Tag: lip gloss

Elizabeth Arden – New York In Bloom Collection

When I saw the packaging of the new Elizabeth Arden, New York in Bloom Collection, I did an inside squeal – it’s sooo pretty! Covered with floral motivs – it seems a step in the funky direction for a brand I normally consider to be quite classic.

The collection is made up of two bronzing powders – soft and warm, two nail duos – a teal and purple shade with a top coat at one end, three eye pencils – teal, platinum and brown, and two eyeshadow trios – one based on the teal palette, another on golden tones. It’s a really pretty range – both packaging and product wise. 
I have the Pure Finish bronzing powder in Warm. There are flowers embossed onto the powder in bronzey and pink shades – but it looks very frosted and on seeing the product in the palette, I was a little worried at how frosty it would be on the skin. 
The Eye Pencil comes with a sharpener in the box, which I think is a nice touch. The colour of Iridescent Teal is very bold and pigmented – and is exactly that – iridescent teal with beautiful golden tones running through the teal.
As you can see from the swatch photo above, the bronzer isn’t frosty at all, although it does have a slight shimmer to it – it gives a radiance to the skin rather than a glitterbomb effect. It has a flattering yellow-bronze colour to it which is the kind of colour I like in a bronzer.  
The Elizabeth Arden website gives the tip of wearing the eye pencil under the lower lash line – so that’s how I decided to wear it. It was very easy to apply but you do need to wear a primer under it and powder over it as I found it can transfer down your eye a little without. 
I am wearing both the products in the photos above, teamed with Elizabeth Arden’s Beautiful Colour Luminous Lip Gloss in Precious Petal. 
It’s a yummy, toffee flavoured gloss that glides on and feels really moisturising – it contains mango butter and shea butter. When the gloss eventually fades, you are left with a pretty shimmer on the lips. It’s another well designed product – with a mirror on the side of the bottle so you can touch-up on the go with ease – the applicator is flattened which makes it so easy to apply too.
The last product I have from the New York in Bloom Colour Collection is the nail laquer in Teal Blossom. While I had it on I had lots of compliments on the colour. It’s a true, greeny-blue-petrol teal shade which, when used with the top coat, leaves a nice glossy finish to the nails. 
This is my first foray into Elizabeth Arden’s make up range – I always considered it to be for women a bit older than me, but I am definitely, 100% proved wrong! Let me know if you’ve tried anything and have any recommendations. 

Lipstick Queen

Lipstick Queen is a brand I’ve often admired from afar, but for some reason, never tried. It was created by Poppy King when she couldn’t find the perfect shade of lipstick she was after, she went out there and created a lipstick line of her own (amazing!).

I was recently sent some Lipstick Queen products to try out – Big Bang gloss in Infinite, Rose lip liner, and Nude lip liner.

L-R, Rose lip liner, Infinite Big Bang gloss, Nude lip liner

The Big Bang range of glosses are all designed to make the lips appear fuller without having to experience any tingling… as I have rather large lips it’s a road I’ve never gone down before – but apparently it can be quite uncomfortable to achieve great plumping results! Poppy says “My Big Bang Theory is that with exactly the right ratio of shimmer to shine you can create the illusion of plumper lips.”

I was sent Infinite which is a peachy tone with golden pearl to it – it doesn’t leave much colour on the lips, but it’s much more interesting than a clear gloss, and definitely leaves my lips looking more plump. My favourite feature is the texture – it’s not sticky or gloopy at all, but almost silky – a great texture for lip gloss!

Big Bang – Infinite

The lip liners are smooth and creamy – they don’t pull the lips at all in application, and they are so soft that as well as being used as liner, they can easily be worn all over the lips as a base to lipstick or gloss, or on their own.

The Rose liner is definitely my favourite item I tried! Although my top tip is to make sure your lips are completely dry before you apply – as you can see, the colour didn’t really take to the middle of my lips as they were slightly wet there although, on a whole, I am thoroughly impressed – Rose is the perfect pinky red colour, and the texture of the liner make it super-simple to work with!

