Monthly Archives: September 2010

In My Makeup Kit: Lanolips

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LanolipsThe new product on everyone’s lips seems to be Lanolips, and there is a good reason why – it’s really ace.

Lanolips is the brainchild of Aussie PR maven Kirsten Carriol who grew up around lanolin, with a father who was a doctor and espoused it as a wonder ointment and had grandparents with a sheep farm, so lanolin was always part of her consciousness. Contemplating a long haul flight back from Paris (and all its hydration issues) a few years ago, she decided to utilise lanolin in an effective and portable way. And now it’s stashed in a zillion handbags.

At first I was a bit wary of it to be honest as I’ve had some not so great experiences with lanolin in the past (Ella Bache and my teenage skin, I’m talking to YOU), but when I did some research into Lanolips I discovered:

  • It’s 100% pure lanolin moisturiser, which has been refined to Ultra Medical Grade status
  • It is one of the only substances hygienic enough to apply to a fresh wound and its medicinal use dates back to 700BC when the ancient Greeks used it as a skin reparative
  • Holds up to 200% of its own moisture
  • Able to imitate the function of human skin lipids
  • Made from lanolin sourced from Australian and New Zealand wool
  • Lanolin is a natural by-product of the wool industry, extracted from the fleece once the sheep are shorn and is no more cruel than drinking milk or using beeswax.

So being a general lip product ho I decided to try it – and it has lead me to cheat on my Lucas’ Paw Paw Ointment (as you might recall from the beginning of my blog, we were married, but being an incorrigible lip product flirt I have been dallying with other products lately, including Homeoplasmine again). And now, with all my reservations about lanolin put to rest it has been Lanolips turn!

Whilst I haven’t tried it MacGyver style on all the other things it’s supposed to work on – sunburn, nappy rash (haven’t had them for awhile), rough cuticles, smoothing wild brows (definitely have those but I’ve been too lazy to try Lanolips on them), like all good lipbalms I’ll be putting it through its paces in the coming months.

Lanolips comes in four colours, plus clear, and I keep Apple in my handbag as it is pretty much the ultimate “your lips but better” colour. A word of warning though – it’s quite pigmented so checking it in a mirror is advised as if you don’t rub it in properly you end up looking like a hot mess with streaks of red glossy balm all over your lips! Once rubbed in though it’s a juicy, natural lip, and great for blondes who do need a little bit of something to stop them looking like an egg.

I also keep it in my kit in Clear for those moments when you just need maximum lip hydration – those emergency lip softening times. If you’re looking for a new lip romance – this just might be it.

Lanolips is available from www.victoriahealth.com and in Boots chemists across the UK from November.

www.lanolips.com

Beauty Breakdown – London Fashion Week

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Stella McCartney for Adidas at the London Fashion WeekStella McCartney for Adidas - Makeup by Kay Montano

It’s been quite a hard LFW to be away from this year – all my peeps have been doing gorgeous work in London on Richard Nicholl, Margaret Howell and Betty Jackson (all my old regulars, sniff!)

But I was especially sad I couldn’t be there for the Stella McCartney for Adidas show as it’s my old dream team – Kay Montano on makeup, Sophy Robson on nails and the lovely Katie Service busting out makeup alongside Kay. (And it was in a gorgeous private home in London as well, rumour has it the home of one of the A-list!)

However even though I couldn’t be there in person, I DO have the breakdown of how to achieve a perfect sporty glow, even though the models turned up looking decidedly lackluster as it’s halfway through the international fashion calendar.

Skin – No extra moisturiser needed as the foundation gave a creamy glow

Base – Myface Mymix foundation, applied from the centre of the face outwards with a sponge

Concealer - Myface Mycover concealer in the matching shade for the models’ skintone, applied to any redness around the nose

Blush – Bobbi Brown Pot Rouge in Pink Truffle applied with the sponge to create the ’30 minutes of cardio’ look to their cheeks.

