WOW: The Best Hair De-Frizzer

It’s not often I devote an entire blog post to one product, so when I do, you know I mean business.

Fighting frizz is my greatest hair challenge and I’ve recently discovered the best de-frizzer and smoother I’ve ever tried: One Minute Transformation Styling Cream by Colour Wow.  My hair tends to look fine when I’ve just styled it… I can look in the mirror and feel quite smug at the smoothness my blow drying has achieved. An hour later, I’ll nonchalantly stroll past a mirror and recoil in horror at the frizz fest on my head.

I’m not sure exactly how this product works so much better than others, but it does: “A lightweight blend of humectants penetrates hair to replace natural oils lost to chemical treatments, blow-drying and daily stress”

The texture of the product feels thick and creamy, like a regular conditioner… I warm it in my hands and comb it through with my fingers, concentrating on the mid lengths to ends of my hair, then lightly sweep any excess over the rest of my hair surface, including crown and fringe. If you wish, you can then go on to re-blow dry your hair for extra smoothness (I imagine a little more product is required for this). I haven’t felt the need to do so as the product alone just fixes my hair, removing any puffy, bouffy bits, calming frizz and making my mane look smooth and well behaved again. It doesn’t weigh it down (my usual bug bear) or make it feel sticky - and it smells delicious - that lovely fresh salon hair scent.

I don’t think I can say any more, except that if you’ve got the frizz, you need this in your life.

Colour Wow One Minute Transformation Styling Cream costs £16.99 at Feel Unique HERE, with a free 30ml travel size & free delivery.

 

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Natural Make-up Look: Clinique CC Cream Compact & Studio 10

As much as I love experimenting with make-up, a natural look is my daily go-to. This week I used some new product discoveries to create such a look and thought I’d share the results, as promised in my post on Studio 10.

 
For my base I used Clinique’s new Moisture Surge CC Cream Compact in Very Light, which I’m enjoying so much more than the original formula in a tube. The creamy compact formula gives much more coverage, has a matte-but-not-flat finish and is so handy for touch ups. I prefer to apply this with my Real Techniques Buffing Brush for a more subtle finish than the sponge that comes with it. Don’t be put off if this looks a bit matte on initial application - it really softens after around half an hour (on me anyway). 

Using the Studio 10 Visible Lift Definer, I added a little contour in the hollow of my cheekbones, along jaw line and around my hairline. I also used the contour powder as bronzer, dusting a little colour onto temples and on the high points of cheek bones.  I added a little colour to my cheeks by tapping on the cream blush with the flat of my forefinger and middle finger, blending it out around the edges to avoid any harsh lines. The final step for my base was to add a little glow with the creamy highlight, patting a tiny amount on tops of cheek bones, brow bones and cupid’s bow. I’ve also tried this on my lids as it’s such a pretty shade, but found it creased there as it’s so dewy (may be worth a go with primer).

I used a long term favourite and one of the most flattering eyeliners for blue-grey eyes I’ve tried on my upper lash line: Anastasia Covet Waterproof Eyeliner in Astral and Rimmel Scandaleyes Waterproof liner in Taupe on the outer third of my lower lash line. This is a recent purchase after a long search for a good taupe liner - I really like how it gives subtle definition without looking harsh or overdone. 

Lashes were defined with Clinique Lash Power Feathering Mascara, which as the name suggests, gives well defined feathery lashes. This can be built up for more drama (it even got lash compliments on my Instagram pic here), but be prepared to commit patience to repeat coats for such an effect. Personally, I much prefer this for an am-I-or-aren’t-I mascara look. It’s also long lasting, humidity-defying and easily removed.

For brows, I’ve been forgoing my beloved Anastasia Brow Wiz for a quick slick of Eyeko Brow Gel. This is a genius product, which actually deserves an ode of its own - and a better showcase than several days before a brow tidy at Studio D. It’s a tinted gel with a teeny mascara-like wand, which you just sweep through brows and you’re done. It also helps hold them in place without feeling at all hard or crusty. In the pic below it looks like I’ve completely skipped the brow on the right, which I think (hope!) is just the lighting! The left brow is a much more accurate representation of how this product performs - you can also see it in action in the Instagram pic I linked to above.

I coated lips with a layer of my favourite ESPA balm before defining the outer edges with the nude end of Studio 10 Age Reverse Perfecting Lip Definer and filling in the lips with the pink end. This pencil really is the ultimate naturally enhancing shade and I love how it looks alone or paired with pretty much any lipstick shade.

That sounds like a whole lotta work for a natural look, but was really quite quick and easy, 10 mins tops. Here’s the finished look, which is all about natural looking definition: enhancing what you’ve got and looking naturally glowy rather than ‘made up’.

