Sensai Mascara 38c

 

If you are always looking for the perfect mascara that will hold up under heat and humid conditions, then I may have found it for you.

 Sensai have summer proofed lashes with their 38.c Mascara.

 As the name would suggest, it’s an up to 38 degree heat resisting mascara that will stay put despite tears, sweat and humidity. It will only wash off with water at 38 degrees or over.

It’s the tiniest of brushes, which is great for perfecting your top lashes and coating your entire bottom ones too. The oval brush has a spiral of separating bristles, which delicately allow the product to coat from the root and rolls up the lash to separate the tips easily.

The texture of the mascara is creamy but it doesn’t saturate the lashes. It’s super easy to control and doesn’t clump or blob. Lashes are left soft and feathery with a layer of mascara that withstands daily moisture. The black is rich with a glossy finish.

The formula is still very gentle and contains botanicals to moisturise the lashes whilst still being gentle on sensitive eyes.

The Sensai Mascara 38.c is available here for £21.00 and comes in either black of burgundy.

Rita Hayworth 1940's Makeup Tutorial

ESPA Beauty Explorer Collection

The ultimate travel kit for skincare lovers has just arrived in the office.
ESPA is one of those brands that instantly transport you to a luxurious spa with just one inhalation of their products.

If you are lucky enough to be jetting off somewhere exotic this summer or are just planning a Bank Holiday getaway treat then the Beauty explorer collection is worth checking out.

Firstly the collection comes neatly nestled in a leather dove grey tub bag with gold zip. Within the vanity case are 10 miniature products. Some are everyday essentials and some are a treatment that you can use during your trip away.

For cleansing there is the Optimal skin Pro Cleanser. It’s a 3-1-gel cleanser, exfoliator and mask. It feels balmy on the skin and contains micro spheres of jojoba to help desquamate the skin and reveal freshened radiant skin. It’s a rinse off cleanser but if your skin is in need of heavy duty cleansing or some rehydration after a day on the beach then leave this on whilst you brush your teeth and faff for 10 minutes.

The Optimal Skin ProSerum teams up nicely with the cleanser and drenches the skin in Omega 3,6 and 9 oils. It contains anti inflammatory Turmeric, lots of various citrus based oils which can be helpful to treat pigmentation, ceramides to encourage strength and flexibility to the skin and spearmint to encourage skin healing (also gives a beautiful uplifting, fresh scent to the oil).

Optimal Skin ProMoisturiser is a lightweight hydrating moisturiser that would be suitable for all, including oily as it dries off to an undetectable veil. Great for a dehydrated skin. It contains loads of calming and nurturing ingredients such as Honeysuckle and Rosemary and is a nice size to sling in your cabin bag and layer on during a flight.

Skin Rescue Balm is a mini wonder treatment that has so many uses. Apply to dry lips, dry cuticles, tips of the hair if they are feeling a little frazzled even over cracked hands or heels. It contains multiple healing oils and Tamanu, which is a fatty acid that is derived from the fruits of the Tamanu tree.

Not wanting to leave the hair out there is also a purifying shampoo, nourishing conditioner and a Pink Hair and Scalp mud. Apply the pink mud all over the hair to hydrate the cuticle, nourish and leave the hair feeling a lot more swishy and soft than it was when you stepped into the shower!

For the body there is an energising shower gel (literally like the scent of a heavenly spa) and a smooth and firm body butter.

Finish this all off with a spritz of the Hydrating floral spa fresh and you’ll be good to go.

A wonderful collection of ESPA mini’s which will delight and bring a sense of home luxury whilst travelling or even add a mid week treat to your bedtime routine.

The beauty Explorer collection is available now for £65.00 here.

Huda Beauty Rose Gold Palette

We’ve been talking a lot recently about Instagram makeup. If you’re a fan of this style of trend then I’m sure you are familiar with Huda beauty.  Their palettes are great for people who enjoy working with multiple textures and pigments and aren’t afraid of a bold look.

 The latest Rose Gold palette is a remastered version and features 18 shades that have been redesigned from the original palette.

 It has a mix of bold metallic, shimmer and matte tones, which can be used wet or dry.

What I love about this palette

The array of warming tones that suit all skin tones. The creamy texture, which feels cooling on application and blends out like silk on the skin. I love how the shades blend out over each other creating a seamless layered finish.

 The pigment payoff is one of the best I have seen. Huda Beauty knows how to do a pigmented eye shadow like no other.

 Some of the shades also double up as a highlighter also.

What I don’t like

The fall out. Especially the metallic shades. As you press down your brush they crumble. On the eye they will drop and ruin your base. These eye shadows need to be used before your foundation.

The pigments also spread into the other shades so eventually your matte tones will be come somewhat sparkling, but that’s just how it goes with a mixed finish palette.

Stunning colours for all eye colours but look spectacular on a brown or green eye.

Available now here for £56.00

JLo Glow Makeup Tutorial

It's possibly one of the most requested tutorials. So here you go....

Ameliorate Transforming Body Cream

Image: www.ameliorate-skincare.com/

As a child, Nic suffered with Keratosis Pilaris (chicken skin) and always shyed away from T-Shirts in the summer to avoid others seeing or brushing against her arms.

