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Sunday 14 April 2013

Lippie's Lust List #4 - Elemis Luxury Cleansing Cloths


I fupping love these.  And yes, I'm aware a facial cloth is an odd thing to have on a "lust list", but bear with me.  At a fiver each, they're not massively cheap, but they're huge, and soft, and give a wonderful cleansing experience.

Somewhat thinner (but not by much) than a regular face cloth, and much bigger in size than my Washi cloths, these really are the most luxurious cleansing cloth on the market right now.  I like them so much, after trying the one that came with my sample of the Elemis Collagen Cleansing Balm, I immediately rushed out and bought eight more, so I would never be without one!  Increasingly, I find muslins too scratchy for my elderly and sensitive face, and these are a perfect replacement.

Yes, I went out and bought face cloths in bulk.  You may think that's sad, but my face is happy!

You can get them from Time to Spa at £10 per pack of two.  

The Fine Print: Purchases, after an initial PR sample.

This post: Lippie's Lust List #4 - Elemis Luxury Cleansing Cloths originated at: Get Lippie All rights reserved. If you are not reading this post at Get Lippie, then this content has been stolen by a scraper
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Wednesday 29 August 2012

Elemis Papaya Enzyme Peel

  
In my recent post about Washi cloths, I mentioned that my skin was going through one of its more beserk phases.  It still is.  So, I've been casting about for something to exfoliate my face (it's been horrifically rough), that wouldn't irritate or worsen my red patches.

I consulted The Cupboard, which is the repository of all my skincare samples, and this tube leapt into my hands. Designed to be a gentle, non scrubby exfoliator, which uses the enzymes of both papaya fruit and pineapple to remove dead skin cells, the Elemis Papaya Peel was just what I wanted.

You apply the slightly sweet-scented peach-coloured cream in a relatively thick layer all over the face (avoiding the eye area), and leave it for around 15 minutes or so, then rinse off with warm water (I use a washi-cloth).  You're left with smooth, slightly pink skin, which is non-irritated, and has all those annoying rough patches removed.  

I'm a little bit in love with it.  Not, so much, in love with this limited edition packaging (I prefer the old-school silver tubes), but, as Elemis are making charitable donations to SOCCO with every tube sold, I can't possibly complain, really.  Does your skin good, does the planet good. 

Get some.

The Fine Print: PR Sample.
 
This post originated at: http://getlippie.com All rights reserved.
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Monday 12 December 2011

My Pick of the Christmas Candles

I love candles, it's no surprise to anyone reading this blog, really, I mention them a lot.  For a variety of reasons, we're not having a lot of Christmas decorations this year, but one thing I couldn't countenance was not making the new flat at least smell of Christmas.  Here are my pick of the best festive fragranced candles to make your house smell wonderful over the holidays:

Jo Malone Roasted Chestnut
  
Woodsy, slightly smokey, and with just a tiny hint of sweetness, this evokes evenings by a real fire.  The scent is wonderful, but I do find that Jo Malone candles produce quite a lot of soot compared to others, also, this is a large, single wicked candle, which means that if you don't take care of your candles properly, it could be prone to runnelling.  Worth it for the scent and excellent burning time though, I've had this on the go for the best part of two months now, and still have over a third left.

Annick Goutal Noel 


Fizzy with the scent of citrus and pine, this is a wonderful evocation  of a crisp wintry walk in the countryside.  Meant to evoke a Christmas tree decorated with dried fruits in the European fashion, this is a beautifully uplifting fresh scent, and manages - wonderfully - to avoid smelling of pine toilet cleaner.  It reminds me a little of sherbet lemons when you first sniff the jar, I love it.


Elemis Starlight Spa 



The most "traditional" Christmas candle on this list, this is bursting  with oranges, cloves, cinnamon and vanilla, it smells of pomanders, mulled wine and ... well ... Christmas.  If it were any more edible, you could call it mince pie flavour and no one would argue with you.  I adore the silver jar too, which flickers in the candlelight as the wax inside burns down, to a very lovely effect.

Diptyque Epinette and Perdigone





Epinette, in its green glass holder is a "spruce" scent.  Less crisp with citrus than the similar-sounding "Noel" above, this has hints of bosky tree bark underneath the intoxicating pine-needle fragrance, making it a little darker, more reminscent of a pine forest at dusk than a crisp wintery day.  Still wonderful though.


