Paintbox Soapworks This Charming Man Sorbetto

This body scrub is awesome because it has me singing The Smiths songs* in the shower.

This Charming Man smells of clean and is perfect for anyone who doesn't like strongly perfumed or girly scents. The listed notes are tobacco flower, green cardamom and spices (clove, cinnamon and anise.) The spices are blended deftly and subtly; I can't individually smell any of them strongly and it's a clean, green cologne spice blend (rather than a warmer, woody spice blend.) This Charming Man is a masculine scent, but I love it for a clean, wake-up shower smell.

This scent is also available in soap, Slip body lotion and a shaving soap. All are available from Paintbox Soapworks on Etsy: www.etsy.com/shop/paintboxsoapworks.

A note on the international shipping costs: these have increased recently due to USPS putting up their prices. It does now mean that shipping costs to the UK costs more than the price of the scrub itself. I wish that more of the total cost was going to Paintbox Soapworks, but £14 (including the shipping) is still a price I have no problem paying that for these, and the cost of shipping reflects the fact that these are 10oz instead of the more usual 6oz size of most body scrubs. It's also a good excuse to buy two at once, and save a bit on the shipping.

*Hands up if you have 'This man said, "It's gruesome, that someone so handsome should care."' going round in your head now.

Loving this look - Brody Dalle by way of Pixiwoo

I saw this look as done by Pixiwoo's Sam Chapman and really loved it: http://youtu.be/MqNOcUoqA2I . I like that it isn't too done, and messy application is something I can hope to achieve ;)

I've adopted a toned-down version using my Viseart palette - middle row right shade (slightly yellowed mid-brown) all over the lid, well into crease and under eyes, bottom row right (darker chestnut brown) along lashline, outer v of mobile lid and blended underneath. I used Rouge Bunny Rouge black kohl pencil for the liner - I really like how concentrating the liner on the outer half of the upper and lower lash line seems to elongate the eyes. I also like a warmer version using the two middle row left shades instead.

I've enjoyed stepping out of my usual tasteful taupe comfort zone, and I like a version of a messy rock look that doesn't rely on a ton of black shadow. I am not feeling the spring pastel collections at all this year, and this morning-after-the-night-before look is more in tune with my general mood. Taking shadow this far under the eye can make you look a bit tired, but that's all part of the effect; I'd rather fake looking like I've stayed up all night than actually do it nowadays!

Haus of Gloi Valentine's Collection

Haus of Gloi Valentine's Collection is out now - a couple of the Pumpkin Butters have already sold out, but should be restocked quite quickly.

I liked Come Hither in the Pumpkin Butter last year - my review is here: Haus of Gloi Come Hither review. This has been slightly reformulated this year without the cardamom. I quite liked the spicy undertone, so I'm interested to see how it smells without it.

I also ended up buying and liking Who Needs Love in the Bubbling Scrub last year - the combination of fruity sweetness with the dark chocolate/coffee blend worked well in the scrub.

New scents this year are:

Odette  - sun dried linens, tuberose, white ginger and musk - this will probably be a pass for me; tuberose and sandalwood are my fragrance kryptonites. The notes of this make me think it'd be something like Milkmaid from last spring crossed with Narcosa from last summer, so if you liked either of those, this may be worth trying.

Spring Tonic 1 - lemon, lime, parsley and dandelion greens.

Spring Tonic 2 - cucumber, parsley and dandelion greens.

The Spring Tonic scents sound like the best substitutes for Something Hopeful from last year that sadly doesn't seem to have made the cut this year (Something Hopeful was a sakura/green tea/jasmine blend.)

Jo Malone Vitamin E Moisturising Day Creme

I was sent this recently and I can't do a proper review of it yet as I like to use skincare for a month or so before doing so.   This is an 'initial thoughts' kind of post, together with a picture of the ingredients list for anyone who'd like to know what is in it before they buy it.

The Jo Malone Vitamin E Moisturising Day Creme has an spf 15, and is a whipped cream texture. It sinks in quickly and leaves my normal to dry skin feeling comfortable. I think normal to dry skin is the best fit for this cream; a normal/combination/oily skin would most likely find this too rich, and I'd recommend the Apivita Wine Elixir I reviewed last week for a really dry skin. I couldn't wear this in the summer, but I avoid vitamin E products in the summer anyway as they are too rich for my skin in warmer weather.

This is a silicone-heavy formulation (dimethicone is the third ingredient.) It doesn't have the velvet primer feeling of some silicone-heavy creams, but it leaves a dryish glide to the skin after application. I've found it's very good for using as my moisturiser before applying Suqqu Frame Fix Cream Foundation - it gives just enough slip for the Suqqu to blend easily.

