One apple a day...

They say your first defence against anti-ageing is moisturising. I can definitely tell that I have aged a lot in the past 10 years (snif) so, moisturising has therefore become one of my big skincare priorities. Whilst my daily routine has improved dramatically (I now use a toner and a serum in addition to my spf15 minimum day moisturiser) the same can't be said about my night time routine. I have been cleansing my face at sober night but I have not been consistent with my night time moisturiser. I start with the best of intentions, buy a pot, the pot gathers dust and then I throw it away because it's been opened for too long. It's a real shame as they say that it's at night time that your skin regenerates itself and makes the most of the nutrients you feed it with. A skin care specialist will phrase it better than I can but you know what I mean.

  
My problem also, is that, in the past, I've been choosing night time moisturisers which are too rich for my skin, say a moisturiser for skin for age 55+ when I am no nowhere near this decade yet. The cream feels it takes forever to sink in, making the whole process even more tedious.
 
What if I could find a product which would make the whole night time moisturising ritual a whole lot easier and most importantly, convenient enough for me to stick to? I think I've found it and I could kick myself for not having made the jump any sooner. It's not a moisturiser, mind you, it's a face serum, it's very affordable, it's made by Superdrug and even my tiny little local shop stocks it.

 


I purchased my first 'Optimum Swiss Apple Skin Renewal Serum' at half price (£7ish instead of RRP £14.49) and this is what they say about it:

A skin renewing serum with PhytoCellTec™ Malus Domestica which uses extracts from the Swiss Uttwiler Spatlauber Apples to promote a fresher and more hydrated complexion. Helps to minimise the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. Swiss Apple Overnight Serum works while you sleep, leaving it feeling intensely moisturised and refreshed in the morning. Significant results can be expected in just 4 weeks.

The first night I applied the Swiss Apple serum, I immediately fell in love. One pump delivered the perfect quantity of a very light and super quick absorbing gel. Seconds after, my skin feels velvety smooth, almost like I've applied a primer on, but much lighter feeling and with a very fresh scent. The smooth feeling lasted until the morning. Even before waiting 4 weeks to see if it delivered its promises, it was love at first pump and before I knew it, I finished my first bottle and was waiting for the product to be on half price offer again. It did and I bought 2 more in one go, even if my bank overdraft didn't lend itself for at the time.


What does a serum do again, is it better than a moisturiser?
"Serums are able to penetrate deeper into the layers of the skin quickly and effectively because it is made of really small molecules, while cream molecules stay in the first layer only. The serums ability to go deeper into the skin and its high level of active ingredients (ten times more effective then cream alone!) means it can help battle many common beauty complaints". (source)
  

The Swiss apple serum didn't reduce my beauty complaint (to make me 10 years younger) nor it claimed to do that. I can't tell you either if it reduced my fine lines as I haven't been looking at my skin so close. What I did notice is that it made my skin a whole lot smoother and brighter. Most of all, it made me adopt a face routine which I finally stuck for weeks on end, and it made me feel a whole better for caring more for my skin.





Do you need to use a moisturiser afterwards?
I don't really know to be honest. The bottle doesn't say I should and I have been enjoying its benefits worn alone.


You will have guessed it, I absolutely love this product but if I had one constructive criticism to make, I would have liked to receive more information with it, perhaps a little paper inside telling me about the differences between a moisturiser and a serum, the minimum amount of time I need to use a serum to be effective, if I can use the product all year round or I need to take a break etc..


My researches on internet (please don't take my word for gospel, I am only someone who experiments with beauty products, not a skincare specialist) led me to believe that the use of serum should be minimum 4 weeks and I should take a break from time to time so I have been doing little intensive sessions of using just this product at night for roughly over a month and having a break afterwards. I must say it feels ever so weird (heavy mainly) to use a normal night moisturiser after being used to a course of 'one apple a day'.


On the greater scheme of things, I can't believe how a skin renewal serum introduced me to a regular night skincare routine and made me stick to it. It now doesn't feel right when I am not using a moisturiser / serum at night time. Talk about a renewal, hey?


The serum is usually sold at £14.99 but my instincts tell it won't be too long before another half price offer comes along, as I believe the whole Optimum range is one of Superdrug most popular lines.

   
Following the success of the serum, Superdrug decided to extend the line. Sadly the serum bottle has undergone a revamp and is losing its ever so sleek glass container (snif) but I am very excited they brought out some additional products. Next, I am trying out the day moisturiser (reviewed by Debbie here). If it smells and feels as good as the serum, then my mornings are in for a treat. No idea when the new products will be out and how the new products will cost but my instincts tell me that there will be some kind of introductory offer. I’ll stamp my feet down if there isn’t!







Are you happy with your night time skincare routine?

