Beauty Blog

Need a look for a night on the town

February 8th, 2011

pixiwoo_evening_make-up_looks

With the miserable month fast becoming a distant memory L’Onglex is currently saving our pennies for a big night out. Looking forward as we are to ditching the diet, finally paying off the Christmas purchases and letting our hair down we thought we might cast around for something that might work for a night on the tiles.
Enter the ever delightful Pixiwoo ( http://pixiwoo.blogspot.com/ ) who has come as the saviour to our particular dancing dilemma with a sharp but smokey, soft but glamourous look which will do us just fine. As a final note on the subject the first time we tried this the fake lashes went astray and when we added a touch of Mac C3 to a big foundation brush what we got in return could only be described as a splodge.
It is perfect, but we’ll be putting a bit more practice into this one before we head out the door.
<strong><a href=”javascript:popUp(’http://vkm2.com/vid_master/fifty_seven.html’)”><span style=”color: #654f72;”>Click here to watch the video</span></a></strong>
<a href=”javascript:popUp(’http://vkm2.com/vid_master/fifty_seven.html’)”>

With the miserable month fast becoming a distant memory L’Onglex is currently saving our pennies for a big night out. Looking forward as we are to ditching the diet, finally paying off the Christmas purchases and letting our hair down we thought we might cast around for something that might work for a night on the tiles.

Enter the ever delightful Pixiwoo who has come as the saviour to our particular dancing dilemma with a sharp but smokey, soft but glamourous look which will do us just fine.

As a final note on the subject the first time we tried this the fake lashes went astray and when we added a touch of Mac C3 to a big foundation brush what we got in return could only be described as a splodge.

The look is great – but we think we’ll be putting a bit more practice into this one before we head out the door.

Click here to watch the video


Our favourite Valentines gift …..

February 3rd, 2011
With the dismal month fast becoming a distant memory L’Onglex have been getting ready for the first celebration of the new year. Yup, valentines is upon us and whilst we’re not holding out for roses on the bed or a 24ct diamond we are expecting a bottle of wine and some scented candles at the very least !
Being as I am something of a sceptic I dislike the commercialism of the whole day and since I’m thinking I’ll be lucky to get a bottle of cheap celebrity perfume or the ubiquitous ‘garage flowers’ maybe that’s just as well. But since we’re on the the subject, what I should really demand as my present of choice is a flight to London and a ride in the above taxi.
Whilst I accept a Hackney carriage might not normally sweep me off my feet, these Marc Jacobs inspired cabs are a different proposition entirely. Filled with romantic goodies and coming in varieties of both Daisy and Lolo, the cabs will be ferrying couples round London and Manchester on the 14th of February. Naturally, in what we think is a brilliantly considered gesture of romance, all trips in the cabs will be free of charge !

daisy_cabs

With the dismal month fast becoming a distant memory L’Onglex have been getting ready for the first celebration of the new year. Yup, valentines is upon us and whilst we’re not holding out for roses on the bed or a 24ct diamond we are expecting a bottle of wine and some scented candles at the very least !

Being as I am something of a sceptic I dislike the commercialism of the whole day and since I’m thinking I’ll be lucky to get a bottle of cheap celebrity perfume or the ubiquitous ‘garage flowers’ maybe that’s just as well. But since we’re on the the subject, what I should really demand as my present of choice is a flight to London and a ride in the above taxi.

Whilst I accept a Hackney carriage might not normally sweep me off my feet, these Marc Jacobs inspired cabs are a different proposition entirely. Filled with romantic goodies and coming in varieties of both Daisy and Lolo, the cabs will be ferrying couples round London and Manchester on the 14th of February. Naturally, in what we think is a brilliantly considered gesture of romance, all trips in the cabs will be free of charge !


