LipsNspritz of the Week 17 January 2016

I spent this week wearing some of the "big hitters" in my collection, and thoroughly enjoyed it!  I began the week with Chanel No19 and Max Factor Marilyn Monroe Collection Ruby Red, and enjoyed the grown-up sophistication (something I'm sorely lacking in naturally) of bitter greenness and aldehydes. Tuesday brought brash spice and a gentle hint of the barnyard in Estee Lauder's Cinnabar, which I paired with the (accidentally) matching Sunset Red of the same Max Factor collection (click the previous link to see what I thought of these lipsticks in full).  Cinnabar is warm and full-bodied and is rather wonderful in cold weather.

On Wednesday, I thought I'd wear what was the first "fine fragrance" I ever owned (at the tender age of 13!), O' de Lancome by Lancome.  I remember it as being the lemoniest thing on the planet, and, what can I say, my  memories aren't that reliable, because it isn't, of course, that lemony at all.  Yes, there's citrus, but there's also a hefty punch of green herbs behind the citrus, and I loved wearing this, I kept sniffing myself in delight at such a great re-discovery.  On Thursay, I wore Samsara, which was the Guerlain answer to YSL Opium (as was Cinnabar, now I come to think of it), but it has a lighter, fresher, more citrus take on the heavy spice and warm resins of the original Opium.

On Friday I took advantage of the fact that my boss was "working from home" to wear Dior Poison.  Well, why wouldn't you? Applied in a small dose - no more than two sprays, maximum! - Poison is actually a lovable tuberose fragrance, with an appealingly powdery drydown. Applied with a heavier hand however, it deserves all the opprobrium it gets.  It was surprisingly popular in the office, and people were amazed when I told them what it was! I wore it with Lipstick Queen Private Party, which is one of the best pinks ever.

Saturday daytime, I wore YSL Paris, another fragrance I used to wear in my youth. Remembered as a sugar-rich, sweet, sweet, SWEET confection, this rosily pretty fragrance is another done a disservice by my unreliable memory.  It's not the explosion in a candy-floss factory I thought it was and is actually a neon-rose-violet that I actually can't smell in too much detail.  Oh well, I'll keep trying with this one, it's a classic for a reason. I topped it up with Paradox for a night on the tiles with MrLippie, and that worked well.  I wore it with Zelens Lip Glaze in Nude, which is the only "nude" I ever wear...

And what have you been wearing? 


The Fine Print: A mixture of PR samples and purchases


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LipsNspritz of the Fortnight, Pt II

 This week, I basically took a "lucky dip" approach to my perfume and lipstick choices.  After three months and nearly 80 lipstick and perfume pictures, I realise I'm probably something like a quarter of the way through my fragrance collection, and possibly, maybe, a tenth (perhaps?) of the way through my lipsticks.  There's a few months of this to go, yet, I think!

Monday was Miller Harris Cassis en Feuille, which bears a passing resemblance to Jo Malone London's Blackberry & Bay (a perennial autumn favourite), but just has a little more grassy vetiver in the mix, so has a little more ... oomph. I wore it with MAC All Out Gorgeous, which is rather aply named.

Tuesday was Etat Libre d'Orange's Antiheros, which is the lavenderiest lavender there ever was.  Luca Turin described it as "cheap lavender soap, but strong", and so it proves to be.  I've missed lavender a lot whilst I've been parosmic (up until recently, it has smelled burned and awful), and to have it back is wonderful.  Lavender contains such a variety of scents, it's herbal and floral, and has a hint of balsam, and mints in there too.  That it is maligned as a "granny scent" is an eternal mystery to me.  I wore it with Charlotte Tilbury's Red Carpet Red which is one of the best red lipsticks ever.  

Wednesday had me in something just a little more ladylike, the musky prettiness of Sarah Jessica Parker's Lovely.  I only like a couple of celebrity fragrances, and this is a good one. It reminds me of Narciso Rodriguez, only at a much more acceptable price-point.  I wore it with Illamasqua Stark, which I also like very much, though it's a little patchier than I recall it being on application.

