Sunday Riley Skincare: In the Spotlight

 

Amid my beauty babble, I’m often asked about favourites from one specific brand, or realise that I’m not talking enough about lesser known gems. ‘In the Spotlight’ is a new feature where I’ll focus on highlights (& lowlights) of big players, new discoveries and the niche beauty brands that make up some of my best finds. In essence, best-of-beauty round-ups to save you some legwork (& hopefully cash). 

First up is a relatively new discovery for me… Sunday Riley is a brand that I’ve been aware of for a year or two, but only recently got the chance to try. I had the pleasure of meeting the Sunday Riley team when they popped over to Belfast (from Texas, as you do) during their launch into Space NK stores. You may remember I blogged about Caroline Hirons being in town for this and I know lots of you enjoyed consultations with her on the day (totally worth several hours of queuing!). It was great to hear first hand how each of the products work, the benefits of each one and how they complement oneanother - and even better to be sent home with some to try out for myself - so after several weeks of testing, here are my thoughts.

To give you a little background, Sunday Riley’s skincare range incorporates high percentages of sophisticated active ingredients balanced with gentle botanicals. With an onus on flawless, glowing ‘obsession-worthy’ skin, it’s earned a cult status among A-list celebs, models (and regular peeps like us) world wide. This is reflected in the price - but with good reason - not always the case in the beauty world.

It’s been a real treat using these products, though it took a little experimenting to get the right balance for me (thanks to Caroline Hirons for advice on that) - there were definitely a couple of stand outs which I think suit me best and quite frankly, I never wish to part with.

CERAMIC SLIP CLEANSER

Ceramic Slip Cleanser is a clay based cleanser which smells very green and reminds me of something I can’t quite put my finger on. I think it’s the scent of chopping vegetables - which is kinda weird, but I like it! I adore the satisfyingly creamy texture when massaging this into my skin, though in all honesty, think it works best restricted to a few times a week for me. My skin is quite dry and twice daily use left a slight tightness that I now avoid by (reluctantly) cutting down. I LOVE how soft and smooth it makes my skin feel immediately after use. If you’re oily/combination - or even normal - consider this - it’s pretty darn divine.

GOOD GENES

  

If I could only have one Sunday Riley product, Good Genes would be IT - as this has made a significant physical improvement to my skin. Possibly more than any other I’ve tried, which I don’t say lightly. Made with 40% Lactic Acid to plump, exfoliate and refine, this is a brightening, radiance treatment, which I use post-cleansing, under an oil and/or moisturiser. Although I’m dry, my skin is prone to congestion and I am PLAGUED with under skin bumps, which had recently been joined by a batch of milia on my cheeks, as well as a permanent rash on the sides of my neck. 3 weeks in, 90% of this has GONE. The texture of my skin looks and feels finer and my pores are much clearer. They aren’t going anywhere - more’s the pity - but I think they look less obvious. Good Genes can also be mixed with Ceramic Slip Cleanser and applied as a mask, which is great for a pre night out skin boost.

NB this did tingle a lot and cause some redness when I first used it, due to the Lactic Acid content, which worried me as I’m prone to rosacea flare ups. I was using it morning and night, which I’ve since been advised is too much (for me at least). Switching to every other day has reduced my reaction to a mild tingling, which I’m barely aware of.

I haven’t had any rosacea flare ups since using any of these products, which I’m delighted about. If you have sensitive skin, I do recommend trying a sample of Good Genes before buying. It’s in Space NK now, so even if you can’t get hold of an official sample, try a little dot of it on your skin from a tester to see how you react. Also, half a pump is plenty for me - the more I use, the more tingling I experience and I’d rather err on the side of caution.

