Laura Mercier Caviar Stick in Rose Gold

I'm still on an eye pencil kick I'm afraid, but I've saved my absolute favourites for this week.  This is Laura Mercier's Caviar Stick in Rose Gold.  I may be wrong, but I think these were the first "cult" shadow sticks on the blogging circuit, and I've always had a soft spot for them.

Rose Gold is a lovely easy to wear fleshy shade, perfect for a polished, but barely perceptible makeup look.

I like this paired with a simple smokey liner for a really easy and long-lasting (but not too glittery, unlike some of the others I've featured recently) daytime look.

It is a smooth and creamy formula, that glides on over the lids easily without any dragging.  I find it blends easily, and sets quite quickly, and it lasts for hours without creasing.

It's basically idiot-proof, and I'm just the idiot to prove it.  Laura Mercier Caviar Sticks cost £22 each from SpaceNK.

The Fine Print: GWP 

The Even Finer Print: We're not featuring full fragrance reviews on Get Lippie at the moment owing to illness - please see The Parosmia Diaries for more.


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Charlotte Tilbury Colour Chameleon Eye Pencil in Amethyst Aphrodisiac

I'm on a lazy makeup roll this week, and a bit of a pencil kick too, which brings me to Charlotte Tilbury's cult range of "colour morphing" pencils, the Colour Chameleon range.  They are gorgeous pencils, but I did find the "colour morphing" claims a little incomprehensible until I figured out that the colours that were "morphing" were your eye colours, not the pencil shades.

My eyes are rather an unusual colour, being brown, green and yellow plus having hints of blue in the limbal ring, so first off picking the right colour of pencil for my eyes was difficult.  They're based on the colour wheel principle of complementary colours, and I couldn't figure out if you'd class my eyes as green, or brown or hazel, as there's a day and a night option of pencil for every eye colour (but not, it seems, for eyes of every colour).  Eventually I picked the purple Amethyst Aphrodisiac to play up the green in my eyes.

These are glitter city!  I must mention it, because they are the most glittery things I put on my eyes these days, and I can find glitter in the oddest places even after a very thorough cleanse!  Do not, under any circumstances, use these to line the inner rim of the eye, I think they could definitely scratch your cornea, and no one needs that.

It's a good and murky purple:

Creamy, and easy to blend, I apply this as a thick line of eyeliner, then blend it out towards the crease.  It sets after around 30 seconds or so, and is pretty hard to budge after that time.  I'm quite happy to wear it during the day, but for a more dramatic look, it is great with very black eyeliner too.  The colour lasts well, even on unprimed eyelids, I only experience creasing after a very long time in wear (after around ten hours or so), and on primed lids it will probably last even longer.  I rarely prime my lids if I'm in a hurry though.  The glitter will remain though, I warn you!

You will need a pencil sharpener for this as it is not retractable, and they are sold seperately.  Colour Chameleon pencils are available from Selfridges and Charlottetilbury.com and cost £19 each.


The Fine Print: Purchase

The Even Finer Print: We're not featuring full fragrance reviews on Get Lippie at the moment owing to illness - please see The Parosmia Diaries for more.


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Laura Mercier Lipliner in Plumberry

 

I'm not much of a one for lipliner, and I am definitely not much of a one for matching my lipliner to my lipstick, I much prefer to match my liner to my lips, after all, you're not supposed to see lipliner anyway, are you?  My lips are a pale rosy mauve naturally, but I do have a fairly strongly pigmented natural lipline (particularly on the top lip), which is just one of the reasons too pale or too sheer lipsticks aren't for me:

Plumberry Lip Pencil is, for me, a nude colour, being a slightly greyed pink/plum shade.

The pencil is slightly dry, so it is best to apply after using lip balm, but this does mean it provides a good, slightly grippy surface for applying lipstick over, particularly lipsticks with a very sheer slippery texture - it's good with YSL Rouge Couture, for example, a lipstick I can't stand wearing alone, because I swear the only thing that lipstick wants to do is COVER YOUR ENTIRE FACE, but I digress - but this will help with any lipsticks that have ideas above their station.

It does spread easily, and the point doesn't wear down too quickly, but it gives excellent coverage, and evens out lips beautifully:

I only wear lipliner once or twice a week at most, but regardless of the lip colour I'm wearing, this is the lipliner I reach for.  If I'm feeling lazy, I can just throw a bit of sheer gloss over the top, and hey presto, "nude" lips.

Laura Mercier Anti-Feathering Lip Pencil in Plumberry is available nationwide and costs £18.50.  It comes complete with a sharpener too.

The Fine Print: Purchase.

The Even Finer Print: We're not featuring full fragrance reviews on Get Lippie at the moment owing to illness - please see The Parosmia Diaries for more.

