A risky make-up experiment

Yesterday evening I decided to let Chris do my make-up as I was totally inspired after reading Laura's post where she let her boyfriend do hers.

First of all, Chris had to go through my make-up to choose what he wanted. The idea was that he would give it his best go with no guidance from me. He chose the following (apart from the brushes as these were just my selection which he chose from) :

(Apologies for my very mucky Naked and MAC palettes!)

So in a bit of a step by step guide to his make-up attempt...

1) He started off by grabbing the Collection 2000 concealer and putting 3 splodges on my cheeks and chin "I'm sure I've seen you do this" (think he got confused with foundation) and then blended it in. A classic line was "lets put this on your t-bone area".

2) Obviously he went for the most expensive of my foundations, the Nars Sheer Glow. Initially Chris was going to pour the foundation direct from the bottle and straight onto my face but I quickly steered him away from going in that direction (ignoring the no intefering rule!). He then decide to powder my face with my MSF and wow, did he use a lot. I usually tap a kabuki brush in there and shake off any excess but he was a man on a mission and I don't think I've ever seen so much powder swirling in the air. There was a lot of powder and a lot of foundation- I don't think my skin has ever felt so full of make-up however he did a great job of blending it all.

(check out the foundation that made its way onto my lips)

3) Next up was blush; "I like you with really rosy red cheeks". Benefit's Coralista was applied numerous times along my cheekbones and although it was really very rosy, he did a much better job of actually bringing out some non-existent cheekbones!

4) He started on my eyes by using the Benefit's Erase Paste and spent a lot of time blending it round my eye, and also on my eyelid. He then decided to use one of the dark Urban Decay Naked shadows in Creep. This was brushed on one lid before he decided it didn't look good. He wiped off a bit with some tissue and water and then decided to start using the Sheer Glow foundation as a corrector. So on went the foundation, onto my eyelid, followed by even more MSF powder. This accounts for why one of my eyes looks very pale and foundation-y compared to the other! He finished with some of the MAC eyeshadow in cork.

5) Once Chris had found this 'brilliant' technique of covering up mistakes with foundation he was an unstoppable force and this was used for every mascara smudge. He decided against eyeliner as didn't want to "poke me in the eye" so attempted using some mascara and didn't do too bad a job...

6) Finally- he opted for some lip balm instead of lipstick and chose the Lush Snow Fairy balm.

And the finished look...

Not too bad a job! If he toned down the foundation and didn't use so much of this on my eyes it would have been half decent! Maybe a little more eyebrow tidying too. Saying that, I don't think I'll be employing him as my full time make-up artist :)

A lunchtime Superdrug trip

Today I had one of those quite regular trips to Superdrug (it's either there or Boots) where I went in to get some travel mini products for my brother (who is off to Vietnam and Cambodia for 2 weeks), and came out with a bit more. I try to tell myself that I really don't need another two mascaras but the lure of the shiny colourful make-up stands is just too much! I also got myself a Superdrug Beautycard.

I thought I'd share my lovely purchases with you and would love to hear whether you've tried any of these products.

It was 2 for £5.00 on the Barry M nail polishes so I went for Peach Melba (on the left, obvs) and Blue Moon. I think these are fairly new colours as haven't seen them before and they are so perfect for summer and upcoming holidays. Barry M nail polishes are my absolute favourite- I am constantly impressed with the price and quality.

I purchased two items from the Collection 2000 range which is a range I have never really taken an interest in until recently. I've seen this mascara- the Big Fake Falsh Lash Effect and also the concealer I've put below being raved about on blogs and YouTube videos so am looking forward to trying them. The first thing I've noticed with this mascara is how massive the wand is! It's huge! Hopefully this will translate into massive lashes.

As I mentioned above this has had such rave reviews and I really hope I love it too. I was undecided on the shade- it was between 1. Fair and 2. Light however the tester for 2. Light looked completely different to the actual tubes you could buy (it was much darker in the tube) so this confused me and I ended up choosing Fair. If you have this which shade do you use?

