May favorites

Yesterday I did a post about Unfavorites, which if you consider the amount of products that I try every year since I'm a beauty junkie were surprisingly few, but today as it's the end of the month we move to the other end of the scale - it's time for favorites, what I have loved the most in May so it's kind of ironic that my first product this month is something I bought specifically for Christmas.

You may remember that I went a little bit OTT with the amazing Christmas collection from Lush so it probably isn't a surprise that I'm still working my way through what I got in that massive Lush haul. The Ponche Shower Gel (£8.95) was part of the limited Christmas edition range, but personally I thought it worked better in Spring time since it's a fresh zesty and invigorating blend of juicy citrus fruits, tropical sweetness, warm spicy cinnamon and tequila - what an amazing cocktail. Even though I LOVE the Lush shower gels I often find that they are a bit harsh on the skin, e.g. Snow Fairy that makes my skin feel a bit stripped of moisture, but Ponche is lovely and creamy and gives a wonderful deep cleanse without leaving the skin dehydrated. As the sun has had its hat on, I've spent a lot more time outdoors and have managed to get some color, most of it quite unintentionally and some days my skin has even felt just a tiny bit tight. That's when it's nice have a cooling shower and then to apply some Hawaiian Tropic Silk Hydration After Sun (£13). The consistency is lovely, light and silky with a texture somewhere in between a lotion and a gel, which absorbs instantly into the skin, feeling incredibly soothing and restoring. It has a delicious sweet fruit salad scent of coconut and papaya and its yummy enough to eat. It's not exactly the most affordable after sun you can get since you only get 180 ml and during the summer I go through buckets of this, but the silky cooling sensation and the fabulous tropical scent are worth every penny!

A lot of people talk about several products as their skin saviours, but if I really had to, I think I could even narrow mine down to just one item: Origins Drink Up Intensive Overnight Mask (£22). I've mentioned this amazing mask previously - it's an all year round multi purpose product that I wouldn't dream of ever being without and as my skin is getting more exposure to the sun, this little beauty will be invaluable. It's famous for its lovely whipped creamy consistency and fresh orange peel scent and it does wonders for skin that needs a little bit of TLC. One application of this in the evening, and you'll wake up in the morning to soft, supple and hydrated skin. I use this mask a few times a week over night, but when my skin feels as if it needs something a little extra I'll even use it as an intense pre-makeup treatment for wonderful smooth skin for a deeply moisturising sensation that lasts all day.

Earlier this month I did a post on my latest scent obsession, Aerin's Lilac Path EdP (£85) - you can read the review here, and I'm not even sure that obsession comes close to describing how much I love this EdP. It's a graceful, delicate and airy soft floral scent mixing lilac, orange flower, jasmine and tiny bit of amber. It may sound like a heavy flowery granny scent, but there is nothing old fashioned or sickly sweet about this refined, harmonious, chic fragrance - it's a perfect Spring scent that captures sunny blue skies, delicate flowers in bloom, and playing garden games in balmy summer evenings. I'm so besotted and impressed with this exquisite scent that I've already added it to my birthday wishlist... for October... well, Him Indoors might need plenty of notice and this way I can gently remind him a good few times before then.

As I've mentioned before I've tried a lot of lip glosses this year, but the one I keep wearing and putting in my handbag is the gorgeous YSL Gloss Volupte (£21) and specifically the shade 04 Golden, a true rose pink with a subtle blue undertone and incredible high gloss finish. This is one of those gloss turn stain products that has amazing pigmentation and long wear. It has a smooth and light non sticky formula that adds a lot of hydration, giving a lovely plumping effect and after the initial glossiness has settled into a stain, the finish will easily last for at least 5 hrs even after eating and drinking. I'm so impressed with this pleasant formula that feels so comfortable to wear and compared to some of the other lip gloss launches this year from e.g. Dior, this is still the one to beat for me.

