My Everyday Face

Whilst I may have aspirations to look uber glamourous at work when it comes down to it I'd prefer that extra five minutes in bed - yes I love the snooze button. I also find that as I spend most of my day darting in and out of meetings I've yet to find a look that remains the same with little more than a touch of lipstick between meetings - until now.

A combination of products I'd been sent to review and those I've brought or were at my disposal have helped me create the perfect low maintenance look that suits me on a day to day basis.

I start with Liz Earle Sheer Skin Tint* in Bare 01. This was my first foray into Liz Earle's make up range and I was a bit concerned about the shade as it looked too pale in the tube but applied to the face it works like a dream and is the right light coverage I prefer. I disguise any blemishes and my hated under eye circles with Bobbi Brown's Creamy Concealer in Sand and follow this with a dusting of Chanel Les Beiges No 30 all over the face. I'm so glad I finally gave in and purchased this product. Such a finely milled light powder that really does give that sheer glow to the skin.

A pop of colour on my cheeks is provided by Chanel's Creme Blush in Affinite applied with Real Techniques Due-Fibre Contour Brush. When I first went to buy this the sales assistant told me it wasn't right for me, I'm glad I disagreed.

Brows are filled in using either my Anastasia Brow Wiz or Mac Omega depending on my mood, which also depends on whether I sweep some Omega across my lid.

My love affair with mascara's continues in the form of Barry M's Lash Vegas*. By the end of the day I need to neither touch up or remove any black smudges under my eyes which is a major plus in my book. I can also finally understand the people who claim they cannot live without mascara as it changes the look of your eyes without needing to apply eye shadow.

Finally I hide my lack of sleep with Rimmel's Wake Me Up concealer and reach for one of my lipsticks, in this case Rosette by Clinque.

What I love about this look is if I'm heading out of an evening it's usually only necessary to add some more Les Beiges, maybe some blush and usually I'll go for a red lipstick (tonight it's Chanel Amant). I'm finding this low maintenance look really works for me right now.

Below you can see the before and after looks. I must stress that the after has not been photoshopped despite my hair being a different colour! I actually took the before picture in the morning and the after once I'd done the above touch ups when the evening light was coming through my window so it has shown up the colour in my hair better.

I'd love to know if you've tried any of these products or what you use in your minimal everyday make up or even if you think this is still too high maintenance. 

*PR Sample

September Empties

Its cliched at this time of the month to wonder where the previous one disappeared to but seriously, where did September go? That aside I managed to work my way through and finish up a large number of products so lets get on with the job in hand, starting with skincare.

Balance Me Expression Line Filler* is touted as a natural botox for an instant smoother looking complexion. I'm well aware after my many years of frowning that there is no wonder product (in serum form) that will make them disappear but this product does seem to temporarily do what it says. I find that by the end of the day my lines are certainly more prominent and even more so if I don't use this product for a day or two. I'm currently testing two alternatives to see how they fair but this is one I'd certainly repurchase.

With every blogger expressing such love for Bioderma there was no way I couldn't give it a try myself. Was I overally impressed? Not really. I can't quite work out the hype. Yes it's a quick fix product but I found it no better than L'Oreal's Micellar Water and certainly not as luxurious as a cleansing balm. Would I repurchase? Unless I was shopping the aisles of Parisienne pharmacy with a view of the Eiffel Tower, then no.

St Ives Apricot Scrub* does have the best rep now that skincare trends are leading us to daily exfoliating toners and avoid the harsher scrubs. Whilst I tend to be a follower of those trends these days I have had this sitting in my bathroom and sometimes I feel like my skin needs that extra scrub and reach for the tube. It is harsh, it is gritty and I certainly wouldn't recommend this for sensitive skin types and I'm sure there are many of you that will avoid this all together but I've not had any problems. Would I repurchase? Probably no but only because of my use of the double tone. 

Which leads me nice only to Nude Purify Toning Water. I can never seem to find too many reviews or recommendations for toners other than exfoliating toners so when my faithful Liz Earle ran out I had a wander round the aisles of Space NK and this came home with me. It was my first time trying something from Nude and as toners go I have no complaints. Would I repurchase? Yes if I was in Space NK and wanted something at a fair price point but as I was in Boots knowing this was due to run out I returned to my old love Liz Earle. 