Rose lip liner
Rose lip liner + Big Bang – Infinite
Nude lip liner
Nude lip liner + Big Bang – Infinite

Lipstick Queen is available from Beauty Expert – lip liners are priced at £16 and come with a complimentary sharpener, and Big Bang glosses are £20 each.

Sisley Phyto Lip Gloss – 1 Nude

From the perfect mascara yesterday, to the perfect nude lip gloss today. The Phyto Lip Gloss in 1 Nude is simply stunning.


I had heard lots of great things about Sisley skin care, however I had not heard much about the make up range. Last month I visited the Sisley offices to explore the make up range, and there were so many lovely things – the lipsticks shout pure sassiness with their diamond shaped bullet – I hope to add some of them to my make up collection, and rest assured I shall blog about them when I do – they look gorgeous.

The Phyto Lip Gloss is the first product of Sisley’s make up range that I have tried. It feels luxurious with its heavy metallic style lid and design of the tube which is very classy in itself. The wand applicator is a brush which makes the gloss really easy to apply precisely. 

It comes in 7 different shades, I have number 1 – Nude, which is such a gorgeous colour; the true definition of nude. It is shiny and glossy but seems to have the perfect texture – not too slippy, and not too sticky. Quite often when I wear gloss, I feel like I’m wearing gloss, but with this, once I put it on I forget about it and get on with my day.

In terms of flavour, it’s fragranced with mint and tea leaves – which to me sounds rather strange, but it’s not very strong, and is pleasant. The taste is gentle – I have to really try to manage to get a flavour from it, but it’s a delicate, natural kind of flavour.

All the Phyto Lip Glosses are natural and contain ingredients such as Shea Butter and Sunflower Oil to moisturise the lips, and extrait de Padina pavonica which gives a plumping effect to the lips
I think this lip gloss has been a great introduction to Sisley’s make up range for me. I love it! 
Sisley Phyto Lip Gloss costs £27 and is available at Sisley Counters.
Have you tried any of the Sisley make up? What do you recommend? 

Bobbi Brown Bellini Lip & Eye Palette

The Bobbi Brown Bellini Lip & Eye Palette is a gorgeous, limited edition piece they they have brought out as part of their Christmas 2012 collection. It’s very compact (think half a CD box in size but double the thickness) yet houses a whopping 10 eye shadows and 4 lip glosses, a large mirror and two brushes.

The eye shades included are, from left to right – top row – Navajo, Candlelight Gold (metallic), Petal (shimmer wash), Cement, Prosecco (new). Bottom row – Truffle, Bellini (shimmer wash), Bronze Stone (shimmer wash), Brown Sugar (metallic), Caviar.
They are all very soft, blend-able shadows – I’ve been using the palette for the past few weeks and haven’t experienced any fallout at all which is always a bonus! A lot of the colours are fairly neutral and pale but if you can work in some of the shimmer/metallic, or the Caviar, into your look you can totally vamp it up. Navajo is a great colour for all over the lid as a base, and although you may wonder what a pink shade (Petal) is doing with all these smokey colours, I have been wearing it with caviar and Candlelight Gold for a smokey eye and I think they’re gorgeous together! 
Here I am wearing a fairly strong, and fairly soft look done with this palette. In the top photo I have used a nude lipstick and put the Bobbi Brown gloss on top. The bottom look is done using just the Bobbi gloss (Bare and Bubble Bath mixed together)
The lip colours are very pretty, yet very sheer. They give just a hint of colour to the lips, but a gorgeous glossy finish. When I want a stronger lip, I have been wearing a lipstick with one of the glosses over the top.
The colours are, from left to right – Bubble Bath (new), Chrome Pink (shimmer) (new), Bellini (glitter) & Bare.

I have loved using the palette. It’s such a perfect size, slotting into my make up bag so easily, and the fact the brushes are ‘proper’ Bobbi Brown brushes, shrunk down is perfect too. Another thing I love is that the mirror is as big as the palette so you don’t have to contort yourself to be able to see what you’re doing which you so often get with palettes!

