Exfoliating 101

I love exfoliating...its my favourite part of my skincare regime, I just think that it is the one step that you really notice a difference with.

Exfoliating, I believe is necessary for any skin type; gives dry skin radiance, helps decongest oily skin etc.

There are two different types of exfoliators, chemical and physical. I happen to like both, and use both regulary.

A chemical exfoliant uses Alpha Hydroxy Acids (AHAs) or equivalent to buff the dead skin away, whereas a physical exfoliator will use small beads in the form of a scrub.

 I thought I would share with you the three that I use and LOVE


Ren Glycolatic Radiance Renewal Mask

.This is a fruit enzyme mask that you leave on for about 10-15 minutes.
 It kind of looks like orange jelly...

The fruit enzymes will buff away the dead skin, and gives you the most amazing glow. It is one of the few masks that I believe you can see a difference with straight away. There are so many exfoliating masks on the market at the minute and I have tried loads that are double the price of this one and I ALWAYS come back to this one.

It is also great for a more sensitive skin because it is made with fruit acids.

I use this once a week, usually before I put a clay mask on.

Available from Spacenk

Cane and Austin Anti-Blemish/Acne pads.

These pads are amazing, I have had trouble with blemishes for years, and since I have started using these, I have really noticed a difference. The pads are 5% glycolic acid and 2% salicylic acid. Glycolic acid is derived from sugar, so a natural acid. Glycolic is a great exfoliator because it penetrates deeper than any other acid. So when it is coupled with salicylic acid it makes a  great acne treatment, as it will allow the salicylic acid to penetrate deeper than normal.

I use these every night after a cleanse as my exfoliating toner and I just love them, I honestly cant say enough about them!

I do think that anyone can use these, you may feel a slight tingle but that is normal.

Available from Spacenk

Be Fine Exfoliating Cleanser

This is the only physical exfoilator that I use. I started using this about a year ago, when I first really got into my skincare. I was researching exfoilators and I came across this one while watching Missglamorazzi on Youtube. I liked the sound of it, and it was affordable. A year on, and I still love it!

The scrub is made with brown sugar, sweet almonds and oats and when you put it onto wet skin, The bits lather into a lovely creamy cleanser that is really nourishing and leaves the skin feeling really clean and soft. I use this as my morning cleanser every other day.

Scrubs get a lot of bad hype so i stop using this for a while, and I really missed it. Therefore I believe if you use something and you like it and it works for you, happy days! Don't stop using something because another person doesn't like it.

One thing annoying about this, is the availability in the UK, however you can get it on ebay.

The only thing I would say about scrubs, is that when the beads are very small, sometime they can get caught underneath the skin, or be too harsh and scratch the surface of the skin, so be careful which one you choose!

Do you use any of these? If not what do you use?

Holiday make up

I thought I would post the last two looks together as the face and lips stayed the same throughout the holiday (creature of habit?)I just changed the eyes.

Day 2;

(Apologies for my face, was a bit red after walking about in the sun all day!!)

That morning I had went shopping and bought one of the cream stick shadows from Chanel; Stylo Eyeshadow 07 Moon River (review coming in upcoming posts) so I thought I'd use that. I put it all over my lid then worked a bit of the darker shadow (dark brown with pink tones through it) from the Hourglass Gypsy duo through the crease. Then for eyeliner I used my trusty Avon Supershock  in black on my waterline, and finished with my Maybelline The Falsies Mascara. 

Day 3;

This was my last night so I wanted to do a real smoky look. This is my favourite smoky eye, a brown grungy look. To do this I used Laura Mercier Caviar Stick in Coco all over the lid and blended into the crease, but I kept most of the colour at the lashes, I then smudged Mac Black Swan liner along the lash line which is a glittery black colour. Finally as per usual I finished off with Maybelline The Falsies mascara. 

