This beautiful little potion from Dior can work wonders for those dark circles we all have to deal with in the morning (Monday's being the worst!), it soothes as well as freshens the eye area & with it's combination pearl & iridescent particles reflects light immediately brightening the skin. It is a new addition to their L’Or De Vie anti-aging line & this cream uses the the sap from the vine shoots of the sauvignon grapes from the Château d’Yquem which has both anti-oxidizing and regenerating properties. Claims say that from the very first application a noticible difference to the appearance of dark circles & puffiness is achieved as well as the tone & elasticity greatly improved too, with an average success rate of 85% it's well worth giving it a shot!
Now I know Sex and the City isn't exactly beauty related, well it is really, you can't get more style inspiration or make-up perfection than when watching Carrie & her girls strut their stuff down 5th Avenue, or when they're putting the worlds' love life to right whilst holding a Martini!! Anyway the first sneak preview of the 'Official Trailer' has been doing the rounds this week, I have to admit I had goosebumps all over when I caught a glimpse, warning though it does appear to be a real giveaway as to what's in store for us, however they do a promise a real twist to the plot that nobody will see coming!!! Roll on 30th of May!!!
Also I managed to stumble over some great backstage info from the Make-Up Trailers at Sex and the City, here the girl's make-up artsists share their secrets on the stars favourite products & colours!!! -
Sarah Jessica Parker Foundation- Only spotted on certain areas giving “Carrie” a very opalescent look. Max Factor Foundation on cheek area in a shimmery tan color, sometimes mixed with blush and a moisturizer. Blush- Make-Up Forever in Shanghai Mascara- L’Oreal Voluminous in Black Eye Shadow- Depending on what she’s wearing, Lynn will apply usually green or blue shadow in the center of her lid. She likes Nars, Hard Candy and Make-Up Forever. Eye Liner- A little bit of a powdery pencil applied under the eye, close to the lashes and centered. Lips- Natural color with a shiny gloss. Lip pencils in Barbaro and Jessica by Face Stockholm and BeneFit in Do Ya Wanna?
Kristin Davis Skin Prep- Epicuren Face Lotion applied under make-up. | Foundation- Either Prescriptives Magic Liquid Potion with Calvin Klein Base in Bisque or Prescriptives in Sheer Beige by itself. Concealer- YSL Radiant Touch under eyes and sometimes mixed with Prescriptives Magic Blue Neutralizer Highlighter- Prescriptives Magic Highlighter Powder- Prescriptives Magic Liquid Powder Blush- Varies between Nars Amore or Paula Dorff Tootsie and sometimes Nars Orgasm Lashes- Shu Uemura Eyelash curler and Helena Rubenstein Curling Mascara in Black Eyes- Nicki bases eyes with the two lightest colors from the Visiora Eye Shadow Palette. Keeps eyes natural with colors like Calvin Klein Pink Opal, Taupe, and Almondine in crease. Brows- Shu Uemura Seal Brown Brow pencil Lips- Lips varied between Philosophy Kiss Me Lip Balm in Red, Stila Lip Shine, Stila Luster, MAC Glass, TIGI Bed Head Gloss in Plum #5
Cynthia Nixon Skin Prep- Dr. Hauschka Clarifying Toner, Epicuren: Discovery Facial Emulsion and Epicuren: Discovery Eye Cream Foundation- Visiora MV 002 Concealer- Prescriptives Camouflage Crème: Yellow/Orange Medium Powder- Christian Dior Loose Powder #600. For touch-ups Margie uses a M.A.C powder compact in Blot Medium Brows- Paula Dorf Brow Duet in Red Eye Shadow- Paula Dorf Tinsel on lid, Nars Lola Lola in crease and Stila Starlight on brow bone. Eye liner- M.A.C Black Crème Liner on top lid only Mascara- Calvin Klein Sable Cheeks- Shu Uemura Glow On Blush Peach 40 on apples of cheeks and Nars Orgasm on cheek bones. Lips- Lined with Chanel Triple Colour Crayon Pencil in Sugar and glossed with Nars Baby Doll
Kim Cattrall Foundation- Visiora Powder- T. Le Clerc in Ivory, and sometimes Banane Blush- Chanel in Tempting Beige Mascara- in Black Eyes- Depends on outfits and scene. Lynn tends to stay with neutral and beige shades on Kim with a little black or brown line near the lashes. Lips- Trish McEvoy lip pencil in #12, #17 and Trish McEvoy wand glosses. Bobbi Brown lipstick in Sand Pink For a more dramatic look, Kim wears Chanel True Red lipstick.