The Bellini Palette costs £59 from Bobbibrown.co.uk plus at the moment they are offering a free mini mascara duo with every order, free delivery (or free named day delivery today only) and a free silver make up bag when you spend over £50 with the code SILVER – bargain!

Bobbi Brown Tube Tint Trio

Another offering from Bobbi Brown this Christmas, is the Tube Tint Trio – a new, limited edition set of three of their cult favourite lip glosses – Grape, Pink Mist, and Pink Violet.

Each 15ml tube showcases one of the different Bobbi Brown lip gloss finishes – Grape being the glitter, Pink Mist being shimmer, and Pink Violet for just a hint of colour.

When looking at the tubes, I thought Grape would be my least favourite, but on the lips, it is oh so special. This is the little black sequin dress of the lip gloss world; with the different parts of the lips twinkling when the light hits the tiny particles of silver and purple glitter. It’s a way of wearing that on-trend purpley red colour in a glam way, without looking too vampy.

Pink Mist is my next favourite. It is a very natural peachy nude gloss with a subtle hint of golden shimmer. It’s so pretty, perfect for pairing with a smokey eye.

Pink Violet is a jellyish colour which wasn’t quite as bright on the lip as I thought it would be – it’s a hint of cool toned pink which adds a sheen of colour to the lips. It’s fairly similar in Pink Mist in neutralness, but gives a different tone to the lips. It’s lovely for a soft day time look, or again, for a smokey eye.

The lip glosses are all easy to apply without having to use a separate brush, and I’ve found to be long lasting, even through drinking, they stay put for a while! They are rather thick but don’t feel sticky – I’ve loved using each of them, and the best thing is is that the set is only £28, making each gloss under £10 – bargain!
You can buy the Tube Tint Trio from BobbiBrown.co.uk

L’Occitane Pivoine Délicate Make Up Collection

This month, L’Occitane released a limited edition range called Pivoine Délicate – focused around a new fragrance – Pivoine Délicate, inspired by a rare peony found in Provence, and a make up and body collection to compliment it.

Within the make up collection are three lipsticks, three lip shines, and an eau de toilette & gloss combo in gorgeous packaging. I was sent some of these to try out.

The three things I have are all part of the same family of colours, but all different from one another.

The lipstick I have is No 2 – Pivoine Délicate (£12.50), and is my favourite of the products I was sent. The bullet looks like it’s quite a dark dusty rose colour, but it’s actually very sheer with just a hint of a peachy colour. It feels very moisturising, almost lip balm-like in consistency; feeling like it’s doing good things to my lips at the same time as making them look beautiful. I love love love it.

The lip shine, No 2 – Rose Fremissant (£11.50) is a soft jelly pink, with teeny silvery flecks of microglitter. The shimmer adds dimension to the product, making lips look even more shiny, and fuller. It comes with a brush applicator on the wand which helps with precise application. Again, this isn’t a strong shade, more of a delicate hint of colour. It smells and tastes slightly of the Pivoine Délicate fragrance.

Lastly, the  Duo Eau De Toilette & Gloss (£14.00). This is an absolutely amazing idea that I wish more brands would take note of! In perfect handbag size, at one end is a 5.5ml bottle of Pivoine Délicate eau de toilette, and the other end, a 5.5ml bottle of lip gloss. Genius!

The fragrance is sweet and floral. It smells powdery and delicate – containing citrus fruits, white peach, rose, peony, lily of the valley, white musk and light woods. It’s a nice smell, but not something I would wear personally. It’s one for the Flowerbomb lovers of the world!

The lip gloss also has a hint of the fragrance. It’s comes with a sponge applicator and is a soft apricot shade with the tiniest flecks of golden microglitter. It looks almost iridescent once it’s on the lip. A very pale, soft, delicate glossy colour.

L’Occitane is not a brand that I would normally consider when looking for make up, but I am thoroughly impressed with all three of these products and has definitely put them on the make up map for me. I am sure they will all be used during the summer months – I adore them!

