Finishing Touches: LipsNspritz of the Week 8th July 2016

It's been a mixed bag, fragrance-wise this week.  It's ostensibly summer, but I can't imagine anything less summery than this dark and dank July we're having so far!  Like with the weather, my perfume choices have been a bit all over the place, too.

Monday brought Tangerine Vert from Miller Harris, a herbal-fresh and zingy citrus that was perfect for blasting away those dreadful Monday morning blues!  This and Hermes Eau d'Orange Vert are very similar mood-lifters for me, both feature, I think, a little hit of mint amongst the orange and other leafy green herbs, and it's bother awakening and refreshing, and just that little bit "different" to a normal lemony-citrus as a result.  I wore Tangerine Vert with Charlotte Tilbury Walk of Shame lipstick, which is a great brown-ish neutral that teeters on that 1990's-style rust, but just avoids it.

Tuesday was Guerlain Shalimar Parfum Initiale, and byTerry Cherry Cherry lipstick (stupid name, great pink).  I was in Paris for the launch of Parfum Initiale a couple of years ago, and so it will always have a special place in my heart - I love the velvety iris and smooth vanilla, it's also surprisingly rich and earthy (almost  ... carroty!) for what was intended at the time to be a teenage girl's way into the world of Shalimar.  It's very different to many ostensibly "teenage" fragrances, not smelling of sugar and fruit, which is why I think it has been discontinued, and why that increasingly Le Petite Cherie Robe Noire, with it's cherries and black tea, and hints of chocolate has taken over as the flagship Guerlain fragrance.  Don't get me wrong, LPCRN is good, but it's just not as interesting (to me) as Parfum Initiale is.  Was.  Whatever.

Wednesday found me in Estee Lauder Alliage.  I love Alliage, as perfect an example of the pinnacle of seventies chypres as can be, it is both bitter green and blinding white, with galbanum and moss and crystalline white flowers, you could wear a tweed jacket and starched white shirt with this and it would be perfect.  I own neither, and wore it with black jersey (my default) and still managed to feel like a grownup all day.  I do think Lauder neglect their amazing back catalogue rather horribly in favour of their newer releases a great deal - does the world really need four versions of Modern Muse above some of the genuine classics in the Lauder catalogue?  Does Kendall Jenner read Descartes in the original? - but the fact that their classics are still available, and largely untouched, and accessibly priced is a great, great thing.  Go try some of them.  Also only of my favourite reasonably priced brands is Pixi, and this lipstick in Raspberry Blush is amazingly good and pretty.

Thursday was Vaara by Penhaligons.  I love Vaara.  It's a fruity-floral, normally a category I eschew, but it is interesting and original, redolent of quinces and a hint of saffron, over a bed of coriander (the seed,  not the leaf) and is beautiful and gorgeous and wonderfully radiant. I love wearing it.  It also has one of the prettiest boxes Penhaligons have ever done.  The lipstick was Givenchy Le Rouge in Carmin Escarpin, which is the lipstick I wore in Paris on my honeymoon, that's how much I love it.

On Friday, I wore Marrakesh Intense by Aesop.  This blend of rose, black pepper and cardomom is both spiky and powdery and wonderfully evocative, it makes me a little woozy in the best possible way when I wear it.  I do have to confess that I have a sneaking preference for the original Marrakesh formula, which punches up both the spiky black pepper, and the plush cardamom over the silky rose, but this is still magnificent, and has better lasting power overall.  The lipstick was Punch Pop by Clinique, which is one of my all-time favourite pink lipsticks.

Saturday was a lazy day in front of the TV, frankly, so I wore things that didn't take much thinking about: Bagatelle de Gabrielle by Omorovicza, which is a gently pretty, rather prim, little white floral based on, but not overwhelmed by orange blossom.  It's rather a "spa" kind of scent.  Pretty, but slightly unmemorable.  I paired it with Aerin Rose lip balm. To be honest, I'm left slightly cold by the whole Aerin Lauder cosmetics "concept" (though, I admit I do love her homewares - someone needs to bring them to the UK STAT!), it's all a bit wishy-washy "makeup for people who don't really like makeup" for me, but the perfumes are nice in a Jo Malone-ish kind-of-a-way, and this particular balm is very much a winner.

What've you been wearing this week?

The Fine Print: PR samples and purchases


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Givenchy Rouge Interdit Vinyl - Rouge Rebelle, Beige Indecent & Rose Transgressif

I know it's not right to fall in love with a lipstick simply because of its packaging, but boy, a sexy case can make up for a lot as far as I'm concerned!  I'm shallow, I know.  On Monday of this week, the latest addition to the Rouge Interdit lipstick collection from Givenchy was released, the Givenchy Rouge Interdit Vinyl, and I love, love, love the packaging.

