry and scaly) shins after shaving, as it helps get rid of the dry skin which can be irritating if it gets left behind.  The Skin Polishing Towel costs just £1.75 at present (it's normally £2.95), and I'll be picking a few more up - wondering how they will work on my feet!

Customer service from Lucris has been amazing, all orders come with a free gift, and postage is free if you spend more than £20, and their system keeps you updated at all times of the status of your order.  My order was packaged and despatched within a couple of hours of placing it, and I had it 24 hours later, very impressive!  They also dispatch world-wide.

Would you consider giving up your muslins for a washcloth?  I don't think I'll be able to go back to muslins now ...

The Fine Print: Purchases.  
This post originated at: http://getlippie.com All rights reserved.

Blast From the Past - The Body Shop

 I totally blame CandyPerfumeBoy for this post.  He wrote a wonderful review of Body Shop White Musk Oil a couple of weeks ago, and I'd totally been lusting after a bottle myself from that point onwards.


I haven't been disappointed with my purchase at all, whilst I lack Candy's lyrical writing skills, White Musk Oil (not the spray products, just the oil), is a wonderful little under-appreciated gem.  The wonderfully root-y opening, redolent of Iris (which just avoids the carrot-y associations you can sometimes get with iris) leading down to the beautifully warm undercurrents of amber and musk make this an easy, simple and pleasant scent to wear at any time of year.  I've been layering it under all kinds of things recently, to make my simpler summer fragrances last longer, and it's been a wonderful addition to my fragrance "wardrobe". Oh yes, and at £11 it's a complete and utter bargain.


Whilst I was in the store, I picked up a few more things too.  The pink grapefruit body mist is rather lovely, on hot days, and it smells rather juicy and delicious.  Grapefruit is about the only "fruit" scent that I can bear as it comes, most other fruits smelling too sweet, but grapefruit can be a refreshing burst of citrus loveliness and this version neither sears your nasal passages nor has the sulphuric undertones that can make some grapefruit scents somewhat reminiscent of  .... whisper it ... BO ...  my only gripe with the body mist is that it comes in a glass bottle, and I'd like it to be more hand-bag friendly, as it's great to use throughout the day.

I received the bottle of Moringa Beautifying Oil as a press gift a little while ago, and I've been very impressed with it, so much so that I've bought a few of the other scents too.  It's a dry oil, which is multi-use.  You can use it as a body oil, a cuticle treatment, hair treatment, and even use it on your face as a moisturiser too.  Personally, I wouldn't use something so perfumed on my face, ever, but it does sink in easily, wherever you're applying it, and doesn't leave a greasy residue.  The scents match many of the other products in the Body Shop range, so this is really handy for scent layering.  Moringa is a lovely floral fragrance, which is nice in your hair.  I find the other, more fruity scents are more suitable for the body, but that's just me.

So yes, I was a bit surprised by my trip to The Body Shop recently - I'm only surprised I didn't buy anything with Dewberry or Fuzzy Peach*, to be honest ... I may have even bought some peppermint foot lotion, just for old-times sake.


The Fine Print: Purchases.  Cheap and loveable purchases.  I'm as surprised as you are, to be honest.

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

Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains - Lovesick, Crush and Romantic

After being in total whelm with the YSL Glossy Lip Stains, I thought I'd try again.  There's been a big buzz about the Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stains around, and I thought I'd give them a thorough going-over.  I picked out three shades, a bright pink:  Lovestruck, a berry: Crush and a cherry-red: Romantic.

Packaged almost identically to Clinique's Chubby sticks, they're a good half of the price (almost a third of the price if you catch them on special offer at Boots/Superdrug etc), but Revlon's USP is the "Kissable" claim, as these are balms that leave behind a stain once the balm effect wears off.

The balms are twist-up, and provide fairly good, if sheer, pigmentation.  The range of shades isn't huge (and I haven't been able to get my hands on Honey for love nor money, it struck me as something that would be a good choice for a "My Lips But Better" look), but these are pretty, and very handy:

I took these away with me on my "summer holiday" last week, and got a lot of wear out of each:

Rather predictably, given my experience with the YSL glossy stains, I find that two of these shades don't leave much of a stain behind (Crush and Romantic), and the stains that do get left behind from these is identical - obviously the staining pigment in each of these is the same shade.  Lovesick is by far my favourite, I'm a bigger and bigger fan of pink over red lips these days.

