Let me see your beauty...

I recently posted an Instagram of my beauty loves and must haves of just now and it has come to the time where I need to tell you all about them and why I bloody love them. I am not going to lie I got pretty much through the whole box in a post just there and somehow feckin deleted it!!!! I almost punched the laptop. However, wooooooosaaaaaaa and time for round two! Ok, so I asked a whole bunch of gorgeous lassies around me what their beauty loves and must haves were and managed to build up a smashing wee list that I hope everyone can take from and use. Thankyou all you lovely ladies for helping me out. I love a good nosey in folks makeup bags and this satisfied that weirdness no end. You all rock! 

Ok I will start with my GlossyBox plus extra goodies I have and then take it from there........

Paul Mitchell Rinse Conditioner This conditioner was a god send to my forever tangled barnet. You need only LOOK at my hair and it would knot, so this product helped bring peace and love to my unhappy ends. I have been leaving it in if I have time to give my hair some much needed love which has helped with hair loss as it was forever falling out after washing and brushing. The ease that this allows my hair has stopped the ripping sound that I cringed to hear when trying to tame it after a shower. The great thing is a little goes a long way with this stuff so a 300ml bottle at £11.75 doesn't seem quite so steep. Another fantastic thing is that it wasn't tested on animals! Nat I know you will be happy!

Pro White Original by Alessandro I will be honest. I simply used this because I got it in my GlossyBox and thought not much else of it. That was until I noticed however that my nail tips where indeed whiter than white. This polish also gave my nails a nice gloss and overall natural look which insinuated that I took care of my nails. I totally don't. So this product gets the glossy white and well looked after thumbs up from me! Not available in any UK shops yet ( I know, daft rite? ) however you can grab a bottle on eBay for £3.99.

DHC Cleansing Oil This cleanser has now made me a skincare snob and has me turning up my nose at anything else out there. Any product with Olive Oil as its base is indeed going to be amazing and this did not disappoint. Effortlessly lifting any makeup or grime this stuff leaves my skin dewy and pinchable and it is a pleasure to apply makeup on top of too! You can get yourself a 300ml bottle for £18.50 and with every order get 4 free samples to try into the bargain. Whats not to love? and if you're disappointed by it, don't worry, just give it to me!!! ha!

One Hot Minute by Benefit I know, I know, I bang on about this stuff, but really, its the shit. I don't use foundation anymore because of it so that must portray the enormity of its success surely? with a light even coverage minus the oily layer foundations leave,  its quick and easy to apply and easy to redo if needed. It is a bronzer so it is brilliant over foundation if you do wear it, which gives a nice velvet finish locking your foundation into place just nicely also. Mine has lasted years, literally years, and I cannot think of money better spent! Grab it at Boots for £23.50 and thank me later!

HD Brows Palette and Tweezers My latest obsession is these two products I again received in my GlossyBox, and both are fantastic. The tweezers lift every hair with barely any pain even those tiny stubborn short hairs you usually can't get and have to just leave and hope noone notices. These teamed with the eyebrow Palette in Vamp have totally transformed my face and eyebrows which were a constant annoyance to me. I literally tap the slanted brush on the colour and it does both eyebrows no problem. The palette has 4 shades for every hair colour so it pleases everyone and will last forever by the looks of things too. At around £20 each these are not cheap, however I don't plan on purchasing either for a very long time and I doubt you would need to either.

St Ives Collagen Elastin Facial Moisturiser This is quite a new purchase but has quickly become a staple piece within my regime. I grabbed this off of Amazon for a smashing £7.29 with free postage and its a decent sized tub at just under 300ml. It is light on application and absorbs really well,  and after using this for only a week I have been getting compliments on my skin being nice and glowey ( not a word I know but hell have you noticed how many words I have made up on here? ) so there you go, the proof is in the puddin. And who doesn't like puddin?

Eye Lash Curlers Last but not least I got these curlers years ago and love them more now than I did before as I genuinely appreciate what they do for my wee lashes. I however cannot remember for the life of me where I got mine from. So, instead I linked the Fantastic Shu Uemura curlers instead,  as reading blogs and reveiws all over the web I hear they are the dawgs! again at £20 a pair is a big stretch for me at the mo, so, I'm sticking to my cheapy ones for now!.

Anytime I am in need of any type of makeup, skincare or hair products I know I am never in any need to go anywhere else but my little sisters bedroom. A keen lover of all things makeup my sister has a never ending treasure trove of fun stuff and I asked her to put together her best things that she loves and uses without fail all the time. She kindly obliged and even sourced it all aswell. I know, whit a lassie eh? so here goes...

