EADV Conference

Some of you may have heard of the Johnson & Johnson Beauty Care Journalism Awards. For those of you who haven't, it's one of the most highly regarded award cermonies in the beauty journalism industry, with editors, writers and more recently bloggers, attending in hope of winning one of the prestigous awards.

Last year I was working as a beauty journalist on a national women's magazine and entered the competition on a whim. I was completely shocked when on the night, I'd discovered I'd won New Beauty Journalist of the Year 2011. I was handed a beautiful award, £500 and a trip to Lisbon to visit the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology (EADV).

So last weekend I departed to Lisbon for three days, where I attended dermatology talks, browsed brand stands and ate lots of yummy food all courtesy of Johnson & Johnson and Red Consultancy.

While I was there I picked up lots of information from the brand stands such as Aveeno, Neutrogena, P&G, Clinique, RoC and Eucerin, plus tons more. So I have a lot of bedtime reading to do - learning about new skincare innovations, technology and products.

I had such a fantastic time and discovered how beautiful Lisbon really is. Thanks to Emily at Red who attended the conference with me and made the trip even more enjoyable. And to Anna who organised the whole thing. Not forgetting all the lovely people from Johnson & Johnson who I met while I was out there.

While I was there, I managed to pick up a few beauty products, but I'm going to share these in a different post. In the mean time, here's just a few photos from my trip...

The hotel Pestana Palace

Gorgeous hotel room

25 de Abril Bridge

Discoveries Monument

Tagus River

Blistex Lip Brilliant

Here's the newest addition to the Blistex family - Lip Brilliance, multi-benefit balm.

Containing a cocktail of ingredients from real silk extract, hyaluronic filling spheres and SPF 15, with the aim to plump, protect and keep lips feeling super soft, with a subtle touch of colour too.

On application, it's soothing and adds just a subtle pink colour. A winter, handbag essential.

Only £2.49 available from Boots.

PR Sample

MNY

The sister brand of Maybelline, MNY launched in the UK during August this year. Aimed at the 15-25 year old age group, MNY combines fun, style, colour and creativity.

Here I'm wearing just one of the colours from the nail polish collection - number 264. This photograph isn't a good representation of the colour - it's more of a deeper shade.

PR sample

Nail decals: How to...

I love pretty nails. I've tried nail wraps before, but they turned into a complete disaster. So to end my frustration I vowed never to touch them again. But as usual, my beauty brain took over when I recently read about water decals and couldn't wait to give them a go.

And here's how they turned out...

Firstly I apologise for how chipped my nails are, I took this photo today so they've had five days of battering. Secondly, the reason I've only done one finger isn't because I'm channelling my inner Kelly Rowland, I actually ruined four in the process.

I'm not going to lie, these were incredibly fiddly and took some practice before getting it right. But here's how I did it.

• First of all you'll need to get everything together. I used: nail file, coloured nail polish (Nails Inc in Caramel), top coat, nail scissors, patterned water decals, shallow pot of water and tissue/cotton wool pad.
• File your nails to create a good shape and a smooth surface. Paint with your chosen colour (I applied two coats.) Make sure you leave to dry fully before applying the decals, or you could smudge.

• Your strip of decals should come in a choice of sizes. To make things easier, choose which nail you're going to start and cut out the nearest sized decal to fit your nail.

• You will now need to cut the decal with nail scissors to a rough size that will fit on your nail. I found it easier to trim off the top slightly and the sides, if needed.  
• Once you are happy with the size, place the decal face-up, into the pot of water for about 20-30 seconds.

• While your decal is in the water, place a small blob of top coat onto the top and bottom of your nail - this will help secure it in place.
• After 30 seconds check to see if the decal comes away from the paper. If so, pull away, draining off any excess water and place on top of your nail. You will need to pat the decal gently with a cotton wool pad and then leave to dry.
• If you find it's too long, gently push the excess underneath your nail - this will get filed away later on. They do take a while to dry, so if it's sliding off your nail, just persevere. It will get there, honestly!
• Now apply a later of top coat. Once dry, gently file the end of your nail to tear away the excess tucked under the nail.
• Apply another layer of top coat to secure and keep your nails lasting longer.

I bought this set of water decals from eBay for under £3 including P&P. They're great for adding a personal touch too.

Have you ever tried water decals or nail wraps? If so, how did you find them? And what design did you go for?

bareMinerals Deep Cleansing Foam

It's taken me a good couple of months to blog about this beaut, and like all other bareMinerals products I've used, I wasn't disappointed.

Powered by its famous ActiveSoil Complex, it claims to deeply cleanse the skin while really getting right down to those really grubby bits that cause spots too.

On first impressions, it smells amazing. And you really don't need to use much at all. For £15, you're really getting your moneys worth. The product comes in a gel-like formula, but onced mixed with water it turns into a light foam that, onced removed, leaves your face feeling squeaky clean and not at all dry.

I'm a huge fan of bareMinerals, from their make up to skincare products. They're consistent and deliver. Just one negative - please bareMinerals create a cleanser that removes eye make up too. It's way too much effort for me to remove it seperately.

PR sample