Also while in the Sex and The City mood, I couldn't help trying out the new SJP Fragrance, 'Covet', the perfect accessorie for a girl's night out! Quite an unusual scent to it, a 'woody' edge with florals as well, defintely worth a sniff!!!
After a fair amount of research I've finally found the lip glosses that last the longest, as confirmed by many other lip gloss fans! Here are the top three that come up trumps for longevity when making your lips glossy & luscious!!! First up & definitely the favourite with claims that this can last around 5 hours(!!), 'Victoria's Secrets Beauty Rush Gloss' (Available at www2.victoriassecret.com). Secondly & my own personal favourite is 'Mac LipGlass' (£10), it was a pretty close call between the top two but this one's lastability is still very strong, some claiming a good 3-4 hours! Last but not least Estee Lauder's 'Pure Color Gloss' (£14) was a preferred product by many, plus all three products come in a range of many colours to choose from, even better...!!!
Regardless of what product you use there are a few tips in making your gloss last longer - Firstly make sure your lips are in good condition, apply lip balm beforehand & if needs be exfoliate your lips (use a soft bristle tooth brush for this & rub away excess dry skin). Apply a little foundation to the lips, very sparingly & then gently pat a little translucent powder over the top, this will provide a good base to hold the gloss in place, also try a lip primer as these work a little longer at holding your lippy in place, I use Benefits Lip Plump (14.50) under lipstick & gloss which works a treat at keeping everything where it should be!
As always there were many glamorous make-up looks making their way down the red carpet on Sunday, but here's my two favourites of the evening... First of all Jessica Alba, glowing dewy skin matched with smoky eyes & glossy lips! Katherine Heigl opted for a more vintage style with a certain 'Marilyn' finish to it, incredibly striking with this season's most popular red carpet lipstick, bright 'coral' (sported by a few celebs earlier at the Brits & Baftas), definitely a must have colour for your Saturday night make-up bag this season!
Dewy fresh skin is one of Spring's hottest looks this year, here are some great tips on how to sport the look yourself!! Firstly moisturise your skin & use a good rich moisturiser for this, then apply a light foundation, take a bristle brush & 'fluff' the foundation in circular motions this will create a soft & almost airbrushed effect, best brush for this, try Mac's 'Duo Fibre Brush' (£28). Next step in achieving your dewy glow is in the blush, opt for a cream blusher which will give a sheen to your skin with a flush of colour, try Mac's BlushCreme, apply to the apple of your cheeks (soft fleshy part you'll find when you smile) & blend upwards across the cheekbone, lightly blending outwards to give a soft finish. For the soft 'pink' look that is the colour for this season go for Mac's 'Brit Wit' or if a more bronzed effect is what you're after go for their 'Fancy Ray'. Finish this off by setting lightly with translucent powder along your t-zone, then match your dewy finish with your favourite eye make-up & glossy lips! If you're looking for a fresh spring selection of colours then look no further than your nearest Bobbi Brown counter, this year's Limited Edition Palate 'Pink Raspberry Collection' (£40) has everything you need for this season's pink obsession! It has cool neutral shades for eyes & pink raspberries for lips & cheeks, also the best thing is every shade is said to be flattering to all skin tones!
