You Little Beauties – The Body Shop – Part Two

1.       Drops of Youth - £14 for 160ml

I was drawn to this product by the packaging to be honest.  Eye-catchingly simple; a vibrant green bottle with the words ‘Drops of Youth’.  Not that I want to be a 19 year old again but I wouldn’t mind my skin to be!  Discovering that it contained a powerful punch of unique ingredients, I couldn’t wait to try this little beauty.

Its boast is that it contains stem cells from three resilient plants known for their regenerating properties: Edelweiss, Criste Marine and Sea Holly.  Used daily, it’s said to activate healthy, plumped, hydrated, luminous skin and not to mention refining those pores (which is a big thing for me as mine are HUGE and I hate them).

So when would you use this essence?  If you’ve already read my blog on the ‘second step’ of skincare (‘Cleanse, WHAT and moisturise?  The Elusive 2nd Skincare Step!’ posted on 24/04/15), you will be aware that essences, softeners and lotions seem to have replaced the humble toner.  Most cleansers are now so gentle and effective, that that is no need to use a toner to get the pH of the skin back to normal.  However, these newbies are used after cleansing to prepare your skin for the next stage, whether it be serum and/or moisturiser and they tend to have specific ingredients for your particular concerns. 

So in my quest for my skin’s formative years, after cleansing, I shake four or five drops in the palm of my hands and then press the product into my skin.  You can massage it in of course but it’s a Clarins habit of pressing serums into the face that I haven’t grown out of.  It sinks in very quickly and I apply my eye product before popping on my serum and moisturiser. 

I really love this product; I’ve been using it for eleven days now and I think it’s given a luminosity to my skin as well as making my pores look more presentable.  It’s a huge bottle for the select few drops that you use - it will last me ages – therefore making it very good value for money indeed. 

 

2.        Honey Bronze Highlighting Dome - £8

I didn’t want to like this product!  Due to having shiny cheeks due to my HUGE pores, I tend to steer away from shimmer.  However, when I popped this pinky, coral shade on my cheeks, they really did pop (I have cool tones under a sallow skin).  Yes, it does have a gold shimmer to it but it’s so subtle, it really does look good.  I bought it to take on holiday with me – will look fab with a tan on the cheeks AND lips but because of that all-important ‘poppage’ I was talking about, I’ve been wearing it in the cloudy UK.   I’ve looked healthy (and alive).  You can glide it from the dome onto the apple of your cheeks and blend or apply with fingers from the dome.  Another plus is that it has a lovely honey fragrance to it as well.  It comes in three shades: golden, pink and bronze. 

You Little Beauties – The Body Shop – Part One

I am totally having a Body Shop Love Fest at the moment.  I was lucky enough to attend a Body Shop at Home event recently with a representative, to see how what goes into creating a fab, girlie evening in the comfort of their own home with lots of skincare, bodycare and make-up products to chat about.  Afterwards, I was given 48 hours of alone-time with her make-up kit.  Heaven.

So that weekend, I tested every item in her kit and fell in love with a few products which I then bought and am now enjoying.

All-in-One Insta Blur - £14 for 25ml

This is a fabulous silicone-based primer with five benefits.  It helps to control shine (sebum levels), refines the appearance of pores, covers blemishes, improves skin texture and extends the wear of your make-up (silicone is super adhesive – make-up clings to it so it will last the day).  Insta Blur really does what it says on the tin.  Also, what I love about this product is that it provides such a solid base to my make-up, that I don’t have to use face powder to set it.  To use:  I pop a small pea-size amount on my hand and apply with fingers to my areas of concern: the pores on my cheeks and t-zone.

Fresh Nude Foundation - £15 for 30ml

This little beauty creates a second skin and appears so natural that you will look so good that people will think that you’re not wearing foundation and that you look this fabulous naturally…all day.  Yes, you won’t want to remove this at the end of the day as you still look amazing (and with no touch-ups!).  Thanks to its rose water and aloe vera, this foundation is super-hydrating, gives a glow to the skin and provides all day comfort.  It comes in 16 shades and has an all important SPF 15.  

Lightening Touch Highlighter - £14 for 3ml

It wasn’t until I worked alongside Irish celebrity make-up artist Leonard Daly that I understood where I was going wrong with the shade of my concealer.  I have freckles, lots of them when the sun comes out and some concealers leave my skin tone grey and ashy due to this pigmentation.  Leonard advised that I use a peachy shade rather than the usual yellow.  When I tried Lightening Touch in 01, it transformed my dark shadows instantly and didn’t deaden the shade of my freckles.  A concealer and highlighter in one, it hides the shadows with its light-diffusing particles and plumps up fine lines.  It contains Marula Oil (found in a tree in Africa) which is packed with Vitamin C and E, omega fatty acids and flavonoids (that enhance the action of Vit C) – all great ingredients to fight against environmental aggressors too.

So there you have it.  It’s rare to find a product where the blurb lives up to reality but with Insta Blur, Fresh Nude and Lightening Touch, these little beauties really do deliver.

Next Week – Youth Drops and Honey Bronze

You Little Beauty - MAC Velvetese Lip Pencils

As with everything I do, I always come late to the party as I did with 'Friends', '24' and Beauty Blenders (although I wish I'd never parted with the cash on the latter: they are a right faff and unhygienic to boot - just use your fingers, for crying out loud) but these lip crayons are the business. 

I originally bought one from ELF online last year but I thought the red colour too warm/pink (I don't do pink) so it went straight in my pro-kit.  Then I got given two NARS ones and I tried both and sadly wasn't impressed.  I adored the shades as they were perfect for my skin tone but what wasn't perfect was the result; faded, patchy colour that didn't last plus they didn't twist up so once you'd used the bit you could see, that was that.

Then I got given a MAC Velvetese Lip Pencil in Ready to Go (deep brick red) and embarrassingly, it went straight into my kit and I didn't bother to use it on myself due to the NARS situation.  It wasn't until a recent trip to Cork, for my mum's 70th birthday last month, that my sister gave me another Velvetese in Anything Goes (rosey fuschia). Seeing as I'd only brought one nude lippie with me, I thought I would wear the MAC one evening and I have to say, I was impressed that it lasted the night and that I was humbly eating my words.  Now the red colour was a bit too pink for me (similar to the ELF one) but nevertheless, silly me to discard these crayons in the first place.

When I got back to Blighty, I excitedly retrieved the MAC Ready to Go from my pro-kit and I have to say that I've been wearing it weekly.  Am loving it.  The rich colour lasts and they give a great lip line so no need for a lipliner obviously.  The best thing about these are that they are so quick to apply  with no need for concealer, cotton buds or make-up remover - you can't make a mess with these - Edina and Patsy take note.  Lovely, full luscious lips with a much sought after effortless, clean finish.  Now, I've noticed that as I've gotten older, my bottom lip isn't as full as it once was. (When I was eight years old, one gal at school, who's name I will never forget, bullied me to high heaven about my big lips which was odd as I didn't think I had big lips at all. Anyway, I do now, Emma T!)

These chunky crayons are so handy to have in your make-up bag.  Lasting colour which endures the day.  I only have had to touch up once and that's after I've eaten my sandwiches at lunchtime and honestly, not much has come off at all and I can go the morning and afternoon drinking from my water bottle without the fade.  They feel so comfortable as well, as there is nothing worse than having a long-lasting lipstick that makes you want to reach for your lip balm every five minutes. 

Five new shades of lip crayons out on the market this week are from Sleek (£5.49, Superdrug) which of course, I want to try too.

MAC Velvetese Lip Pencils NEW PRICE £12.25

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