Having recently come back from an incredibly hot country I can't help but notice a crisp breeze in the air and along with finding these on sale in Tesco (unbelievable), Autumn must be well and truly on it's way. Time for a nail-wadrobe seasonal shake-up.
Chanel's Rouge Noir, the polish thats been causing a nail-related frenzy since the nineties, has been on my radar for years now and after a quick browse of Duty Free with a crisp €20 note that just had to be used up, I finally made it mine. A deep burgundy might just been my all time favourite shade to wear and Chanel have done it so, so well. I think this vampy look works well with short, squared off nails so I've been getting out the file and shaping them down.
The brand may not ben known for it's super long lasting formulas, or for being chip free. But honestly, I love this shade so much I don't care. £18 may also be a pretty steep price to pay for a bottle, but I see this being a permanent feature on my nails for the next few months. If you're looking for something a little more affordable however, the two closet ones I've come across in my search for the perfect vampy nail are Barry M's Red Black and Essie's Bordeaux.
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Although it may be well documented that I have a slightly, *ahem* no, extremely large collection of all things beauty that I constantly chop and change between, there are still a handful of things in the skincare and make up department that I couldn't go a day without. I'm sure not all of these will come as a surprise to you as they feature some of my most used and most loved essential products, ones that if say a 'desert island' situation arose, I'd just have to track down.. Here are my everyday staples!
Emma Hardie Cleansing Balm | Bobbi Brown Hydrating Eye Cream | Kiehl's Daily UV Defence SPF 50 | Nuxe Reve de Miel Lip Balm | Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in Dim Light | Real Techniques Buffing Brush (from the Core Collection) | Bobbi Brown Corrector (shade Bisque) | No7 Stay Perfect Mascara*
* Gifted PR Samples
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As far as the relationship between myself and my eyebrows go, we haven't always got along. They constantly find ways to defy me, either growing too much or not enough, being so sparse at times my forehead just looked bald or possibly worst of all, refusing to grow as far down as they should and cutting of somewhere just past the arch giving me a 'brows to small for my face' kind of effect. Over time however, I've managed to build up a repertoire of products that keep the pesky things in line.
First up, maintenance and for that I always have my trust pair of Tweezermans on hand. I like to keep on top of things by leaving these on the bathroom shelf so I can pluck out any newly emerged strays on a daily basis rather than sitting down for an hour and tear-jerkingly extracting a whole bunch at once. These tweezers are definitely as good as they come and although a bit more pricy than your average pair of Boots-own, they've certainly stood the test of time for me and remain as precise as the day I got them.
I'm also a big fan of the eyebrow-tinting. Not being blessed with particularly dark brows at all I like to give them some natural colour to tide me over on those no make up days, and also save myself a whole lot of work with it comes to filling them in. Coloursport's 30 Day Mascara has always been my dye of choice, but since finding it impossible to get hold of anywhere and therefore assuming it must be discontented, I opted for Eyelure's Dybrow which if I'm honest works exactly the same. Just mix up a small drop of the dye and developer, leave on for ten minutes and wipe off to leave perfectly tinted brows that not only look like they're just naturally darker, but by picking up a lot of those extremely fair unnoticeable hairs helps to thicken them out a lot too.
Secondly comes the actual construction of the perfect shape. If I'm feeling lazy I'll simple opt for a pencil. I've found the L'Oréal Brow Artiste* in Brunette is a great colour match for me and also has the perfect consistency - not to hard, not too soft, that's essential in a brow pencil. As if that wasn't good enough, this one also comes with a setting wax and a brush to comb them through, making it the easy choice for that well known morning rush or even to throw in your bag for the journey. When I have a little more time however, I'll always opt for a powder.
I find this the most natural way to give my brows some much needed definition and the cool, ashy tones of MAC's Charcoal Brown and Omega eyeshadows to be perfect for this. I use a mix of the two on an angled brush (again, the best I've found is also from MAC in the form of a 266) and try to keep it softer and lighter at the front, progressing to darker and more sharply defined towards the arch and ends.
The newest brow discovery for me comes int he shape of Maybelline's Brow Drama Sculpting Mascara. I'm usually one to stick to a clear gel to set everything in place but this differs as it offers a tint of colour. The shade Medium Brown not only works well on top of the powder to set and keep the colour going for longer, it also works really well just brushed through bare brows, darkening them slightly for a more natural look, but still keeping them polished and in their place.
What are your product picks for a good brow?
* Gifted PR Sample
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Having only ventured on to a plane for the third time in my life this week I may not be the expert with it comes to all things flying, but one thing I do know is that it reeks havoc with my skin. On my first trip I donned a full face of make up not knowing that by the end of the flight and hours of recycled air later I'd want to pull my skin off it felt so awful. A lesson was sufficiently learnt and this time I came prepared.
With such strict rules these days on what you can and can't take onto a plane, a full mid-air facial was never going to happen, so I brought along just two trusty products - both travel friendly size of course. The first port of call was a few cotton pads soaked with Bioderma Sensibio H20, undisputed king of all make up removers. Before we'd even taken off I made sure I had every scrap of the stuff was gone and with this micellar formulation the whole process was made much more gentle than with a scratchy make up wipe (..shudder). Next, I heaped on the hydration with probably the most moisturising product known to man, the Origins Drink Up Intensive Overnight Mask - not just for night time it seems. A good thick layer of this all over kept things soft and supple, and the fact that this had completely sunk in after four hours just goes to show how much my skin needed it!
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