JUNO HYDROACTIVE CELLULAR FACE OIL

JUNO, aka The Glow Giver. I do love a good face oil and JUNO is in a league of its own. Antioxidant-rich, it’s high in natural retinol, Omega-3, 6, & 9, essential amino acids, Vitamin C, UV shields, and natural anti-inflammatory agents. Besides all that good stuff, what I actually love about it most (no, not just the swoonworthy purple and yellow ombre bottle), is purely and simply how it feels on my skin. And how my skin feels with it on. It’s lightweight and created to penetrate more deeply into the skin than most oils, delivering goodness where needed. This also has the effect of minimal residue - and I can even apply a small amount of this under make-up if my skin feels the need (or add a dot into my moisturiser). I usually restrict oils to a few times a week, but have used this at least once daily since I got it - and noticed a softness and brightness that wasn’t there before. Suitable for sensitive skins, even eczema sufferers, this contains no essential oils.

I know I said I love Good Genes the most, but it’s a very close call people - and while Good Genes may not be for everyone, I honestly think this is. (Mind you, Sunday Riley has just released a new oil called LUNA, which also sounds all kinds of wonderful.) Oh it’s all too much!

OVER ACTIVE EYE CREAM

Start Over Eye Cream has a silky, soothing texture that feels exceptionally comfortable on the skin and leaves my eye area feeling well nourished and hydrated. Designed to treat puffiness, dark circles and damaged skin, it’s a great all rounder that sinks in quickly and doesn’t interfere with make-up applied on top. I can’t say I’ve noticed a major difference in the physical appearance of my eye area, but in all honesty I’ve been more obsessed with examining the results of the above on the rest of my face! Some of you may have heard me lament about dry patches around my eyes a couple of months ago - these are now gone, which is a big bonus. NB this is a sample tube and normally comes in a similar pump bottle to Good Genes.

Sunday Riley skincare is available in-store and online at Space NK or at Cult Beauty with prices starting at £35.

If you’ve tried anything from Sunday Riley I’d love to hear how you got on?

KIKO Generation Next: Review & Swatches

 

I love that KIKO is so innovative with its new releases and Generation Next is one of my favourites to date. This beautifully packaged, contemporary collection rivals more expensive competitors and the texture and finish of the products are so impressive… think well pigmented and feather light on the skin, with great lasting power.

 

If you saw these spilling out of someone’s make-up bag would you think this was a budget range? I definitely wouldn’t - the packaging is beautiful, right down to the clasp mechanisms and built-in eyeliner sharpeners. Even the boxes add an element of luxe, brightly coloured and cut at quirky angles.

SWATCHES

Swatches from left: Masterpiece Bronzer, Crystal Eyeliner in Reflect Burgundy + Technological Brown, Cool-Touch Eye shadow in Ingeneous Taupe, Glassy Lipgloss in Essential Rose and Frosted Look Lipstick in Stylish Peony.

MASTERPIECE BRONZER

Masterpiece Bronzer is the most striking looking of this bunch and I think the soft apricot shade will work well on light to medium toned skins (make sure you check out the swoony Guerlain-esque mosaic blush and highlighter). The layout makes it fairly easy to concentrate on one or two shades from the palette and I’ve also used these as crease colours on my eyes.

CRYSTAL EYELINER | GLASSY LIPGLOSS | FROSTED LOOK LIPSTICK

The Crystal Eyeliners are my top pick for their smooth texture, great pigmentation and really impressive lasting power (closest I’ve tried to NARS Larger than Life). Technological Brown is a very shimmery copper with glitter particles and Reflect Burgundy, a dark plum-brown metallic. I’ve been using the deeper shade on my upper lash line and the lighter below… these don’t budge ALL day and are still immaculate when I remove them at bedtime. You have a little bit of time to soften them before they set, but not a lot. LOVE.

I’m a big fan of KIKO lip products and stocked up when I was in Italy last year. These two are great additions: Glassy Lipgloss in Essential Rose has a really light texture on the lips and looks lovely over a nude liner. Don’t be put off by the name of ‘Frosted Look’ Lipstick in Stylish Peony - the finish is satin, verging on matte and unusually for these chubby pencils, the bullet is really nicely shaped for precise application.

COOL TOUCH EYESHADOW

   

Cool Touch Eyeshadow in Ingeneous Taupe is the most innovative of the collection, with a velvety cream to powder texture. The formula is actually water-based and reminds me of really silky pressed pigments. It can be applied sheer with a fluffy brush or intensely with a finger or flat brush (sidenote: KIKO eye brushes are fantastic). The transparent inner lid preserves its freshness and the outer lid includes a little mirror. NB when first opened, there is a tiny plastic disc over the colour which just flips out if you turn it upside down… just to save you poking at it with a screwdriver, knife et all like I did, oops! 

