Saturday 21 May 2011

Harajuku Lovers G of the Sea Perfume

This is the new summer fragrance from Gwen Stefani and her Harajuku Lovers range. As far as I'm aware Gwen is the only member of the gang who has grown a tail.
I love the under water themed packaging for this. It comes in quite a big box and would make a great gift for someone. I bought mine in Boots for £20 but I just checked on www.boots.com and they currently have a offer on where if you spend £19 or more on Harajuku Lovers fragrances you get a free Gwen doll. The doll is the original Gwen shape but its white and the doll comes with pens to colour it however you like. How cool is that!
Now onto the actual fragrance. I was really, really hoping this was going to be a similar coconuty smell to G from last years Summer Cuties. I have repurchased that perfume over and over and its my favourite ever summer perfume, in fact it could be my favourite all time perfume as I am rather partial to a bit (I mean a lot) of coconut smelling goodness.
Alas there is nothing coconutty about G of the Sea. I don't know if its just my extreme disappointment about the lack of coconut but I am really struggling to describe this. I think this is going to be a grower, its just a disappointment when I loved Summer Cuties so much.

The official description for this scent is "A fresh aquatic sent with a dry down of sun drenched woods"

It definitely smells like a summer perfume and the more I smell it the more it grows on me. I know its ridiculous but the only thing that comes to mind when I smell it is The Sun! Also make sure you spray it on you as it smells different on the skin.
A plus side to this fragrance is that you get 30ml compared to the pitiful 10ml with last years summer cuties.


MAC Surf Baby Hibiscus Lipstick

MAC's latest collection "Surf Baby" was released in UK stores last week. I had looked at various swatches from the collection online and I knew the only things I was interested in were 'Saffron" eyeshadow and "Hibiscus" lipstick. I decided to skip on "Saffron" as it just underwhelmed me when I swatched it. So this is the only thing I picked up from the collection.
Hibiscus is a bright coraly/red colour with a creamsheen finish
Personally I'm not a big fan of the Surf Baby packaging. I like the white but really not a fan of the drab coloured stripes. But of course its all about whats inside! This is not a colour for the faint hearted. I personally love any coral coloured lipstick so there was no way I could pass this one up but I definitely feel like I need to be more tanned to wear this.
There are 2 MAC colours that I would compare Hibiscus too and they are Toxic Tale which was released with the Venomous Villains collection and Viva Glam Cyndi.
From left to right: Toxic Tale, Hibiscus and Viva Glam Cyndi

Toxic Tale is more orange and matte then Hibiscus and Cyndi has more red tones but they are definitely similar.
Now I just need to work on that tan.....

Sunday 15 May 2011

Deborah Lippmann Glitter in the Air

I finally got my hands on my first Deborah Lippmann nail varnish! If you have not heard of Deborah Lippmann before she is an American celebrity manicurist. Her nail varnishes were impossible to find in the UK until House of Fraser recently started stocking them in their Apothecary. You can find them on the House of Fraser website and in store.

I originally heard about Deborah Lippmann after Lady Gaga appeared on the cover of Vanity Fair. She is wearing a Deborah Lippmann colour called "Waking Up in Vegas".

I lusted after this colour for ages but it was impossible to get in the UK, even on eBay. Then by the time House of Fraser started stocking the brand my original lust had worn off! Does anyone else get that or just me? So i picked Glitter in the Air.

Have to admit half of what attracted me to this nail varnish is the name! It reminded me of the P!nk song of the same name and apparently Deborah created this colour with P!nks performance of that song in mind.

Its a milky blue colour with hexagon shaped blue and pink glitter pieces with small silver flecks.

I used 3 coats with a top coat of seche vite. I love this colour its completely unique, I have seen a colour like this and its a more grown up way to wear a glitter varnish.

The downside is the price. Deborah Lippmann colours range from £14 - £16 available from House of Fraser. I actually purchased mine from eBay, it came from America so it only cost me just under £10 including delivery. Obviously you have to wait longer, but if you are on a budget I would recommend checking eBay first.