Beauty Blog

MAC hits the beach

March 22nd, 2011
Now that the sub-tropical majesté of an Irish April is very nearly ours we thought it might be high time L’Onglex ditched the winter face and headed for the beach.
Whilst it might be a bit too early for lilo’s, ice-cream and fish and chips, MAC’s Surf Baby Collection might just provide us with the excuse to start summer a bit early. Pitch perfect if you intend on following this seasons neon trends the new range comes with lip glass, blushes, eyeshadow, eye pencils and a rather bright line in nail lacquer.
Aside from the fact it’s MAC and shiny and gorgeous and new, L’Onglex is also loving the names. Bust Out lipstick, Surf the Ocean pigment stack and Short Shorts eyeshadow! Although we will probably end up shelling out for the lot when the time comes,  our stand-out piece so far has to be the My Paradise Coral blusher with champagne and gold flowers for some subtle summer highlighting –  swoon !

mac_beach

Now that the sub-tropical majesté of an Irish April is very nearly ours we thought it might be high time L’Onglex ditched the winter face and headed for the beach.

Whilst it might be a bit too early for lilo’s, ice-cream and fish and chips, MAC’s Surf Baby Collection might just provide us with the excuse to start summer a bit early. Pitch perfect if you intend on following this seasons neon trends the new range comes with lip glass, blushes, eyeshadow, eye pencils and a rather bright line in nail lacquer.

Aside from the fact it’s MAC and shiny and gorgeous and new, L’Onglex is also loving the names. Bust Out lipstick, Surf the Ocean pigment stack and Short Shorts eyeshadow!

Although we will probably end up shelling out for the lot when the time comes,  our stand-out piece so far has to be the My Paradise Coral blusher with champagne and gold flowers, perfect for some not so subtle summer highlighting –  swoon !

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Posted in Beauty news, Beauty trends, Brow pencils and liners, Eyeshadow and mascaras, MAC, Nail polish |

Mary Make and Do: Perfectly Preened Paws from Porridge

March 20th, 2011
In an ideal world L’Onglex would be eating our porridge in Highland hideaway with a gentle but rugged scottish fisherman type who comes complete with his own kilt and a soft lilting voice.
Given that such men are thin on the ground these days L’Onglex is reduced to trawling the internet looking for homemade recipes for the cobwebbed packets of porridge in our kitchen press.
So. Having left our trusty gloves on the Luas months ago and looking for something to undo the damage of tapping out our daily blog posts we found this recipe for an oatmeal hand mask which promises to smooth away the dry bits and give hands some serious conditioning. You will need ….
1 + 1/2 teaspoons of freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tablespoons of porridge oats
1 teaspoon of olive oil
1/4 of a cup of water
Here’s how it’s done ….
Mix the porridge with 1/4 cup of water and leave to soften for 10 minutes. Once the oats have soaked up the water add your lemon juice and olive oil to the porridge and mix well. Coat your hands with the treatment, place your hands in sandwich bags and put your feet up for ten before you rinse the mix with warm water and pat dry – eh volia – perfectly preened paws from porridge.

oats

In an ideal world L’Onglex would be eating our porridge in a Highland hideaway with a gentle but rugged scottish fisherman type who comes complete with his very own kilt, a soft lilting voice and a roaring open fire.

Given that such men are thin on the ground the reality is that L’Onglex is reduced to trawling the internet looking for homemade skincare recipes which might offer us the chance to use up those cobwebbed packets of porridge that sit at the back of the kitchen press.

Having left our trusty gloves on the Luas months ago and looking for something to undo the damage of tapping out our daily blog posts we found this recipe for an oatmeal hand mask which promises to smooth away the dry bits and give hands some serious conditioning.

You will need ….

1 + 1/2 teaspoons of freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 tablespoons of porridge oats

1 teaspoon of olive oil

1/4 of a cup of water

Here’s how it’s done ….

Mix the porridge with 1/4 cup of water and leave to soften for 10 minutes. Once the oats have soaked up the water add your lemon juice and olive oil to the porridge and mix well. Coat your hands with the treatment, place your hands in sandwich bags and put your feet up for ten before you rinse the mix with warm water and pat dry – eh volia – perfectly preened paws from porridge.