A few skincare samples that I used were the Origins GinZing Moisuriser. I love it, there's nothing more or less to say. It is on my list to purchase but until I've used up some other products in my collection I just can't justify it... for now! I can't say too much about YSL Forever Youth Liberator Serum as I think for the type of product it is you cannot get a full opinion of how effective it is with the small sample on offer, unlike Le Nuit De Chanel. If I can manage to avoid throwing a full size of this into my basket when I'm shopping in Duty Free two weeks from now I will consider my willpower to be exceptional. I loved this product. The smell is amazing and I just loved applying this for the few nights it lasted.

I won't go into too much detail about Sure Maximum Protection* and Dove's Purely Pampering Lotion* as you can find them reviewed here and here but they are both on the repurchase list. Another empty I can't say too much about is St Tropez Everyday Gradual Mousse. I've had this forever. I was obviously not very diligent at applying daily so when I did use it as it wasn't an instant tan I'd see minimal results. It's quite bizarre tanning with a white/clear mousse and of course there is the St Tropez smell - but then I'm slightly strange and like that! Would I repurchase? No but only because I'm braver these days and would go straight in for their instant products. 

Finally a couple of samples from Chanel of their Coco Mademoiselle Body Lotion. I've never been one for matching body lotions to my perfumes but having used this sample and being a frequent wearing of the perfume I would like to change that. Angel by Thierry Mugler was a lovely body cream to apply and a scent I've enjoyed. I've never used any of the fragrances but I would certainly give them a second glance now.

I'm in love with Radox Pink Grapefruit & Basil shower gel* and a second bottle is sitting in my bag ready to head to Vegas with me. I am not in love with the next two products. I didn't enjoy the Nivea In Shower Body Moisturiser. I can't quite work out where it saves time. I found it greasy to apply. I didn't enjoy the step away from the shower method to let it soak in (surely this defeats the object!) and found I still wanted to use a body lotion on top of it. Definitely not one to repurchase. I'm a big fan of L'Occitane Almond Oil but the same can't be said of the Lavender Shower Cream. I would use this of an evening when trying to wind down after a long day at work but I didn't really enjoy it. I found it thick but not creamy and somewhat drying afterwards. 

Moving on to some hand products, IOMA is a brand I'd not heard of till recently and was given their Cocoon Hand Cream* at a press event. I'm fussy about my hand creams but this one past the test (the test is can I lift my mug at work after applying!). I particularly liked it's pump/nozzle which dispensed a thin 'string' of product rather than the usual blob. It was much easier to distribute and I would definitely repurchase. As I would my favourite L'Occitane Hand Cream. I've mentioned this on many occasions so I will avoid repeating myself. 

Sally Hansen Acetone Free Polish Remover is a hangover from my acrylic nail days but still does the job of removing my polish. One tip of the bottle onto a cotton pad is usually sufficient to clean 1 or 2 nails so you can see this bottle would last a long time. I don't find my nails to be too dry after using and would definitely repurchase - in fact I already have!

I'm interested to see how different October's empties will be as I seemed to have got through quite a lot this month; thank you if you've made it this far.

As always link me up to your empties post and let me know if you've tried any of these products and what you thought of them.

*PR Sample

Book Review | About a Girl by Lindsey Kelk

I gave up on Revenge Wears Prada last week, it was far to dull with a boring storyline and as mentioned last week the characters were not coming across likeable.

This week I've popped the latest release from Lindsey Kelk into my bag, About a Girl. I've loved Lindsey's I Heart Series so I'm looking forward to reading a knew story from her. As I haven't so much as turned a page in this book yet I cannot tell you more than repeat the synopsis from Amazon below but based on the reviews I have high hopes.