(In the previous post I explained the rest of the makeup) 

Hope you enjoyed these holiday posts! 

xoxo 

Holiday make up, day one

I went for a subtle smoky eye tonight, using the naked 2 palette...

I put half baked right up to the crease, then blended in snakebite into the outer corner and through the crease, then to add a bit of depth I dusted chopper all over. On the lash line and waterline I used Avon super shock in black which I think is one of the best eyeliners out there! Does not move, love it! Then on the lower lash line I blended in tease to make it a tad more smoky. For mascara I used Maybelline the falsies waterproof.

To fill in my eyebrows I used Kevyn Aucoin brow pencil in brunette. Then sit them with Mac brow set. 

On my face I just used a bit of Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage then set it with my hourglass ambient powder in dim. To conceal my dark circles I used By Terry Touche Veloutée and I highlighted a bit with that as well! Then a bronzed with Nars laguna and for I used Nars Orgasm on the apples of my cheeks. 

Lastly to finish of I used Revlon lip butter on Berry Smoothie. 

Hope you liked the look....until next time

! 

UPDATE: Holiday posts!

I'm going on holiday tomorrow, yayy!

Instead of uploading random posts, I thought I would post pictures of my make up, and a small description of what I'm wearing and how I did it.

Hope everyone is having a great day so far...

xoxoxox

Primers that can withstand the weather!

So as the title suggests I will be talking about which primers I think are the best...and can withstand any weather!!

As I have oily skin, a primer is a must for me otherwise my make up is off by lunch time. A lot of primers I have used before, I wore them because I thought I should and not because I thought they worked.

However there are a select few that I think do work...

The good all rounder;
The Smashbox Photo Primers are really lovely, they have a variety of different ones for every skin type,and they give you a nice smooth base for putting your make up on. I have to say I don't think these keep your make up on much longer, but the make up wears better throughout the day...if that makes sense. So by 12 pm I will probably still have to touch up, but my make up wont be noticeably off as usual just shiny...



These primers are available at boots and start from £12.50

The best one for pores;
The Algenist Pore Corrector Anti-Aging Primer' is a brilliant one for someone who has quite porous skin. It has quite a velvety matte texture, and when you rub it in, it just gives you this amazingly smooth skin. I have used this quite a few times and I really liked it, and I do think it made my make up last longer than normal. As an added bonus, it is anti-aging, and helps refine pores. The only thing that worries me about this primer is that it has silicone in it, (the reason why it gives such a smooth surface) although it is a natural one, my skin doesn't mix well with silicone....

This primer is £34 and is available at SpaceNK

The best one for oily skin;
The Hourglass Mineral Veil Oil Free Primer  is by far my favourite out of all these. I honestly cant say enough good things about this primer! Its and oil free primer, keeps your make up on all day (and I mean all day!!) and makes anything you put on over the top waterproof. Not only that but it sets your make up from underneath, so you don't actually need to powder afterwards, which is brilliant as that dewy look is what everybody wants right now!
Here is the downside... this primer is £52 for 30ml, however one pump should do your whole face and therefore the bottle should last 6 months. (you can get a 10ml bottle for £20, but that isn't really great value)



This is available at Spacenk

For Radiance;
I actually have two favourites for added radiance;
The Laura Mercier Radiance Primer and the Clarins Beauty Flash Balm. Although the beauty flash balm, is not officially a primer, its a brilliant make up base. I think both of these are fairly similar the Laura Mercier primer being just a tad more shimmery and the beauty flash balm has anti aging benefits. These are the best for giving you a beautiful glow, but aren't gonna be amazing for longevity.




The Laura Mercier radiance primer is £28 and is available at Spacenk



The Clarins beauty flash balm is £29 and is available at Boots


So there we go, that is my pick of the primers, I hope this helps as I know it can be hard picking a primer!

xoxoxo

Lipstick lover...the final hurrah!

For my final installment in the lipstick series...

Reds

My absolute favourite bright to wear....if I am going to wear a statement lip, you can be pretty sure it is going to be red!