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Posted in Beauty treatments, Mary make and do, Natural Beauty, Organic beauty, Skincare |

Review: Liquid liner by Catrice

March 18th, 2011
Regular readers will know that we at L’Onglex has a bit of an obsession with the kitten flick. If we’re not spending hours watching the latest beauty tutorial by some or other guru extolling the benefits of liquid eyeliner you’ll find us in the mirror perfecting our technique.
We’ve tried everything from clever liner pens to the old school pots and brushes but never have we come across a budget liquid liner that has impressed us quite as much as the latest one from Bargain beauty brand Catrice. Hot off the shelves Catrice’s gel liner is priced at the rather purse friendly €4.49 and we think that’s a bargain.
Having spotted it during a recent dash round Pennys we figured it might be worth a punt and considering it looked like a dead ringer for Bobbi Brown’s Long-Wear Gel Eyeliner ( our current fave ) we thought we’d try it and we went disappointed!
Super pigmented and easy to apply, the budget kitten flick hole in our life has now been filled with one deft sweep of inky liner across L’Onglex’s lids! On the small matter of wearability the colour does fade down slightly during the day but other than that it didn’t budge or smudge – result !

catrice_liquid_liner

Regular readers will know that we at L’Onglex have a bit of an obsession with the kitten flick. If we’re not spending hours watching the latest beauty tutorial by some or other guru extolling the benefits of liquid eyeliner you’ll find us in the mirror perfecting our technique.

We’ve tried everything from clever liner pens to the old school pots and brushes but never have we come across a budget liquid liner that has impressed us quite as much as the latest one from bargain beauty brand Catrice. Hot off the shelves Catrice’s gel liner is priced at the rather purse friendly €4.49 and we think that’s a bargain.

Having spotted it during a recent dash round Pennys we figured it might be worth a punt and considering it looked like a dead ringer for Bobbi Brown’s Long-Wear Gel Eyeliner ( our current fave ) we thought we’d try it and we weren’t disappointed!

Super pigmented and easy to apply, the budget kitten flick hole in our life has now been filled with one deft sweep of inky liner across L’Onglex’s lids! On the small matter of wearability the colour does fade down slightly during the day but other than that it didn’t budge or smudge – result !

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Posted in Beauty reviews, Bobbi Brown, Brow pencils and liners, Budget beauty buys, L'Onglex loves |

Ooooh ….. sparkly !

March 17th, 2011
Ooooh  ….. sparkly !
Just as we at L’Onglex we’re getting excited about the longer evenings, brighter mornings and general lack of frost, an incoming email now has us wishing summer would be over and the dark evenings with us once more !
As we’re always excited by what’s coming down the line this shot that came to us via Chanel’s people in Paris has had the effect of making us all go girly and exciteable by what will land our way from the AW11 collections.
Yes, we know that it’s quite sad when you plan your polish purchases six months in advance but when we saw these shots of Chanel Le Vernis Graphite we just couldn’t help but mumble something like …. oooohhh …. sparkly …. need that ….
Due to hit the shelves at BT’s some time around the end of August we haven’t  tried any  yet but working on the assumption that between now and August we don’t fall out of love with Chanel polish we think we’ll be somewhere near first in the queue.
des-chanel-2011-polish

Just as we at L’Onglex we’re getting excited about the longer evenings, brighter mornings and general lack of frost, an incoming email now has us wishing summer would be over and the dark evenings with us once more !

As we’re always excited by what’s coming down the line this shot that came to us via Chanel’s people in Paris has had the effect of making us all go girly and exciteable by what will land our way from the AW11 collections.

Yes, we know that it’s quite sad when you plan your polish purchases six months in advance but when we saw these shots of Chanel Le Vernis Graphite we just couldn’t help but mumble something like …. oooohhh …. sparkly …. need that ….

Due to hit the shelves at BT’s some time around the end of August we haven’t  tried any  yet but working on the assumption that between now and August we don’t fall out of love with Chanel polish we think we’ll be somewhere near first in the queue.