Sleek Face Contour Kit - Medium 
Naked Urban Decay Eyeshadow Palette
Elf Stipple Brush
Elf Powder Brush
Bourjois Bronzing Powder
Mac Prep & Prime Transparent Finishing Powder
Revlon Compact Foundation In 04 Neutral Beige
Maybelline Fitme Foundation in 130 Buff Beige
Bourjois Healthy Mix Concealer - Medium
Mac Mineralize Skin finish Naturaul - Medium/Dark
TopShop Lipstick - Rio Rio
Elf Eyebrow Treat & Tame - Medium
Mac Eyebrow Pencil - Spiked

Bio Oil
Blistex MedPlus For Lips
V05 Hot Oil For Hair
L'Occitane Hand Cream - Travel size
Origins Super Spot Remover
Honey Bronze Shimmering Dry Oil
Batiste Cherry Dry Shampoo
Moroccanoil Hydration Mask - Hair
Palmers Cocoa Butter Night Renewal cream

Oft that is quite a list there, but already I have my eye on a few things to try! now to just sneak a sample of her lot, ye know, just to make sure I like them and stuff........HAHAHAHAHA.

Ok so all the other ladies I asked gave me some smashing things to list for their best buys and I can see where my wage is going this month..... as dangerous as that may be!

Lorna Loves - Revlon Lip Butter in Macaroon at £7.99  
She says not only does she get the coverage of lipstick but it performs as well as a lip balm also. So no dry lips here people. What more could you want?

Charlene Loves - Dermalogica Skin Care - £19 Skin Kit
She says not only do they have free 1st Class delivery but they give you 5 free samples with your order to try. The Skin Kit itself has the best cleanser, toner and moisturiser she has ever used!

Vicki Loves - Wella Shockwaves Volume Mousse at £2.85
She says this mousse gives her locks lots of volume minus the frizz unlike many products she has tried before!

Hari Loves - Cucumber Face Wipes, Tesco's Own brand at £0.99
She says these wipes are refreshing and take away makeup and grime away easily leaving your face smelling fantastic also!

Melissa Loves - YSL Primer at £29.50 and Benefit Eyebrow Kit at £22.50
She says she could not live without these two gems, the coverage for dark circles under the eyes and the help with shaping her brows has proven important to her daily regime. She swears by both and I bloody believe her!

Lisa Loves - KMS Roots Shampoo & Conditioner at £9.19
She says these products work wonders for her fine hair and seriously thicken and create volume which she loves. I like the sound of these myself!

Nat Loves - Ultrabland Facial Cleanser at £6.75 from Lush
She says she loves this product because it removes makeup easily aswell as help with spots if used as a cleanser at night. She loves the fact that this product can be applied to the face and lips and all round is a fantastic way to remove every last bit of dirt from the skin. Applied to the hands at night allows you to waken to silky soft mitts too she says! Lasting ages this product is well worth its pennies and I think I may have to get this to add to my skincare regime.

Hina Loves - Kiko Nail Varnish in every colour! at £3.90 and Batiste Dry Shampoo - Dark Hair at £3.05
She says Kiko nail lacquer is amoung the best varnishes she has ever used ( and she uses alot ) it does not chip or crack even after a weeks worth of ware and tare and she swears by it. She loves the fact that it comes off easily without staining the nails and adores the range of gorgeous colours too! Instead of washing her hair everyday she uses Batiste dry shampoo for dark hair and says not only is it cheap but keeps her from tirelessly washing her locks everyday.

Harpi Loves - Garnier Soft Essentials Foaming Cream Wash at £3.55 ( bargain )  
She says this face wash clears all makeup including mascara and by only using the tiniest of amounts AND it is soap free! she also is a huge lover of Batiste dry shampoo for dark hair and uses it daily too!

The Bow Loves - L'Oreal Extra Ordinary Oil at £6.66 and Giorgio Armani Maestro Fusion at £36
She says that the Extra Ordinary Oil saved her hair from any type of frizz considering she bleaches her hair often and she is also a brand new fan of Giorgio Armani's  Maestro Fusion foundation because its oil based formula is simply divine on the skin!

The Fringe Loves - Rimmel Sunshimmer Light Matte at £5.99, Save The Nail Topcoat at £6.95, Berocca Boost at £3.69, Dior Skin Nude Compact at £35, Soap & Glory Hot Cloth Cleanser at £10, Soap & Glory Bright here, Bright Now at £11
She says without these beauties she would not be happy with her daily routine and finds that after trying lots of different products these were the ones that stood the test!

Pauline Loves - Cupboard Cosmetics
She says it caught her eye in the paper and how ordinary household products such as mayo can be your very best beauty friends!

