LIPSTICK REVIEW: Sleek Pout Paint

As a fairly loyal Boots customer, I rarely set foot in Superdrug stores. This is probably largely due to the fact that I have a Boots card, so therefore I'm more inclined to spend up there where I can earn points to spend on even more products I don't actually need :)

That said, I did visit Superdrug at Charing Cross Road today for a post-work beauty fix and I ended up having a great time rifling through beauty brands I'd never actually played with before (and also realised Superdrug have a loyalty card of their own. Have I been living under a rock?)! One of these brands was Sleek MakeUP. I was blown away by their extensive range (they make 17 shades of foundation!) and had to stop myself from grabbing at least one of everything! I decided to allow myself one treat from the Sleek range, and having heard rave reviews about Pout Paint, snapped up one of these pocket sized wonders.

Pout Paint in Pin Up

I chose 'Pin Up' - a classic rich red.

To put it blatantly, this stuff is awesome and certainly ticks a lot of boxes

• It is seriously highly pigmented
• You only need a tiny amount per application
• The staying power is outstanding
• Dries quickly
• Has a velvet/ matte finish
• You can mix it with other Pout Paints to create your own custom colours - a great touch :)

A tiny dot like this....



Produces this!

This product is really impressive and the fact that it's so highly pigmented means the colour stays true to what you see in the tube and won't transform on your lips.

Pout Paint is available in 11 shades (including blue!) and retails for £4.99. Here in the UK Sleek MakeUP is available at Superdrug.

I'm starting to think there's space in my purse for a Superdrug Beauty Card too...

Edit: 02.17 Pout Paint is now seemingly discontinued!

Glamorous Girls love Lipstick & Curls

I've always been interested in the vintage scene - Dita Von Teese is a Goddess in my opinion, and I wish I could perfect that flawless hair and make up look she's famous for.

A little bit vintage...My beautiful sister, myself and my gorgeous friend Addy at my brother's Rockabilly wedding in Australia!

 I'm certainly no make up artist and some days my shakey hands mean a perfect flick of eyeliner turns out looking more Gene Simmons, less Jean Harlow. Yikes...
Thanks to the lovely Besame Crimson Cream Rouge I blogged about in my last post, I've now at least got one multi purpose product to help me on my quest to achieve pin up perfection, but wouldn't it be handy if there were a couple of vintage experts on hand to show me how it's really done, or better yet, do it for me?

I <3 Dita

Here's where the girls at Lipstick & Curls come in.
Specialising in hair and make up from the 1920s through to the 60s, Amanda and Natasha are bonafide vintage gurus transforming London ladies into retro bombshells with a blast of a hairdryer and flick of a mascara wand.

The Lipstick and Curls girls team up with Benefit at Covent Garden on the 1st Saturday of every month (that is in fact TODAY!) for a Pop Up Parlour offering customers exclusive packages and invaluable advice for achieving that coveted vintage look.

The girls are in store from 10am to 5pm, so it's worth your while to pop in the shop and see what all the fuss is about. You can book in to have full vintage hair and make up done for only £55 and you'll also receive a fantastic £20 off all benefit products - and we all know that a vintage vixen simply needs a bit of Benefit in their make up kit! If you're wanting to book in and be pampered to polished perfection, get in early and call the girls on 07765166460 to secure a spot.
 Thanks to the fantastic value of this package, the Lipstick & Curls Pop up Parlour books out fairly quickly, so it's best to get in early. I'm really loving this company and the girls are very warm and friendly so I'm planning on talking about them a lot more -  my next Lipstick & Curls post will tell you all about their gorgous Pin Up Studio sessions.
In the meantime, get down to Benefit at 19 Shorts Gardens WC2H 9AW on December 3rd to see them work their magic and visit their website here.

Hannah Rose xxx

P.S. Lipstick and Curls will be doing their beautiful thing at vintage weekend Rhythm Riot from November 18th.

Star Product: Crimson Cream Rouge by Besame

Every now and then I come across a product that I instantly fall for and this sexy little pot of pleasure had me at hello.


I love the polished elegance of fashionistas in the 1940s - they sported a look that oozed ladylike sophistication.
This vintage style is all about pincurls and poise, classic red lips, perfectly groomed brows and of course that all important flush of rouge. Gorgeous vintage make up brand Besame has been around since 2004, but I only discovered it a few weeks ago while exploring the website of vintage boutique What Katie Did.

I had blush on the brain that day and was searching for a cream formulation (I'd never tried one before) when I laid eyes on this loveliness.

BEHOLD! Crimson Cream Rouge by Besame

I ordered it from What Katie Did at around 1pm and it arrived at the same time the next day. This swift delivery set the precedent for what was to become a great beauty day :)

The rouge arrived beautifully packaged in chic black tissue paper tied with a What Katie Did bow.

Gorgeous!

In equally beautiful packaging

But it's what's inside that really counts!



Packaged in a vintage style recyclable tin, this weightless rouge is easily blendable and suits any skin tone. The ultra concentrated formula means you only need a touch to create a gorgeous flush on the cheeks, or dab onto the lips for a perfectly polished pout.