My all time favourite is a really dark red.. Hourglass Opaque Rouge in 'Icon' . This is your classic red; timeless. It was actually created for Madonnas last tour.

However now that it is summer, I have been drawn towards the orange toned reds. My favourite, (which I don't think will be a surprise as everybody loves this) is MAC 'Lady danger'. This is your Scarlett Johansson red, very bright, perfect for summer.

So there we go, my favourite lipsticks....I hope these posts were helpful and weren't too long for you!

xoxo

Lipstick lover....continued

Welcome back to the second part of my lipstick series!

So if I haven't bored you enough lets move onto...

Corals
I have to say I find corals quite hard to wear, so I don't have tooooo many. I absoloutly love them, but on me, it just feels...weird. However, if I do wear a coral, in tends to be pretty bright, and the focus of my make up.... My favourite (and probably the only one I wear) is Hourglass Opaque Rouge in 'Muse'. This is just the most beautiful coral, it is super super bright as you will see down below, but it isn't tooo orange!

The Hourglass opaque rouge lipsticks are amazing, the go on like a gloss, then dry as a stain and last ALL DAY (I might actually do a review on them, as they are just TOO good not to!)

Sometimes if I want a more glossy texture I add Revlon Lip butter in peach parfait...

Muse with Peach Parfait on top

Peach Parfait on its own

Berry tones

MY FAVOURITE FAVOURITE!!
I love Berry tones, if I am in a rush or cannot be bothered thinking of what to wear, I always go for a berry shade. I have two that I love, one is a lip butter and the other is a lipstick....depending on whether a want an intense or casual look
The Lip butter is Revlon in 'Berry Smoothie'. This was the first lip butter a bought, and the only one I have repurchased...it is just the easiest texture and colour to wear, I love it!

The lipstick is Nars 'Dressed to kill' which I would describe as a satin finish, so still comfortable to wear. It would be a deeper berry colour than berry smoothie, with less pink in it.

Next time (if you are still awake!); favourite reds!

Lipstick Lover...

 So I was sorting out my make up a couple of days ago, and while I was going through my lip products, I subconsciously started to make a list of my favourites... which I later thought would be a good post...so here goes!

 Nudes;

I like quite a dark nude (with a hint of pink) As I am quite pale, light nudes just wash me out. My all time fave is Revlons 'Blush';

This is quite a neutral nude; Satin finish; very comfortable on. I usually put this on straight from the bullet, however if I wanted a really block nude I would put a lipliner on underneath (something like No7s nude)

I also love Lipstick Queen, 'Saint pinky nude' but I don't have it...as yet!

Pinks;

I love my pale pink lipsticks, so it's very hard to choose, especially when most of my lipsticks are pink. Pale pink was always my go to colour, but in the past year I have been swaying towards berry tones... however never fear. I still have my favourites! 

My all time favourite would have to be without a doubt MAC 'Snob'. This was probably my first ever MAC lipstick, my mum bought it for me for Christmas, and I wore it religiously! It is quite a blue toned pale pink.

A more recent favourite would have to be Chanel Rouge Coco shine in 'Saga'. I have only had this for about 2 months, but every time I want to wear pink, I head for this! (I believe this is limited edition, part of the 'Avant-Premiere de chanel collection.) This on the other hand, is a very warm pink.

In terms of dark pinks I usually go for quite a warm pink, my favourite being Kevyn Aucoin 'Forever'. This is quite a reddy pink, and a matte texture which I love, because it lasts all day but is still comfortable on the lips.

I also like Mac 'Impassioned' which is quite similar, but cooler toned.

Forever (top) Impassioned (bottom)

Part 2 will be Corals and Berry tones which will be up in a couple of days... if I continued on now you will all be asleep!

Exercise and Breakouts

To begin, I should probably tell you my skin type; I have oily acne prone skin. Constantly have either active breakouts or under the skin ones, so I try my hardest to keep them at bay.