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Posted in Chanel, Nail polish |

Video: LUKE HERSHESON SALON TIPS

March 15th, 2011
Video: LUKE HERSHESON SALON STYLE
It’s that awkward bit of the beauty calender. Not quite winter, but still not spring.
Thinking we should do something about changing the seasons vis-a-vis L’Onglex’s hair was pretty easy once we’d made the choice but ironing out the details was far harder than we could have imagined.
Thinking we would like something classic but punky, and winter meets spring we finally managed to come across this video by celebrity stylist Luke Hersheson which we think is just the ticket for this time of year.
It’s basically Audrey Hepburn meets street style and we like it for the simple reason that it’s a grungy take on a French pleat but stays smart enough to be worn on a night on the town ….
<strong><a href=”javascript:popUp(’http://vkm2.com/vid_master/sixty_one.html’)”><span style=”color: #654f72;”>Over to you Luke</span></a></strong>
<a href=”javascript:popUp(’http://vkm2.com/vid_master/sixty_one.html’)”>

hersheson_styling

It’s that awkward bit of the beauty calender. Not quite winter, but still not spring.

Thinking we should do something about changing the seasons vis-a-vis L’Onglex’s hair was pretty easy once we’d made the choice but ironing out the details was far harder than we could have imagined.

Thinking we would like something classic but punky with a winter meets spring sort of ‘vibe’, we finally managed to come across this video by celebrity stylist Luke Hersheson which we think is just the ticket for this time of year.

It’s basically Audrey Hepburn meets street style and we like it for the simple reason that it’s a grungy take on a French pleat but stays smart enough to be worn on a night on the town …. over to you Luke

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Posted in Hair care & styling, Hair trends, Videos |

Things we loved this week: Violet Diva by Estee Lauder

March 14th, 2011
Things we loved this week: Violet Diva by Estee Lauder
When it comes to polishing our pinkies we’ve always been partial to a bit of purple. Thus it was that a recent trip to the Holy Grail that is the Brown Thomas Beauty Hall resulted in this rather impulsive purchase which goes by the moniker of Estee Lauder’s Vilot Diva !
As pastels look set to be huge this summer we must admit that we did justify the €20 by telling ourselves it was all in the name of research. Being the nail junkies we are we normally wait a while before we post on the blog but as we rather liked this we thought we’d just get some pics up and have done with it !
So, although things got off to a slightly sticky start (we didn’t let our base dry for quite long enough) once we got into our stride we found the formula to be pretty good. Light but plenty of pigment and a pretty decent brush as well.
On the downside it’s becoming pretty popular in these parts so flashing our nails rather than the bottle is probably the best way to keep hold of it !

violet_diva

When it comes to polishing our pinkies we’ve always been partial to a bit of purple. Thus it was that a recent trip to the holy grail that is the Brown Thomas Beauty Hall resulted in this rather impulsive purchase which goes by the moniker of Estee Lauder’s Vilot Diva !

violet_diva2As pastels look set to be huge this summer we must admit that we did justify the €20 by telling ourselves it was all in the name of research. Being the nail junkies we are we normally wait a while before we post on the blog but as we rather liked this we thought we’d just get some pics up and have done with it …

So, although things got off to a slightly sticky start (we didn’t let our base dry for quite long enough) once we got into our stride we found the formula to be pretty good. Light but plenty of pigment and a pretty decent brush as well.

On the downside it’s becoming pretty popular in these parts so flashing our nails and not the bottle is probably the best way to keep hold of it !

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Posted in Beauty news, Beauty reviews, Beauty trends, Estee Lauder, Manicures, Nail polish, Nail swatches |

Vote and win: Should Justin Bieber spend the rest of his life in jail ?

