So ...

... Yeah, this post isn't very beauty related either, but ... the next one will be, I promise!  I moved house this weekend, and I have spent a few very happy hours reacquainting myself with my candles - god I missed my candles, who knew that was even possible? -  my perfumes, my unguents, my lotions and my potions and I've been arranging them in the new Lippie Mansions (yes, we've taken a little step up in the world, we're out of the dungeon at last!), which comes equipped with its very own built-in beauty bloggers closet. It's not the only reason I chose the place, honest* ... but I'll let you have a sneaky peek at it later on.  Once I've finished alphabetising it** ...

Oh, and the other great thing about the new Lippie Mansions is the kitchen.  I have a big, big kitchen, so Get Foodie is back on.  Yes, it's delayed (stress kills the appetite, we discovered recently), but it's coming, don't you worry.   I'll keep you posted ...


* Pretty damn close though.  A cupboard!  A cupboard of mine very own!
** I'm an accountant.  It's what I do.***
*** Sometimes.  Allegedly.

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

Back Soon!

...I aten't dead... *

I am, though, planning lots of blog posts, attempting to buy a new laptop, and, providing BT don't screw up again, I'm hoping that I'll be fully back in the blogosphere very soon ...

Thanks for all your patience, and support on Twitter (and elsewhere), you've been aces.  Especially you. Can't say too much at the moment, there's a lot going on, but there is very definitely light at the end of the tunnel right now.

Okay, who can recommend me a good restaurant in Windsor, please?

* Prize for whoever gets that reference**
** Not open to LondonMakeUpGirl***
***I'm serious

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

Chantecaille Lip Chics -Tea Rose, China Rose, Bourbon Rose

The Chantecaille Lip Chic formulation is one of my all time favourites.  Sheer - like so many of the new lipstick collections have been this year - but hugely moisturising, extremely balm-like, and just pigmented enough to give you a wearable and polished look.  I love them, and the funky pewter packaging, and own three, all from the rose shades.


Here they are, Tea Rose, China Rose, and Bourbon Rose:

Tea Rose, is a lovely muted rosy mauve, for me a My Lips But Better shade, which I use with stronger makeup looks, so I don't look like death warmed up by using more "traditional" nude lip shades.  China Rose is a little more red, and is a tad warmer, almost coral-ish in wear.  And Bourbon Rose is a lovely pink, good for giving a gentle flush of colour to your lips, without totally taking over your face.


Here's how they swatch, with and without flash:

Whilst it's a soft formulation, the lipsticks don't wear down all that quickly, and they're a pleasure to wear.  Yes, they're pricey, at around £29 each, but my lipstick collection wouldn't be complete without them.

 The Fine Print: I bought each of these, and have actually bought Bourbon Rose twice, the first time was a present for someone else, and I liked it so much, I had to have it for myself too.


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

The Scent of Fear

I have a confession to make.  Since my month of living hell began, I've not worn any perfume at all, it's an odd situation for me to be in, for, even before Project Perfume began, I would apply perfume daily, even though I wouldn't, actually, pay that much attention to it afterwards.

However, since I've spent most of this year actually paying a lot of attention to how things smell, what I've been trying very hard not to do is to accidentally end up attaching a scent to this period of my life.  For, I keep thinking, if I do, what would happen if I accidentally caught a sniff of that scent afterwards?

I've spent the last week with a racing heart, a dry mouth, total confusion, a constant sense of dread, and  more besides, if that was to come back, even by accident because I caught a whiff of, say, Ananas Fizz by L'Artisan Perfumer (a scent guaranteed to cheer up even the darkest day, with it's pineapple-sunshine sense of fun), then I think I would go crazy.

Scent is an odd sense, as it is most definitely tied to memory.  Even now if I smell  Origins Ginger, it makes me want to throw up, because of a bout of food-poisoning I suffered once whilst wearing it.  The merest smidge of Rive Gauche and it's 1981, and I'm waiting at the airport with my mum, waiting for my dad to come home from his first job abroad.  And for serious, you never want to know what I'm reminded of if I get within even a molecule of Southern Comfort ...

So I haven't wanted to tie a scent to this terrible time.  But, if I did want a comfort-scent, what would you recommend? 

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

Nanoblur - Review

So ... there's been a lot of talk about Nanoblur recently.  It's been hailed as the latest wonder product, and claims to make you look ten years younger in 40 seconds. It's now available in Boots, and it costs £19.99. I've had a tube for a couple of weeks now, so how does it do?

