Clinique Turnaround Revitalising Instant Facial

For me, Clinique are really knocking it out of the park at the moment - you might have noticed I've reviewed a fair few of their products recently - and they've just added an entirely new skincare range: "Turnaround", to their line. To me it looks really interesting, as it is for skin with has lost some luminosity through stress or other factors.  Well, colour me right into the stressed category ... I haven't had a chance to try everything from the range yet, but currently the bits which stand out are  the Daytime Moisturiser, the oil (which has one of the lightest textures I've ever come across in an oil product) and this, the Instant Facial mask:

A gently pale blue cream that dries to a clay finish on skin, this is designed to give you both a manual and a chemical exfoliation (or peel if you prefer that term, personally, I hate the term "peel" in skincare, I am not an orange!) at the same time.

It has a slightly gritty texture from the "Diatomaceous Earth" (literally powdered sedimentary rock) added for a manual exfoliant effect, but other ingredients include salicylic acid - which provides the chemical exfoliant - alongside rice bran, clary, caffeine and chestnut, all of which either promote cell turnover, or soothe stressed skin.

You apply to clean skin, leave for five minutes (it dries to a clay on the skin), then wet it, and give it a little massage over your face before removing with a damp cloth.  Pay special attention, both when applying and removing, not to get any of this anywhere near your eyes, you will not want this in your eyes. At all.

I was worried that the double exfoliation would cause redness or irritation on my fairly sensitive skin - the mask does have a slight tingling effect when it's on, but it is very slight, and passes quickly - but my skin was left smooth and clear, and not in the slightest bit pink or irritated.  I was ill last week, and used this prior to some of my usual skincare picks for knackered skin, and was pleasantly surprised at the effects.  My skin was dehydrated and grey before using, it felt like sandpaper to boot, and this mask very definitely dealt with that all of that, I definitely looked less like Shrek than usual afterward.  I like the fact that it's a quick product too - 20 minute masks don't work for me, unless I'm paying for a facial - and the effects were visible after just one use, which is amazing.

Clinique Turnaround Revitalising Instant Facial will be in stores from 17th April, and will cost £35.  I'll be keeping it for emergency use only at that price, but if you want instant results from a product, then this is a good one.

The Fine Print: PR Sample

The Even Finer Print: We're not featuring full fragrance reviews on Get Lippie at the moment owing to illness - please see The Parosmia Diaries for more.


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Elizabeth Arden Sunkissed Pearls Cream Eye Shadow Stylos

Now, if you had asked me recently what my favourite cream eyeshadow stick/wand/pencil/crayon/whatever was, I'd have answered the Laura Mercier Caviar Sticks I featured yesterday, but I was incredibly pleasantly surprised by these limited edition "stylos" from Elizabeth Arden when they arrived a little while ago.  These babies last.  And last, and last ... it is safe to say I definitely saved the best for last this time.

Available in three shades, (from L-R), Fresh Water Pearl: a gilded pink, Bronzed Pearl: a warm metallic brown, and Blue Pearl, a golden deep turquoise. these are part of the incredibly pretty summer collection from Elizabeth Arden.

Trying - and failing miserably - to capture the lovely holographic effect on the packaging

These are crazy pigmented, but can be blended out easily for a sheerer coverage. and the colours are well chosen for a summer look.  The cool Fresh Water Pearl is my particular favourite, as it blends well with my skintone, but Bronze Pearl works well with it, if you fancy wearing two shades together.  I like Blue Pearl as an eyeliner too.

They are very creamy, and soft, and there is no dragging whatsoever.  The creams spread easily, and blend together beautifully, and look good either together or alone.  The shades are gorgeously multi-dimensional, and not flat at all.

Oh, and when I say these last, these really last - this is a picture taken 24 hours after swatching (which encompassed showers and doing dishes):

They do remove easily with an oil-based cleanser though, don't worry!

The other thing that endears me to these is the sharpeners, not only do they come with the pencil, they're part of it, so you can't lose them, the base of each pencil detaches and forms the sharpener.  Cute and practical!

They're also probably the cheapest pencil I've featured in this series, at £19 each, but they're limited edition, so hurry, hurry, hurry, they're in store now ...


The Fine Print: PR Sample

The Even Finer Print: We're not featuring full fragrance reviews on Get Lippie at the moment owing to illness - please see The Parosmia Diaries for more.