L-R Rouge Rebelle, Beige Indecent & Rose Transgressif

Essentially a sheerer version of their classic lipsticks, the Rouge Interdit Vinyl is a brightly pigmented and very glossy balm-formulation lipstick.

Yeah, I used Rouge Rebelle before I took the photos.  Sorry.

I have three shades, Rouge Rebelle, Beige Indecent, and Rose Transgressif.  Rouge Rebelle is a sheer clear red.  Beige Indecent is a browned-caramel-beige and Rose Transgressif is actually a brighter cool pink, not quite the candy-baby pink you see here.

Personally, my favourite is the Rouge Rebelle (surprise!  Some of you will have seen it on my instagram #LipsNspritz feed already), but I find Beige Indecent to be surprisingly wearable, because of the good pigmentation.  Rose Transgressif is tricky for me to wear because there is a lot of white in the formulation, but it's a good summery pink, if you can wear candy-pinks.

There's also a BLACK one, which looks terrifying in the tube, but I discovered at the launch last month that it is surprisingly wearable on the skin.  Mine hasn't arrived yet, but I'll be sure to show you it when it does ... For readers of a certain vintage, if you remember Honey Tea by Shiseido, then this will be the replacement you've been waiting for, so pick one up fast!  It's called Noir Revelateur, and is No.16 in the range.

Givenchy Rouge Interdit Vinyl are now available nationwide and cost £25 each.


The Fine Print: PR Samples


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LipsNspritz of the Week 20.12.15

Well, unlike last week, there were no hugely stunning nasal revelations, alas, but there was still a lot to love about LipsNspritz this time around, and one nice discovery, which is good.  If you're wondering what LipsNspritz actually is, it's my way of smelling something different every day in an attempt to cure my parosmia, and a way to force myself to actually wear ALL of my something like 6/700 different lipsticks.  I'm documenting them daily over on Instagram, where you can join in with the hashtag if you like! As well as lipstick and perfume, there's also generally gin, handbags, candles, the occasional sweary makeup bag, and very rarely (don't panic) a glimpse of my face.  

Anyhoo, this is how this week went:

Monday: Mercure Ombre by Terry De Gunzberg and Estee Lauder Empowered.  Mercure Ombre is a warm and rich blend of violet and orris with hints of a very lipstick-y rose, and powdery ambre-sandalwood base.  It's really rather lovely indeed, and I liked wearing it a lot. Empowered is a sheer warm tomato red, which is really nice to wear. 

Tuesday was L'Artisan Perfumer Nuit de Tuberose, alongside Givenchy Interdit Vinyl in Rouge Rebelle. I love Nuit de Tuberose, and it was a definite contender for my wedding fragrance back when I was searching for "the one".  It's an unusual take on tuberose, starting off with a bright but sour (and slightly green) mango, which also has something a little damp and bosky (even ... swampy?) alongside.  Then the chewy bubblegum confection of tuberose arrives, and it's fun from that point on.  I love the unusual mango-opening (I love sour things generally), and this is a great fragrance.  Givenchy Interdit Vinyl lipsticks aren't actually in-store yet, but they're sheer and lovely, and have some of the most pleasing packaging it has been my pleasure to photograph!  Full review on this (I have a couple of other shades to wear yet) coming up soon.

Wednesday was my work Christmas party, so I dug out my bottle of Nuit de Noel by Caron and paired it with a fab red, Raspberry Blush by Pixibeauty.  I love Nuit de Noel, and always save it for this time of year, it's gently spicy, and doesn't fall prey to any of the orange-pomander-cliches you expect.  It's soft and lovely, and a real skin scent.  Raspberry Blush is a great example of the slightly pinked-reds I love, and the texture on this soft matte shade is great too.

Thursday I wore Alaia by Alaia for a full day for the first time, and wore it with ByTerry Rouge Terrybly lipstick in Cherry Cherry.  Alaia by Alaia is a difficult fragrance to pin down, it has hints of suede, of rose, of apricot, but it also has a strangely addictive creamy quality (it smells like perfumed and well-lotioned skin after wearing suede gloves, I think) that reminds me slightly of the now sadly-discontinued Amaranthine by Penhaligons. All in all, rather lovely, but it'll take me a couple more wears before I can really pin it down, I think.  Cherry Cherry is a really matte red, that wears very well.

