Dazzling eyes

all pictures taken from mac cosmetics website, I don't own copyrights

1. Mac Dazzlelight eye shadow
2. Mac Vex eye shadow
3. Mac Satin Taupe eye shadow
4. Prunella Eye Kohl Pencil

Being a natural red-head, I have experimented a lot with different make-up, especially with eye shadows and eye liners, just to find that there is a more limited range of products that work with my skin tone and eye colour than for other types.  I like my make-up to be natural during the day, sometimes I just wear eye-liner and a bit of mascara when I go to university.  But I also enjoy putting on a really nice daytime look that will enhance my eye colour, and just look elegant.  These three colours by mac cosmetics are my absolute favourites and I always take them with me when I am travelling and don't want to carry loads of different shades.  I start by applying the Dazzlelight as a highlighter under my brow and to the inside corner of my eye.  Then I use the Vex as kind of a base for my eye lid, leaving the Satin Taupe for the outside corner of my eye.  Lastly, I use the Prunella Kohl Pencil on my upper lid, then smoothing it out with the mac 208 Angled Brow Brush.  This eye pencil is amazing; I used to only buy black eye liner, but I have come to realise that this purple brownish colour suits my eye colour really well and my eyes look so green when I use it.  Since then I have not used black eye liner, it just looks too harsh I think, but this is a great alternative!  I will post some photos of the look later this week!

Winter Essentials

With the prospect of -4° this week in London, I thought that I would post the three most essential items for cold temperatures, as this time of the year is extremely stressful for skin.  In my first post I already wrote about the Crème Fraîche by Nuxe, and it continues to be my absolute must-have for my dry skin.  

As well as keeping the skin of my face protected from the cold, I rely on the Guava Lip Butter by Korres to repair my chapped lips.  The scent of the lip balm is very subtle, which I prefer.  The container says that the lip balm "melts on the lips" which is very true.  I use it during the day, but also always apply it before I go to sleep and the next morning my lips feel so soft and smooth.  What I like most, is that it is not sticky and therefore does not get annoying, as I have noticed with other lip balms.

My hands suffer from the cold the most, because they become so dry and chapped that they get really sore in some areas, especially my knuckles.  The best solution I have come across is Avène's Cold Cream, which works wonders.  This is the 5th year in a row that I am using it and still have not found anything to be remotely as good.  The texture is quite thick, but anything lighter simply would not withstand the conditions.  Once I have rubbed it in everywhere, it settles into my skin quite quickly and instantly makes my hands soft.  There is no real smell to it, but this is the case with most of the products which can be purchased in pharmacies and therefore also makes it really good for people with extremely sensitive skin.  

Healthy Hair

A few years ago I really took no care if my hair.  I thought I had to straighten it every day and did not really think about the consequences.  Now I can't even remember where my straighteners are and at best I use them to curl my hair once in a while.  However, the consequences of my excessive straightening remain and I always find myself fighting the urge to get them cut.  From experience this is the only thing that does help to get rid of unhealthy, broken and split hair, as countless conditioners, serums and other treatments have left me rather disappointed.  The best I can do without facing the scissors is to give my hair a goodie from time to time so that the healthy hairs remain that way!  

I absolutely adore the Protein Rx Anti-Breakage Treatment Mask by Fekkai as my hair has never ever felt as smooth and utterly happy!  I try to and most of all should use it at least once a week because my hair has grown quite long (down to the middle of my back) and it could use that extra nourishing, especially to prevent future damage.  My hair also smells really nice for days, as I don't wash it too often , preventing it from drying out even more.  But the mask has to be left on for 15-20 minutes in order to achieve best results and that means that I have to walk around with my wet hair tied up before I can wash the mask out and continue drying it, making it impossible to use before my 9 am classes.  It is probably just a matter of habit to get used to actually using it regularly but it is definitely worth it!

