Favourite new lip colour

I've been on the hunt for a long lasting lip colour and I've found a few that are long wearing however they tend to dry my lips out so I can't wear bright colours on my lips without it looking manky (which no one wants)!

Over the past 6 months or so my lipstick collection has definitely grown with a varying range of brands... all good in their own way however as a birthday treat to myself I decided to buy myself a new lipstick. I was trying some new foundation at Bare Minerals (I bought their foundation as well but that's another story) and they asked me if I wanted to try some colour on my lips so I asked for a bright red as I don't shy away from colour.

She applied the Pretty Amazing lipcolour in Strength which is a rich red colour. It's a hydrating glaze that imparts an opaque colour... it's definitely not a sheer tint however you can apply a tiny amount and blend it to tone it down if you so wished... Throughout the day my lips were feeling glossy, like I was constantly wearing a balm and my lips didn't flake, the colour didn't bleed and I only reapplied a couple of times throughout the day so it's fabulous for when you're out and about.

I try to wear really bright lipstick at work and after wearing this after a couple of days my lips were still not chapped or dry. So I decided to go out and buy another colour... This time a bright pink in Ambition. Seriously loving these lipcolours (not quite a gloss, not quite a lipstick). I'm just hoping they bring out a lot more colours for me to play with.

Bridging the gap between skincare and make up

I know it's been a while since my last blog post but the Christmas and New Year period got away from me but now it's 2013 and I'm back with more exciting products to talk about!

Firstly I'll start with the latest and greatest new product from my favourite brand, Dermalogica, the Skinperfect Primer SPF30. Now the lucky few of you who are from the USA, Canada or Australia have already been playing with this product for a while now but here in the UK we've had to wait patiently for it's launch and finally it's here!

A primer is used to smooth and prepare the skin for make up and to extend the wear of your foundation. However, most primers focus on the cosmetic side of things rather than skin health. Many primers contain blocking ingredients that can lead to break outs and irritation which can eventually lead to your skin looking a lot worse for wear.

This new product the Skinperfect Primer SPF30 from Dermalogica has been added to their ever popular AGE Smart system. It delivers radient and even skin, invisible sun protection and it is also a powerful treatment for your skin.

Why is it so good you ask? Well it's got silicones to help smooth and even out skin texture and gives your skin an amazing velvety feel and hydrolyzed Pearl and natural earth minerals even skin tone and give your skin a very subtle tint and glow. Physical sunscreens Titanium Dioxide and Zinc Oxide give your skin broad spectrum protection without leaving it looking chalky and a blend of peptides and proteins help firm the skin and stimulate collagen production... what more could you ask for?

I've been using this product for about a month now and even though it has an SPF in it I still definitely wear it under my make up in the evening when I'm going out. Compared to other primers on the market it's relatively inexpensive as you really do only need the tiniest amount and I've barely made a dint in mine so far.

Take my word for you... you won't be disappointed!

One the sixth day of Christmas my true love gave to me...

Lift and Firm skincare from Espa.
This lovely little set from Espa containing their Lift & Firm Intensive Eye Serum and Lift & Firm Moisturiser.

The Lift & Firm Intensive Eye Serum is a lightweight serum that is designed to firm and smooth the eye area, stimulate cell renewal while also brightening and de-puffing the eye area. Micro Algae works to firm and lift the skin around the eye area while Golden Root brightens and de-puffs the eyes.

The Lift & Firm Moisturiser is a face cream designed to help firm the skin and diminish fine lines. It contains Sea Amber to help stimulate collagen production to help lift and firm the skin and Anise Extract which aids in reducing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.

I used these products for about one week morning and evening and they didn't make any notable difference however I have always been of the opinion that it can take roughly 4 weeks before you start to see any visible difference using products due to skin cell turnover. They didn't make my skin breakout which is always a concern when starting a new product and considering the number of late nights I've been having, the Lift & Firm Intensive Eye Serum must be doing something as normally my eyes would be so puffy with dark circles.  

On the fifth day of Christmas my true love gave to me...

Big hair from Richard Ward...
Couture Hair by Richard Ward is a volumising root booster which also helps to control thin, flyaway or fine/weak hair... and for those of you that know me know that I have these problems with me hair.

It's been formulated with Humidity Defence technology that helps cope with all kinds of weather from the grey, drizzle of London to the heat and humidity of Thailand. It also contains Kukui oil and wheat protein that helps boost volume in your hair without the sticky, tacky residue other volumisers can leave you.

You apply this to damp hair in sections from the roots to mid lengths and blow dry your hair as normal. You can also spritz on dry as hair and style your hair as normal. It will leave your hair more volumous without looking over-styled and gives your hair a lustrous texture. I will be definitely investing in a full size bottle of this when this one runs out!

On the fourth day of Christmas my true love gave to me...

Soft, touchable hands from L'Occitane.

I've actually used this Shea Butter Hand Cream on and off for many years and have always loved it.
It contains 20% Shea Butter which is very nourishing for your skin (great during winter months) and it's high in antioxidant Vitamin E to keep skin hydrated. This hand cream also absorbs really well into your skin so you're not left with a greasy feeling on your skin. Make sure you massage it into your cuticles as well!
Now that the weather has definitely cooled and I'm having to wear gloves much more, my skin has become so much drier and my cuticles have definitely looked better.
The great thing about this hand cream is that it comes in 2 different sizes. It comes in the full 150ml size which is great to leave by your bed so you always remember to use it before going to bed and it comes in a handy 30ml travel size so that you will always have some in your bag or your desk at work so your hands stay soft and smooth all day long.

On the third day of Christmas my true love gave to me...

Full, black lashes from Benefit Cosmetics.
They're real! Mascara is a great find. It's a long lasting mascara that adds volume, length and lift.

It is so long lasting that it's actually quite difficult to remove. I find I need to use an oil based cleanser to remove the majority of it but then I need to follow that with another eye make up remover to remove the rest of it... However if you do happen to sleep in it (which is always unadvisable) you wont wake up with it all over your face or pillow... Of course I never do this...
My eyelashes are not the longest or the darkest so a good mascara is always something I'm on the lookout for.

As you can see from the below picture my lashes are so much more noticeable. They're thicker and longer. This is probably not a mascara that I would wear on a daily basis but definitely something I would use for those occasions where a little more is needed.  

On the second day of Christmas my true love gave to me...

Super curly lashes...
From The Vintage Cosmetics Company I received a new eyelash curler. I've always been a big fan of curling my lashes and my current eyelash curler definitely needed to be replaced so you can imagine my happiness when on the 2nd day of December I opened the window of my advent calendar and there was my brand new vintage eyelash curler.

In such a pretty little box as well. So now I can say goodbye to my (very) old eyelash curler and get started with my shiny, new one...

I've spoken to some people who don't see the necessity of having an eyelash curler but the difference it makes to my lashes is just short of false lashes. They just make your eyes pop open.