EcoTOOLS Bamboo Powder Brush

I’ve been looking for a new powder brush for a while… I use the flat top ELF, one by Crown Brushes and an aDesign Kabuki, but didn’t have a regular, super soft standard powder brush, which is where this Eco Tools one slots in perfectly.

Made from synthetic, cruelty-free bristles, it has a recycled aluminium ferrule, a bamboo handle and is 100% vegan.

I’ve tried a few brushes recently which felt scratchy on my skin; these synthetic bristles are so kitten soft I wanted to use the brush to apply lots of different products.  Obviously I started with powder, but found it worked equally well with bronzer and even blusher. 

Although it’s bigger than a regular blusher brush, I quite liked how I could place the full amount of blush with one press to my skin (sorry can’t think of a better way of describing that!).  You know what I mean, right? Instead of sweeping a smaller brush around the area, just one ‘pat’ of blusher = job done. I then swirled over the surface with a little more powder to set the blush, blend and soften any edges.   Apparently it’s also great for applying cream blusher, though I’m yet to try this.

The bristles have quite a lot of give, which prevents picking up too much product and helps distribute it easily.

The bristles fan out in a perfect curve, which hugs the contours of your face, neck & décolleté -  bronzer applied evenly and with ease to all these areas. 

The bamboo handle is lightweight, yet sturdy enough to feel substantial in your hand, which I really liked as I felt this gave me more control - I’m not a fan of thin, spindly handles.

 

The brush comes in a resealable, breathable fabric-backed storage pouch, which would be useful for travel.

The good news is that EcoTOOLS Powder Brush rrp is just £8.70, a great price for a good quality brush!

Widely available (slight variations in price) from places like Cocktail Cosmetics, Boots & CutECOsmetics 

Let’s Get Summer Ready together….

I have a feeling that warm sunshine & blue skies will return when we’re least expecting it.  And I have a plan… how about we use these cloudy days to get ourselves Summer ready, so that when it does appear, we’re ready to *bare our smooth, glossy bronzed selves to the world?!  *not literally ;)
And to make sure we stick to it, how about we do it together?
I’m not talking anything drastic - this is all about making the most of what we’ve got… and what I have in mind can make a huge difference not only to how we look, but much more importantly, how we feel in our own skin.
I’ve planned a little series of Summer Ready posts that cover everything on my to do list and some that I thought might help others - please let me know if there’s anything you’d like me to add…

• Summer Hair Heroes
  
• DIY Pedi
  
• De-fuzzing
• Self Tanning Tricks
  
• Bikini Body Secrets
  
• Bronzer for pale skins

Who’s with me?

Bits & Bobs

I’m not the most technical of bloggers, so it’s taken me a while to:

a. set up a blog Facebook page

b. register on Pinterest

c. add buttons on my blog so that people can find me there!

I’ve now gotten around to doing all of the above, so please do click on the Facebook & Pinterest icons on the right hand menu and keep me company there. :)  I’ll be doing an exclusive Facebook giveaway very soon & would hate any of my lovely blog followers to miss out!

I’ll just pop the links here: Pinterest & Facebook

 

Email/RSS subscribers

I’ve had issues with email/rss subscriptions forever, but have finally got these sorted - so if you’ve been wondering why you’re suddenly receiving email updates out of the blue, this is why!  I hope you’re enjoying them and if anyone else would like to subscribe by email, you will be be warmly welcomed & receive an email each day that I do a new post.

That’s all for now… I’m off to a school BBQ and looking out at the wind & rain I’d much rather stay snuggled up on the sofa!

Have a lovely weekend everyone!

Nic xx

Lily Lolo Mineral Makeup ~ Beach Babe, Honey Peach & Mystery Swatched

I’ve had my first foray into mineral makeup… something I’ve always intended to try, but been a little wary of.  I didn’t really understand it, was scared of working with loose powders and wasn’t sure how my skin would react.  Lily Lolo’s range of colours and textures looked so pretty I could resist no longer - and have really enjoyed experimenting with a several of the products.

