Birthday Giveaway Reminder!

Guerlain Oriental Metal, Chanel Particuliere, PLUS a Chanel Rouge Coco (you pick the shade!) are what you can win in my birthday giveaway/competition.  This is just a little reminder post, as the giveaway closes next week (midnight on Wednesday 9th June), prior to my giving away the goodies on my actual birthday on June 10th.

Click here to be taken to the post with the entry requirements

I want to say a MASSIVE thank you for the astonishing number of amazing, wonderful, heartwarming, funny, and occasionally tear-jerking entries that I've received so far, there have been so many more than I ever expected and every single one of them has made me smile! You're an amazing bunch of people, thank you so much for sharing your stories with me.  I'll be printing up some excerpts from some of them when I announce the winner on Thursday of next week.

So, if you haven't entered yet - and remember, you don't have to be a follower to take part in this one, and it is open internationally - please do take a look at the original giveaway post, and find out how to take part.

Estee Lauder - Blue Dahlia Collection

Hold on to your hats people, for I have fallen in love with an eyeshadow.  And it's BLUE ...

I was saying in one of my rambles on Zuneta recently that I much prefer the autumn/winter collections from the major cosmetic houses than the summer ones, and this a/w collection - the first widely available one from new Lauder creative director Tom Pecheux - is a beauty.  I don't mind admitting that Lauder are - for me - doing some of the most interesting collections of the major beauty houses at the moment, Michael Kors was a total winner, and Bronze Goddess is probably my most favourite of all the summer collections I've seen.

I was invited recently to take a look at the new Pure Colours collection which is shortly to be re-launched in new packaging complete with 24 new eyeshadow shades and 24 new lipglosses.  The new formulation is great, long-lasting shadows and some lovely glosses (though I do wish they had a brush instead of a rather stiff and hard to use does-foot applicator), but it was the capsule limited edition Blue Dahlia collection (above) that caught my eye ...

Here's the palette itself:

There's a teal, taupe, smoky blue, a white with an iridescent teal shimmer, and a black for defining.  Take a look at a close up of that white:

It's gorgeous.  It swatches quite sheerly, but with a teal-ish glimmer, it's very good mixed with the other shades in the palette, or patted over the top for a hint of sparkle.

I think the palette - despite my allergy to blues - is really very versatile, and I've created a couple of looks from it already.  Ha, Ha! Created looks - I hate that phrase, I'm about as creative as the average doorknob - what I actually mean is that I've done my makeup in a couple of (slightly) different ways with it already:

First off, a smoky eyed look:

I used the lighter teal shade in the inner corner, with the smoky blue on the outside, then blended the taupe into the crease, I used the black as a liner on the upper lid, with the smoky blue as a liner on the bottom, I then finished it off with a spot of Guerlain Kohl in Noir on the waterline.  Here's a (slightly fuzzy, sorry!) close
up:

I didn't use any base with these shadows, I wanted to see how they lasted (something I always do the first time I wear new shadows), and this is how they looked after ten hours wear:

Yes, the colour has faded somewhat, but the creasing is minimal, and it's still quite wearable.

For a simpler look (I can't, in all honesty, usually be bothered using more than two shades of eyeshadow on a daily basis), I used the taupe all over the mobile lid into the crease, then blended some of the teal into the crease and the outer eyelid:

I've also been using the teal for tightlining, alongside the taupe as a neutral shade, but I forgot to take photos of that one ...

The new pure colour shades will be available from July, and the limited edition Blue Dahlia collections (there's a lavender/lilac version too, which I think I may have to splash out on) will debut in House of Fraser at the same time.  Will you be indulging?  What's your opinion on blue eyeshadow?

The Fine Print: Palette was provided as part of a PR event, opinions are - as usual - as credible as you think opinions on PR-provided products possibly can be.  However, I've never had a good word to say about about any blue cosmetic ever, so he fact that I've used this every day since it arrived should speak volumes. That, or I've suddenly gone colourblind/mad/senile.

Nail of the Day - OPI Meet Me At The Starferry

This might not be the most exciting nail polish you've ever seen, but I adore it.  A work-safe mauvish-pink with multicoloured sparkles, it has a lovely depth on the nails, and is very pretty.  I spent several days last week admiring it. I'd seen it on a lot of blogs recently, and it appealed to me a lot more than, say, Jade is the New Black, for some reason!

