I aten't dead!

 

No, really, I'm not!  I just have impingement in my shoulders caused by severe bursitis (basically, I can't move one arm much at all) and typing is a bit of a problem at the moment ... oh, and I've been away!  The above picture should give you a clue where I've been ;) A bigger post coming up about Eurovision later this week, hopefully.  

Doctor assures me normal typing can resume next week, so fingers (gently) crossed! 

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Paul Mitchell Super Skinny Serum - Get Lippie Hall of Fame

Apparently, just writing "I LOVE THIS STUFF" doesn't make for a proper review, but I've always been a bit woolly on what constitutes a real, "proper" review, so that will have to do.  I've tried other hair serums, of course, but only the Paul Mitchell Super Skinny seems to weigh my hair down enough to keep it from frizzing up at even the tiniest opportunity, without weighing it down so much that my hair goes lank and flat.

It wasn't the first serum I ever used, of course, that would have been John Frieda, but this is the only serum I buy over and over and over again, and it works whether I'm wearing my hair curly or straight - I've found that some serums are good for one or the other, but rarely both, and as I never know what mood my hair is going to be in till I've woken up, it's good to have versatility in my styling products! 

What's the one styling product you'd never be without? 

 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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Hylamide SubQ Anti Age and SubQ Eye Serum

More colourfully packaged skincare for you today, but this time for your face.  I've been trialling the much-hyped Hylamide face and eye serums for a few weeks now, and it's time to share my thoughts of each.

Deciem make a huge range of specifically targeted hair and body (both for internal and external use) products now, but the Hylamide range is the first face-specific produce they have released.  Hylamide SubQ is, at heart, a hyaluronic-acid based serum, designed for dehydrated skins. Practically 99% of people have dehydrated skin to some degree, so almost everyone can benefit from a hyaluronic acid-based product somewhere in their regime. 

 Housed in medicine-style bottles with a handy dropper, which makes using just a couple of drops very simple, the Hylamide products are both cutely and usefully packaged.  Containing five hyaluronic acid from five different sources, alongside copper and peptides, both serums are meant to be multi-tasking, tackling other concerns alongside simple dehydration, such as fine lines, both surface and deeper level hydration, they both work on firmness and evening out skintone too.  The eye serum also works on puffiness and dark circles.

Both thin and light serums, Hylamide SubQ is watery feeling, and you only need three or four drops to cover your whole face, whereas Hylamide SubQ eyes is slightly thicker and more milky, and you only need one (big) drop to cover both eyes.  Both leave your skin feeling refreshed and silky, and they sink in almost immediately, not leaving any residue at all.

Before I go much further though, I have to admit that the eye serum stung like :redacted*: well, it stung a LOT, but it didn't produce any signs of allergy aside from the burning, and didn't cause any redness or irritation, and if  I hadn't had to stop use early thanks to the burning, I suspect I'd have liked the product a lot more.  This is the first eye product I've tried in years that has stung, so it may be one for my sensitive-skinned sisters to avoid at all costs.  As it was, I was more than a little disappointed that I did find I had dehydration lines during the day on several occasions where I'd had less than optimal sleep when I was using this, so giving it up wasn't too hard, in all honesty.

However, I have been impressed with the non-eye serum, it is light and hydrating, and I like it very much indeed. It is perfect for adding moisture without greasiness. It is another one of those products where, if you have good skin, you probably won't think it is doing much for you, but you'll notice the difference when you stop - certainly I have found that when I don't use it for a day or two, my skin is noticeably more dull and less hydrated as a result.  I suspect if you have very dehydrated skin, you'd love this, possibly even more than I do.  I like the dropper for being able to use a measured "dose", too, meaning this little 30ml bottle will last a long time. 

Hylamide SubQ Anti-Age is available from Boots and costs £30, where the eye serum will cost £27. 



*Hell 
 
The Fine Print: PR Sample

The Even Finer Print: Hylamide SubQ Anti Age and SubQ Eye Serum 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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Liz Earle Botanical Shine Shampoo and Conditioner

 Kalahari melon.  Apparently, they're a melon that grows in the desert, and an extract from their seeds has made it possible for Liz Earle to re-release their haircare range.  Initially rather underwhelmed when the Liz Earle haircare offering was just the shampoo alone, I've found using it in conjunction with the new conditioners is actually really good for my slightly coarse, definitely frizzy and (slightly) coloured hair.

