New BareMinerals Goodies

Hello all! So on my annual summer vacay to California, I made a pit stop at you guessed it the
Bareminerals store and picked up some real beauts! I spend a fortune everytime I go in there, but it's once a year right?!


1. Intensive Glow Pads Brightening Treatment-These are vitamin infused pads that brighten and increase cell turnover to improve overall skin tone. They have two sides, a smooth side for everyday use and a textured side a more intense use like a once a week boost. It says to use at night after cleansing followed by your usual night time routine. I am still testing these out so I'm not sure what I think of them yet. So far so good.

 

2. Active Cell Renewal Night Serum-

This helps your skins ability to to reach its ideal renewal state. It maximises cellular renewal and hydrates yours skin. Leaves skin firm and supple. Use a pearl size amount and smooth over cleansed skin. I really like this,I feel like its doing its job. Skin feels hydrated and plumped up. Nice!

3. Blush in Vintage Peach- oh boy this is a complete dupe for Nars Orgasm blush.

 

4. 100% Natural Lip Colour in Bellini- not only do I love the name, but the colour is divine! It's pretty similar to the blush infact. Its a pink frost with gold flecks. Gorgeous my new favourite!

 

 

5. Marvelous Moxie Lipgloss in Show Off- another apt name for me ;-)

This smells like vanilla, mint cream, ah its divine! It's a gorgeous creamy pink. Hydrates and softens lips with natural botanical. Perfect over the Bellini lipstick.

 

 

6. i.d. Bare Escentuals Shaping Eye Brush-This is perfect for packing on colour on the centre of your eyelid and using the tapered tip for  shading in the crease, switch to the other end for precision eyelining and for filling in eyebrows. Love this brush, especially for travel.

 

 

My Hair Care Essentials

These are my essential hair care products. I wash my hair about twice a week, and on the second of those washes, I do a deep condition, with my Macadamia deep hair repair mask. I mostly let my hair dry naturally but when I do blow dry it I use a heat activated leave in treatment to protect it. I always comb through my hair getting rid of any kinks or knots with my Tangle Teezer.

                                          
Macadamia Deep Hair Repair Mask
Aveda Colour Conserve Shampoo
AussiDeep Hair Repair Maske 3 Minute Miracle
Mark Hill No Knots
Kerasaste Ciment Thermique
Bumble&Bumble Sea Salt Spray
Tangle Teezer
Magic Star wide tooth comb.


Thank you for reading :-) I would love to know what are some of your hair care favourites!

Healthy lunch at work

I find it quite hard to eat healthy at work and not spend loads of money at the same time. I feel like I waste so much money on food at work. If you are spending £5.00 a day and that's not including coffees, that comes to roughly £100 a month! on what? a sandwich, drink and crisps? shoddy salads? I rather spend that on makeup! My colleague and I do a salad ingredient shop and get a packet of wraps once a week, split between us. We make our own salads at work, sometimes we add prawns or chicken but mostly veg. We always dress it olive oil and lemon juice. Heres one we made earlier!

What do you do for lunch?

OOTD- Working Girl

I think I looked rather smart today ;-) My skirt and blazer are from H&M and my boob tube I got years ago from Jane Norman.

I wore these super navy suede booties from good old Marks and Spencers. They are so comfortable, they have that special squidgy insole. It was a good day. It's funny how much better I feel when I'm happy with my outfit. It's worth putting in a bit of extra effort thinking about what to wear for the day

Mark Hill No Knots Detangling Spray

Hello! So I have super straight hair but once wet becomes a tangled mess! It must be the vigorous way I wash it haha. I use a  Tangle Teezer http://www.tangleteezer.com/ ( amaze, couldn't live without this) but my hair just pings and snaps no matter how well I've conditioned it. I have bought leave in sprays before but all they do is weigh my hair down and make it super greasy. So I came across this the other day in Boots. Its aptly named No Knots. It says at the bottom no tugs,no pulls, just manageable hair. Its right on the money honey! This is full of minerals and vitamins, smell yummy and you can use it through out the day to freshen up hair! I spritz on my washed, wet hair and my TT just glides through. This honestly is the first detangler that has worked and Ive tried a far few. I shall be using this by the pool and the beach :-)

Gluten Free Cereal Maple Sunrise

Quite recently I have been suffering with terrible bloating and was worried it could be Irritable Bowl Syndrome. I went to my GP and he said it could be stress or my diet. I started to read up on bloating and found out wheat and whole grain could be the culprit. Every time I ate wholegrain cereals or bread my stomach would balloon, people thought I was pregnant! It was really painful and super embarrassing. I was so worried to eat anything. My sissy who has an entire blog on healthy eating http://feelgoodfancyfree.blogspot.com/  told me about this cereal as she has cut out all types of wheat and wholegrain, she even makes flourless and gluten free cakes! So I have cut out all forms of regular pasta,rice,bread for gluten free where I can and I feel so much better for it. This cereal is delish and I get no bloating at all! I have this with Almond milk as I have also cut out dairy. You can find this in the Free From isle in your local supermarket.