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MUA – Glamour Night Palette

If I am not careful, this blog is turning more into like what makeup I would like to indulge into rather than makeup I actually bought and can share my impressions with you on. The truth is that money is a bit tight at the moment and while I have heaps and heaps of 'old' makeup to review, these take time and natural sunlight to be photographed at their best. I am working on this gorgeous beautyuk cosmetics new nail polish collection which I am dying to share with you but the sunrays are missing and the flash of my camera cannot cope with chrome and foil polishes.


Lame apologies aside, I wanted to share with you some swatches of 'Glamour Nights' a gorgeous eyeshadow palette designed by MUA Cosmetics. This palette is usually £4 but I managed to find it in a blog sale at half price. I had vowed myself to stop buying shimmery eyeshadows as I don't like wearing eyeshadow in the crease of my eye and beyond, but here am I with yet another mainly shimmery eyeshadow palette. I couldn't resist, the colours are too pretty.








We'll start with the positives: The shimmery shades are absolutely gorgeous. Minus the silver which produces a lot of fall out, the shimmery shades offer very good pigmentation and are easy to work with.






The matte shades however are very disappointing. The white (first from the left, top row) barely shows but then again, I am not too bothered. Sleek Makeup is not capable either at making a decent white and nyx white answers to all my white needs. The browny grey (5th colour from the left, top row) which was the colour I was looking forward the most to play with is nowhere near satisfactory in terms of pigmentation. No problem with the matte black (first shadow, bottom row) however the 4th and final matte eyeshadow of this palette, the matte purple (4th shadow from the left, bottom row) is really not happening: patchy, patchy, patchy and patchy. What a shame.








Matte lovers, this palette is not for you. Shimmery Lovers, eat your heart out, you really can't go wrong with so many shades for £4.

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Catwalk False Lashes by BeautyUK

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False Lashes are probably definitely my favourite 'makeup item'. I've been trying lots of Beautyuk products lately and when I heard they were releasing some false lashes, I couldn't wait to try some and purchased the 'catwalk' set of false lashes at £3.99 from the website.





This was the first time I ordered some beautyuk items from the website. I paid £1.75 for first class delivery and my order reached me in no time at all. I was pleasantly surprised and received a discount voucher for a future purchase. The second surprise was the size of the box of lashes: I bet you could actually fit one of their eyeshadow palettes in there, the box was huge, complete with fully detailed instructions on how to apply them on. Did I read the instructions? Of course, not. I was too impatient to put them on.



 



The second thing I've noticed is how slightly uneven they are. You'll see that the right hand side differ a bit from the left hand side and vice versa. What you lose in symmetry is gained however in 'natural looking effect' of the lashes. The lashes are very long (perhaps longer than the lashes I am used to wear) but also very light, and once they're on and you can hardly feel they are there.







As for the application, as with 99% most of the false lashes I needed to trim them from the outside corner so that they can fit my small eyes. The lash band is very thin and very flexible and you'll have no problem putting them on. The vertical curl on these lashes is absolutely superb and they instantly lift your eyes. I bought many lashes before (corner eye lashes from nyx from the top of my head) that just won't cut it: as they're so straight, you wonder why you put them on in the first place.








how ridiculous do my bare lashes look, seriously. If nothing else, this should boost your self esteem ^_^





However, the fussy false eyelash lover in me was slightly disappointed with the horizontal curvature of the lashes. When I took them off from their support, they felt a bit straight and not as curvy as my beloved eylure 101. This was not a problem because the lashline is very thin and very flexible but if the lashline had been a bit thicker, I could have seen myself having to spend a bit more time trying to make them 'marry' the curve of my lashline.







Overall, I am quite happy with my purchase. The Catwalk lashes are a bit longer than I would personally usually go for but oh boy, they gave me such drama, I can't wait to wear them again. I hope beautyuk will make them available in Superdrug soon.


how much: £3.99
where to buy: online at http://www.beautyukcosmetics.com/ (accessories section)
disclaimer: I bought these lashes myself.

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No.7 NOTDs Silver & Beans

You'd  have to be a little dense unfortunate have to repurchase favourite no.7 product at full price. You will have heard from the grapevine (aka Fee from MakeupSavvy.com) that the legendary Boots No.7 (£5 reduction) vouchers are back. Is it  *just* a very effective ploy to get us down to Boots and buy buy buy lots of products or do no.7 products need a boost anyway and don't sell well? Disappointing sales figures or not for no.7 products, whether you’re an avid fan of the brand, Boots manages to lure us to go to their shop and spend our hard earned pennies and I am the first one to succumb to the temptation.


I cannot help but feeling annoyed at the original prices though. Whatever no.7 product we choose, there will never be one product under £5, and we'll always have to pay at least £1.50. Unless you want yet another no. 7 nail sharpener at £5.75. How many nail sharpeners does one need anyway? I wonder if the face wipes have gone up as well?
 