Thursday brought a board meeting and Lancome's Climat - a little-known fragrance from Lancome's back-catalogue.  It's a sweet and powdery ladylike little whisper of a thing, a proper "Grown-Up" fragrance so I rarely wear it, for that reason.  Paired with Stila Long-last Lipgloss in Firey (I think, the label has worn off), it saw me through a board meeting where I managed not to kill anyone, so a winner, I think.

Friday I wore Boucheron by Boucheron, which is a big heavy-hitter of a floral fragrance, in a beautiful bottle, designed like a piece of jewellery, which always delights when I spray it.  Paired with Estee Lauder lipstick in Dominant, which is a very fine pink indeed.

On Saturday I was heading to a party in Soho, so I wore the ultimate party-girl fragrance: Tom Ford Black Orchid, in the new eau de toilette formulation, still loud, and one of the happiest fragrances around, it's a joy.  I paired it with the Matte Balm from Revlon in Striking, which is the loudest red I own, and wore them both with sequins.  A jolly good time was had by all.

The Fine Print: PR Samples and purchases.



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Illamasqua Shard vs Lancome Rose Sulfureuse

 
The sharp-eyed amongst you will have noticed that I've featured two very similar lipstick shades this week, Illamasqua Shard and Lancome's Rose Sulfureuse, both shades of plum, they're both deep and pigmented and cool, I like them both very much.  Typical though, you go and buy a lovely plum lipstick, then attend the launch of yet another beautiful plum lipstick literally minutes later - lipsticks are like buses, sometimes ...

Anyhoo, I thought it might be good to compare the two:

Illamasqua Shard is 4.2g for £16.50, and Lancome Rose Sulfureuse is 4.0g for £21.50.  

In the bullet, Shard appears bluer, and deeper, whereas Rose Sulfureuse appears pinker, both look matte in the bullet, which is surprising.

On swatching, the differences are more pronounced.  Shard is definitely far deeper and cooler, whilst Rose Sulfureuse is pinker, sheerer and far, far, far more glossy.

I applied a sheerer layer of Shard to my lips, than I did Rose, and the differences aren't quite as marked as a result, Shard is redder (but still cool) and rose is cooler, and still pinker.  Shard will last a LOT longer than Rose, however, but Rose will be far kinder to your lips ...

Fancy one?

The Fine Print: Mixture of PR samples and purchases.

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Lancome Rouge in Love - 379N Rose Sulfureuse

  
I've been sorting through my lipstick collection a bit recently, trying to find the best colours to "match" my new palette, and I realised that I didn't have any really deep but still cool purple shades.  I have SO many burgundy and wine shades, in a variety of textures, but I wanted to explore some cooler shades.  I'm short on plums for some reason, and, well, we are heading into autumn.  Shush, autumn is by far my favourite time of year.

On my way through Debenhams, I did a quick smash and grab at the Lancome counter, and this colour caught my eye.  I've only tried a lipgloss from the range previously, and, whilst I liked the packaging, I wasn't particularly wowed by the formula (or the colour), so haven't really written about the "Rouge in Love" range before.

The packaging is on the dinky side, being slightly smaller than the average  lipstick casing, but there is still a full-size bullet in there which is nice (particularly as this has a £21 price tag).  Billed as a hydrating formula with a six hour wear time, it's a very traditional kind of lipstick, completely in keeping with the slightly retro-feeling case.

It looks rather matte in the bullet, but this is misleading. It's actually a lovely, glossy shade of plum. not quite as dark as it appears here:

I don't think it does last quite as long as six hours on the lips because of the glossy formulation. Certainly, if you eat or drink something you'll have to top-up quicksmart, but it's an average-lasting shade, and it very definitely delivers on the hydration feeling both cushion-y and rather balm-y, and it has excellent pigmentation.  It doesn't, however, stain the lips at all.  Once the gloss is gone, the lipstick's gone completely, I found.