Friday saw me back in tuberose, but this time in a classic version, Fracas by Robert Piguet.  I first heard about Fracas in Rivals by Jilly Cooper, and I've been a bit obsessed with it ever since.  Jilly described it as a "sharp, dry scent", and it was worn constantly by Cameron Cook.  Jilly is sadly wrong about the fragrance, it's neither sharp nor dry, but it's a loud, strident, neon pink confection of hefty tuberose, and ... just a hint of sex.  And bubblegum (all tuberoses eventually smell like bubblegum to me, I have no idea why, luckily, I rather like the smell).  I love wearing this.  Almost as much as I love Jilly Cooper, now I come to think of it. Worn with my other Art Deco Dita von Teese (I have two, the other one is pinker), lipstick, which is blood red and hot.

Saturday was me in 1970 by Bella Freud (composed by Azzi Glasser), and Revlon Balm lipstain in Crush.  My parosmia has caused 1970 to be troublesome to me since it arrived chez Lippie, as it opens with both vetiver and patchouli - both of which my post-parosmic nose still struggles with and registers as burned - but on Saturday something clicked and the smell finally registered properly for me.  A happy occasion, as 1970 is really rather nice. Alongside the aforementioned patchouli and vetiver, there is saffron and rose, and after a rather full-on inital hippy-chick vibe, the rose and saffron take over, from that point on it's a lovely and warm and slightly spicy rose.  Happy to have discovered this one at very long last!  I do seem to default to tinted balms at the weekend though, it's too much effort to put on a full face of slap on a Saturday ...

There's one more LipsNspritz of the week to come, featuring all my favourite Christmas fragrances, and my brightest reddest shiniest lipsticks of the year, but that'll be my final post of the year ...


The Fine Print: PR Samples and purchases.


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LipsNspritz 13 December 2015

I really enjoyed this week's #LipsNspritz, thanks to making a stupendous discovery about Shalimar that I've always missed before.  Sometimes having a "before" nose and an "after" nose thanks to my anosmia and my parosmia has it's blessings!  Anyway, more about that when I get to the Thursday part of today's post.

Monday was Aesop Marrakech Intense with Lanolips Apples.  I love the peppery-spicy rose of the original Aesop Marrakech a huge amount, without at all falling into the Christmassy spice trap, it's a true treat for spice lovers.  Ironically, Marrakech Intense drops a little of the peppery-tickly spiciness in favour of a brighter, greener, altogether fresher (without actually turning into a "fresh" scent) take on the spice market, but it's still lovely, nonetheless.  It's rosier too, and slightly easier to wear as a result, I guess.  Lanolips Apples is a lovely red balm that nourishes a treat on the lips, and never looks fuchsia when you're wearing it, which is something I really appreciate.

Tuesday brought DSquared2's She Wood and Givenchy Le Rouge Givenchy in Rose Dressing.  Sadly, something in the formulation of She Wood smells "burned" to my parosmic nose, and I wasn't able to get past that to smell anything else in there, but I'm given to understand that She Wood is a pleasant woody fragrance, designed to smell good to women who like to wear men's fragrances - it has vetiver in the base, which is, I suspect what my nose is reacting too.  I'll smell this one again in a few months, I think and see what happens then.  Givenchy le Rouge Givenchy  in Rose Dressing is a lovely neutral rose-pink, perfect for unthreatening days in the office.

Wednesday was YSL Black Opium and Lipstick Queen Rat Pack.  I'd not smelled Black Opium before, and it's a nice fragrance, but it's about as far removed from the original Opium as, say, the smell of freshly brewed coffee is.  Inoffensive, and packaged in a gorgeously sparkly bottle, it's a great perfume for people who don't remember the original, and just want to smell "nice".  Lipstick Queen Rat Pack, from the Velvet Rope collection is a fabulous red lipstick though, feather light, and with a HUGE punch of pigment, it's one of my favourites.  

On Thursday, I thought I'd wear Guerlain.  For some reason, in spite of not, actually, liking it very much, I have acquired at least five bottles of Shalimar, of differing strengths, formulations and vintages, but the old classic and I have never really gotten along that well.  I've always found it a thick, rather oily and smoky perfume, like an old fur jacket that's spent too long around cigar smokers, and I've found the vanilla overpowers literally everything else in the fragrance. I've read myriad reviews of Shalimar that rave about the bright and sparkling bergamot opening, but for some reason, my nose has always gone straight to the base, and not found it lovely.  However, this week, after having not worn Shalimar at all for a couple of years I sprayed it with some trepidation and presto!  Bright and sparkling bergamot ahoy!  It was a glorious revelation, all the more precious because I've literally never smelled it before.  Best of all, the bergamot beat the vanilla into submission so this was infinitely more wearable for me than ever before, parosmia or no parosmia. A happy discovery, and I'm looking forward to trying more of my Shalimar wardrobe as a result.  Lipstick was Guerlain Rouge G in Madame Flirte, a lovely soft red.

