Category Archives: beauty

The Lipstick Color That Looks Like Pure Joy

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shout embed

Certain beauty products — think NARS blush in Orgasm, Clinique’s Black Honey lipstick — are so good, they’re practically famous. And, while we do love so many of those well-known, well-loved products with a loyal following, we’ve been wondering why others have been quietly flying under the radar. With that in mind, meet our new beauty series, Cult Classics, in which we’ll introduce you to the products you really, truly should know about (and try, like, right now). They’re not brand new, but trust us: They’ve got staying power. 

Every spring, we ritualistically ditch all the dark, moody hues in our lipstick drawers (and cabinets and shelves) in order to make room for more vibrant, warm-weather-appropriate colors. It’s the beauty equivalent of molting and leaves us feeling rejuvenated and ready for outdoor adventures. But, no matter how many bright colors we line up, there’s only one we really need to attain unbridled joy: Marc Jacobs Beauty’s Lovemarc lipstick in Shout.

Despite its name, this color is definitely not as loud as a shout. It’s more like a song or like a single note sung into the spring air. It’s the kind of hue that just feels good to look at. It practically glows with prettiness. It’s vibrant without crossing the line into neon and has hints of coral to give it a melon-like vibe.

It also goes on like a dream with a semi-matte finish that looks almost like the natural texture of our lips. Though lip gloss tends to be more popular in the warmer months, there’s just something about matte lipstick that we want all year round. Combined with dewy skin and a ton of mascara, we think this is as close to perfect as a spring lipstick can get.

Marc Jacobs Beauty Lovemarc Matte Lip Gel in Shout, $30, available at Sephora.

Fake It Till You Make It; The Sleep Edition

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When I choose an eye cream, I tend to skip the cream part altogether and look for a gel or serum formula. I just don’t like the feel of an extra layer of cream near my eyes, preferring a soothing gel near my peepers to keep them feeling fresh and actually awake, if only temporarily 😉

I had looked at the Trilogy Age Proof CoQ10 Eye Recovery Concentrate a couple of times in the past, (anyone else window shop online an unhealthy amount??) and finally a couple of months ago I decided to take the plunge and try it out after noticing some serious dark circles thanks to a new job (and, even though I didn’t know it at the time, early pregnancy!).

The Trilogy Eye Recovery Concentrate comes in a teeny little glass bottle (it is only 7.5ml’s of product) with cooling metal rollerball on the top. Trilogy describes this as a ‘small and mighty’ product, and I would have to agree! With regular use, I feel like my eye area perked up and the deep purple bruise-like shadows under my eyes look significantly better these days! I am *yet* to suffer from fine lines and puffiness under the eyes, so I can’t comment on the effectiveness of these claims, but I strongly feel prevention is better than cure when it comes to these sorts of things, so a little CoQ10 TLC for my eyes may keep any lines at bay for at-least a little bit longer? But I’ll get back to you on that theory once I’m a sleep-deprived mum 😉

I have only one niggle/minor complaint and that’s that the roller ball is sometimes tricky to get going, but I’ve found a really good shake and running it on the back of my hand helps the serum start to flow and I can then apply it to the eye area. Other than that, the serum is perfectly textured, it sinks in quickly without any tacky residue left behind and it cooperates well with makeup and any other skincare applied over the top.

The serum is priced at £26.50, which I think is very reasonable for a natural eye product with high-tech ingredients. Not everything in the Trilogy range is vegan, unfortunately, but what I have tried has always been fab. I’m currently also using their newest body oil to hopefully prevent stretch marks as much as possible, and I’m loving the gentle, fragrance-free formula! It’s really been helping with any tight, stretchy feelings and itchiness!





Have you tried anything from Trilogy? 


​KINSTYLE, INTERNATIONAL PRESENTATION

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Presenting KINSTYLE held on 3th and 4th June in the very near environment and identifying KIN Cosmetics although most peculiar to the occasion. The brand brought together national and international platform partners, VIP customers, partners and friends at a popular hotel in the Costa Brava which was the starting point of what was undoubtedly an unforgettable evening.

The first highlight of the presentation was the arrival at KIN Cosmetics central facilities located in the coastal town of Sant Feliu de Guíxols. Behind the doors of the company, beyond the area of R & D, manufacturing, packaging and offices, a wild landscape was hiding framing a walkway of the most original in an oscillating environment between the natural and the industry. And in the center, the finishing touch of the hand of the technical and artistic team Cre • Art with the Catalan designer Jordi Dalmau, our brand ambassador. They were responsible for a creative staging where, with KINSTYLE products, artistic structures, hairstyles high volume combined with brocade and headgear made ​​in a framework of elegance and good taste are formed. A dynamic presentation after the end, we all moved to a new point on the Costa Brava.

In Platja d’Aro on the Costa Bellini space in an environment Chill Out under the stars, we expected a cocktail dinner conjugated to an extensive menu of cocktails based and designed to the active ingredients associated with each one of the products in the new line of styling.

