Get Lippie: Make up Forever

Sunday, 1 November 2015

LipsNspritz 31.10.15

It was definitely a week of two halves, lipstick-wise at least! Bright reds, by Guerlain (Rouge Parade), Burberry (Military Red) and Art Deco (Dita Von Teese collection) were the order of the day, particularly on Wednesday, when I felt a real need for power dressing, which called for a hugely long-lasting red (as the Art Deco is), and when paired with Donna Karan Signature fragrance recalled boardroom meetings in the late 80s. Minus the power-suits, of course ... Oh, and you can do a lot worse than a bottle of Kim Kardashian to brighten up a doleful Monday morning, btw ...

I mellowed out enough to allow Autumn a look-in on Thursday and Friday, pairing berry-colours from Lipstick Queen (Bete Noire, sheer) and Makeup Forever (Artist Plexi-Gloss 406) with Jo Malone Blackberry and Bay (possibly the most autumnal fragrance I own), and Hermes Eau des Merveilles, which being neither fruity, nor flowery, nor spicy, nor fruity is as difficult to describe as it is easy to love (it's probably best described as a salty orange, without the orange. Yes, yes, I know). Then on Saturday I was seduced all over again by Burberry sending me their Christmas collection, which includes a new Military Red in beautiful gold packaging, and a sparkling bottle of My Burberry to boot. So I wore those, because, why not?

The Fine Print: Mixture of PR samples and personal purchases.

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Makeup Forever - Artist Plexi Gloss 102p, 406 and 209

I do love a lipgloss. I don't wear them nearly as often as I used to because very often they don't allow a proper slick of colour, and they don't last anywhere near long enough on the lips. However when MUFE Artist Plexi Gloss unexpectedly popped through my letter box, I was really happy because these are pigmented and they are properly colourful!

This is 102p Sweet Beige, 406 Burgundy and 209 Fuchsia, and you can see that 406 and 209 are simply packed with pigment, which makes them a delight. 102p is practically a clear gloss on my skin (and on my lips, as you'll see a bit later), but it has a lovely shimmer and will make a great layering gloss. The other two are pigmented enough to wear alone. You can see that 406 Burgundy which looks, frankly, terrifying in the tube is actually quite a wearable berry in the swatch.

The glosses have a flexible paddle applicator, with a tiny v-shaped notch that allows for greater ease of application - don't ask me why it works, but it does. I am too thick to have figured out how or why though, so I'm going to guess at: physics. No! Aerodynamics! No! Ergonomics! God, I just don't know - so it's actually quite easy to get a precise application on the lips, even with the most opaque colours in the range.

Top to bottom: my bare lips, 102p, 209 and 406

As you can see 102p Sweet Beige just adds a hint of milky peach to my lips - which isn't a look I particularly enjoy wearing myself, but it's lovely on others - 209 is a deeply opaque blued fuchsia and 406 is a sheer and surprisingly wearable (but not unpigmented) berry in wear.

Yes, they are a little sticky, but this is part of what keeps the glosses lasting several hours instead of several minutes. I haven't noticed any particularly discernible flavour. Overall, if you love a glossy look but don't love wishy washy glosses with no staying power (like me), then these are a good option. Mine came from PAM in West London, which has long been the best place to get MUFE products. Their online swatches are a bit ... unrealistic though, so do a little research into the individual shades before buying - there are 35 of them, so there will definitely be something to suit!

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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MUFE Smoky Lash Mascara Review

I am utterly invisible without mascara, more and more these days I realise that it truly is my desert island beauty product. Well, if you ignored lipstick, foundation and skincare it would be ...

[ahem]

I've heard some amazing things about Makeup Forever's Smoky Lash mascara, but the name - and the difficulty of actually getting hold of it - has always put me off. For some reason, I thought it would be a not particularly pigmented mascara, or it would be more grey than black. Any mascara that isn't black just makes my lashes look dusty, and disappear, and are a complete waste of money, no matter how good the formula. Nonetheless, on my trip to Paris recently (sorry, I'll stop going on about it soon, I promise), picking up a tube of this was absolutely top of my Sephora shopping list.

And boy! Am I glad I picked it up. It's black - very, very, very black - it lengthens, it adds volume and it curls my lashes beautifully, and all without going crispy.

These are my lashes after just one coat of Smoky Lash. Not impressed? Here's how it looks in comparison to having no mascara on the other eye:

See? The lashes on my other eye are completely invisible, even though I'm wearing both shadow and liner on that eye.

Another view:

Difference isn't quite as distinct from this angle, but you can see that you can't see the lashes on the other eye ... if you see what I mean ...

The mascara lasts well, and is very easily buildable if you decide you need more than one coat. I found that the clumping was minimal, and it neither runs nor flakes throughout the day, which is completely amazing. It's a rather dry formula, which I prefer to a wetter one, and the brush is on the large side, but it's not so large as to be completely unmanageable.

And here is how it looks in the full context of my face. Other products used are Le Metier's Penelope Kaleidoscope shadows on the eyes, Peau Vierge on the skin, New ID coral blush and Dior's spinning lip polish in Fresh Expert on my lips - expect little peeks at these a lot coming up. Yeah, I don't know why I'm raising one eyebrow in that picture either, but it's the only one that came out in focus, so ...

Makeup Forever Smoky Lash has rocketed up my list of favourite mascaras, and is currently up in my top five alongside Armani Eyes to Kill, Trish McEvoy High Volume (which I think they've changed the formula of on recent re-purchase), Bourjois Volume Fast and Perfect Rotating Mascara and Le Metier's Anamorphic Mascara. What are your top mascaras?