LipsNspritz of the ... er ... Fortnight.

I hate being ill, and I really hate being ill to the extent that it interferes with my posting schedule.  Nonetheless, here's a double-dose (whether you wanted it or not, frankly) of my weekly diary of lipstick and perfume-wearing.  The above pic is from the week ending 22/11/15.

Monday was Etat Libre d'Orange Like This, alongside Chantecaille Lip Chic in Wild Rose.  Like This is probably my favourite "gourmand" fragrance, being a blend of pumpkin, mandarin, ginger and immortelle.  It should smell like a pumpkin pie - which it does, to an extent - but it also smells warm, sophisticated and slightly tweedy from the prickle of ginger.  Perfect for autumn, and just plain delicious at any time.  

Tuesday was continuing the gourmand theme with Laura Mercier Ambre Vanille, alongside Laura Mercier Lip Glace in Rose.  Both are easy and simple to wear, without being too challenging.  Ambre Vanille is sweet and warm, and Rose is a beautiful neutral, which will work on many colourings.

Wednesday brought Hermes Eau d'Orange Vert which is one of my favourite citrus fragrances of all time - I go a little insane for mint in fragrances, and this combination of bitter orange, sweet orange, and just a hint of peppermint oil makes me a little weak at the knees.  I only wish it lasted longer.  I wore it with the rosy mauve of Shiseido Lacquer Rouge in RD529, which is quite an opaque liquid lipstick.

Thursday I wanted to wear a classic, so I did.  Guerlain L'Heure Bleue, a beautiful dance of orange blossom and iris, coupled with vanilla and a little spicy carnation, I adore this fragrance.  It feels blue all the way through, so I wore a blue-toned lipstick too, which was Illamasqua Magnetism.  I got several compliments on the fragrance, as I always do when I wear it, and resolved to wear it more often.  Which I will when this project is over.

I fully intended to wear Tuberose Criminelle by Serge Lutens on Friday, but I was too ill to cope with the rubbery camphoraceousness (TOTALLY a word - if possibly not the spelling).  I spent the day feeling sorry for myself in pyjamas instead.

Saturday I was attempting to  make myself feel better, so a hot shower and a thorough dowsing in DKNY Drop of Rose, which I love for its soft and rosy approximation of baby powder, and a slight resemblance to Ombre Rose by Jean Jacques Brosseau.  It is pure comfort in a bottle, and I love it.  I paired it with Becca lipgloss in Palm Breeze, a bubblegum pink that wasn't too challenging.

 Part two tomorrow ...

 //
The Fine Print: PR Samples, purchases, random stuff from the back of the perfume cabinet ...



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Fenwicks Global Beauty Icons

I love Fenwick of Bond Street, truly I do. It's clean, it's quiet, it's sensibly laid out, the staff are lovely, and there's a frankly astonishing range of brands there now.  I was invited back to their store last week to celebrate both the relaunch of their newly redesigned beauty hall, and the launch of their #FenwickBeautyIcons and #GlobalBeautyIcons campaigns, and, I admit, it was a little slice of heaven in there.  There's something so wonderful about a beauty hall before it opens to the public, all the products laid out like jewels, promising beauty and delight, just waiting for the customers to come along and take their pick, it's rather magical.

I was invited to create my own "edit" of products both old and new from the new hall, and here's what I selected.  I wanted to create a classic red lip and black liner look, so used that as my theme, and I chose both products I've used before, love an immoderate amount and desperately wanted backups for, and new products that I've been lusting after for months now.