It's a glorious deep, cool raspberry shade on the lips.   Not quite as "milky" as my camera is making it appear here (it's definitely closer to the hand swatch colour, for some reason), it's definitely a statement shade, without being too "vampy".  The formulation is easy to wear - the press bumpf mentions "feather-lightness", and for once, I'm inclined to agree.  It doesn't last quite as long as you'd expect from the box, and the advertising materials, but reapplying is a pleasure.

Overall, I definitely prefer the Rouge in Love over the Gloss in Love formula (though I adore the unusual "click it" opening for Gloss in Love), and I'm delighted with this shade.  After a couple of weeks of £30+ lipsticks on the blog, £21 is beginning to seem positively mid-range ... I need to investigate some mega-cheap makeup soon, I think!

The Fine Print: Purchase.
 
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Looking forward to 2011? Guerlain, Lauder, Dior, Lancome and Clarins are ...

Nope, haven't gone quite mad - yet - but I found these pics on my iphone today and thought I'd show you some of the things you'll be able to see on Get Lippie coming up in the next couple of months ...

Here you can see the spring/summer releases from both Dior and Guerlain (Dior on the left, Guerlain on the right).  I'm loving the pressed Meteorites powder there, and the grey lipgloss from Dior.  Dior have a new mascara brush too, which I'm looking forward to trying when I get rid of my eyelash extensions ...

Here you can see the next Tom Pecheaux collection for Estee Lauder - Wild Violet - this looks simply beautiful. I think Tom has done amazing things for Lauder since he became Creative Director, and this looks like no exception:

The palette looks amazing - I'm a sucker for purple, as most of you should already know - and the Untamed Violette eyeliner looks fab too, can't wait to try this.  The range launches at Selfridges on 3rd January, and will be available nationwide from February.

Clarins are specialising in nudes for Spring 2011, and these are some lovely shades. Personally, I can't wait to have a proper look at the one second from the right there.  Those shades of mauvy-pink are perfect for me.  There's an eyeshadow palette too, which has some lovely pinkish neutrals, which looks very interesting.

Lancome are giving us pinks and purples this spring, and this looks very pretty indeed.  That purple eye palette in particular is really calling my name.  I like purple, what can I tell you?

A closer look at Guerlain - I think I need that new Rouge G. It's red, of course I need it!

Urban Decay is launching creme blush this spring, alongside a limited edition box of all of the 24/7 eyeliners.


So ... see anything interesting?  Anything catch your eye?  If so, let me know, and I'll arrange a review for you ...

Review - Lancome Climat

Scouting around trying to find myself a bottle of Cuir de Lancome in Selfridges (I was offered O de Lancome five times, but no matter), I came across this little beauty.

First released in 1967, it is described as a floral aldehyde, and was re-released by Lancome a couple of years ago.  I find it beautiful, it's very feminine - even ladylike - but it's another scent that's sweet without being candy-ish, and floral without being too single-note.

On first spraying, it's a very scent-y kind of scent, it reminds me in a dim and distant kind of way of Chanel No19. It's a classic fragrance in that sense, calling to mind boudoirs, and negligees and wedge-heeled mules.  And yet, when it dries down, it's powdery and warm, a little comforting, and lingers close to the skin.  It's old-fashioned, almost, in it's powdery-ness, but it's intimate and lovely, and it's been a fine addition to my perfume wardrobe.

Climat costs £38 and is available exclusively from Selfridges.

Lancôme L'Absolou Rouge Creme de Brilliance Lip Swatches

When I last featured the Creme de Brilliance liquid lipsticks, I had a lot of requests for lip swatches, so here they are - apologies for it taking so long, had to wait for sunny times to get the colours right!  They're swatched in numerical order as per this pic:

Please click on either shot to enlarge.  Which are your favourites?

Lancôme L'Absolou Rouge Creme de Brilliance swatches

Surprisingly, considering my utter worship of practically any mascara made my Lancôme, I don't own a huge amount of their colour cosmetics.  I have no idea why this is, but after their recent Pop Petrol collection, which I thought was really lovely (I ended up buying half of it for Other People, and have none of it for myself!), it's obviously something I'm going have to correct.