Things I don't like: The balm only fills up half of the tube, and the taste - it tastes of dusty peppermint.  Like a boiled sweetie that's been left in the bottom of your handbag picking up lint and face powder.  It's not nice, but it wears off fairly quickly.

I'm still on the lookout for Honey though, if you see it, will you let me know?

The Fine Print: Purchases.  Yes, I always buy things in threes.  Unless it's shoes, that is.  I buy them in sixes.
 
This post originated at: http://getlippie.com All rights reserved.

MyFace Slinky Liquid Eyeliners

 
I'm a sucker for a liquid eyeliner, and always have three or four on the go at any one time. I had every single shade of Urban Decay liquid liner (until they changed the packaging to make it hugely unusable a few years ago, and haven't bought one since), and have been on the lookout for a range of affordable liners, in great colours ever since.

MyFace hasn't registered on my radar very much, I'll be honest, but my ears pricked up somewhat when I discovered that they have fifteen - FIFTEEN - shades of liner in their range to match their range of Bling Tone Shadows, and the news that they cost £10.99 each, which isn't a bad price at all, made my little heart go pitty-pat.  Currently I'm in love with Illamasqua liners, but there's a limited range of (beautiful) shades, and they cost £17.50 each, so these are a bargain in comparison.

So, on with the swatches, of the 15 shades, three are mattes (a black, a brown and a white), and the remaining 12 are shimmery. I divided the shades into three groups, darks, metallics and blue-greens.  First off the darks:

Swatches in same order as product shot above

Sugar Plum is a dark mauve-purple, Purple Haze is a greyed-out lilac shade.  Hot Cocoa is a bitter-chocolate, Sp"ice"y  is a metallic bronze, and Paint it Black is a matte black - more of a dark charcoal when dry, admittedly.  Be warned though, that Sugar Plum stains your eyelids.  Stains your eyelids GREEN.  No idea why that might be, but it does.  It's beautiful though, and probably my pick of this group.

Onto the metallics:

Gilt-y is a bright yellow-gold, Tequila Sunrise is an equally bright coppery-gold.  Silver Screen is a pale silver, Diamonds & Pearls is a pearlescent white, with just a hint of pink duochrome, and White Knight is a deeply opaque matte white. I found that Diamonds & Pearls had a slightly more watery texture than some of the other liners in the group, but nonetheless, it's probably my favourite shade out of this group.

Now for the blues and greens:

Bellbottom Blues is a lovely denim blue, Crystalline Green is a metallic sage with a hint of grey, Caribbean Queen is a beautiful cerulean blue, Limelight is a pale lime-green, and Black Ice is a metallic black with silber micro-shimmer.  Caribbean Queen is the thinnest of these liners, and it's also the one that stains out of this group.  I'm in love a little bit with both Crystalline Green and Black Ice out of this lot.

And here's how they all look together:

The liners have a thin brush applicator which easily makes either a thick or a thin line, and most of the shades are deeply opaque with one application, but there are a couple that need a couple of swipes with the brush to get them to show up properly.  I haven't found them to run, and they will only flake if you over apply.  They will fade over the course of twelve hours, but this isn't a problem.

Overall, I've been very impressed with my introduction to MyFace Cosmetics, what have you tried from the range?

MyFace Slinky Liquid Liners are available online.


The Fine Print: PR Samples.  It may take some time to get the stains off though ... 
This post originated at: http://getlippie.com All rights reserved.

Perfect Eyelashes - Lash Extensions

 A couple of weeks ago I was taking part in a top-secret project that necessitated getting some eyelash extensions (long story, don't ask - seriously, don't ask) done, and I was delighted that I had a chance to visit Perfect Eyelashes in Olympia, not least of all because it's right on my doorstep!


I love eyelash extensions, it has to be said, and Perfect Eyelashes would be my fourth set. I was looking forward to meeting Agnes dos Santos who, it has to be said, has some great ideas about lashes, in particular I love the multi-coloured lash extensions that she's come up with this year to celebrate both the Jubilee and the Olympics.  As an accountant, red, white and blue lashes would be a little difficult for me to pull off, so I asked for full but natural lashes, in effect, my lashes but better.  As you can possibly see from the above pic, my natural lashes are quite long, and fairly curly, but are quite sparse, particularly on the right hand side.  Agnes said that this is possible because I sleep on that side, but it has ever been so.