Finally, I bought this waterproof mascara from Rimmel. I don't actually own a waterproof mascara and am going on a girls holiday to Rhodes the weekend after next so thought I would need one. I just went for a cheap one and Rimmel is always a good call.

PS. I still have some books available in my sale- click here to view!

♥

June Favourites: My Favourite Three

I've realised I skipped a month and didn't do my favourite three products in May- poor blogging skills there! Here are the products that were my June winners.

♥ PRO:VOKE Touch of Silver Shine Shampoo - I read about this shampoo on Lucy's blog and knew I had to give it a try as she was really impressed with it. I ordered it from Ebay for about £4 and have been using it about once every 2 weeks. This is one of those purple shampoos that are great for neutralising yellow in blonde hair. You basically wet your hair and then massage in the shampoo before leaving it on for 5 minutes and rinsing off- just prepare for your bath water to turn into a purple haven! I really like this and especially appreciated it when I used a bit too much of the John Frieda lightening spray as it was fantastic at taking away the yellow tones.



♥ Kéraskin Esthetics Immuniste - at the L'Oréal event last month I was given a set of Kéraskin Esthetics samples to try and the spokesperson told me that I would adore this serum type product. She was completely right! It is described as a 'rejuvenating elixir' which helps to restore skin's firmness and makes it appear younger. I think I've seen it described as 'youth drops' and this is a fantastic description. I've been using it morning and night before my moisturiser and it sinks into the skin extremely quickly- it smells lovely and most importantly it seems to really help the skin. I put some on one morning and didn't put any make-up on after and my skin looked so glowy. Really love this- the sad thing is it's running out and I can't afford a new full size product!

♥ L'Oréal Paris Volume Million Lashes mascara - I can't believe I haven't mentioned this mascara before as it is really brilliant and definitely my favourite of the moment! I adore L'Oréal Paris mascaras although I'm also trying the Telescopic and am not so impressed. Anyway, I digress- this mascara does a brilliant job of creating voluminous, dark lashes. Love it!

L'Oréal Professional Products Bloggers Event

All photos courtesy of L'Oreal

I recently attended an event held at the L'Oréal HQ for L'Oreal Professional Products. I arrived feeling slightly flustered with it being one of those meltingly hot days we've had recently and so welcomed a cool glass of rose wine when I arrived. There were a range of drinks, canapes and cupcakes on offer so we were very well catered for.

The event was held in the L'Oréal Academy and the room was set out with tables for each of the different professional brands. We were invited to meet all of the brand ambassadors and Errol Douglas and Andrew Barton were also there to speak to (which was quite exciting as I always watched 10 Years Younger when Andrew Barton was on it!). There was also the opportunity to have your hair styled with it being a hair academy.

It was a really fantastic and informative event and I thought I'd share a little about some of the brands that I spoke to. L'Oréal are such a huge company so it was great to find out more about some of their brands.

♥ Kérastase - I have never tried any products from Kérastase but it is one of the haircare brands that I constantly hear good things about. The Kérastase table allowed you to sit down and have a scalp and hair analysis carried out. I had a very close and detailed photo of my scalp taken and my hair condition was looked at before I was recommend some products from the range. I was pleased with my 'diagnosis'. My hair is strong and healthy which was good to know as I do use a lot of heat on my hair. I was recommended the Resistance products which were somethingI wouldn't have looked at myself- these are for chemically treated, or just damaged hair and the products work specifically to keep hair strong.

♥ Kéraskin Esthetics Skincare - Kéraskin Esthetics has 6 values that lead the brand; Hi-tech, respect, perfectionism, listening to the skin, French savoir-faire and made-to-measure. This skincare is a difficult range to get your hands on and I believe can only be found in the most luxurious beauty salons. Before using or buying the products you are given a full skin consultation and are given the products to really suit your skin. We were able to have a mini skin consultation and as with the hair evaluation, I was happy with my results. As expected my skin is fairly oily- more so on my forehead and I was pleased to hear that my skin was extremely hydrated- my Liz Earle moisturiser and not drinking tea at work (preferring water) is working a treat!