Something that I'm never without is lip balm, and if that should ever happen I'll go straight into the nearest Boots or pharmacy and get another one right away, but for some reason I have really struggled lately to find a great lip balm. Many of them give a little but of hydration and gloss, but it disappears quite quickly and often leave my lips feeling quite dry afterwards, but the last product among these May favorites is a lip balm that I actually quite like - the Soap & Glory A Great Kisser Lip Balm (£5) in Juicy Peach. It's made from mango butter, apricot butter, lingonberry oil and pomegranate extract to add moisture, protection from the weather and to prevent loss of hydration. It comes in a little pot that reminds me of vaseline and the consistency isn't too dissimilar, although A Great Kisser isn't as waxy and oily as vaseline. It does contain mineral oil, so if you're concerned about using products that has this as an ingredient, you might want to avoid this one. The lip balm is scented with a peach scent, that is a tiny bit synthetic, but still pleasant and it gives a lovely shine at the same time as it looks after your lips. Soap & Glory also offers the Great Kisser in Chocolate Cherry and Vanilla Bean and they both sound so tempting, I might just get them as well.

Dior's Trianon Makeup Look with Pastel Fontanges

As you may remember I've had a love affair with the Dior Trianon Spring Collection ever since I first saw the promo pictures at the end of last yea, and at the launch event at Debenhams I treated myself to some of the products in this stunning collection. I've done a separate review of the beautiful Trianon Eyeshadow Palette in Pastel Fontanges (you can read it here) which is pastel heaven in a lovely little Dior box with its sheer, soft shades and today I thought I would try to recreate the look from the promo photos.

Let's start with the complexion - usually I apply concealer over a foundation, but in order to make it look as light and even as possible I actually applied my Rimmel Wake Me Up Concealer (£5.49) under the foundation rather than on top. It's a great light and smooth concealer and I have somehow mysteriously managed to match it perfectly with my foundation. The delicate, petal look and feel of the Pastel Fontanges range of colors is matched with a flawless, youthful and dewy looking skin so to achieve something that's at least similar, I brought out my preferred heavy hitter when it comes to preparing your skin, the YSL Forever Youth Liberator Foundation (£37). This foundation gives excellent medium to full coverage for an even and flawless tone without feeling heavy on the skin and it also adds nourishment throughout the day to keep the skin supple and plump. The shade I'm wearing is not as pale and porcelaine as they've used in the promo photos, but it does have that subtle glow which I've then enhanced even further using the amazing budget beauty MUA Undress Your Skin Highlighting Powder (£3). I've completely fallen in love with this highlighter and wearing it on the top of your cheek bones, and maybe even a little above your cupid's bow gives a wonderful light and subtle smoothing shimmer effect. 

For my brows I used the Rimmel Professional Eyebrow Pencil (£2.99) in Hazel 2, which works perfectly for this look since it's not too dark, but it still gives enough definition of the brow arch. For the eyelids I used all of the shades in the Dior 5 Couleurs Trianon Edition Eyeshadow Palette (£41) in Pastel Fontanges 234, starting with a wash of the shimmery ballerina pink all over the lid as a base. It's a gorgeous shade and for me this is the shade that's easiest to wear out of the five since it works so well in combination with both neutrals and purples too. Having done the pink base, we move on to the slightly more intimidating light periwinkle blue - which in itself is beautiful, but in the promo photo there's a lot of it, applied all over the brow bone and under the eye. As you blend it in with the light pink, it creates a lovely contrast although I must admit that wearing a blue shade this shade, definitely pushes me out of my comfort zone. After that I mixed the light silver grey with the lemon chiffon color and added to the inner corner of my eye and slightly below to brighten that area, and to reflect the other shades. Finally I lined the lash line with the darker soft gunmetal grey to add depth and the combination with the ballerina pink is so lovely and I might even try a smokey eye look at some point using these two shades.

Since this is a very bare faced look I didn't want to volumise my lashes, and instead I went for length with the Maybelline Illegal Length Fibre Extensions Mascara (£8.99) which is great for a natural, combed through lash look and I've got a more detailed review of this mascara coming up on Tuesday, so keep an eye out for that. I very lightly blotted the odd area with the Soap & Glory One Heck of a Blot (£12) and applied the finishing touch using the Tanya Burr Lipgloss (£6.99) in Afternoon Tea. Like so many others I've been completely bowled over by this gorgeous range of lip glosses. The formula is light, creamy, non sticky and moisturising with excellent pigmentation that seems to set on your lips almost like a glossy stain. You get hours of wear out these and re-applying it is a joy since it has a delicious candy like smell. This shade Afternoon Tea, is a subtle slightly muted rhubarb and cream pink, which is perfect for a "your lip color, but better" look.