I do, however, always spend time searching for the Chris Benz Pout-A-Porter lipstick releases when they're out, but I was told recently that they're only ever released in the US due to lack of interest in the UK! Very frustrating to hear that after you've dragged yourself around every department store within tube-distance, but them's the breaks, I guess. It's a real shame though, as I always think they look just that little more interesting than the regular releases we get over here. That said, it's nice that Lancôme are doing UK-only releases (like Pop Petrol) these days, as we very often get short-changed a little bit by the bigger brands when it comes to Limited Editions.

Where was I?  Oh yes, the latest Lancôme release is this set of  L'Absolou Rouge Creme de Brilliance liquid lipsticks, which is a very lovely set of colours indeed.  When I was at the Lancôme offices staging my recent Precious Cells sit-in, they also presented me with a set of these little beauties to get me out of the place.

Containing Pro-Xylane, which is said to be anti-aging, there are nine shades in the set (in the same order as the picture at the top of the post):

More liquid than a lipstick, but less gloopy (and they are not at all sticky) than a gloss, these are really super-comfortable to wear. I've found that they're surprisingly long-lasting for a liquid formulation, taking about four hours before requiring a touch up - even after coffee and a croissant. They also fade very evenly, without leaving you with the tell-tale ring of doom.  I'm not, in all honesty, a big fan of the heart-shaped applicator, being the cack-handed muppet that I am, but the lippies do apply very evenly without dragging, and they  leave your lips feeling beautifully soft and moisturised after a day spent wearing them, almost as if you'd been wearing a balm rather than a coloured product. One further criticism: the numbers on the labels are too small!  You will NEVER know the trouble I had trying to get them into numerical order for the product shot at the top of this post.

Or maybe you will.  Hey ho ...

Now, would you like lip-swatches?  Which colours stand out to you? My favourite (surprisingly) is number 11 Rose Nature, which has an almost duo-chrome finish in the tube and is a lovely warm brown-rose shade on the lips.  I'm not normally known for my love of brown, but it is absolutely gorgeous on the lips!

The small print: I was given these as a bribe to leave the Lancome office and never darken their doorstep again. No PRs were harmed in the making of this post.  As always, reviews are honest regardless of the source.

Review – Lancôme Precious Cells Mascara

I’m a massive fan of Lancôme mascaras, and have been ever since they first introduced the Hypnôse range! I always have one on the go, and one as a back up around.

Despite the occasional misfire – Hypnôse Onyx anyone? Seriously I thought that one was innovation purely for innovations sake, it was literally no different to the original formula – they’ve always been my “go-to” mascara brand, as well as being the standard I judge other mascaras by.

Discovering that Lancôme had yet another version out at the end of this month, and that there is a waiting list for it at Harrods, I - on your behalf, lovely readers - begged, pleaded, cajoled, threatened, and just basically harassed the bejebus out of Lancôme till they sent me one to try.

(Actually, none of that is true, I merely cried at them till they gave me one to shut up and go away)

I’m glad to say that I’m a big fan of this one.  I loved the Hypnôse Drama formulation, but found the curvy brush a bit of a trial. Being the cack-handed muppet that I am, a thick curvy brush is not my friend, especially not first thing in the morning …

Anyhow, the new brush irons out those wrinkles, being flat, and having short bristles on two sides, alongside longer bristles on the other sides (see illustration)

What this means is that I can pack on the mascara with the shorter side, then use the longer bristles to tease out my lashes, all just by turning the brush through 90 degrees! So simple, even a cack-handed muppet can use it. You get the benefits here of both a thin, and a thick brush, meaning you can use it whichever way suits you.

Here’s how it looks on my eyes:

Now, I’ll be honest, it doesn’t – quite – give the full-on false-lash effect I love so much – though it’s pretty darn close - but I do actually have high hopes for this little tube.  And this is because this is Lancôme's first mascara to incorporate both skin, and haircare, technology into their formulation.  It is, in effect, an anti-ageing mascara.

