My Current Skincare Routine - Reactive Skin

In almost two years of beauty blogging (seriously, how the hell did that happen?) I've been incredibly blessed in that my sometimes sensitive skin hasn't broken out in boils, blotches and mysterious rashes.  Until recently, that is.  Something I've been using near my eyes has caused a hot, red, itchy rash, and, to put it mildly, I'm not happy!


I've narrowed down the possible offenders to three potentials, one an eyecream, one a moisturiser, and one  ... er ... something else.  I forget which now.  Most likely a cleanser.  Yes, I tried a new cleanser recently.  Must have been that. Oh, and there's a fourth thing it might have been, but I really, really can't remember what that was.  Anyway. 

So, in order to try and get my skin back into some semblance of normality, I've pared my skincare routine right back, and I'm using just three products until my skin calms down enough for me to start re-introducing items in order for me to weed out the irritant.

These products are: Nude Cleansing Facial Oil, Darphin Intral Toner and Avene Extremely Rich Compensating Cream.  I've completely removed any skincare with more "active" ingredients from my routine to stop my skin flaring up further and that means "bye-bye" to my beloved Alpha H for a couple of weeks!  Here's how I've been getting on with my new routine.

Nude Cleansing Facial Oil


An old standby, and very much an old favourite, this is gentle, effective and luxurious to use.  I never used to really like the smell, but I've grown used to it over the years (this is one of the first things I ever bought to blog about, and I've never been without a bottle since), and now I love it.  Thick, rich, and feels intensely nourishing, which, when your skin is as red and reactive as mine is at the moment, is just what the doctor ordered.  Mine cost £24 from Space NK, which reminds me, I'm running low - very low - right now, and it might be time to re-invest in a bottle.  Did I mention it's organic?  It's organic.  And it's very nice indeed.  If you're not sure you like oil cleansers, this is a good one to start off with, it'll kind of spoil you for the rest.

Darphin Intral Toner


I'm not much of a one for toners.  Some people think I'm wrong, but hey, it's MY skin, and I like what I like, thank you very much.  And, it turns out I like this particular toner very much indeed.  Formulated specifically for sensitive skins, this alcohol-free (the only time you'll ever see me approve of this phrase is when it comes to my skincare, btw) delicately flower-scented pink liquid is something I've been using every day recently to soothe and cool my inflamed temples.  It is moisturising, and calming, and I think I might just keep it in daily rotation once the current skin-crisis is over.  I'm trying to think of toners as the beginning of my moisturising routine, and not as the end of my cleansing one, I wonder if that will help me keep them in my routine?


Anyway, this is a nice toner, and I like using it.  So there.  I'm thinking of decanting a little of it, and keeping it by me at all times over the summer for a more moisturising spriz than usual. My bottle cost £27, again, from Space NK.

Finally, I've been using Avene Extremely Rich Compensating Cream, which, on first look I thought was just going to be far too heavy for my skin.  I was assured otherwise by a certain Mrs Hirons who assured me, when she handed the pot over, that, as well as being irritated, I - sorry, my skin - was also dehydrated.  Turns out she was right.  I hate that.  Anyway, this is a fairly heavyweight little pot of soothing, calming and rehydrating goodness.  Yes, it is a little heavier than my normal moisturiser of choice, but it has worked wonders on my perpetually re-occuring patch of dry skin on my forehead, and for that alone, I have to love it.  It does, also, I have to say, seem to be soothing my irritated (and irritating) skin.  I can't use this one all over my face, but applied just to my dryer areas: forehead, temples and cheeks, mainly, I can definitely see that this is about the most hydrating thing I've ever applied to my face, and that has to be a good thing.

You can buy this for £16.50 from Boots, but my pot (the design of which I detest, by the way), came from Caroline's Magic Beauty Cupboard, which I'm hoping one day to get her to blog about ...


So, my skin is now not at all hot, flaky or burning any more, which is wonderful. And it's less red, which is great. I'm just waiting for the bumps to subside now, and all will be well.  Then I can start using more sexy products again ... that said, I've been so impressed by the Darphin and Avene products I've tried as a result of the flare-up that I'm sure I'll be investigating more of their ranges, so for a beauty addict like myself, there has been a bright side!


The Fine Print: I bought half of this, and the moisturiser was a present.  Kind of.  More a bribe to stop me whining, I suspect, but hey ho, it worked, anyway.

This post originated at: http://getlippie.com All rights reserved.

YSL Volupte Sheer Candy - 02 Papaye Gelee

It must be said that YSL Rouge Voluptes have some of the prettiest packaging on the market.  That out of the way, I have to say that I am not a fan of the Rouge Volupte formula, finding it too greasy, and disliking the way the texture sits on your lips, rather then melds with your lips texture.  For such an expensive lipstick, personally, I think they're not worth the price, and, I've never quite understood their popularity, which I suspect is partially down to their undeniable prettiness - even MrLippie thinks they're "swish"!