 

I really enjoy wearing and experimenting with the gorgeous Pastel Fontanges palette and I had so much fun recreating the Trianon look. Despite being such a soft and delicate colors the look works surprisingly well for evening wear too, since the shimmering colors look gorgeous when the light catches them. It is a complete and probably slightly over the top indulgence in pastel colors and using lots of light blue on your eyelid might seem a bit scary - at least it did to me, but if you keep it well blended you won't be getting flashbacks to something out of the Rocky Horror Picture Show. If you're interested in seeing more Trianon looks, have a look at Dior backstage (the link takes a while to load to be patient with it), where you'll find tutorials for another two lovely looks and you can read more about the whole collection. 

Hands on

When I feel tired, stressed or a bit yucky in general there's one thing that is always guaranteed to boost my mood - washing my hands with a lovely smelling soap and then applying a fresh, luxurious hand cream. It's incredible how taking a few minutes of indulgence, massaging in a sweet smelling rich lotion into your hands and cuticles will instantly invigorate and refresh you, almost as if you'd just had a nice long shower... well, almost... That's why I have a hand cream in more or less every hand bag, together with my pocket gel for that instant pick me up wherever I am, and today I thought I would do a comparison of some popular hand creams in different price ranges.

So let's have a look at today's contestants in order of price, starting with the most inexpensive which is the Garnier Body 7 Days Mango Hand Milk (£1.99). There are four different hand creams in this Garnier range, all addressing different needs and this product targets dry and coarse hands. It's an intensely moisturising cream with mango oil that adds nourishment to keep hands protected and the product claims to keep the skin hydrated even after a hand wash - so in theory if you keep using this you should always be one step ahead of dehydration. This hand cream has a lovely fresh, fruity and slightly aquatic scent, like most of Garnier's products and it sinks quickly into the skin. The only thing I'm not too keen on is the texture which has a slippery silicone feel to it, a bit like a cheap primer but that's probably the protecting ingredients and it also means that a little goes a long way. It's a lovely effective and budget friendly hand cream and you do get a generous 100 ml for next to nothing.

The Soap & Glory Hand Food Hand Cream (£5) is a cream that is often mentioned in blogiverse as great for dry or chapped hands and it has a loyal loving following. It contains shea butter, macadamia oil, marshmallow, fennel and lotus flower extracts which almost sounds like an exotic salad, and it certainly smells as yummy and delicious as one with a very fruity, light mix of berries and citrus, musk and vanilla - a typical delectable Soap & Glory scent. When I've used this cream I can't help but smelling my hands, it's just that yummy. The texture of this cream is much more to my liking since it's very silky and creamy and it  makes your hands super soft without leaving any oily residue. Again you get quite a lot for your money, 125 ml and with the very reasonable price, you can afford to be as generous as you like when you apply it.

Next up is Caudalie's Hand and Nail Cream in Pink Grapefruit (£5.70) which with its 30 ml has a considerably less amount of product than the others, although the smaller packaging also means that it's more handy to carry with you in your handbag. For me this hand cream raises the bar significantly in terms of quality and it's most noticeable in the texture. In addition to traditional Caudalie ingredients from grapes and vine, including Vinolevure - a vine extract that protects and strengthens the skins immuno system and helps it to retain moisture, it also contains shea butter. The formula is beautifully light weight with a slight shimmer and it instantly blends into the hands when you apply it, making them velvety soft. I really love the original Caudalie hand cream scent of fresh, warm orange peels, but this is another incredibly delicate, soft and invigorating aroma from mixing citrus fruits with sparkling mint. It's a wonderful, glamorous hand cream and a real treat. 

The last hand cream, and also the one at the top of the price range is an old favorite of mine - the amazing Clarins Hand and Nail Treatment Cream (£20 for 100 ml). It's a great moisturising  cream with extracts of Sesame, Japanese Mulberry and Myrrh. that softens and protects the skin, but it also nourishes and strengthens your nails and cuticles. It has a luxuriously creamy and smooth consistency and to say that it makes your hands soft and supple is the understatement of the year, there's just no dryness that this cream won't fix and then of course we have the beautiful refreshing creamy citrus scent that makes every application a pleasure. In comparison with the other creams it is a fairly expensive hand cream, but it also makes your feel fabulous and who doesn't want that on one of those days when you've had a wardrobe malfunction, your hair has a life of its own and things aren't generally going your way.