Yes, I am aware of how silly that sounds, thank you. There are, however,  a few mascaras around making similar claims at the moment, but they’re all two-stage systems, Hypnôse is the first that does it in one step, with no fussy serums, and no two brushes first thing in the morning!

Here’s what Lancôme themselves have to say:

From 28 days, the formula enriched with our patented Lash Densifier Complex helps regenerate lash condition. With a visibly denser looking fringe, lashes appear longer, as though regenerated. Each day, Hypnôse Precious Cells helps you to reveal your lash potential.

I’ve been using the formula for two weeks now, and I’ve yet to see any particular difference in my lashes, but Lancome claim that this will stop my lashes falling out as often– something I’ll be delighted with, if it happens. I have much thicker lashes on my right eye, and much longer lashes on my left, and if this mascara helps even things out, I will love it for ever and ever, and ever, and ever … I’ll report back in a couple of weeks.

Lancôme Precious Cells will be available from Harrods on 28th March, nationwide from 1st May, and will cost £22.  Will you be investing?

The Small Print: I was sent this to review.  All opinions are honest, regardless of the source. No one reads these do they?  Hugh Jackman, naked! Told you.

Foundation Week Finale – Liquids

I love liquid foundations, and have amassed a fair collection of them over the years. There are very many different formulations, and with liquid foundations, it can be a case of trial and error getting the right formulation for yourself.
There are two main kinds, ones that leave you with a dewy glow, and matte ones – but, of course, there are all kinds of gradations in-between.  Me being a dry-skinned kind of gal, I tend to favour more glowy kinds of foundations over the matte ones, but I’ll have a look at some good examples of both in this post.
Dewy
Foundations that give you a dewy finish can be heavier in oils, and therefore they’re better for drier, or more mature skins.  My absolute favourite foundation in this category is Chanel Vitalumiere, which I find leaves me with a lovely “glowing” effect, without making it look like I’m either sweaty or greasy.  It last pretty well, too, but the shade range isn’t all that wide (I find the pale shades pretty dark, and they don’t really cater for darker skins at all, which is a shame), but I like the air-free pump bottle, which means no messy spills!
Bourjois 10 hour sleep effect foundation is another good one, but I find it can my my (only slightly) dry skin look a little too shiny, and so I find that setting it with powder takes the edge off that.
Nars Sheer Glow is one that a lot of people swear by, but I found in my recent Nars makeover that it just made me look sweaty, even after a good powdering!  However, if you have really dry skin, it might be a good one to try out.
Matte
I’m not the best person to ask about matte foundations, as I find that many of the “oil-free” formulations that abound, like Lancome’s Teint Idole Ultra (which is actually an excellent foundation for greasier-skinned people) suck all the moisture out of my face after a couple of hours and leave me looking a little desiccated.  I also recently tried Bourjois Mineral Matte foundation recently (which is cutely packaged with it’s own tiny kabuki brush) but again, it just dried my skin out that little too much to be comfortable.
So, can dry-skinned people use a matte base without resembling an Egyptian mummy by lunchtime?  Surprisingly, the answer is yes! 
I recently discovered Rimmel’s Stay Matte formulation (okay, I may not have been the first person to ever have bought this one) and I absolutely love it!  Now, the reason I love it is probably because it’s not really as matte as it claims to be.  Personally, I’d describe the finish as a “satin”.  It doesn’t give me as dewy a glow as Vitalumiere, but there is definitely a lovely sheen to my skin when I’m wearing this.  Over the winter, Rimmel Stay Matte has been my default foundation, and currently, it’s the one I use as a benchmark for ALL foundations, it’s that good!  I also purchased a couple of back-ups …
Another one with a great satin, or “semi-matte”, finish is Bourjois Healthy Mix foundation, which I like a lot, but the texture is a bit more liquid than the Rimmel, and I think doesn’t last quite as well.
Application
With all my liquid foundations, I pour a little onto the back of my hand, and dab a flat-topped Kabuki brush into it, and use that to spread the foundation over my trouble spots (nose and T-Zone), then use the slightly denuded brush to blend it over the remainder of my face.  I then use my fingers to add a little more in place of concealer where I need it.  Sometimes, I finish with powder, sometimes I don’t, it depends on what I’m doing for the day.
That said, there’s no real right or wrong way to apply your foundation, the right way is simply the way that works for you.  For my makeovers, I usually use a disposable foundation sponge, but sometimes I use my fingers.  As long as you don’t end up looking like you’re wearing a mask, it’s all good!
What’s your favourite liquid foundation? How do you apply it, and what finish do you like?