 Nanoblur is, essentially, a silicone-based primer, suffused with micro-prisms which will refract light, and make lines and wrinkles (and other flaws) seemingly "disappear".  The nano particles are the wonder ingredient in this particular melange, as the rest of the product doesn't really offer any skin-care benefits over and above what you'd be using on your skin anyway.

You can use it over your moisturiser if you're going bare-faced, or, the packaging alleges, that you can use it over your foundation, if you're going for a fully made-up look.  I've not been in the mood for much makeup lately, so I've been wearing it over moisturiser only. 

It's a white cream, which I find quite difficult to spread, and this means I have to apply quite a lot.  My skin adores my current skin-care regime (Darphin, mostly), and is more than adequately hydrated, but still I find this stuff patchy in application, and once dry it gives me matte finish to my skin.  I have severe and grave misgivings about how this would work over foundation, if it goes patchy over moisturised skin, I suspect it wouldn't mix too well with anything pigmented.  It's a very matte finish.

A TOO-matte finish, if truth be told.  My skin is combination-oily, and I know that if I were using this during my more dry-skinned phases, then this product would be a complete and utter no-no.  It doesn't have any lifting or tightening effects (and doesn't promise them), but I do find that my skin is a little more "taut" when I'm using this.

So, does it make me look ten years younger?  Well ... in a word ... no.  In the spirit of experimentation, I've actually worn this on just one side of my face once or twice, trying to replicate the effects you can see below:

I have to say that not one person (including my nearest and dearest) noticed whether I was wearing a full OR a half face of this stuff.  I did, however.  In my defence, I didn't tell them, but ... Yes, I did find that it softened lines, and made some flaws more difficult to focus on, but the difference wasn't, at all, as noticeable as promised.  It's ... okay.  I guess.

The lack of amazing results, and the matte finish (which is actually ageing in itself when you're past a certain point in life) means that Nanoblur isn't a must-have for me.  Add in my reservations as to how it would work with makeup, and I'd have to say that it's not really for me at all.  A day without foundation is a day wasted as far as I'm concerned.  However, if you have very greasy skin, you might get on better with it than I did, but if you're over forty (as I most decidedly am), then I recommend that you approach Nanoblur with extreme caution.
 
The Fine Print: PR Sample.

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

Hell

Hello, my name is Get Lippie, and right now, I am a woman on the edge.

Some of you know that I've been having trouble with my landlord (a woman) since moving to another of her properties on Friday 30th September.  Well, things are now a little, shall we say, out of hand.  If you've read my Tweets, you'll know what's been happening.

My landlord has instituted a seeming campaign of terror since moving, and life is pretty much intolerable as it stands.  Currently we're looking for a new place to live, at the same time as trying to defend our rights to a quiet life.  At some point I may blog about what's going on, maybe use this as some kind of electronic diary of an illegal eviction (it's a colourful story, and might involve salutory lessons to anyone who reads it), but at the moment, I can't face it.

What I also can't face right now, is blogging about beauty.  I miss it, and I miss my regular interaction with my readers, so this is just a little blog post to let you know why posts might be sporadic, if at all, and when they do appear, they might not feature lipstick for a little while.

What I'd like to request from people who have my address and want to send stuff to Get Lippie (life does go on, and Get Lippie WILL be back - hopefully very soon) is that they email me FIRST, to get new contact details, I do not believe that it is safe to send anything to me at my current address.

If you're a tenant in rented accomodation, please make sure that you have checked out your landlord thoroughly, make sure you have all your documentation in order, and that you document any and all conversations with your landlord during your tenancy.  You never know when you might need it.  Also, check they have protected your deposit, and that you have seen your gas appliance certification.  Protect yourselves, and hopefully you'll never need to use those things in anger, or despair.  We're doing everything by the book, and have faith that we'll prevail, because right is, this time, on our side.

The Lippies want to send out heartfelt thanks to the following people: Tanya, Peter, Lucy, Carmen, Katherine, Gillian, Indy, Jack and Caroline for going above and beyond the boundaries of work, blogging and friendship and have taken the time and trouble to help us out recently. And, to everyone who has taken the time to email, text, DM or RT pleas for help on Twitter, thank you too.  The Lippies wouldn't have got through the last weekend without that support, and I can't thank people enough.

Next time I post, I hope the news will be better.  I'll keep you guys informed.