Most of the time it's fairly easy for me to pick a favorite among the products that I have tested, but in this case I can honestly say that all four of these hand creams are of great quality and the difference between them (except for the price) is really down to the small details. But it's based on those small details that ultimately my favorite is Clarins Hand and Nail Treatment Cream.

Clarins Hand and Nail Treatment Cream has just the right creamy but light consistency, it treats your hands as well as your nails and an amazing scent to top it all off. I usually buy this in duo pacs every time I'm at an airport to make sure that I have a steady supply of it and I have repurchased it four or five times already. I absolutely adore this cream and although this is my personal favorite it's great to know that you can get hand creams in any price range that don't compromise on quality - how handy is that?

What's in my workbag

I've never been a girl scout but somehow I still seem to stick to the motto: Be Prepared, since every time I leave the house it feels like I've brought everything with me that I could possibly need but the kitchen sink. I've even been known to take a spare pair of tights with me to work, just in case you get a pesky ladder, and for me that would just ruin an entire outfit - even if it had been all Chanel! At the same time I absolutely hate lugging big heavy bags around, so I try to keep things at a minimum and for work I think I've got it narrowed down to the bare necessities these days so that my City bag from Zara isn't completely overloaded. It's a wonderful bag with two big compartments and side pockets, a detachable shoulder strap and it's just the right size to fit in everything you need, without having to compromise on style too much. The office bag is a sleek and affordable everyday option that can stand some wear and tear and I absolutely love it and it's served me well, traveling all over the place. Now let's get the boring practical bits out of the way first; I'll of course not leave home without my Blackberry, my Mulberry purse, keys and the all important laptop.

Come rain or come shine I also always bring with me my Gucci sunglasses since I have a habit of using them as a hair accessory, to keep my hair out of my face when I'm not wearing it up. In these electronic times I know I'm going to sound really old fashioned, but I like to have a diary or an organiser that I can easily take with me wherever I go, to write my little lists of things to do or buy and manage my blog schedule and content. There's no better place to go for stationary than Paperchase, where I got this 2014 Diary, and as I am in fact a magpie I use a beautiful amethyst colored Swarovski Crystalline pen for the besquillion notes that I make every single day.

Now, on to the beauty products. There are a few things that I never leave the house without, and you'd find a similar set of products in different varieties in any bag that I carry with me on a particular day. The first product of my every day staple items is the Caudalie Beauty Elixir, which is such a lovely aromatic facial spray and just brilliant for refreshing your skin and adding hydration a couple of times a day, to add radiance or to give yourself a three second mini spa treatment to boost your mood when you hit one of those afternoon energy slumps. Next is an Anti Bacterial Gel Pocket from Bath & Body Works and this particular one is in the scent Tuscan Vineyard which is a lovely scent of deep red cherries, fresh mango and dry soft woods. I don't know about you but when my hands feel fresh and protected, I always feel energized and refreshed and these pocket gels are an easy way to quickly freshen up, particularly when your're out and about in crowded, public places e.g. train stations, the tube or airports. I'm completely addicted to these little goodies from Bath & Body Works and have one in every handbag, and here in the UK you can easily find a flavor to your liking either on eBay, or from Bath and Body Shop.

Even though I do use primers and makeup setting spray every day, before applying the best foundation ever (YSL Forever Youth Liberator Foundation) I do still bring with me powder to work for any emergency oil control since there's nothing worse than doing presentations or important meetings, worrying about a shiny forehead. Truth be told I don't use a lot of powder and I wouldn't spend a fortune on it either, and when you can get an amazing and affordable product like Soap & Glory's One Heck of a Blot, there's really no need. It's a great finely milled powder that blots where needed, that feels light on the skin and that doesn't settle into any creases or fine lines - it's a super little product and it's made me try more from Soap & Glory's lovely makeup range.

Talking about about makeup, I don't actually bring a lot of products with me to work and I'm happy with two products - first of all a mascara, and at the moment one of my favorites is the L'Oréal False Lash Flutter Mascara, affectionately known as the Butterfly effect mascara which is AMAZING at lengthening, volumizing AND fanning out the lashes for a rich and dramatic effect. If you wear a very natural look but still want to emphasize your eyes, this mascara is the one to use since it'll quickly create a stand out look with incredible lashes. 

