Timothy Han Candles, and how to look after them.

I love a good candle, and I'm always on the lookout for new ones (I can see about 20 candles from where I sit whilst I'm writing this!), so was delighted when I found out about Timothy Han.  Having grown up in Canada, and having spent time working with John Galliano, Han is a very interesting man, and his commitment to sustainable luxury is definitely to be applauded. 

Han's  candles are vegetable-based, made from soy wax entirely without petrochemicals, they have lead-free cotton wicks, and are fragranced with 100% essential oils.

They have a slightly creamy, rather than pure white, wax, and burn evenly and smoothly without leaving massive soot deposits.  The scent I have, Oakmoss and Vetiver is about as far away from a "traditional aromatherapy" fragrance as you can imagine, being deep, dark, and both earthy and grassy, it's definitely a world away from a lot of candle fragrances!  The candles have a burn time of 50 hours, and come housed in these gorgeous duck-egg blue glass holders.

The way to keep your candles lasting through the full burn time, is to look after them.  Here are a few hints:

When you first burn a candle always ensure that the top layer of wax melts entirely, this will take a couple of hours usually, so be prepared to make your first burn a long burn. 

Make sure you keep your wicks trimmed - they should be around 5mm high.  Too long a wick will lead to a very soot-y flame, and make your candle burn faster.   You can use a wick tripper for this (which will collect debris) but you can also use nail scissors.  Always trim your wicks when candles are cold.

Don't blow out your candles, this can dislodge the wick, spray wax and soot over your surfaces, it'll also cause smoke, which will take over the scent of the candle you were burning in the first place. Dip the burning wick into the pool of melted wax around the burning wick instead. You can buy what're called "wick dippers", but you can use anything (except fingers) to dip the wick into the wax.  I use a metal skewer I keep handy.

Keep your candles out of drafts, and always a few centimetres apart, otherwise they'll burn unevenly.  I don't need to mention the need to keep them on a heatproof surface, do I?

Finally, keep your candles CLEAN.  Dust them, and, if the containers get a bit sooty, then clean them!  The best candles don't produce a lot of soot, so if your containers are black around the rims (and worse - down the sides), it means that either you keep your wicks too long, or you've been burning your candles for too long in one go.  Take a look at your wicks, are they blooming out a bit like mushrooms? Then trim your wick down to half a centimetre, and try not to burn your candle for too long after the top layer of wax has melted.  Your candles will last longer if you do, and you won't have soot marks up your walls.

Timothy Han candles are available from the Timothy Han Website, and cost £38 for a candle that will last you for several months.

The Fine Print: PR Sample  - all tips, however, are my own, not from Timothy Han.
 
This post originated at: http://getlippie.com All rights reserved.

Party nails with OPI and Filthy Gorgeous

Sometimes, you just want to sparkle … this is two coats of OPI Lucerne-tenly Look Marvellous, topped off with a coat of Prism by Filthy Gorgeous.





Whaddya reckon?

Chafing? "Chub rub"? Blisters? Have I got a miracle cure for you ...

Hot weather is great, isn't it?  Sandals are wonderful, aren't they?  Skimpy clothes are simply marvellous, don't you think?

Well, not if you are prone to chafing, or have wobbly bits that like to rub together, or your sandals have eaten your feet. Sandals are evil.  I hate them.  They hate you, as well.

Last year I wrote about Bodyglide, and I think it's time to mention it again, and it is, quite frankly, the wonder product of the century if you've ever had chafing or blisters.

Go check out my original review here.  Then buy some.  You can thank me later.  G'wan ... you know you want to ...


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

Le Belle Natural Skincare - Oil Cleanser

I do love the Natural and Organic Product show, every year I visit and discover something that I fall a little bit in love with.  Last year it was Konjac Sponges, and this year it's a cleanser from le Belle natural skincare.

I'm naturally biased towards oil cleansers anyway, having been a sufferer from adult-onset acne for many years, and making the discovery that oil-based cleansers were by far the most effective way of keeping outbreaks at bay, and they have also helped with my sensitivity issues too.  I used to have angry, reddened, spotty skin with huge patches of scaly dry skin.  Sexy!  However, since I made the (permanent) shift from foaming cleansers or facial washes, my outbreaks are minimal, and my face doesn't burn as soon as I even look at a mirror these days either.

The le Belle oil cleanser is a thick, yellow viscous oil, which doesn't emulsify with water, so I use this mainly at night, for a deep, deep cleanse, and a massage.  I've found that it's also excellent for use with a Clarisonic as it provides plenty of slip, and doesn't just get absorbed into your skin as you do a thorough cleanse routine with it.  The citrussy scent, whilst refreshing, isn't so sharp that it'll wake you up completely, don't worry.  The cleanser is based on sunflower, sesame and castor oils, so it's good and nourishing.  All le Belle skincare products are 100% plant derived and free from parabens.