Smokey Eyes - How I do it

Lots of pictures here, and not too many words, merry Christmas everyone!

 

Applying a colour wash - Mac Dovefeather

Defining the crease - Laura Mercier Twilight

Powder Lining - Laura Mercier Twilight

Lining the lower waterline - Laura Mercier Twilight (considering botox, priceless)

Applying Mascara - Lancome Hypnose Drama

Deciding I need liquid liner - Make Up Forever purple

Applying blusher - Cargo Plant Love Illuminator in Wind (fnaar)

Lipstick - YSL Rouge Volupte 23

How the eye make up looks close up

And, how the look is complete:

(possibly the worst picture of me, ever taken, hence the close cropping!)

This is my smokey-eyes party look, and it's what I'll be sporting today.  Hope you're all having a wonderful Christmas!

I'll be back around the new year, I'll see you all soon!

Luce

x

Makeover: Jane C

Another Sunday, and another makeover (or two) today!  Please meet Jane:

Jane's great, and I think she's one of the most naturally gorgeous people I've ever met, so having her volunteer for a makeover was a lovely surprise!  Jane was interested in finding out a simple look suitable for daytime, and trying out a more dramatic look too.  Here's what we came up with - and before we start, I must apologise for the quality of the pictures in this post, we lost the light quite dramatically towards the end of our session, and so some of the later pictures have a lot of shadows which I find really distressing!

So, for the daytime look,  as always we started with the base.  Jane is blessed with naturally creamy skin, so, instead of using a foundation, I used Benefit You Rebel in Light to even out her skintone:

I used a very tiny bit of ELF High Definition powder on Jane's T-zone, but there really wasn't a huge amount of corrective work that needed doing here.  We then moved onto Jane's eyes, I dug out my Bobbi Brown  palette, and used Flesh as a colour wash all over the lid up to to brow, then used Naked as a crease contour:

 

Jane uses a lot of grey shadows ordinarily, but we thought something a little different might work, so, as an eyeliner, we used a Korres pencil in blueblack - I love these pencils, they're buttery-soft and beautifully blendable, perfect for a novice user - to set off the browns in her eyes:

 

 

Then, we finished off with a little Lancome Hypnose, a dusting of Cargo Illuminator in Wind on the cheekbones, and a little beige lipgloss:

For Jane's more dramatic look, we removed the eyemakeup altogether and started from scratch.  I was determined to make this as simple as possible for Jane to be able to replicate at home, so I used a very similar application technique, and mainly just worked with different colours.

As a colour wash over the lid, I used Korres eyeshadow in Base 12s, which is a lovely taupe with a slight pink iridescence.  The iridescence made Jane a bit nervous, but once I explained that it's not actually a PINK eyeshadow, and it would just make her eyes seem a bit brighter, she relented and let me use it.  Then, to accentuate the crease, I use MAC Behold, which is a grey-taupe, and possibly the most useful eyeshadow I have in my kit:

 

 

I then applied an extremely thin line of black powder eyeshadow in place of liquid liner, and accentuated the lashes with a coat of Lancome Hypnose Drama (forgot to take pictures of this step - sorry!) Once the eyes were finished, I applied Ellis Red from Ellis Faas to Jane's lips, and the look was finished:

Personally, I love how this looks on Jane.  If I were to try to re-create this look, I'd probably do a little cheekbone contouring too - probably using Ilamasqua blush in Rumour - and add another coat or two of mascara.  I'd also make sure the lighting was right!

Thank you very much for being my sitter, Jane, I hope you enjoyed the session as much as I did.