Today I used Maybelline Eye Studio Gel Liner (Brown)

Morning everyone – it’s Monday again but this week we’re  off to Paris for the last of the collections and I couldn’t be more excited! Paris is always a highlight and a true display of artistry and vision. I hope you have all been enjoying fashion week across the globe over the last month and have been taking note of the beauty look for Spring Summer 2014. It appears to me to be very focused on healthy skin, natural finish and low maintenance with an occasional pop of something crazy.

However, for the moment we are still focused on our Autumn/Winter wardrobes and beauty looks and I have to say I’ve really enjoyed putting more effort into my Winter look as in Summer I feel our efforts go to waste in the warm weather and the look starts to simply slide off our face!

That brings me to today’s product – another new staple in my kit. This eyeliner comes in a gel form in a small pot very similar to the Bobbi Brown gel eyeliners that have become a cult product for many years. I used to have a Bobbi Brown product years ago and liked it but found the same complaint as others – the product dried out extremely quickly and therefore I ended up wasting probably about 40% of it.

This eyeliner I’ve had for nearly two months and it’s as good as new. It comes with its own applicator brush which does the job well (just make sure to clean it regularly!) I got the colour brown but it is also available in black and purple. I feel brown is more natural looking for the day and more versatile and given my love of nude eyeshadows, its looks like a better fit.

In terms of repurchase this is definitely one to remember. I have long been a fan of kohl pencils and still own a fair few in my kit but gel is much easier to work with and I find requires much less concentration or correction. The price of the Maybelline product is also highly attractive compared to Bobbi Brown!

To buy today’s product click here.

Today I used Garnier 5 second perfect blur smoothing perfecting primer

If you can get over the long winded-ness of the name of this product then keep reading!

I was first introduced to the world of primers at Christmas last year when my (then) dry skin was causing any blush product I used to go patchy and cling by the mid point of the day. My skin has since turned EXTREMELY oily (a lovely hormone change I didn’t see coming) and I now have the opposite problem that most make up slides around by 10am.

The girl I targeted worked at my local MAC counter and I lavished my woes on her. It was then she suggested I use a primer and while it sounded like a COMPLETE hoax into buying more expensive products I just went for it. I used their Prep + Prime radiance primer and I have to say it was brilliant. It didn’t break me out and my make up situation definitely improved. That said, at £29 for a pump tube that lasted less than 3 months it felt REALLY expensive and I haven’t found it in myself to re-purchase it yet.

To cut this extremely long story short, I have since been on the hunt for a replacement which is much more cost efficient. I saw a review for the Garnier product which was extremely positive and was subsequently on offer in Superdrug for about £8.60 – much better.

 

I had tested out the ever-popular cult product Nanoblur as it was cast off from my mum, but I found exactly the same problem she did – way too heavy and far too drying. My skin was upset just at the thought of it. After one use I never went back. This product is certainly lighter and definitely stops my make up sliding so much. It also has a weird texture though, and went applying it to my skin has this strange tendency to roll up in itself and just peel off. The first week of use also resulted in a GINORMOUS spot on my chin which was very frustrating. I continued using however, and it doesn’t cause major breakouts so this could have just been a coincidence with a hormonal surge.

All in all, I feel like the L’Oreal skin perfection instant blur product is the best of the three.

 

It’s got the thinnest texture and absorbs into the skin the easiest. I unfortunately don’t own the L’Oreal product and only used it once on the lend of a friend but it didn’t cause any immediate skin issues.

By way of a conclusion I still feel highly indifferent to most of these ‘instant blur’ products currently flooding the market. They’re definitely a good alternative to anything more high end but their formulas are more dangerous in terms of what they’ll do to your skin. If you can manage it definitely go for something which is purely a primer and doesn’t promise any magic and comes from a high end brand. If not give any of these a go and good luck!

Today I used Mac ‘Soiree’ Nail Lacquer

Hi everyone!