be afraid … be very afraid

February 1st, 2011
Rather than being a dream job, we think it must be hard being a model. Yup – as good as earning shed loads of cash for doing nothing more than getting out of bed, flying off to Milan and wearing ridiculously tiny clothes must be, it is rather a fickle industry with a limited shelf life and a stack of younger, prettier, more ambitious semi-starved waifs always willing to knock you off your perch.
As if the above scenario weren’t bad enough, the above picture must be terrifying to any girl who currently makes her living on the catwalks as not only is Andrej Picic tall, skinny and with cheekbones to die for, he also just happens to be … well … a he !
Quite how 19 year old Andrej became the darling of the catwalk is quite easy to understand when you see him wearing the above dress for a recent Gaultier haute couture show but we are also led to believe he looks just as good when dressed as a man.
As well as being a threat to female models everywhere this might be a step too far for us as well. Yes, we agree with equality and diversity, yes, we all love a pretty bloke but do Marc Jacobs, Vogue and Gualtier really think we feel better for seeing this ?
It’s bad enough that every time we open a magazine there are legions of gorgeous and impossibly thin women staring us in the face, but featuring a bloke who is thinner, prettier and walks better in heels is just a step too far and rubs salt into the wounds !

Rather than being a dream job, we think it must be hard being a model. Yup – as good as earning shed loads of cash for doing nothing more than getting out of bed, flying off to Milan and wearing ridiculously tiny clothes must be, it is rather a fickle industry with a limited shelf life and a stack of younger, prettier, more ambitious semi-starved waifs always willing to knock you off your perch.

As if that scenario weren’t bad enough, the above picture must be terrifying to any girl who currently makes her living on the catwalks. Not only is Andrej Picic tall, skinny and with cheekbones to die for, he also just happens to be … well … a he !

Quite how 19 year old Andrej became the darling of the catwalk is quite easy to understand when you see him wearing the above dress for a recent Gaultier haute couture show but we are also led to believe he looks just as good when dressed as a man.

As well as being a threat to female models everywhere this might be a step too far for us as well. Yes, we agree with equality and diversity, yes, we all love a pretty bloke, but do Marc Jacobs, Vogue and Gualtier really think we feel better for seeing this ?

It’s bad enough that every time we open a magazine there are legions of gorgeous and impossibly thin women staring us in the face, but featuring a bloke who is thinner, prettier and walks better in heels only serves to rub salt into our wounds !


It’s our blog of the week

January 25th, 2011

fluff_and_fripperies
When we at L’Onglex come across a blog we love we’re always more than happy to share. This isn’t because we’re particularly altruistic, it’s simply that we’re really nosy and love hearing what makes other people tick … this week it’s the turn of Emma Henderson of the fabulous Fluff and Fripperies who has chosen to satisfy our insatiable curiosity for other peoples make-up !

What’s in your make-up bag?

Well for brevity’s sake I’ll assume you mean the small make-up bag I cart around in my ginormous handbag, and not the two giant, overflowing bags resting beside the 4 drawer make-up storage unit in my bathroom…

Right now my 9-to-5 kit includes:  Smashbox Halo powder & brush, Clarins brow kit and Wonder Perfect mascara (which I’ve completely fallen for), theBalm time balm concealer  (and my Mac #194 concealer brush to apply it), a cheaper-than-chips Catrice eyeshadow quad (in 090 Chocolate Temptation) and theBalm lipstick in Classified, which is a very sheer nude.

In case I’m heading out straight from work I’m also carrying around a black Bourjois liquid eyeliner (liner feutre), a shimmery gloss to layer over theBalm lippie  (YSL golden gloss in #31, Golden Toffee), or if I’m feeling braver my Tom Ford lipstick in Cherry Lush  (which was a most welcome Christmas pressie from Himself.)

Who’s your make-up muse?

I don’t really emulate anyone else’s make-up style but I get lots of information and inspiration from beaut.ie and other Irish beauty bloggers and I enjoy watching the video tutorials from Pixiwoo. I also have a serious case of eyebrow envy when it comes to Louise from Fade Street.

Do you have a favourite beauty trend this season?

I’m looking forward to big hair, big brows and bold brights on either lips or eyes.

Where’s your favourite place to shop for a beauty fix?

I will happily shop for make-up just about anywhere that sells it, from online to the airport to my local chemist. I think my favourite place in Dublin is probably Brown Thomas and, outside Ireland, I’m always happy when I stumble on a Sephora store.

When it comes to beauty buys do you prefer the bargains or are you more high end?

Like most people I love a bargain and get a buzz out of stumbling across a great product that won’t break the bank, but I do love the whole ritual around buying the more high-end products – I’m a sucker for free samples and pretty packaging and I love to read the little product leaflets from beginning to end. Sad, I know.

emmaWhat’s your all time must have beauty buy?

