La Roche Posay Redermic R

Having received a couple of samples of Redermic R by La Roche Posay, I've spent the last couple of weeks working my way through them. I'm definitely a fan of La Roche Posay Skincare, the things I've tired, I've loved and the Effeclar Duo is a firm favourite.

What is Redermic R?

La Roche-Posay, has developed Redermic R with 0.3% retinol. Redermic R has clinically tested anti-wrinkle efficacy. It helps to reduce the appearance of wrinkles and dark spots and is suitable for sensitive skin. - Contains 0.3% retinol. - Exclusive Retinol Booster Complex [Retinol Linoleate + Adenosine] - Lipo-Hydroxy Acid [LHA] 0.3%

What does Redermic R do?

Women who are looking for an effective solution to wrinkles, uneven skin tone and dark spots. Also suitable for women who have sensitive skin or who have experienced feelings of discomfort on the skin when using retinol based skincare in the past.

What Results should I expect?

BENEFITS

- Fine lines appear reduced

- Dark spots appear faded, as if corrected

- Skin texture appears refined leaving it visibly smoother and more even-toned

What do I think?

I usually apply a thin layer of Redermic R every night and I must say I do feel like my skin feels softer and looks brighter in the morning. Now I'm only 22 so I can't really comment on how beneficial it is in terms of reducing fine lines, but my skins definitely looks and feels smoother and refined. I have a really issue with pigmentation scaring after a break out so I'm keen to continue using this to see if it helps fade them.

A little goes a long way, a sample 5ml tube lasts approx. 2 weeks! You can find Redermic R in Boots stores and and retails for £28.00 for a 30ml tube. Considering the ingredient I would say that was a fairly competitive price. Many products containing retinol sell for a much higher price tag.

Have you tried Redermic R before? If so, what do you think? 

Aroosa 

All About Brows

EYEBROWS EYEBROWS EYEBROWS!

Like many others, eyebrows are a complete stand out feature for me. I notice them straight away and if I like them I'll like the person they belong too (because good eyebrows mean a good person right?!?!) On a serious note,  I think neat eyebrows can really help tie a look together and work wonders in terms of framing a face.

Eyebrow threading has become rather mainstream over the past couple of years, having know about it long before it became popular (mainly due to my roots) I learnt how to thread and maintain my own eyebrows. I don't think I could trust someone else!

Threading can help achieve straight neat lines, something that can be a little more difficult with just tweezing alone,

What Do I Do To Maintain My Eyebrows?

So once a week I use thread to create 'straight lines' on the top and bottom of my brows. Then I go in with tweezers to neaten up and stubborn hairs that refuse to come out with thread. Tweezing is also very good for getting into difficult spaces such as right underneath the arch. I also trim my eyebrows to make them look sharper. I'm keen on the angular look but I think it totally depends on your face shape in terms if what shape of eyebrow will look best on you. If in doubt I would always recommend to stick to your natural shape as much as you can.

PRODUCTS I USE

What Do I Use And How Do I Fill My Eyebrows In?

To fill in my Brows I use the Anastasia Beverly Hills Dip Brow Pomade in the shade Dark Brow with an angled brush. I started by drawing a straight line at he bottom of my brow and then I concentrate most of the product towards the end and defining my arch. With whatever I have left on my brush I feather it towards the front of my brow using a light hand. You have to work fast with this product as it sets fairly quickly, acting as a eyebrow gel and a eyebrow product it one.

If i'm going for a softer look i'll use a cool brown eye shadow such as Crushed Walnut by Natural Collection. I have black hair naturally so using lighter shades on my brows prevents a very stark harsh look. If you have light eyebrows I would recommend using a brow product with is a couple of shades darker than your natural colour. This will really help add definition.

Continuously brushing out your eyebrows whilst filling them in is something not to miss! I find this to be more important when using powder as it helps distribute the products and avoids brows from looking patchy.

BEFORE FILLING IN MY BROWS

AFTER FILLING IN MY BROWS

I can go without filling my eyebrows in but I love the look of a defined brow. I'm actually now on the look out for a good brow gel that I can either use alone or on top of powder on days that I'm in a rush. Any recommendations?

La Roche-Posay EFFACLAR DUO

The hype around La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo is no secret and I'm sure you've probably heard about about how wonderful it is before! My thoughts on this product are no different.

At the beginning of this week my skin reacted to something I put on it (not sure what!) and as a result I had little red bumps surface over my cheek area. Having sensitive skin, this is unfortunately something I'm used to, but every time it happens I turn to effaclar duo. It really is my skin saviour! Usually after three days of once a day application I can see a noticeable difference in my skin, and this episode was no different.