The colour of thec rouge may look a little daunting, but I've been wearing a tiny amount on the apples of my cheeks every day and I'm very impressed by it's staying power - at the end of a 9 hour shift it still looked fresh and natural. Because I'm so partial to a red lip, I've been wearing it on my mouth too.

Besides the  gorgeous long wearing colour, the rouge also has a lovely cherry scent, which makes it a real pleasure to wear. Products that smell as good as they look always get top marks from me!

Want to try the vintage look for yourself? Start with a gorgeous flush of Besame Crimson Cream Rouge available at What Katie Did. It retails for £22, but don't let the price put you off because the rouge will last you a long time. A bit of an investment, but a worthwhile one in my opinion.

Visit the beautiful world of What Katie Did here or visit the London Boutique and get lost in vintage whimsy!

Hannah Rose xxx

P.S. Crimson Rouge is enriched with  olive, grape seed and jojoba oils as well as vitamin E and kaolin clay, so your skin is cared for as it's pretty-fied :)

*The What Katie Did boutique is located at 26 Portobello Green, 281 Portobello Road, London, W10 5TZ

Stop Press! Freebie alert...

I'm still in awe of the fantastic magazine freebies on offer in the UK. Back in Australia such luxuries are few and far between whereas over here there always seems to be at least one glossy with something shiny and pretty stuck to the front! It's always worth scooping up a mag offering a little something on the side and this little treasure is no exception.

This month Glamour Magazine is giving readers a 10ml Nails Inc polish!



For the £2 cover price of the December issue, you also receive a full sized nail polish worth £11. This is obviously a pretty sweet deal, so I suggest you get your mits on a copy of Glamour, quick sticks :)

The polishes are available in four on trend colours -

PICCADILLY CIRCUS



VICTORIA





MOLTON STREET



TATE





 I'm particularly excited about this freebie because I've recently stopped biting my nails for the first time in my life and I'm looking forward to trying more beautiful autumnal shades. Yay!

I chose Piccadilly Circus - who can resist a red?

                             



Hannah Rose xx

Latest in Beauty

2011 has certainly been the year of the Beauty Box - Enticing packages of deluxe samples sent  to your door every month for around £10 - it's any beauty addict's dream come true. I've definitely been tempted by this revolutionary concept and of course I've already succumbed to the allure of Boudoir Prive and Feel Unique, but there's another similar box of goodies doing the rounds that's definitely worth a mention.

 Latest in Beauty is a 'try before you buy' beauty service offering members a monthly box for the teeny price of £1, so now beauty lovers who have been longing to get involved with the sample box phenomenon can do so for less than the price of a bus ticket!

Of course, because the cost of the box is so tiny, the samples are generally a lot smaller than those you find in the £10 boxes, though products such as perfume vials are the same size. If you order a Latest in Beauty box, expect sachets rather than bottles and tubes, but don't let that put you off, as you'll often receive 2 to 5 sachets of one product so you can get a real feel for it.

Latest in Beauty is unique to the other boxes because you actually choose your samples - one each from the categories of skincare, make-up and fragrances and hair and body. I think this is a nice touch because you can select a product you're actually interested in, and if there isn't anything that takes your fancy, you can just check back later and pick something suitable.

I picked my samples and ordered my box on Friday and it arrived today - talk about speedy service :)

Here's a peek at my samples this month:



The Samples

SKINCARE

4 x sachets of Lavera My Age Concentrated Lifting Serum

This serum was created to lift and plump the skin, fight signs of aging and make the skin appear more youthful. I haven't tried this one yet, but I'm a bit obsessed with serums at the moment so I won't be able to hold off for long :)

HAIR & BODY

1 x sachet Nicky Clarke Moisture shampoo, 1 x sachet Nicky Clarke Moisture Conditioner

I used the Nicky Clarke shampoo and conditioner last night and I'm happy to report that it's a really nice product. I have one major criteria when it comes to hair products - that they smell nice - and this range definitely fulfills it. Containing static eliminating wheat protein and ultra nourishing Moringa oil, these products left my hair feeling (and looking) rather nice indeed! Something worth mentioning is how incredibly soft my hair felt immediately after rinsing the conditioner out. It wasn't that slimey feeling you get with some conditioners - just an undeniable softness. I realise I might sound a bit like a Pantene advert right now, but it's true!

MAKEUP & FRAGRANCES

Keraskin Immuniste Youth Drops Elixir

This is my favourite sample from Latest in Beauty so far - an extremely cute little glass bottle of Keraskin Immuniste Youth Drops.

To be used on cleansed skin before your day or night moisturiser, this serum is an extremely concentrated skin plumping superstar.  For the makeup and frangrance category, I opted for the 'mystery sample' and this is what I got (though I'm not sure what it was doing in that category), so it was a really beautiful surprise.
I love!

The glass dropper contains 4ml of the serum

Latest in Beauty operates on a pay as you go basis, and you are only charged once you have ordered your sample box. Once you've signed up, you'll not only have the chance to order your samples for only £1, but you'll also have access to product reviews, competitions and specials and of course the option to purchase the full sizes of your samples if you so happen to fall in love with them :)

Check out Latest in Beauty, if you're a beauty junkie on a budget I promise you'll love it.


Hannah Rose xxx