Have you used L”Occitane make up before? What do you think of these products?

Christmas Gifts from L’Occitane

L’Occitane have brought out a range of limited edition gifts, which would be perfect for those last minute Christmas presents. I was sent a selection from the Délice des Fruits and Délice des Fleurs collections, of which I’m going to tell you about today!

Whenever I get new bath and body stuff, the first thing I do is have a little sniff…. OMG, this time I was in Heaven! The Citron & Clémentine range from the Délice des Fruits collection is absolutely divine. As the name would suggest, it is lemon and clementine, but not any old lemon and clementine. This is candied lemon and clementine, which evidently makes all the difference.

Although it’s not a Christmas smell, the candle reminds me of walking through a Christmas market and past a sweet stall. It’s the most amazing smell ever – I would happily burn this candle every day for the rest of my life, the smell is that good!

The rest of the products from the Délice des Fruits collection still have that amazing smell, but are slightly more citrusey than boiled sweets. I’m a big fan of citrus smells so these have been great for me too. The little tin of lip balm is dangerous – I want to eat it every time it goes near my lips! It contains almond oil so it’s good at moisturising, and it leaves the lips with a sexy sheen.

I usually use liquid hand soap, so there has been something quite decadent about using a bar of soap! It is perfumed but not overpowering, and doesn’t leave my hands feeling dry.

The Body Cream is gorgeous – it is nice and light, and while it has that nice smell, I like that fact that the smell isn’t lingering for the entire day – I like people to be able to smell my perfume! It has a slight balmy consistency and sinks in to the skin fairly quickly.

The Délice des Fleurs collection is a different smell all together. Still sweet, but in a different way. Nothing how I’d expect ‘Rose & Violette’ to smell – none of that classic ‘rose’ scent… but more like the very sweet aroma of berries. Apparently it is candied rose and violet petals. The fragrance is a little too sweet for me, but I can imagine my teenage sister being a fan.

The perfume comes in a 75ml glass bottle which is so pretty and elegant. The soft purple colour of the fragrance adds to the gorgeousness of it, it would look fab on display in a bathroom. There is also a little tin of solid perfume which is an ideal size to carry in your handbag to freshen up with during the day or a night out.

I used the shower jelly on a bath pouf, and while it wasn’t extremely bubbly there was enough lather there to wash my body with, and again, it looks great on display.

If you like sweet smells – like Viktor & Rolf Flowerbomb, I think you’d really like the Rose & Violette range.

The lip glosses from this collection, I will definitely use. I’d say they were more lip tints or balms than glosses as my lips weren’t left overly shiny after using them. They come in a little tin perfect for the handbag – Rose is pinky, like a just-bitten lip, and Violette is dark purple, which reminds me of a softer version of MAC’s Rebel lipstick. They both leave the lips feeling very soft, like they’re doing some good while looking good! I think it would be advisable to use a brush to apply them for more of an even look. I used my fingers for the photos below – so it’s not like you have to use one, but it would look more polished.

The products are available from the L’Occitane website, while you’re there have a go at decorating a Christmas tree and you’ll get a complimentary 75ml Fleur Cherie body lotion.

L’Occitane is also available in stores – have a look here to see where your local one is, or in selected department stores.

Sleek Pout Polish: Peach Perfection & Monte Carlo

I won a Sleek competition a while ago, and part of the prize was a Pout Polish in ‘Monte Carlo’ – a limited edition hot pinky purple which is part of the Mediterranean Collection. This was the first Pout Polish I’d owned and I really liked it, so much so that this weekend I bought another, ‘Peach Perfection’, which is a gorgeous peachy nude.

The Pout Polishes are £4.30 for 10g and are comparable to MAC’s Tinted Lip Conditioners which are £11 for 15g. They have SPF15, so I shall definitely be using them during the day on holiday – as well as making your lips look gorgeous, they are really good for your lips as they contain Almond Oil, Shea Butter, Avocado Extract and Vitamins A, C and E.