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Laura Mercier Caviar Stick in Rose Gold

I'm still on an eye pencil kick I'm afraid, but I've saved my absolute favourites for this week.  This is Laura Mercier's Caviar Stick in Rose Gold.  I may be wrong, but I think these were the first "cult" shadow sticks on the blogging circuit, and I've always had a soft spot for them.

Rose Gold is a lovely easy to wear fleshy shade, perfect for a polished, but barely perceptible makeup look.

I like this paired with a simple smokey liner for a really easy and long-lasting (but not too glittery, unlike some of the others I've featured recently) daytime look.

It is a smooth and creamy formula, that glides on over the lids easily without any dragging.  I find it blends easily, and sets quite quickly, and it lasts for hours without creasing.

It's basically idiot-proof, and I'm just the idiot to prove it.  Laura Mercier Caviar Sticks cost £22 each from SpaceNK.

The Fine Print: GWP 

The Even Finer Print: We're not featuring full fragrance reviews on Get Lippie at the moment owing to illness - please see The Parosmia Diaries for more.


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Charlotte Tilbury Colour Chameleon Eye Pencil in Amethyst Aphrodisiac

I'm on a lazy makeup roll this week, and a bit of a pencil kick too, which brings me to Charlotte Tilbury's cult range of "colour morphing" pencils, the Colour Chameleon range.  They are gorgeous pencils, but I did find the "colour morphing" claims a little incomprehensible until I figured out that the colours that were "morphing" were your eye colours, not the pencil shades.

My eyes are rather an unusual colour, being brown, green and yellow plus having hints of blue in the limbal ring, so first off picking the right colour of pencil for my eyes was difficult.  They're based on the colour wheel principle of complementary colours, and I couldn't figure out if you'd class my eyes as green, or brown or hazel, as there's a day and a night option of pencil for every eye colour (but not, it seems, for eyes of every colour).  Eventually I picked the purple Amethyst Aphrodisiac to play up the green in my eyes.

These are glitter city!  I must mention it, because they are the most glittery things I put on my eyes these days, and I can find glitter in the oddest places even after a very thorough cleanse!  Do not, under any circumstances, use these to line the inner rim of the eye, I think they could definitely scratch your cornea, and no one needs that.

It's a good and murky purple:

Creamy, and easy to blend, I apply this as a thick line of eyeliner, then blend it out towards the crease.  It sets after around 30 seconds or so, and is pretty hard to budge after that time.  I'm quite happy to wear it during the day, but for a more dramatic look, it is great with very black eyeliner too.  The colour lasts well, even on unprimed eyelids, I only experience creasing after a very long time in wear (after around ten hours or so), and on primed lids it will probably last even longer.  I rarely prime my lids if I'm in a hurry though.  The glitter will remain though, I warn you!

You will need a pencil sharpener for this as it is not retractable, and they are sold seperately.  Colour Chameleon pencils are available from Selfridges and Charlottetilbury.com and cost £19 each.


The Fine Print: Purchase

The Even Finer Print: We're not featuring full fragrance reviews on Get Lippie at the moment owing to illness - please see The Parosmia Diaries for more.


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Laura Mercier Lipliner in Plumberry

 

I'm not much of a one for lipliner, and I am definitely not much of a one for matching my lipliner to my lipstick, I much prefer to match my liner to my lips, after all, you're not supposed to see lipliner anyway, are you?  My lips are a pale rosy mauve naturally, but I do have a fairly strongly pigmented natural lipline (particularly on the top lip), which is just one of the reasons too pale or too sheer lipsticks aren't for me:

Plumberry Lip Pencil is, for me, a nude colour, being a slightly greyed pink/plum shade.

The pencil is slightly dry, so it is best to apply after using lip balm, but this does mean it provides a good, slightly grippy surface for applying lipstick over, particularly lipsticks with a very sheer slippery texture - it's good with YSL Rouge Couture, for example, a lipstick I can't stand wearing alone, because I swear the only thing that lipstick wants to do is COVER YOUR ENTIRE FACE, but I digress - but this will help with any lipsticks that have ideas above their station.

It does spread easily, and the point doesn't wear down too quickly, but it gives excellent coverage, and evens out lips beautifully:

I only wear lipliner once or twice a week at most, but regardless of the lip colour I'm wearing, this is the lipliner I reach for.  If I'm feeling lazy, I can just throw a bit of sheer gloss over the top, and hey presto, "nude" lips.