I’m wearing all of the products except the lipgloss in the pic above… sorry that the lighting isn’t great - you can see why in this Instagram pic!

KIKO Generation Next, from £7.50, is available now at kikocosmetics.co.uk or in KIKO shops.

Seven Seas Perfect7: an update

As someone who regularly trials skincare products and examines the results under a mega magnifying mirror (scary things), I’m very conscious that my skin reflects what’s happening on the inside, no matter which products I apply. I’m talking what I put into my mouth via my diet, how I feel in terms of hormones and emotions, how much sleep I get - the lot. I do believe that supplements can help and Perfect7 Woman is designed to ensure that we get all the nutrients we need to help maintain normal skin and nails. I find this particularly useful in Winter when I’m prone to reaching for comfort foods, with less salads, brightly coloured veg and juices than in Summer.

You may remember that I started taking Seven Seas Perfect7 in December and said I’d get back to you on the effects. It contains a blend of marine oils, rich in Omega-3, with key vitamins and minerals; the marine oils help maintain normal heart and brain function, while vitamins and minerals help reduce tiredness and fatigue.

At 8 weeks in, I’m happy to say that I have noticed positive results - and I do think that it takes a few weeks of build up with any supplement to see a marked difference - so don’t expect miracles overnight. For me, the biggest difference is in my nails and eyelashes… my nails in particular tend to really suffer in Winter, becoming more brittle and dehydrated with dry cuticles. They now feel as strong as they would if I’d be using a specific nail treatment, my cuticles are quite presentable and I have to get the nail file out twice as often as usual, so they’re definitely growing faster. As for my lashes, they are genuinely as long as if I’d used a lash treatment serum - and we all know my lashes are kinda pathetic - so this is a significant bonus for me… I now look like I have normal lashes!

In terms of my skin, it’s difficult to make a call because of the skincare I’ve been testing alongside taking these, but a particularly nasty patch of dry itchy skin on my arm has all but disappeared. I’m sure the fish oils have benefitted my hair too, but without getting all scientific, it’s difficult to measure these things accurately.

For me, a big bonus of this supplement is the price. At £9.99 per month, it’s definitely a cost I can afford to maintain and judging by the benefits so far, I fully intend to. Each pack includes 30 fish oil capsules and 30 multivitamins, so you take one of each per day.

Find out more about Seven Seas Perfect7 Woman (& Man!) at www.perfect7.co.uk  (ps currently on 3 for 2 at Boots)

 

*Sponsored by Seven Seas

Bobbi Brown Brightening Bricks Spring 2015

Bobbi Brown Brightening Bricks combine the effect of bronzer, blusher and highlighter in one compact, to brighten the complexion with a skin flattering glow. I’d describe the finish as mid way between their Shimmer Bricks and Brightening Powder, veering closest to the latter.  I have four of the six shades to show you and think these will be a big hit for Spring skin or as a little boost in the dreary in between months.  The powders feel smooth and finely milled, with subtle payoff… designed to be worn as a soft blush (my preference) or all over the face as a luminous veil. They do have a touch more shimmer than the likes of Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powders - and of course an added flush of colour - so I like to place them carefully on my skin rather than use all over, focusing mostly on cheeks and temples. Infused with Mulberry and Grape, they illuminate while absorbing excess oil, without drying or settling into lines.

Pastel Pink has been my most used out of the four, giving cheeks a lovely pale rosy sheen that pale faces will love. This is the only shade I would consider using all over my face (at this time of year when I’m at my palest) and while I do like the glowy effect of that, I prefer restricting it to cheeks. In each of the compacts, one square is more shimmery than all the others, but I find that holding my thumb over that one shade while swirling a brush around the others reduces any overkill. I then go in with a little shimmer on a small brush as highlight on upper cheekbones and browbones, which works really well. I’ve also found that the more I use the compact, the less shimmer there is, so I do think there’s some degree of overspray involved.

