Urgh

I have a long, long meeting today, and last night thought I'd make a "silent protest" by doing my nails in as obnoxious a manner as possible. Did I succeed?

Give As You Live

Hands up, who is ready for Christmas?  I admit, I'm certainly not.  £6.8 billion pounds will be spent on Christmas presents this year, even though things are a little tight in quite a few households around the UK this year.

Things are certainly a little tighter than usual in the Lippie household this Christmas, but, after the events of the last couple of months, we have come to realise just how very, very, very lucky we are. Every two minutes in the UK, someone faces losing their home.  Every two minutes. Think about that, just for a second. That is 30 people an hour.  720 people a day.  262,800 people a year.  All facing the prospect of losing their home.

For a while this year, Mr Lippie and myself were amongst those statistics, and, whilst it was happening, it was - quite simply - hell. We are still dealing with the after effects of our experience, and, whilst we still have a way to go yet, we know we couldn't have gotten even this far without the help of our friends and in particular, our families.  We can't even begin to tell people just how grateful we are.

We also couldn't have got by without the support, advice and occasional real-life hands-on help from both our Twitter followers and even some readers of this blog, who I now consider to be real friends too.  Without those people to help us, our situation would have been very different, and there isn't a day that goes by where we don't give thanks that we had such a support network around us.  We have a roof over our head, a place of safety of our own, and we no longer spend our days in fear of what would happen to us next. 

(Don't worry, I'll be bringing this whole post back around to lipstick soon, bear with me)

Many people who face similar problems to MrLippie and myself aren't as lucky.  They may have less of a support network, or may simply be unable to help themselves get away from their situation because of a lack of finances, or family commitments, or their work situation, and this is where Shelter comes in, to be that support network for people who don't have those resources, or the right information to be able to help themselves. 

Shelter say that having a home is about more than just having a roof over your head, and they're right.  Being robbed of our peace of mind, and being forced to live in genuine fear, both for ourselves and our possessions was by far the worst part of what has happened to me and Mr Lippie. We may well have had a roof over our head for the whole time, but we definitely didn't have a home, and it's only now that we're learning to deal with how the whole experience has affected us.

Shelter do wonderful work, and it's not just about people sleeping on the streets, they help people just like you and me, who find themselves in what were previously unimaginable circumstances. They actively campaign to prevent homelessness too, and fight for legislation to help people who have been affected by malicious landlords.  I never thought I could be a homeless person, and I bet you don't expect you could be too.  But you never know what is around the corner.

Shelter helped me out this year, so, I'm going to be helping them out a little bit too.  As I mentioned back in the first paragraph, things are a little tight in the Lippie household right now, which is why I was so utterly delighted to meet Polly Gower yesterday, who heads up Give As You Live, yesterday.

Give As You Live is one of those seemingly beautifully simple ideas, that is actually also an extremely good idea.  Essentially, Give As You Live has teamed up both retailers and charities so that shoppers like you and me can give to charity by ... shopping.  If you shop online with retailers through the Give As You Live website, or app, retailers will donate between 1% and 4% of the retail price to the charity of your choice. 

The best part of this is that it will cost you - the shopper - absolutely nothing.  No prices are inflated, and you will pay the same through the website or app as you would purchasing online ordinarily.  Also, the scheme is linked to every single registered charity in the UK, so if you want to donate to a charity that means something to you - as Shelter does to me - then you can. 

There are more than 200,000 registered charities in the UK, and potentially, every single one could benefit from this scheme.  I think this is amazing.  Remember that £6.8 billion I mentioned way back in the beginning?  If every single purchase making up that figure was made online through Give As You Live, they would raise £170 million for charity, without you or I, or anyone else for that matter, having to spend an extra penny on our Christmas gifts.  

You can buy from Liberty, Harrods, John Lewis, Selfridges, LastMinute.com, Debenhams, Play.com, Itunes, Sainsbury's, Amazon.com, and around 1,500 other online retailers.  They've already raised £2.2million, but they want to raise more, so make that bottle of Chanel Coco Mademoiselle or Tom Ford Lipstick (or Body Shop body butter, depending on your budget!) really count this year, and do something for charity whilst you're about it.  If you're anything like me, you'll never have planned to need a charity to hold your hand, but you'll be glad they're around if the worst happens.

I'd already decided to buy my presents online this year, and donate to Shelter, now Give As You Live  has given me an extra reason, and a new way to do it.

The Fine Print: Give As You Live, and their associated company, EasyClick both have a blogger affiliate scheme.  I am NOT taking part in the affiliate scheme, and this post was not sponsored.  I just had to tell you about it anyway.  Buy a lipstick, and help someone help themselves. It could be you.

