New Years Resolutions
25 books in 12 months! I could do that? It was 2 days before New Years and along with getting the apartment in a clean tidy order for our New Years eve party I was also trying to think of my resolutions. As I brushed, mopped and polished I made a mental note for 2012.
- to read 25 books in 12 months (all mostly chick lit)
- to keep up with a night time beauty regime I had been trying for the past few weeks – cleanse, tone, and moisturise - trust me it seems easy but when its 11pm and all’s you want to do is sleep beauty takes a turn to lazy town!
- to get my own cup of tea and biscuit and not to ask others (mainly my boyfriend) to get them for me, along with anything else I want that I don’t really want to move to get!
As I hovered I checked over my mental list and stuck with those 3, I mean how hard could that be?
So we are now 2 months into the New Year and I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s pretty hard! 2 books down and I’ve realised I’m a much slower reader than thought as I should be 4 books down by now. My beauty regime is more of a dictatorship and well as for number 3 well I did try!?
The good news is my New Years resolutions have introduced me to some really great products.
The first being Bio Oil:
I read about this on a website after googling good moisturisers and as this had some great feedback I went with it. A word of warning is that like all great things it’s comes at a cost to your bank account! Bio Oil offers three sizes, small, medium and large and ranges in price from £8.99 – £19.99 but it is worth it. Less is more with this product and 2 months in I’ve only used a ¼ of the large bottle so it’s not as costly as I expected. My skin is soft and I found putting a small amount on my face evened out my skin tone.
My second find was Clarins Eye contour Gel:
I’ve tried everything to reduce dark circles under my eyes and with this being my number one reason for very rarely going make up free for fear of scaring small children, I was slightly sceptical that Clarins could do the trick but I was pleasantly surprised. Not only was the gel cooling and non-sticky it worked! I used it after my skin regime before bed and woke up feeling much fresher and looking less tired. The down side as always is cost at £26.50 it does seem pricy but I always buy it from Boots to boost up my Advantage Card points.
Xen Tan Review
In the past I’ve always believed in DIY tanning. After one too many dodgy spray tans I decided that my own handy work was best when it came to a nice, NATURAL tan. Then much like the start of a cheesy true life story in a trashy women’s own magazine Xen Tan came into my life!!
I’d never heard of Xen Tan before and with out a trip to Infinity Beauty salon I still would be none the wiser. I got talking to one of the beauticians while she done my pedicure and she raved about a new tan that rivalled St Tropez. After I’d composed myself from the initial shock I laughed at the idea that there was anything to rival St Tropez, but she was sure of it and even challenged me to try it. This was a few months ago and each time I’ve done my tan the thought to try Xen Tan had crossed my mind but then immediately followed by that dread of try out a new tan. The flashbacks of me standing half naked in a freezing cold shower cubical while a Lara Croft lookalike sprayed me from head to toe, all the time insisting I didn’t inhale (which I would fail miserably at and end up with a lung full of tan and brown nostrils!) NO I couldn’t do it I’d just do my own St Tropez that night and be done with it, but as I was thinking this my hand had reached for my phone and dialled Infinity Beauty for a 3pm appointment. So as I walked to the salon I was nervous, excited and a little intrigued to see if Xen Tan actually worked.
As soon as I arrived my mind was put at easy by the lovely figure flattering lighting in the tanning room (not the harsh florescent type lights but the soft warm…..okay dull lighting!) So as the beautician asked me to step onto some sticky feet pads to stop my soles turning the colour of mahogany I instantly had a good feeling about Xen-Tan. Within 10 minutes I had two coats of an olive completion which for typically pale English girl is an achievement in itself! The treatment cost £20 which is a bargan considering the salon was warm and welcoming and the beautician even cleaned my nails and hands to stop the dreaded tan stains.
I was even more surprised that I looked normal and didn’t smell of bourbon biscuits! As I walked the 10 minutes back to the flat I didn’t get one side glance at passers by and didn’t feel the colour of a traffic cone. The tan was slightly sticky but apart from that I didn’t feel uncomfortable at all.
Here are some celebrities who share the love of Xen Tan:
One tip is to have dark sheets as the tan did rub onto the bed cover but was easily washed out. I was glad that I went to sleep looking nice and tanned as appose to looking like I had spent a few days in the wilderness at and SAS training camp with mud smeared face and patchy arms.
Xen Tan washed off lovely and left an event cover all over with out looking dark and obvious. As much as admitting it pains me it has topped St Tropez and my favourite tan proven by the fact that I’m booked in again tomorrow to have a top up! So happy tanning and let me know if you have had similar results with Xen Tan x
Shamballa Bracelets Everywhere
Its funny how some times the smallest of things become very present in your day, for example I saw a pregnant woman on my way to work today and so far I have seen another 4 pregnant women! Another example is last week I was out on my lunch and I was asked for directions by an old couple only to be asked a further 2 times on my way to Subway!? Why is it that some days you will inevitably notice something more than you do any other day? Which leads me into the topic of today’s post……Shamballa bracelets!