Lips – Lucas’ Paw Paw Ointment

www.myfacecosmetics.com

www.bobbibrowncosmetics.com

Illamasqua Launch the Art of Darkness Collection

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When Alex Box was in Sydney a couple of months ago, she first told me about the new collection and I was hooked from her description – graphic gold liquid eyeliner, jewel toned pigments and BLUE LIPSTICK! Oh sweet heaven I have been looking for a great blue lipstick for years, never being able to find one that actually felt like a lipstick (not a gloss or a sheer lipstick, but a straight up out of the bullet, true blue colour). When I saw some of the pre-release imagery I nearly passed out as it was like some mad makeup World of Warcraft, a world that I never knew could exist, but the world of Illamasqua and their creative director, Ms Box, made reality.

Here are some of the campaign images and the film – enter a world where makeup has never gone before…

Stop Press! MAC Face Charts from New York Fashion Week

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This week has been the start of the global fashion circus that rolls around the world from New York, then to London, then Milan and onto Paris before all the fashion crew get a 6 month rest, until it all starts up again.

I’ve been diligently keeping an eye on the trends coming out of New York, and right from the word go it’s been a surprising season beauty-wise, as it’s all about colour. New York is known for the usually “tasteful” (read “tame”) makeup and hair that struts down its runways. It is generally the most conservative of all the Fashion Weeks, but this week has been a showstopper in more ways than one. Rust red eyes, 70’s disco full makeup, fluoro pink lips, gold-grey lips and gold lashes, it’s all happening! And thank god, there has barely been a beige face in sight.

As always MAC are the go-to brand for the shows, (although NARS and Shiseido are making a few incursions onto the runways, which is nice to see). Here are some of my top picks so far from the shows – these are the looks that will be inspiring you in the season to come. Get ready to crack out the fun stuff ladies, it’s a makeup-fest!

New York Fashion Week Mac Face Charts

Click on the pictures to download the Mac Face Charts

NARS – Matte Lipsticks

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I have yet to try these beautiful, creamy matte lipsticks that have been popping up all over town, on celebs (like Lea Michelle and Christina Hendricks), and on runways (uber-makeup artist Diane Kendal has been busting out the Madere Matte Lipstick at Thakoon in New York this week). I’m quite partial to a matte lip which is chic and cool at the same time, and these new lipsticks have a beautiful range of shades from nude to reds and wines. Plus with a matte lipstick you can easily add shine with a gloss or lipbalm, so in a way, it’s a clever investment – two lippies for the price of one! Who needs shares when you can invest in NARS?

And in honour of the new lipsticks, Monsieur Nars and his clever team have created this short film with the lovely Heather Marks, who I worked with on one of the shows at London Fashion Week a couple of years ago – and yes, she is that beautiful. We bonded over the lack of food backstage as we were all corralled in an area with no access to food –put it this way, Vitamin Water and chewing gum seemed like a feast! I love this film, and there’s also a Behind the Scenes to go with it. If this doesn’t make you start lusting for a matte lippie, I don’t know what will!

NARS Matte lipsticks will be available soon.
www.narscosmetics.com





Hot Polish: Paul & Joe no 16

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Why is this my new favourite hue? I’ve had it for awhile and I pulled it out to use it yesterday, only to discover the most perfect scarlet polish ever. It’s just the right balance between blue and orange and makes me instantly think of Betty Draper in Mad Men. (And I think we all know how I like to think about her).

Since red is one of the hot colours for European Autumn/Winter I’ll be wearing this frequently, and coming over all 1950’s housewife – except for the stifling girdles, obsession with what the neighbours think, and cripping bouts of depression to be medicated by cocktails, cigarettes and Valium. You know, just the good bits.

www.paul-joe-beaute.com

January Jones Mad Men

In My Makeup Kit: Biotherm Aquasource Skin Perfection Moisturiser

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Sasha Pivovarova BiothermI think I mentioned before what a skincare orgy it is at the moment at MM HQ. From being distinctly unimpressed about most skincare and sticking to my faves, I have discovered some absolute gems lately – Aesop as you all know, and also Biotherm’s Aquasource moisturizer, new to my kit.