The product is a gel like cream consistency and a little most certainly goes a long way. An increase in spots may be seen at first but stick with, it just drawing out impurities!

Once my current tube runs out, I'm excited to try the new Effaclar Duo [+](which had now replaced the original) to see how it compares. It's certainly go a lot to live up to in my eyes. The effaclar Duo [+] is marketed as having additional benefits such as scar prevention and reduction.

La Roche Posay Effaclar Duo[+] can be purchased in Boots in the UK. and it retails for £15.50.

Have you tried the knew version? If so what do think?

Burberry Body

Now and again I like to invest in a perfume as a little treat to myself. Who doesn't like to smell good?!

I've had my eye on Burberry Body for a while now after smelling the Rose edition that my sister received a while ago.

Whilst browsing Groupon last week, I noticed it  was on offer for £29.99(STILL AVALIABLE). Seeing as I also had a £10.00 voucher to spend on the website, I decided to snap it up for the bargain price of £19.99! (RRP £75.00 for 85ml)

It was a bit of a risk as I hasn't smelt the original before placing my order, but let me tell you, I wasn't disappointed!!

'Burberry Body is a feminine and effortlessly sensual fragrance with an eclectic combination of refined ingredients.

The scent has top notes of fresh green absinthe, illuminating elegant peach and refined freesia.

The floral bouquet of natural rose absolute and iris blends gently with subtle warm tones of sandalwood to form the heart notes.

Woody cashmeran, creamy vanilla, sensual amber and musk compose the base.'

On me the base components stand out the most and it comes across as a very warm/clean fragrance.

The only complaint I have is with regards to the lasting power. The scent had faded significantly after 4hrs of wear, but for the price I paid I think it's still very worth it. 

It's a lovely everyday perfume but also appropriate for wearing in the evening.

What perfumes would you recommend?

Make Up For Glasses Wearers

People wear glasses for a number of reasons such as vision, comfort and fashion. 

Being a fairly statement piece to be wearing on your face any makeup application may be masked or less noticeable, leading to features that you like to highlight being hidden away instead.

I've personally needed to wear glasses since the age of seven, and until recently I've completely hated the fact that I don't have 20/20 vision. I've always disliked the way glasses would mask my eyes and especially make any eye make up less visible. This led to me overusing and over wearing contact lenses for many years, something which my eyes have not thanked me for.

Having recently invested in a new pair of glasses I'm determined to find a way to make them work for me so I can feel comfortable wearing them out in public!

So what have I been doing in terms of makeup?

1. SUBTLE BROWS IF YOUR BROWS ARE DARK- like many others I'm obsessed with the perfect brow! I've learnt however that if you have darker brows when it comes to wearing glasses less is more. The especially applies if like me your frame are fairly bold. toning down your brows will avoid a overly harsh look.
2. STRUCTURED BROWS IF YOUR BROWS ARE LIGHT - Brows help to frame our faces, so if  your natural brows are very light, filling them in as you normally would do if you weren't going to wear glasses is important to maintain your normal daily face structure. 
3. WINGED LINER - I'm a big fan of a neat wing, but if I'm not wearing glasses I can get away with skipping this step if I'm in a rush. However if I want to wear my glasses, adding winged liner really helps to open up my eyes and stops them from getting lost in my frames.
4. CLEAN WATERLINE - Normally I add a black Kohl pencil in my waterline, but leaving it bare when wearing glasses again helps open up the eyes, making them more noticeable.
5. MASCARA - Don't forget to add a couple of coats of your favourite mascara to finish things off. With or without glasses I feel like mascara makes a massive difference in terms on making your eyes a stand out feature!
   

OPTIONAL:

1. CONTOUR - My frames for example are very square and rather big, so contouring my face adds structure to the rest of my face and helps balance everything out. 
2. BRIGHTER LIP - Adding a bit of colour to the lips can really finish off your look. A nude would suit too, but the brighter lip doesn't have to be a daring red or a bright pink. Something like a rosy tinted lipbalm would really help bring the look together. A favourite of mine are the korres lip butters.
   What are your tips for make up application when wearing glasses?

Pixi Ultimate Beauty Kit 2nd Edition

Whilst browsing the internet for a new eyeshadow palette to get my hands on, I came across the Pixi Ultimate Beauty Kit (2nd Edition). I must admit I hadn't heard of it before but the variety of colours and the inclusion of blushers really caught my attention. Pixi isn't I brand I'm too familiar with, but I've heard good things, so after googling to gain more knowledge of the quality of Pixi products, I decided to take the plunge and order this beautiful palette.