Agnes selects a mixture of lash-lengths and curls, creating a completely bespoke look for each customer, personally, I think there is nothing worse than going somewhere for new lashes and just getting the same look the last person left with - whilst I am, in fact, a massive fan of the drag-queen look, I don't want it every day, and the last two sets of lash-extensions that I had were a little too full-on, even for me.

The session takes around 90 minutes, and is very relaxing, the use of moisturising eyepads is a great addition to the treatment, and makes it feel more luxurious than just having your lower lashes taped down (which does happen in some salons!).

I couldn't be happier with the way my lashes turned out, in the couple of weeks following, I got asked lots of questions about what mascara I was wearing, which is a great compliment to how natural and yet still glamorous these lashes looked!  Also, they were practically weightless on the eyes, I literally couldn't feel them at all, which was a massive relief, the set I'd had previously I'd practically ended up ripping them off my lashes just after a week after they'd been applied, they were so heavy and itchy on the skin - I hated them!  It's why you haven't seen a review of them ...

Out of the four sets of lash-extensions I've had so far, I have to say that these are by far my favourite, weightless, glamorous, and yet still natural looking, I loved them, and I'd go back to Perfect Eyelashes in a heartbeat.  It's a clean, bright, welcoming salon and Agnes is a lash-genius.  I'll be getting these done for my wedding, without a shadow of a doubt.


Perfect Eyelashes have a variety of lash extensions to suit all requirements, and prices start at £80.

The Fine Print: Get Lippie was a guest of Perfect Eyelashes, but will return as a paying customer.

PS If you're wondering about my eyebrows, I'll be revealing the secret of those soon too.
 
This post originated at: http://getlippie.com All rights reserved.

Nails of the Day - OPI The One That Got Away

An oldy, but a goody, this one.  The gorgeous magenta shimmer with a multi-coloured glass fleck is one I love. It is perfect for cheering up a dull day, but on a day full of sunshine, this shimmers with an insane brightness and glow:

My pictures don't really do justice to the depth of this shade, but it's flipping gorgeous.  I'm choosing to gloss over the fact that it's from the Katy Perry collection, this is one of my favourite nail polish shades of all time.  I have it on my toes too, but I shall spare you the picture of that!

What's your favourite nail varnish?

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

TightsPlease SkinKiss Fake Tan Tights

Regular readers will know that fake tan isn't really my kind of thing. Frankly, I think life is too short to spend all that time exfoliating, moisturising, tanning, and smelling of biscuits, so I think I've had one tan in the last ten years!

When I got an email from TightsPlease suggesting I try their "tanning tights" I was a little amused.  Apparently, you just put the tights on, massage them on your legs for ten minutes, and presto! Tanned legs.

The official TightsPlease website for the SkinKiss fake tan tights says:

Try these revolutionary tights which are impregnated with fake tan using patented technology. Simply slip the tights on and leave for 10 minutes, massage your legs paying careful attention to ankles,feet and knees and then once removed you will be left with gorgeous tanned legs. No more orange palms, patch ankles and stained carpets! With Skinkiss tanning tights you can welcome gorgeous, bronzed legs in no time at all.

Plus you will also receive a pair of plastic gloves with your order to minimize stained hands. We also recommend using a footsie to avoid any staining on the soles of your feet ...Once used to tan, the tights can be washed leaving you with a pair of sheer 8 denier tights.

I mentioned these to a few friends of mine, and a couple of people asked for a chance to try them, thinking they were actually quite a good idea for the less dextrous of tan appliers, so I sent a pair to my willing guinea pig C, who sent this review in return:

I was looking forward to trying the tan tights as I have never been good at fake tan, always ending up with streaks and orange joints. I prefer the gravy browning style (of spray-on tan), but sadly this English 'summer' is not conducive to it. 

The instructions on the bag were very short (and very small). I opened it up and the first thing that struck was the smell. More pungent than a bottled fake tan, mixed with an odd dampness,  presumably from the fact that this is wet tights stored in a foil-type bag. I unpeeled them and put on the gloves provided. The tights are wet through so I assumed the tan was on both sides – but it isn’t clear from the instructions. I didn’t want orange hands so thought the gloves would be best, I put in a toe and rolled them up. 

Sorry, I had to stop. 

The feel of cold damp nylon combined with the smell was simply not something I could endure.  With some thought to how the packaging will make the product smell and how one might sort out the feel (could they be warmed?) perhaps, but I am going to have to be white-legged a little longer. 

So, there you have it.  A good idea, I think, but possibly they need to work on the smell?  Would you buy fake tan tights?

The Fine Print: PR Sample.
 