I’ve just tried three so far: Beach Babe Mineral Blush (new) and two Mineral Eyeshadows: Honey Peach & Mystery.  I’ve just spent several hours photographing & editing the swatches, so will let them do most of the talking…

Colour

Beach Babe is a gorgeous warm peachy coral blush with a barely perceptible shimmer. I broke out of my comfort zone with this one as it’s more peach toned than I’d normally go for (I usually stick to pink cheeks) but used either as blusher or applied as you would a light bronzer on sunkissed points, it really does give the look of having spent a day at the beach (I’m working on the babe bit!).

Honey Peach is a matte, dusty peach and Mystery, the most divine deep steely khaki with slight metallic finish. It reminds me of a bit of Chanel Epetant D’Ombres, though this one is cooler and more blue toned.

The product comes in pretty little plastic pots with tiny holes that release a small amount at a time (this is a good thing!).  I generally shake it into the lid & swirl my brush through before applying to skin.  They give an even more pigmented effect when used wet.

Swatches

The top row in this table shows the colours tipped straight from the pots onto paper, then partly blended out, above the same shade swatched on skin.  Sorry that the captions are a bit wonky - I spent sooo long trying to get them perfect.  The pot on the bottom right is Honey Peach eyeshadow.  As you can see, the colour applies quite true to the original on the skin. 

Application

Applying the blush is a breeze, but admittedly, it’s taken me a while to get used to working with the eyeshadows and I do need a primer to help with lasting power (I used Urban Decay but it’s almost done so any recs very welcome!).  I pat the colour on with a flat brush, then go in with a blending brush.  I’ve also used the Mystery wet as a liner, which I love (pics of this in a sec).  There was some fallout, but a bit of loose powder below the eye prior to application and swept away afterwards took care of this.

In these pics (first one with flash) I’m wearing Mystery eyeshadow to line my eyes, Honey Peach eyeshadow on my lids and Beach Babe on my cheeks.  It looks quite made up with the flash, but is more of a soft, natural look without. Honey Peach also makes a pretty, matte blush.

Skin Kind

Lily Lolo mineral makeup is free from harsh chemicals, nano particles, parabens, Bismuth Oxychloride, talc, synthetic dyes, fillers, fragrance and preservatives and 99% of the shades are vegan-friendly.  The idea of skin-friendly makeup sits well with me and these products are extremely well priced for the quality. 

The eyeshadows are just £5.29 each and blusher £7.29.  I challenge you to resist some of the colours stocked at CutECOsmetics, including brushes, lip products & trial sizes. I’m finding blusher particularly irresistible at the moment & love the look of Surfer Girl pink & Oh La La, a pinky coral.

Are you a mineral makeup fan?

 

Dr Jart+ BB Beauty Balm

The much anticipated Korean Beauty Balm cream, Dr.Jart+ is now available in the UK.

Acting not only as a moisturiser, serum, primer and perfector, each Dr.Jart+ BB Cream targets individual skincare needs, though the colour looks as though it remains quite pale with each type.

The range includes four specially formulated BB creams to target various skin issues:

Oily Water Fuse SPF25 - ideal for those aged 20-35s with a soft application which gives natural, fresh looking skin and controls sebum production. £18

Sensitive Regenerating SPF30 - Provides strong coverage for redness and spots which won't rub off as easily as traditional cosmetics. Skin will look brighter, whilst still suitable for problem and sensitive skin. Particularly suitable for those between 20 and 35. £21

Dry Platinum SPF30 - Provides high coverage in a light application. The moisturising lotion is particularly suitable for those in their 30s. £22

Anti-ageing Premium SPF40 - Provides high SPF40 protection with anti-oxidants. A slightly glossy, low coverage cream which helps fight ageing. Particularly suitable for those over 30. £24

It sounds like Platinum or Premium would be best for me as my skin is both dry and ageing - I’ll let you know what I think of this product when I’ve had a chance to try it out!  It will be interesting to compare it to some of the formulas brought out by non Asian beauty brands.

Dr Jart+ BB Creams are now available at Boots online or in-store.

Have you succumbed to the BB hype?

The Body Shop Coconut Body Mist & Lily Cole Violet Liquid Liner

The Body Shop has launched a set of eight lightly fragranced Body Mists which are perfect for Summer in Coconut, Pink Grapefruit, Mango, Strawberry, Vanilla, Moringa, Satsuma and Shea. 