I'm considering trying to make my own eyelash growth gel based on tutorials I found on YouTube. I will take a before and after picture of  said lashes and see if it works! if not, I will moan about it for ages and ages in work AND on here........ I jest. This was the video I watched and will follow!

 

Huge amounts of love

Topknot

xxx

Thoughts about skin

Today I have been thinking about skincare. It is something thats easily taken from granted if you have lovely clear skin, but can be a battle for those who might have more trouble keeping everything nice and peachy. I have been a lucky one where this is concerned, but I wonder whether this might have anything to do with my fascination for natural skincare. I've always loved lotions and potions and remember making rose water to bottle and sell back to the neighbours (who's roses we had probably nicked that morning) and creating balms and tinctures for friends at Christmas. Good skin can change the way you feel about your entire appearance. Ever got yourself all dolled up for a party, hair done, fab dress and a wee tiny pimple on your chin? Guaranteed that will be the thing on your mind all night. But fresh skin, clean hair slung up and you can be happy as larry bumping into that ex/intimidating colleague/perfect friend and feeling that you look not so bad after all.

My number one absolute with skincare is, the more natural the better. If it smells like chemicals, I aint using it. I've always had a good nose for artificial smells, and I just feel they have no redeeming qualities (incidentally I also feel the same way about artificial sweetner, but that's a story for another day). So, get out there, buy yourself a super light cotton cloth, arm yourself with a good hairband and a sink of warm water and we'll begin...

Firstly, dehydrated skin can be the worst thing to deal with, once it's dehydrated you've got a bit of repairing to do. Now, this can happen if you work in a big office with heating/air conditioning, if you don't drink enough fluid, or even if you use a soap on your face that's too harsh. This will strip your face of it's lovely oils and it will either become dry and flaky or it will overproduce these oils in a panic and you will find yourself spotty and shiny. Once you've found yourself at this point don't panic. There's plenty we can do now. Grab yourself a nice big glass of water/juice/tea whatever. Also consider using a balm based product, even if your skin is quite oily. Remember what that nasty harsh soap does? Good clean healthy skin won't overproduce sebum unless there is another factor involved. Best to take the guesswork out slightly by removing the soap and all the dirt. Then we can really see what's going on.

Balms I would highly recommend:

Lush's ultra bland. This is a product I came across about 5 years ago but only very recently truly appreciated the value of. I've always loved lush and worked there for a while, but I think people really only see them as a colourful bath bomb and soap company. Behind all that in those wee black pots is some really amazing stuff that can work wonders on lots of skin types. Ultra bland is made using the most gentle on the skin ingredients that simply take every last speck of dirt from the surface. There's no soap in there so nothing harsh and drying, and you can take your mascara off with it as there are no nippy to eyes ingredients. Using it alone is lovely and will make the skin fresh and clean, or slap on some ultra balm afterwards for a wee treat.

Soap and glory fab pore hot cloth cleanser. Similar to the last but a wee bit more scent about it on not so thick feeling on the skin, this one has some soothing lavender in it to help with trouble skin. There's even a wee cloth included so that you can get started right away. I also love some other soap and glory products, more on them later.

Now that your skin's peachy clean it's time to have a look at the condition of it. What do you have going on there? A wee few lines by the sides of your eyes? Dark circles? Spot prone zone? We'll have a bit of a trouble shooting session now.

Firstly, no matter what I do I can see it in my skin. If I'm tired, maybe had a few too many the previous night, scoffed a load of easter eggs, it'll show. Lifestyle plays a huge part in the way you look and genes generally do the rest. Now this works on a sliding scale. You might have the genes of Aphrodite herself, but go out on the lash 5 nights in a row, eat a fry up each morning to combat the hangover and smoke 40 cigarettes and it will still show. Unfortunately the same applies in the other direction. You might eat nothing but raw veg and never touch a drink and still be struck with the odd acne prone zone. We need to just concentrate on balancing out the bad with some good. Don't give up all joys and treats and vices, just try to acknowledge you've had them and enjoyed them and that you want to make sure you do  het rid of those bags under your eyes. Seeing a pattern here? Fluids and vitamins and minerals are constantly required, so don't fight a losing battle with your body and then wonder why your hair isn't lovely and shiny. Take in lots of fluid (noticing I'm  not saying water here? I'd be a fibber if I said I drank 2 litres of water a day - but juice and tea and all these things are great too) and eat your fruit and veg and you'll certainly be on the right path.