UPDATE: 

click here to see swatches of the cool eyeshadows 

click here to see swatches of the cheek powders and the highlighters

click here to see swatches of the warm eyeshadows

The Kit contains:

1. 40 Eyeshadows
2. 6 Highlighters
3. 6 Cheek Powders

"This ultimae 'go-to' Pixi beauty palette gives endless options for gorgeous fresh faced looks. The suit all shades range from cool to warm in velvet and satin textures and are all designed for you to simplify and beautify!

This is a must have edition to any wardrobe - half of the colours are prefectly pretty 'cool' tones and the other half are sizzling 'warm' tones!"

I initially planned on testing out the palette before blogging about it,but I thought I'd do a quick post to show you how pretty it is! I'm planning on doing a swatch post if anyone would be interested and also a review once I've had a chance to play around and create different looks.

WARM

COOL

The palette retails for £34.00.

I purchased mine from www.HQhair.com

UPDATE: 
click here to see swatches of the cool eyeshadows 
click here to see swatches of the cheek powders and the highlighters
click here to see swatches of the warm eyeshadows

Warm Purple Smoke Makeup Look

I love it when I get a chance to experiment with make up and try something new. Here is a look I did over the weekend, I hope you like it!

PRODUCTS USED:

FACE:

• Bourjois Healthy Mix in 53
• NYX Orange Concealer in a Jar to color correct under my eyes
• Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer under the eyes in Medium 3
• MAC Studio Finish Concealer in NC30 to conceal blemishes
• Ben Nye Banana Powder to set under the eyes
• Rimmel Stay Matte Powder in 001 to set the rest of my face
• Natural Collection eyeshadow in Crushed Walnut to Contour
• Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess Bronzer in Medium Deep to warm up my complexion
• NARS Blusher in Sin
• The Balm Mary Loumanizer to Highlight 

EYES/BROWS:

• Anastasia Beverly Hills Dip Brow Pomade in Dark Brown to fill in my eyebrows
• Bourjois colour edition 24H cream to powder eyeshadow as a base
• Sidecar from the NAKED1 palette all over the lid
• Deep purple from the Sleek Bad Girl Palette and sketch by MAC in the outer V blended into the crease...BLEND BLEND BLEND
• Bright purple from the original Sleek Palette smudged under the lower lash line
• Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess Bronzer in Medium Deep 3 in the crease to warm up and help blend
• Rimmel Exaggerate black khol pencil in the waterline
• L'oreal Mega Volume Miss Manga mascara 
• False lashes - Amazing Lashes in 43

LIPS:

• Clarins Lipliner in Natural to outline
• Revlon Mauve it Over Matte Lipstick

New Maybelline Colour Tattoo In Cream Beige

  I've always been a fan of cream shadows and I was too all about the Maybelline Colour Tattoo hype when they first launched a couple of years back. Unfortunately in the UK we don't get the extensive colour range that is available in the US, as well as rarely getting the limited edition releases.

So whilst perusing the isles of Superdrug once again (I feel like you may be getting a sense of what I like to do in my spare time!) 2 weeks ago I stumbled across this new Maybelline Colour Tattoo Leather Effect in the shade Creamy Beige. Due to no longer keeping up with new launches as religiously as I used to I had no idea that new colour tattoos were released,so just imagine my excitement when this caught my eye! Total child in a sweet shop moment, I had to have it.

The name describes the colour well, I think its beautiful! On my skin tone it swatches warmer than it looks in the pot, leaning slightly orange. But overall its a camel tone bronzy shade with a satin finish.

I haven't had the opportunity to use this yet but I'll be happy if it performs like the others in terms of longevity, colour payoff and base properties. I think it will make a beautiful base for a warm bronze/brown smokey eye. I can't wait to try it out!!

If you're a fan of the Maybelline Colour Tattoos give this a try. Another Shade from the Leather Effects collection called Vintage Plum was also available if you're into deep purply tones. 

Have you tried this yet? What are your thoughts?

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Naturally Radiant 2 in 1 Moisturiser and Serum

Believe it or not, this is the product that sparked my interest into getting back into blogging! After seeing the results I achieved from this moisturiser/serum, on top of all the compliments on how great my skin was looking I was itching to let people know about my skincare secret!

At the beginning of this year,back in January, I was perusing the isles of Superdrug looking for something new to try. My skin had been unhappy for a while, with the texture of it had been looking and feeling very uneven. I needed to find it something new!

Now I must say I used to feel like you get what you pay for in terms of skincare, so I wasn't expecting much at all when I picked this up and the main reason I did decide to give it a go was because of the bargain introductory offer of £2.98.

Due to having very sensitive skin, I was initially put of by the strong scent of this product. Don't get me wrong, it actually smells lovely! Very Herbally and 'Natrual' but at the time I was worried it cause a reaction. Because of this I unfortunately left it to collect dust up until about April. When I did FINALLY start using this regularly, I have to say my skin never looked or felt better.