Despite my despicably sweet tooth, I am not fond of sweet smells and while I do treat myself to the giant tub of Body Shop Coconut Body Butter each Summer, this smells stronger to me - it’s just toooo sweet & coconuty for my taste.  Loads of you will love it, I know (including friends I’ve tried this out on), so I thought I’d share it with you anyway!

I’ll most definitely treat myself to one or two of the others - and particularly like the sound of Pink Grapefruit, Moringa and Shea. (Body Shop’s Shea Body Butter is my all time favourite body moisturiser - you can see my review of the Coconut & Shea butters HERE).

The mist is fine and cooling on the skin and I do like to spritz myself all over with a product like this on Summer days (that’ll be any day now!) and can even imagine popping this in my beach bag (imagining is as far as I’ll get since I’m not going anywhere).

Body Mists cost £7 at The Body Shop UK or 11.95 euro

 

Lily Cole Violet Liquid Eyeliner

Part of the Lily Cole collection for Body Shop, this violet liquid eyeliner is luscious!

The wand has a slightly flexible fine point, but isn’t too thin, which makes it a bit easier to use.

It has a fabulous fine fuchsia shimmer, which I struggled to capture on camera when dry, so here it is wet. The metallic sheen is actually still visible in the light when dry and creates a gorgeous effect.

Heavy swatch, top and single swipe, bottom; it really does need two layers for the full effect.

This is a really wearable shade and is colourful without being too in your face.  I love it in a single thick cat-eye flick with fuchsia lips, or blended with my Chanel D’Ombre Illusoire for a purpley smokey eye.

There are some other lovely pieces in this collection - if you fancy treating yourself to some Body Shop makeup it’s currently on a 3 for 2 offer.

Lily Cole Liquid Eyeliner is £9 at The Body Shop UK or 13.95 euro

samples

Mavala Minsk #218 ~ Monday Mani

Mavala nail polishes tick a lot of boxes for me:  miniature bottles, great application, innovative colours, and reasonable price.  I’ve noticed this Swiss brand’s dinky bottles for years, but it seems to have come into its own recently, so clearly lots of others agree with me! 

I’ve taken a brief interlude from Summery colours for this week’s Monday Mani… a stormy dark blue-grey just seemed appropriate. Can’t imagine why.

I’ve wanted Minsk for a long time - I do like an ‘alternative’ dark and think this particular shade is very chic.  Oh and it matches my necklace perfectly.

Dinky little bottles!  I buy mine from Beauty Bay for a very reasonable £3.50 each.  You can see Minsk here. There are so many amazing colours to choose from… the delicious pastels are next on my list!

Are you sticking to Summer brights or joining me in an Autumnal mani moment?

Bodhi Bath & Shower

Technorati Tags: Skincare

When it comes to beauty products, my two great loves are luxury & natural.  Bodhi Botanical Therapies is one of the few brands I’ve discovered which manages to combine both beautifully. This range of bath, shower and body treatments - inspired by different global cultures - combines natural ingredients with advanced cosmetic science.

I love the packaging, presentation and ethos, but this is what I love most about Bodhi…

“The eclectic range is infused with active ratios of high quality essential oils and perfumery grade absolutes to create a bath and body care range that not only cares for skin, it also enhances your mental well-being and indulges the senses.”

I’m becoming more and more drawn to products like this - that make us feel good as well as look good. Or that make us feel good as well as making our home smell good (Neom Organics I’m thinking of you). I’m sure there are others, but Neom is the main one that comes to mind.

Bodhi products are naturally free from harsh synthetics – no petrochemicals, sulphates, parabens, synthetic colours, synthetic fragrances or animal ingredients - and no animal testing.

So what do they look like? Flipping gorgeous, that’s what…

I was honoured to receive the Bath & Shower Assemblage, containing 50ml bottles of the different products.  Here’s how it arrived…

A chi chocolate brown box covered with this striking sleeve - isn’t it beautiful?  And inside…

 

A pretty, sturdy box & tissue, covering….

Seven colourful bottles of bath & shower gel.  The whole presentation & packaging is just perfect - what a gorgeous gift.