   

Here’s a closer look at the products in order of application…

  

Are you a fan of natural look make-up - and if so, have you tried any of these products?

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Do you know your skin type? Beauty Pro HydraTest

Do you know your skin type? It can be tricky to figure out, but important to know before selecting the best skincare and make-up to address particular issues. For example, dry skin will need a richer moisturiser and oily skin will benefit from oil-free foundation and powder to set make-up. I tend to vary between normal-dry in winter and normal-dehydrated in Summer, so switch up my products according to the time of year.

A new high-tech device - akin to those used by professionals - is now available to remove the guess work and help us discover our skin type at home. HydraTest uses bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) to detect the skin’s moisture levels. You basically hold it against the skin, press a button and 3-5 seconds later it beeps and displays a digital reading on oil and hydration levels.

This basic guide interprets the readings, which I decided to test before and after using skincare.

Before:

My reading from the centre of my cheek was Oil: 1 bar = low, Hydration: 29% = dehydrated. I applied a 15 minute Collagen Infused sheet mask and re-tested…

After:

Sorry it’s a bit blurry, but you can see that oil levels had risen to 5 bars - Oily (!!) and Hydration: 40% = Normal.

I’m not sure why the oil levels had risen so much, but was more interested in the fact that hydration had increased by 11% and gone up two levels. My skin definitely looked brighter and felt better too. I’ve had a rotten cold all week, so it was in need of a boost!  ps this was a sheet mask - hence the white ‘sheet’ with eye, nose and mouth holes!

I did test the device on different areas of my face and body and the results were consistent. Dry ankles had a very low rating (nice) and my nose, the only place I get oiliness, had higher levels than elsewhere.

I was sent the HydraTest for review and enjoyed my little experiment - it will be useful to me as I’m constantly testing new skincare products, which this should allow me to do with more accuracy. I think it’s a device that will appeal most to beauty professionals - and while the average person might be intrigued to try it occasionally, a lower price point would make it a more feasible purchase.

HydraTest rrp £59 from Harvey Nichols or hydratest.com

What do you think - would you consider using something like this?

  

Studio 10 Make-up: Contour, Conceal & Glow

 

In late teens and early twenties, pretty much anything goes when it comes to make-up… from layering up concealer and powder a la Kardashians  to heavy glitter, matt lips and sharply defined eyes. As we get older, less is definitely more and we need to get clever with finer textures, light-reflecting formulas and a moisturising wash of colour. It’s all about enhancing, which is exactly what Studio 10 achieves with a range of make-up and skincare created especially for older skin: think firming, moisturising and glow-inducing.

I imagine that fans of the natural make-up look and anyone with dry or dehydrated skin will also enjoy these products.

I’ve been loving the Visible Lift Definer, complete with the most perfect contour powder I’ve tried. Super finely milled, this has ZERO orange tones, yet isn’t grey or muddy either, making it perfect for subtle enhancement of cheekbones or even a sweep of bronze. The cream blush leaves a dewy finish on my cheeks, either patted on with a finger or applied with a stippling brush. Although it looks quite deep in colour, the sheer texture means it isn’t at all scary, more of a natural blush shade. I don’t usually go for a gold toned highlight, but this one is a very pale champagne gold, which leaves a subtle sheen on the tops of cheekbones and brow bones - very flattering and daytime friendly, this isn’t at all OTT (not a speck of glitter in sight).

The Age Defy Skin Perfector includes a creamy primer (left), 2 correctors (right) and two concealer shades. The latter are too deep for my skin colour (this palette is medium-dark) but the correctors work well at counteracting redness (the green one) and dark circles (the peachy shade). These are fine, creamy and quite sheer in texture, designed for use under the concealer.

I’ve been using the Visible Lift Definer and Age Reverse Perfecting Lip Definer (top pic) regularly. The nude end of the lip pencil redefines the outer lip contour, helps avoid feathering and gives the impressed of volume, while the pink end adds a natural flush of colour and works well alone over a balm or under any lipstick.

Overall, I’m impressed - and have heard good things about the rest of this small, but perfectly formed range. There is no powder as it’s all about the glow and avoiding dry, powdery finishes, but personally I did feel the need to use one to set my T-zone. If you’re looking for a flattering finishing powder, I can’t recommend Jurlique Rose Silk Powder highly enough. I’ll share a natural make-up look using Studio 10 products this weekend, so you can see how they look applied.

Studio 10 prices start at £22 and the range is available at Cult Beauty HERE.

Does the idea of perfecting and defining products appeal to you?