Coral is my second favourite and absolutely beautiful… I’ve been adding a pop of this in the centre of cheeks when I’m looking extra pale and will use this a lot more come Summer… it’s just pure prettiness in six little squares.

 

Pastel Peach is the palest of them all… I tend to suit cooler pink tones, so prefer Pastel Pink on me, but this is very pretty and the most shimmery of the bunch, so a good option if you’re after more of the highlighting element.  

Cranberry is a stunner - I just love the tones in this - it will work well on medium to dark skintones for an overall brightening effect.

These swatches are heavy to give you an idea of the colour… this is about 3 layers of finger swatch swirled around all 6 shades in each pan; applied with a brush the colours are very subtle on the skin and nowhere near as intense as this. A light sweep with a loose bristled brush will add a glow with a sheer hint of colour, or you can add a little more intensity to cheeks with a smaller blush brush. Even as a blush, the effect is still quite subtle on me, particularly with the two pastel shades… I can add a pop of colour with Coral and Cranberry, but this may be less obvious on deeper skin tones.  They really do add warmth and glow rather than a traditional blush or bronzer, so depending on your skintone, you may wish to add a pop of additional colour with your regular shades.

I’ve added swatches using a brush to give a better idea of how these actually appear on the skin. I used a stippling brush and really worked the product into my skin with the two pastel shades to get them to show up this much. Coral and Cranberry were done using a ‘pinched’ blush brush for more depth of colour. Note the tiny specks of glitter in the Pastel Peach shade in particular. Hopefully this gives you an idea of how these really can be used for both an allover wash or more intensely on the cheeks, a truly versatile product. (This is my third edit and I’m going to stop now… I know how frustrating it is to buy a product and find it turns out differently than expected - big part of my motivation for blogging - which Is why I’m passionate about giving as accurate a representation as possible!)

I’m wearing Pastel Pink in this pic and in the past week, friends have asked what product I’m using to make my cheeks look “soft and glowy”… that’s good enough for me!

EDIT: I’ve been asked how these compare to Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blusher and would say they are midway between the Ambient Lighting powders and blushes; veering slightly closer to the powders (review). NB the Hourglass blushers vary in intensity as each one is different; I own Radiant Magenta (review) which is so pigmented on me I barely touch my skin with it. These are very different - and more like what I was expecting from the Hourglass blushes. Subtle, skin-softening with a touch more shimmer and sprinkling of fine glitter (only visible under strong light) which seems to decrease with use.

Bobbi Brown Brightening Bricks are available here

The Beauty Buzz #2

For years before I started beauty blogging I’d get so excited about new season beauty releases and would stalk the corridors of Boots, Debenhams, House of Fraser and Space NK coo-ing and swooning over the counters. I haven’t lost that (obvs, or I wouldn’t be doing this) and still get that buzz, though sometimes the onslaught of new beauty releases can be quite overwhelming. I’ve combed through the best of the rest to share with you… beauty highlights, offers and steals!

NEW FOUNDATIONS
       
Forever in search of my holy grail base, new foundation releases catch my attention more than any other and we have three hitting counters any day now from NARS, Lancome and Clinique…

NARS All Day Weightless Luminous Foundation: full, longwear coverage in one drop - I was very excited about this release although from the reviews I’ve read, it sounds like it’s best suited to oily / combination skins and based on reviews, I think the finish is too ‘made up’ looking for my personal taste.  You can see the lovely Simone Scribes applying it on her YouTube  channel here.

Lancome Miracle Cushion: for a sheer, skin-like finish - the liquid cushion compact is a South Korean beauty trend, which you press with fingertips to release product. Coverage is described as sheer and hydrating and I think this sounds like a good option for Summer skin. Miracle Cushion is available in six shades and launches in February, priced £29.50.

Clinique Beyond Perfecting Foundation and Concealer: full coverage with a lightweight formula that can be blended over the face or applied more concentrated as concealer. Suitable for dry combination to combination oily, there’s a chance I might be able to get away with this one. Available February, it comes in 21 shades and costs £25.