This post originated at: http://getlippie.com All rights reserved.

L'Artisan Parfumeur Fragrance Profile Service

Nuit de Tubereuse by Bertrand Duchafour

When planning a wedding, there are a million decisions to be made, some big, some small, and all seemingly important, at least to someone! Fragance is an important addition to a wedding, I think. I've known, almost since the moment we got engaged, what perfume I was going to wear to get married in. I'd picked out Seville A L'Aube, created by Bertrand Duchafour for L'Artisan Parfumeur, as, from the second I smelled it initially, it spoke to me, and I'd been dreaming about it ever since.  It's released this week, and I had been planning to buy a bottle.


But ... MrLippie doesn't like it.  In his words, it is, "too strong and too heady", apparently.  Which is a shame, because it is a stunningly beautiful orange blossom and incense fragrance, which would have been perfect for a winter wedding. Warm and floral, and seemingly innocent in the top notes, and fleshy-sexy as hell underneath.  But, alas, it is not to be. I can't wear a fragrance MrL hates. Well actually, I can, but maybe not on our wedding day ... I can grant him that.  Just this once.  I suppose.

Fou d'Absinthe by Olivia Giacobetti

However, L'Artisan heard about our clash of the wedding fragrances, and, invited us along to their beautiful jewel-box of a perfume shop in Covent Garden for a joint fragrance profiling.  We were delighted to take part, and went along one evening last week to meet with Diana who was there to guide us through this particular scented journey ...

Safran Troublant by Olivia Giacobetti

Your fragrance profile starts with a few questions about your favourite scents, favourite perfumes, and the perfumes you grew up with your mother wearing.  Diana took great pains to point out that my choices were "eclectic" - but this I already knew! Then, you're given selected L'Artisan fragrances two by two, in their signature cups with a fragranced muslin in the bottom, and asked to say which one you prefer.  The ones you like go to one side, and the ones you don't choose go back into the display.


Then, once this is done, you go back through the ones you like, until you have narrowed your selection down to just two or three of the original line-up of fragrances.  I'll just say that some of these choices are surprisingly difficult! You're then sprayed with your fragrances of choice so you can see how they work on your skin.

Timbuktu by Bertrand Duchafour

We took this in turns, and I ended up narrowing down the fragrances to three: Nuit de Tubereuse (a glamorous white floral), Timbuktu (a deconstructed vetiver, heady with incense) and Safran Troublant (a spicy, spicy rose with saffron and ginger).  I was sprayed with these and settled down to quietly sniff myself whilst MrLippie went through his profile, which was - probably unsurprisingly - considerably quicker than mine!  Eventually, MrLippie narrowed his choices down to Timbuktu (great minds think alike, apparently!), and Fou d'Absinthe (anise with pine and patchouli).


When the scents were on my skin, it was clear that there was only one winner for me, and that was Safran Troublant, this initially spiky, gingery, saffron gourmand (it dries down to a vanilla rice pudding on my skin, which is a lot nicer than it sounds), isn't something I'd have picked out in a million years, to be honest, but on my skin it was definitely the one that smelled most "me".  Foody fragrances normally turn my stomach a bit, but this pulls of the wonderful trick of being both extremely comforting, and a little edgy, all at the same time.  I like it a lot. All three of us smelled all three of the scents I was wearing, and we all picked out the same one - a fragrance consensus, that never happens!


For MrLippie the choice was a lot harder, both Fou d'Absinthe and Timbuktu suited his skin magnificently well, and there was lots of to-ing and fro-ing, and eventually, he settled on Timbuktu as his fragrance of choice.  A very good choice as it happens, it's rather wonderful, and, as it smells pretty good on me, too - I'd be bound to say it was a good choice! I regret, slightly, that he didn't pick the licorice of Fou D'Absinthe, but his choice, I guess...


So, will Timbuktu and Safran Troublant end up being what we wear to the wedding?  At this moment in time, I'm not sure.  Safran is going to get a lot of wear, I can already tell that, but my dreams have been haunted, just a little by the sour mango, tuberose and earth of Nuit de Tubereuse ever since I smelled it too, so there may just be another little purchase in the offing ...


Fragrance profiling is available to all L'Artisan customers, you just need to make an appointment with your local store.  Purchases aren't necessary.  I'd highly recommend the service, it will make you think very differently about the scents you like.


Get Lippie and MrLippie were guests of L'Artisan Parfumeur.
 
This post originated at: http://getlippie.com All rights reserved.