Swatches shown are two thin coats over an Orly base and with an OPI topcoat, and are around three days old at the time of photographing, it wears much better than a lot of polishes in my collection!

The day before I removed it, I decided to mattify it just to change it up a little:

Unlike the red creme I tried this with last time, I think this one looks better shiny, what do you think?

The Fine Print: I bought this from Selfridges.  I might as well get my entire salary paid to them and have done with it, let's face it.

All for Eve Launch - Pt II

All for Eve have just released a video of their official launch, which I was lucky enough to attend recently, and it's a far better record of the event than my gushing about stalking talking to Daniel Sandler, so I thought you'd like to see exactly how it was, so here it is!


You can rest assured that I'm not in it, but  Johnathan Rhys Myers is, so I hope you watch, and that you enjoy it as much as I did. Now, don't forget to buy the products, as the cause is a very important one.

Organic Weekend - Melvita Guest Reviews

A couple of months ago, I asked for some volunteers to try some products that didn't agree with me.  Both of the products came from Melvita, but with my dry, sensitive gel-resistant skin, I thought it would be better to get them tested by people they really suited.  Here's what MakeupbyKaty and DinkyLondon made of their products:

MakeupbyKaty tried the Foaming Facial Scrub:

When the lovely Louise at Get Lippie posted an opportunity on her blog to try and review this product, I shamelessly jumped up and down with my hand in the air shouting “ME ME ME!”. Okay I actually wrote a witty and apparently persuasive argument as to why I should review it. It was along the theme of this;


I have oily, problematic skin. I cannot use most products that everyone else adores. Yet I seem to be bombarded on a daily basis by ‘intensively moisturising’ creams or ‘nourishing anti-aging’ promises. The majority of products that are aimed at an oilier skin are the teenage acne blasting products which I am also not really in the market for.


So, a foaming facial scrub sounded right up my street. I love a bit of foaming me.


I gave this product just over a week and tested it 3 times on both my husband and myself. He is a keen exfoliator and always has an opinion so I thought I’d utilise him.


Dry skinned husband used it in the shower first and gave me a running commentary throughout. His first comments were that it had a ‘nice texture’ ‘not too oily’ (?) and that it felt ‘airy’, like someone had left the door open on his face (really). He then proceeded to rinse off and screw his face up and ask for some moisturiser. From someone who only ever moisturises after shaving, that told me that it may not be great on dry skin.


Here are my thoughts. It’s a nice reasonably firm scrub. Not scratchy, not gritty but most disappointingly, not foamy. At all. No foam anywhere! How very dare they? However it rinsed off well and didn’t leave that annoying bitty residue that a lot of exfoliators can.


Here comes the bad news- I also screwed up my face and begged for moisturiser. I mean my skin felt seriously tight! That’s never happened after using a scrub. I wanted to give it a fair shot so I used it twice more later that week. Once mixed in with my face wash to dilute it a bit. The end result was always the same.


My skin felt parched and stripped and, shock horror, dry! It’s done one thing and that is made me appreciate my oilier skin now, I’ve been to the dark (dry) side and I did not like it.


So with the combination of dry, tight skin and NO FOAM, I’m afraid it’s a ‘No thanks’ from me.


DinkyLondon tried the Eye Contour Gel:
 

When I saw Get Lippie was looking for someone to test Melvita’s Eye Contour Gel I knew I had to put myself forward. I’ve been hunting for the perfect eye cream for years with what can only be described a great degree of failure.

In my mid-twenties, standard anti-aging eye creams are often too thick and rich for my skin and leave me puffy looking and swollen by morning – not a good look and quite the opposite of what I was hoping for. So, I was always left with two choices; keep dabbing on creams which are too rich for me, or sit and wait for the crow’s feet to set in.

With Melvita Eye Contour Gel I’ve thankfully been given another option. A milky white, fluid gel in a small tube, the formula dries to a slightly tacky film within a few seconds and totally dissipates in less than a minute, leaving the eye area feeling soft and looking radiant. I can use it morning and night without any puffiness and I can even use makeup after application without my eyeshadow slipping down to my cheekbones.