I went a bit mad in Charlotte Tilbury (seriously, the Charlotte Tilbury counter at Fenwick really does have to be seen to be believed), and picked up both the Magic Cream and Wonder Glow as I've been curious about them since they launched.
Chantecaille Just Skin Tinted Moisturiser is a holy grail product of mine, and I couldn't resist picking up a backup.  I also picked up one of their Liquid Liner pens, because, you know, Chantecaille.
Also a classic, and a can't live without product is Acqua di Parma, which I finished my bottle of last year, and have been living without ever since. I adore the soapy-clean fresh scent of this, and I've been wearing it all the time since we've been reunited.
I had to pick up a Lipstick Queen product, and the Lip Parade had my name written (almost) all over it.  A three pack of classic lip colours: Red Sinner (divine), Saint Wine (DIVINE) and Metal Nude (er ... slightly less divine, but lovely for people who like nudes nonetheless) I made a beeline for them.
I actually let out a little "SQUEE!" of happiness when I spotted that Fenwick are stocking Artis makeup brushes! Look, I need to get out more, I know, but I did.  So they HAD to go into my "edit", I can't wait, seriously can't wait to give them a proper try.
I've been lusting after the new Bobbi Brown Greige eyeshadow palette too for what seems like forever (actually: probably about a fortnight) now, so I couldn't pass that up, either.  It looks fab for my colouring, and I'm torn between wanting to swatch the whole thing, and just sitting gazing at its prettiness.
And finally a couple of things from some brands I don't know much about, the Colbert Balance Purifying cleanser, and Face Matters 24/7 Collagen Balm (who donate a percentage of the proceeds of every sale to Refuge, the women's charity, which is a wonderful thing for a tiny UK brand to do), because sometimes, it's good to try something completely different.

I could have literally spent hours in there, but I was in a rush to get back to the office, so I will be back to investigate the rest of the counters more thoroughly at another point quite soon (I probably only got around a third of the hall before I had to run away!). There will be some more in-depth reviews of these products coming up in the next few weeks, but what would you have picked up ofr your "beauty edit" at Fenwick?

The Fine Print: PR Samples


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Skincare of the Week - 22 August 2015

Joy abounds in the Get Lippie household whenever a parcel from Zelens shows up, and this week I was delighted that the two newest serums in the range appeared on my doorstep.  I'll be giving Zelens Intense Defence a good going over in the next few weeks, so expect my skincare routines to get a little ... visually undistinguishable ... for a while.  This was a simple routine that I'm already used to, so I can see if the serum does its stuff.

Chantecaille Autumn/Winter 2015 - Protect the Wolves Collection

Every August, Chantecaille release their autumn charity collection and this year it is wolf-themed.  5% of the proceeds of each "Protect the Wolf" collection product will be donated to the Northwest Conservation group.  I love the animal palettes, and this years collection is a nice one:

A nude lip, a smokey eye palette and a peachy blush, it's bang on trend for a winter palette (well, if you can wear nude lips, it is).  Let's take a closer look:

From left to right in the eye palette, we have Evergreen, which is a sparkling blackened pine green.  Then there is Timber Wolf, a beautiful metallic old gold taupe, and finally Midnight which is a slightly shimmering soft black.

The taupe (for Chantecaille are the queens of taupe) is perfect for every day, and you can use the black and green either as liners for a daytime look, or smoke them out for a more dramatic night time look.  If you use them without a primer, you will get a very subtle look, but the above has been swatched over primer.

Macro close-up of Evergreen

Macro closeup of Midnight

Pretty and versatile, and will cost £65 when released in August

The Lip Chic is called Patience, and is the usually balm-y feeling wondrous texture of the lip chics. A soft, peachy nude, it's sheer, but not unpigmented. Sadly, this particular shade is one that makes me look like death warmed up, so I won't be wearing it out of the house.  It'll cost £30 when it is released in August, however.

A good companion to Patience Lip Chic is the Ella Blush, which comes complete with an embossed wolf head, as does the eye palette.  Another soft peach, this is a perfect complement to the smokey eye palette, and is a good match to the lip colour.  It will cost £33 when it is released in August.

Here's the entire collection swatched - Ella blush at the top, Patience Lip Chic at the bottom. and with the eye palette in the middle.  It's a well thought out. and tightly edited collection.

Will you be helping Chantecaille save the wolves this year?