Bannish redness for good with Clinique's brand new 'Redness Soloutions', if you find that your skin is easily irritated & can flare up with stress, weather or with cosmetics then 'Urgent Relief Cream' (£24) will sooth & calm redness down almost instantly, great as an after waxing treatment! For persistant redness then 'Daily Relief Cream' (£32) is probably the best option & used regularly fewer flare ups will occur & your skin will have a much more even colour. Both products have received amazing customer feed back so far as well as rave reviews, also available in the range is a 'Redness Solutions Soothing Cleanser' (£15) & a Daily 'Protective Base' (£12.50) a great make-up primer with colour corrective tint - perfect skin all round!
Bridal make-up should look as natural as possible, don't opt for a look you would not normally go for, you want to look yourself, for example if you're not used to wearing much make-up something quite bold or a high coverage may make you feel uncomfortable. The best place to start is with the foundation of course & in order to keep it in tact all day long is to apply a primer underneath, this holds the foundation in place by providing a good base on the skin, also for an even & long lasting finish use a foundation brush & sponge (the brush applies the foundation & then the sponge is used to blend). If you don't want a high coverage go for a tinted moisturiser which will give a very natural effect & will just even out the skin tone. There are many different foundation types though, liquid foundation generally provides quite a light coverage, the best type to look for is a light matte finish as you want to minimse any shine for your photos. If you require a heavier coverage then cream foundations that have a thicker consistency & are a good option, again a matte finish is best. It's definitely worth experimenting with a few different products, shop around the different cosmetic counters & ask for samples, they'll be happy to provide you with some, then you can try out a few different products without committing to buying any first. When testing a foundation to see if it's right for you, place a little along your jaw line & blend, don't test on your hand as the skin on your hand will different to that on your face! Always apply foundation to clean moisturised skin & blend well (pay particular attention over the jaw line & hairline), making sure you have an even coverage. You can apply foundation to only a few areas if required, such as under the eyes, along the T-zone & cheeks, as long as it is blended well & the colour is a good match then it will give a 'barely there' natural look. If your worst nightmare occurs & a spot (or two..!) appears, then make sure you have a good concealer in your make-up bag. Concealers with a wax consistency provide a much better coverage than a cream, use a small brush (even a lip brush can double up for this - providing it's clean!), using small dabbing motions place the concealer on gently until the redness disappears, it is best to apply the concealer after your foundation as if you apply it before hand the foundation can rub it away. Maybe try to apply it around the spot to cover the redness rather than the actual spot itself as some can have a lot of dry skin & can flake or even 'weep'a little. For under the eyes a light consistency concealer is required, wax will be too heavy & too much coverage under the eyes can crease & accentuate any fine lines, also you should never drag the skin under the eye when applying concealer so gently dab & blend from the inner corners. Try to avoid light reflecting under-eye concealers too as these can reflect the camera flash & cause a 'white ring' effect around the eye area in your photographs. A light cream concealer a shade lighter than your foundation will do, however if you have problems with dark circles use a colour corrector, a little pink corrector concelear mixed with some of your foundation will cover up the dark areas as pink combats grey. Just as this colour corrector works, if you have a lot of red pigmentation on your cheeks for example, a green corrector will balance this out under your foundation. All foundation is best set with a little translucent powder, many people prefer not to wear any but a little should always be used just to take away any shine & make the foundation last as well, particularly over the t-zone. The powder should not change the colour or effect of the foundation though, just give a light natural matte finish which can even work along side a 'dewy' style make-up providing the T-Zone is set.