I’ve been using the gel for several weeks and I love how I can use it all over the eye contour and even the eyelid. Whilst I haven’t seen a massive long term improvement in the fine lines I’ve already developed around the eyes, I’ve been hugely impressed by how it changes the look of the eye area on a short term basis. If I’m stressed or tired and my eyes are showing it, then I know I can reach for this tube and look ten times better. Even better, I can rest easy knowing that I’m protecting the fragile skin around my eyes from future wrinkles and premature aging. I’ll definitely be repurchasing – my hunt is finally over!

So there you go, a mixed bag there, but a massive thank you to both Katy and Joy (and MrKaty!) for taking the time to review the products for me!

Get Lippie - An Announcement ...

Time passes, things move on, and sometimes you need to make some changes. I've done a lot of soul-searching recently, and have been trying to think of ways to make Get Lippie a bit different.

Then I thought, stuff that, I like what I'm doing!  But, sometimes it helps to have a different viewpoint on things, and some of my very favourite blogs have two writers, so I thought I'd enlist someone to help me out sometimes. And I'm happy to announce that Get Lippie now has a new co-blogger!

Now, I could have, as I've seen on some other blogs, put out a call to my readership, and ask people to submit their writings in order to "audition" them for a regular guest spot.  Seemed like a lot of work for both me and for my readers.  As I'm both lazy and a control freak (some of you might have noticed) my search for a new writing partner went as far as the other side of the sofa and the immortal words: "Oi! Write me some articles, bugalugs!" and they delightedly* agreed.

Some bright sparks on Twitter may have already figured out who the new correspondent is ... and with that in mind, I guess I should let  the new blogger introduce himself ...

Please give a nice Get Lippie welcome to ... MrLippie!

Let's see. I'm 'the posh boyfriend' according to some, and, looking at it in a vaguely detached light, I suppose they might, begrudgingly, have a point! I follow rugby rather than football, I have some random white-collar job that has some sort of connection to the oil industry, and I speak with a fairly generic southern accent which is often found in the BBC when they're not actively encouraging the many and varied regional accents across the UK. If that makes me posh, then so be it!

I'm still not entirely sure how I've ended up blogging - or even volunteering to on a semi-regular basis! - but I'm willing to admit it's my own fault! Having actively encouraged GetLippie in the creation and formation of this blog, I couldn't help but get interested, and I've found myself commentating on many a lipstick or eyeliner (much to the horror of my internal monologue). So, here I am. I'll be occasionally dropping by to review some male grooming products, and possibly offering my outlook on the world....but there is just one thing:


No Guyliner**. No. No. No.


And NO.


That is all...

So there you go!  Ironically, he does in fact know his taupes from his tans, and where to put chunky glitter ("not in a highlight FFS!"), I'm just hoping writing on a regular basis will get him to learn to love moisturiser!  He'll be writing here when he can be bothered once in a while plus he's also going to be contributing on a regular basis to Ape to Gentleman, a great and wonderful blog dedicated to all things male-grooming related. His collected writings will be collated in a page under the header (that black and white picture at the top of the page)  which I've cunningly titled Mr Lippie, and I'll give him the odd aftershave to sniff once in a while on my/your/someone's behalf.  He likes smelly stuff.  He may mention whale bottoms a lot.  You have been warned ...

*Not true.  At all.
** Also not true.  There WILL be guyliner.  Oh yes.  You watch.

Le Metier De Beaute Summer Event

A few of you might remember that I discovered Le Metier de Beaute recently, and fell in love with their Anamorphic Mascara. Well, I’ve just found out that Ivan Castro, the talented international makeup artist behind behind the brand - and responsible for some of the gorgeous looks sported by the likes of Nicole Kidman and Rhianna - will be available for one-to-one makeup lessons between 3-5th June at Liberty. I’m going to be popping down to see him, and get him to overhaul my eyeshadow application on Thursday next week, and I’m really looking forward to it! Wonder if it’ll look better than my NARS makeover?


Appointments cost £20, and that cost is fully redeemable against purchase, but if you spend £50 (and admittedly, that would be very easy to do!) you will get a free blushing/bronze duo which is worth £30. To book, call 020 7734 1234 ask for extension 2506, and maybe I’ll see you there!