I was interviewing candidates for a job on Friday morning, so nothing too unusual or outré was required and this Eau des Minimes from Couvent Des Minimes was just what the doctor ordered.  A clean and classic herbaceous-citrus cologne, it was bright and lively, and not too long-lived.  And can I just say how much I love the packaging?  It's really rather lovely.  I wore Lipstick Queen Saint Wine, which may just be my favourite lipstick of all time with it.  Didn't want to scare the poor accountants!

Saturday was a pyjama day - still trying to shake this hideous cold off - but I dug out my bottle of Guerlain Teazzurra, which is one of their Aqua Allegorica collection (and, I believe, soon to be discontinued, so if you've been interested in it at all, then you might want to snap one up now).  Teazzurra is based around citrus and black tea accords, and it smells like nothing more than sweet, sift and lovely lemon tea.  Not the most sophisticated fragrance, possibly, and definitely not very complex, it doesn't last at all long, but it's lovely whilst it does.  I wore it with a Clinique Chubby Stick Intense in Plushest Punch, because even when you're ill, sometimes you want to look (and smell) nice, don't you?

What've you been wearing this week?
  
The Fine Print: PR Samples and purchases.


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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 ...


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Givenchy Parad'eyes

Yes, they really are called that.  Oh well.  These are Givenchy's latest liquid eyeliners, and I have to admit that they are very, very, very pretty:

The long top forms the handle, and the smaller bottom portion contains the liner. I bought two recently, the blue one you can see above, and the nude shade.  I know, nude eyeliner, sounds crazy!   Take a closer look at the brushes:

These formulations are very, very sparkly, and give a just beautiful finish on the skin.  I find them them be very long-lasting, and are slightly more subtle than, say, an Urban Decay Heavy Metals glitter liner. There is a downside however, and I'll get to that after I show you the hand-swatches:

My hand is angled slightly different in the second pic to show that the blue liner is actually lots of blue glitter suspended in a semi-sheer charcoal base.

They apply easily, both of them really needing two passes over the lid to achieve full opacity, but I find that's normal with most liquid liners.  These, however, don't dry down as well as other liquid liners I've tried, staying a little "tacky" on the skin.  It's not really a problem, and these are very beautiful colours - I use the nude shade for highlighting the inner corner of my eyes, blended in with a cotton bud, it really does open the eyes up - but you will be more aware that you're wearing this than you might with a more traditional liner.

Whilst they are sparkly, I have worn both of them to the office before now and not caused a scene, they're very wearable. What do you think of sparkly liners?

Givenchy Parad'eyes liners are available in major department stores and cost around £20.

The Fine Print: I bought these.  My credit card hates me.

Great Customer Service?

Let's face it, sometimes beauty counters aren't places where we can particularly expect good customer service, are they?  From the pushy-pushy OFLs (Orange-Faced Ladies), to the OFLs who treat you like a criminal for daring to even look at their products, to the OFLs who just want to "warm you up a little",  and then there are the ones who just ignore you and chat amongst themselves, the ones who make you look like drag queens, the ones who want you to join them on the Orange side, the ones who recommend colours your granny wouldn't be seen dead in, and the ones who insist your colouring is warm when it's actually cool (and vice versa) they're all irritating.

But very little is more irritating than being sold a dud product (we've all done it, bought something to get away) and then not being able to return it once it's left the store.  Until I wised myself up, and learned to stand my ground, I bought more orange foundations and too-pink lipsticks  than I could count, and I was always, but always just stuck with the useless things.

Which is why this is a nice post to write because on Tuesday night I popped into Givenchy at Debenhams and bought a couple of their limited edition Parad'eyes  No5 Poetic Lavender (singularly misnamed, as it's black with gorgeous blue spangles in it) and No 9 Nude Impression (which is a nude shade, with white and gold spangles in it).  However, when I got home, I discovered I'd actually been given No 6 Pearl (I didn't know the names of the shades until, of course, AFTER I'd checked).  Now, this might not have been such a bad thing, but No 6 was pink.

Baby pink liquid liner.

Seriously, a lovely way to make yourself look like you have an eye infection, don't you think?  Unusable, if you ask me, plus I look like DEATH in pastels of any description anyway.  I was dreading taking it back.  Cosmetics companies are notoriously crap at accepting returns - even on unused, still in the shrink-wrap products - and I was expecting to be turned down flat.  I was very pleasantly surprised, the SA took the blame completely (remembering my purchase of the previous evening, to boot) and swapped the products over without a murmur, or accusation of being too pale, even once. I was, it has to be said, gobsmacked.

So thank you nameless - and shame on me, there - Givenchy counter assistant at Debenhams Oxford Street, your good service is much appreciated!

Swatches and a FotD will follow, the Parad'eyes liners are really gorgeous, even if the package is a bit ... well, stupid.