The second product is something for the lips and my absolute favorite lip product for work is the YSL Glossy Lip Stain in Shade 12 Pink Coral. It has a beautiful long lasting satin finish at the same time as it moisturizes the lips and you'll easily go about 4 hrs without having to retouch your lips. Pink Coral is a lovely natural rose shade which give lots of color without being over powering or distracting, which is always a good look for work, at least if you're in a corporate or traditional office environment.

Last among my daily staple items is a perfume of some sort, which I'll probably spray on a couple of times a day at least, and this particular day I was wearing the Caudalie Figue de Vigne Eau Fraiche which is a beautiful earthy and harmonious scent of juicy ripe figs mixed with sparkling bergamot and green grassy wood aromas. It's a very pure, subtle, soft and aromatic scent, but it still has a lot of character, individualism and body and wearing it makes me feel very confident and relaxed, just what you need for work.

That's what's in my daily work survival kit - except for the laptop my survival kit doesn't actually differ that much from what I'd carry with me in a smaller (or bigger) handbag at the weekend. What do you have in you work bag?

Autumn makeup bag

A couple of months ago I did a post on what was in my Summer's makeup bag and since I've really tried to be more seasonal this year - changing up shades and products much more than I usually do, I thought I would show you the products I've been using the most since the beginning of October and even though there are some new additions, you will probably also recognise a few products that have been reviewed separately.

Let's start with the products I've been using for my foundation and the first one is the YSL Youth Liberator Serum Foundation (£37) in shade B30 Beige. It's a medium to full coverage foundation that has built in anti-aging ingredients to help regeneration of the skin cells. I know I have raved about this in a few other posts and I'm sorry for repeating myself but since it is the foundation I use every day now, it had to be in here. It has a wonderful texture that's easy to blend into your skin, and despite giving fuller coverage it feels light and natural on the skin. The finish has a lovely radiant glow and it's very long lasting without any transfer or smudging. It's a luxury item, but as you know for me it's important to get the foundation right and it's definitely the best foundation I've ever used.

The foundation does give fuller coverage but I still like to use a light concealer as well, and my go-to product is Rimmel's Wake Me Up Concealer(£5.49). The concealer gives great seamless coverage that brightens and illuminates, and it's light enough to work really well under the eyes as well. Just like the foundation it's long lasting and when I use both setting spray and powder I find that I don't need to do any corrections at all until early evening - brilliant for such an affordable product.

Before setting with powder, I'll spray a couple of spritzes of a makeup setting spray and about a month ago I swapped my Urban Decay De-Slick spray for the All Nighter Makeup Setting Spray (£9). The De-slick spray worked well for me, it's just that I don't really have a big issue with oil control and since I'm more into long lasting products, it made sense to try this one too - and I'm so pleased that I did. It's a lovely fine spray without any scent at all that lowers the temperature of the makeup so that it stays in place longer. The spray feels very cooling and refreshing on the skin and even though I still haven't found a setting spray that lasts more than 8 hrs, it does help to keep everything where it should be, minimising any smudging, especially if you also apply a little after you've completely finished your makeup.

I'm a bit late to the party when if comes to Soap & Glory products in general, and it's not until this year that I've tried quite a few from the body care range. Since I was so impressed with the products I've also picked up a few makeup items. The first one is the Soap & Glory One Heck of a Blot (£12) which I got after my Rimmel Stay Matte Powder broke when I was traveling. I was a huge fan of the Rimmel powder and never really thought I would change allegiance to another brand, but having tried One Heck of a Blot there's no going back! It's a lovely, super light translucent mattifying powder that controls any excess oil or shininess, and it leaves the skin looking and feeling ultra soft and matte without any build up. I'll dab a little of it over my nose and cheeks after I've used the Urban Day setting spray and I find that my look will last at least 5-6 hrs before first signs of shininess appear.

