Q&A - Are you a lipstick luvvie or a gloss girl?

Keeping with the theme of matte lips I thought I would see whether lip gloss is still more popular than lipstick.

Although I like both, lipstick is definitely my favourite. One application adds effortless elegance to the face and as I mentioned in the previous post, I can't stand it when my hair gets stuck to my lip gloss on a windy day.

The launch of the Chanel Rouge Coco range of lipsticks has really added to the recent resurgence of the grown up glamour of lipstick.

Chanel Coco Rouge Lipstick - £21.50

Is Matte the new black? - Nars Matte Lipsticks

This season has seen the revival of the matte lip, something I am very pleased to hear as I am sick of gloss (my long hair always ends up getting stuck to it, not a good look!).

Always a trendsetter, Nars have just released their new Pure Matte Lipsticks and they are on sale exclusively at Selfridges until the beginning of October.

Nars Pure Matte lipstick Advertising Campaign

I haven't managed to get hold of any of the new Nars Pure Matte Lipsticks but www.lipglossiping.com has some great swatches of the new shades on her fabulous blog.

What I do have is a rather large selection of the Nars Velvet Matte Lip Pencils. I have always been a fan of the matte lip (I never cared if it was on trend or not), and the Nars jumbo pencils are my favourite. Easy to apply, not chalky and available in some great shades, I wear them almost everyday, with Sex machine my all time favourite colour of lipstick. As the name suggests, it is a sexy, cool toned pinky mauve.

Here are photos and swatches of the 8 shades I have, a reminder that if the matte look is what you are after, the Velvet Matte Pencils are an alternative option to brand's newer lipstick release (and £1 cheaper to).

Nars Velvet Matte lip Pencils: Dolce Vita, Red Square, Forbidden Red, Damned

Swatches: Dolce Vita, Forbidden Red, Red Square, Damned

Nars Velvet Matte Lip Pencils: Pop Life, Bettina, Sex Machine, Belle de Jour

Swatches: Sex machine, Pop Life, Bettina & Belle de Jour

Unfortunately, the colours in the swatches really don't do the product justice, they look much nicer on the lips (my lips are chapped and horrid at the moment so I chose to apply on the forearm instead). They have a creamy texture and are great to take on a night out for touch ups as they require no skill to apply.

If I do eventually buy one of the new Pure Matte Lipsticks, I will let you know how the 2 formulas compare.

They retail for £17 and be bought online from www.spacenk.com or www.narscosmetics.co.uk.

The new Nars Pure Matte Lipsticks retail for £18 and are available in 4 shades on www.selfridges.com.

Brand Focus: Alpha-H

Although not the most famous of brand,s as they prefer to pour money into their product development rather than on expensive advertising campaigns, Alpha-H is a Australian skincare brand which has developed a cult following around the world.

There is no fancy packaging, just great products in generous sizes, which actually live up to their promises.

As an Australian brand, the focus is on dealing with problem skin, and in particular, sun damage. The whole range is fantastic for getting real results for those with acne, scarring, sun damage and pigmentation. Alpha-H is frequently used on the non-surgery route on the TV show '10 Years Younger: The Challenge', and this is a testament to the fact that it really works!

The straight talking, no nonsense Michelle Doherty is the brand representative and she is like a breath of fresh in the industry with her 'no fluff or puff' approach, realising that all we want to know is whether or not a product works.

Michelle openly admits that she suffered with acne for 14 years and like many of us, used all sorts of abrasive lotions and potions that end up causing more harm than good. She would cover her face with makeup to hide the spots and I remember doing the same at university when I had terrible spots on my face, back and chest. When I look at photos from that time I look like I am wearing a mask!

The solution for Michelle was a simple regime from Alpha-H, using just the Triple Action Cleanser and balancing moisturiser to allow the skin to settle down. She was so impressed that she bought into the company and now her mantra is that everyone deserves and can get good skin.

Alpha-H White Gold - to target pigmentation

Alpha-H is renowned for using glycolic in many of their products, and the runaway success of the brand is Liquid Gold. Applied with a cotton pad direct to cleansed skin (avoiding the eye and lip area) at night, you don't need to layer any other products on top, lie back and wake in the morning with radiant skin. It is that simple. Liquid Gold is recommended for mature, sun damaged and dull complexions.

Aside from Liquid Gold, my favourite products are Micro Cleanse and Daily Essential Moisturiser with SPF 50.

Micro Cleanse is a gentle exfoliant to help remove dead skin cells, leaving a smoother, more radiant skin and allowing you moisturisers and serums to work more effectively. It can be used as a cleanser or more intensively as a mask.

The Daily Essential Moisturiser is what is says on the tin, a daytime moisturiser with a matte finish that protects the skin from sun damage with a high SPF whilst not leaving the skin greasy or chalky. I have been using it all summer and it has really helped prevent any pigmentation (that I am prone to) from developing.



Due to the success of Liquid Gold, Alpha-H have just released a more intensive version for use at night that you can alternate with Liquid Gold, Liquid Gold Intensive Night Repair Serum, £36.36 for 50ml (from http://www.qvcuk.com/). Although not suitable for sensitive skin, it contains vitamins A, B3 and glycolic acid and is worth giving a try for those who think their skin needs an extra boost.

I have pre-ordered my night serum and expect to receive it mid September, so I will write about it in more detail once I have thoroughly tested it for a month.