March 11th, 2011
Vote and win: Should Justin Beiber spend the rest of his life in jail ?
In case you were wondering why exactly we have posted a picture of a large group of screaming girls and  a rather fluffy picture of Justin Beiber above these very words the answer is simple – news reaches the L’Onglex beauty desk that Justin may be soon appearing before a court in Liverpool charged with inciting a riot.
Having wrought havoc on these shores during the last week Justin recently moved his formidable pop powers onto the citizens of Liverpool where, rather than things being quieter, the pandemonium caused by screaming teenage fans just got worse. Such was the chaos and so fearful were the powers that be of a riot, that Justin was warned that any attempts to leave his hotel would cause such a commotion that his actions would be considered a breach of public order ….. the ultimate sanction being a lengthy spell in jail.
So if Justin leaves his hotel he goes to jail, and if he stays in his hotel he ends up being locked up …. so …..  we wondered how many L’Onglex readers would find the idea of the Beiber spending the rest of his natural life in custody a triumph or a tragedy ?
Since we must appear neutral we wont tell you our thoughts but please feel free to vote in the box below and leave a comment under this post to be in with a chance of winning a L’Onglex goodie bag !!

In case you were wondering why exactly we have posted a picture of a large group of screaming girls and  a rather fluffy picture of Justin Beiber above these very words the answer is simple – news reaches the L’Onglex beauty desk that Justin may be soon appearing before a court in Liverpool charged with inciting a riot.

Having wrought havoc on these shores during the last week Justin recently moved his formidable pop powers onto the citizens of Liverpool where, rather than things being quieter, the pandemonium caused by screaming teenage fans just got worse.

Such was the chaos and so fearful were the powers that be of a riot, that Justin was warned that any attempts to leave his hotel would cause such a commotion that his actions would be considered a breach of public order ….. the ultimate sanction being a lengthy spell in jail.

So if Justin leaves his hotel he goes to jail, and if he stays in his hotel he ends up being locked up …. so …..  we wondered how many L’Onglex readers would find the idea of the Beiber spending the rest of his natural life in custody a triumph or a tragedy ?

Since we must appear neutral we wont tell you our thoughts but please feel free to vote in the box below and leave a comment under this post to be in with a chance of winning a L’Onglex goodie bag !!

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Posted in L'Onglex loves, Win!! |

Things we loved this week: New palettes by Bobbi Brown

March 9th, 2011
We at l’onglex have been busy putting the feelers out for the latest spring collections and our latest find is wrapped in a rather cute printed zippy case and goes by the moniker of Peony and Python and is by Bobbi Brown.
Designed by Amy Smilovic of Tibi the six catwalk ready shades are compacted inside and include this seasons pastel purples, some rather dashing greys, a nude and a darker shade for contouring. On the finish, the shadows are a mix of sheer and matt which makes them perfect for creating light natural looks for day and more intense shading for evening wear.
Quality wise the shadows are well pigmented which makes them a dream to blend and having worn them in and fluttered around there has been a welcome absence of colour falling around our eyes. Also noticeable by their absence are those nasty sponge applicators, in place of which come two rather nifty brushes which although not perfect, do a pretty decent job if you happen to find yourself on the hop !
One thing we did find a little hard to manage however was the zipper which is a bit sticky at times, not sure if the pack comes with some WD40 but we may have to look into it should we decide to decide to put this in our ‘keeper’ pile.
The Peony and Python palette landed on Bobbi Counters on March 1st and can be yours for €45.

bobbi_brown

We at L’Onglex have been busy putting the feelers out for the latest spring collections and our latest find is wrapped in a rather cute printed zippy case and goes by the moniker of Peony and Python and is by Bobbi Brown.

Designed by Amy Smilovic of Tibi the six catwalk ready shades are compacted inside and include this seasons pastel purples, some rather dashing greys, a nude and a darker shade for contouring. On the finish, the shadows are a mix of sheer and matt which makes them perfect for creating light natural looks for day and more intense shading for evening wear.

Quality wise the shadows are well pigmented which makes them a dream to blend and having worn them in and fluttered around there has been a welcome absence of colour falling around our eyes. Also noticeable by their absence are those nasty sponge applicators, in place of which come two rather nifty brushes which although not perfect, do a pretty decent job if you happen to find yourself on the hop !

One thing we did find a little hard to manage however was the zipper which is a bit sticky at times, not sure if the pack comes with some WD40 but we may have to look into it should we decide to decide to put this in our ‘keeper’ pile.

The Peony and Python palette landed on Bobbi Counters on March 1st and can be yours for €45.