Being of a fair mind - and, having tried the new sheer Dior  and Chanel lipsticks recently too - when I noticed that YSL had brought out a tinted balm version of their Rouge Voluptes, I thought I'd give one of them a try.  Having swatched all 6 shades, which go from an extremely pale pink, through to a red, I picked out shade number 2, which is Papaye Gelee, or "Dewy Papaya", and is a pretty coral shade:

This is really beautiful packaging, I much prefer the silver to the gold, and  on the lips, it's very moisturising, if a little lacking in pigment.  Yes, I do appreciate this is a balm, but I did notice on swatching that there was little to no difference between any of the colours on the pale side:

As you can see from the swatch, it's barely visible at all.  But this doesn't, actually, make this a bad balm.  It's nice to use, pleasantly scented (with no taste) of watermelon, and does make your lips feel soft and moisturised while you're using it.  I find that if I use it with a lipstain, it does have a tiny "brightening" effect on the colour, and for that reason, I'm glad I bought it.

So out of all the sheer/balm lipsticks I've tried recently, I think YSL wins on packaging (and price, being cheaper than both the Chanel and Dior), but ... the Chanel wins overall for comfort of wear, and range of colours. 


YSL Volupte Sheer Candy are currently exclusive to Harrods, and cost £20.


The Fine Print: Harrods stole my credit card, and gave me this in return.


This post originated at: http://getlippie.com All rights reserved.

Remington 5 in 1 Airstyler

I've had blow-dry lessons from some of the best hairdressers in this country - Yes, Ben Cooke (creator of Victoria Beckham's various 'do's over the years) I'm looking at you, and, it has to be said that I remain a cack handed muppet at it. 


The problems are that I have short arms and a lot - and I do mean a lot - of wavy hair.  So, the traditional hairdryer and brush method is backbreaking, not to mention, heartbreaking work with my thatch of frizzy fuzz.


Years ago, I had a Remington Airstyler that was basically a hairbrush with a built in hairdryer, and, I have to say, I loved it.  My only real problem with it was that the hairdryer was a rather feeble 300 watts, so drying my hair (which was a lot curlier back then) took hours.  Luckily for me, the new 5in1 Remington Airstyler is a massive 1200 watts so this solves that particular problem, and has made me a very happy chappy blogger.


The new Remington Airstyler comes with five attachments: two round bristle brushes (one with hard "fixed" bristles, and one with softer, flexible bristles), a targeted hairdryer nozzle, a ridge "tong" attachment, and my own personal favourite, the flat "paddle" brush attachment, which has a side each of fixed and flexible bristles.

I've found that I can give myself a nice (not great - I'm still rubbish), blowdry with lots of volume using the paddle brush attachment, in about 15 minutes or so, without really needing to follow up with my straighteners, or needing a massage on my aching shoulders - the fixed bristles glide through the hair smoothly with no snagging, and the flexible bristles provide a great deal of traction, which is great for making the hair smoother.  The dryer itself has three speeds: low heat, high heat and a cool shot, which is very handy.



All in all, a winner for me - and for around £25 it's a bargain, I paid nearly £40 for one with just a quarter of the drying power (and no attachments besides the round brush and the nozzle) around ten years ago!


The Fine Print: PR sample.  And an horrendously overdue review.  I'm nice like that ;)

This post originated at: http://getlippie.com All rights reserved.

Hob Salons - "Treat Me Like A Princess" Package

I'm an accountant (I may have mentioned it), and this is my busiest time of the year. That occasional KA-thonk sound you may hear in the distance is my hitting my head on my desk whilst trying to get to grips with the concept of deferred income vs restricted reserves and their associate release against spend schedules, and please do not even talk to me about auditors, or I might simply weep - but I digress.

All this was my roundabout way of saying that today I have a guest review for you - and from a work colleague, no less ... I found out about Hob's Treat Me Like A Princess package last month - which they're offering all through April, which includes a cut, colour, plus lots of other little extras that will make this feel like a really pampering experience - and I'd been looking forward to trying it out. Sadly, as it got nearer the time, I discovered I wouldn't be able to attend, so I drafted in one of my co-workers, the always-amazing Amy, to take my place ... here's how she got on:

I paid a visit to Hob salon in Camden on behalf of the lovely Louise to trial out a current promotion they are running throughout April called 'Treat me like a Princess' in celebration of the run up to the royal wedding. The package includes a colour, a cut, a treatment, a head massage, a goody bag and a voucher towards your next appointment with them.

Before my appointment I had to go for an allergy test to ensure I had no reactions to their products which is company policy and must be done 48 hours before colouring. Immediately I thought this was going to be hassle but as you can get it done in any of their salons you can pick and choose when and where and you don’t need to pre-book an appointment. I chose the Baker Street branch so I could walk there after work. It took roughly 5 minutes all in all and I was back on my merry way before long.

As I made my way to the Camden salon I soon realised the directions on their website were not so helpful and I walked past the turn off I was meant to take. (Hint: walk down Jamestown road and take a right after CBS offices).  When I finally got there the reception staff were very friendly but not too falsely over-friendly like you can get in a lot of other salons. They showed me to my seat and introduced me to Lindsey who was my colourist. 