Barry M Summer Gellys: Lights & Brights

   Barry M’s latest selection of Gellys is the best I’ve tried yet. With a smoother formula and more sophisticated colour palette than last year’s line up, this set of seven lights and brights have been fighting for attention on my nails recently. For only a few quid each, I think they’re a brilliant budget buy - you could easily spend 5 times that on a polish and be hard pushed to find better colour and quality.

The Lights

I’ve nicknamed coconut, almond, olive and elderberry the ‘Farrow & Ball’ of nail polish colours, in honour of their sophisticated tones (I quite fancy that blue for my front door).

• Coconut - a cool cream, much easier to wear and more forgiving than white. More skin flattering than many nude tones and best of all, opaque in two coats (unusual for such a pale shade).
• Almond - a pastel taupe nude with slight mauve undertone. This doesn’t really work with my skintone, though I love the actual colour.
• Olive - a pastel version of an olive and pistachio cross. Prettier on than it looks in the bottle, this would look great with deeper skin tones or a tan.
• Elderberry - a dusky denim blue, much softer than Blueberry from the original Gelly collection. 

The Brights

 

If bright colours are more up your street, look this way… I tend to steer away from darks in Spring/Summer, but vary between pastels and brights, so offering the choice of both in this collection was a clever move.

• Pink Punch is a bright strawberry pink and was my first pick for a mani.
• Kiwi falls somewhere between jade green and emerald, leaning more towards the former. Zero resemblance to kiwi fruit, but hey - the name is cute.
• Damson is my pick of the brights, a proper cobalt blue, closer to the colour in my bottle pics above. It looks more turquoise-y on my nails above, but doesn’t in real life. I’ve been wearing this on my toes and it makes me smile every morning in the shower. 

If you’re into nail art or like an accent nail, some of these brights work beautifully alongside the pastels. For example the cobalt blue Damson & cream Coconut; or bright Pink Punch and dusky Elderberry blue.

Barry M Summer Gellys cost £3.99 each and are available at Boots.

If I had to choose just two, I’d go for Damson and Coconut. Which are your faves?

Real Techniques Modern Natural Makeup kit: International Giveaway!

Real Techniques does make-up - how exciting! I guess it was only a matter of time until make-up maestros, Sam & Nic of Pixiwoo fame extended their Real Techniques brush line into cosmetics. It took me approximately 5 minutes from hearing the news last week to ordering the Modern Naturals Makeupkit from the US - and a further 30 seconds to decide that this would make a gorgeous giveaway prize for one of my readers.

The kit includes 4 powder eye shadows in neutral, bronze and brown tones, 1 brown gel eyeliner, a peachy powder blush, champagne gold creamy highlighter and two lip glosses in gold and shimmery peach. AKA everything you need for an everyday makeup look that can easily be smoked up for evening. There’s nothing scary in there - the colours are all very natural as the name suggests and would suit most complexions. The kit itself is made from cardboard with a magnetic closing and plastic insert, pretty basic but lightweight and great for travel.

Here’s a closer look…

  

                            Eye shadow swatches by the Pixiwoos - click pic to view more.

Giveaway Time!

For a chance to win this Real Techniques Modern Natural Kit, please enter the giveaway via the Rafflecopter widget below. You can select one option or all - each one counts as an additional entry. This giveaway is open internationally & will close in 2 weeks when I will select a winner at random and and contact them directly via email or twitter - good luck!



a Rafflecopter giveaway

Nails Inc Latex

Nails Inc has bottled the latex look with four new polishes for a super smooth matt mani. The polish applies glossy but dries into a waxy finish that looks and feels just like latex.

I imagine this will be a total marmite launch that people will love or loathe. Personally, I like the look of the polishes and the idea of how they might feel to the touch - but think the latter will be the clincher. I’m guessing that anyone squeamish about - or allergic to - latex will steer clear. Speaking of which, I had an alarming experience this week when a lady next to us in a cafe became very anxious as my son’s balloon almost touched her and she had a latex allergy, eek! I have huge empathy for anyone with an allergy as my son has several (inc peanuts). As far as I know, the formula of these polishes contain no actual latex, so no cause for concern there.

The pale pink and aqua shades are my favourite as the finish of these offers a less girly way to wear pastels, which I think would look great with a tan…

This formula should be applied in two even coats (leaving a few mins dry time in between) with no topcoat, which would hide the latex effect. The four shades available are:

• Portobello Road - petal pink
• Bermondsey Street - aqua
• Shoreditch High Street - hot pink
• Camden Passage - nude

Nails Inc Latex Effect Nail Polish, £12 is available now HERE

 

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Nail Art Tips

There’s something about bright, Spring/Summer nail colours that puts me in the mood for nail art at this time of year. While I’m not into overly elaborate bejewelled nails, I’m partial to a few polka dots, a contrasting stripe of colour or glitter tips - even better if it’s just on one accent nail.

