Top Products - Review: Kevyn Aucoin - The Sculpting Powder

So far I am yet to come across a more buttery, subtle, soft toned and wearable contouring powder than the Kevyn Aucoin 'The Sculpting Powder'. For £35, you only get a tiny 3.1g, which is the size of a large single eyeshadow, so its incredibly expensive. However I only want to contour on occasions when I really have time to thoroughly do my makeup and so that it really completes the look, so I don't see myself getting through this too quickly. I have the shade medium, which is good for my fair, but shows enough colour to make an impact. If I wore it everyday I could probably get away with the Light shade that they have just released.

For me, it has the right balance of grey tones, so that it acts as a shadow, rather than an orange/brown stripe on your face. I use it with the Zoeva 105 Luxe Highlight Brush, as its small enough to fit in the contours of my cheeks. And I usually finish the look off with the Kevyn Aucoin 'The Celestial Powder' in Candlelight, as this gives a very natural highlight to the face without too much shimmer. See this link for more on that gorgeous product.

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Tried and Tested: Health Kick #2 - Jamie Oliver's Bombay Chicken and Cauli

To expand on my healthy evening meal repertoire, I purchased the latest Jamie Oliver book - Everyday Super Food. So far, I've only attempted one other recipe (the Sea Bass and Asaparagus/Mint mash). All the recipes look gorgeous, but when next to Joe Wick's 'Lean in 15', Jamie's are a little bit more time consuming.

However last night I tried the 'Bombay Chicken and Cauliflower'. It was a success and felt very healthy and 'clean'. Every mouthful was full of a variety of flavours, thanks to the marinade and the sauce. And although I made a bit of a mess with the food processor, I would definitely give this a go again. The cumin and tumeric are good sources of iron, and the lemon juice allows your body to absorb the iron more efficiently. So along with a handful of spinach, its a great dish for upping your iron intake.

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Top Products - Review: My Ren Skincare Routine

I have been using Ren for a few years now, and have been using this particular rotation of products for about two years. The year before I got married, I wanted to invest into some high quality facial products to try and keep my skin happy and healthy, and to reduce any chances of flare ups before the big day. And I really believe that this concoction of products really helps to balance my skin out and keep it looking its best.

I mostly use the 'Evercalm' range, as I have sensitive skin and live in London, as this claims to 'train skin to be less sensitive and protects against environmental aggression and pollution'.

(from Left to Right: Evercalm Anti-Redness Serum, V-Cense Revitalising Night Cream, Evercalm Gentle Cleansing Milk, Evercalm Global Protection Day Cream, Glycolactic Radiance Renewal Mask)

I use the serum in the morning and evening before the moisturiser. Its an extremely gentle and calming serum that almost feels like its soothing the skin. I just the cleanser in the evening with a hot cleansing cloth (as I use my Clinique anti-blemish soap in the morning). I find the day moisturiser to work really well as a makeup base and does not encourage my skin to get greasy. I use the the Glycolactic mask once or twice a week. You can really feel the tingle when its on, so I don't want to irritate my skin too much by using it too frequently but it does help keep my skin fresh and glowing. I find the frankincense smell of the night cream to be quite indulgent and spa like, a quick massage of this into your face and you're definitely ready for sleep!

If I ever test out new products that come my way, I always come back to my Ren routine in the end, to calm everything down and take control.

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Trends: Your Lips But Better

Now that we're out of the dark plums and reds lip season, I thought I'd share some products that I like to use for when I'm wanting to go light with my overall makeup look, and what lip products I reach for the most...

For when I want to have a solid coating of lipstick, but not be too prominent in colour, I reach for Mac's Velvet Teddy. Which also keeps up with the matte lip trend. This does look a bit brown against my fair skin, but compliments a naturally made up face.

To define lips in a very natural way, you can't beat Charlotte Tilbury's Lip Cheat lip liner in 'Pillow Talk'. Its waxy texture means its got great staying power. Sometimes this is nice to wear on its own, for a perfected but not over-done lip.

For a super smooth feeling lip, with a touch of gloss but nothing too sticky, Clarins Instant Light Natural Lip Perfector in shade No 5, is perfect for a summery subtle pop of pink on your lips, that fades into a hint of a stain. Its great for topping up on the go with the squeezy tube coming out of the sponge applicator. It also claims to 'nourish, repair and protect' your lips too.

I love Burts Bees lip products. The texture and smell is great. You really feel like you've got something substantial on your lips that is acting as a protective barrier, and the smell is very invigorating. I have both the plain Beeswax lip balm, and also a couple of the Lip Shimmer balms, which are great to keep in your hand bag for emergency 'I need something on my lips but forgot to bring my lipstick' situation. I have the shades 'Peony' and 'Watermelon'.

Then finally, when your lips are needing some TLC (maybe got a bit sunburnt or just a bit dehydrated?), well then look no further than Blistex Relief Cream. Its white creamy formula takes care of your skin, and really takes effect when you can leave it on over night. I wouldn't use it everyday for the sake of it though, save it for those emergency occasions.

