Carine Roitfeld For Mac

That image of Carine Roitfeld up there... well I just love it. I loved it when I first saw it, a while ago. I think it's the rock chick thing she's got going on, the bed head, the dark eyes, it's calling my name!

Carine Roitfeld, is a former fashion model and writer and the editor-in-chief of Vogue Paris until 2011. Just in case you didn't know!

There are quite a few items in the collection, all of which look fab, but I'm just showing you today the things I'd like to buy if I had the money.

First the Full Face Kits. I want both. They are £37 each and quite similar, they contain four eye shadows and Cremeblend Blush. Only problem I'd have with these is choosing which one I'd want, I'd have to see them in person and since I'm nowhere near a store I'm not sure which way to go. I think they are both gorgeous... There's Jungle Camoflage and Desert Camoflage to choose from.

 

Then to go with it I'd absolutely have to have Tropical Mist lipstick, a sheer translucent nude. £15.50

Although I've no occasion to ever ever ever wear them I'm drawn to the Good Luck Star Stencils! £15.

I'm also keen to get the individual lashes... £10, I'm sure I'd get on better with them full lashes which I really struggle to apply!

Oh there are two nail lacquers too, Underfire Red (deep blood red - not pictured) and Undercover Nude (sheer clear nude). £11.

Now so far as I can tell, the rest of the collection are already existing products and tools. Which is fine. The idea of this collection is giving you everything you need to create the look, so along with the above, you'll fine Blacktrack Fluidline, Studio Fix Fluid, Brushes, Tweezers, Brow Set and more.

 So up my street. So fab.  Due out next month, I'm going to try to gather some pennies for one of those palettes and the lippie at least I think. What about you?

Dr Lewinn's Renunail

This is not the first time Dr Lewinn's Renunail has featured on my blog, but the first time round it was my Mum's review!

However, my nails over the last year or so my nails seem to have failed me. I am not sure what's happened to them but no matter what I do to them, or don't do, they never seem to improve so I thought it was time I tried out Renunail for myself.

Renunail is a heavy duty nail strengthener that works really effectively. You simply apply  two coats on day one, then another coat on top for the next five days, then you remove the lot on day 7. You follow this process three times. You must then let your nails rest fora week or two and you can then start again. It is also recommended that you use the Nourishing Oil daily, which you also continue during your breaks.

Now lets see how my nails were before and after.

It may not look obvious at first glance but they really were very much improved. I must confess, like my Mum, I found I didn't get on with the nourishing oil which seemed to do very little for me, so I stuck to my own cuticle potions, but religiously stuck with the Renunail. I was very impressed I have to say, the strength of my nails was greatly improved. And indeed, these photographs were taken a long time ago, but they went on growing and being fantastic. I highly recommend.

Sadly, and what reminded me to do this post, was the house move undid all my good work. With all the box packing, carrying, unpacking, with all my nail products packed away and nowhere to be found things have rather ended up back at square one so I'm back on my Renunail and I know I can expect to have much stronger nails in about two weeks time. In fact things are already looking up. Thank you Dr Lewinn's!

Renunail is available from http://www.drlewinns.co.uk/ and costs £17.50 for a very decent 30ml bottle!

*Disclosure - PR sample*

A Mini and Final Blog Sale

i have now, as you all know, now moved house. Although the house is much bigger, my own personal storage space is very much smaller so am clearing out a few last little things that I can't justify keeping for one reason or another.  I don't envisage having another blog sale for a long time!

UK only I'm afraid. Postage £2.50 for recorded delivery, plus 15p per additional item.

Please leave your email address in your comment so I can invoice you. First come first served!

All items have been purchased by myself. Nothing I am selling came to me as a sample.

There was going to be a naked palette too but that got snapped up! Sorry!

English Rose Cosmetics Bright Eyed & Bushy Tailed Eye Cream

Meet Rose, the glamorous vintage face of English Rose Cosmetics.

Her visage decorates my pot of Bright Eyed & Bushy Tailed Eye Cream and also adorns the outer packaging.

Okay so what we've got is an eye cream to reduce dark circles, bags and puffy eyes whilst plumping out fine wrinkles. Active ingredients include Cytobiol Lumin Eye and hyaluronic acid.

It's a lovely silky cream, not too rich and quickly absorbed.