Fake Tan Favs

These are my ultimate favourite face and body self tanners. I recently discovered Xen-Tan weekly self-tan and I have to say it is by far one of the best, most natural looking self tanners I have ever used. It's got a green tone to it that stops the orange effect so you end up with a gorgeous golden colour that looks as convincing as a sun tan!

This actually fades like a real tan too, how amazing is that! Its paraben free, oil free and contains moisturising properties for soft supple skin. Clarins Auto-Bronzante is specifically for face and decollete. I put some on a cotton round and wipe over my face,neck and chest. This absorbs nicely without a greasy film and perfect for oily spot prone skin like mine as it doesn't break me out. I use this at night before I got to bed. St Tropez Gradual Tan is an everyday moisturiser with a touch of self-tan and vitamin E. Jergens Natural Glow is one of my favourite gradual tanners and this one has firming properties as well. I always stock up on these when I visit the States, its great for after your holidays to help maintain and top up your tan.

Summer Fragrance

So the sun is finally shining and I feel like summer is here. Time for a new summer fragrance yay!
I picked up one of the new Polo Big Pony Collections from Boots ( got to get my points)

This is described as fruity floral. It is a blend of cranberry and tonka. I find this fresh and sweet at the same time, just how I like it. Lovely for summer evenings. I love the colour combination.

My most used and favourite beauty products of the moment.

These have been my everyday go to face and bath products:

The Little Bubble Co Vanilla Biscuit shower gel which is a total dupe of the Philosophy but at a fraction of the price and just as good if not better. They come in lots of different flavours but this one is my most favourite!

Aveda Colour Conserve shampoo for colour treated hair, this leaves my hair so clean and soft. This is a plant infused shampoo with 100% organic aroma. I used to use this years ago and recently stumbled across it again, forgot how much I love this.

BareMinerals Purifying Facial Cleanser, I use this in the morning and sometimes in the shower to remove my make up if I'm lazy to use my Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish. I works really well and leaves my skin smooth and clean.

Bourjois Delice De Poudre Bronzing Power, this is the perfect pre-tan bronzer because its really light and gives a healthy glow rather than a mega bronzed up look. I use this for contouring and on my cheeks for a bit of a sun kissed glow. Smells delish too. I use a big fluffy brush to apply this. When I am tanned, I switch to Benefit Hoola Bronzer as I find its alot darker.

Urban Decay De Slick Oil Control Make up Setting Spray. I use this surprise surprise to set my make up, its the last step of my routine and I find it keeps my make up fresh and my face oil free all day! Its the best thing ever!

Bobbi Brown Illuminating Bronzing Powder in Antigua, I use this as a blush as it is in fact pink with a slight shimmer. Its a really subtle soft pink that just warms up the cheeks with a bit of colour.

MAC Pro Long wear Concealer in NC20 I simply adore this concealer, it works a treat under my eyes, dries to a matte finish and doesn't crease at all. I also use it over my eyelids and it keeps my eye shadows put all day. I apply this with a damp beauty blender.

BareMinerals Matte Foundation is my all time HG foundation! This stuff is phenomenal. It improves my skin quality, maintains a matte finish all day, I never need to touch up during the day and gives the perfect adjustable coverage. I always go back to this, I've been a using bareminerals for ten years! I remember the days when you had to search high and low in boutique salons to find this stuff, now there is a counter almost everywhere! I use the shade fairly light, but I'm light in the original, the matte come up slightly darker. What I love about this foundation is that whether I'm tanned or pale it always melds with my skin and matches to perfection unlike liquid foundations that are always too pink, too light, too dark etc.

Maybelline One by One Volume Express Mascara. This for me is easy to use, I love the rubber wand and the way it makes my lashes look long and glossy. This is my 2nd tube so far. I just really like it.

Victoria's Secret Beauty Rush Soothing Lip Balm in Pink Sugar. This is super glossy with some sparkles, has a great minty taste and keeps my lips glossy for a long time. I usually put this on in the morning at around 8am and my lips are still soft and glossy at 11am. So pretty good. I've got one in the nude colour too which I use at night.