I hope everyone’s not too down during this soggy spell – not quite the glorious start to Autumn we all hoped for! On that note I have to say my make up trends are so confused, the weather is so unpredictable I’m not sure what to go for most days. That said, I have been trying to go for more ‘transitional’ items – dark metallics, dark reds and oranges and peachy blushes. I can’t quite find it in myself to reach for the real dark tones yet but summery pastels and neons are starting to look out of place. Enter today’s product, a totally transitional rose gold nail polish to see you through September.

I had been lusting after this nail polish after seeing popular beauty guru missglamorazzi on youtube feature it in a haul video not too long ago. I had been under the impression it was hard to find with several Mac counters sold out. This turned out to be true but I think it is still available online and at some counters.

It’s an absolutely stunning and moderately textured rose gold. I love the packaging of Mac nail polishes as the brush is really wide and easy to use while the lid looks so sleek and professional. At £11 they’re really not out of this world expensive either.

To buy today’s product click here.

Today I used Eve Lom’s Morning Time Cleanser

Morning everyone and here’s to the start of another week! I hope everyone is enjoying LFW as it’s in full force. My favourites so far have to include John Rocha, Topshop Unique and Mulberry – all beautiful!

The beauty looks have all been great too and thankfully it looks as though my favourite trends of SS13 will continue into the following season with bold lips and dewy skin the big hits.

Back to business, today I wanted to showcase a product I’m convinced has made my Holy Grail list. It’s the Eve Lom Morning Time cleanser.

 

Before people start getting upset, it’s actually a mineral oil FREE version of the traditional cleanser which has been getting a bad rep as a result. I have to admit I do get a bit squeamish about the idea of mineral oil, particularly after I saw an interview with the one and only Caroline Hirons who argued that big oil companies actually PAY OFF the cosmetics companies to take this stuff off their hands because it’s too cheap for them to use industrially. You want to smear it all over your face? Gross.

However, the morning version of the cleanser, supposed to be much lighter than the traditional stuff, is still a thick and creamy balm that once applied to dry skin melts onto the surface and really breaks down any grime or build up from the night before.

I love it. It has helped my skin stay so clean and I really feel it gets the day off to the best start. I actually use a cleansing milk at night after using Bioderma to remove my make up so this feels like a really luxury way to start the day. It doesn’t clog my pores and especially if you use a good toner, there shouldn’t be any residue left on your skin after use.

To buy today’s product click here.

 

Today I used Laura Mercier crème de pistache hand crème

Morning everyone!

The autumn chill is definitely here – or it is at least when I leave my house at 7am every morning!! This can only mean one thing – my skin is starting to dry out. All over. While this is usually welcome on my face as I suffer with complicated, combination – not to mention overly-sensitive – skin, my hands are another matter.

That said, I have never been a huge advocate of hand cream. It was the stuff my mum would use and it never occurred to me that I might need it too. Enter Laura Mercier and her pistachio flavoured goodness and suddenly I’m a convert! I have lusted after this line for ages, convincing myself that £43 for body cream was totally reasonable but never quite committing to the purchase! That’s when inspiration hit, and the hand cream entered my life.

It’s still quite pricey but a hell of a lot better than the bigger pots of the stuff and a little goes a long, long way. The scent is just so addictive (I’m now that weird person smelling their hands all the time!) but it could be a bit sickly for some people so I do recommend trying it out on the counter beforehand.

I myself can’t see the day that I’m not toting one of these around with me at all times. Enjoy!

To buy today’s product click here.

Today I used a Lancôme Juicy Tube in ‘Marshmallow Electro’ (95)

Hello everyone and welcome to the start of another week!

First off I have to say I am loving watching all that is going down as part of New York Fashion Week! Yesterday’s Victoria Beckham show blew my mind once again – her transition is so fascinating to me and she seems so able to have hit a niche and a ‘look’ that remains fresh season after season. Whether it’s her really designing the collection or not, the label is so good.