As well as the wheatgerm common to the vitamin E range, this cream contains a number of botanical ingredients and caffeine. It smells like the rest of the vitamin E range; there's something in there to lightly mask the wheatgerm smell but it doesn't smell perfumed.

It costs £50, which is in the usual Jo Malone skincare price bracket, and comparable to the Sarah Chapman Skinesis Dynamic Defence cream I use and like. If I don't experience problems with the silicones in the formula after continued use, I'd consider making this my winter day cream.

Ingredients: 

Disclosure: product provided without charge for review.

Xbox Live hacked - protect your account

I know this isn't part of the usual London Makeup Girl blogging schedule, but on the basis that some of you may have an Xbox Live account or know someone else who has one, I'm putting this post up.

Mr London had his Xbox Live account hacked last night. He didn't fall for any phishing scams, and hadn't given out his password anywhere. The first he knew of it was when he received an email from Xbox Live (which he didn't even open) in chinese characters, saying he'd added another email to his account, and another email saying that his attempted purchase (well, not actually his attempted purchase) of 6000 MS points had failed.

Luckily, the credit card attached to his account had expired and he'd never linked his Paypal to it. He did lose 2000 MS points he had on the account though, and an internet search of this problem reveals it is anyone's guess when he might get this back - he's reported it to Xbox, who have frozen his profile pending investigation. The hack happened just before their support phone line closed for the evening, so the points have probably already been spent.

A quick google revealed that this appears to be caused by a brute force hack of the XBox Live login, which is set up in a way that allows this exploitation:

1. It gives a different error message if you enter an incorrect password as opposed to an invalid email (which tells the hackers there is an account attached to a particular email).
2. It allows unlimited attempts to login, without freezing the account (which allows brute force hacks - a computer programme entering many thousands of different passwords until the programme hits the right one). 
3. An additional email account can be added without requiring verification from the main email account on the account. 

Microsoft continues to maintain their security hasn't been compromised, despite lots of complaints about this happening to different users. If you have an account, or know someone else who has, make sure you have a strong password on it - preferably not a real word, and a combo of alpha and numeric characters. Most importantly, remove your paypal and credit card details from your account, and don't leave unused points on it.

You can also set up your account so that you need a passcode every time you go on Xbox Live, separate from the password. Hackers could probably brute force that too, but it just makes it a bit more difficult for them.

Apivita Wine Elixir Day Cream spf 15 review

The Wine Elixir range is one of Apivita's skincare ranges designed to support ageing skin. Apivita is a Greek brand that uses a high percentage of natural ingredients and avoids silicones, mineral oil, parabens, propylene glycol and phthalates.  I've bought and liked Apivita products before, so I was happy to try some other products when I was given the opportunity to be sent them for review.

This cream is too rich for my skin except in extremely cold weather, and resulted in a few clogged pores on my chin and forehead (a sure sign of a cream that's too rich for my skin) when I was using it in milder weather before Christmas. When the weather turned colder and windier over the last couple of weeks I pulled it out again and have had no clogged pores, so I'd say it's best for really cold weather or very dry skin. My skin isn't mature enough to need this on a regular basis and does better with the Apivita First Line Day Cream I bought last year. If your skin is much drier or has more ageing concerns, this would be a good day cream to try from an excellent skincare brand. Like the First Line Day Cream, the Wine Elixir Cream does have quite a perfumed smell from the essential oil blend used in it.

Ingredients:

Available directly from the Greek website: www.apivita.com. I ordered from here last year and received my order quickly without any problems.

Disclosure: product provided without charge for review.

Monica Vinader Nugget rings

sorry, hands could REALLY have used moisturising before photographing

This Monica Vinader stacking ring combo (a Large Nugget Ring in smoky quartz and a Small Nugget Ring in moonstone) is brought to you by the very finest Girls Shopping Maths Logic. I bought the Large Nugget ring in the Monica Vinader sale, where I got it for 50% off. You all know where this is going, right? With the money I saved I bought the Small Nugget ring.

I wanted to give a quick head's up that this particular ring does seem to come up quite generously on the sizes. I ordered M - my ring finger is an L, and my middle finger is generally about an M to N, and the size M in the Nugget ring (both sizes, but more on the Large one) feels more like an N1/2 to me. I think it is because the gem is raised from the ring in an open setting to allow stacking more easily, which results in a bit more 'give' in the ring - see the picture below. I ordered the Large Nugget online and took it into the Monica Vinader shop on South Molton Street to check I hadn't accidentally been sent a size P (I hadn't). I could easily wear the size K on my ring finger, so it is worth bearing this in mind when ordering this particular style online, or ideally trying them for size in a shop first.

side view 

The Large Nugget is very large, and I think the Small Nugget is probably more practical; the Small Nugget can also be stacked with the Luna (round) and Candy (oval) rings. The Smoky Quartz Nugget rings are sold out in the sale, but there are some orange-red Carnelian Nugget rings still available at half price.