However the last couple of months, I have really been getting into fitness,going to the gym about three to four times a week, and around this time my skin has been getting a lot worse...

Now I know that working out won't cause breakouts....but it did get me thinking about exercising and breakouts. So I came up with a few tips to make sure you don't break out just because you decided to work up a sweat!

1. One of the most important things is to make sure you are not cleaning your face too much. If you cleanse more often than you should then you are stripping your skin of all the natural oils, so your skin will overproduce more oil....hello breakouts!

If you go to the gym in the morning then just splash your face with water, then cleanse after the gym, if you go in the evening, cleanse before you go to take off your make up off and then after you can do your second cleanse and the rest of your routine. This just means you aren't cleansing too much but you are still cleaning your skin after the gym!

2. Another tip is to try not to touch your face when you are actually at the gym, I know this can be quite hard, but bacteria on your hands will definitely mount up from all the gym equipment and sweat, and you don't want to put that on your face! if you need to wipe your face, use a clean dry towel.

3. Also if you have long hair, make sure you pull it away from your face as you don't want any additional dirt or oils clogging your pores!!

4. Lastly and probably MOST importantly, drink lots of water...more than you normally would, as you are sweating more...so need to keep hydrated!

I hope this helps :)

Best ways to remove make up

The only thing I hate about make up is, how annoying it is to take it off. Especially when you wake up in the morning with panda eyes!!

Having said this, there are a few types of products that for me make this task a LOT easier...

Cleansing balms/Oils

I have put balms and oils in the same section because they work in pretty much the same way, and alot of balms turn into an oil when mixed with water.

At the minute these seem to be the most popular products to remove your make up with..definitely the quickest and most effective way...NO PANDA EYES!

Directions; apply to dry skin and massage it in, this will dissolve all your make up. Even eye make up!

My favourites have to be the Emma Hardie cleansing balms and Nude cleansing oil.

Micellar waters

Again a very popular product at the minute. Micellar waters are great for taking of your make up on the go, or if you are just taking makeup off to put it back again (hence VERY popular with make up artists). In this sense they are great make up removers, but not great cleansers. They are not effective as your one and only cleanser...double cleansing would be a good idea.

I love these for removing my eye make up. So gentle.

The one I am using at the minute is the Ren Micellar water, but I do prefer the Bioderma Micellar water.

For me these two types of products are the best at removing make up. You can use cleansing milks, but this takes a while, and after trying for five minutes I always find myself reaching for....

Wipes...AKA the best way NOT to remove your make up!

I hate wipes, for several reasons;

1. Harsh and abrasive even so called 'gentle' ones still hurt my skin

2. Unhygienic... you are just moving make up all around your face...not washing it off

3. Used as an eye make up remover can cause wrinkles!!!!

So please think twice before using wipes!!

Hope this was useful

BB creams

In Space NK this month,its all about skincare.

On one of the hotspots is about BB creams...so I thought, I would talk about my favorite one; the Satin perfection BB cream from Ren...






This cream is silicone free and adapts to your skin tone. It is meant to leave the skin luminous, even and non oily.


Now I am a person who needs a lot of coverage.... perfect skin? Not something I am blessed with. However when this came out, I thought I would give it a go and just use my trusty secret camouflage on any imperfections.

First impressions? Well I was sort of confused, if I am honest. I really liked how my skin looked fresh, natural, radiant. But I felt naked. I needed to cover up!! But I persevered, and by the end of the day, I really liked it.

Not only that but every SINGLE time I wear this, people comment on how radiant and fresh I look. Yayy!

I definitely think its great for that person who doesn't want to wear foundation every day

Important to note: It is SPF 15.

This has definitely become my go to bb cream

Have you tried it? What are your thoughts?

Hourglass Ambient lighting powders....the new generation powders?

These Hourglass powders I am so excited about!

But first,before I get too excited, I want to talk about powders in general.