The Fine Print: PR Samples - collection released in August 2015.


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Chantecaille Autumn Winter 2014: 15th Anniversary Palette

By Get Lippie

You have to have a heart of stone (or at least a deep, deep hatred of taupe, you sick puppy) to be able to resist the annual Chantecaille Charity Palettes.  Usually items of huge beauty devoted to a single animal cause, tigers, turtles, butterflies and such, it can be difficult to bring yourself to use them.  Out next month, the Chantecaille 15th Anniversary Palette is certainly a thing of beauty, and it's very wearable too.  I steeled myself to try it out recently:

Clad in the brand's trade-mark pewter livery, the palette comes complete with a facsmile of Sylvie Chantecaille's signature across the top, and inside we have, instead of the usual three eyeshadow shades and a blush, just three eye shades, which makes this a far more compact and portable option than the larger four pan options:

Three shades, each embossed with a different animal.  The deep aubergine liner shade has an elephant, the slightly warm vanilla highlight comes complete with a monarch butterfly, and the elegant coppery-taupe has a turtle.   All the shades are very wearable, and are very sheer in use:

This pic is slightly more representative of how the colour appear in the flesh, it's shown alongside a couple more pieces from the collection that I'll show you later.  However, here is how the colours swatch:

The colours here are swatched over bare skin.  Chantecaille isn't particularly known for its deeply pigmented products (which, if you're over the age of, say, 35 or so, is a bit of a blessing.  You'll see), so these swatches shouldn't come as much of a surprise.  However, if you swatch over an eyeshadow primer (and I never wear shadow without a primer), then you'll see a huge difference:

The shades are complex and flattering, but admittedly, they're not hugely dramatic, though you could create a great smokey eye with this, it's also a lovely wearable daytime palette too.

Unusually for the normal Chantecaille charity palette, this supports three foundations:  The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, the Monarch Butterfly Fund and Widecast, which respectively support elephants in the wild, butterflies, and, of course, sea turtles.

It'll be available from SpaceNK next month - will you be picking one up?

The Fine Print: PR Sample.

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Empties!

I don't finish many products in all honesty, and of those that I do finish, I don't often repurchase.  These three products have been through the wringer and then some, and I have backups (multiples in some cases!) of all of them.

Hydraluron

I'll be honest, when I was first using this, I wasn't much impressed.  I'd seen raves - LOTS of raves - about this product in a lot of places, but I couldn't see what, if anything it was doing for my skin, so I stopped using it.  BIG mistake.  Dehydration lines soon started forming, and my skin was taking longer to "plump" up in the mornings.  Now I'm a total convert, and use this on a daily basis, my skin is far more resilient, and feels dewier and fresher than it's been for a long time as a result.  For me, the true sign of a great product is that you see a major difference when you stop using it, and Hydraluron passes that test, in spades. 

Clarins Gentle Exfoliator

I LOVE this stuff.  It's gentle enough to use every day (even though the packaging suggests you use it 2-3 times a week), and it constantly reveals fresh new skin.  I use it every other day, and found the bottle lasted the best part of five months.  Somewhat more than a toner, but less harsh than a full-on chemical peel, it's perfect for sensitive skins who need a bit of brightening.  Wouldn't be without it now - and have purchased a cupboard full of it, just in case!

Chantecaille Just Skin Anti Smog Tinted Moisturiser

This makes my skin glow, to the extent that complete strangers have commented on my "beautiful skin" (which I find hilarious, tbh), it's a bit  more pigmented than your average tinted moisturiser, and it layers wonderfully, meaning that even blotchy-faces and high-colouring can be covered, which is great.  This is also great skincare, and I have been known to use this as my only moisturising product, in an emergency, with no ill-effects.  Yes, it's pricey (£58 worth of pricey to be exact), but my last tube lasted well over a year, as a little bit goes a very long way.  When I need bit more coverage, I simply powder over it with something like MAC's Studio Fix, but mostly I just leave the glowing, healthy finish unadorned on my skin

The Fine Print: A mixture of PR samples, purchases, and re-purchases.  Oh, and re-re-purchases.  

