Beauty with Bare Minerals

Being a lover of all things beauty can sometimes have consequences. I flit in between products I use because I get so excited about others on the market. Therefore, my make-up 'bag', more suitcase, steadily increases and I forget to use those little gems that I found a few months ago because I'm already salivating over Dior's summer colour pallet for 2015! Slight exaggeration but you get the point. Saying this, one brand that I never fail to forget and will always use is Bare Minerals.

I was recommended Bare Minerals by a friend who works for Champneys, she said that she had very bad skin and ever since using Bare Minerals her spots cleared because the powder was so pure. A make-up that was helping bad skin, surely not? As you may know, it does not take much to persuade me to try a new make-up brand so almost instantly I found myself at the local Debenhams purchasing the mineral powder from Bare Minerals.

I spoke with the skincare advisor on the counter and she helped me pick a shade that matched my skin tone, I wear Medium Beige N20, but you can also go online and do it if you're too busy. I have to say it's one of the best products I've ever bought. It's so easy to apply, you tap a small amount of powder into the lid and then buff your brush into the powder. Tap off any excess powder and then with small circular motions buff it into your skin. It gives an even, luminous finish. It conceals any little nasties without looking like you're wearing any make-up. You just feel really fresh and natural. My boyfriend always comments when I'm wearing it, he says he likes me looking natural but little does he know I've got foundation on it's just so amazing that you can't tell!

It gives a slight sheen to the skin so it looks as though you have a natural glow about you - as if you have drunk about 10 litres of water that day! I would recommend this for all skin types. I have dry skin but the powder doesn't dry it out as I expected, it actually moisturises my skin and glides into the skin perfectly. I would also highly recommend it to help blemished skin because my friend swears by it to help clear her skin. It's even so pure that you can sleep in it - ssshh I actually do sometimes *beauty sin*

I can't recommend this product enough, it's £23 which I think is a small price to pay for gorgeous skin. I always feel so confident when I'm wearing it because my skin looks luminous and natural but I know the powder gives amazing coverage so all my blemishes are covered.

I always pair this my all-time favourite Bare Minerals product - All-over face radiance in Tropical Radiance. I've raved about this before in another blog post but I'll just give a little summary now - it's amazing!

I use this almost everyday because I like to look tanned but I don't always want to pile on the fake tan. You apply this powder the same as the foundation and buff it all over your skin and the coral pigments in the powder lift your natural complexion so you've got the 'just got back from the south of France' look about you.This is £19 and there are many different shades in the collection to lift your natural complexion so I advise you to get down to your local department store for a consultation.

Everyone should have Bare Minerals in their life.

Ballerina Bun - 2012 Trend

With the new year fast approaching I thought it would be a good idea to start scouting the magazines for trends we will see coming our way. While I'm always looking for the next beauty trend, I always seem to get lazy with my hair and just leave it to however it decides to hang that day.

I have naturally very thick hair and generally quite a lot of it so I tend to leave it down quite a lot and just mess it up at the roots - and that is my attempt of styling my hair. Due to this horrid laziness one of my NY resolutions will be to take pride in the appearance of my hair and get up just 10 minutes earlier to ensure it looks decent.

Donna Karan - Ballerina Bun

One trend that is going to continue to be big in 2012 is the ballerina bun as seen at Donna Karan shows for AW12. This style looks so sophisticated and stylish, perfect for work and an evening with friends - even works well as a bridal style. Definitely one to learn how to do.

For this style you need:
1 hair bobble
Hairspray
Hair brush
Lots of hair pins

To get started brush all your hair into a ponytail at the crown of your head, secure this ponytail with your bobble. Hairspray your hair while stroking your hair back towards the bobble so all your little frizzy bits around your face are stuck down!

Next, split the ponytail into four even sections. Take the first section and brush it upwards and spray it loads with hairspray. Then roll it outwards towards your hair into a little roll (if you have long hair roll under itself) and secure with as many bobby pins as you need. Do this with other three sections, but make sure you can't tell the sections have been split into four. It needs to look seamless. Spray the finished piece with loads of hairspray to keep it stuck. It takes a lot of practice but gets a lot easier honestly! Your hair should look like a big doughnut. See my attempt below!

It's a great style and makes you feel very glam. All in all the style takes around 5-8 minutes to do so go glam for 2012 ladies xxx

Love Luxe

Hello everyone, hope you all had a lovely Christmas. Hasn't it flown by? Sadly my boyfriend is back to work today so I'm all alone so I thought I'd blog and then maybe pop to the sales... I already seem to have bought two pairs of boots even before the sales arrived, which is slightly naughty.

Anyway, with Christmas been and gone I thought I could focus all my efforts on NYE. My motto with a new years look is the more glam and glitz, the better. Luxe is the perfect NYE look. Think gold, think glitter, think dark vampy lips, et voila!