Perdigone is a spiced plum affair, hinted at in its red glass holder.  Less redolent of clove and cinnamon than the "Starlight Spa" candle, it smells how I imagine old-fashioned sugar plums would.  It's slightly sweet and fruity (but not offensively so) and more "perfume-y" than the other four, but it makes a very good compliment to the others, rounding out their various quite sharp scents, and forming a good counterpoint to the smokiness of the Jo Malone too. Yes, I do burn them all at the same time, it's quite addictive!


My only regret about the Diptyque candles is that I went for the mini sizes, and I'm scared I'll burn them all up before Christmas itself ...


What's the scent of Christmas for you guys?

The Fine Print:  A mixture of PR samples, and purchases.  There will be repurchases of most of them for next year though, you betcha.


This post originated at: http://getlippie.com All rights reserved.
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Thursday 11 August 2011

Alice Temperly Traveller from Elemis

Can't keep him away at the moment!  Here's another ... um ... classic from Mr Lippie, where he decides to look a gift horse in the teeth.  For the faint-hearted, I suggest you skip the pics ...
*****
 
For my birthday, Get Lippie got me an Elemis travel pack, ready for our trip to Portugal - as my previous washbag died a pretty horrible death and was binned during the move to Lippie Underground HQ. So I was delighted to open it up and examine the various bits & bobs which lay within.
 
Now, I'd seen various Elemis products around HQ, but nothing that were for men -  or anything I personally would consider "unisex" - so it was quite intriguing to see what male-friendly stuff was within the bag.
 
In order of usage - I started off with the "Sharp" Shower & Bath gel. Now, it felt fresh, lovely, and was a good size for a travel sample - it's gone through about 4 weeks of continuous usage, with still about an eighth of the bottle to go. It does freshen you up considerably, and the aroma feels quite natural. However, it is CONSIDERABLY spearminty. For me, the instant smell association is chewing gum - which is not entirely want you want to be thinking about when you've got out of the shower? However, it is just a personal feeling - Get Lippie loves (loves!) the aroma, and a couple of friends think it's quite interesting...so obviously people don't have the warped imagination I have. Which, if you think about it, is probably a GOOD THING.
 
Next up, the Deep Cleanse Facial Wash. In keeping with the Shower gel, it comes out minty - but it's not overpowering in the same way - it's very much a background sensation that is refreshing, cooling, and energising. I like it a lot, and can see it being a regular feature of my day.
 
The next item was the Energising Skin Scrub. I approached this with a touch of trepidation, as my only previous experience with a product remotely similar made me feel somewhat sandpapered - although it had some delicious tropical undertones. The Elemis Skin Scrub comes out as a skin coloured cream, but the moment you start to rub it into the skin, it becomes the gritty scrub. There's no real aroma or anything to soften the blow - this is really a very functional hit - you can see exactly why you'd only do this once or twice a week.
 
Now, onto the Ice-Cool Foaming Shave Gel! I had a lot of fun with this, as it's the first time I've consistently used a Shaving Foam - as previously mentioned, my shaving routine would normally consist of a shaving oil or, lately, a cream that I slapped in the general direction of my face using a badger-hair brush! First impression - I just couldn't believe how little of this foam it takes to get me looking like a cross between the abominable snowman and the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man (as made famous by Ghostbusters!). 
 

 
It may be the case with most foams - but I was shocked that I ended up washing away so much of the foam off my hands. It felt like a terrible waste - especially when the product itself was great. It was v.cooling when put on, spread easily & quickly, and - in keeping with the rest of the range - has that background minty aroma. It slides off quite easilly, and don't have a slightly wet feeling once it's off - although you do have to reach for the towel to get every last drop off!
 
 
Finally, the Daily Moisture Boost. Mildly scented, cooling, a perfect amount dispensed without feeling greasy or that you're walking around with a wet face. Which is nice!
 
Overall, I reckon that the Elemis range is very useable - functionally each & every product was nice to use and felt comfortable aspart of my morning routine. That said, I personally object to smelling like chewing gum in the morning, so the shower gel is not for me! Still, it's a classy little gift set, and works for a good few weeks, so well worth it.