 Keratosis Pilaris causes the skin, often on the backs of the arms, to feel rough, bumpy and mottled in colour. It is caused when the outer keratinised cells of the skin haven’t shed effectively and instead are blocking the hair follicles. To relieve the symptoms the dead skin cells need to be removed either through exfoliation or active ingredients that are applied through skincare.

 We have recently been testing out Ameliorate Transforming Body cream over areas, which need a little extra help where traditional body creams are failing.

About the cream..

 It’s a nourishing oil-rich cream packed full of active ingredients. Lactic acid, which is an AHA and is a derivative of milk, is an exfoliating ingredient, which will help to remove the dead skin cells blocking the follicles. Milk protein and Sweet Almond nourish and hydrate whilst Squalane acts as a natural emollient, coating the skin without causing it to feel excessively greasy.

How does it feel?

 It feels rich and creamy on initial application but quickly feels slightly oilier as it is massaged in to the skin. It does have a slight film finish to it but this also provides a beautiful silky sheen to the skin.

 This cream is not for those who enjoy a high fragrance from the body products. The smell is not great in my opinion, it’s quite indescribable, but I wasn’t a fan. I like to use it before bedtime so that the scent isn’t as strong by the time morning comes around.

 This is not your standard fluffy body cream. It works hard and produces great results. Be warned, if you have shaved your legs or have any small cuts, you will know about it. If I use after shaving my legs, I feel like I have fallen into a load of stinging nettles for about a minute. The feeling passes really quickly and it’s not painful, just really tingly. I’m sure it’s probably not recommended for use post shave!

 The overall finish is excellent and a cream I will continue to use. I have also incorporated the foot and hand cream into my regime also. It’s nourishing, hydrating and skin feels so smooth afterwards. I like the finish it leaves on the skin and over time I have seen a vast improvement on dry skin or areas of Keratosis Pilaris.

 There are other variations available from Ameliorate so check them out here if you are on the hunt for a treatment body cream.

The transforming Body cream is £27.50 and available here.

Vichy Dermablend Foundation

 Camouflage makeup has come such a long way since the days of chalky textures that crack under movement and cast a grey flat hue.

 I have been testing out Vichy Dermablend  Corrective Fluid to see how it compares to a normal full coverage foundation.

This foundation is a high coverage fluid that applies easily and blends out easily. It is aimed at those wishing to cover moderate skin conditions, including Rosacea, acne, Vitiligo, tattoos and scars. It’s also great for pigmentation, melasma and dark circles. It has an SPF35 making it a good protection for everyone, including those that have conditions that require a good sun protection (you still need to wear an SPF specific for sun protection underneath).

It has a very workable and buildable cover although a little really does go a long way. What I love is the fluidity of it. I remember when camouflage makeup would cling to every skin texture and dry before you’ve had chance to blend it. This one remains silky on the skin and once dry, it still feels flexible. Moving with the skin instead of masking it and rather than a flat finish, it has a natural fresh radiance. If you prefer a more matte finis then you can always dust a loose powder over the top.

The longevity is great. It didn’t crack or cake on my skin although on a more textured skin you may need to apply lightly in areas of extreme dryness to avoid clinginess.

 This won’t mask texture, nothing will, you need to address these concerns through your skincare. What it will do is tone down extreme high skin colouring and pigmentation irregularities. It’s really nice on dark circles; in fact I have been using it just around the eyes as a replacement for my normal under eye concealer.

 Shade range consists of 9 shades from porcelain through to Espresso. The two darkest shades also have a lower SPF of 25. Although deeper skin tones are not as susceptible to UVB rays they are greatly affected by pigmentation so just be aware that the SPF is lower at the deeper colour end of the range.

If there isn’t a colour to suit I would advise mixing with your regular foundation to achieve a suitable shade. It blends well with other foundation brands.

A 30ml tube is £20.00 and available here.

Megan Markle wedding makeup prediction

Finally it's the Royal wedding this weekend. Along with the rest of the world, we have been making some predictions on what Megan Markle will be wearing and how her makeup will be done.
 Here's mystic Nic's predictions...

Too Faced Natural Palettes

If you’re into the natural look but still desire a polished, defined and well pigmented product then you may just want to check out the latest in palette choice from Too Faced.

  There are two different eye palettes, one in matte and one in shimmer.

 Firstly, the palette packaging is lovely. Handbag sized, chunky and well made with a mirrored lid. They feature a delicate lace pattern and gold edging with heart clasp. I also love that the shimmer palette is in polished, reflective gold and the matte palette is brushed gold. Nice touch Too Faced.

Firstly the matte palette. It features 7 new shades and 2 classic ones.

 Nice range of base tones that would suit very fair through to medium skin tones. The 6 deeper tones are a mix of warm and cool neutrals. The pigment is excellent.

 Bold and smooth and also blends like a dream. Zero fall down and even though the shades are matte there is no patchy texture. There is a faint scent of sweet coconut as the powders are infused with coconut butter, but it’s not offensive.

The shimmer palette has very similar tones to the matte. The highlight comes from the golden super-fine shimmers.