When it comes to my eye makeup I've still kept it quite straight forward as usual, but I've swapped my golden, peachy shades for a more muted look. A great example of that is the Bourjois Little Round Pot Eyeshadow in 54 Marron Glace(£6.99). It's a lovely chocolate brown with a tiny bit of shimmer that I've really enjoyed wearing during the day, just applying a light wash all across the lid and then eyeliner. I think it's difficult to find an eyeliner with just the right consistency, but I've been happy with the Rimmel Scandaleyes Thick & Thin Liner (£5.49) in black and since it has a slant to the tip it's easy to use to create either a heavy winged liner, or something a little bit more subtle. The eyeliner is waterproof and long lasting and applies easily without any tugging on the lid. Since I have used this for quite a while now, it is unfortunately beginning to get much drier though and it's more difficult to use for precision application, so I'll probably need to pick up a new one in a few weeks.

The other shade I have used non stop is the Maybelline Colour Tattoo in Metallic Pomegranate (£4.99). To be honest I picked this up already in August but it was just sitting in my make up bag staring it me saying: "When are you going to use me?", since I wasn't confident in the shade and what it would look like on. As soon as I saw that gorgeous rich, shimmery deep vibrant cranberry red shade I knew I just had to have it, but I was struggling a bit with figuring out what to do with it. The formula is creamy, easy to apply, has great staying power without creasing and the red shade is so much easier to wear than you might think. I use this dabbed very lightly all over the lid, or in combination with a taupe color to add shape and depth to the outer part of the lid. I was worried the shade might make my eyes look sore or smaller, but it's absolutely stunning and it brings out my eyes - a great choice for autumn.

On to my most worn mascara, and it's the lovely butterfly effect False Lash Flutter from L'Oréal (£10.99). The mascara lengthens the lashes, volumises and flares the lashes outward with the help of the double winged butterfly brush. It takes a few attempts to figure out how to best work with the brush, and for me I actually apply the mascara from the outer corner and inwards to get a nice coverage of the outer lashes. The effect is beautiful - you'll have looooong silky lashes with an intense color and a lovely angled effect that opens up the eye.   

Left to right (In natural light):

Bourjois Eyeshadow - 54 Marron Glace

Maybelline 24 Hrs Colour Tattoo - Metallic Pomegranate

Left and top to bottom (In artificial light):

HD Brow Blusher - Shade 2

Bourjois Eyeshadow - 54 Marron Glace

Maybelline 24 Hrs Colour Tattoo - Metallic Pomegranate

Soap & Glory Sexy Motherpucker Lip Gloss - Raplumzel

 

Left and top to bottom (In natural light):

HD Brow Blusher - Shade 2

Bourjois Eyeshadow - 54 Marron Glace

Maybelline 24 Hrs Colour Tattoo - Metallic Pomegranate

Soap & Glory Sexy Motherpucker Lip Gloss - Raplumzel

I've also swapped my Collection eye brow pencil to a Rimmel Professional Eye Brow Pencil (£2.99) in Blonde. It does the trick, but I like my eye brow pencils to be soft and easy to work with, so that it doesn't feel as if you're drawing your eyebrows on, and unfortunately the pencil is quite hard and not waxy enough for me, which makes it more difficult to get two sisters. I won't be buying this pencil again and next time I think I might even brave the world of eye brow kits and use a shadow instead. 

For some color on my cheeks I've also swapped my usual coral shade for a softer, dusty pink (Shade 2) from HD Brow Blusher (£17.95) which I actually got in one of the better Glossyboxes. The blusher has a lovely fine texture and is highly pigmented - you only need to dab your brush in the blusher to get incredible pay off. I learned that the hard way, and clown cheeks are never a good look! The muted shade is perfect for the berry shade of colors I've been using lately together with a fairly pale skin, and it gives just the right amount of everyday glamour.

If you read my Chubbimania post, you'll know that I've been all about the chubby sticks this season and out of the new shades I've bought lately, my most loved one is the Soap & Glory Sexy Mother Pucker Gloss Stick (£8) in Raplumzel. It has a lovely subtle vanilla candy scent and it has that wonderful super moisturising formula with quite strong pigmentation that gives such a beautiful creamy finish that lasts a long time and wears well. The gloss stick is enriched with a plumping complex of collagen pre-peptides that gives an instant plumping effect, but without that tingling feeling (they call it the Buzz-free formula, how cute is that...). The shade Raplumzel is a soft wonderful dark raspberry shade, and it's been perfect for me to follow the berry trend but without it being too vampy.