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

Veet Easy Wax

There are currently only ten of these little beauties in the country at the moment.  Unless, that is, you're one of the people who have spotted that Boots has sneakily pre-released 300 of these to customers today, before they're released nationwide to stores next year.

I've just had a look, and there are still some left.  I've already got mine, and I'll be reviewing it soon (as you all know, I'm a cack-handed muppet when it comes to gadgets, but this one seems fairly Lippie-proof so far, at least), but I thought you guys might like a chance to get your hands on something before release this time too!

It's a handy gadget that replicates a salon-waxing experience at home, that minimises the risk of burns from too hot wax and other incoveniences.  Very easy to use too!

Get yours here for £29.99.

The Fine Print: Link is not affiliated.  I'm a lone wolf, me*.

*Not really,  my sample was provided by PR.

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

Guest Post: - Charles Worthington Straight & Smooth

I have the best readers, a few weeks ago, my friend Kitty said she was about the try the Charles Worthington Straight and Smooth Hair Straightening Kit, and, when I asked her if she'd write a guest post for me, she agreed straight away.  Here are her thoughts:

*****

When I mentioned on twitter that I was going to try the Charles Worthington Straight & Smooth, Get Lippie asked me to give feedback. This is one of the first mass-market home straightening systems available on the high street, aimed specifically at non-afro-carribean hair. It costs 20 and is available only at Boots. It is not suitable for hair that has been dyed platinum or very light ash blonde, afro-carribean hair, or hair that has been dyed or permed in the last 12 weeks.
My hair is quite thick, highlighted, with a strong natural curl and a tendency to look dull due to frizz. I'm far too lazy to style it every day for work, and so I tend to appear like I've been dragged through the proverbial hedge. I wash my hair about twice a week, and usually allow it to dry naturally, only styling it using straightening irons for special occasions.

Before

The product
------------
What do you get in the box? It includes the 2 tubes making up the treatment, a wide toothed comb, some gloves and a  bottle of aftercare conditioner. A leaflet describes the process (with pictures!) and includes the usual instructions about carrying out patch tests.

The process is pretty simple - it took me 62 minutes in total
1. Wash your hair, DO NOT CONDITION. Comb out any knots (ow ow ow)
2. Put a towel round your shoulders, and stay in the bathroom as you're likely to flick gobbets of the lotions around the place (or maybe this is only me). Apply the straightening treatment and comb your hair to keep it detangled and straight. The guidance on the amount of goop to apply wasn't very clear, so I applied about a third to a half of the tube. So basically 20 minutes of smelling a chemical odor (like bubble perms in the 80s) and combing your hair constantly to keep it straight. Rinse out thoroughly.
3. Look in mirror and be amazed at how your hair has spontaneously knotted into giant fright wig. Apply the Conditioning Neutraliser (again, the lovely chemical smell) and comb your hair straight again for 5 minutes. At this point my arms were rebelling from combing my hair so much, it was a relief to rinse out this last treatment.
4. Blow dry your hair using a brush and aiming the hairdryer downwards. This stage was the most awkward for me, and I could have done with Charles popping round to help out. Finally, straighten to seal in the treatment.

Immediately after treatment

The Next Day
------------
Usually after I've slept on my hair all my straightening effort has been undone, however, it was still as smooth and straight as when I'd gone to bed, apart from some very short hairs in my hairline.

The day after treatment

After the first wash
--------------------
I waited 4 days before washing my hair - the minimum you can wait is 2 days. After washing, using the supplied aftercare conditioner and allowing to dry naturally, my curl has fought back! My hair now appears a little more smooth and shiny than usual, but it's no longer the wonderful, straight style that I'd had before. However, it was very quick to style using straightening irons.

So how do I feel about this product? Well the 4 days of super-straight post treatment were wonderful, but it all going wrong after the first wash was a real disappointment. I will not be buying this again.

*****

Editors Note: Kitty has since spoken to the customer service people at Charles Worthington, and they immediately issued a full refund for the product.  Great service from them there. 

Incidentally, I have a box of this at home to try, and I'll be giving you a full report soon too, now I have hairdresser approval of my own... 

 Charles Worthington Straight and Shine is currently available from Boots for £19.99, but you get 500 Advantage points on Charles Worthington purchases at the moment, which is the equivalent of £5 off ...

The Fine Print: Kitty purchased her own product and was refunded by the Charles Worthington company when they found out it didn't work, they were not made aware at any time that a blog post was involved.  No PRs harmed in the writing of this post.

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

Yves St Laurent Travel Selection

He's a lovely boy, is MrLippie.  After his recent trip to Aberdeen, he brought me home this little box, which I couldn't wait to rip open. And what was inside?