Tess Brookes has always been a Girl with a Plan. But when the Plan goes belly up, she’s forced to reconsider.
After accidently answering her flatmate Vanessa’s phone, she decides that since being Tess isn’t going so well, she might try being Vanessa. With nothing left to lose, she accepts Vanessa’s photography assignment to Hawaii – she used to be an amateur snapper, how hard can it be? Right?
But Tess is soon in big trouble. And the gorgeous journalist on the shoot with her, who is making it very clear he’d like to get into her pants, is an egotistical monster. Far from home and in someone else’s shoes, Tess must decide whether to fight on through, or ‘fess up and run…

Bicester Village Shopping Haul

It may be Saturday but there's no lie in for me today as when this blog publishes I'll be jumping in my car and heading to Bicester Village with a wish list of goodies I hope I can get my hands on.

This isn't my first trip to the designer shopping outlet having visited with friends a good few months ago and I thought I'd share the indulgent goodies I can home with and give you an idea of the pricing and discounts available. 

I did initially plan to post a review of Bicester Village but bad weather hampered any photo taking opportunities and then time ran away with me to the point I'm only posting my haul now so it seems sensible to put something up next week once I've had a second visit to compare.

So on to the booty...

First stop to escape the rain on arrival was David Clulow. I was rather envious of my friends Rayban Wayfarers so popped on the red ones just out of interest. And promptly fell in love. Even better they were foldable which makes them fantastic for popping into my handbag and carrying around. With a 29% discount there was no way I was leaving them behind and you can see me modelling them here. Some might stay that was a successful start to the day.

The Ted Baker Bikini bottoms were simply purchased because I love flamingos. I decided I could easily find a pink bikini top to wear with these saving my having to splash out on the full ensemble as they were more than I would usually spend on swimwear. I brought these at 49% off.

Ah Prada how I love thee. In addition to my Prada tote which is never far from my side I also love Prada's purses. They are just the right size to host all my various loyalty cards and I was already lucky enough to own a fabulous pink one that was getting a little shabby. When I walked into the store (only after queuing to get in!) and saw a red one to match my new recently purchased bag I couldn't believe my luck. There was one in the case and I stood nervously as other customers dithered about purchasing till I had an opportunity to shout 'SOLD'. I would have (when finances allowed) happily paid the full price but lady luck saw me purchasing with a 32% discount.

And finally Anya Hindmarch where shopping euphoria took over. My friend and I had already had a recognisance trip to AH, literally wanting to walk out with 99% of the stock, became overwhelmed and logically said we needed to see what else was on offer. Nothing quite hit the mark for my friend who was the one looking to purchase a bag that a day apart from Anya Hindmarch so again we returned to the store and whilst she made her choice I once again swooned over the Tote Bags. I'd actually seen both of these bags on Net-a-Porter when they were current season but could never justify full price for what they were. Suddenly seeing them at 60% and 54% was too hard to resist. Sensibly I knew it was only necessary to buy one, and the beach bag was definitely not needed without a holiday on the horizon when it would be needed. But walking around the store with both hanging off my arms (there was one of each and no other shopper was getting a look in before I made my decision) I wanted both. 

It's safe to say I definitely treated myself on this trip but every item, with the exception of the bikini bottoms has been used on a frequent basis, my Anya totes are my go to's for supermarket shopping, the purse used daily and when the weather allows the sunglasses add a splash of colour to my outfits.

For those interested the RRP for all my purchases is approx £775 and I paid £441 which is a saving of 43% which I'm very pleased with - and reason enough to head there again today. That said I don't intend to be so indulgent with my purchases on this trip as I'm off to Las Vegas next month and all my money is to be saved for this holiday but there are one or two things I want to aid the trip so stay tuned.

Autumn Glory by Pyrex

Is it safe to say Summer has ended? I think so. I know us Brit's have nothing better to do than talk about the weather but it's like someone flicked a switch isn't it. That said I love Autumn, it's my favourite season. I love Halloween, Bonfire Night and the build up to Christmas.

It also means my beloved Autumn Glory dinnerware from Pyrex will be making it's appearance as will many casseroles, stews and hearty meals to keep me warm. I do love Pyrex, from oven to table it means there's less washing up which is always a good thing.

So do share, what is your favourite Autumnal soup or stew and would you care to pass on your recipes?