I think a really good cleanser is the most important place to start and I love, love, love what Liz Earle’s Cleanse & Polish does for my skin.

What’s on your beauty wish list?

How much time do we have here? Right now I’d like a YSL Rouge Volupte lipstick after reading about Kirstie’s enviable stash on beaut.ie . I’m also on the look-out for a new foundation. I’m veering towards Armani’s Lasting Silk. I got my sister some Clarins Instant Smooth Perfecting Touch make-up base and she loved it so that’s now firmly on my own list, along with their new Instant Smooth Line Correcting Concentrate. I’m keeping an eye out for Max Factor’s Lipfinity Lip tint and I recently switched from my Boots No 7 cream blush to a pricier brand that I don’t like as much, so I’ll be switching back come payday !

What’s been your biggest beauty disaster to date?

If we discount my sister’s 80s themed 30th birthday party last year, then it would probably be my ill fated blonde stint in my early twenties. As well as the fact it completely wrecked my dark brown hair, it wasn’t a particularly sophisticated look and was made even worse when teamed with acrylic nails, heavy kohl eyeliner, pale lipstick and Mac Spice lipliner…


Cherry and Chocolate make-up look

January 24th, 2011
This month on L’Onglex it seems the calorie, or in our case lack of it, is king !
Like probably nearly everyone else we are rather predictably trying to mitigate some of the worst of our excesses from the festive season and this has made for pretty miserable lunchtimes in these parts.
For people who fill the gossip of our working day with questions relating to beauty or cake the month of January is a tough one for us and anything that get us through the month is more than welcome.
With anything resembling talk of gâteau being strictly off menu and likely to send us into a spiral of misery we managed to find the following video which allows us to drool without getting too grumpy …. it’s Lisa Eldridge // http://www.lisaeldridge.com/// with a Chocolate and Berry themed make-up look.
<strong><a href=”javascript:popUp(’http://vkm2.com/vid_master/fifty_five.html’)”><span style=”color: #654f72;”>Click here to watch the video</span></a></strong>
<a href=”javascript:popUp(’http://vkm2.com/vid_master/fifty_five.html’)”>

winter_make_up

This month on L’Onglex it seems the calorie, or in our case lack of it, is king !

Like probably nearly everyone else we are rather predictably trying to mitigate some of the worst of our excesses from the festive season and this has made for pretty miserable lunchtimes in these parts.

For people who fill the gaps in our working days with questions relating to either beauty or cake, the month of January is a tough one for us and anything that can help get us through is a more than welcome distraction.

So, with anything resembling talk of Chocolate Gâteau being strictly off menu and very likely to send us into a spiral of misery we managed to find the following video which allows us to drool without getting too grumpy …. it’s Lisa Eldridge with a Chocolate and Berry themed make-up look.

Click here to watch the video


Things we loved this week: MAC WonderWoman

January 14th, 2011
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVLJcBsD__E
It’s kitsch, it’s camp, it’s colourful and we’re loving it. Set for release in March 2011 the above pictures are from MAC’s new WonderWoman range and L’Onglex can’t wait to get every single item for our collection.
If you are not sure what the fuss is about the launch in question is based on the comic series superhero which was turned into a TV series which ran between 1975-1979. WonderWoman herself was the first real female superhero who developed her crime fighting skills with the help of various badly made items of costume jewelry.
Helped by along by the special powers given to her by a magic belt, her ability to deflect bullets using her wristbands and the ability to make men tell the truth with the use of a magic lasso, the series became a instant phenomenon and propelled Lynda Carter to worldwide fame.
Why Mac has chosen to take the range as it’s inspiration we are not quite sure but if it gives us even a smidgen of her powers we’ll be more than pleased with the outlay. Lets face it, who isn’t loving that gold make-up bag – click here here’s to see the 70’s TV show in all its glory !

MAC_wonder_woman_make-up

It’s kitsch, it’s camp, it’s colourful and we’re loving it. Set for release in March 2011 the above pictures are from MAC’s new WonderWoman range and L’Onglex can’t wait to get every single item for our collection.

If you are not sure what the fuss is about the launch in question is based on the comic series superhero which was turned into a TV series which ran between 1975-1979. WonderWoman herself was the first real female superhero who developed her crime fighting skills with the help of various badly made items of costume jewelry.