If problem skin is getting you down, Alpha-H might just be the answer to your prayers.

Q&A - What 3 products would you use if you were about to go on a date with Johnny Depp?

Every day I will be posting a beauty related question and then answering it myself, in the hope that all of you will share your answers in the comments section. I love hearing other people's opinions on beauty products and this process should help everyone get to know each other a little better.

So, for the first question:

If you could only use 3 beauty products before heading out on a date with Johnny Depp, what would you choose? (obviously answers will differ depending on whether or not you find him attractive!)

The one and only Johnny Depp

My 3 would be:

• Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturiser in Porcelain - £32
• YSL Faux Cils Mascara - £21.50
• A 2 in one lip & cheek product, probably Stila convertible colour in Lilium - £18

What would you choose?

Dates for your diary - Urban Decay Naked Palette UK release

This is just a quick heads up on a few important beauty dates this week:

Urban Decay Naked Palette - £27

1st to 3rd September - Get 15% off any order on http://www.hqhair.com/ with the discount code HQSLIP. This might be just the incentive/excuse I need to buy some of the Nars Fall Collection I've had my eye on for weeks.

3rd September - The Urban Decay Naked Palette will be released nationwide and should be available online at Debenhams and House of Fraser. It was released on 23rd August solely at House of Fraser and sold out online very quickly so best get in quick if you want a palette of 12 fabulous neutral shades for just £27!

8th September - Vogue's Fashion Night Out: Peter Philips created 3 new limited edition Chanel nail varnish shades for the occasion. Move over Paradoxal, here come Les Khakis de Chanel. They will only be available from Selfridges and Chanel boutiques for £19 each.

A culinary solution to storing your makeup

Now although I say that this will be a post about storing your makeup, displaying it would probably be a more accurate description.

As you will have seen from my blog, I adore makeup and I think that many products are just too pretty to be hidden away. Whilst at university, I was moving house every year and my makeup was stuffed in an assortment of bags and boxes and it took a real battering. So when I found a more permanent residence, I decided to completely overhaul the way I stored it, aiming to make it both accessible and aesthetically pleasing.

The solution to my problem?

A cake stand.

Yes, you heard me correctly, the kind of stand that is more commonly used for the latest cupcake craze.

Cake stand = the perfect makeup storage solution!

I use a 2 tier cake stand and use it to store all the products that I use on a regular basis, and I find looking at it filled with makeup just as mouthwatering as if it was filled with cakes! The major benefit of the stand is that it creates much needed space on my rather cramped dressing table and all of my products are visible. There is a commonly quoted statistic that women wear 10% of their clothes 90% of the time, favouring those items that are most accessible and in view, I think the same is true of makeup. I use a much wider variety of products now I can see them than I did when I had them all hidden in makeup bags.

You can pick up fairly cheap cake stands allover, even at bootfairs of flea markets, but my favourite is Laura Ashley as they have some more ornate options. I also got some great pearl place mats from there which help stop the stand marking my dressing table.

My dressing table

For my other beauty items I use some decorative cream pots that are actually tooth brush holders from Asda to store lip pencils, eyeliners and makeup brushes. For cotton pads, I use a glass jar from Laura Ashley that looks more like a fancy cookie jar.

Toothbrush holders and cookie jars

The rest of my makeup and skincare I store in labelled boxes on a bookshelf or in my dressing table drawers. For the drawers, I use cutlery dividers to separate items.

Cutlery divider

I hope this post has given you some potential new ideas for storing makeup, don't let your gorgeous products get forgotten and gather dust in the bottom of an old makeup bag, show them the light of day!

One thing I wouldn't recommend though is having a cream dressing table, at least not without some kind of protective covering. I've only had mine a year and even though I use mats to protect it, it is now covered with an assortment of makeup stains that refuse to be removed!

Chanel Paradoxal Nail Varnish Dupe - Nails Inc Fulham Road

Although I mentioned the Nails Inc shade in a previous post, I thought I would take some pictures of it applied to the nails so you can get a direct comparison between Fulham Road and Paradoxal.

The 2 shades side by side: Nails Inc Fulham Road and Chanel Paradoxal

Although from the photo the Nails Inc shade looks more grey than the Chanel, and to contain less shimmer, this is not actually the case.

Nails Inc Fulham Road applied to the nails

Chanel Paradoxal - Spot the difference?

The shade as it appears on the nails is a far more accurate portrayal of the colour as a whole. Owning and having applied them both, I would say that Fulham Road is almost identical to Paradoxal, a proper dupe, more so than it appears in the photos. The only minor difference I found was in application, after 1 coat the Chanel shade looked a lot better but after 2 coats, there was little to tell the shades apart. The lilac/purple shimmer is arguably slightly more prominent in the Nails Inc colour, but I think this is a benefit as the shimmer in Paradoxal could be a trifle too subtle.

So if you like the shade but don't like the Chanel price tag, try Nails Inc Fulham Road, available at just £5 from www.bathandunwind.co.uk.

If your heart is set on Chanel and you can't get hold of Paradoxal, fear not, 3 more limited shades are set to be released this September, Les Khakis de Chanel - Khaki Rose, Khaki Brun and Khaki Vert. They were specially created for Vogue's Fashion Night Out and will cost £19 from Selfridges and Chanel Boutiques. For pictures, check out the post on www.britishbeautyblogger.com.

I want them all!