Throughout the night, many surprises happened: A singer with lavish live voice, a curious magician and of course, a creative contest. The brand challenge those daring to show to the public in a collaborative dressing table PAHI brand, best gifts under a clear premise: CREATE ONLY WITH KINSTYLE. Only with their hands, the products and materials that could carry participants let fly their imagination creating the most amazing styles. The jury, made ​​up of a very different choice of attending at the event, was responsible for naming the winners a full set of products KINSTYLE for their business away.

The party continued until the late hours of the morning between laughing and fun, in an environment of friends, in an exciting global event brand and his closest associates.

My Summer Base, Sorted.

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Meet my latest face obsession: Tropic Skincare. 

I’ve been wearing the Tropic Pure Effects Beauty Booster paired with the Correcting Cream Concealer for a couple of months now, with the pair quickly becoming my go-to couple for work day makeup.

Since receiving my Beauty Booster, Tropic appear to have repackaged the serum foundation to come in a new squeezy tube, with more shades and a slightly tweaked formula. This makes it difficult for me to review, knowing you can’t go out and buy this exact product should my review win you over! Why do brands do this to us? 😉

I’ll keep my review of the Beauty Booster short and sweet, and if you haven’t tried anything from Tropic before, especially their makeup, I urge you to have a look at what they offer! I have quite a few things on my list after being so impressed with these. Everything is 100% vegan, too!

Swatched.. Top – Cream Concealer in Light. Bottom – Beauty Booster in Light.

(The colour is a little off here and my skin and the swatches are looking much more orange than they do in real life!)

The Beauty Booster is a serum foundation/BB cream that offered me a surprising amount of coverage. What really impressed me, however, was the lightweight feel and non-greasy finish. I’ve tried a lot of natural bases recently and have found it difficult to find a match that isn’t very heavily oil based, or thick and dry feeling. With aloe vera juice as the top ingredient, this acts more like a serum (as the name suggests) and sinks into the skin beautifully, covering redness and helping hide marks, spots and scars making them easier to conceal afterwards. Like I said above though, this exact formulation is no longer available, so maybe try and get a sample if you can!

Moving onto the Correcting Cream Concealer, which is actually my favourite! Long-time readers of the blog will know that once upon a time I used the RMS Un-Cover Up as my concealer of choice, and this reminds me of that. Except that it’s thicker, very creamy, has more coverage and is not based on coconut oil (!!!) so all around it’s better for me and my troublesome skin.


I have the shade light, which as you can see above is a very good match for me, it covers under eye circles like a dream and can be dabbed onto blemishes and blended in with a brush or your fingers to create a flawless finish. In this summer heat I do tend to set it with a quick dusting of powder, as it started to crease under my eyes in the heat – but that’s a small thing really. I would definitely buy this again when I run out (though I think it’s one of those products that might expire before I can use it all! it’s lasting really well even with daily use!).

What do you think of Tropic? Have you tried their products before?

(P.S. Sorry this review seems all over the place, I’m rusty!)

Hurray For Hurraw!

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Dearest Hurraw,

Thank you, for coming to my aid when I recently started working in an office with air con. One minute it’s hot air, the next it’s cold, and it’s always, always dry. In those first few days, my lips cracked and dried out unbelievably fast! And of course, I wasn’t prepared in the slightest! I had had the Hurraw Moon Balm on my bedside table for a few weeks, using it as and when I remembered as a last minute balm before bed, it was good stuff. But whilst having a browse of the ‘New In’ section on LoveLula I came across Hurraw’s latest balm – the Papaya Pineapple lip balm. It took all of 5.8 seconds for it to become mine, because, who doesn’t love Pineapple?! I was also sold on the idea of this balm being my knight in shining armour thanks to the papaya enzymes. I was convinced the enzymes would keep chapped lips at bay by always lightly exfoliating and melting the dry skin away.


Was I right? Yes! Within 48 hours of regular and generous applications in the office, my lips were back to being smooth and happy once more. This balm now has a permenant residence in my bag for on-the-go and office related balmy needs. It’s pretty much tasteless and has a slight fruity pineapple scent, no tint and it doesn’t really add any gloss or shine to your lips.

The Moon Balm continues to live on my bedside table, a sweet vanilla scented nightly treat that I also like to reach for when doing my makeup in the morning, especially if I’m going to be brave and rock some colour on my lips. The thick, almost waxy balm offers immediate hydration and lasts for quite a few hours if you’re not regularly snacking. After about 5 minutes of the balm on my lips, they feel squishy and soft, with any flaky, or dehydrated patches long gone.

At £4.99 a pop, the vegan balms are at the pricey end of affordable, but well worth it. They seem to be long lasting and I just love this style of packaging for a balm, easy to apply and stylish looking, too. If you’re off on holiday soon I would suggest picking up their Sun Protection SPF15 balm, or if you’re after a little colour, they have two delicious sounding tinted options – Black Cherry or Cinnamon (going to have to get myself one of these!).

Have you tried a Hurraw balm?