Designed along their skincare lines, ie one "cleanser" (shampoo) to sort every possible type of skin (hair), then a specific "moisturiser" (conditioner) to address your particular concerns. There's one shampoo, and three silicone-free conditioners in the , one for fine hair, one for normal, and one for coarse/coloured hair.  There is also a hair "oil" (which I haven't tried), but I notice that the ingredients list Cyclopentasiloxane, Dimethiconol, Cetyl dimethicone and Aminopropyl phenyl trimethicon, which are all silicones, so don't be fooled by the "oil" moniker if you're going silicone-free.

Surprisingly, given my hair's propensity for being big and frizzy and basically out of control, the normal hair conditioner actually suits it best. I found that the one for "dry or damaged hair", which I initially found myself drawn to, was actually far too heavy, and led to greasiness.  But, I find the normal hair conditioner just about right, enough moisturisation to not leave it frizzy,  and it leaves my hair soft and shining for days after I wash - I don't wash every day, never have, never will, frankly.

All in all, I'm reasonably pleased with the conditioner, I remain a bit meh about the shampoo, but together they definitely get the job done. They cost £10 per tube.


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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Prismologie at SpaceNK

Intrigued by the invitiation which promised a global launch of a "beauty first", I trekked along to the Knightsbridge branch of SpaceNK recently (it's a hard life), and discovered Prismologie, A colourful and luxurious body care range. Prismologie promises to help lift your mood as well as care for your skin.

Taking the basics of colour-therapy as its starting point, Prismologie has 12 products divided into six colour ways each with a specific mood as its inspiration, and each has a corresponding scent and gem combination in the ingredients. There are signs that Prismologie is also incorporating some aromatherapy, and a little healing crystal therapy into the range, too:

White Beginning - consisting of a body wash and a rich body cream, for contemplation and relaxation.  This range is scented with neroli. and contains micro diamonds.
Yellow Day - a body lotion and a shower gel, to bring radiance and confidence.  This range is scented with bergamot and contains citrine.
The Red Hour - A foaming scrub and a dry oil, for stimulation and passion. This is scented with cedarwood, and contains ruby.
Green Epoch - a hand polish and bath oil, for serenity. With vetiver, and jade.
Pink O'Clock - hand cream and a cream-to-powder body balm for compassion and tenderness, scented with rose, and containing rose quartz.
and finally Indigo Interlude - a foot cream and a massage candle, for stillness and to help relax.  The indigo range smells of oud, and contains sapphire.

The scents for the range have been created sympathetically by Ruth Mastenbroek, and the products, from whichever colourway you pick, smell divine.  The neroli-scented body-cream in particular is absolutely gorgeous, and personally, I'd have adored it if the entire range smelt of it, personally, but all the scents are very good indeed.  I thought the oud in the footcream was an unusual - and brave - choice, but it smells woodsy and clean in this formulation. I think it's a sign that oud really has gone mainstream now though.  I mean, it's a footcream, not exactly the most glamorous of products, lets face it ...

The products themselves aren't coloured to match the (beautiful) packaging  - the range contains no parabens, SLS, mineral oil and are not tested on animals - but they are nice to use, and do what they're said to do on the label.  The White Beginning body cream is my particular favourite, it is rich and thick, and takes time to sink in, but the beyond gorgeous scent makes up for it.  I'm normally a body cream avoider (life's too short, and I don't have dry skin), but I've made a space for this one every day since I picked it up.

I remain sceptical - well I would - on the therapeutic benefits of the range, much as I would with any range that maintains to alter wellbeing through colour, or scent, but it is clear that the founders, mother and daughter team Intisar and Fatima Al-Sabah have produced a well thought through, and very high-quality range of products (every part of the body, right down to the cuticles, is catered for), which is delivered in beautiful, extremely eyecatching packaging.

Prismologie lands in SpaceNK on 12th May, and prices will start at £30.

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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An Introduction to Fresh: Sake perfume, Soy Cleanser and Black Tea Overnight Mask

I went along to the re-opening of the Fresh store in Marylebone last week, it has been a while since I was in there and I was thrilled at the new look, especially the sensorial bar, where you can experience all the scents in one place, and decide which one you like best.  The pale duck-egg tiles around the store also add a certain something special to the experience too - I think I know how I want my next bathroom decorating!