I actually worked on the commercial for this in London, with Kay Montano doing makeup on the unbelievably gorgeous Biotherm spokesmodel, Russian Sasha Pivarova. Statuesque, gorgeous and glamorous in towering boots, Sasha was everything you’d like your supermodel to be. At lunch I discovered she was lovely as well – very down to earth and nice, an unexpected bonus. Two things I will tell you – she loves her coffee, and yes, her eyes really are that blue!

When I got a chance to try the new Aquasource moisturizer I was slightly trepidatious as often moisturizers that have offered a high water content actually leave your skin feeling drier than it started, as the water evaporates and seems to take more water from the skin. But new technology has radically improved these and Aquasource not only feels like water on the skin (which is lovely and refreshing in summer), but my skin really retained the moisture and in the morning it still felt hydrated, and not like a dried up old walnut. And happily, no breakouts which I can sometimes get when I switch skincare. In addition, it’s such a nice base for makeup that I’ve slipped some in my kit (sorry Kiehl’s, for the first time in nearly a decade, you’ve been relegated!)

Here is the lovely Sasha P in one of her European Biotherm campaigns (I love it when she talks about kung-fu! So awesome with her Russian accent.)

www.biotherm.co.uk

Newcomer – Burberry Makeup

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I was on a Burberry shoot a while ago in London, when we were all having a chat in the makeup room (as you do) and the discussion turned to the new beauty line that Burberry were releasing. My ears pricked up as I not only love the aesthetic of Burberry clothes, which are classic, simple and elegant yet under the direction of English designer Christopher Bailey increasingly full of covetable items, but I also love the effortless beauty looks that Burberry always have in their campaigns and their runway shows. I mean really, who doesn’t want to look like the supernaturally beautiful Lily Donaldson?

Of course I kept the impending release under my hat until I started to hear a buzz in the blogosphere quite a few months later, and when I actually tried some of the products I wasn’t disappointed.

From what I have tried from the range I have been extremely impressed. The packaging is very luxurious with a heavy silver casing with the Burberry check on it. They are absolutely items that you could keep on your dressing table or whip out in public for touch-ups as they just look so gorgeous. They are very heavy, so for someone like me who has trouble doing heavy lifting a whole kit of them would be problematic, but having said that I adore the Burberry lipstick so much and it looks so chic that I can’t bear to decant it! (Although its days are numbered if it wants to start getting schlepped on jobs – like pretty much everything in my kit now it will get squished into a palette. It’s amazing how much makeup magic gets lost in that process, but hey ho.)

I have the lipstick and lipliner in Nutmeg which when I first saw it my initial reaction was “Yuk! Dead person brown”, but dutifully I gave it a whirl and it’s my secret new It colour for the coming autumn/winter season (although perhaps not that secret now it’s on my blog). Once on it is the perfect, updated version of the 1990’s brown mouth that is staging a massive comeback – it’s what you’d get if one of MAC’s old skool 1990’s lippies like Taupe mated with a Chanel Rouge Allure lipstick (which has a similar luxurious feel to the Burberry lippie). It’s very moisturizing yet surprisingly dense, and the colour holds true. Add in the Nutmeg lipliner and this is a real power mouth, to be worn either with lots of lashes or a full eye for rich, luxurious evening makeup. I’ll be mixing in a bit of ruby to give it an added dash of glamour.

Be warned though, colours like this need either perfect skin (or perfect foundation – isn’t that really the same thing?) as any redness or blemishes will be shamelessly exposed. I for one can’t wait to try more from the Burberry line as its quality, brand heritage and naturally beautiful colour selection has me hooked. I do love the Burberry makeup aesthetic – like you only better, and more gorgeous. It’s what the Calvin Klein line (both times) has tried to do but not quite made it, and I’m really happy another brand has stepped in to fill that gap. Well played Burberry, well played.

Check out the video below for the incredibly gorgeous Lily Donaldson and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley. Makeup that makes me look like that? Yes please!