Last but not least is the almighty Beauty Blender! This little gem is the bees knees! I use it to blend in my concealer under my eyes. It's great for liquid foundation too. All you do it run the bb under a tap, then squeeze out the excess water and bounce upon your visage! Voila! Airbrushed to perfection.

So those are my everyday essentials what are some of yours?

Summer Goodies

So I went on a mini shopping spree the other day, in search of some fancy sandals. I have got tiny feet (size 1-2) so its really hard to find shoes that aren't falling of my feet. So I pop into Dune, and low and behold they are having a mega sale, and I found these beauties!! Originally £65 each down to £36 each! bargain! and the sales assistant said the size 3 comes up really small that she had to go up a size, perfect for me. They actually fit well are are just what I had in mind. The bracelet and the ring in the left hand corner are from Banana Republic, sticking with the gold and brown theme I thought these would go hand in hand with my gold sandals and a black maxi dress!
Watch my summer haul below :-)

I also fancied a big floppy hat to wear on the beach or by the pool. I came across this beauty in Banana Republic on sale from £39.00 to just £13.50!!
This is going to look the bomb with a white or navy bikini!
         

I love blue and white stripes, can you tell ;-)

Happy Summertime everyone!!

                                     

Amazing way to apply Bare Minerals Matte Foundation!

As you may know I love my BareMinerals, have been using it for years! I was so delighted when Matte came out, because I have really oily skin and it really is true to its name. Nothing and I mean nothing keeps my face oil free like this does. I literally don't blot till the end of the day! wow!
I have fallen head over heals inlove with this application method. I know alot of people have problems with the coverage of BM matte VS the original So applying it this way gives alot more coverage in one go.
Ok so what I do is spritz Mac fix + on my kabuki brush then swirl it into my BareMinerals and it turns it into the most wonderful consistency that covers in one swirl, tap and buff motion leaving skin utterly smooth and unbelievably flawless! My skin looks super smooth, beautifully matte and it doesn't budge all day! Perfect for the summertime. I finish with a spray of Urban Decay de slick setting spray. Watch my video below to see how I apply it.

                                          

Giorgio Armani Eyes To Kill Mascara

 This is a pretty pricey mascara but thats what you expect from the fabulous Giorgio Armani.  It say - Coats lashes with maxi volume & darkest black colour. Instantly thickens & separates lashes. Creates full, luscious lashes that stay defined all day. Dresses the eye to new depth & intensity. Long wearing without flaking or smudging. I would agree :-)
It is a luscious mascara indeed. The tube is like metal and has a heavy weight to it. Makes my lashes silky black, super long and separated with a fair bit of volume. I got this for a Birthday present don't think I would purchase it myself.

Bare Minerals Matte Mineral Foundation

Hello all hope the month of February is treating you well. So I have decided to give my Bare Minerals Matte another go. When you go onto their website http://bareminerals.co.uk/ it kind of reels you into their mineral glory and I get obsessed all over again! I have the shade Light which I think is a tad too dark for me at the moment. I apply with the kabuki brush which gives the fullest coverage of all the brushes.  This takes getting used to and patience. You have to make sure you have moisturised well. Then starting on the outside of your face near you cheekbones gently buff working your way into the centre of you face. You don't get immediate coverage with this straight away, you really have to buff and buff which can be annoying but the pay off is rather spectacular and the more I use it the better my skin seems to look. I have an oily T-zone so this is perfect for keeping the oil at bay. I still use the mineral veil over top to give a real soft focus glow. I have been using this for a few days now and I think its working for me. It definitely lasts all day and I only blot twice if that.

I just love the whole concept of  BareMinerals and its philosophy. The CEO Leslie Blodgett is such a lovely, down to earth person I just adore her personality and how she takes the time to interact and inspire people all over the world.

I also love the packaging oh its so beautiful and the layout of boutiques are stunning! I even love the type font!!

Now too see what I shall purchase next... I have my eye on the new Active Cell Renewal Night Serum and the new eyeshadow quads! oooh how exciting! Oh and I just ordered the Brightening Prime Time Primer! YAY!

Lush Cosmetic Warrior Face Mask

I absolutely love this mask! Its the Lush Cosmetic Warrior face mask for oily spot prone skin. Its made from kaolin,fresh green grapes,free range eggs,honey,cornstarch,glycerin,fresh garlic and tea tree oil. I pick this up every time I'm in Lush! Sure it smells very garlicky but it does the job! when ever I'm having a breakout I reach for this and it clears up my skin nicely! I put this on after I have cleansed and scrubbed. I leave it on for around 10 minutes till it gets all dry and rinse with warm water. My pores look super cleaned out after this.

