The Nourishing Duo

After colouring my hair I knew I needed a shampoo and conditioner duo that was man enough for the job, nothing has compared to Garnier's Ultimate Blends Nourishing Repairer shampoo and conditioner...

I decided to go a little lighter with my hair recently so after a trip to the salon and a little bleach later I had a new do'. As nice as having your hair coloured is, it can often leave your hair feeling a little battered. Garnier's Ultimate Blends Shampoo and Conditioner with European avocado oil and African shea butter are specially formulated for dry and damaged hair. The duo leave hair feeling instantly smooth and soft and the lightweight conditioner means you are left with bouncy voloumous hair.

After using these for a few weeks the results are really starting to show, my hair is starting to feel restored from root to tip and is looking and feeling a lot more healthy, as well as being easier to brush! There is also a one minute treatment in the range which I am looking forward to trying out.

Have you tried these yet? What are your favourite products to use for damaged hair?

Oh I Wish I Had a Suntan, I Wish I Had a Pizza and a Bottle of Wine

Over the past few months my tanning routine has taken abit of a backseat in my beauty regime, but now the sun is back and so is the tan. After running out of Xen-Tan Dark Lotion Absolute Luxe Ultra Dark I replaced it with a St Moritz Mouse just in case I need a little extra glow for a night out, but nothing really compared to the Xen-Tan so I may have made a cheeky Feel Unique purchase. What I love about this self tan is that it is the nicest colour, not at all orange and it doesn't have the green tinge to it that St Moritz does, it's a true sun tan colour making it by far the most natural looking one I have tried. This is described as a weekly tan and as long as you have exfoliated and moisturized before hand I think it lasts a whole week, when it does eventually fade it does it gracefully and by that I mean you don't end up looking like you have some sort of skin disease.

Now you may be thinking that the Xen-Tan is just too much for you, so if you like to keep things just a little more subtle then I have the product for you, a gradual tanner like Garnier Summer Body allows you to be in control of how dark you go, just use this as a moisturiser, making sure you apply evenly and wash those hands afterwards and you will look perfectly bronzed. If after one use you have achieved your desired shade then your good to glow, not quite tanned enough? Just use again the day after to build on what you have already applied. As far as gradual tanning lotions go this is bar far the best I have tried, it leaves the skin feeling nourished and soft as well as providing a beautiful tan.

Are you more of a gradual tanning gal or is it mitts at the ready??

Running out of Bioderma

It eventually happened, the sad day when my Bioderma actually ran out, I almost cried when the last little beautiful drop fell onto the cotton pad, now ladies if you wear waterproof mascara you will know exactly what I am going on about here, once you find a remover that can make even waterproof mascara budge you know it is love. Now normally I am one step ahead of the ball and have a lovely fresh full bottle just sitting in my bathroom cabinet waiting patiently to be opened, this time however I had forgotten to replenish my Bioderma stock and almost fell over when I opened the door to see nothing sitting there waiting.

Now Bioderma is slowly becoming more available in England but you still have to order it online and wait for it to be delivered - not great if you need it that very day, so in an emergency I may have ran to Boots and panic bought the nearest thing to Bioderma I could get my hands on, enter Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water, suitable for sensitive skin,now as you can see the overall look of the product is very similar to Bioderma's packaging but as we all know it's what's inside that counts so here are my thoughts...

I happened to be having a real smokey eye moment the day I tried this so I knew it would be the perfect challenge for the cleansing water, as I do with my Bioderma I popped some onto a cotton pad and wiped my eye make up off, and it worked! No rubbing or scrubbing needed, it just removed everything easy peasy. Just like Bioderma the mix of oil and water creates such a gentle cleanser that you really cannot fault.

So will you be trying out the Garnier Micellar Water?