Well that's all the glitter & parade over for another year - the British Music Industry had their night on the tiles as The Brit Awards were handed out last night! Take That certainly proved their 'Come Back Kings' status but for me Kylie was definitely the star of the show, with umpteen costume changes, a fantastic performance as well as the 'Best International Female' award she truly is the first lady of pop, not to mention style!! Sporting a funky hair style & as always amazing sparkling eye make-up as well as perfect lipgloss she looked the epitome of cool sophistication, plus I think we all love her new curvier look these days!! Another few stylish ladies to mention of course, Beth Ditto stood out as always and 'Best British Femail' winner Kate Nash looked ultra cool in her Coral 60's style dress which proved to be a very popular colour this year (including Martine McCutcheons' Lipstick!), however I was a bit upset to see that Kate was criticised for taking a moment to reapply her lipgloss before heading down the runway, I think we can all agree that it is a girl's perogative to touch up her lippy on such an important night out, hardly a cause for accusing her of divadom!!! Leona Lewis gave an amazing performance as expected but despite her hair & make-up looking it's usual fantastic self, I really must insist that she sacks her stylist, her dress looked more like a last minute thrown together mishmash from half a Come Dancing costume mixed with Lawrence Llewelyn Bowen's bed spread!!!!
Girls Allowed missed out on their award of Best Group but looked great as ever on the red carpet, although missing one member, Nadine, sparking more rumours that she wants to leave the band...
All that was left to do after wards was party & with Kylie's Post-Brit bash I'm sure the style & glamour (and champagne consumption!!) continued all the way into the wee small hours, with many sore heads awakening this morning..!!
Try out this great 'Quintessential' Brush Set (£20) from Jemma Kidd Make-Up School, it is a collection of her favourite brushes for Eyes, Blush & bronze. The Cheek Brush has a flat top which gives a great finish when blending your blusher or bronzer and there are 4 Eye Brushes, one for applying your base colour, another for applying colour to the lower lid, then one for blending colour into your socket line & finally one to define your lash lines that can be used wet or dry. The brushes are made with natural hair & their shape & defintion gives a great finish on your make-up, they even come with tips on how to apply your eye shadow - perfect!!!!
One of the most basic pieces of advice really but you would be surprised at how easily this is ignored, also using a short cut such as 'All in One Wipes' will not throughly cleanse the skin & have the smae benefits as cleansing properly, there is no cheats way out of it I'm afraid!!!
Here are a few reasons to make sure you keep up your regular cleansing routine -
1 - To remove any grime and make-up worn throughout the day that can clog the pores. 2 - At night cleansing & moisturising properly will help to protect the skin from loosing moisture, during the day it helps to provide a good base for make-up. 3 - Helps the skin to re-new itself by removing dead skin cells & keeps the over all tone soft & supple. 4 - Lastly a little scary fact, going to bed even just 1 night without taking your make-up off will age your skin by 11 days!!!
Cleansing Tips - Face Wash Start with a good foaming face wash for your skin type to take the initial residue away & freshen the skin. If you have dry or sensitive skin then a gentle moisturising wash is best, oily/problem skins are best to opt for an invigorating wash with perhaps a light exfoliation in it that can be used everyday. There are many types of face wash on the market so take time to choose one that is aimed at your skin type.
Eye Make-Up Remover Before cleansing make sure your eye make-up is removed, a soothing gel based lotion is good for this, however if you use heavy eye make-up or waterproof mascara an oily based product would be best.
Cleansers Use cotton pads for this as they are the best for removing grime (same with eye make-up removal & toner), place a good amount on the pad & take across the whole face, for best results do this twice, it really does make a huge difference to your skin & will help prevent spots. - Dry Skins should opt for a creamy cleanser that won't strip the skin & can help to add moisture - Oily Skins should look for a gel based cleanser - Sensitive Skins should go for a soothing cleanser with perhaps Aloe Vera or Green Tea.
Toning Toning is pretty much an optional step but still beneficial & worth doing, it mainly removes any residue from your cleanser but some do have active ingredients such as anti-oxidants that are great for the skin.
