Sunday 27 February 2011

February favourites...

Courtesy of weheartit

Revlon Photo Ready Foundation
When I first heard about this foundation, I wasn't convinced. I was worried I'd resemble Edward Cullen when caught in the sun light. But after much persuasion from my sister, I caved in...and a month later, I can't get enough of it.

I try not to use this foundation as an everyday base, instead I stick to only wearing it when I'm off somewhere nice, like for dinner or a night out. But it does get a huge thumbs up from me (and my sister!)


Avon True Colour Blush
I've not even had this product a week, but I've worn it every day since. Absolutely perfect and has amazing coverage. I will be doing a blog post about it soon, so watch this space.

Thursday 24 February 2011

Avon Nailwear Pro in Gunmetal

I've decided to jump on the bandwagon and do a nail varnish of the day, so here you go...

Avon's Nailwear Pro in Gunmetal (£6)

A gorgeous grey shade with a slight hint of blue sparkle. For super quick drying nails I used this handy product (below) from Avon - Liquid Freeze Quick Dry Nail Spray (£6). Its very greasy, as you can see from the photo, but its fab at drying your nails in an instant...and I mean an instant. One spray and bob's your uncle!


I have another three shades of nail polish from Avon, so keep your eyes peeled!

Saturday 19 February 2011

Dermalogica part two...

This morning I had the chance to try my morning Dermalogica skincare routine - to see how I got on with the evening routine, click here . I'm glad I waited to use it on a Saturday morning, because it did take me some time, as I'll explain...



Step one:
Daily Microfoliant - comes as a powder (strangely) but once mixed with water it turns into a thick paste. It does go on smoothly and feels just the same as an exfoliating face mask. Once washed off, it does leave your skin feeling tight but smooth and clean too.

Step two:
Skin Hydrating Booster - not much to say about this as I used it as part of my night treatment too. You can see that blog post by clicking here.

Step three:
Total Eye Care with SPF15 - claims to smooth and re-texturise the skin as well as reduce the appearance of puffiness and fine lines. I haven't got any fine lines, so it didn't do much for them, but for puffiness, it did well. It is quite thick, so takes a while to sink into the skin. I also liked that it left a refreshing feel around my eyes too.

Step four:
Age Smart Dynamic Skin Recovery SPF30 - this moisturiser had a similar consistency to suncream - it smelt like it and left that greasy look suncream leaves on your face too. Although it left my skin looking greasy, it didn't at all feel like it, just heavy on your skin instead. But I this could have been down to the fact that I put too much of the product on and went a bit overboard. The moisturiser did take a long time to sink in, but after 10 minutes or so, my skin looked a lot brighter and more radiant.

I was really impressed with these products, but it was a shame that the moisturiser took so long to sink in, so its not something I'd be able to use everyday. I must admit, my skin does look better and four hours later, it still feels as soft as when I first applied the products, so thumbs up all round.

Prices: Daily Microfoliant £38, Skin Hydrating Booster £49, Total Eye Care with SPF15 £36.50 and Age Smart Dynamic Skin Recovery SPF30 £58.

Wednesday 16 February 2011

Dermalogica part one...

On Monday I was lucky enough to receive a few skincare goodies from the lovely Hayley Lloyd Wilkins, Facialist and Skincare expert for Dermalogica. After asking for my skin type I was sent a personal skincare routine, adapted to suit my skincare needs. Included was a cleansing routine for morning and night and a one week mini facial.

I'm not really a morning person and rarely have time to eat breakfast. So I decided to leave the morning routine for a weekend when I'll have a bit more time.


Step one:
Dermalogica Precleanse - designed to remove oil and dirt from the face and it did just so. The texture is quite oily, but don't let it put you off as it left my skin feeling super clean, possibly the cleanest its ever felt (if that's possible?)

Step two:
Dermalogica Dermal Clay Cleanser - deep cleans the skin again, but aimed at the oily areas of the face. It felt gorgeous, thick and smelt great too. It didn’t dry like I imagined it too, but then again it was washed off straight away.


Step three:
Dermalogica Skin Hydrating Booster - an oily serum that is applied to any dry areas. I was a little worried about this one, because it is just like applying oil to your skin. But it soon sank in and left a slight shine - definitely for the evening, I wouldn't want to apply this in the morning.

Step four:
Dermalogica Skin Smoothing Cream - a moisturiser that says it balances the skin and improves texture. This is really, really thick and a little bit goes a long way.

Overall these products worked perfectly and kept my skin looking really clean and hydrated.

Once I've had a chance to try the mini facial and the morning skincare routine, I will do another blog post to tell you how I got on.

Prices: Dermalogica Precleanse £31, Dermal Clay Cleanser £11 (50ml), Skin Hydrating Booster £49, Skin Smoothing Cream £43.50 (100ml)

Saturday 12 February 2011

bareMinerals Skincare

I had to take a photograph of the packaging, because its just beautiful

bareMinerals are well-known for their foundation, so what better way to expand your skincare collection by introducing three new products and completely changing some existing ones too. I was lucky enough to get my hands on two original products and one brand new - the Pure Transformation Night Treatment, Purely Nourishing Moisturizer and Purifying Facial Cleanser.