So your skin's clean, your body's nicely hydrated and your brocolli has all been eaten. What next? Have a look at what's going on now. Are you getting a few breakouts? Some oily patches? Is it getting dry or feeling great? If you're having breakouts it could well be that your body is happily ridding itself of all the rubbish it's been storing up during your bouts of dehydration. Once we're done with this phase we can start to really look after it and see the best skin possible.

A great moisturiser is really important for happy healthy skin. I personally am a fan of a serum for my face rather than a thick moisturiser, but you can guage for yourself what your skin needs. A serum is a great way to get deep down through the layers to give moisture all the way down. There are several that I've found are really fantastic and would recommend.

Firstly, my gorgeous Mama is a huge Chanel fan, and I have been lucky enough to be able to raid her bathroom cabinet over the years. The green hydromax + is just so fabulous for thirsty skin and smells amazing. There's something that just feels so decadent about it too and you can waft about the house all smug in the knowledge that your face is just slathered in Chanel wonderfulness.

If the £58 price tag on the hydromax serum feels a bit out of reach, don't panic. Soap and Glory also have a fantastic range of very specific skincare. I love the serum and night cream, but you can tailor the range to your needs and they all work very well. There are great caffiene gels for tired eyes and an amazing wee cream I use mixed in with my foundation (more later). Don't be fooled by the funny names and comedy packaging, there are some damn fine products with excellent ingredients (and quite often available on 3 for 2 in boots...)

Now, how about that tired looking skin? When your eyes are dropping and the bags under  your eyes feel like they're showing the whole world that you just have not made an effort and no matter what you do the make up you painstakingly applied just seems to keep sliding right back off your face? That's a rubbish thing to have to combat, and one of the hardest to hide.

My eyes are always by biggest giveaway in this situation, I find it very difficiult to hide my tired eyes. So first thing's first, grab some drops or an eye spray. You can choose whichever you feel would be best for you, all we're concerned about is taking away that dryness that will then lead to redness if we don't sort it. Excellent. Now, try to put off make up application till much later, have a wee cup of tea and let any puffiness go from your gace and eyes. I find that my eyelids get very puffy when I'm tired and if I didn't have every tiny scrap of make up off before bed I'd have to pay for it big time. So clean every inch of that skin now. If you have time, it's a good idea to have something other than coffee, let that skin relax and uncrease (I look like one of those wrinkly dogs some mornings with my face all pillow creased.) Caffeine can make you feel artificially more awake, then you slap on that make up and it all runs back off.

The next thing we need is a good base. A serum or moisturiser that you know works well under a foundation. This is a super important step otherwise you can find that they react badly and cause the foundation to crumble and flake. Then you need to start everything all over again! Then a nice good primer, foundation, powder and eyes. Don't over emphasise those eyes, it'll only make you look worse. Simple eyes, no eyeshadow and a nice liquid blusher are good tools to work with. We're thinking dewy here, not caked. Then when dewy has been accomplished, feel free to knock back that espresso...should you wish.

That's enough for now eh?! More later!

Love, F xx

To do list rejig...

Ok...so on my to do list today was a hefty list of important and must be done things. To be fair I did the ones I really didn't want to do, but the must clean out my wardrobe fell by the wayside. Instead I picked myself up, dusted myself down after the truly awful calls to the horrible electricity company and made myself the etsy shop I've been promising to make for ages. To be fair I maybe should have waited till all my productss were ready but I thought, well, why? Just do it now you procrastinating procrastinator! So I did. The skincare products listed so far are my favourite and absolute necessities in life, so they went on first.

The most important in my opinion is the citrus and almond oil cleansing balm and I have been using it for years. I stopped using it and changed to a big brand for a few weeks (Christmas pressie) and now I'm nursing a spot. Raging. So I'm back on it and making sure you all know about it too. All you have to do is take a pea sized amount of the (completely natural and preservative free) balm and rub all over your make up and dirt covered face. It's so natural you can even take off mascara with it and give it all a good rub. Everything that shouldn't be on your face will melt away as soon as you take your lovely clean flannel, soak it in hot water and wring it out. Then the lovely steamy (but now not too hot after its been wrung out) facecloth can be used to wipe away every last trace of grime. The oils in the balm will keep your skin moisturised and dewy all night long and the beeswax will protect your skin against bad weather and environmental baddies.

The rose moisturiser is completely natural too, so much so that I would recommend it be kept in the fridge. This makes it extra cooling and refreshing on your tired skin, combatting redness and inflammation. The avocado oil is great for lined and wrinkled skin as it is packed with vitamin e. I recommend you use this daily and left on without using make up after for a few hours on any sneaky days off you have to give yourself a bit of a rest.

Well there we go. Have a look, give it a try and thank me later ;)

http://www.etsy.com/shop/eanda



Fringe xxx