 
JO MALONE JUST BECAUSE

   
Sometimes the most genius ideas begin as a simple concept, which is exactly what this is. Jo Malone London has launched a campaign that’s all about gift giving ‘just because’ - and everyone knows that ‘just because’ is the best reason to receive a gift, right? The service, which includes pretty personalised messages and packages wrapped up with Just Because ribbon, is available now at jomalone.co.uk  PS I can vouch for the fact that the Pomegranate Noir bath oil pretty much made my weekend! My other favourites include Blackberry & Bay, Wood Sage & Sea Salt and Peony & Blush Suede… I own the first two (thanks Santa!) and the latter is on my wish list.


LIMITED EDITION ELASTICIZER


Philip Kingsley has revealed a limited edition Fragranced Elasticizer, available in February for one month, exclusively on QVC. The scent of neroli, geranium, lavender, rose and orange oils was inspired by trips to Italy, all wrapped up in a floral pump bottle. Elasticizer has been my go-to hair mask or years - it strengthens, softens, detangles and can be used as an overnight treatment. Despite the £58 price tag for this mega 1 litre bottle, this is such a cult product I can imagine it selling out fast. If you fancy testing out a smaller size there are lots of options at feelunique.com, where I first discovered it in one of their Try Me Kits (from £5).


FENWICK HERE I AM

 
Receive a £250 ‘Here I Am’ beauty bag when you spend £200 at Fenwick of Bond Street’s Beauty Hall. Featuring luxury brands including Eve Lom, Suqqu, Laura Mercier and Chantecaille, this is one for Londoners as it’s only available in-store.

 
GET THE GLOSS WITH LATEST IN BEAUTY

Get the Gloss has put together a Beauty Insider’s Kit for Latest in Beauty, featuring lots of gorgeous brands such as Essie, Eyeko, GLAMGLOW, Laura Mercier, Balance Me, James Read and Daniel Sandler. I reckon even non-fans of Beauty Boxes will love this one… valued at  £116, you can get your hands on it now for £19.95 + p&p here: Get the Gloss

 
BEAUTY STEALS

• £10 off a £60 spend at cultbeauty.co.uk (easy done!) from 12 noon 29 Jan - midnight 2 Feb, with code PAYDAY10… see the website for bigger discount codes if you’re feeling extra spendy!
• 25% off selected brands including Klorane and Avene in a flash sale at escentual.com
• 40% off sale & non-sale products online and in-store using code 14671 at thebodyshop.co.uk

Anything calling your name?
 

Barry M Chisel Cheeks Contour Kit

Barry M Chisel Cheeks Contour Kit is a great place to start if you fancy trying your hand at contouring without spending big bucks on high end palettes like Anastasia Beverley Hills Pro Series or Laura Mercier Contouring Palette. It includes three matte powder shades to bronze, contour and highlight with a simple to follow guidelines to explain how it all works. All three shades are well pigmented, soft and blendable.

The light shade is a matte cream that adds light without shimmer, unlike most contour kits which do include a sheen at least (Barry M has shimmer and glitter covered elsewhere if that’s what you’re after).  This can also be used to dust all over the face like a standard powder if you wish, though personally I think it’s best use is to blend out the edges of the darker shades, or use all over them to tone down the colour if you’ve gone overboard (who, me?).

The middle shade is a warm medium bronze, neutral enough to suit many skin tones and could be used as a blush replacement for a subtle make-up look.

The cool toned dark shade is my favourite of the three, the perfect contour shade that actually creates the effect of natural shadows on the cheeks. Kevin Aucoin and Chanel have created great cooltoned contour products in similar tone, with even more shadowy grey undertone, but the price and performance of this make it a great alternative.

My favourite contouring combo is the darkest shade of Barry M Chisel Cheeks as contour with Clinique Chubby Stick Sculpting Highlight where the light catches naturally, on tops of cheek bones and brow bones. You can read more about Clinique’s contour kit in yesterday’s post.

While I think it’s great that these new kits make contouring more accessible to everyone, my only concern is that people will overdo it and end up looking ridiculous. At least with Barry M’s version, you won’t break the bank in the process! If you can’t wait until launch date to get chiselling, have a go with a cool greyish brown eye shadow like MAC Omega.