Laura Mercier Anti-Feathering Lip Pencil in Plumberry is available nationwide and costs £18.50.  It comes complete with a sharpener too.

The Fine Print: Purchase.

The Even Finer Print: We're not featuring full fragrance reviews on Get Lippie at the moment owing to illness - please see The Parosmia Diaries for more.

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ByTerry Ombre Blackstar eyeshadow sticks

I mentioned yesterday that my makeup routine takes me around five minutes, and it does.  Some days, I can barely be bothered applying makeup at all, and so a little liquid liner and a bright, bright lipstick is all I do, over a CC cream, or something. On the days when I want a stronger look, I increasingly find myself reaching for eyeshadow sticks, as they're pretty foolproof, and I am both lazy and a cackhanded muppet.

Here we have ByTerry's cult favourite Ombre Blackstar eyeshadow sticks in Midnight Forest, a deep, deep blackened green, plus Ombre Mercure, a greyish taupe, and Black Pearl a shimmering softly glittering black.

Closeup of Ombre Mercure

I like these because they give a multi-dimensional glow to the eyelids, making it look like you've spent a lot more time on your eyeshadow than you actually have done, and, whilst I might be lazy, I don't want to look sloppy.

Here you can see there are subtle hints of bronze in the green, but the taupe is pretty much a universal shade.  I like to use Black Pearl and Midnight Forest as thick liners, applying close to the lashes, then smudging out over the mobile lid.  Ombre Mercure I use more as a traditional eyeshadow, and wear with a separate liner.

They're gloriously smudgy, and blend beautifully, but they do eventually set, and will stay in place most of the day.  I do experience some creasing after a particularly long day, but that is easily rectified by just re-blending with a fingertip.  You can wear them over primer too, which increases their opacity, and decreases smudging, but I rarely bother.

However, they are glittery, especially Black Pearl.  You will end up with glittery lids. I normally abhor glitter - especially on nails for some reason, and bar glitter actually makes me feel a bit sick - but eye crayons like this are about the one thing I'll make an exception for, convenience trumps sparkle!

byTerry Ombre Blackstar eyeshadows are £29 each and are available from SpaceNK. I am just miffed they never EVER have the purple one in stock whenever I visit ...


The Fine Print: Purchases.  Look there was a sale on, okay?  And I had a voucher.  Any rumours that I had to sell a kidney to buy these are completely unfounded.

The Even Finer Print: We're not featuring full fragrance reviews on Get Lippie at the moment owing to illness - please see The Parosmia Diaries for more.


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Clinique Sculptionary Cheek Contouring Palette - 02 Defining Berries

Contouring is the trend that just will not die, isn't it?  Here's yet another ostensibly "contouring" product, the Clinique Sculptionary Cheek Contouring Palette in 02 Defining Berries, which is actually just a (very) beautiful blusher, and is all the more useful for it not being another pan of brown goop. Since it turned up, I've not wanted to use any other cheek product at all...

A set of three colours, one a deep "contour" shade, a medium blush, and a light highlighter, the intention is to use the shades separately to create sculpted cheeks in a more natural way than the tans and taupes you usually see in a contouring kit.

In reality, I find the sections are a little too small to do this with a normal blusher brush, but then I should really admit that I do not contour.  Life is simply too short for some beauty routines (all over at home fake tan, I'm looking at you), and contouring on a daily basis is just one thing too many for me. My makeup routine takes me five minutes or so on most days, my skincare routine takes a lot longer, admittedly, but that's the way I like it.

The shades in Defining Berries have a beautiful sheen to them without being sparkly or glittery, and they produce a sophisticated, barely perceptible glow when blended and used as a blush rather than a contour kit.  Defining Berries is a perfect blush colour for me, having a little depth to the pink, and not being too warm.  There are three other shades available in-store: Defining Nectars/Nudes and Roses alongside the Berries in this post, but there are two more shades available as online exclusives, Defining Sugars and Pinks.

Whilst I'm in love with Defining Berries, I am SO OVER contouring ...

Clinique's catchily-named Sculptionary Cheek Contouring Palettes are available now, and cost £28. I'll be getting a backup.