Each product is enriched with the RareMinerals ActiveSoil Complex - a mineral-rich soil, which works at energising the skin to deliver visibly smaller pores, faster cell turnover and smoother looking skin. So how did I get on, I hear you ask...

Whilst showering this morning, I decided to use the Purifying Facial Cleanser. Even though I always remove my make-up before bed, my face still looks pretty grubby in the morning, especially with little bits of eyeliner and mascara here and there. Needless to say, I loved the consistency of the cleanser but wasn't too keen on the smell, which was quite over-powering. But don't let this put you off - once it was rinsed off, the smell soon disappeared. Afterwards, it left my skin looking super clean and didn’t have a tight feeling to it. Overall I absolutely LOVED this cleanser and could possibly say it's one of the best I've used. It removed all my make-up (including stubborn eyeliner and mascara) and left my skin looking refreshed.


Next I applied the Purely Nourishing Moisturizer. Again I wasn't too fond of the smell and it felt quite tacky on my skin. It took a little while to sink in and once it did, it felt quite heavy. On a positive note though, it did make my skin texture look more even.


After applying my make-up (which includes foundation) I decided to try the Pure Transformation Night Treatment. Now you may be wondering, this is a night treatment, why is she applying it in the day? The answer for that is, if you were to see it, it's more of a foundation powder and no matter how much it tells me my pores will minimise if I apply it to my face at night, there is no way you will catch me putting on a layer of powder before bed, it’s just wrong. So instead I took a different approach. This powder was absolutely fantastic and I'd definitely recommend it to anyone who has a problem with large pores and an oily nose. I wouldn't recommend using the brush supplied, because it's a little dense. Instead I found that going over with a powder brush to remove any excess, was helpful. It did have fantastic staying power though and even by the end of the day there wasn't an ounce of oil obvious on my nose - it was perfect.


Overall, I absolutely loved these products and the outcome of the night treatment was just a dream – maybe I should follow the instructions properly and pray that my pores will completely disappear!

Products are available from Bare Escentuals boutiques and Selfridges from April.

Prices: Purifying Facial Cleanser £15, Purely Nourishing Moisturiser £27 and Pure Transformation Night Treatment £45.

Friday 11 February 2011

Bourjois Limited Edition Fete Paris Blush

Courtesy of Bourjois

From 23rd February until the end of March you'll be able to get your hands on another range of Bourjois Limited Edition Fete Paris Blushes. This time they've teamed up with textile designer Juliette Buré to create six pots decorated with well-known Paris monuments - the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, the Bastille, Opéra Garnier and Sacré Coeur. Each pot looks simply gorgeous and inside are some of their best blush colours.

Each pot will be £7.49 each and exclusive to Boots stores and ASOS.com

Thursday 3 February 2011

Frontcover Colour Collection


I was welcomed into work this morning to find this gorgeous little collection on my desk. The new Colour Collection from Frontcover Cosmetics.

I’ve had eyeshadow palettes in the past and always find that there’s always a couple of shades that 1 – I don’t like or 2 – don’t suit me. So I was pleased to see this little set – an empty make-up palette with four slots for four of my favourite Frontcover shades. I know MAC have already done this, but when you can get one similar for £5, what’s not to like?


Along with the palette came four beautiful baked eyeshadows – above l-r powder puff, frosted almond, cloud dance and black spark. Also in the parcel came Shadowline, a clear liquid that when mixed with an eyeshadow, turns into an eyeliner and Shadowbase, which is said to make the pigments in the eyeshadow pop out a bit more.


I’ve used Frontcover eyeshadows before, so kind of knew what to expect, but I was a little disappointed with the black spark shade - the blue glitter just doesn't do it for me. The other colours are gorgeous though and I will be trying them out soon. I’m also not keen on the Shadowline, because for me, it just doesn’t work. I prefer the darker, more precise line you get from normal liquid eyeliner – but nevertheless, it is a fantastic idea.

Both Shadowline and Shadowbase are £8 and each eyeshadow is £4. The collection is available to buy in Boots stores as of April.

Wednesday 2 February 2011

January favourites...

Courtesy of weheartit

Considering it's a week into February already, this is already a week overdue, so I'll move as quickly as possible. I have just two products this month, as I've kind of been a little boring and haven't stepped away from my favourites. I promise more next month though.

Benefit Georgia Just Peachy Face Powder
I received this cute little box for Christmas and fell in love instantly. It smells amazing and adds a subtle fresh colour to your face. I originally thought it might look great as a blusher, but the colour isn't quite strong enough.


Lee Stafford Poker Straight Dehumidifier
I have used this product for years and I won't leave the house without a little spritz over my hair. It stops it from turning into a static mess when it's slightly damp or too hot outside. It's perfect for summer holidays too.

Garnier Pure Active 2-in-1 Spot Roll-On...Part two

First things first, I've been a bad beauty blogger recently as I've been a bit absent. I've been incredibly busy at home and work, so massive apologies.

Moving swiftly on...I told you I'd put the Garnier Spot Roll-On to the test and surprisingly I think it worked. Not as quick as I'd originally hoped, but it certainly reduced the appearance of the spots I had - major thumbs up! The colour was a bit of a pain, but it was easy to look past - no one commented on the orange blobs on my face, so it couldn't have been too bad!
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