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ByTerry Ombre Blackstar eyeshadow sticks

I mentioned yesterday that my makeup routine takes me around five minutes, and it does.  Some days, I can barely be bothered applying makeup at all, and so a little liquid liner and a bright, bright lipstick is all I do, over a CC cream, or something. On the days when I want a stronger look, I increasingly find myself reaching for eyeshadow sticks, as they're pretty foolproof, and I am both lazy and a cackhanded muppet.

Here we have ByTerry's cult favourite Ombre Blackstar eyeshadow sticks in Midnight Forest, a deep, deep blackened green, plus Ombre Mercure, a greyish taupe, and Black Pearl a shimmering softly glittering black.

Closeup of Ombre Mercure

I like these because they give a multi-dimensional glow to the eyelids, making it look like you've spent a lot more time on your eyeshadow than you actually have done, and, whilst I might be lazy, I don't want to look sloppy.

Here you can see there are subtle hints of bronze in the green, but the taupe is pretty much a universal shade.  I like to use Black Pearl and Midnight Forest as thick liners, applying close to the lashes, then smudging out over the mobile lid.  Ombre Mercure I use more as a traditional eyeshadow, and wear with a separate liner.

They're gloriously smudgy, and blend beautifully, but they do eventually set, and will stay in place most of the day.  I do experience some creasing after a particularly long day, but that is easily rectified by just re-blending with a fingertip.  You can wear them over primer too, which increases their opacity, and decreases smudging, but I rarely bother.

However, they are glittery, especially Black Pearl.  You will end up with glittery lids. I normally abhor glitter - especially on nails for some reason, and bar glitter actually makes me feel a bit sick - but eye crayons like this are about the one thing I'll make an exception for, convenience trumps sparkle!

byTerry Ombre Blackstar eyeshadows are £29 each and are available from SpaceNK. I am just miffed they never EVER have the purple one in stock whenever I visit ...


The Fine Print: Purchases.  Look there was a sale on, okay?  And I had a voucher.  Any rumours that I had to sell a kidney to buy these are completely unfounded.

The Even Finer Print: We're not featuring full fragrance reviews on Get Lippie at the moment owing to illness - please see The Parosmia Diaries for more.


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Clinique Sculptionary Cheek Contouring Palette - 02 Defining Berries

Contouring is the trend that just will not die, isn't it?  Here's yet another ostensibly "contouring" product, the Clinique Sculptionary Cheek Contouring Palette in 02 Defining Berries, which is actually just a (very) beautiful blusher, and is all the more useful for it not being another pan of brown goop. Since it turned up, I've not wanted to use any other cheek product at all...

A set of three colours, one a deep "contour" shade, a medium blush, and a light highlighter, the intention is to use the shades separately to create sculpted cheeks in a more natural way than the tans and taupes you usually see in a contouring kit.

In reality, I find the sections are a little too small to do this with a normal blusher brush, but then I should really admit that I do not contour.  Life is simply too short for some beauty routines (all over at home fake tan, I'm looking at you), and contouring on a daily basis is just one thing too many for me. My makeup routine takes me five minutes or so on most days, my skincare routine takes a lot longer, admittedly, but that's the way I like it.

The shades in Defining Berries have a beautiful sheen to them without being sparkly or glittery, and they produce a sophisticated, barely perceptible glow when blended and used as a blush rather than a contour kit.  Defining Berries is a perfect blush colour for me, having a little depth to the pink, and not being too warm.  There are three other shades available in-store: Defining Nectars/Nudes and Roses alongside the Berries in this post, but there are two more shades available as online exclusives, Defining Sugars and Pinks.

Whilst I'm in love with Defining Berries, I am SO OVER contouring ...

Clinique's catchily-named Sculptionary Cheek Contouring Palettes are available now, and cost £28. I'll be getting a backup.


The Fine Print: PR Sample

The Even Finer Print: We're not featuring full fragrance reviews on Get Lippie at the moment owing to illness - please see The Parosmia Diaries for more.

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Alpha H Liquid Laser Cleansing Oil

As well as being on a bit of a lipstick kick at the moment, I'm currently obsessed - and I do mean obsessed - by cleansers.  Having recently discovered, and loved, Oskia Renaissance Cleansing Gel, I am currently using that and this Liquid Laser Cleansing Oil in semi-permanent rotation.

Another oil-gel-based product, the Liquid Laser range is suitable for older, or duller skins, but is mainly targeted at the surgery-shy over-45s.  Despite not being quite in that bracket yet, this is still a joy to use.

Lightly reminscent of lavender with a hint of citrus in smell, this is a sticky gel that melts on contact with skin to form an oil. This lends itself incredibly well to a bit of facial massage on application. It's a great nighttime cleanser, but I'd use it after you've done your makeup removal, now I come to think of it.  It will remove makeup, but it's a bit of a waste of a lovely product, actually.