The Fine Print: PR Sample

The Even Finer Print: We're not featuring full fragrance reviews on Get Lippie at the moment owing to illness - please see The Parosmia Diaries for more.

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Alpha H Liquid Laser Cleansing Oil

As well as being on a bit of a lipstick kick at the moment, I'm currently obsessed - and I do mean obsessed - by cleansers.  Having recently discovered, and loved, Oskia Renaissance Cleansing Gel, I am currently using that and this Liquid Laser Cleansing Oil in semi-permanent rotation.

Another oil-gel-based product, the Liquid Laser range is suitable for older, or duller skins, but is mainly targeted at the surgery-shy over-45s.  Despite not being quite in that bracket yet, this is still a joy to use.

Lightly reminscent of lavender with a hint of citrus in smell, this is a sticky gel that melts on contact with skin to form an oil. This lends itself incredibly well to a bit of facial massage on application. It's a great nighttime cleanser, but I'd use it after you've done your makeup removal, now I come to think of it.  It will remove makeup, but it's a bit of a waste of a lovely product, actually.

Designed to lighten pigmentation, the formula contains white mulberry, cucumber and hibiscus to soothe, and I find it doesn't redden or irritate my sensitive skin.  It emulsifies beautifully, requiring only a few drops of water to form a milky cleanser that is easy to remove from your skin, however you prefer (I prefer to emulsify and then use a hot cloth personally, but it is whatever works for you):

All in all, a bit of a winner.  I'm a bit in love with the Liquid Laser range generally at the moment, but I'll tell you more about the rest of the products another time.

What are you cleansing with these days?

The Fine Print: PR Sample

The Even Finer Print: We're not featuring full fragrance reviews on Get Lippie at the moment owing to illness - please see The Parosmia Diaries for more.

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Philips Sonicare Diamond Clean - Pink Edition

Since I became parosmic last year, toothbrushing has been a major problem for me. More regularly than I would wish (and definitely more regularly than you imagine), just the simple act of keeping my teeth clean results either in tears or vomit, and usually both.  As such my toothbrush occupies a place of much more importance than it used to do.

I bought a new toothbrush over Christmas, and I HATED it.  Serves me right for not checking reviews beforehand, I guess, but not being able to switch off the brush with just one press was impossible, and this was a dealbreaker for me - when you reach that STOP BRUSHING NAOW!!!! point in the morning, every second counts, believe me - so I did what I am prone to do and tweeted about it.  Philips heard about my problem and sent me this Sonicare Diamond Clean to see if that would help me out.

Now, it hasn't escaped me that my one particular issue with the original toothbrush could have been solved (to a degree) by a manual toothbrush, but I've been an electric brusher for nigh on a decade now, and going back to manual brush when I have a tendency to brush too hard (and have had the ripped up gums to prove it) just wasn't an option for me.  That said, I definitely wondered if there would be a massive difference between electric (rotary) brushing and sonic brushing. So I was curious.  Sue me ;)

There definitely is!  Normal electric toothbrushes spin, whereas the sonicare brushes vibrate, and you can totally tell the difference in use. If you're ticklish at all (and it turns out I'm ticklish in places I never suspected before since this turned up), you will definitely be able to tell.  I've found that I can tell the difference afterwards too - somewhat to my surprise my teeth very definitely feel a LOT cleaner after brushing with the DiamondClean! Some days it is all I can do not to spend my whole morning constantly running my tongue over my teeth ...

It's rather an impressive bit of kit, too.  The glass you can see in all the pics is actually the main charger (it has a stand that you plug in), you just pop the brush in and it charges.  You can use the glass for rinsing too - best kept without the stand in the bathroom though! - and there is also a travel case for the brush, which acts as a charger too:

This comes with a USB connector so you can even charge it through your laptop!  All in all, I love the Sonicare DiamondClean, and I'm glad to have it.  I love, love, love the tiny brush-head, it is fully a third smaller than the Braun Oral-B brush heads that I'm used to, and it has made an entire world of difference to me, making it much easier to reach the teeth at the back without gagging. If you have small, or crowded jaws, it might make a heck of a difference to you, too.  I can get into all the nooks and crannies with this!  Oh, and it turns off with one (long) press of the button, too, in spite of the button also controlling the different cycles as well.