A closer look at the contents…

As you can see from the fragrance descriptions, the products divide into three categories. I’ll give a brief overview of each…

Invigorating

• Rosemary Chi - Rosemary, Geranium, Petitgrain and Cedarwood oils boost spirits & concentration
• Mint The - Peppermint, Marjoram and Frankincense invigorate and de-stress
• Galangal Spice - uplifting Galangal, Cardamom and Kaffir Lime Leaf.

Relaxing

• Jasmine Falls - Jasmine Absolute, Lavender and Vetyver to de-stress & soothe
• Palmarosa Verde - balancing & refreshing with Palmarosa, Bourbon Geranium and Bulgarian Damask Rose Otto. Great for morning or evening use.

Sensual

• Ylang Ylang Incense - Ylang-Ylang and Patchouli, spiked with Honeysuckle, Neroli and Pink Peppercorn are euphoric, calming and uplifting
• Pep Noir - Black Pepper, White Thyme and Bergamot - detoxing & energising (should officially be in the ‘invigorating’ category but I find the warm spicy fragrance very sensual).

How do they perform?

The consistency of these isn’t like anything I’ve used before - like a cross between an oil and a bodywash. I could say gel as they’re transparent, but they are so much more than a gel.  Their fragrance is just heavenly and they feel deeply luxurious and nourishing on the skin, like a home spa treatment. 

My Favourites

I don’t dislike any of them, though my favourites are Mint The and Pep Noir - at complete opposites of their spectrum.  Mint The is like a breathe of fresh air - beautifully refreshing in the morning and really does lift my spirits.  Pep Noir is warm and sexy, quite a masculine fragrance though completely unisex.  It would actually be gorgeous as a perfume and is probably more of a Winter scent.  Jasmine Falls is divine too - I adore jasmine and it blends beautifully with the red mandarin and vetyver.

CutECOsmetics is currently offering a free 40ml body moisturiser when you spend £20 on Bodhi.  These are rich, creamy and smell slightly stronger than the body wash, leaving a gorgeous fragrance on your skin.

Prices

• The full sized Bath & Shower Therapy and Body Moisturisers come in enormous 250ml bottles at £23 each
• A set of 7x50ml bottles of Bath & Shower Assemblage, shown above is £40
• A Duet Gift Pouch with 50ml Bath & Shower Therapy and 40ml Body Moisturiser is £12

You can see the full range at CutECOsmetics

Why you don’t need a Summer Foundation…

I know lots of people buy new foundation in Summer when their skin tone is a shade or two darker - I’ve often done it myself - but it’s expensive and really not necessary.  I thought I’d share a few tricks to help deepen your skin colour with products you might already have in your cupboard {purple links lead to my reviews of some products mentioned}.

Layer over self tan

Applying a layer of wear-off self tan will make the foundation you apply on top look slightly darker - and works well in early Summer when you just want a bit of a glow - or for your face to blend in with your self tanned body.  I’ve been using Karora gradual self tan for face & body and find it works really well and doesn’t clog pores or irritate my skin (a major feat for me).

Another alternative is to use a tinted moisturiser or light coverage foundation on top of a self tanned face, as the sheer finish will allow the colour to show through.  I find I need less foundation anyway when I’m wearing self tan as the extra colour makes imperfections less obvious.  A touch of Estee Lauder Daywear BB Crème and Double Wear concealer was all I needed in the recent fleeting spell of hot weather.

Mix with instant tan

Blend a drop of instant tanner (again I’ve been using Karora) with foundation in the palm of your hand before applying to your face. This will give you complete control over depth of colour - and as the colour on your body deepens, you can add a little more.  I do like my face to be slightly lighter than my body, but don’t want a golden body and fluro face.  A good gauge is to stay within the colour that your face naturally tans.  I’m assuming that you’re all being good girls and using spf on your faces these days! ;) I’m loving Natio.

You could also blend some instant tan over your foundation, but personally I find that a bit fiddly and prefer to mix them in advance. If you’re clever and light handed enough, this can be a great way to add contour (you could do the same thing with samples of darker foundation).

Bronze it Up

The third option is to add your colour with bronzing powder.  I’ve found that this can be done in a very subtle way by using a duo fibre brush - one with short thick hairs at the base and finer, wispy hairs towards the ends. (I’ve been using this one by Crown Brushes). A duo fibre allows you to pick up a small amount of product and ‘whisper’ it onto your skin… the tangoed look is a thing of the past.  I’ve been doing this with the Superbalanced Clinique Bronzer that I thought was too dark for this time of year - and honestly it looks perfect.  It really adds radiance too, which I just love, as so many bronzers either flatten the skin or make you look like a disco ball.