Designed to lighten pigmentation, the formula contains white mulberry, cucumber and hibiscus to soothe, and I find it doesn't redden or irritate my sensitive skin.  It emulsifies beautifully, requiring only a few drops of water to form a milky cleanser that is easy to remove from your skin, however you prefer (I prefer to emulsify and then use a hot cloth personally, but it is whatever works for you):

All in all, a bit of a winner.  I'm a bit in love with the Liquid Laser range generally at the moment, but I'll tell you more about the rest of the products another time.

What are you cleansing with these days?

The Fine Print: PR Sample

The Even Finer Print: We're not featuring full fragrance reviews on Get Lippie at the moment owing to illness - please see The Parosmia Diaries for more.

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Philips Sonicare Diamond Clean - Pink Edition

Since I became parosmic last year, toothbrushing has been a major problem for me. More regularly than I would wish (and definitely more regularly than you imagine), just the simple act of keeping my teeth clean results either in tears or vomit, and usually both.  As such my toothbrush occupies a place of much more importance than it used to do.

I bought a new toothbrush over Christmas, and I HATED it.  Serves me right for not checking reviews beforehand, I guess, but not being able to switch off the brush with just one press was impossible, and this was a dealbreaker for me - when you reach that STOP BRUSHING NAOW!!!! point in the morning, every second counts, believe me - so I did what I am prone to do and tweeted about it.  Philips heard about my problem and sent me this Sonicare Diamond Clean to see if that would help me out.

Now, it hasn't escaped me that my one particular issue with the original toothbrush could have been solved (to a degree) by a manual toothbrush, but I've been an electric brusher for nigh on a decade now, and going back to manual brush when I have a tendency to brush too hard (and have had the ripped up gums to prove it) just wasn't an option for me.  That said, I definitely wondered if there would be a massive difference between electric (rotary) brushing and sonic brushing. So I was curious.  Sue me ;)

There definitely is!  Normal electric toothbrushes spin, whereas the sonicare brushes vibrate, and you can totally tell the difference in use. If you're ticklish at all (and it turns out I'm ticklish in places I never suspected before since this turned up), you will definitely be able to tell.  I've found that I can tell the difference afterwards too - somewhat to my surprise my teeth very definitely feel a LOT cleaner after brushing with the DiamondClean! Some days it is all I can do not to spend my whole morning constantly running my tongue over my teeth ...

It's rather an impressive bit of kit, too.  The glass you can see in all the pics is actually the main charger (it has a stand that you plug in), you just pop the brush in and it charges.  You can use the glass for rinsing too - best kept without the stand in the bathroom though! - and there is also a travel case for the brush, which acts as a charger too:

This comes with a USB connector so you can even charge it through your laptop!  All in all, I love the Sonicare DiamondClean, and I'm glad to have it.  I love, love, love the tiny brush-head, it is fully a third smaller than the Braun Oral-B brush heads that I'm used to, and it has made an entire world of difference to me, making it much easier to reach the teeth at the back without gagging. If you have small, or crowded jaws, it might make a heck of a difference to you, too.  I can get into all the nooks and crannies with this!  Oh, and it turns off with one (long) press of the button, too, in spite of the button also controlling the different cycles as well.

There are a few issues though.  The price is £250, which is insane, though it does come with two innovative chargers.  They could have designed the glass better, currently the brush just lolls about in it, and the sides are too wide to keep your tube of toothpaste in there as well.  My tube just slides over and falls out, which is annoying.  I'm used to keeping my brush and my paste in the same toothmug.  Small things though, particularly when the brush is currently on offer at 50% off at Boots, which is a much more manageable price.

Finally, the colour (which I wouldn't even be mentioning if the press release hadn't made such a complete song and dance about it, tbh).  It's pink.  It is a pink toothbrush. Which is fine. Nothing wrong with a pink toothbrush, actually.

What is not fine is that it is pink because, if you hadn't realised already, this is a toothbrush for ladies.  Because ladies love pink.  Don't we ladies?  Pink!  Ladies!  PINK! LADIES! Finally, Philips have brought out a pink toothbrush for us pink-loving ladies!  Let there be lady-rejoicing throughout the land at this up till now unfulfilled lady-need finally having a solution.  A pink toothbrush in a pink case. For ladies.  Now, I'm not sure, but I don't think my teeth care what colour the toothbrush is, and certainly I've never felt deprived at not having a pink option in my electricals before.

My workmate probably had the best thing to say about it when I opened the box: "Oh my god!  That looks obscene!"  And you know what, if you squint a bit at it in the travel case, it does.  Best be careful when people are inspecting your hand luggage on your holiday, ladies!

Overall, this is a good toothbrush, maybe even actually a great toothbrush.  Much like going back to a manual was impossible after having an electric toothbrush, I suspect going back to electric after sonic will prove an impossible step too.  I will see if my dentist agrees in about six months.

The Fine Print: PR Sample

The Even Finer Print: We're not featuring full fragrance reviews on Get Lippie at the moment owing to illness - please see The Parosmia Diaries for more.


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