A tiny bit goes a long way and its a beautiful texture. I think for the price it is, £13, you won't find a better eye cream. The active ingredients are fabulous. I've been reading up about Cytobiol Lumin Eye and it sounds amazing. Certain, I've been using this cream for a couple of weeks and my eyes are looking pretty dark circle and line free. Very impressive.

There are other products in the range, with more coming soon, there's a Rose Kiss Spritz, Lay Back and Think of England Bath Oil, Daily Defence Moisturiser, Nighty Night Cream and Quillija Gentle Cleansing Mousse. As it stands at the moment I think you can only order via telephone (075408 16788), but in the not too distant future you should be able to order from http://www.english-rose-cosmetics.com/.

A lovely brand, and well worth a look.

Glamglow Tingling and Exfoliating Mud Mask

Truly a product worthy of the hype.

For anyone who doesn't know about Glamglow, what we have is a mud mask. Designed to be a "facial in a jar" for backstage use in Hollywood, this promises immediate results, The idea is that you use this either a couple of times a week or whenever you need radiant skin fast!

The mask is a mud base with volanic rock and ash, along with tea leaf, green tea seed oil, and a wealth of other fabulous ideas. You apply a thin layer to clean skin, leave on for 10 mins, during which time you can expect a tingling sensation, then you add water and remove with circular motions to exfoliate. It's a green-y coloured mud, with leaves in it and after use you can expect to see a "3-day glow", smooth soft skin, exfoliated skin, pores minimized, and it helps to protect against free radical damage.

I was sent the Little Sexy pot which is supposed to contain 3 uses, (it's 15ml and it's recommended you use 5ml each time), but actually, I think I can get four or five uses. I've used it 3 times and there's still plenty in the pot.

Here I am sporting the mask in action. I think you'll agree I'm looking fabulous.

So anyway, I was a little dubious about using this, it was the tingling that was worrying me, with sensitive skin I was worried...not worried enough not to try it and boy am I glad I did.

The tingling was quite bearable, it was just a tingling and not a burning sensation as I feared and when I washed it off it felt incredible.

My skin looked radiant and smooth and fabulous. I used it last thing at night and my skin looked even better in the morning. It's fabulous.

This could be the only face mask I remember to use on a regular basis. Only problem is it's not very cheap, making it more suitable to special occasion use (for my budget). it is worth it if you can afford it though I have to say. My sensitive skin loves it.

The 15ml pot I have is £22.50, and the 50ml pot is £49.99. If you aren't sure you want to invest that kind of money in a face mask you buy a 7ml trial tube for £4.99.

In addition between October and December you can purchase a pink pot of GlamGlow with 25% of all profits being donated to the Pink Ribbon Foundation.

I'll definitely buy this once my small pot runs out. This stuff is amazing.  You can purchase directly from the GlamGlow website.

Hello!

At long last I am back! It really does seem an absolute eternity since I last blogged but I think I'm now in a position to finally start blogging properly again as of Monday!

The house move was...stressful. Having to thoroughly clean a house you loathe before you can vacate it has to be one of the worst things ever. My goodness, I am not sure I've ever been so miserable, and with a heavy cold too. Oh what a joy that was.

Still, it was worth it, we're in our new home, all the major things are unpacked, we're down to details now, like where to hang pictures etc and where to put decorative things. We're so so happy with our home.

It's a bit middle aged in terms of styling and lets not mention the borders in all the upstairs bedrooms, but it's immaculate and we can live with it for as long necessary.

Anyway, while we were emptying the house I found all sorts of things I had no recollection of ever owning (curling tongs - damn it, I bought some of those last year!) but I also found this antique which I think ranks as antique by now. I must have had it for years and years and years. I loved it too, but at some point I lost it and then forgot all about it.  This was my first Guerlain purchase and I was so in love with it's layers of colours!

So anyway, I'll see you next week when I should be back on track, got loads of fab things to show you!

A Little Update

Well people, if you follow me on Twitter you will no doubt be aware that one area of stress has now been resolved and another new, less stressful but still stressful, period has commenced.

Basically, I'm moving house on Monday. It looked like it was all going to fall apart at the last minute, but thank god it all came right in the end (so far!) and now we're moving.

This is fantastic news as we've been trying to get out of this house for two years now, but of course because in the end it all happened so fast, I've two days to pack. That's pack and clean the entire house. Argh!