She sat down and talked me through what would suit both my hair and my features. She suggested going for a halo bar which meant that the highlights would lie under a layer of hair,  which would make them not so prominent on the top of my head. We decided on antique blonde, which to be honest I was a little apprehensive about, as I am not a fan of blonde hair but I trusted her judgement and was delighted with the outcome. I did notice though that they must have drafted her in from another branch for the day,  as the other staff were asking her what she was doing there that day, but that’s nothing bad, they obviously wanted their best colourist to do my hair which I can hardly complain about now can I?

After the colour the next part of the ‘Treat me like a princess’ package was a conditioning treatment and a head and neck massage which was glorious and so relaxing I almost fell asleep at the sinks! The treatment was an intensive conditioner and a toner to help maximise the colour in my hair. My hair was amazingly soft afterwards and looked beautifully healthy.

Next was the hair cut and the guy to carry this out was Rodos who was very easy on the eye and a true gentleman. As you can see from my before photo:

this is no simple feat, and not a task for the faint hearted, with the amount of hair on my head. But Rodos gracefully accepted the mammoth task of removing a few inches, a lot of thinning it out, and giving it some shape and style. He combined the use of a thinning scissors and a blade. I felt he really listened to what I wanted but still gave his opinion of what he thought would sit best and look great and he really did know his stuff as I was delighted with the cut and finish.



 

The salon I found had a great vibe and with trainees in full view practising on balconies above, gave it a nice full and bustling atmosphere.  The place was clean and had lovely Sanctuary soap and hand moisturiser in the bathroom.

Overall I found the experience really and truly worthwhile and would recommend it to my friends. You do feel like a princess as you get well looked after including receiving a glass of wine while your colour sets.

I left the salon feeling great about myself and my new hair style and with a goody bag of shampoos and hair masks to take home and a 25% off voucher for my next colour. 

I've seen Amy's hair since, and it does indeed look fantastic, Lindsey has given her a subtle sunkissed look, and it is amazingly healthy and shiny, I was very impressed.  And jealous.  If you fancy being treated like a princess too, then contact your local Hob Salon for prices.

The Fine Print: Amy was a guest of Hob Salons.  PS, Amy, you owe me a cup of tea ;)


This post originated at: http://getlippie.com All rights reserved.

A Week in Lipstick

Another week, another seven lipshades. From top to bottom here we have:




Guerlain Rouge G - Galante
Rituals Cream & Care - Sunset
Shiseido Shimmering Rouge - RS310
Guerlain Terracotta Gloss - Grenade
Revlon Just Bitten Lipstain - Frenzy
ELF Luscious Liquid Lipstick - shade unknown
Bourjois Effet 3D Max gloss - Rose Acidulé

And here are the swatches:




Bit of a glossier week than usual, what've you been wearing?

Some exciting (for me at least!) lipstick news coming up next week, keep your eyes peeled!

The Show Must Go On - OPI Burlesque Collection

In a "blink and you'll miss it" collection from OPI to celebrate the release of the Burlesque movie at the end of last year (did you blink? You missed it), were some of the prettiest, blingiest and just plain joyful nail polishes that this jaded blogger has ever seen:



A cool raspberry, this foiled-effect polish is packed to the rafters with layer upon layer of glass flecks:




It glows.




I'm wearing it for a board meeting today:




Work appropriate, schmerk appropriate.

The Burlesque collection was discontinued approximately three days after it was released, so I picked this beauty up off eBay recently (there are loads of the mini size multipacks on there at a reasonable price) I don't know if the film was any good, I blinked, and missed it.

(this is an emergency post as the original post planned for today has technical issues - normal service resumes ASAP)

Guerlain Meteorites Perles Perfecting Primer

Who can resist a product that looks like sago pudding?





Not me! I admit that I'm not much of a one for facial primers, but, as I am a big fan of Guerlain's Lingerie de Peau foundation, I thought I'm give their primer a try too. Mainly, admittedly, because it is by far the prettiest primer on the market.

Tiny pink opalescent pearls of light diffusing powder are suspended in a gel formulation, which feels cool and silky, rather than velvety like a lot of more silicone-heavy primers. Once pumped, the pearls burst and you get a measure of pre-mixed primer:






You can see how it reflects light already.

My favourite way to use this is to mix equal amounts of primer with my foundation (and I use it with all my foundations) then "slip, slap, splosh" it all over my face with my fingers. I'm too lazy in the mornings to bother putting on a layer of moisturiser, a layer of primer and a layer of foundation, so I skip a step.

I find that mixing the foundation with the primer gives the foundation a more "moussey" or airy texture, and also thins out the foundation a little, giving a slightly sheerer finish, also the primer allows the foundation not to gather in pores as a result.

This won't give you as "flawless" a finish as a silicone primer, but I do find it makes my foundation last a little longer through the day, but, that being said, I wouldn't class this - or indeed any - facial primer as a necessity. I've never found a single one that does what it says. Ever.

In essence, the Guerlain Meteorites Primer is nice to have, lovely to look at, and fun to use, but is it an essential? No.

It costs around £40.