Everywhere I look I see these new creations. My evenings are made up of reality/fictional TV shows, The Only Way Is Essex, Made in Chelsea, the Hills, the list is endless and each time I sit down to watch an episode with my cup of tea in one had and remote control in the other I am amazed at how often I see this new trend of Shamballa bracelets, for example and to name a few:
Amy Childs with the classic white and black Shamballa bracelets
Ollie Locke and Chloe Green sporting his and hers matching green jeweled Shamballa versions
The minute I realised this craze had gone global was when I saw Jay Zs Rolling Stones cover with low and behold a Shamballa bracelet on his wrist. All be it a very manly version he gave the bracelet credibility and started the though in my head that I needed on in my life!
Okay so it’s slightly sad that I have fallen for the new craze but they are so shiny!! I fear I was a magpie in a former life as anything I come into contact with that has the slightest shine will eventually end up in my mitts, an OPI nail varnish, a new Chanel shimmering eye shadow and yes now a Shamballa bracelet. The decision now is which colour to get, and to find a decent replica, I may want to follow the trend but I certainly don’t have the bank balance to fund my expensive splurges so for now its good old eBay and an eager 2 day wait for my new sparkly possession to arrive!
Best Foundation Finds (and worst)
Foundation is like a good pair of jeans, perfect once you find the right match but a nightmare finding it! Every girl has different taste and we know this from the hundreds of brands and shades out there on the market. So how is a girl to trawl and rummage through the mountain of testers and search through brand upon brand for the best foundation that will be the ONE! Every girl will depend upon her foundation to stick with her, though sleet, hale, and those first dates that require no faint hearted cover up!
Each time I sense that it is time to change foundation I get the inevitable dread of knowing a long search is ahead of me. But that dread is worse when it comes with the news that your favourite foundation has been discontinued!! This is exactly what happened last year when I went into John Lewis to buy my Clinique Gentle Light Makeup.
I used Clinique for 3 years and loved it so much that I didn’t even lose sleep at the £23 price tag. With no warning of it being discontinued I didn’t have a chance to stock buy or savour my last drop! Instead I was left wondering round John Lewis make up department looking for something to fill its super sleek shoes! To me Gentle Light was the Jimmy Choo of make up and I was now metaphorically speaking left shoeless! So after months of searching and pounds wasted I finally found the perfect foundation. It comes in the form of Chanel Vitalumiere Foundation! This has to be the best foundation I have come across yet.
From the months of trail and errors and countless wasted pounds I can tell you the best foundationsI found on the market today were:
1. Chanel Vitalumiere Foundation
3. Clinique Super Balance Foundation
And the worst:
1. Maybelline Dream Matte Mouse
2. Clinique Almost Make up (discontinued)
3. Benefit Some Kind of Gorgeous Make Up (this is with great sadness beacuse I love Benefit too!)
Although I read endless blogs and articles just like this for tips and tricks in the end its what you think looks best on you, no one can make the decision the for you when it comes to something as personal as foundation. When you dont have the luxury of a make up artist you have to become your own and that means doing the leg work, so I hope this article gets you there a little quicker.
Yves Saint Laurent – Oh me, Oh my
My first experience of YSL was a Christmas present from my best friend in the form of their renowned Yves Saint Laurent Touche Eclat Radient 
Touch Highlighting Pen.
From the moment I took it out the expensive gold box I was hooked! The heavy, sleek casing ooze YSL chic and I passed the point of no return in the land of concealers. The smooth finish left my dark circles banished to sleepless night town and my skin glowed. Don’t ask me where I had been all this time that I never knew about this gift from the beauty gods but I’d found it now. 4 years later and Touche Éclat is a constant resident in my make up bag. The only draw back is its cost…. at £25 it is a bank breaker when you hear the last click of life but worth every penny.
A recent addition to my beauty regime (and a continuation of my love affair with YSL) is a product I received as a sample with the latest Touche Éclat purchase. It comes in the form of Flash Radiance Skincare Brush.
I used it after my moisturizer and immediately felt my skin smooth out. The next day my make up looked fresh and light. I suffer from the 3pm make up shift and expected no different so was really surprised when checking my reflection in the lift mirror at 5pm to find my make up in check and my mascara in place. So you could say I found new levels of appreciation for this product. Appreciation that even lasted as I handed over my bank card at the product counter to pay the £35 for a replacement! It lasts for 3 months so in my view a total of 40p a day, bargain!
For expensive beauty treats Boots has to be your first stop. With my advantage card in hand I watch my points rack up with the help of these beauties! There are 144 points for the Flash Radiance and 96 points for Touche Éclat to collect. See the Boots website to get your hands on an advantage card! http://www.boots.com/en/Advantage-Card/ You will wonder how you got by with out one x
OPI Nail Varnish!
I have a major weakness for OPI nail varnish it is my equivalent of some women’s chocolate!! (don't get me wrong I love that too!) I love everything about it! The sleek bottles, funky names of each colour and the results it gives!
So you can imagine my excitement when I read in the May issue of Cosmo that they have brought out two new shades in collaboration with Serena Williams just in time for this years French Open. The new lineup includes a tennis ball yellow/gold and a black shatter coat which produce an edgy, cracked effect!
My bank card started to quiver at the thought of these amazing shades. The cost is slightly pricey but worth it for the lasting, bottomless bottle! Their website offers a try shade section to show you what the shade you have chose will look like! http://www.opi.com/
Once you buy one bottle you will be an OPI convert for life! x