Anyway, in terms of blogging I'm not going to be around for a few days now, we won't have internet until the 19th so it'll be then or soon after.

Thanks for bearing with me and see you all on the other side!

Stresss!

Life has suddenly got a little bit messy and blogging has fallen to the bottom of my list of priorities until things get sorted one way or another. Taking a short break...hope to be back at some point next week.

Hope you're all well xx

Pukka Ayurveda Firming Face Oil & Radiance Serum

I can't move for fabulous skincare at the moment! This a great thing as I'm making a big effort to move away from sciency clever expensive products and back to the more basic but effective products.

Got to just say how much I love the outer packaging! It's really very appealing.

Anyway, Pukka Ayurveda is a range of naturally active organic skincare, based around Ayurveda, an ancient Indian philosophy of heath and wellbeing which advocates skin detoxification and nutrient replenishment. So there's lots of plant extracts and Ayurvedic herbs, beautiful oils, juices and butters and so on. All are organically certified, everything comes from sustainable sources and there are no petrochemicals.

I want to talk about the Firming Face Oil first of all. It's firming, which means it's for mature skins... I think that's me, or at least I'm not far off it!  There's rosehip and starflower for plumping and tone enhancing and arnica and neroli to rejuvenate and protect. What a beautiful oil! It's stunningly scented with  neroli and petitgrain. You just apply before or instead of moisturising. It's an oil so a little goes a long way, don't go mad, but it feels incredible and smells divine. Highly recommend. This is £34.20.

The other item I've been trying out is the Radiance Serum. Not what I was expecting at all, and unlike any other radiance product I've tried before. Its like a runny gel, more than an oil or usual serum. It disappears into the skin leaving not a touch of stickiness.  It's made with aloe vera and manuka honey to soothe and refresh and Gotu kola (no clue!) and lemon balm to tone and brighten, it's very gently scented with sandalwood but I think I can sniff the Lemon balm too. I use it every day under my moisturiser and I swear I do look a bit brighter! It's suitable for all skin types and it's gorgeous! This one is £28.80.

They are both available from the Pukka website. The website itself is to be particularly recommended, every ingredient is listed and there's a fantastic FAQ section as well as a wealth of other information.

Beautiful stuff.

Japonesque Joins the Fight Against Breast Cancer

Fancy some quality pink things that are not only excellent quality, but that when you purchase, a donation is given to Breast Cancer Awareness Research? Well then look no further. Japonesque are on the case with a range of lovely pink things for the month of October. For every item purchased £1 will be donated.

First the Pink Go Curl Pocket Eyelash Curler. £10 from HQ Hair.

I am not exaggerating to say you need this in your life. It is INSANELY good. My Shu eyelash curlers were rubbish compared to this little bit of kit. All you do is flip the lever on the back down and curl, and slotted into the bottom is a spare. I never used to curl my lashes as my lashes are fairly curly anyway, but now I get mega curl.

Next you can  get hold of the Touche-Up Tube Set. £16 from HQHair.com.

Perfect little handbag kit containing a selection of brushes for on the go touch ups!

The final thinkg I have to show you is the Pink Manicure Kit. £20 from John Lewis (although I can't see it there yet).

A serious bit of kit. Folds open and includes scissors, tweezers, a tool to file and push back cuticles, clippers and cuticle nippers. Looks super stylish and the tools are great quality. I have no stopped using my professional kit on myself, keeping that solely for clients, this is now my personal kit! Very good.

In addition there's there's the fab Pink Brow kit I've previously reviewed here and a Heated Mini Lash Curler. Fab stuff.

As ever, Japonesque products, be sure to purchase in October to make sure your donations are taken!

*Disclosure - PR Samples*

Mac Office Hours Collection!

This is the picture that stole my heart. I want every single thing she has on her face. Of course I wouldn't look like that but still I still want it all.

It's been quite a while since a Mac collection has really piqued my interest, although its fair to say I still enjoy seeing whats coming up, this is the first where I have a wish list.

The idea of the collection is Longwear. Pro Longwear Blush, Pro Longwear Eyeshadows and Pro Longwear Lipglasses. Cosmetics to last the whole day.

It's not the longwear aspect that has me enchanted though, it's the pink. I'm told pinks on the eyes are hard to wear, but I've long been a fan. I don't think I walk around looking like I've not slept for a year, I think pink shadows generally speaking, do suit me. And so that's what really appeals to me about this lot, although it's certainly not all pink.