Oh I remember the times (before January 2010) when the nail polishes used to be £6 or £6.50. Those times are gone and you have not to fork out £2 to get a nail polish you didn't even want in the first place. If the prices have gone up on all the products, maybe the reduction voucher should have its value increased as well?


Anyway. We are where we are. This week end, I bet some of you will have ended up in a Boot shop without their will and would have inevitably left the shop with some No.7 vouchers ;) What to buy with them? Well for £2, and if you don't already own them you could always get your hands on Night Silver' or ‘Beanie’.




I found Beanie a little bit on the thick side for the application but not too troublesome and very decent 'mushroom' brown polish.








And now for Night Silver: very impressive coverage with just one coat. Funny enough, night silver is part of the 'stay perferct' range but I found it more quick drying than the 'speed dry' beanie. I don't usually like high metallic finishes for a polish as I find them streaky, but I didn't have this problem with night silver. You can see some brush strokes but they don’t bug me too much as they are not too overwhelming. I really like this shade actually, it goes with anything, even though it's not a very original shade.






 



Do you own No.7 polishes? Have you perhaps blogged about them? Which shades should I buy?

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Russet Eye Glitter Dust (Beauty UK) and EOTD

What can I say. I think I might have a little crush on Beauty UK. After Lily from Beauty’s Bad Habit was raving about the metallic eye sparks, I wanted to get some for myself. Alas there was none in my Superdrug: instead 2 little pots (the last ones) of  glitter eye dust were begging me to grab them: Russet and Green. The glitter lover in me couldn’t resist at £2.99 each.




Let’s cut to chase and go right into it: the packaging is far from ideal but let it not deter you as the product it contains it’s gorgeous. It is like your traditional loose glitter but more finely milled to look almost like an eyeshadow. With this product, you get the best of both worlds: vibrancy, glitter and drama which you would get with a loose glitter, but a product very similar to eyeshadow as far as the removal goes: a cotton dampened with eye make up remover will take it off very easily, while traditional glitter would be more tedious (I usually resort to sellotape to remove the excess first)





Talking of packaging, this is what it looks like inside. I feel like the product dissipates itself around its little opening at the top.

 



You can actually remove the whole plastic protector inside and just use the lid. I happened to have some mini jars (5ml) left so I decided to depot them.



 
Are you still with me yet?
Now for the look. This is not very elaborate at all. Look at it more like it’s a swatch of the product but made directly on the eyelid.

 





To create this look, I used 3 colours from the Day and Night Palette (reviewed and fotd’ed here) and the russet glitter eye dust. Eyepencil and eyeliner are the same usual ones, I won’t bore you with it :P Again, I must point out that you won’t usually see me using shimmery shadows in my crease.  But the shimmery burgundy from this palette as well as the other colours don’t have an overpowering shimmer at all, it’s more of a mix between subtle sheen and shimmer.

I treated the glitter eye dust exactly like it was chunky loose glitter and applied it with my beloved and trusty splash proof sealer. In retrospect, I wish I had darkened the crease a bit more with a bit of black. Never mind.


 


Now what am I going to do with 2 jars of the same glitter, huh? ;)
Oh, anyone want to have a guess at the nail polish I am wearing? answer tomorrow. I know, you just can't contain yourself ... and I need to get out more

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‘Beauty UK’ Day and Night Palette. EOTD and swatches

Let’s be honest. I have never bought anything from Beauty UK ever. Why? Cos it’s too affordable, because it makes me think of what a typical teenager would buy and I guess because I am a bit snob. Lately, I noticed that Beauty UK was on twitter and I thought they must be a cool brand if they are on twitter. So I went last to Superdrug (3 for 2 mix and match offer ends on 4 January) I took the plunge and chose the ‘Day and Night’ (6) 10-eyeshadow palette  as my free item (value £3.49) 








I couldn’t be happier with it. There is one colour I am really running low on and it’s the bright pink from my eBay 120 palette and this comes just at the right time for me.
I was really impressed by the pigmentation of the shadows. The palette offers a mixture of shimmery and matte. The shimmer is finely milled and is easy to work with. They are a little bit of the soft side (do not drop them) but then again my 120 palette is the worst offender in that department and it’s the palette I tend to reach out the most. I am not majorly blown away by the green. I expected a true lime and it’s bit too yellow for me. The star for me in this palette is the burgundy. It’s truly a gorgeous colour on its own but I can see myself using this as an alternative to black to darken a crease.