I picked up my set of nail art tools on eBay cheap as chips, but really all you need is a bobby pin or cocktail stick for dots and a thin paintbrush for lines. The little plastic circular stickers that go around the edge of ring binders *flashback to schooldays* can be used for half moon designs or French manis - or you could even get creative with masking tape.

Below is a step by step guide to creating pretty pastel scallop nails… you could of course use any colours you like or just use this design on your ring finger as an accent nail.

If you think painting on a design like this would be too tricky, you could try using a Sharpie pen (over a clear or coloured base to avoid staining)… they come in so many colours and are of course very long lasting. I’m also coming around to the trend for floating nail art - with simple designs painted over a clear ‘naked nail’ base - and Sharpies would be perfect for this. After all that effort, it’s important to seal the finished look with a strong top coat such as Seche Vite for a smooth, long lasting finish.

Are you a fan of nail art - if so, which kind of designs do you like best?

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CEW 2014 You Beauty Discovery & Caudalie Latest in Beauty

I know a lot of people are over the whole beauty box craze, but I think the contents of these two Latest in Beauty launches are worth taking a look at. Here’s the low down on what you get and my verdict on the contents…

YOU Beauty Discovery CEW(UK) 2014 Limited Edition Box

The annual CEW (Cosmetic Executive Women) UK Awards, which took place on Friday, are widely regarded as the ‘Oscars of the Beauty Industry’ - and this box includes 7 of the 2014 finalist brands:

• Elemis Pro Collagen Marine Cream, 115ml
• GLAMGLOW multi-award winning at-home mud treatment, 15ml
• Philip Kingsley Elasticizer, 40ml
• L'Occitane en Provence's NEW Formula Almond Collection, 50ml
• Dr Organic Moroccan Argan Hair Treatment Serum, 100ml
• Manuka Doctor Mini Hero Kit, 3/5/7ml samples
• Caudalie Divine Legs, 5ml (not photographed)

Value: almost £100; Cost: £16.95 + p&p here

My verdict: I’m already a big fan of the first 3 products and the others appeal enough to make me curious to try them. Although there are no duds here, I struggle to get excited about a product I can only use once or twice, so the two minis are less wow, but the others are all generously sized. Plus there’s a 25% discount for Elasticizer - win!

 

Latest In Beauty Caudalie Polyphenols C15 Discovery Box

This box provides an opportunity to try Caudalie’s new skincare range featuring Grape-seed Polyphenols, the most powerful anti-oxidant in the plant world, repairing Vitamin C and skin-plumping hyaluronic acid. You also get £10 off a £40+ spend at caudalie.com and 20% off a face or spa treatment in the London boutique (both valid until 22 June 2014).

I’m a long-term Caudalie fan and although I haven’t been using these products long enough to relay any results, they’re certainly a pleasure to use. Although the products are small - you can gauge their size better from the pic below - this box offers the chance to try them for long enough to figure out if they’re for you (I’d say 3-4 weeks’ worth), without a huge initial investment.

What you get:

• Anti-wrinkle Defence Serum, 10ml
• Anti-wrinkle Protect Fluid, 15ml
• Anti-wrinkle Eye & Lip Cream, 5ml

Value: £28+; Cost: £9.95 (free delivery) here

My verdict: The chance to try 3 products from one brand really appeals to me and personally I wish there was the opportunity to try miniature ranges from more brands. I’d happily invest in this as I view Caudalie as a trusted brand, plus if you like the products, you can get your money back on full sized purchases, making this low risk.

Speaking of risk, it’s the risk factor that I personally dislike about some other beauty boxes, where you don’t even know what you’re getting. With these two, it’s easy to make that judgement call in advance and I personally think they’re both worthwhile investments.

What do you think?

 

 

Jo Malone Calm & Collected

Graffiti artists, Calm & Collected, have reinterpreted five of Jo Malone’s most-loved fragrances in striking limited edition bottles. The Calm & Collected collection launches today, featuring beautiful silk screen designs and bespoke packaging for English Pear & Freesia, Pomegranate Noir, Lime Basil & Mandarin, Earl Grey & Cucumber and Peony & Blush Suede.

Each design reflects the contents and I think these would look stunning on any dressing table... they look so crisp, fresh and juicy - perfect for this time of year.

Calm & Collected is made up of artists, Adam Bletchly, Alex McCullough, Chris Mackenzie and Donal Sturt, who will be creating boxes live at Jo Malone boutiques in Selfridges London, Birmingham & Manchester, where customers can choose their own colours and have them personalised.

The collaboration is part of the Selfridges Beauty Project and you can find out more about the live events here. For those of us a little further afield, the Calm & Collected collection is available from Selfridges online HERE.

Which design do you like best?

 

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