Moisturising Every skin type will benefits from a moisturiser, even the most oily skins, they work by creating a barrier between the skin and the environment as well as keeping the skin hydrated. Again there is a wide range available these days for every skin type so depending on what you are looking for, whether it be anti-ageing, to include sun protection, for sensitive skin, to reduce oily appearance on the skin, there is a moisturiser for every type, so take your time to pick the one that you feel is right for you. Also it is worth while investing in an eye-cream, the skin around the eye is a lot more delicate & your normal moisturiser won't be suitable, these can help protect this area & reduce puffiness as well as dark circles that none of us want!!!
Exfoliation Lastly, try to ensure you exfoliate once or twice a week, this will help the skin to shed any dead skin cells from the surface layer brightening the skin & keeping it in great working order!!!
I have tried many many face washes in my time but this one is by far the best 'Neutrogena Visibly Clear 2 in 1 Wash & Mask - £3.79', I have been using it now for 2 years & to be honest I don't know how I managed without it before!! Great for all skin types really but particularly if you're prone to the odd blemish (or 2 or 3 or 4!!!!) & have the dreaded oily t-zone! It gives a great daily cleanse, helps prevent nasty spot outbreaks as well as reducing the appearance of blackheads, generally it's gives you much clearer & brighter skin. The best bit is once a week you can use it as a mask for 5 mins to give your skin a deep cleanse, what more could you want from a face wash!!!
Get this great new mascara from Rimmel (Volume Flash Mouse Mascara), gives amazing volume without the clogging that this type of mascara can give & has a light mouse texture keeping your lashes feeling flexible & light, so no spider-legs!! It has received rave reviews already & is certainly the favourite new addition to my make-up bag!! As always it has a friendly price tag but does the hard work like any of the best brand names priced over double the ££'s!!
Get the perfect kissable Valentines Pout without the help of collagen!!! DuWop's Lip Venom (£12.95 at Miss Groovy) is the perfect plump-pout master, it's completely natural & with the aid of Cinnamon extract & ginger you can have a bee stung look that even Angelina Jolie would be proud of!! It works by increasing the circulation in the lips & will create a slightly tingle sensation, which will also create quite an impression after your valentines kiss!! For a long lasting colour to your Lips on Valentines (that can withstand even the best of kissers!!) Try Lethal Kiss Lip Stain (9.99 at Miss Groovy), it will gently stain the lips & keep it's colour all night long, always make sure your lips are well moisturised with lip balm before applying either of these products to give you the best results. Choose from two lovely pinks - Peppermint Pink or Nougat Nude, they have a fab taste as well which he'll love as much as you do! One last tip for applying lipgloss, to create a sultry kissable look, apply a finishing touch of gloss just over the 'bow' of your lip going over your lip-line at that central point (with nude to pink shades only)!!
With Awards Season pretty much in full swing now, the stars were out in their glad rags strutting their stuff on the red carpet for this year's Baftas last night, my favourite look of the evening was Sienna Miller's Classic Hollywood Glamour which is huge this season.
5 Top Tips on how to get this look -
1 - Matte Foundation to give a flawless finish (Try Chanel's Mat Lumiere) 2 - Black Liner, use a liquid on the top lash line to get a striking look (Try Guerlain's Divinora Eye-Liner - Very easy to use, almost does all the hard work for you!) . Take this in gradual stages from the inner to the outer corners, keep your hand steady by resting your elbow on a table while applying. For Depth on the Bottom Lash Line go for a powder finsh in Black (Try Guerlain's Terracotta Loose Powder Kohl), again easy to use & apply. Also just to note before the liner is applied, use eyeshadow obviously, but just opt for a nude natural base across the entire lid, your liner should do all the work for this look. 3 - False EyeLashes, to finish of this dramatic look, apply some false strip lashes (Try Mac's False Lash Strips) 4 - Bronzer, for a warm & glamorous glow to the cheeks go for a deep bronzer (Try Lancome's Star Bronzer) 5 - Red Lips, final finishing touch for the hollywood glamour look (Try Mac Red)