Back to what this blog is REALLY meant to be about! Following the release of Charlotte Tilbury’s make up range this time last week, I’ve really fallen in love with the ‘Ingénue’ look that she champions which is also a wide industry favourite. Having played around with heavy eyeliner and feline flicks of late, I decided to pare it down today – very little eye make up, no eyeliner and just a sweet pinky pout. To help me create this look I needed a gloss which I consider one of the fallen stars of the industry.

 

 

 

Many people have criticised these products and since their launch was now many many years ago, they are a forgotten gem. In my mind no gloss has quite the staying power as these. They are also more pigmented than most glosses and start to infringe on the lip lacquer territory.

I do admit that Lancôme perhaps had a marketing crisis on their hands. The packaging and product ethos was generally aimed at a young audience but obviously the price point for a gloss is quite high. That said, it’s far cheaper than many other high end make up glosses and I never baulk at the price.

Click here to buy today’s product.

Today I used Mac Kohl Power Eye Pencil – Feline

Morning all – well done for getting to the end of another busy week! I’m so excited for all the fashion weeks that are kicking off with New York leading the way from tonight.

As the weather also takes a turn for the worse here in London it is clear the Autumn/Winter season is upon us and so to celebrate I have been using less of my Summer make up and venturing into the darker depths again. Enter: my smokey Mac kohl pencil!

I love this pencil so much. The texture is very creamy and doesn’t pull on the eye at all. The only warning I would have to attach is that it tends to blunt quite quickly and while this could be could for more smudgy looks, to keep the eye looking sleek requires regular sharpening of tools!

The colour is, I think, the blackest black that Mac currently offers in its Kohl collection. I know people used to rave about Smoulder but from what I’ve read they changed the formula and it now has more green undertones.

Other Mac pencils I currently love are Lord It Up – a thick brown with flecks of gold (stunning) and an electric Petrol Blue (again with a bit of shimmer).

To buy today’s product click here. 

 

 

Today I used Blistex Relief Cream

Morning all!

Today I used what is considered in the industry to be a ‘secret backstage weapon’ – in honour of the fast-approaching Fashion Weeks (Eek!)

A few posts ago I waxed lyrical about the Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream as being one of my make-up bag staples for curing chapped or dry lips. While I still use this for general maintenance, the situation had really started to worsen over the last couple of weeks, particularly when I used a skincare product which I then suffered an allergic reaction to. It caused my whole face to severely dry out and my lips were no exception.

It got to the point where I had to visit the Pharmacy because the situation was not improving at all. It’s here that I was recommended the Blistex line of products, this one being the slightly medicated version.

Only after I started using this and had INSTANT results did I read that it is frequently used backstage at fashion shows and photo shoots to soothe and plump models’ lips. I can totally see why. Even though my severe problems have now subsided thanks to this product, it has not left my make up bag! As the winter approaches this product will be an absolute saviour.

To buy today’s product click here.

Today I used Yves Saint Laurant Touche Èclat Radiant Touch (2)

Hi everyone and welcome back to the start of another week of ‘what I used today’!

Today I used another cult product which I seem to have a real love hate relationship with.

Under-eye dark circles are a real problem for me and I hear they are mostly genetic from the guru that is Caroline Hirons. As much as I will continue to buy products which promise to get rid of them, I am really under no illusion that this is actually possible. Instead, I try my best to conceal the buggers.

That said, it is a constant battle between coverage and illumination. This YSL product definitely falls into the latter division as coverage is pretty lousy to be honest. I’m not sure it really promises to conceal as much as illuminate dark circles, so perhaps it does live up to its promise.

It really depends on what you’re looking for. Some days I really want coverage and I had towards my Collection (2000) Lasting Perfection concealer, other days I feel more vibrant and feel a touch of Rimmel’s Wake Me Up concealer with a layer of the Touche Èclat will do. Today, this is what I went with. It’s a cult product and many people out there will swear by its effects. I go through swings and roundabouts.

Let me know what you all think of it!

Buy today’s product here.