Monte Carlo tastes a little like marshmallows, and in fact I’d say the colour is quite similar to Lancome’s Marshmallow Juicy Tube. A small amount can be put on for a wash of colour, or it can be built up for a bit more impact. Be careful it doesn’t end up on your teeth though!

Peach Perfection tastes just like sugar and I am totally in love with the colour. It’s gentle yet effective and doesn’t ‘white out’ the lips like a lot of nudes do. I can see myself using this a lot (excuse the funny camera angle!)

I think these are a fab addition to anyone’s make up collection, and I’m keen to check out more of the range. The only downside to them is that I notice a strange taste after a while of wearing them, but it’s bearable.

Sleek Pout Polishes are available from the Sleek website.

MAC Enchantée Kissable Lip Colour

I do love a pink or a nude lip… and when I saw Enchantée in my local MAC my eyes were immediately drawn to it like a magpie to diamonds. The casing of the ‘Kissable Lip Colour’s is like that of a Lipglass, but stretched out – longer and thinner. Colour-wise,  I thought that it looked rather similar to the Viva Glam Gaga Lipglass, but when I put them side by side the Enchantée looks a little warmer.

When swatched, the Enchantée looks quite melon-y, but I think that once it’s on the lips it looks more of a bubblegum pink colour.

I’m not too sure what MAC are trying to imply by calling it ‘Kissable’. If they mean kissable – so good it makes you want to give it a quick snog, fair enough. If they mean kissable – you can have a quick snog and it will still look in tact, they are wrong wrong wrong! It’s really highly pigmented and you get a great wash of colour, but it’s certainly not long lasting. Within an hour of me working at my computer, sipping a drink every so often, it had more or less vanished.

The texture of it is strange, kind of waxy. It’s midway between a lipgloss and a lipstick… in fact, the thing I could liken it most to is MACs Tinted Lip Conditioners, but a thicker, more pigmented version. The colour is very like a Hello Kitty one I have, which typically, I can’t find right now to compare! When you put it on, you feel it’s going to be glossy – it comes with a doe-foot applicator and to me that signals GLOSS to my brain! Once it’s on the lips it’s just not…. it’s dull, but wet looking. Like a slippery lipstick!

Because of my net problems, I fear I am rather late with this – the Kissable Lip Colours were part of the Peacocky Collection, and are now all sold out online… but if you want it bad enough there are always ways and means, eBay being a good starting point!

Other make up I have worn in the pics above

Estee Lauder Doublewear concealer (on blemishes)
Estee Lauder Doublewear foundation
Guerlain Precious Light concealer (under eyes)
Natural Collection Sun Tint bronzer
MAC Well Dressed blusher
2 eyeshadows from the 88 Shimmer Palette (peachy gold and dark muddy brown)
MAC Smoulder eyeliner
No17 Exquisite Curl mascara

Do you own a Kissable Lip Colour? Does it make you want to snog yourself?! I’m not convinced.

MAC ‘Sin-tillation’ Lipgelee

I’d been looking forward to the Cham Pale collection at MAC for a while – all those neutral colours I love so much, however once I saw it in the flesh I wasn’t as impressed. In fact, the only thing that caught my eye was this Lipgelee, priced at £12.50. It’s called Sin-tillation, although rather embarrassingly I asked the sales assistant for a ‘Titillation’! It’s described as a sparkly pale icy pink which pretty much sums it up.

There is a rather high glitter content – be warned, if you are wearing this on a date and have a little smooch before the date, your man will be covered in glitter for the rest of the evening!
I like to wear it with a bit of a base underneath, so here I am with a thin application of Hue by MAC.


When you first apply it it’s very frosty looking and not to my taste at all. Almost white in colour, very glittery and icy. Here it is freshly applied.

I then blotted it with tissue to remove some of the POW, giving a much softer, pretty result. It’s pale pink with shimmer, little flecks of glitter and good staying power.

Do you own anything from the Cham Pale collection? Would you recommend it? I think I’d like to try the Fix+ with Lavender but other than that it wasn’t really floating my boat. I’d love to hear if there were any things I missed out on though!