Barry M paint pots are brilliant for creating this sort of look because they have such a selection of glitzy colours that are highly pigmented. My tip for using these is to use a flat eyeshadow brush, dip into the pot and lightly tap the end of the brush so all excess comes off. Otherwise, you will look like a pantomime dame. Gently blend the shadow into your eyelid. To define your eyes, take a dark brown colour to softly create a line along the lash line using an eye liner brush. This gives the illusion of longer, fuller lashes.

To create more glamour, I always recommend using false lashes on an occasion like NYE. I have used many different lashes in my time but my favourite ones I've used, which I am currently working my way through is the individual lashes from Eyelure. You can apply each lash to where it is needed so your lashes look long and lovely but still look and feel really natural.

Stick to your usual evening foundation base so you feel comfortable and confident in your own skin. I usually go for a dewy base and set it with mineral powder, so when the camera makes an appearance you can be sure the light will bounce off your face giving you a gorgeous glow. If you use a matte foundation but still want that 'glow' use Benefit's High Beam. Dot it along your cheekbone to have the glow of a supermodel.

Next up for lips, the darker you dare to go the better! Start off by prepping your lips with a soft toothbrush, gently rub on your lips to remove any dead skin. Next plump and soften your lips using my old favourite Creme de Rose from Dior. Choose a lip colour that will complement your complexion as not everyone can wear a deep berry shade.

Pale skinnned beauties should opt for pinks and light coral shades. However for an evening when you are trying to vamp it up a bit opt for a red shade. When choosing a red shade it's all about the undertones of your skin to be able to get it right. Pink skinned girlies should always go for a cherry red.

Olive/medium skinned lovelies can be more daring with their lip colour, berry colours are extremely flattering. Reds don't always work very well for olive skinned girls but if you really want to wear red then stick to bold, fire-engine red. But make sure you apply with a lip brush to slowly build up the colour. I'm olive skinned so I have extremely pale skin in the winter with a yellowy tinge and then if I'm in the sun I go a lovely colour. Red really doesn't suit me so I tend to stay well away from it. But I do love purple shades and a burgundy berry colour from Rimmel.

Dark skin darlings have it the best because bright and bold look absolutely stunning in contrast to the dark skin. Deep plum colour is extremely flattering for an evening look, or if you want to go for red then a deep re is the best way to go.

Bobbi brown always says the best lip shade for your skin tone is just two shades darker than your natural lip colour. When you go shopping for a new lipstick, apply to half of your lip and see how much darker it is to your natural colour. It's as easy as that.

Bare Sienna

How does she do it? Even sans make-up Sienna Miller manages to look pretty hot. OK so her hair could do with a little attention but you couldn't accuse her of hitting the ugly tree could you now?

It's not really very fair as unfortunate others like me scare young children with our bare faces. However, I do believe that being motivated to complete a rigorous skincare regime I think you can be confident enough in your skin to leave the house without your warpaint. And confidence = beauty.

In the new year I am updating my skincare regime to something more hardcore and all signs are pointing me in the direction of Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser. So many people I have spoken to about it absolutely swear by it so I'm very intrigued. I love the idea of cleansing your face with a cloth everyday, and have used this technique with Eve Lom before. I loved the feeling of being luxuriously cleansed every day.

I can't wait for 2012 to start my first NY resolution - to treat myself to Liz Earle.

A girl's got to look after herself xx

Candy Make-up

I'm just lazing around watching Charlie and The Chocolate Factory, which I love, and it inspired me to do a post for a candy make-up look. I was thinking what could I do that has something to do with the film and my immediate thought was a 'Beauty Copycat' of the Oompa Loompas! My imagination really does run away with me sometimes! On second thoughts I toned it down slightly and decided to go with a flirty candy coloured look.

Eat Me

To create this look we'll first need a foundation to create matte base to let the colours pop. I've chosen to use Studio Fix foundation from Mac using a Real Techniques foundation brush. This foundation is buildable and long-wearing so a great all-round foundation.



Next I'd set this with a powder and go under the eyes with Mac Select Moisturecover. This is a fantastic concealer for me because it blends well. I get very dry skin under my eyes so usually concealer sticks to the dry areas but this one glides over it and conceals beautifully.

Once you have your base it's time to choose the colours you want to use. I'm going to use Mac's limited edition Hold that pose! from the Glitter & Ice collection. It's a gorgeous highly pigmented mauve colour with a shimmer effect. Next take the 'silver skates' eye pencil in the collection under the eye right up to the tear duct to make your eyes look bigger and more beautiful.



