London Reader Reminder: Stila Lipgloss Amnesty Tomorrow!

What:         The 'Stila Steal' Lipgloss Amnesty
When:        19th January 2012, from 10am
Where:       Harvey Nichols Knightsbridge
Small print: One lipgloss per customer while stocks last.

It's a grey gloomy damp squid* of a day, so I'm putting my New Year's Resolutions (gym, running, world peace) on hold and instead thinking about chucking some of my old, worn out beauty bits.

As luck (or a well-timed marketing campaign) would have it, Stila and Harvey Nicks London have joined forces and are holding a lipgloss amnesty tomorrow. It's a pretty simple concept: you bring in a crapped out lipgloss from any brand, they'll replace it with a shiny new complimentary Stila Lip Glaze (worth £13) in a colour of your choice without passing judgement on the hack of your cast-off.

Be rude not to pop along and relieve them of one, really.


* Possibly my favourite incorrect idiom ever, courtesy of Roy from The IT Crowd

Fab Friday Freebies from O2 Treats and iTunes

If you're an O2 customer and fancy some free choons, listen up! 

They've teamed up with iTunes to offer five free songs of your choice every Friday between now and 17th December 2010. Just opt in for O2 Treats on the website, and then when you click the Download button on this here page of a Friday, iTunes will open and five credits will have magicked themselves on to your account. 

You don't need to use them right away - the credits are valid until 31st December - and they can be used to purchase songs priced at €0.69, €0.99, or €1.99.

I've used four of mine today so far and am enjoying listening to Ryan Sheridan Jigsaw, Delorentos Secret... and, er, Cheryl Cole Promise This and Kesha Take It Off. Oh, come on. They're catchy!

Image source: Threadless

Barry M Giveaway: The Results Show!

It's not just X Factor that can string out announcing results, you know.

So. The contestant... who has been chosen by the wonder that is random.org... to receive a bottle of Barry M Instant Effects...

...

... is...

...

... (this is usually the point at which I would dearly like to throttle Dermot O'Leary)...

...

Rachelle!

Congratulations Rachelle, hope you enjoy your little prize! Drop me a mail at lyndarthemerciless[at]gmail[dot]com with your address when you have a moment, please, so I can get it sent out to you.

Thanks to everybody who entered, by the way. I seriously wish I'd had one for everyone in the audience, Uncle Gaybo stylee x

Giveaway: Barry M Instant Effects nail paint

You know I love me a bandwagon, so there was no way in hell that I wasn't going to lep aboard the crackle finish nail trend. Isa Dora kicked things off with their Graffiti Nails collection, which consists of five topcoats that shrink and crack giving a shattered geometric effect as they dry to let your base colour peek through, and sent the beauty blogosphere into a frenzy when they came out in August.

Sadly, they haven't reached Irish shores yet, but the ever reliable folks at Barry M have all our crackle finish needs covered. Their new Instant Effects topcoat, €5.95, may only be available in black, but its popularity is such that it's been proving difficult to track down both at home and in the UK. So when I espied a couple of bottles in Boots in Liffey Valley last week, I swooped down on those bad boys faster than a hungry bird of prey who's just spotted a particularly delicious-looking mouse.

I also called The Sister to excitedly explain my find and ask if she'd like me to pick up one for her. 

She laughed for about 10 minutes solid ("So, what, it makes your nail varnish look cracked?! BWAHAHAAHAAHAHAAAAA!") before cheerfully declining my thoughtful offer.

What she doesn't know is that OPI are about to release a crackle polish called Black Shattered as part of the upcoming Katy Perry and Serena Williams collaborations so this "cracked" effect is set to be huge. 

You and I, however, can get ahead of the game, since I got a bottle of Barry M Instant Effects for both of us. Yep - one for me, and one for you. 

To be in with a chance of getting your paws on this here bottle of crackle-finish goodness, you'll just need to...

1. be a follower (either here with Google Friend Connect in the sidebar, or over on Twitter), AND

2. leave a comment on this post to let me know you want in.

Simples!

And incase you're wondering what you could use it for, well, here's a terrible photo of one I made earlier...

 

Layered over Lancôme B.B. Sand, looks leopard print-ish from a distance

Giveaway is now closed, folks - winner will be announced ASAP :) 

The small print
» One (1) winner will be selected at random and will receive one (1) shiny new bottle of Barry M Instant Effects nail paint.
» Open worldwide (but, please note, will not ship to a PO box address).
» Giveaway is open until 11.59pm this Sunday, 24th October 2010.
» Winner will be chosen and announced early next week.
» There is no cash alternative and my decision, it will be final. (I iz the boss here, you know.)

Were you lucky? Well were ya, punk?

The virtual tombola that is random.org has been given a good whoosh (Mike Murphy would have been delighted with it) and a winner has been chosen for the Reebok giveaway!

So our victor is... Hermione!

Congratulations to you, missy - you might just drop me a quick email at lyndarthemerciless@gmail.com when you get a chance so that I can get you all set up with that spiffy new kit.

And thanks so much to everyone who entered, I wish there had been a prize for everyone in the audience. Fingers crossed that there'll be more competitions like it in the future for y'all!
 

WIN A NEW BUM! (Sort of.)

Since I have now gone the gym on two consecutive Saturdays and actually did a home workout yoke one day last week (the dog thought I'd lost the plot completely), I am all about the fitness and the health and the wellness today at the moment. Sadly, my ancient runners are wicked effing uncomfortable and my one pair of tracksuit bottoms that aren't completely covered in paint are a size too big and about a foot too long and look completely clown-like on me.

Handily, the nice people at Reebok are coming to my rescue. 

Knights in shining armbands, if you will. 

I've been asked to trial a pair of their shiny new EasyTone runners which, as far as I can make out, are MBT-type yokes. (But better looking. More "normal footwear", less "orthopedic device".) There's talk of things like "28% more bum muscle activation" and "11% more muscle activation in the calf muscles and hamstrings". 

Minimise my gluteus maximus, tone up my thighs, and get fabulous calves to boot? Yeh, I'll take some of that pleasethankyouvermuch.

They're also going to tog me out in some snazzy Reebok training gear. New (presumably non-paint splattered) trakkie bottoms ("training pants" is the more correct term, according to the press release), a new t-shirt ("training top"), new sleeveless hoodie or jacket ("sports top"), new sports bag (er, "sports bag") and a pedometer will be winging their way to me shortly.

Yes, yes. Hard life. Now, before you start darkly muttering things like "it's alright for some", I have another bit of news. Reebok are going to hook you up with your very own pair of EasyTones and your very own kit pack! Complete with pedometer! Wohoo!

Sure we'll have lovely arses like yer woman here in no time at all.

"So, all I have to do is stand here with the telephone cord 
wrapped around me and my arse, like, tones itself? Cool."

UPDATE: 

This giveaway is now closed.

Thanks to everyone who entered! I'll be announcing the winner tomorrow (Tuesday, 16th March).

TO ENTER:   Leave a comment on this post. Simples!
 
(I was going to make you complete a tie-breaker or something similarly arsey, but then I remembered that I'm not actually a total wagon.)

THE DEETS:  Giveaway is open to anyone with an Irish address (north or south) and closes 5pm, Monday 15th March. One entry per person, please. Winner will be chosen using random.org. There is no cash alternative and my decision is final. The winner will be provided with registration details for Reebok's EasyTone website so they can choose their preferred style/size of runners and kit and leave feedback on their experience.

Good luck!