This is the first time I've updated my make up with completely new shades to make it seasonal, and I've actually really enjoyed it. In December I'll make some more smaller changes e.g. I'll be wearing a lot more red lip products - predictable I know, but Christmas is coming after all and I'm already looking forward to introducing new shades again in the Spring time.

October favourites

It's almost the end of October and even though it's been a beautiful autumn so far and you still don't really need to wear warm jackets and coats, the colder times are definitely here. Just like most people my skin reacts in all sorts of ways to the changes in weather, but this year I'm taking a more pro-active approach. So instead of treating dryness and any sensitive areas when they occur come December time when it's really cold, I've started to plump my skin with as much moisture as possible to prepare, and this is also why all of my favourites this month are related to skin care in one form or another.

Moisture, moisture and moisture is the key to keeping your skin soft and supple. However it's not just a question of adding moisture - drinking water by the buckets, and moisturising your skin properly, your skin also needs to retain it. To help with that I use the Gatineau Aquamemory Moisture Replenish Eye Roll On. This eye cream uses seaweed extract which is well known for its water retaining qualities to not only drip feed the skin with moisture throughout the day, but also to lock it into the sensitive eye area. It's a very light cream which comes with a nifty little roller ball applicator to massage it into the eye area. It feels very soothing on the skin and also helps to get rid of puffiness or dark circles and I actually keep mine in the fridge for an extra cooling sensation in the morning. The packaging is very slim and lightweight so it's easy to take with you in your handbag and you can re-apply it during the day, even on top of your makeup to refresh your skin.

Another product which is perfect to carry with you for a boost to your skin and your mood during the day is the Caudalie Beauty Elixir - Limited Edition. It's exactly the same formula as before, but this one has a pretty design from L'Wren Scott on the bottle. This is an old time favourite of mine since with just  a couple of sprays, a wonderful fine mist adds moisture and radiance to your skin, as well as refreshes you with it's herbal aromatic scent of invigorating mint and warming rosemary. I always have one of these in my handbag, and when you're out and about it's a quick and easy way to maintain moisture levels, and your spirits too - accompanied with a skinny decaffeinated latte of course...

The next product that I have truly loved this month is the YSL Forever Youth Liberator Serum Foundation and it's also perfect for this time of year since not only does it give amazing coverage, it also cares for your skin at the same time, helping the skin cells to renew themselves. I'm not going to go into too much detail on this product since I've recently done a detailed review of it, but having used this product now for more than a month I am - if possible, even more happy with it than I was then. Despite being fairly full coverage it's so light to wear that it's not even noticeable, the longevity of it is great and I no longer worry about having to retouch my foundation throughout the day. I also think that its nourishing qualities are showing on my skin e.g. after removing my make up in the evening, my skin feels just as moisturised and smooth as it did after my morning routine. That is the sign of a quality product!

Since the YSL serum foundation is high coverage already I don't need much concealer, and my Rimmel Wake Me Up Concealer is just perfect. I have used it previously to get good coverage on blemishes, but for me the best bit now is the illuminating effect it has. It's brilliant to use under the eyes to make you look wide awake and energised, and perhaps also around the nose to brighten that area a little. The concealer also has moisturising qualities and at least for now it's an excellent and a more budget friendly option to the YSL illuminating concealer which is on my list of things to try.

Since my beloved Rimmel Stay Matte Powder broke during my travels last month, I had a real reason (for once) to go and get a new powder and I already new what I was going to get. I'd read raving reviews of the Soap & Glory One Heck of a Blot and am very happy to say that it fully met my expectations. It's an incredibly fine and light mattifying powder that absorbs oil and creates a perfect matte look. Just like my previous Rimmel powder it's transparent so it would work with any skin type or tone. What I particularly like about it is that unlike some powders it doesn't feel like a masque - not even after having re-applied it a few times throughout the day and evening, and it sits lightly and evenly on the skin. I was already a fan of the Soap & Glory body care range but this was the first make up product I'd tried, and now I will definitely try other things from their make up range and fingers crossed those products will be as great as this one.