The actual product has a gel like texture. A little goes a long way, it absorbs quickly and leaves the skin feeling soft and hydrated. I have a combination skin type and ever since I started using this moisturiser/serum religiously (twice daily) since April I haven't experienced any dry patches or excessive oiliness in my T Zone (these are problems I experienced prior to this product arriving in my life!)

Having just entered in to the bitterly cold winter months here in the UK, I was wondering if my skin would end up needing more moisture, but I have to say its still working wonders and keeping my skin adequately hydrated. I cannot recommend this product enough!

SKIN!

It retails for £5.99 an it is sold at Superdrug. It's often on offer  though, making it even more worth it!

I highly suggest you give this product a go! It's definitely a holy grail skincare product for me and I couldn't be happier with the condition of my skin ever since I started using it!

MUA Luxe London Velvet Lip Lacquers

I recently purchased the much hyped about MUA Luxe London Velvet Lip Lacquers from Superdrug. I've been enjoying experimenting with different types of lip products lately, so I was excited to give these a try.

L-R - RECKLESS, HALCYON, TRANQUILITY

The Lip Lacquers are described as a long lasting, kiss proof lip lacquers that provide an opaque finish, drying down to a matte velvet finish. I had high hopes for these lip products, firstly because I hadn't previously tried any of the 'lip lacquer' type lip products that are currently being release left, right and centre. Secondly because I'm always fond to a good old matte lip, and finally because I had myself read some rave reviews about these lip lacquers!

My Thoughts

I really wanted to like these, but unfortunately I was left rather disappointed, The first time I applied RECKLESS, I applied it to bare lips without a lip balm underneath. You  may be thinking that this was a pretty silly move as we all know how drying matte products can be, but I just wanted to test them out to see how they held up alone. Once RECKLESS had dried down, it didn't take long for it to start settling into fine lines and flaking off. I removed it within an hour of applying it as it started to feel rather uncomfortable and look patchy. I could feel the product sitting on top of my lips, and drinking from a cup just promoted the flakey-ness. I did however like the colour and the initial finish of the product!

L-R TRANQUILITY, HALCYON, RECKLESS
JUST AFTER APPLICATION BEFORE DRYING DOWN

L-R TRANQUILITY, HALCYON, RECKLESS
DRIED DOWN TO A MATTE/VELVET FINISH
(PLEASE NOTE: THIS PICTURE IS MORE OF A TRUE
 REPRESENTATION ON THE ACTUAL COLOURS)

Next I tried out the less daring shades and this time I made sure to moisturise and exfoliate my lips beforehand. Having done so I was hoping for a more positive result, however I found the application of both HALCYON and TRANQUILITY to be fairly patchy. To reduce the patchiness I would recommend blotting your lips a couple of minutes after applying lip balm. I found this to help some what but in all honest it wasn't easy to achieve an even application. Once I did however achieve an even application with TRANQUILITY, it dried down to a beautiful matte/velvet finish and lasted until I chose to take it off.

On more of a positive note I was really fond of the colours and generally feel like MUA have done well with the colour selection. The price definitely has to add to the good points of this product, at only £3.00 per lip lacquer it would be a challenge to find a product in the same type category at that price. Its also worth noting the lasting power, I had to really scrub at my lips to get these off!!

I'm looking forward to playing around with these lip lacquers a little more and hopefully finding a way to make the application easier for me. I'm also interested in trying some of the brighter colours in the range such as DARE.

What did you guys think of the MUA Luxe London Velvet Lip Lacquers?

Oh Hey!

Well Hello!
So it's been about 4years since my last blog post and here I am again!
It's safe to say that alot has happened in the past 4 years as you can probably imagine! I am no longer a teenager, I finished college ages ago and I look fairly different from my 17/18 year old self.

I've been thinking about starting to blog again for a while now. I used to love the interaction and being able to talk to others who had the same interests as me. Initially I was going to start from scratch and I still might do that, but I stumbled across my old blog (this blog!) yesterday and it bought back so many happy memories so I didn't have the heart to delete it. For now I've decided to just start where I left off really and just see how it goes.

I'm very rusty with the whole blogger thing at the moment and my blog definitely needs a revamp! As you can probably tell its still a reflection of my 17 year old self. So I'll be working on updating it somewhat and hopefully get back into the swing of blogging!

If there is anything you would like to know or if you want me to blog about anything in particular then do not hesitate to ask! I'm still planning on keeping the blog beauty related as my love for that good stuff (by that I mean makeup) never faded!

A selfie... 4 years on! Follow me on IG: __akq__