My current foundations

So here are some foundations that I currently own and use intermittently. For work I use Estee Lauder DoubleWear Light, this stays put all day and does not get shiny once set with powder. I had been using Revlon Colourstay for combination/oily for a long time, nearly a year!! I have never finished a bottle of foundation since this one! It is very long lasting, stays fresh and doesn't oxidise. Sometimes it can look to makeupy if that makes sense? Then there is Laura Mercier Silk Creme, the rave reviews for this was unbelievable so I had to try it!! This takes alot of getting used to and the application method is key. I have applied this with fingers, an assortment of brushes and a sponge. The best way this works, I find is with a sponge. It is very thick in consistency, but spreads like a dream. You really don't need alot at all. I find if you put just a bit too much it gets cakey throughout the day. Just a small amount spread lightly with a sponge give a beautiful finish. This does get shiny during the day and I have to blot several times but it does look beautiful in pictures! I set this with MAC Mineralize and normally wear this on the weekends. Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk this is great if you have a perfect complexion or had a late night and want to look fresh. I haven't found the best way to apply this yet, it doesn't give me enough coverage and it makes my face shine like a disco ball. So I only ever use this on super skin days. Lastly Chanel Double Perfection Matt Powder Foundation so I got this off EBay as it is not sold here in the UK. I wanted this so badly as Cupcakekissesxxx on youtube swears by this.

This does not give me any coverage and does not last till lunch time! My face literally eats this up.

I really wanted to love this so have tried it again and again, wet , dry, brush, sponge but to no avail.

I think this for me just works for touch up during the day of as a setting powder.

The quest for the perfect foundation continues.

What are some of your go to foundations? and how do you like to apply them?

My favourite products of 2011

 Here are my favourite beauty products of 2011.

This is what I have been using religiously! Skincare is ofcourse my beloved Liz Earl Hot Cloth Cleanser which removes even eye makeup. It contains rosemary,chamomile,cocoa butter and eucalyptus essential oil. It exfoliates,softens and leaves skin clean and smooth, love this! Ive been using this for more than 6 years now,sometimes I stray but always come back to this. I finish with the Liz Earl Instant Boost Tonic, which is alcohol free contains organic aloe vera, calendula, cucumber and natural vitamin E. It is soothing and fresh smells of roses, leaves my skin comfortable and ready for moisturiser.I am using the dry/sensitive as my skin is drier in the winter months. It intensely moisturises using borage and avocado oil, echinacea,beta-caroten and natural vitamin E.

I can not rave enough about this skincare its truly amazing!!!!                                  

All of Liz Earls ingredients are naturally sourced, sustainable and never tested on animals.  

Next up is foundation and concealer. I have been loving Estee Lauder Double Wear Light in the colour Intensity 2.0 I have been applying this with my Beauty Blender just using the sides to smooth the foundation on. This has been working a treat!

I then use MAC Pro Longwear Concealer in NW25 under my eyes, and on my eye lids. This baby doesn't budge or crease. Stays put all day and its matt so barely have to put any powder on top to set. Love this stuff. Only problem is the pump pumps out such a big blob! I end up having to find other areas on my face to put this so I don't waste it.

                   

Ive been using Dior Nude Mineral power to brighten up my under eye area.

Its so light on the skin, it has this cooling water effect that feels rather refreshing.

Its nice to use for subtle highlighting down the centre of the nose and on the cheek bones.

                                                

Last but by no means least- HAIR! Beauty gurus such as makeup by Mel and All that glitters21 have raved about Macadamia Natural Oil Deep Repair Masque.So I had to try this ofcourse haha. Its says its a revitalising hair reconstructeur for dry,damaged hair. It contains macadamia, argon, tea tree and chamomile oil, aloe and algae extracts. You apply liberally after shampooing and leave on for 7-8 minutes for deep penetration. Says to use once or twice a week.

This smells divine, like I have just stepped out of the salon. It leaves hair silky soft. I colour my hair blonde so this is a must for keeping my dry ends lush! The consistency is thick and creamy. I got mine off Amazon.

                         

Next is Kerastase Ciment Thermique- Heat activated reconstructor milk for weakened hair. This is a leave in heat protector/conditioner. I use on the days I am not using Macadamia Natural Oil. I take a ten pence size amount in the palm of my hand and finger through my wet hair. You have to use a blow dryer to get the full effects of this hence heat activated.  This is expensive at £18 a pop but worth it. It leaves my hair so soft and manageable its just gorgeous!