♥ Redken - I have tried the Redken Blonde Glam range and really loved them so was excited to find out more about the full range. While Andrew Barton (ooh er, name drop) was talking me through the different products I took an interest to the Time Reset range (which I thought would be for older people- oh how wrong I was). This is a range ideal for long hair like mine as the hair at my ends will be probably 7 years old so it works to help this 'ageing' hair and to restore its natural protection.

♥ L'Oréal Professional - the treatment that attracted my attention at the L'Oréal Professional table was called Fiberceutic and is basically described as botox for your hair. This is a salon treatment which effectively plumps the hair by smoothing away tears in the hair and 'plugging' in holes. It lasts up to 10 washes and costs from about £20.

♥ Shu Uemura Art of Hair - I had no idea that Shu Uemura had embarked into haircare and was impressed as soon as I saw the products. The packaging is gorgeous! Sleek, tall bottles and would make a stylish addition to any bathroom. This is a range that has been heavily used at fashion shows and I would urge you to just take a look at their website so you can admire it's beauty! As with the Shu Uemura beauty line, all of the products are very high quality and do come at a cost!

As we left the event we were given a goody bag full of hair products to try. I have tried quite a few of them and can honestly say I've loved them all. I usually stick to the cheaper hair ranges as I go through shampoos so quickly but I've noticed a real difference to the condition of my hair since using the higher end products. I am going to start doing some reviews as I make my way through them!

We were also given a gorgeous bunch of flowers which was a lovely touch to end the evening. A huge thank you to L'Oréal for holding such an interesting and informative event!

Review: John Frieda Go Blonder Lightening Spray

Product

John Frieda Sheer Blonde Go Blonder Lightening Spray

Price

£6.99 currently at Boots
I was sent this product for review purposes

What does it claim to do?

"Versatile, patent-pending formula with citrus and chamomile works with styling heat to gradually lighten and brighten for a natural-looking, blonder blonde. Contains thermo-protectant. Patent-pending technology combines fixative and conditioning polymers that retain hydrogen peroxide, allowing for control of lightening. Visibly lightens in 3-5 uses." - John Frieda

What do I think?

This product arrived at a perfect time as I haven't had my hair highlighted in a few months and so had some roots coming through. I naturally have dark blonde hair so roots are never horrific but they were definitely there and it was the perfect time to give this a go.

The lightening spray is one of the new products from John Frieda and is for use on blonde hair, either natural or coloured. All you do is spray the product on roots, or anywhere you want to lighten when your hair is damp and then blow dry. The heat activates the product and gradually lightens your hair.

I have been using this specifically on my roots and the first time I used it I didn't notice a different and was a bit disappointed (I'm so impatient) however the second time I used it I didn't notice a difference myself but my (male) colleague asked if I'd had my hair highlighted as it looked blonder. After a third use I definitely noticed a difference and this product really is amazing for blonde hair- especially for covering roots. It lightens very noticeably and really really makes a difference.

As you can see from the photo it's worked a treat!

The only thing I would point out is that I would recommend using the product lightly and building up the colour gradually over more uses. The third time I used it I used quite a lot of spray and woke up the next morning thinking it looked far too blonde/maybe even slightly ginger! Luckily I have the Provoke Touch of Silver Shampoo which I used and this did a great job of taking out the more yellow tones. However I am now giving the product a break (to avoid full on crazy blonde roots) and when I start using it again I will be using a lot less liberally!

Would I re-purchase?

Most definitely! I am so impressed with this. It really does the job and I 100% recommend it. I have been asked a few times now whether I've had my hair re-done which says it all! I also think for £6.99 it's a great value product.

Have you tried the John Frieda lightening spray yet? I would love to know your thoughts!

♥