Since I had to buy a new powder I thought I would also invest in a proper brush for it. I went straight to the isle where my new found love - the Real Techniques is, to find a new member for my brush family. I ended up getting the Powder Brush 1401 and I'm happy to say that the new family member fits right in and gets along really well with the others. The brush is so soft and supple and it's perfect to get a light and smooth coverage with just a simple sweep.

With all this focus on skin care products, I feel quite well prepared to combat the effects of any cold or snowy weather that might eventually hit us and actually I'm kind of looking forward to December - particularly since my Ciaté advent calendar arrived today!

TANtastic body care

Yes, summer is almost gone and so is my tan - so in an attempt to look like I've just come back from holiday again, I thought I would bring out an old favourite and also test some new items that I've recently bought.

After much looking and lusting I finally got my first Soap & Glory products. I've had my eye on Soap & Glory for longer than I can remember and with all the fantastic reviews out there, I just knew that I had to get a few items. My problem - and it's a great problem to have when it comes to beauty products, is that there's too much to choose from, so I ended up with some shopping catatonia. It doesn't happen very often, but when it does I really do suffer! In the end I went for a novel approach: instead of getting what I just plain wanted - I bought items that I actually do need. So I decided on a body scrub and a body butter to go with it. Since I'm addicted to scent I spent a good while sniffing all the items in Boots and eventually I settled on the Breakfast Scrub Body Exfoliator and the Smoothie Star Body Buttercream.

If we start with the Breakfast Scrub, I'll sum up my experience with it in 3 little words - OH MY GOSH! When you open the tub, it does look a little bit like something you would find in your breakfast bowl, and the content of the scrub also sounds like it's from a breakfast bowl - extracts of banana, almond and honey extracts and oatmeal. They all help to scrub, soften and nourish your skin, all at the same time and when you've used this - your skin will feel very smooth. But the best bit is the smell of maple - it is sweet, crisp and absolutely divine and it actually lasts on your skin! It smells so scrumptious that I almost have to physically restrain myself from tasting it... Anyone else feel the same or just me..? Ok then.... Anyway, even though I can't really see myself using this as part of my morning routine I have to one of the nicest products I've ever tried - in all categories and I'll use it regardless of what time of day it is. 

Having scrubbed my skin, making it nice and smooth for self-tanning I used the Smoothie Star Body Buttercream to moisturise. It's a wonderful rich and thick body cream which is packed with oils and products to moisturise your skin; pistachio, almond, coconut and shea butter. What I like about this buttercream is that you really have to massage it into your skin, it doesn't just absorb as many thinner body lotions do, and that means that you'll have that hydrated feeling for a good few hrs after you've rubbed it in. It's such a luxurious cream and for me it's definitely a rival of the Body Shop Body Butters. Like the other Soap & Glory body creams it smells delicious, and this scent is of pistachio, almond and vanilla. It is a little bit on the synthetic side, but I really like it and again it stays on your skin a long time after you've finished getting ready - YUM!

For the self-tanning part I use Caudalie Divine Legs. I'm not being modest now, but I am probably the world's worst self-tanner, which means that I never ever do it. At least that was until Him Indoors brought home this little beauty for me. It's a lovely golden caramel colored cream and since the bottle comes with a pump, it's easy to get exactly the right amount that you need for the different parts of your body. I find it easy to use because it's slightly thicker than I remember other products being, and also since the cream is tinted - you see exactly where you've applied already and can get an even, non streaky result. Another great thing is that it dries very quickly and it doesn't come with that distinct smell that most fake tan products have and at the end of the day you easily wash it off in the shower - no scrubbing needed, although with the Breakfast scrub, I'll happily scrub away!

I've tried to illustrate the end result in the before and after photos below of my leg. These photos are taken in exactly the same location and light with just a few mins part.

 

Before using Caudalie Divine Legs

After using Caudalie Divine Legs

I think you'll agree that the result is noticeable and it's an immediate subtle, golden shade. If a complete self-tanning amateur like myself can get this result, then it really is a great product and I definitely recommend it if like me, your previous experience with self-tanning wasn't a great one.

So now I'm almost back to the sunny, bronzed shade I've been recently, which makes me feel very energetic, healthy and happy. If you are tempted by the Soap & Glory products, Boots have an offer on just now where you get 3 for the price of 2 of selected Soap & Glory items - and I will be going back this weekend to take them up on this too yummy to turn down offer!