There are a few issues though.  The price is £250, which is insane, though it does come with two innovative chargers.  They could have designed the glass better, currently the brush just lolls about in it, and the sides are too wide to keep your tube of toothpaste in there as well.  My tube just slides over and falls out, which is annoying.  I'm used to keeping my brush and my paste in the same toothmug.  Small things though, particularly when the brush is currently on offer at 50% off at Boots, which is a much more manageable price.

Finally, the colour (which I wouldn't even be mentioning if the press release hadn't made such a complete song and dance about it, tbh).  It's pink.  It is a pink toothbrush. Which is fine. Nothing wrong with a pink toothbrush, actually.

What is not fine is that it is pink because, if you hadn't realised already, this is a toothbrush for ladies.  Because ladies love pink.  Don't we ladies?  Pink!  Ladies!  PINK! LADIES! Finally, Philips have brought out a pink toothbrush for us pink-loving ladies!  Let there be lady-rejoicing throughout the land at this up till now unfulfilled lady-need finally having a solution.  A pink toothbrush in a pink case. For ladies.  Now, I'm not sure, but I don't think my teeth care what colour the toothbrush is, and certainly I've never felt deprived at not having a pink option in my electricals before.

My workmate probably had the best thing to say about it when I opened the box: "Oh my god!  That looks obscene!"  And you know what, if you squint a bit at it in the travel case, it does.  Best be careful when people are inspecting your hand luggage on your holiday, ladies!

Overall, this is a good toothbrush, maybe even actually a great toothbrush.  Much like going back to a manual was impossible after having an electric toothbrush, I suspect going back to electric after sonic will prove an impossible step too.  I will see if my dentist agrees in about six months.

The Fine Print: PR Sample

The Even Finer Print: We're not featuring full fragrance reviews on Get Lippie at the moment owing to illness - please see The Parosmia Diaries for more.


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Elizabeth Arden Beautiful Colour Moisturising Lipstick: Matte - Rose Petal and Bold Red

I'm still in a lipstick kind of mood.  Aw heck, I'm always in a lipstick kind of mood, there's a reason why Get Lippie is called Get Lippie, after all ...

I do, I admit, have a bit of a soft spot for Elizabeth Arden lipsticks, mainly because I love the packaging so much, I think they look like tiny golden tardises (Tardis's?  Tardi?), they're classy and cute, which is a tough trick to pull off, I think.

Inside we have two shades of the newest Elizabeth Arden matte lipstick formula, in Rose Petal (on the left) and Bold Red, on the right there.

Matte lip colours were huge last year, and they're showing no signs whatsoever of being a craze that's dying out this year, which, as a matte, opaque lipstick fan, I'm very grateful for.  Your mileage may, of course vary, but I love full-coverage lips, sorry!*

Rose Petal is a soft rose-mauve, a little on the pink side, and Bold Red looks quite bright in the tube, but in wear is actually a lovely soft red, a little on the warm side, but easily wearable on most skin-tones, as it is more muted than it appears in the tube.

Against skin, the colours are saturated and bright, not powdery matte at all.  The texture is whisper-light, and creamy, you can barely feel it on your lips.  I blotted them down slightly on my lips, however:

Naked lips

Elizabeth Arden Rose Petal

Elizabeth Arden Bold Red

Rose Petal is just a slightly cooler version of My Lips But Better on me. It reads as "nude" on my lips with my skintone, making this a very versatile shade.  Bold Red is, for me, an incredibly wearable shade of red, rather neutral on the skin, and not screaming RED LIPSTICK APPROACHING!, which is nice.  I admit, I do find reds easier to wear than most people, and this shade is particularly appealing to me.

There are three other shades in this range, Coral Crush, a light tangerine, Nude, a slightly yellow-toned beige, and Raspberry, which is a very cool fuchsia, which I like very much indeed.  The formula is light and not drying, and has a slight satin finish.  Lasting properties are pretty much as you'd expect, though I did find that the brighter colour had a slight staining effect, meaning you don't get so much of the red ring of doom effect as the lipstick wears off.  Which is nice.

They retail for £21, and are available nationwide.  And hey, who doesn't want a Tardis-shaped lipstick in their handbag?

*Not sorry.  Not even a little bit.

The Fine Print: PR Sample

The Even Finer Print: We're not featuring full fragrance reviews on Get Lippie at the moment owing to illness - please see The Parosmia Diaries for more.


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