Powders generally, are used to set the make up...right? Why else would you use them?

Now days everyone wants that 'dewy glow' 'youthful radiance' ...myself included even though I have oily skin! (thanks to the Hourglass mineral veil primer I can have it... SEPARATE REVIEW NEEDED!!) So how can you have dewy skin, but still have your make up last all day? Its impossible...right?

WRONG

The Hourglass Ambient powders are the answer....(with a little help from the primer)

These powders come in six shades, and are for want of a better term...your own personal lighting system... each powder creates a different lighting effect, and all of them will give you an airbrushed finish blurring any imperfections (blemishes, open pores, wrinkles etc) You can use them to highlight, to sculpt,to set, it is up to you!

Each one will give you the illusion of different lighting;

Ethereal light and diffused light are the two out of all of them that I would recommend setting your make up with. Ethereal mimics a moonlight glow while Diffused has yellow tones in which will conceal redness while giving your skin a beautiful morning glow.

Dim light is a neutral colour.. a perfect balance of warm and cool tones. This powder is gonna blur imperfections giving you that awesome flawless finish. This could be used as a setting powder...but us pale ladies beware.... you need a LITTLE bit!!

Mood light is a pale purple shade and is also my fave! its brilliant to brighten dull, tired skin... giving you a forgiving radiant complexion in any light!

Luminous light is a champagne colour. It is the one you would use as a highlighter as it has the most sheen creating a candlelight glow.Perfect for a night out!

Radiant light is like a shimmery bronzer, that will give you that sun kissed glow. But unlike a normal powder you get that amazing airbrush like finish.

I am loving these powders right now. Mood light and diffused for me please!

Go to your nearest Spacenk store and let me know what you think!

Hourglass can be found at SpaceNK online;

http://uk.spacenk.com/BRANDS/BRANDS,en_GB,sc.html?prefn1=brand&prefv1=HOURGLASS&brd=Hourglass

T3...the science of fabulous?

T3

The first thing you need to know about me is that I suck at hair. Really badly.  I love hair products,  I buy them in bulk...But I just can not use them!  So it stands to reason that when I was informed that I was going to have hair training in work by the brand T3, I started to freak out a little... I'm going to have to style hair? I CAN'T EVEN DO MY OWN. Then I thought this could be an opportunity... 

So training day came; I am HOOKED. I think that this brand may help me overcome my fear of hair....and actually make me good at it...?! (hard to believe I know)

Little bit about the brand....

T3 is powered by advanced tourmaline and softaire technology that makes styling quick and easy and (the best part) GOOD for you hair? WHAT?

Tourmaline ions help frizz (79% reduction in frizz) and volume (93% increase in body) all the while giving you that nice shine that we all want...I know I do!

Other hair tools that claim to have tourmaline ions in them may be coated in it but will inevitably wear off over time. However the ions have been melted into the metal meaning as long as you have the product, it will have the ions.

The range may seem expensive however as the ions are melted in to the metal, it will last you far longer than any generic hair tool will. Its an investment .. I try to look at it like this... I would happily spend £200 on clothes, why not treat my hair?

I  have to admit, I was skeptical. I always am when it comes to haircare.... because nothing works for me. 

However I tried the curling wand... being a curling wand virgin, I was a tad nervous, but it was so easy! Less than 5 minutes to do all my hair... WOW

So far I am very impressed with the range....which launches in SpaceNK in early May. I may have to make a cheeky purchase... the featherweight hairdryer is right up my street....proven to be better for your hair than air drying...I'll never look like a drowned rat again! (probably a few more posts to come on T3 after my splurge!)

At the moment in the UK only the hairdryers (both featherweight and featherweight luxe) the straighteners and curling wand are available exclusively in SpaceNK until November 2013;

http://uk.spacenk.com/T3/T3,en_GB,sc.html?par=SPUK101

There are some great tutorials and reviews on youtube, go see for yourself and let me know what you think....I for one have been converted!