Pro Longwear Lipglass £17

Everlasting Nude - Mid tone warm nude (cream)*

Patience Please -  Light pink-blue (cream)

Long Love Love - Light cool pink (cream)

Next Fad - mid-tone cool pink (frost)

Persistent Peach - Light warm peach (cream)

Boundlessly Beige - Light warm beige with pearl (frost)

Driven By Love - Red-blue with slight pearl (frost)

Forever Rose -  Mid - tone neutral rose (cream)

Pro Longwear Eye Shadow £16.50

Every Ivory - Pale Ivory *

Bloom On - Light burnt rose

Always Sunny - Light Yellow Brown

Uninterrupted - Dark camel

Endless Passion - Mid-tone rose*

More Amour - Mid-tone red*

Mauveless - dark dirty mauve

Fashion Fix - Dark cool slate grey

Linger Softly - Light frosted grey blue

Pro Longwear Blush £19

Stay By Me - Light peach coral

Baby Don't Go - Light cool beige

Rosy Outlook - Light yellow pink

Stay Pretty - Light bright blue pink

Blush All Day - Light dirty rose beige

Whole Lotta Love - Light blue pink

Eternal Sun - Warm Brown

Stubborn - Mid-tone rose plum

The items marked with a * are limited edition. Now I don't know when these are due out, all I do know at present is that it is September, but it's not out yet. Usually new Mac collections are the first Thursday of the month I think, but we shall see!

As for my picks, well I want whatever that model is wearing. Since I can't get to a store as there isn't one locally, I'll have to base my purchases on online pictures. I'm guessing Pro Longwear Lipglass in Patience Please, Pro Longwear Blush in either Stay By Me or Rosy Outlook and as for the Pro Longwear eyeshadows... I'd guess Endless Passion, and Bloom On, maybe a touch of More Amour and maybe a touch of Always Sunny.... what do you think? help!

Do any of these take your fancy? I think they all seem a little pricey but I think I'll end up getting a few bits anyway!

Butter LONDON Autumn/Winter 2012 Nail Lacquer Collection

Really looking forward to showing you these today, post has taken a little longer to get up than my normal 10.00am slot, things are a bit mad here, but I guess that's another post!

Okay, there are five shades in the A/W collection and I have three to show you today. I am ashamed to admit this is my first experience of Butter LONDON polishes. I am mostly very impressed but not completely but I'll tell you more with each polish.

First thing I wanted to show you (with my out of focus photo) is that for those that have never tried or seen a Butter LONDON polish, is that the square cap removes leaving you with a cute little lid, which is much easier to apply polish with.

Okay so lets take a closer look, starting with Lovely Jubbly.

A lovely mix of glitters, pinky-purple, blue and red. Looks absolutely stunning on, applies like a dream and wore without chipping for day after day after day. I eventually removed on day 5 of wear with a tiny chip on one nail, and a bit of tip wear. Such a gorgeous polish. A very excellent first impression for Butter LONDON.

Next Gobsmacked.

I can't quite decide what this is, whether it's a black with tonnes of silver glitter, or if it's grey, either way, my photographs do it no justice, it was stunning. That's where my praise ends for this polish. I found it very thick and gloopy to apply and as it required two coats it took forever to dry and even when I thought it was completely dry I wasn't, that isn't tip wear on my index finger, it's where I did something and the thick polish rucked up, some hours after application. It also dries fairly matte but top coat brings it to life... but it sucks up top coat, requiring several layers... adding to the dry time.  It then chipped on three fingers within a day. Not great, I must say though, it looked so beautiful on. Really gorgeous.

Finally Dodgy Barnet.

A beautiful pale silver/grey holo. The holo is very clear and I must say it's my favourite of all silver holo's I've tried. The formula was perfect, full opacity in two coats, it wore for five days and I removed it only to try another polish, it was still chip free. And unlike my China Glaze holo, you don't need to be in a certain light for it to be dazzling, the holo is ever present and ever beautiful. Tis gorgeous.

There are two more shades in the collection, Shag, an orange-burgundy metallic shade and Trustafarian, a green/gold holo.

All available from Cocktail Cosmetics for £12 each and who kindly provided me with these samples.

I will certainly be looking to try more shades in future, the two that I loved were the most exceptionally performing nail varnishes I've tried to date!