MAC_wonderwomanSpecial powers came from her magic belt, her ability to deflect bullets came from her wristbands, her ability to get people to tell the truth came from her magic lasso and her ability to make men stare at her for hours on end came from her ample  ……. anyway, the series became an instant ratings hit which propelled it’s main star Lynda Carter to worldwide fame.

Why Mac has chosen to celebrate WonderWoman for this year we are not quite sure, but if it gives us even a smidgen of WonderWoman’s powers we’ll be more than pleased with the outlay. Lets face it, who couldn’t love the gold  lamé brush bag - click here here’s to see the 70’s TV show in all its glory !


Pump up the volume – it’s our mascara picks

January 10th, 2011
Pump up the Volume – some of our favourite Mascaras
Don’t really know how this happened exactly but somewhere along the way L’Onglex seemed to fall in love with volumising mascaras. Why exactly this was, how this developed, and when exactly we started making eyes at lash thickening products we can’t tell you. As is always the case for those with an addiction to the slap, one is never satisfied and we knew we wouldn’t be happy til we’d tried everything we could get our greedy hands on.
Having really thought about it, the desire to lash up probably came as a result of our eyes exploding when we tried out those glue on lash thingies at a salon who shall remain nameless. Obviously, being the sort we are, the thought of having luridly long, outrageously luscious lashes was too good not to be true. But once the things were glued on and we’d had to suffer the ignominy of having to crawl back to a salon indifferent to our plight and beg for the things to be unglued from our peepers we became a little more discerning about we stick on our eyes.
Anyhows, before we bore you to sleep with our sob stories we can at least reveal the fruits of our labour. No, we haven’t tried everything out there but we can say hand on heart that we’ve been through enough to now know a good un’ from a bad un’. Here, for your consideration, are a selection of the best volumising mascaras that we’ve managed to find over the last year – read it, and don’t weep !
Lesson 1 – Chanel Inimitable Intense is best for length….
Those of you with a desire for some length, some volume and a certain elegance of application will love this one. As the the uniquely designed mascara wand features bristles which align really well each sweep tends to go on really smoothly. Ok, it’s not the fattest lash you’ll ever flutter but it doesn’t cake or crack and the formula is really thin which helps with building the stuff in layers. As a mascara for daywear this is light enough for lengthening by day and can be beefed up for something a bit less subtle for evening wear. Although they probably won’t thank us for saying this, €28 isn’t particularly purse friendly but as it’s pretty adaptable Inimitable Intense makes our list.
Lesson 2 –  Rimmel’s The Max Volume Flash is best value….
A keratin enriched formula, a larger than life wand and soup-thick lashes in less than two sweeps … it can only be Rimmel Max Volume ! At about €8 a pop this is about the best we’ve worn in this price range. In fact, it was one of the best we wore full stop. Having been on the L’Onglex make-up table for some time a rather nice effect of using this was that over time we found our formerly flimsy fluttering went from bad to better. As the formula for Max Volume contains added collagen our lashes fattened up with prolonged use – can’t say fairer than that !
Lesson 3 – Model Co Fiber Lash is more than a gimmick …
As mentioned in other posts on these pages L’Onglex’s biggest beauty gripe has to be our panda eyes. After this comes the fact that even at best our lashes could only be described as .. well .. ‘barely there’. Being in need of a little substance to go with a raging case of lash envy when we first laid eyes on Model Co Fiber Lash we ended up doing a bit of a double take.
Simply, this is a two part mascara which comes blacker than black and is applied and then layered over with hundreds of teeny tiny lash filaments which add density and volume to the liquid. The end result is bulky, sultry and a complete fake. On the downside it’s €35 but if you really struggle to get something noticeable in the lash department you may as well bit the bullet rather than go through three or four of something else. Despite the fact that it sounds quite complex application isn’t to difficult once you’ve got the hang of it.
Lesson 4 – Maybeline’s The Falsies is anything but ….
Whoever devised the formula for The Falsies deserves to be bestowed some kind of beauty sainthood. No matter how many coats you apply it just builds and the fact is unless your really working the whole starry eyed goth look you probably only need one-and-a-half. Yes, if your lashes are are really short it’s probably not the best but on the hand if there long enough so that you can get them round the spoon shaped brush we think this is perfect. As soon as we’d worked out that you have to let the first coat dry a little to keep things neat we were quickly of the opinion that this is the best mascara we’ve ever had.

best_mascaras

Don’t really know how this happened exactly but somewhere along the way L’Onglex seemed to fall in love with volumising mascaras.