The store is devoted to gifting, either buying beautiful things for yourself, or buying gorgeous presents for other people, and you'll notice an entire wall of these beautiful gift boxes right behind the till, which I think looks beautiful.  I was sent away with a gift box of my own which contained the following:

The cult Fresh Soy Cleanser, Sake eau de parfum, Black Tea Firming Overnight Mask, and Seaberry Skin Nutrition booster.  I've tried them all (except the booster, which I'm going to be trialling soon) and thought I'd pass on my thoughts so far.  I'll be honest, I'm not a fan of the Soy Cleanser, as I found it incredibly drying on my skin - it's a foaming gel, ideal for some people, but not for me, alas - I've passed this one along to Mr Lippie, and I'll let you know who he gets on with it.  I've had better results from the Black Tea Firming Overnight Mask:

It seems that if you call something an "overnight mask" instead of a night cream, I'll be more inclined to use it, but it does strike me that many overnight masks are just rich night creams re-branded as "masks".  That said, this is a nice one, scented with roses,  you apply it to freshly cleaned skin, right before bed.  I partially rub it in, leaving a trace of it on my skin, and it's all absorbed by morning.  I have found my skin is plumper and  beautifully moisturised the next day, so mask or night cream, I'll be using this once or twice a week till it is gone.

I fell a little bit in love with Fresh Sake, I have to admit.  Described on the Sensorial Bar as a fruity floral, this is a gingery, grapefruity osmanthus-filled take on a fruity floral, which was a far cry from the strawberry/vanilla monstrosity I'd imagined I was about to smell when I sniffed it.

 It's a cute bottle, too. Admittedly, I cant smell Fresh Sake in much detail (my fault, not the fragrance's), but it's a slightly prickly, quite different take on fruit and flowers and when I wear it, I can't help sniffing constantly at myself.  I can smell a touch of peach, possibly, and some generic white flowers but mostly it's a fresh (as opposed to Fresh) scent, which I enjoy wearing a great deal.

It has been a bit of a pain trying to purchase Fresh products in the UK up until now, with them having only one retail outlet, and no real online presence at all over here, but I'm assured that Fresh are launching a proper UK-based website which will carry all their lines later this year.  Keep your eyes peeled.  Personally, I'll be popping back to the shop for their rightly-famous lip treatments, and some of the Sake bathing products ...


The Fine Print: PR Samples.

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 Aromatics in White

  
First things first, the original Aromatics Elixir from Clinique is a fragrance I've been wearing for around thirty years now, if I were to ever have a "signature fragrance", Aromatics would be it.  So, when Aromatics in White was released, I was intrigued.  

It is difficult for me to do a direct comparison, as the original is just still a little too strong for me to wear comfortably at the moment, so I haven't smelled it in the best part of a year now, but Aromatics in White is far more of a wearable proposition under the (parosmic) circumstances.

A lightened - by emphasising the rose - and brightened - by the addition of violet leaves and orange blossom - version of Aromatics, this is very much a whisper in a quiet room rather than the SHOUTING THROUGH A MEGAPHONE IN A LIBRARY stance of the punchy spices and funky patchouli of the original. I suspect a lot of people won't like it for that.  For me, the lightness and the brightness has simply lifted the facets of the original that I couldn't really notice under the funky spiciness -  I genuinely had never noticed the rose in the original, and still have trouble picking it out now even thought I've read a thousand reviews that have mentioned it - to the fore, without turning it into a watery and weak "fresh" version, which is all to the good as far as I am concerned.

I can smell white roses and orange blossom up top, and there are some slightly smokey woods beneath, but in between there are musks galore, making this a skin scent first and foremost - no one will run away screaming in terror when you wear this (more's the pity) - but the longevity is good, and it is ladylike without being wishy washy or overly sweet.  They haven't drowned it in vanilla, either, for which I shall be eternally grateful.  It does, actually, remind me of AE, but in a fuzzy, milky, distant sort of way, like snuggling into a cardigan, or a cashmere scarf that was once dowsed in the original, and you're now left with the ghost of fragrance past.  This isn't to damn it with faint praise, though it may sound it, but there's enough of the original in the formula to evoke memories of Aromatics proper, making Aromatics in White a fair partner to have alongside.

Is it a classic like the original?  Possibly not, whilst there's still nothing available on the high street that smells like Aromatics Elixir,  and though Aromatics in White doesn't smell like absolutely everything else, it's familiar and friendly without ever being unconventional.  I like it and whilst I can't wear Aromatics Elixir, this is a good replacement for it.  But will I love Aromatics in White in 30 years?  Only time will tell ...

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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