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Five basics every makeup bag should have

I get asked, quite regularly, what makeup products every makeup bag should contain, and I always find it a difficult question to answer (I don't really carry a makeup bag round with me, and, when I do, it mainly contains lip products ... the name of this blog didn't come around by accident, you know) but, in response to a particularly heartfelt plea from MummyBarrow, asking for the five products you need to re-stock an empty makeup bag, here's what I think you need in a basic, but well-stocked makeup bag:

1) Base
2) Blush
3) Mascara
4) Eyeshadow/Eyeliner
5) Lip Colour

Here's my product picks:

1) Base 
 
Every makeup bag should contain a base product, whether it's foundation, concealer, or a powder is entirely down to individual preference, but, if I was starting from scratch, I'd pick a pigmented base with some skincare properties - either a tinted moisturiser from a reputable skin-care company, or a BB cream, again from a reputable skincare company (rather than a company better known for their colour cosmetics.  So, which ones would I pick?  Well, depending on budget, I'd either pick:

Chantecaille Just Skin Tinted Moisturiser (£57 from Space NK)

Or Dr Jart Regenerating BB Cream (£21 from Boots)

 Both can be used as a moisturiser in their own right (confession, I never use a coloured product in place of skincare, I always use my full skincare routine then use tinted moisturisers etc, but not everyone is as obsessive about their skincare as I am, I admit), and both give great coverage.  If pushed, I prefer the Chantecaille, less mineral oil, nicer fragrance, more buildable coverage as you can apply in successive layers - but the Dr Jart has an SPF of 30,  over and above the Chantecaille's SPF of 15.  The Dr Jart is nice and soothing on the skin though, and doesn't irritate my stupidly sensitive skin. 

A good base is all-important for making the rest of your make-up (however little you spend, and however little attention you pay to it) look good, don't skimp here.

2) Blush

Only one possible choice here, for me, and that is:

New CID iGlow in Coral Crush (£24 from New CID Cosmetics)

This is possibly the most-used cosmetic item in my stash at the moment, and I adore it.  Gives a wonderful glowy lift to my cheeks (it's ostensibly a highlighting product, but I find it pigmented enough to use as a blusher), and it goes with most makeup looks.  It photographs amazingly well too.  Writing this reminds me that I need a backup.

3) Mascara

The mascara I've been wearing most often over the last few months is:

Benefit They're Real Mascara (£18.50 from Boots)

I was slightly underwhelmed with this on first release, but, over the last while, I've come to love it a great deal, and regularly reach for it over and above other fancier (and more expensive) releases.  It's a good, buildable formula that, on me, doesn't flake or smudge, and only comes off when *I* want it too.  Can't say much more than that.  It's a bit wet on first opening though, but after a week or two when it dries out a little, it's a cracking tube of mascara.

The above three products are what I would consider the absolute bare essentials, if you've evened out your skintone with a base, highlighted your cheekbones with blush, and defined your eyes with mascara, then, frankly, any other colour cosmetics are an optional extra.  That said though, here's my pick of eye and lip products to round out a new collection:

4) Eyeshadow/Eyeliner

Sometimes, you just want something quick, and versatile.  When that's the case, I reach for:

Sue Devitt Eye Intensifier Pencils (£18 from Harvey Nichols)

Soft and smudgey, these pencils are a total boon if you're a bit short on time.  You can use them as a soft liner, a base for other shades, or smudge them and create a soft smokey eye look.   They come in a variety of no-fuss, no-worry shades, so there's something to suit most people.

If I was really splashing out, to be honest, I'd also pick up a Cream Colour from Tom Ford in Platinum. A cream eyeshadow that doesn't crease, and isn't greasy, and lasts all day.  I just wish they were a permanent part of the range (and didn't cost £28, but that's a different story).