Finish your eyes off with a mascara to lengthen those lashes use Mac Zoomlash in Plum to really emphasise your purple peepers. Next we're going to highlight the apples of the cheeks with a pretty pink colour using Benefit Thrrrob to create pink flush. To top of the look use a pretty pink lipstick, or gloss if you're not confident with lipstick. I would use Collection 2000 lipstick in Marshmallow. It's a luscious moisturising lipstick that stays on for longer than you would think it would.



And there you have it, a pretty candy look - great for Christmas parties <3

Penny xx



Update on Boo Boo Zap!

OK so I found out from my extensive, yes extensive research, that Benefit's amazing Boo Boo Zap was discontinued. *Massive sad face*

HOWEVER, word on the street is that it is making a come back on March 3rd. I am keeping my fingers firmly crossed that this happens because it really does zap those nasty boo boos away.

Au revoir spots, boo boo zap will be back with a vengeance.

A Few of my Favourite Things...

Just as I'm doing my make-up ready to go out I wanted to share some of my favourite products that I use daily. They really are amazing products that I feel need to be raved about, so here goes...

If you lack radiant skin but don't want to use bronzer all the time then all you need is Bare Minerals All Over Face Colour. Mine is in shade Tropical Radiance and it's a bright orange powder! On first glance it looks scary to put on your face but when you know how to use it properly it is an amazing product that I couldn't live without. You buff it onto the skin in small circular motions and the orange pigments in the powder spread across your face to give a luminous radiant glow that you can build it up to create a post-holiday glow, or do a light layer to perk up your complexion. Head to your local Debenhams to try the colour with one of the girls on counter.

Another of my faves is Chanel Hydramax + Active Teinte in shade 10. This tinted moisturiser gives great hydration and fantastic colour. For a moisturiser it provides fantastic coverage, it is expensive but it is Chanel quality that you won't be disappointed with.

Giving your skin radiance in a minute is Clarins Flash Beauty Balm. This balm is my go-to product when I need to be perked up, and on an evening out I don't leave the house without it. It brightens your complexion and tightens skin and you can also use it as a face mask to soothe skin.

Lastly, when I'm caught short with a nasty blemish I always reach for Benefit's Boo Boo Zap, but I'm coming to the end of mine and I'm devastated because I think it may have been discontinued. I'm going to do my research and find out. It immediately dries up the little spot and mine seem to disappear the day after I've used the zapper. It's amazing! I'll keep you posted with what's happened to it.

Penny xx

The Christmas Mascara Special!

Merry Christmas every one! I'm getting right in to the Christmas spirit at the moment, at work on Friday every one wore santa suits for the day to raise money for a local hospice and it was hilarious! We all went to the pub at lunch and it was Christmas chaos. So to say the least I am excited for Christmas.

I thought I would spread a bit of this joy by rating some of my all time favourite mascaras so every one can have fun and flirty lashes over the festive season. No one should be without a good flutter.

LENGTH: To kick things off my first mascara I have chosen in my little showcase of luscious lashes is awarded for its ability to lengthen lashes to the extreme - It's MaxFactor False Lash Effect. This wonder buy has patented liquid lash technology with a huge brush that coats your lashes from root to tip. It sells itself as a volume mascara but personally I think it's amazing for length. Available in Boots stores nationwide and online at maxfactor.co.uk 

VOLUME: The winner for giving xxl volume for me is Lancome Hypnose Drama, giving instant body to lack lustre lashes. My lashes are quite long but sadly I don't seem to have many. However this mascara really plumps them out and creates a fan of gorgeous lashes. What I mostly love about this product is that you can add as many coats as you want and there's no clumpiness. A great natural mascara to create beautiful eyes - a real must-have in my opinion. Again available from most boots stores and online at boots.co.uk. I think there might an offer on at boots at the moment of two freebies when you buy two lancome products too so get buying!

Natural peepers

NATURAL LOOK: If you want to create the illusion that you're not wearing much make-up but you want your eyes to still stand out I have got a great one for that! My favourite mascara for creating a pretty natural eye is Rimmel Sexy Curves mascara. It doesn't create the longest lashes in the world but it does give you a nice natural look with a great curl and separation to your lashes. Available from Boots.

ALL-ROUND AMAZING: My favourite mascara ever is Chanel Inimitable Intense. It does everything it says it will - gives incredible length while volumising my weedy lashes and gives great curl while it's at it. I've worn it quite a lot recently and I've had comments from people asking if I'm wearing falsh ones because it creates such a great lash. It's £22.50 so at the more expensive end of the scale but I would definitely say it's worth it. Available from some department stores and boots and boots.com.

And that's me and my mascaras done for today, but I have so much more to say. If you want any tips on what mascara to get please do get in touch because I have used SO many mascaras and am more than happy to share my memoirs!

Sorry to be random but while I was writing this post my little brother made me a bacon sandwich without me even asking! Ahhhh how cute is that!