Tom Ford Nail Lacquer in Viper

Let's talk about the price of these first - this nail polish costs £25. It's £4 more expensive than the By Terry Nail Laque Terrybly (dreadful, dreadful name) and it will cost you £7.50 more than a nail varnish from Chanel. But... I love a lot of the Tom Ford cosmetics, so I wanted one of the nail polishes. I can't say that it's a must-buy-worth-£25-your-life-won't-be-complete-if-you-don't-have-this purchase for everyone, but Mr Ford has, in my opinion, made a bloody good nail polish and I'm glad I bought it.

The picture below best shows the colour and finish you'll see most often with this nailpolish. A glossy, dark, dark violet, the finish is somewhere between a jelly and a cream. The finish reminds me a lot of NARS Zulu, although Viper is less streaky - I only needed two coats of Viper, and NARS Zulu is a three coater. 

The picture below was taken in strong sunlight to show the undertone better - Viper is a clear violet with no brown tones. I've become fonder of the violet tones recently (lips, nails, hair) - I've discovered they are quite flattering against my green-olive skin tone.

Application was also very good - the square lid lifts off and there is a round brush handle underneath it. The neck of the bottle is quite long which means that excess polish can be wiped off the brush without getting on the outside of the neck. The brush itself is well-designed; slightly narrower than the OPI pro, beautifully cut to give a clean finish.

Beauty Spotlight weekly round up 21 January

This week the Beauty Spotlight Team previews Spring makeup collections, finds some must-have drugstore treasures, keeps your hair looking great and one member channels her inner Supermodel for a day!

Marcia from Beauty Info Zone continued her search for L'Oreal Infallible eyeshadows and found more to love.

Little cat paw print embossed lipsticks, now what could be more fun… Visionary Beauty shares the lipsticks from the cat themed Paul & Joe collection for Spring.

At Everyday Beauty, Zuzu's Petals dishes about beauty and the aging process.

Modesty Brown reviews the L'Oreal Super Liner in Black Amethyst. It might be designed for hazel eyes but this pretty liner is sure to appeal to purple fans no matter what their eye colour.

Guarantee yourself a good hair day! Pammy Blogs Beauty loves No 4 High Performance Hair Care's Lumiere d'hiver Reconstructing Masque.

Lisamarie from Beauty Crazed starts swatching the OPI Holland collection - wooden shoe like to see it?

Then check it out! Over at Pretty in Dayton, it's Story Time! A Fairy Tail come true - Styrch makes a surprising transition from "customer" to "model" for Sittella, by Althea Harper

Paula, from Older Girl Beauty, shows us one of her foreign beauty faves - this time it's Hissyfit Body Double Sunscreen Lotion from Australia.

Perilously Pale finally satisfied her craving for Fyrinnae and shares with us her first set of swatches of the incredible eyeshadows!

At Lipstick Musings, Shannon's falling in love with Laura Mercier all over again, all because of Shimmerplum Sequin Eye Color.

Prime Beauty fell hard for the Burberry Spring/Summer Collection, a beautiful assortment of neutral and brights perfect for the over 40 woman!

A stain that's glossy? Isn't that an oxymoron? Londonmakeupgirl sees if YSL has managed to make it a reality, when she buys a YSL Glossy Stain.

Viseart Basic Eyeshadow Palette

Matte. Neutral. Eyeshadow. Heaven. This a palette of 12 neutral mattes from bone to black and all the neutrals you could wish for in between.

I bought this because Olivia told me I really, really needed it. (Click on the link for pictures of swatches of the colours on her skin, as well as the reasons why you might need it too.)

The formula looks really basic, but these just work so well. They don't feel dry, they don't look chalky, they blend well and you can build the colours up (even the black and the dark brown) without patchiness. The pressed-ness of the shadows is also perfect - it's easy to pick up colour but not so soft that you get fallout in the pan or on the face/eye.

The two left hand shades in the top row make good neutral blushes for me too. The other good thing about these is that the browns don't oxidise or turn orange on my skin (the two middle shades in middle row are more red-based, so they do apply as warm colours, but the neutral and grey-browns stay neutral and cool.)

If you are looking for a complete spectrum of basic matte shades, this palette would be extremely hard to beat. I bought mine from www.theneatkit.com and it cost me £46 (I'm not a MakeUp Artist, so don't qualify for the MUA discount shown on the catalogue.) The only other possible UK stockist is www.preciousaboutmakeup.com who have a Viseart Basic Eyeshadow palette on sale for £60, but they don't show a picture and describe it as shimmer, so I'd shoot them an email or ring before buying sight unseen.