Clinique are rumoured to be bringing out an eye version of their cult Chubby Sticks, and I, personally, am waiting with baited breath for their release.

 5) Lip Colour

Blimey, where do I start?  When it comes to lipstick, it really is up to you (your budget) and your personal preferences.  For budget preferences, I've discovered I'm a bit of a fan of the Kate Moss range of lipsticks for Rimmel, the matte collection is really cute, particularly in the darker shades.  If you want something a bit less fussy, then the Clinique Chubby sticks:

Might be what you want: Retailing at around £14, they combine the best parts of lipbalm and lipstick.  There's a whole slew of imitators around, but I definitely prefer these for their superior balm properties (little known fact, Clinique's range of superbalm lip products are amongst the best balms on the market, for me at least), and their sheer range of shades.  They're releasing an "intense" version now too, which have more pigment ... I may already have a couple, and will be bringing you a full review soon ...

If you want to splash out, and still have a balmy consistency, well, then you need a Chantecaille Lip Chic.  Which is, for my money, the most divine lipstick formulation in existence.  If you really want to push the boat out, well, then, head yourself over to Tom Ford.  Or pick yourself up a Guerlain Rouge G.  You know you want to ...


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

Chantecaille Lipgloss: Nectar, Guava, Taffy

Someone made me an absurdly generous gift recently, and, as I'm obsessed with Chantecaille lip products at the moment, I was delighted to receive these little pots of pretty.  I have three shades:

Like the Chantecaille Lip Chics, these are sheer, and packed with moisturising ingredients.  I don't find them at all drying, and they're a pleasure to wear, as they fuse the lip conditioning properties of a balm with a gloss.

The pictures have washed Guava out a bit, it's quite a lot redder than it appears in the pics, and is the one I've worn the most since it arrived.

So, Nectar is a nude, my lips but better shade, guava has a hint of shimmery pink, and taffy is a caramel-beige, (not the rusty brown I was afraid of when I opened the pot!), and they're very, very, very glossy:

Lasting power is minimal, they layer well over lipsticks, but you wouldn't wear them alone expecting them to last longer than, say an hour or two.

 So very, very pretty, and I'm very grateful to my benefactor ... 

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

Chantecaille Lip Chics -Tea Rose, China Rose, Bourbon Rose

The Chantecaille Lip Chic formulation is one of my all time favourites.  Sheer - like so many of the new lipstick collections have been this year - but hugely moisturising, extremely balm-like, and just pigmented enough to give you a wearable and polished look.  I love them, and the funky pewter packaging, and own three, all from the rose shades.


Here they are, Tea Rose, China Rose, and Bourbon Rose:

Tea Rose, is a lovely muted rosy mauve, for me a My Lips But Better shade, which I use with stronger makeup looks, so I don't look like death warmed up by using more "traditional" nude lip shades.  China Rose is a little more red, and is a tad warmer, almost coral-ish in wear.  And Bourbon Rose is a lovely pink, good for giving a gentle flush of colour to your lips, without totally taking over your face.


Here's how they swatch, with and without flash:

Whilst it's a soft formulation, the lipsticks don't wear down all that quickly, and they're a pleasure to wear.  Yes, they're pricey, at around £29 each, but my lipstick collection wouldn't be complete without them.

 The Fine Print: I bought each of these, and have actually bought Bourbon Rose twice, the first time was a present for someone else, and I liked it so much, I had to have it for myself too.


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

Chantecaille Faux Cils Longest Lash Mascara

Okay, the original post I had scheduled for today appears to have gone walkabout, so I'm just going to give a quick mention of this new mascara from Chantecaille that I'm dying to get my hands on when it's released next week, and that is Chantecaille Faux Cils Longest Lash Mascara.