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Posted in Beauty news, Beauty reviews, Bobbi Brown |

Daniel Craig as we’ve never seen him before

March 8th, 2011
OK … so the walks a bit clunky and the manly frame does bulk the shoulders up but all in all we don’t think Daniel Craig makes for such a bad looking woman.
Obviously it goes without saying that we prefer him with a six pack and those uber tight swimming trunks but we are also impressed at the erstwhile 007’s ability to dress as one of us.
In case your wondering about the why’s and the wheres the video in question (  xxxxxxxx  ) the voice in question is that of Dame Judt Dench and was produced as a viral to highlight International Women’s Day.
Celebrated every year on the 8th of March, International Women’s Day is used as a forum to campaign on a range of gender and equality issues and celebrate the achievements of women all over the world in making the planet a more equal and fair place in which to live.
Since we can’t fault the cause and we can’t fault Mr Craig, all that’s left to do is think of who’ll be in drag to publicise the event  next year …… L’Onglex’s money is firmly on Enda Kenny !
<strong><a href=”javascript:popUp(’http://vkm2.com/vid_master/sixty.html’)”><span style=”color: #654f72;”>Which you can watch by clicking here</span></a></strong>
<a href=”javascript:popUp(’http://vkm2.com/vid_master/sixty.html’)”></a>

craig

OK … so the walks a bit clunky and the manly frame does bulk the shoulders up but all in all we don’t think Daniel Craig makes for such a bad looking woman.

Obviously it goes without saying that we prefer him with a six pack and those uber tight swimming trunks but we are also impressed at the erstwhile 007’s ability to dress as one of us.

In case your wondering about the why’s and the wheres, the video in question ( which you can watch by clicking here ) was produced as a viral to highlight International Women’s Day and the voice is none other than Dame Judy Dench.

Celebrated every year on the 8th of March, International Women’s Day is used as a forum to campaign on a range of gender and equality issues and celebrate the achievements of women all over the world in making the planet a more equal and fair place in which to live.

Since we can’t fault the cause and we can’t fault Mr Craig, all that’s left to do is think of who’ll be in drag to publicise the event  next year …… L’Onglex’s money is firmly on Enda Kenny !

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Posted in Beauty news, Videos |

Feeling a little under the weather ?

March 7th, 2011
oh how we love the weekends… a time to lie in….a time to break the diet and a time catch up with the girls. That said, the downside to having spent our weekend being mostly in a state that we’re calling ‘Training for Paddy’s Day’ , L’Onglex is now paying the price and is feeling more than a little peaky.
Ordinarily we might just call a sicky, crawl back under the duvet and claim a 24hr bug but as we kind of spilled the beans on the plans for our  weekend last Friday that option is now unavailable to us.
So, having exhausted our livers, ourselves, our sick-notes and most importantly our skin, we can only turn to the fabulous Lisa Eldridge for a video tutorial on how to perk up pasty skin that’s partied too hard. Hope your Monday has been a bit easier than ours ……
<strong><a href=”javascript:popUp(’http://vkm2.com/vid_master/fifty_nine.html’)”><span style=”color: #654f72;”>Click here to watch the video</span></a></strong>
<a href=”javascript:popUp(’http://vkm2.com/vid_master/fifty_nine.html’)”>

pasty_skin_pick_me_ups

Oh how we love the weekends… a time to lie in….a time to break the diet and a time catch up with the girls. That said, the downside to having spent our weekend being mostly in a state that we’re calling ‘Training for Paddy’s Day’ , L’Onglex is now paying the price and is feeling more than a little peaky.

Ordinarily we might just call a sicky, crawl back under the duvet and claim a 24hr bug but as we kind of spilled the beans on the plans for our  weekend last Friday that option is now unavailable to us.

So, having exhausted our livers, ourselves, our sick-notes and most importantly our skin, we can only turn to the fabulous Lisa Eldridge for a video tutorial on how to perk up pasty skin that’s partied too hard. Hope your Monday has been a bit easier than ours ……

Click here to watch the video

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Posted in Beauty dilemmas, Make up tips/how to, Videos |


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