Idealist

Recently I came across Estée Lauder’s Idealist Even Skintone Illuminator and at first I did not quite know if this product would be for me.  My main skin concerns are that I have very large pores and that, as I have light skin, redness is always an issue.   When I approached the lady working at the store, she saw this right away and, rather than applying the Idealist under my moisturiser (as advised on the bottle), she suggested that I should treat it more like a primer.  She offered to apply the Idealist to my skin and that I should return 10 minutes later if I liked it. 

I really appreciate this when I am trying new products because it has happened quite a few times that something looks great on my skin in the shop, I buy the product and an hour later I get angry because it starts to look bad (especially with foundation)!  In general, it takes time for things to work on your skin and I have rarely come across an instant result with something like this. 

So after leaving the Idealist to settle for a while, I came back to the lady and was quite pleased with the result; my skin looked a lot less red, also in comparison to many things I have already tried especially against redness.  The fluid has a very nice, but subtle glow to it and I did notice that when I use it under my moisturiser this glow is easily lost.  So now I use the Idealist over the moisturiser and then the foundation over the Idealist.  It creates a very smooth surface, making the application of foundation much easier!  (My pores still looked normal, but the only thing so far I have come across to really have an effect on this was a chemical peel.)

For people who do not need to use any foundation, this fluid could be a nice way of evening out the skin tone, giving it a radiant glow but not using any colour.  Hopefully at some point I will be happy enough with my skin to just use the Idealist.

Although it is hard to tell really how much of an effect the Idealist does lastly have, I do think that during the day, my skin continues to be more radiant than usual and it is also less shiny from oil.  With a product like this I can only say that it is best if you ask to have it applied in store or if you can take home some sort of tester!  When I asked for testers I was given about 10 of them to take home and this is really helpful so that you can try it out more than just once.  And also be sure that you pick up the new Idealist, not the old one, if you decide to try it out as well.

On the glow

Glow to go – if only it were possible.  How to get there, or at least how to try, is what I want to share with you.   After having used my share of foams, creams, serums and lotions, my bathroom shelves are bursting and I am still yet to find the perfect make-up …

One of the essentials on the way to healthy looking skin is a moisturiser and everyone (including men) should have one!  The tricky part is to find the right moisturiser for your skin, with oily skin needing something oil-free or sensitive skin needing something soothing.

My skin is very dry during this time of the year, so my favourite moisturiser at the moment is the Nuxe Crème Fraîche^® Concentrée de Beauté Suractivée (30€, 60 ml)!  The packaging promises 24 hours of hydration and it leaves my skin with a very fresh, natural feeling without being too heavy and I use this every night.  My skin feels instantly hydrated and soothed. 

During the day I use either Lancôme Hydra Zen Neurocalm^TM (approx. £38, 50 ml) or Sisley’s Restorative Facial Cream.  The Hydra Zen by Lancôme is too light for daily morning use, however, when my skin seems very red, I use this to calm and cool it down.  The smell is fresh, but unfortunately seems far more artificial then Nuxe’s or Sisley’s moisturisers.  The latter feels very luxurious on the skin, and is also the most expensive of the four (about 90€ if I remember correctly, 40 ml).  I feel like I have to take extra care when using it, so I only apply it in the mornings.    

Origins’ Make A Difference Ultra-rich rejuvenating cream (£32, 50 ml) and the Ultra Facial Moisturiser (£24, 125 ml) by Kiehl’s are more affordable alternatives to the others and the moisturiser by Kiehl’s also contains an SPF, which is a definite plus!  I used these when it started to get cold, but after going skiing they were simply not rich enough and left my skin so dry that it peeled in some places.      

But most of these products will only work half as well as they promise so don’t forget that it is really important to exfoliate in winter, at least that is what I have experienced.  The full potential of not only moisturising creams but also masks can only be achieved after having exfoliated.  I exfoliate once or twice a week, depending on the condition of my skin, but anything more than that will strip skin too much!