But, the main reason I feel in love with the le Belle range is the ingenious packaging system behind it.  The entire range is packaged in heavy, recycled, glass jars and bottles in a beautiful cerulean blue, making them a lovely addition to any bathroom.  However, all the packaging is refillable - a bottle for life, as the le Belle website refers to it -  and the refills are these handy pouches, cutting down on packaging and weight.  They are also really handy for travel, I've discovered!  They also cost 20% less than the original bottles and jars, which is a nice bonus too.

The Cleansing Oil in the bottle will cost you £24 - I've used mine a lot in the two months since it arrived, and I anticipate there is at least four months left in the bottle now - and the refill pouch will cost you £19.  

However, le Belle have been exceedingly generous, and have offered readers of Get Lippie a discount of 20% off all purchases up to 30th June 2012, just add the (case sensitive) word "LIPPIE" at the checkout stage on their website, and you'll automatically get 20% off your order.  What are you waiting for?  Please support an independent supplier today.

Links in the post are offered for informational purposes only - they are not affiliate links.  Get Lippie won't make any commission if you make a purchase from any links in this article.  Cleanser provided for review purposes by Le Belle Natural Skincare.
This post originated at: http://getlippie.com All rights reserved.

Bad Hair Memories ...

This picture is about ten years old, and it's from my ill-considered ginger "highlights" and a bob combo days.

It's awful, isn't it?

Tell me about your terrible hairdos to make me feel better, please ...


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

Makeup Storage

 People are always asking how I store my makeup, and, after spending a day piddling about with instagram a couple of weeks ago, I thought I'd share the pictures here too!  This is ... most ... (not all, sadly!) of my makeup collection, arranged in a Helmer from Ikea, and in the traincase I bought from Kryolan last year. There's also a sneaky peek at the bunch of palettes I keep in a Muji box at the bottom there too...


In the train case is the majority of the products I reach for on a daily basis, my makeup "bag", if you will, here's the products most in heavy rotation at the moment:

It's a melange of foundations, blushers, eyeshadows, mascaras and eyeliners.  No lip products to be seen!  I'm on a bit of a NARS kick at the moment, you might be able to tell ...


Into the Helmer proper, the first drawer is foundations, primers, powders and other base products:

The second drawer down is my eye drawer, shadows, liners, mascaras and primers:

Yeah, more NARS, I know ...


Third drawer down is LIPS:

You might have noticed there were no lip products in the train case, this is because what I like to do on a daily basis is just stick my hand in here and wear whatever my hand lands on.  A lip lucky dip, if you like...


Fourth drawer is, of course, cheeks (have you figured out the order I do my makeup in yet? You should have!) blushers, highlighters and contours galore ...

Just the odd one or two, you know.


And finally, the bottom two drawers contain nail varnish. Drawer five mainly houses my Chanel collection:

(And the Dior, the Deborah Lippman, the Rococo and the China Glaze collections)


Whilst drawer number six is:

OPI, Estee Lauder, (man I love those bottles!) and everything else ...


The rest of my makeup is in boxes around the flat (lots of boxes around the flat), and then there's The Cupboard.


One day, dear readers, I'll show you the cupboard, and you'll realise why it gives MrLippie nightmares ...

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

L'Oreal Hair Expertise EverPure Colour Care and Smoothing Hair Care

I can't even begin to tell you how much I didn't want to love this range.  I lack the words.  I have a bathroom full - FULL - of expensive shampoos and conditioners, and the last thing I wanted to fall in love with was some £5.99 shampoo and conditioner from L'Oreal.

But I have.  So there. 

Supposedly a "no suphate" range (but I noticed the little asterisk next to this claim on the tube, and it's actually "no sulphate surfectants", which is a bit of a cheat - naughty L'Oreal!),  I've used this alongside super-expensive salon ranges, and absurdly expensive "lifestyle" ranges, but, as you can probably tell from the state of the tubes, these are the products I keep coming back to, because, unlike a few other "free-from" ranges I've tried recently - and, by "recently", I actually mean, "this year", I get through shampoo very slowly - these have never, not once, irritated my notoriously sensitive and temperamental scalp.

The shampoo foams exceptionally well for an SLS-free formula, the conditioner gives plenty of slip, and my hair is its usual super-shiny self.  It's just my inner snob that's offended at the price.

Try them, they're brilliant. 

 
 The Fine Print: PR Samples from the launch event.  Back in January.  What?  I *said* I'm slow at getting through shampoo!


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