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

I'm Back! Kinda!

And I thought you might like a look at the first things I unpacked when I moved to my new bathroom (don't worry there's a flat attached to it too), so here's a sneaky peek at my bathroom cabinet.  Well, some of it.  It turns out that MrLippie's shelf is camera-shy:

As you can probably tell, I've been splurging a bit on the old Darphin, I'll not tell a lie, it has worked wonders for me, and I've been slowly extending my forays into the range.  You can see the Camomile facial oil, the Intral redness serum/toner and comfort cream, and I just recently bought the eyemakeup remover too.  Darphin products are pricy, admittedly, but if you suffer from reddened sensitive skin, as I have a tendency to, then they're a lifesaver.

You can see the Elemis cleansing melt next to the Darphin products, I do still love this for a deep cleanse with my Clarisonic, this tube will need to be replaced soon, as I've worked my way through most of it in the last few months.

Then there is some contact lens fluid.  You don't need to know about this, do you?  It's basically sterilised salty water.  It's, er, you know, good for storing my contact lenses and that. There is also two eye products, one from Filorga, and one from Alpha H, the Filorga is my current night treatment, and the Alpha H is the one I use during the day.  Too soon to see if they're making any difference, but neither of them sting nor give me zits so far, so I'm happy!

There is also a bottle of Pai Geranium and Thistle moisturiser, which I use when the Intral isn't quite moisturising enough.  This is a little bottle of calm for combination skin, and it's gentle enough to use even when I'm red enough to light up  ... erm, something that needs a red light.  I've used it on and off for a couple of years now, and it's very good indeed.

There's a Vapour primer at the back next to these, more about this later, I think it deserves a full post of it's very own.  But suffice to say, I like this a great deal, even with my reservations about face primers in general.

Decleor Aromanight.  I love a balm at night, and this is a balm to die for.  Smells wonderful, soothes and calms, and you wake up to plump glowing skin.  You can't really ask for anything more, just plain divine.  My skin drinks this stuff like it's going out of fashion.

Sue Devitt Bioluminescence Serum.  Love this pale blue moussey stuff.  It's so calming and cooling, it's wonderful.  Also, makes a great primer.  Sue makes wonderful products from sea-stuffs (I believe that's the technical term), and this is a good one.

Next to that is some decanted Bioderma Crealine.  I use this in the mornings for my "quick cleanse".  I don't love it, I must admit, but it doesn't sting, and it seems to do the job, so I stick with it.  There are other micellar water cleansers I prefer, but this is the classic.  I mainly use it as an eye makeup remover, but the Darphin one is taking over at the moment.

Le Metier Peau Vierge, this isn't something I use often - but it is something I'm going to write more about later.  It's an interesting concept, but, as my skin has mainly been reactive this year, it's something I've been a little afeart of using too often for the last wee while.

Alpha H Gentle Exfoliant.  I love this stuff.  There, I said it.  I used to be a big fan of Dermalogica Microfoliant back in the day (till Dermalogica started turning my face radioactive red on a daily basis, that is), and this is a great, nay, excellent substitute.  It gets rid of stubborn dry patches, and doesn't irritate.  Since I've added this to my daily routine, I've been able to reduce my clarisonic usage to less than once a week instead of once a day.

Vaseline Active Fresh cream deodorant.  This has been my choice of underarm protection for more years than I care to remember.  It's practically impossible to find these days, so whenever I do find it, I snap it up in multiples.  Clean and fresh-smelling, without clashing with any scents I choose to wear with it, I feel lost when I have to use something else.  Which I had to do on Saturday when I couldn't find the damn thing.  Saturday was not a good day.

Finally, on the right there is a selection of products from Repechage.  Little-known outside of certain circles, this is a brand I'm very fond of.  If you've read the rest of this piece, you'll have seen the word "calming" a lot, as my skin has been very reactive and RED this year.  Well, I'm slowly (very slowly) trying to re-introduce some more "active" skincare to my routine, and I've chosen the Repechage Biolight range to do it with, so I'm alternating the Darphin products with the Biolight - designed to lighten and brighten the skin without irritating - and I'm happy with the results, and the lack of RED, so far.  I'll keep you posted.

I guess this is just a list of current favourites, and some old, old favourites, but this is very much a snapshot of what I use on a regular basis, and why.

I'll be back with regular postings soon, well, as soon as I get my broadband sorted, that is ...


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