Why do I want to try it?  Well, mainly because it promises 25% longer lashes in two weeks of use, without causing either irritation or discolouration.  It uses Sym Peptide 17 (no idea what it is, besides a peptide) to stimulate keratin genes, alongside the usual waxes and pigments, and this being Chantecaille, it also has a dash of rosewater to keep things ... um ... rosy.

Now, seeing as my biggest irritation with eyelash growth serums is the fact that I never, ever, remember to put them on every night, this sounds about perfect for a limp-lashed lazybones like myself.  I NEVER forget my mascara!

How about you?

Chantecaille Faux Cils Longest Lash will retail at £60 (more than comparable with other eyelash growth stimulators) and will be available from next week at Liberty, Harrods, Fenwicks, and Space NK stores.

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

Chantecaille Turtles Palette - Swatches

I saw this just after Christmas in some promo pics, and I have to admit, I fell in love a little bit.  Chantecaille has always been a brand I've admired, but have never really seen what all the fuss is about previously, but this palette might just be the one to change my mind.  It's beautiful.

A shimmering sand shade, a glimmering brown, a multi-tonal greyed out forest green, and a golden coral shade, it's almost as if the palette was made for me (and, if the brown had been a taupe, I may well have thought it was!)

Every year, Chantecaille produce a palette where a proportion of the funds raised from the sales go to help sustain wildlife.  Last year it was tigers, and this year (via the Widecast Organisation) it is turtles.  I've spent a few nights - in the dim and distant past - on turtle watch in Greece, so this was a bit of a no-brainer for me, but it helped that the colours are so pretty.  So, how do they swatch?

Well, the answer to that is, very nicely indeed, thank you.  The colours are on the sheer side, to be honest, but they build up well, and can also be used wet or dry with no damage to the shades in the pan, which is great.  Swatches above are shown as several passes of dry shadow on unprimed skin.  The shades are shimmery, but in a very subtle way, and they're amongst some of the softest, most velvety feeling eyeshadows I own.  Sort of a Rouge Bunny Rouge texture, only slightly less pigment, making them - in my eyes - slightly easier to work with.  Personally, I find shadows with too much pigment difficult to deal with at times.

I love that charcoal green!  It looks so different on the skin to how it appears in the pan, but it's gorgeous either way.  I used it as an eyeliner this morning:

I applied the sand as a base, the golden brown in the crease, and the green as a liner on both top and bottom.  The colours are easy to blend for a seamless look.  Here's the full face shot so you can see it in context:

I wanted a clean, professional look today for a board meeting, eyeshadows as above, plus the blusher from the palette, foundation is Guerlain Lingerie de Peau, and I'm wearing Lanolips in  Dark Honey on my lips.  I'm going to try a smokier look with it tomorrow.

So, do you need a Turtles palette?  If you like polished neutrals, then possibly.  It is expensive, at £73 the price is more than comparable to, say, a Le Metier de Beaute Kaleidoscope, but the inclusion of blusher makes them a slightly different proposition.  I can see it's something I'm going to use a lot, but your mileage may vary.

Finally, one last shot which is actually an outtake, but I thought it looked kind of cool:

Look!  They're all swimming in a circle!



The Fine Print: I bought this.

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

Chantecaille Turtles Palette

Oh my, how pretty is this?

I spent several years living in Greece, and several nights whilst there were spent camping out under the stars and watching turtles lay their eggs on some of the beaches there, so this will be a lovely reminder of my days as a rep.

I love the fact that some of the whopping cost of these palettes (these retail around £73), about 5% , goes to help wildlife charities, this year it's Widecast). I rejected last years Chantecaille Tigers Palette as the shades were just a little too on the cool side for me, but this is something I'll definitely be picking up, I think. It's too pretty not to, I love the cute turtle oversprays, and that's a perfect coral blush bottom left there.  And ... is that a taupe, top right?!

Not sure when it's released in the UK yet, but I'll let you know when I find out ...

EDIT: The palette is due to be released in the UK at the end of February.  Swatches for you when I can get them.

(Pic courtesy Chantecaille US)