Barry M Chisel Cheeks, £6.49 launches into Boots on 4 February and Superdrug 11 February 2015.

Clinique Contour: Chubby Sticks & Cheek Palette

Struggle to get your head around contouring? Clinique has demystified make-up artist secrets with an upcoming collection featuring two Sculpting Chubby Sticks to contour and highlight and four Sculptionary Cheek Contouring Palettes.

SCULPTIONARY CHEEK CONTOURING PALETTES

I’ve been testing out the powder contour in Defining Roses, a trio of soft plum and berry toned pinks with a shell pink highlight. The colours can be used separately with small brushes to sculpt the face, though I like them best swirled together and applied like a regular blush, adding subtle highlight with the palest shade. Above, I’ve swatched the 3 colours both individually and blended - in a surprisingly flattering shade that I probably wouldn’t have picked up myself but like a lot.

 

CHUBBY STICK SCULPTING CONTOUR & HIGHLIGHT

As you can see, the tone of Curvy Contour is too warm for my skin, though I’m all over Hefty Highlight… I’ve shown both of these swatched heavily (pretty scary huh) and blended out. Hefty Highlight is a cool toned silvery peach, the kind of shade I find works best on my pale skin. It has a gentle shimmer with no glitter particles and can be sheered out as much as you like for a really subtle effect… just add a single swipe across tops of cheekbones and brow bones and tap to blend. If I’m feeling extra daring I’ll add a little down the centre of the bridge of my nose and on my cupid’s bow - for this I just take a little on my finger tip rather than applying straight from the bullet.

Even if you’re not into highlight per se, a creamy highlight like this is great for awakening the face - just by adding a little brightness. Great for days when make-up looks a bit flat or over powdered, or on tired eyes.

Contouring is something I prefer to keep very subtle. My face is quite long and angular already and emphasising that doesn’t do me any favours, so just a little shadow under cheekbones and a touch of highlight is my thing.

My top tips:

• If you have lines around your eyes, keep highlighter below this area to avoid errr… highlighting them!
• Don’t highlight cheeks or any area with large pores or blemishes; you may as well shine a spotlight on them.
• Blend thoroughly… no-one should see where the highlight starts and ends.
• Less is more - keep it subtle.

Clinique Chubby Stick Sculpting Contour & Highlight, £19 & Sculptionary Cheek Contouring Palettes, £28 are available on Clinique counters from 6 February 2015.

Do any of these appeal to you? Next time, I have a budget contouring option for you - and I’m impressed!

How to tidy up a mani: Nails Inc SOS

Not many of us get our mani perfect first time, every time - for me, my right hand is always the issue - the line around my cuticle is never as slick as I’d like it to be! Thankfully there are easy ways to fix these and two staples that I use regularly for tidy ups are a finger dip remover sponge and a clean up pen. Nails Inc have just released new versions of both, which are great… Express Nail Polish Remover Pot and SOS Nail Pen mean messy tips are a thing of the past. 

This is my set up pre-manicure (nails already filed, cuticles pushed back etc - separate post coming on my full routine). I started off by making sure my nail beds were oil and dust free with a coat of No7 Nail Cleanse & Prime, which also helps dehydrate the nail. Awful as that sounds, it’s actually a good thing as it helps polish adhere better, whereas moisture will encourage it to lift and peel off.  Since discovering ORLY Bonder, I very rarely stray - it really does help bond polish to the nails. I chose a dark shade of polish to really put these products through their paces, a current favourite, Bobbi Brown Bordeaux.

Express Nail Polish Remover is similar product to Bourjois 1 Second Remover, which now has quite a few competitors. Essentially a sponge in a pot, soaked with remover. You dip one finger in at a time, twist and remove - and tada, polish free. The main difference I noticed with Nails Inc’s version is that the sponge feels more dense and compact around my finger, meaning it grips better and removes polish very easily.  This is perfect for a nail that has gone wrong and looks patchy or uneven. Painting over an uneven surface leads to a thick layer of polish which usually isn’t pretty and is more prone to peeling. Much better to remove and start again. These little pots are great as you can clean up one nail without damaging the rest of your mani (just me that ends up smudging another nail with the remover soaked cotton pad?).