A lovely pink pleather wallet containing four eyeshadows, a blusher and two lip colours:

Oh, it's so pretty.  Not all the shades are named, but the eyeshadows are (from l-r) Violet, Taupe, Parme, and Rose.  I have no idea what shades the lipsticks are, or the blusher.  Here are the swatches:

These are incredibly hard shadows, and proved extremely hard to swatch.  They're not nearly as deeply pigmented as the Stila shadows I showed you yesterday, and I got so fed up trying to get them to show up on my skin that I couldn't even be bothered to swatch the lipsticks.  It is possible, of course, that they will swatch better, or even wear better, over a primer, but I'm not entirely convinced.

Ultimate verdict, oh-so-pretty but ... could try harder, YSL.

The Fine Print:  Present.  Yes, I am looking a gift horse in the mouth, I'm afraid.  Here's hoping MrL never buys me a pony.

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

Stila Collectible Beach Palettes

You'll have seen these collectible little palettes on a number of blogs, I suspect, but I'm going to ignore that fact and show you them myself, because they're very lovely.  And, at a cost of just £10 each, they're a real bargain, and perfect for those last minute stocking stuffer presents you might need.

There are three palettes in the collection: Striking in South Beach, Living the Life in Laguna and Wonderful in Waikiki and there is something to love in each of them:

Packaged in cardboard with a magnetic closure, they're not the most durable of palettes, but for the price point, they'll do. Each one contains four eyeshadows and two blushes/bronzers, along with a mini-makeup lesson. Let's take a look at the insides:

Striking in South Beach:

A grey, a blue, a charcoal, and a lilac, alongside a pale pink blush and a medium bronzer with just a hint of rose, this is a cool-toned girl's dream.  Here's how they swatch:

They're all well pigmented - these are swatched without a base, and with fingers, and the coverage is good.  I find that most of the shades are a little on the chalky side for me (that blusher in particular looks like it'd be a very difficult wear for all but the palest of pale skins), but I'm sure I could get a very dramatic eye look out of those shadows.  I'll definitely be giving this one a go.


Living the Life in Laguna:

Probably the easiest to wear of all the palettes, Laguna is a symphony in rosy neutrals, and it's really rather lovely.  Again though, the blush shades are a little on the pale side, and I'm not sure I'll get any use out of them, but I'm sure they'll suit a few people:

This is great for daytime wear, and it's the one I'll probably get the most use out of.

Wonderful in Waikiki

By far the most dramatic of the palettes, Wonderful in Waikiki features some coppery/orange shades, all set off with a glorious matte blue.  I think this would be the best palette for women of colour, but I suspect the blushes would - again - be too pale, whereas I think they'd actually be a touch too orange for the pale of skin:

This could work either as a day or a night-time palette depending on how you use the blue shade (which is a little chalky, but is suprisingly well pigmented for a matte colour), as a liner it'd just add a pop of bright colour to a slightly more wearable look, whereas you could use it to create a more vivid evening look too.

Overall, I'm very impressed with the quality of these palettes for the price, even with some reservations about the choices of the blush shades.  Even if you discount those, this works out at £2.50 an eyeshadow, which is a bargain in anyone's book. 

I have to say that I'm very glad Stila is back on these shores, and is far more widely available than it used to be, too.  Try your larger Boots stores near you, to pick these babies up.

The Fine Print: PR Samples.

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

Bobbi Brown 20th Anniversary Lip Palette

I was shocked - shocked - when I realised that Bobbi Brown was celebrating the 20th Anniversary of her iconic lipstick line, not least because I realised when I bought this that I actually owned at least three of the original shades, and I hadn't realised I'd been buying designer cosmetics for that long ...

I digress, the original line of lipsticks from Bobbi caused a bit of a stir when they first debuted in the early 90s, as I recall, they were different because there were just ten of them, and they weren't at all dramatic, merely good lipshades.  This palette includes samples of those original ten shades, alongside ten shades which date from this year.  Let's take a look:

Now, even without the headings, it'd be fairly easy to see which side was which, don't you think?  All those (slightly rusty) neutrals compared to the brighter (bluer) shades on the left!  It gets easier to see which side is which when you add in the names of the shades too:

The 1991 shades all have simple colour names red, beige, orange etc, and the 2011 are all Atomic this, Party that, Cosmic the other, [sigh].  Now, I have to say that I've grown less interested in Bobbi Brown as a brand as she's moved away from her initial launch of wearable neutrals to suit everyone and started throwing glitter into absolutely anything and everything, but I think I'll actually get more wear out of the 2011 range of shades.

What say you?  Any shades you want to see swatches of? And can you guess which three shades I owned when I was a student?

The Fine Print: Purchase.  A nostalgia trip I couldn't resist.


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