 It warms the eye shadows up and provides a very pretty eye catching twinkle. There are a couple of matte tones in this palette too in case you need a highlight and a socket blending colour that isn’t too metallic.

 The final palette is a face palette, which holds a highlight, blush and bronzing veil.

Blush tones would suit all skin tones including deeper ones. The highlighters are very strong.

 Go easy with them, apply a little and build to avoid a robotic looking face!
 These palettes are available now here.

Instagram Makeup

Chanel Les Beiges De Chanel

Although last nights tutorial was an Instagram makeup look, we prefer to keep it all looking a little more natural, it’s just our preference.

 The newest collection from Chanel, which launched last week, is all about a sheer complexion, letting the natural tones and texture shine through a veil of makeup.

This collection is from the Les Beiges range and is the perfect capsule makeup collection for summer.

The key piece is the Sheer Healthy Glow Tinted Moisturiser with an SPF30/PA++

In a travel friendly 30ml shaker style bottle.

 A little goes a long way and initially this tinted moisturiser feels like a fairly thick liquid. After blending it sheers out to a lightweight, undetectable veil.

Medium

 It dries off quickly and even though it’s a tinted moisturiser, it doesn’t feel greasy whatsoever, in fact it has an almost matte feel to the touch, making it suitable for all include oily skins.

 The finish is a silky radiance that is brightening without making the skin shimmery or glossy.

 Coverage wise it’s minimal. You can still see your natural skin colour, pigment, blemishes and skin tone through this product. It gives the skin a slightly smoother appearance or a natural filtered look. It’s quite undetectable.

Medium blended out

 This product interacts with red light, producing a slightly rosy glow to the skin. It also uses soft focus powders to smooth and contains Hyaluronic acid to hydrate.

A perfect product for holiday when you need a quick and easy product that will enhance the skin texture.

Available in 6 shades, however we only have the medium to share with you.

To compliment this beachy, natural collection is a beautiful eye shadow palette.

  Often summer palettes are vibrant blues and corals but this palette mixes natural taupes with chocolate and caramel. The finish is both satin and shimmer. 

There are also two other eye palettes in a blend of mink and beige.

 Great palettes to take a day look into evening without being too distracting from your natural features.

 To compliment there is a new healthy glow sheer colour stick in number 25.

 Light and creamy with a glowing pearl finish. It melts into the skin using the fingertips and is easy to control the strength through gentle blending.

 For the lips there are three Healthy glow lip balms. They provide low-level sheen, nourishing formula with a sheer pigment that melts away rather than clinging.

 These are available in light, medium and deep.

 This collection is available now here. 

Clinique Blackhead Solutions

Image:www.clinique.co.uk

Let’s talk about blackheads. They are something most of us have, regardless of skin type. Excess sebum can block the pores and once the melanin pigment within the oil oxides, it becomes black. This then appears on the skin as blackheads.

There are lots of claims within the beauty industry from products stating they will close your pores, thus preventing blackheads. This isn’t true. Pores don’t contain muscle so they don’t have the ability to close. Blackheads really need to be managed rather than eliminated. It’s an ongoing process that requires maintenance, nothing will ever be a one-stop shop or quick fix in skincare, you’re in it for the long haul!

There are certain ingredients within products that help to manage blackheads. Glycolic acid or Salicylic acid are active ingredients that help to remove the build up of dead skin cells and help to clear out the pores. Other treatments that help are steaming the skin or facial peels. Both of these treatments are best carried out professionally however. Hot steam can lead to broken capillaries and peels can be irritating for some skins.

There are a lot of products you can purchase to assist in reducing blackheads and I’ve been recently testing out Clinique’s relatively new blackhead solution.

It comes in a nifty 20ml tube with a rubber, knobbly cap. The idea is to massage the abrasive cream into the areas of concern, dampen with water and then massage the rubber cap over the blackheads to, in their words, extract them.

The product contains Salicylic acid, which, is antibacterial and anti-inflammatory. It acts upon the bacteria within the skin. It speeds up cell renewal allowing the skin to replenish itself quicker. This ingredient works in tandem with Bamboo Powder and Pumice to exfoliate away the dead skin cells and help to dislodge the oil build up within the pore. Once you add water to the area, thermal active technology gives the skin a pleasant warming sensation.

 After 30 seconds of massage, you can then wash away the product and continue with your regular skincare routine.

Does it work?

 Don’t assume this is going to extract your blackheads before your eyes. I personally don’t think it does. What it does do really well is remove the dead skin over the area that may lead to further blockages. It also, over time, removes the build up of oil within the pore and calm down any redness around the area. The heat sensation works in a similar way to steaming in that it can dislodge the build up and possibly make it a bit easier to remove the blackheads using gentle extractions.

 The skin is massively softened, due to the abrasive texture and any dryness or dull skin is sloughed away revealing a brighter texture.

 It’s not a miracle worker but teamed with regular use (once a week would be enough due to the pumice) and a good skincare routine to compliment, you will be able to keep on top of the blackheads and overtime see an improvement.

The Clinique Blackhead Solution is £22.00 and available here.