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Tying the Knot - Review: Wedding Bouquet Paper Weight

Considering how much money, thought and preparation goes into your wedding bouquet, its one thing that tends to fall by the way-side in the aftermath of your wedding. If you decided to go against tradition and not throw your bouquet in order to keep it intact, then you have the decision on what to do with it afterwards. Some people choose to either give them to family or friends to enjoy for another week or so before they no longer look their best, or others hang on to their bouquet and dry the flowers out (with the result often looking a lot different to how the flowers originally appeared), or you could have them freeze dried and turned into a gorgeous paperweight. Unfortunately you have to be quite fast acting after your wedding and send off a selection of flowers in perfect condition more or less the day after the wedding (so that they don't deteriorate too much), so amongst the roller coaster of tiredness, emotions and honeymooning its not going to be of upmost priority for some people, but if you can prepare before hand and maybe get a family member to do one last wedding related favour for you, you'll have the flowers that you couldn't stop staring at all day, to keep for a lifetime.

I used the Flower Preservation Workshop, who are based in Somerset, after seeing Millie Mackintosh's Instagram photo of her wedding bouquet paper weight, and thinking how gorgeous it looked. I'd highly recommend using them - the step-by-step instructions on their website were easy to follow on how to send the flowers, and the customer service was excellent. Although it is quite expensive, its something that will last forever.

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Tried and Tested: Quick fix for voluminous hair

This is what I do when I want a bit of bounce and flick into my fine just-below-the-shoulder length hair.

1. On freshly washed hair, apply mouse to roots and volume spray to ends.
2. Rough dry hair by shaking head upside down, and use fingers to lift hair from your head and get the heat in at the roots.
3. Once your hair is 99% dry, take the top section of you hair (from your temples and back to crown), set this section of hair aside, and tie the rest of your hair in a low bun (to let hair get a bit of wave in whilst you are pinning the top section)
4. Divide the top section into two or three sections (depending on how much hair you have).
5. On the front section, wrap the roots of your hair round a small barrel brush, and blast the hairdryer on it, drag the brush up, and keep the hair ends round the brush, and apply hit to ends on hair. You should only do this for a few seconds to limit the heat damage.
6. There should be a slight curl to the end of your hair, hold the roots of the hair and start wrapping the hair round (as though you were creating a roll without the use of a roller), the curl in the ends should allow for a neat roll. 
7. Use a couple of hair grips to hold the roll in place, making sure the ends are tucked in. Take note of how the roll is sitting - as the hair cools the curl/volume will form, so you will need to make sure the roots are lifted and no kinks anywhere.
8. Do the same brush/hair dryer motion to the remaining top section(s) of your hair.
9. Then blast the hairdryer for one last time into your rolls, making the hair a bit hot. This is to ensure all of the hair has heat going through it.
10. Undo the bun (you don't want strong curls here)
11. Wait for 20 minutes for hair to cool properly (apply your makeup?!)
12. Take out the pins, and run your fingers through your hair, shaking your hair upside down.
13. Find your parting, you might want to back comb a tiny bit at the crown so the hair sits in the right place, but you shouldn't need to add much extra volume now.
14. The curls that have formed will mostly drop out so it will end up flowing into the rest of your hair more.
15. Lightly spray with hairspray.

And ta-daaaa! You should be left with some bounce and lift on top, but without intense heat and brush damage.

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The Multitasker: Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector

I am sure a lot of people know about the Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector as they have been around for a while, but I am quite new to trying Becca makeup, so I wanted to share my initial findings.

I love having a 'dewy glow', and so liked the idea of being able to mix this highlighter with my foundation, and even have the possibility of improving some of my 'ok' foundations.

And BOY does this pack a punch in the glow department.

I picked the shade Moonstone, and I think this works well with my fair skin. I could probably get away with Pearl too, but I didn't want to have a silver glow, I wanted a golden glow - and I think Moonstone achieves this.

First of all I applied it as an even layer all over my skin, BEFORE I applied my Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation. The foundation over the top definitely created more of a subdued the sheen, so was quite natural and fresh.

The next day I tried it by applying equal amounts of perfector and foundation onto the back of my hand, then mixing together before I applied it to my face. I found this to be a tad too much shimmer, I thought it made me look a bit sweaty!

So third time lucky, I applied one part perfector to two parts foundation, and I thought this gave the perfect amount of glow - still noticeable enough to know I'm wearing it but without looking greasy.

It works really well by applying extra to the cheekbones, brow brones, cupids bow and down the nose. And when the weather gets better/on holiday, it will be nice to add to the collar bone, shoulders and shins, to catch the light.

So I suppose its not really a multitasker, but more of a product that can be used on many areas and with lesser/greater amounts of foundation coverage, to achieve varying levels of glow!

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Review: NARSissist Matte/Shimmer Eyeshadow Palette

Even though this is a Limited Edition palette, its been on sale for quite a while, so it might be staying for good. I got the NARSissist Matte/Shimmer Eyeshadow Palette from Space NK late last year, and on the whole, I am pleased with it.

Each colour is very pigmented and blends well, I just find most of the colours to be quite strong for my pale skin. I find I am only able to use a couple of the colours in the day, and if I venture into using the 4 colours on the right hand side, it looks really dramatic. And I'd prefer it if there was a paler shimmery shade to use on the inner corner on brow bone.

I don't regret getting this, but I don't get as much use out of it as I thought I would. I think I might put it away until the winter party season, as I think I can get away with darker eye makeup then.

One big bonus is that it comes with a mini 'Night Clubbing' black eyeliner, which again is really pigmented, and has a twisty bottom so you don't have to use a sharpener!

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