Bye y'all xxxx

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Perfect for your Office Party Look: Lips

It is always difficult to manage the boundaries at your office Christmas party...how much drink to have, how short you can allow your dress to be, how familiar should you be with your hot boss. Well, I'm giving you one less thing to worry about by showing you the best party make up without looking like the office ho!

My top tip is to pick one feature that you will focus on: eyes or lips. Christmas is all about the glitz and glam, and is the one time of the year that wearing glitter on your face is acceptable so take advantage and glam it up to the max.

If you are choosing to focus on the lips, think Lauren Conrad. Her skin is glowing from a dewy base, I would use Chanel Vitalumiere (£33) to create this golden look. Keep your eyes subtle with a light colour to cover the lids and open up the eyes. Clinique do some gorgeous soft pinks that would look beautiful with a bright pink lip. My favourite shade is Frosted Blossom (£14).

Next, line your eyes with a carbon black liquid liner and create full fluttery lashes with Chanel Inimitable Intense Mascara (currently my favourite mascara). Last by certainly not least create the lust look for the party. The Lips! Pop on a bit of Dior Creme De Rose (£19.50) first to plump and soften that pout. I always apply my lipstick with a brush, especially a vibrant colour, because you can apply it in coats to build up a colour you feel comfortable wearing. Apply your first coat and then blot with a tissue. Next apply a second coat of the colour and this should now stay put for longer. To get the perfect pink pout I recommend Mac Amplified Creme Lipstick in Chatterbox (£13.50) - a vibrant pink colour that will get you noticed for all the right reasons!

Next installment I'll tell you how to create the sauciest smoky eye in the easiest way.

Comment below if you have any questions about where to buy the products mentioned or for any tips xx

The Beauty List

Hello lovelies, hope everyone is having a good weekend so far? I've just got in from having my second Shellac manicure - I'm an addict now. I've opted for a deep berry colour this time and I already know what I'm having next time. It's Christmas themed but you'll have to wait for the photos in two weeks time. It will be amazing, trust me!

If any of you are thinking of getting a Shellac manicure and are in Hampshire area I would recommend nailz inc in Fareham. A shellac manicure is a bargain at just £20, and ask for Jade or Sam.

Anyway, on to the Beauty List for this week. My first thing on the list is not actually a beauty product but I think is a must-have for all girls. Velcro Rollers! OK, so it's a bit Desperate Scousewives but honestly they are amazing. They give volume to the root of your hair so it has more oomph for a night out, or if you put the rollers in with wet hair and blow dry it will give you amazing curls. I bought mine really cheap from Superdrug, they were about £4.

Something slightly more expensive now - Chanel Inimitable Intense Mascara. Providing volume, length and curl this mascara is truly gorgeous. It gives great separation too so your lashes don't appear clumpy. Chanel at its best. £22.50 available from most boots stores.

As a plea from me now I'm looking for an eye cream that will moisturise my dry and senstive undereye area, and will also banish the bags and dark circles. Any suggestions for me to try will be greatly received!

xxxx

Beauty Copycat - Miranda Kerr

Now this lovely lady is my biggest girl crush of all time, with Holly Willoughby as a close second! Miranda Kerr oozes beauty and always looks effortlessly gorgeous, even after a long-haul flight.

HOW?! I'll never know, but I can certainly try. For my drinks outing tonight I'm going to try and create her natural beauty - with the help of a little make-up!

Firstly I'm going to use Touche Eclat by YSL to lighten my undereye area, Miranda always looks fresh and awake. Then to create a dewy base, but subtle and light coverage I'm going to use my Estee Lauder Daywear Plus Tinted Moisturiser. This gives a gorgeous glow but doesn't look like you're wearing anything - Perfect for those lucky ones with good skin.

Miranda always looking healthy and bronzed but doesn't look like she wears a lot of bronzer so I'm simply going to use Hoola bronzing powder from Benefit and lightly dust it all over my face and neck to lift the colour of my skin. I would say the trade mark of Miranda is her rosy apple cheeks. To recreate this and still look natural a cream blusher is best. I'm going to use my Topshop cream blusher in Pop (£6 = Bargain!)

She has very feminine feline eyes, something I wasn't blessed with unfortunately but to create this I'm going to take a brown liquid liner through my top lash line with a flick at the end. Then a brown kohl liner lightly through the bottom lash line to give my eyes more definition. Onto mascara where I will use Lancome Virtuose, as you can build up the coverage you want on your eyes without it looking clumpy.

Miranda's brows are quite thick so I would take a brow pencil to thicken mine up slightly, and then finish off with a light lip, using Clinique's Moisturising Chubby Stick in Woppin' Watermelon.

And I'm transformed!