The Fine Print: Get Lippie parted with actual cash-money for this.

This post originated at: http://getlippie.com All rights reserved.
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Thursday 2 June 2011

Elemis Freshskin




I do like a bit of Elemis, so when I found out they were launching a more "affordable" range of skin care, I was delighted.  Then, when I discovered that the aforementioned range of skincare was designed for 16-24 year olds, I was heartbroken.

But, I'm not one to brood, so,  being the kind-hearted soul that I am, I passed a selection of the products onto my workmate Bel, who agreed to try them out for me.  Take it away, Bel:

My teenage years weren't all bad, excepting the flat chest, train-track braces and highly temperamental teenage skin - all of which would eventually pass. Wouldn’t they?

I'm now twenty-something and when it comes to my skin I'm still stuck in a teen time warp. So believe me when I say I have tried all manner of things to sort my face out! Antibiotics, chemical peels, classic facials, microdermabrasion, and an excruciating treatment involving a laser, a humongous pair of suctioning tweezer things and a three inch needle - and yes I paid a hideous amount for the "pleasure".

So when Get Lippie offered (read as "had to wrestle out of my hands") me a testing opportunity for the brand new Elemis Fresh Skin range I was only too happy to oblige.
Elemis packaging has always looked a bit old ladyish for me. And although pretty inoffensive, the cerise and white packaging of this new range is probably hitting it’s target market - which admittedly may not be me (10 years too ahem, "mature").

The Peachy Perfect Skin Wash Cleanser  (£12) came in a handy dispenser, lathered well and had a lovely zingy fresh smell (chicory, elderflower and lemon apparently). My skin felt pretty tight after the first wash, but I persisted for a few days using it in the morning with my gentler Darphin cleanser in the evening. However after a week I had to stop using it as my skin got seriously dry. Having said that, with my skin like an arid desert, all my spots seemed to wither away.



Next up was the Skin Glow Exfoliating Face Wash - quite granular and abrasive. But then again that is what an exfoliator is generally required to be. It was too much when used in conjunction with the cleanser but used once/twice a week with a gentler cleanser it worked a treat, particularly for sweeping away dead skin cells around the nose. (My favourite exfoliator is in fact another Elemis product - the Papaya Enzyme Peel). The Day cream was a great consistency - the dispenser delivering the perfect amount of cream for my face. It gave a good level of moisture throughout the day but felt a bit cloying on the skin and my make-up didn’t sit too well.




Last but not least the Dreamy Sleep Night Time Moisturiser  (£22)- which was my favourite product. A lovely rich (what I thought was) lavender scented, moisturiser - that sent me into a blissful sleep! Turns out it was blackcurrant seed oil and barley extract. But how would it contend with my oily but dehydrated skin? Pretty well. By the morning my skin looked more glowing than usual. But that may be more to do with the sleep inducing properties of the "lavender" rather than magical skin glowing ingredients.

Overall not the range for me but I think "genuine" teenage skin would see a lot of benefits.

The Elemis Freshskin range is available from Timetospa


The Fine Print: PR samples - as always, the link to products is unaffilliated.  Many thanks to Bel for being this week's guinea-pig!

This post originated at: http://getlippie.com/ All rights reserved.

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Wednesday 11 May 2011

What Do You Get The Beauty Blogger Who Has Everything?

Well, providing that the aforementioned beauty blogger is actually of the male variety, you get him one of these:



The Alice Temperley Safari Traveller for men.  Makes a great present - as well as the stylish soap bag it contains shaving foam, shower gel, face scrub,  face wash, and moisturiser, making it perfect for little getaways.  Or longer trips to Portugal next month  ... Best of all, a proportion of the price goes to fund the Mothers4Children charity, so he'll smell good, look good and have a happy conscience.  Speaking of happy ...

Happy birthday Mr Lippie!


The Fine Print: I bought mine ... er ... his at Harvey Nicks. Other premium department stores are available.  There's one for women too, but even I didn't think that was an appropriate gift.  I kept the samples though, I'm not a complete muggins.

This post originated at: http://getlippie.com/ All rights reserved.
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