Why exactly this was, how this developed, and when exactly we started making eyes at lash thickening products we can’t tell you. As is always the case for those with an addiction to the slap, one is never satisfied and we knew we wouldn’t be happy til we’d tried everything we could get our greedy hands on.

Having really thought about it, the desire to lash up probably came as a result of our eyes exploding when we tried out those glue on lash thingies at a salon who shall remain nameless.

Obviously, being the sort we are, the thought of having luridly long, outrageously luscious lashes was too good not to be true. But once the things were glued on and we’d had to suffer the ignominy of having to crawl back to a salon indifferent to our plight and beg for the things to be unglued from our peepers we became a little more discerning about what we would be sticking on our eyes in future.

So, before we bore you with our sob stories we can at the very least reveal the fruits of our labour. No, we haven’t tried everything that’s out there but we can say hand on heart that we’ve been through enough to now know a good un’ from a bad un’.

Here, for your consideration, are a selection of the best volumising mascaras that we’ve managed to find over the last year – read it, and don’t weep !

Lesson 1 – Chanel Inimitable Intense is best for length….

Those of you with a desire for some length, some volume and a certain elegance of application will love this one. Ok, it’s not the fattest lash you’ll ever flutter but it doesn’t cake or crack and the formula is really thin which helps with building the stuff in layers.

As a mascara for daywear this is light enough for lengthening and can be beefed up for something a bit less subtle should you need it. Although they probably won’t thank us for saying this, €28 isn’t particularly purse friendly but as it’s pretty adaptable Inimitable Intense makes our list.

Lesson 2 –  Rimmel’s The Max Volume Flash is best value….

A keratin enriched formula, a larger than life wand and soup-thick lashes in less than two sweeps … it can only be Rimmel Max Volume ! At about €8 a pop this is about the best we’ve worn in this price range. In fact, it was one of the best we wore full stop.

Having been on the L’Onglex make-up table for ages we also found that a rather nice effect of using this was that over time we found our formerly flimsy fluttering went from a state of ‘bad’ to a state of …. ‘much better’. Later we discovered that as the formula for Max Volume contains added collagen our lashes fattened up with prolonged use and you can’t say fairer than that !

Lesson 3 – Model Co Fiber Lash is more than a gimmick …

As mentioned in other posts on these pages L’Onglex’s biggest beauty gripe has to be our panda eyes. After this comes the fact that even at best our lashes could only be described as .. well .. ‘barely there’.

Being in need of a little substance to cure our raging case of lash envy when we first laid eyes on Model Co Fiber Lash we ended up doing a bit of a double take – would it work … how does it work ?

Simply, this is a two part mascara which comes blacker than black and is applied and then layered over with hundreds of teeny tiny lash filaments which add density and volume to the liquid on the lash.

The end result is bulky, sultry and a completely gorgeous fake. On the downside, it costs €35, but if you really struggle to get something noticeable in the lash department you may as well bite the bullet on the cost rather than go through three or four of something less effective. Despite the fact that the whole getting-it-on business sounds quite complex, application isn’t too difficult once you’ve got the hang of it.

Lesson 4 – Maybeline’s The Falsies is anything but ….

Whoever devised the formula for The Falsies deserves to be bestowed some kind of beauty sainthood. No matter how many coats you apply it just builds and the fact is unless you’re really working the whole starry eyed goth look you probably only need a sweep and a half.

Ok – if your lashes are really short it’s probably not the best but if your lashes are long enough to get them around the spoon shaped brush we think this is perfect. As soon as we’d worked out that you have to let the first coat dry a little to keep things neat we were quickly of the opinion that this is the best volumising mascara we’ve ever had ….. we think !


VIDEO: Gravy …. perfect for New Year

January 6th, 2011
Who wants wavy hair .. we do !
Having been dolled to the nines of late L’Onglex has been contemplating something a little more relaxed by way of styling.
Enter Luke Hersheson with a fabulous video made for ELLEUK (http://www.elleuk.com/) that we think is a perfect for post season hair.
Having watched this and done the twist thing with the curlers we can definitely say we love the effect, but whether we’ll be wearing this with anything other than our Onesies remains to be seen.

wavy_gravy

Who wants wavy hair .. we do !