Obviously as the weather gets warmer and your tan deepens, you can add more colour to your face, but I still think less is more and light is always flattering to the face.  I always add a touch of blush on the apples of my cheeks as I don’t have naturally rosy cheeks and think a touch of blush looks really pretty on top of bronzer.  I’ve been wearing one (or two) by Illamasqua, which I’ll review soon.

Maybe everyone else on the planet does all of the above already, but in all honesty it really didn’t occur to me until last Summer, so I thought I’d share my thoughts in the hope that it might help someone else save a few quid!

Colour Adjusters

My final suggestion is a bit of a long term investment but an absolutely genius creation in my opinion: a product that is specifically designed to adjust the colour of your foundation by adding depth, warmth, or light.  Face Atelier is the only brand I know of that does this - I tried a little sample of it and it’s just incredible.

Available in Zero Minus (white), Zero Plus (dark brown), Zero Plus Plus (almost black) and Heat (brick red), just a tiny drop can alter your foundation colour dramatically.  Face Atelier is a US brand loved by many makeup artists (& stars including Fergie & Lady Gaga) and I’ve been so impressed by the little experience I’ve had with it - you can see the range on Cloud 10 Beauty {here} and samples are available for £1 each.

 

I hope this has been useful - have fun experimenting! :)

Nic x

GOSH Lusty Pink Cream Blush, Green Long Lasting Liner & Bootcamp Nailpolish

 

I have a weakness for blusher.  I knew it was only a matter of time until I ended up with too many of them - and as a result, some get overlooked from time to time.  It’s been a while since I reached for this little cream blush beauty by GOSH Cosmetics, for no reason other than it was buried below lots of other ‘stuff’.  (I need makeup storage urgently, but that’s another post)

Anyway, I realised that I had been very rude and not shared it with you - along with a couple of other items from the same range, so here we go…

GOSH Natural Touch Cream Blusher #005 Lusty Pink

Don’t be scared of the colour - it really won’t look like this on your cheeks!  I’d call this Poppy Red rather than Lusty Pink, but there you go. It’s bright, but workable.  Although a cream blush, this is more dry than creamy, which is good as it helps create a more subtle effect. Your fingers/brush won’t sink into it; just lift a little from the surface.

Bottom left is a heavyish swatch, above that is a lighter one (both with fingers) and to the right I swatched it with my Real Techniques Stippling Brush, which is how I apply it to my cheeks.  See how soft it looks? 

This is one of those blushes that really brightens up your whole face when you look completely knackered.  It’s highly pigmented, so you only need a teeny bit - I literally ‘stroke’ it with the edge of the bristles then blend it into my skin. 

Using a brush to apply cream blusher has opened up a whole new world to me… I just can’t get the same even finish with my fingers and always felt like I was wiping off my foundation - not any more!

This has good lasting power and is reasonably priced at £7.49 at Superdrug (also available in lighter colours!).

GOSH Long Lasting Eye Liner Pen #001Green

This comes with an almost solid applicator with very little give, almost like a very fine pen for drawing on the colour with.  The green is just gorgeous - a dark iridescent racing green with a delicate turquoise shimmer that creates a metallic finish when it catches the light. 

I’m no expert at applying liquid liner, but found this reasonably easy to work with, especially if I held the applicator at an angle, almost sideways.  I’ve tried to show how you can create lines of different thicknesses depending how you hold it.  It wears quite well, though does tend to crack a bit if I apply the line too thickly.

Long Lasting eyeliner costs £6.49 at Superdrug & comes in 8 shades.

GOSH Special Edition Nailpolish in Bootcamp  

This special edition polish is a deep metallic khaki toned bronze, which applies smoothly and is opaque in 2 coats.  Sorry that I didn’t get around to swatching it on my nails, but you can see my friend Stina’s lovely swatches at Chic Beauty Blog {here}.  A good option for an Olympic mani?

This costs £4.99 though I can’t find it on the Superdrug website at the moment.

Do you have any GOSH favourites?