 


My first play with this palette therefore had to incorporate this colour. So I used the bright pink, the burgundy and the shimmery white. I also used a little bit of mac vanilla to help blending toward the brow/highlight area. Please excuse the mask of foundation. I went just a bit heavy with it on that day! What do you think? Would you wear this during the day, or at work for example? I would, I love my brights :)






 









Next, I think I want to buy these 2 palettes. I have way too many eyeshadow palettes already though :( Do you own anything from Beauty UK?

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Fireworks Party, Heat Damage and Aussie to the Rescue …

… Or the adventures of a stress head in Leeds…
Last Saturday I was invited to a truly fabulous party hosted by Aussie Haircare to celebrate the launch of their latest haircare range 'Take the Heat', a line of products specifically designed to protect your hair from the effects of heat damage.




In true Aussie Style, the event was superbly organised as usual and in every detail: from the gorgeous package, with colour coordinated satin ribbon to match the colour of products to the theme of the event: What a better night that 'Bonfire Night, night of fireworks' to host an event around heat damage. Perfect! The event was hosted in the sky lounge of some swanky hotel in Leeds, with panoramic views of the city.




I could not have thought of a better venue for it: while sipping out champagne cocktails, we were able to see the fireworks through the large windows, whilst in the warmth inside, all glammed up and in heels.




Before the event, all Aussie Angels were given a mission. We had to see which 'Take the heat' protector product worked best for our hair (read my thoughts on the products here) choose a hairstyle to recreate from hair style inspiration videos on the Aussie website, and reveal our hair style to the world. Best Barnet of the night would be awarded a prize. So this is when it started to go a bit pear shape. I am so mortified... {Put the kettle on, it's a long one...}

To start off, I received my 'Take the Heat' parcel later than everyone else as I had to had my parcel redelivered to a different address which left me less time than everyone else to practise. It’s my own fault really, as I work full time and never at home to receive parcels. Then, with Halloween preparations in the middle of it, I ran of time to buy a decent hair curler tool (I set myself on creating the voluminous curls hairstyle) so I ended up practising my curls with a pair of straightening irons. Needless to say, my first attempt at curling my hair using a hair straightener didn't go to plan.


To top it all off (wait for it) the same day of the event, I was moving offices and carrying filing cabinets and all sorts all day. My main priority was to keep my hair clean and away from the dust, which caused hilarity around the offices as I was wearing a hat indoors {we’re talking russian/trapper type of woolie hat here , with 2 flaps at the side covering the ears} By the time I took my train to Leeds, nothing of my freshly straightened hairstyle was left. It was still shiny, definitely not dusty but flat as anything. I was absolutely mortified. There I was going to a truly amazing party (Aussie Parties are just always out of this world), my hair flat as a pancake, knowing it would be judged to scoop the prize for the best barnet of the night.


There I was at 18.30, (party was due to start at 19.30, 'sharp like my hairstyle' as said the invitation) just arriving to my hotel, with fiasco hair, with just an hour to regain human appearance and put makeup on. I don't remember the last time I was such a bag of nerves. Before the event, I had practised a makeup look, inspired by the colour theme of the product (see my look here) but I chickened out at the last minute and opted for another makeup look (and outfit) I had worn many times before. To add to the nerves, attending the event as my guest, was YouTube celebrity makeup guru glitterdollz7. I felt paralysed. I felt I had forgotten how to apply lashes, blend shadows and everything ... AAAaa. I just couldn't relax enough to apply decent makeup, I felt the glue of my lashes wouldn't stick and the lashes I would usually be able to pop them on in the dark would not sit right. It was chaos. Anyway, after lots of stress and shakes, Ellie (missy_ellie_uk)and Carly (glitterdollz7),  - my guests for the evening - and myself arrived to the event about 13 minutes late.










I felt so lucky to be there. I just couldn't believe the venue and the breathtaking views we had over the city of Leeds and the fireworks. As a surprise guest for the evening, Aussie treated us to dancers performing on the balcony, all again, superbly  coordinated with the Take the Heat Products: Red and Purple Dancers with assorted ribbons and Dancers with Fairy Light Dresses to echo the heat theme of the night:








 








I was able to meet and chat to lots of bloggers, and sample all the delicious canapés and flowing champagne. I was having fun, but still deep down, I was mortified at the thought of having let Aussie down with my hairstyle. These girlies, by contrast did extremely well. Below, meet Katy the winner of the barnet of the night, with the 2 finalists, Jen and Catherine. If  it had been me, I would have had as well included @kelanjo19 as a finalist but I am really glad it was Katy who scooped the prize as she has long hair like me, yay :). The one who is laughing her head off is Jen and the one with the gorgeous golden dress is Catherine.



  

On my wish list for Christmas, a pair of curling irons definitely. Any suggestions for brands and models which can tackle my thich long locks would be very much appreciated.

And now photo time extravaganza…


 



















 






Marylin Monroe and me




Lady Gaga and me




Thank you for the great night Aussie! 

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