Having been dolled to the nines of late L’Onglex has been contemplating something a little more relaxed by way of styling. Something natural, something demure and something we can twist about and put in our mouths.

After some trawling we would like to recommend Luke Hersheson with a fabulous video made for ELLEUK that we think is a perfect for post party season hair.

Having watched this and done the twist thing with the curlers we can definitely say we love the effect, but whether we’ll be wearing this with anything other than our Onesies remains to be seen.

Click here to watch the video


In case you’re stuck for a look tonight …

December 31st, 2010
In case you’re stuck for a look tonight …
We found a new Lisa Eldridge video which not only manages to be a perfect look for the party season but also has some rather nice tips on how we can get metallics to shine like they should, stay where they are put and not drift everywhere after a few drinks.
As L’Onglex has always found shiny glittery sparkly beauty a bit difficult we have to say we’re loving this latest video. As if the ever brilliant Lisa Eldridge weren’t providing us with enough pointers there are also a few tips at the end of the video on the subject of how to make a statement with metallic make-up without overdoing the whole thing … happy new year one and all !
<strong><a href=”javascript:popUp(’http://vkm2.com/vid_master/fifty_two.html’)”><span style=”color: #654f72;”>Click here to watch the video</span></a></strong>
<a href=”javascript:popUp(’http://vkm2.com/vid_master/fifty_two.html’)”>

smokey_eye

We found a new Lisa Eldridge video which not only manages to be a perfect look for the party season but also has some rather nice tips on how we can get metallics to shine like they should, stay where they are put and not drift everywhere after a few drinks.

As L’Onglex has always found shiny glittery sparkly beauty a bit difficult we have to say we’re loving this latest video.

As if the ever brilliant Lisa Eldridge weren’t providing us with enough pointers there are also a few tips at the end of the video on the subject of how to make a statement with metallic make-up without overdoing the whole thing … happy new year one and all  !

Click here to watch the video


Things we loved this week: Hocus Focus Illuminator

December 23rd, 2010
Things we loved this week: Hocus Pocus Illuminator
As L’Onglex is getting all Christmasy at the moment there are probably a hundred things that we are currently going gaga for. Whilst the glittery stuff usually manages to grab all the headlines at this time of year it would have been easy to do something with a bit of sparkle, wish you all a merry Christmas and cheerfully take our leave.
That was until we started looking for something to add to the routine that would give our complexion a bit of a lift without the need for bronze or glitter and do you think we could find anything ? No.
Having trawled and trawled and searched and searched we were getting quite hot under the collar until someone in these parts suggested an illuminator. In fact, the suggestion was Hocus Pocus by Soap and Glory.
So, if you haven’t come across this we think you might want to. As you can wear it under foundation for a base or over your foundation to work as a highlighter it’s a pretty good addition to the winter routine and although there are pearls in the mixture it does diffuse the light so that the highlighting seems quite natural with lighter skin tones – result !

hocus_focus_soap_and_glory

As L’Onglex is getting all Christmasy at the moment there are probably a hundred things that we are currently going gaga for.

Whilst the glittery stuff usually manages to grab all the headlines at this time of year it would have been easy to do something with a bit of sparkle, wish you all a merry Christmas and cheerfully take our leave.

That  was what we were going to do until early this week we started looking for something to add to the routine that would give our complexion a bit of a lift without the need for bronze or glitter. Do you think we could find anything ? No.

Having trawled and trawled and searched and searched we were all getting quite hot under the collar until someone in these parts suggested using an illuminator. Quite why we didn’t think of this ourselves is a moot point and in actual fact the suggestion was quite specific – Hocus Focus by Soap and Glory.

So, if you haven’t come across this we think you might want to. As you can wear it under foundation for a base or over your foundation to work as a highlighter it’s a pretty good addition to the winter routine and although there are pearls in the mixture it does diffuse the light so that the end result seems quite natural, especially if you’ve got a lighter skin tone – all we have do to now is ask Santa if it’s not too late to get a bottle thrown into our Christmas stocking !