 

The SOS Nail Pen looks like a felt tip, soaked in remover and comes with several fresh replacement nibs. Clever design means the lid doubles up as a cuticle pusher and mini nail file, which you can see more clearly in the top pic. Enriched with Jojoba Oil, it is acetone free. Using this to tidy a deep polish shade will mean the nib gets mucky pretty quickly, so wipe off any excess on paper or tissue before moving on to another nail and each nib should last quite a few times.

Left, before - you can see brush strokes next to my cuticle. Right, after - the polish edge is smoother and cleaner (still not perfect, but better!) This isn’t a brilliant example as 1. my mani wasn’t too bad on this occasion and 2. I was tidying up my right hand with an unsteady left hand, so even the clean-up wasn’t 100% perfect, but I wanted to give you an idea of how the SOS Nail Pen works. I had one by Ruby & Millie years ago and have never found a decent replacement, so am delighted to discover this one. I will say that it’s best saved for minor fixes, such as tidying the cuticle line or removing any flecks of polish on the skin next to the nail tip. If you’ve got polish all over your skin, I’d pop the nail in the Express Nail Polish Remover pot and start afresh, otherwise you’ll run out of fresh nibs in a couple of manis!

I hope this helps any fellow wannabe mani perfectionists or other bloggers who post nail polish swatches… it’s pretty unnerving the things you start noticing about yourself when you start blogging - close up pics can be very daunting!

You can buy the Nails Inc SOS Pen on its own here or as part of a duo with the Vitamin E oil here. The Express Nail Polish Remover Pot is available here, where you can currently receive 20% off any two Nails Inc products. I’m a big fan of their nail polish sets, some of which are on offer!

Bobbi Brown Illuminating Nudes

My New Year was brightened with the arrival of Bobbi Brown Illuminating Nudes, a collection described by Bobbi herself as ‘subtle, light-reflective nudes that instantly give you a lift and a healthy, natural glow.’ I’ll have some of that!

The collection features five ‘effortless’ products, four of which I have to share: moisture balm, eye shadow, brow gel and lip gloss, plus two new shades of CC Cream.

 

Sparkle Eye Shadow in New Golden Peach was the one that really grabbed my attention. It looks bronze in the pan, but transfers to lids as a beautiful warm peach with intense gold shimmer that really makes blue eyes pop. The texture is a creamy powder with great colour pay off… swipe it all over the lid or add a pop of highlight to a neutral or smokey eye. Lasting power is good on me (I’ve been wearing it over NARS eye primer) with a few specks of glitter on cheekbones by the end of the day but the lid look remaining intact. I get the most impact with finger application, though you can get a finer, more subtle finish with a flat brush.

          

This is a single swipe of the eye shadow swatched on my arm, next to Lip Gloss in Almost Peach, a milky nude that tones down the pigmentation of lips with a semi sheer finish. Two new shades have been released in the Natural Brow Shaper & Hair Touch Up: Slate and Brunette. I think Slate (or possibly Blonde) would be my shade of choice, though I was surprised to find that I could totally get away with this shade for a slightly bolder brow look that still looks quite natural. Application with this is a total breeze and the spacing of bristles on the teeny applicator wand mimics the effect of fine brow hairs, as I’ve attempted to demo in my swatch. By far the quickest brow fixer I’ve tried to date, this applies as smoothly and easily as my usual Eyeko Brow Gel, with a more pigmented punch that requires no additional filling in.

I’ve had a little tester pot of Illuminating Moisture Balm to play with and if you love a luminous base then this is a serious game changer. Bobbi Brown calls this her ‘Dream Cream’ for a lit-from-within-look and I can totally see why. Radiance in a bottle right there, best for normal to dry skin. This can also be used over your regular moisturiser for highlight only where needed (yes, it’s that luminous). Think pretty and glowy rather than sweaty betty. Hooked.

The collection is available now at johnlewis.com

Which products do you rely on for a brightening glow?