The Lightweight Base

After my last post on foundation I started to think more about my base, I have a lot of different lightweight products including beauty balms and tinted moisturisers, but which ones would I recommend? Lets see...
First up is the Perfect Look Skin Miracle by This Works, I wanted this product for ages, it is a tinted moisturiser that contains hyaluronic acid for long lasting hydration, the caramel and mica provide a subtle glowy tint to the skin and keep coverage very minimal, I find this to be so gentle on the skin and lightweight it really does feel like skincare as opposed to make up. Next is the Dr Jart+ Water Fuse Beauty Balm, like the this works moisturiser this only comes in one shade, I find it blends into my skin well and the advanced water technology helps keep the skin hydrated, as this is a BB cream I find this to be light to medium coverage so it is perfect for an everyday base. The Garnier Miracle Skin Perfector BB Cream in medium is also great for an everyday base, this covers any blemishes and evens the skin tone giving a natural finish. Lastly we have the Revlon Nearly Naked Foundation, this is the most lightweight high street foundation I have tried and I love it, it does just the right amount of concealing without being to cakey or heavy on the skin. If you are looking for a more lightweight everyday base then get yourselves down to Boots where all the above products are available for you to swatch.

This Works Perfect Look Skin Miracle £28 for 30ml.
Dr Jart + Water Fuse Beauty Balm £18 for 50ml.
Garnier BB Cream £9.99 for 50ml.
Revlon Nearly Naked Foundation £8.99 for 30ml. 

The Everyday Face

Once in a while I get stuck in a make up rut where I only wear the same few products, this is either due to sheer laziness or it means I have found some amazing products that I simply cannot live without, and with this weeks everyday face it is the latter. For a normal working day I like to keep things to a minimum, meaning a light base, a hint of natural colour on cheeks and lips and a little eye definition with mascara.

I have been using the Garnier Miracle Skin Perfector BB Cream in medium, this gives a lovely light coverage and evens out any bits of uneven skin tone, alongside the BB cream I have been loving Rimmel's Wake Me Up concealer, this is perfect for covering up dark circles under the eyes. For a hint of colour on my cheeks I have been reaching for Bourjois Cream Blush in Healthy Glow, really lovely subtle and wearable everyday colour. For lips I have been using my YSL lipstick in the shade Golden Melon, a gorgeous shimmery coral colour that has a satin finish. Finally to add some eye definition I have been using Max Factor's False Lash Effect Mascara which gives a really natural fluttery look to my lashes. I am really liking this product combination at the moment. Most of the products mentioned have full reviews already on my blog which I will link below -

Max Factor Mascara
Garnier BB Cream
YSL Golden Melon Lipstick 
Bourjois Cream Blush

What are your current everyday face must haves?

 

The Face Duo

After getting into the lighter coverage swing of things with the 'You Rebel Tinted Moisturiser' (Review Here)   I decided to try a BB cream, I haven't really read much hype about the Garnier BB Cream Miracle Skin Perfector but it claims to even skin tone, blur lines and imperfections, give a healthy glow, improve hydration, and provide some sun protection with SPF 15 .. that's a lot for one product!

So here is what I thought about the BB cream, it comes out of the tube very thick, almost foundation consistency, however once you start blending this in with your fingers it does feel a lot lighter. I picked up the shade Medium after swatching it in Boots. The colour is perfect for me when I am slightly more tanned. As I said I use my fingers for application as I think a brush isn't really necessary ..... can you tell I am keeping it minimal here?

I find the coverage to be light, it still allows my freckles to show through but it does cover up any redness which is great. I skip my usual moisturiser when I use this as I find it to be very moisturising. Overall I love this new purchase and after wearing it a few times now i can safely say it lasts a full day at work before any touch ups are needed and it really does give that healthy glow to my skin.

Next up is something I didn't think would be appropriate for me as it involves the words Anti Age ... I know what you are thinking, I am only 21 but the Maybelline Instant Anti Age The Eraser Eye perfect and cover is the perfect concealer. It contains Goji berry which cares for the eye area, it covers dark circles and brightens the under eye for a "I definitely got my eight hours sleep last night" look and best of all it doesn't sit in those pesky fine lines like heavier concealers do, I am in love!

A perfect duo made in make up heaven I would say! Have you tried these yet?

Thought I would include a picture of these in action too:)