Comments Off on Sunday Tittle Tattle: Strike Two and – er – Strike Three
Strike Two: my second illness of the season. First I had Mastitis, then yesterday I picked up a funny little tummy bug. It seems to have gone now, but it was terribly intense while it lasted! (I reckon it was the sausages I ate on Friday night, personally, but Mr AMR says it can’t be because he had the same. What he doesn’t realise is that he literally has a stomach lining made of steel and nothing , absolutely nothing, can upset it.)
Strike Three: the third Cormoran Strike book from Robert Galbraith, Career of Evil. I had the hardback on pre-order, so keen was I to read it, but then realised that I needed the Kindle version, because if I turn on the light to read during the middle-of-the-night feed then the baby wakes up properly and all hell breaks loose! I really enjoyed the first two Galbraith novels (we all now know it’s JK Rowling, but there are no wizards and spells here – more grisly deaths and swearing ex-army detectives) and can’t wait to get cracking with this one. I’ve just finished The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry (so-so, a bit moral for my current mood!) so will download the Kindle version this evening. Mr AMR can read the hardback at the same time. The race is on… You can buy Career of Evil here – the hardback is currently £9.
Comments Off on How to Wear Fingerless Gloves Without Looking Like a Bank Robber
Most excellent purchase of the winter so far: my leopard fingerless gloves from Mango at ASOS. They are more like an extra piece of clothing that an accessory; more a sleeve or an arm-warmer than a mere glove! I have never owned a pair of fingerless gloves before; all of the styles I tried on previously made me look like a bank robber and I couldn’t quite see the point of wearing gloves that didn’t keep my fingers warm. Kind of like wearing toe-less socks – or crotchless knickers, for that matter, though I suspect I’m missing the point with those, somewhere along the line. Anyway, a few wears in (of the gloves, not the knickers!) and I’m a total convert: the leopard pattern stops these from looking too utilitarian and I actually like that my fingers poke through. The bare-flesh/wool ratio is just perfect. (Though ask me again when the proper cold weather sets in. I might well be back in full-coverage handwear.)
The images above are taken from my Autumn Lookbook Video – if you missed that on Youtube then you can watch it by clicking here. The fingerless gloves are from ASOS, as mentioned, the gorgeous double-wrap snood is from Pure Collection and the snakeskin sweatshirt is M&S. I’ve gone in for a bit of a blue-and-grey theme here, but the leopard print goes with just about anything. The gloves are a purse-pleasing £9 here.
The post How to Wear Fingerless Gloves Without Looking Like a Bank Robber appeared first on A Model Recommends.
Comments Off on Hot New Makeup Products of 2013 (Haul and Review)
OK Makeup Geeks, I have a super fun video of some hot new products that I really wanted to share with you. I recently went to Sephora and got some new goodies and I wanted to show them to you and let you know what I think of them and if they are worth trying.
Cover FX Natural Finish Oil Free Foundation
I have been wearing this for over a week now and I can’t tell you how much I love this foundation. This foundation is paraben free, mineral oil free and talc free. This is great for me because my skin breaks out easily. This comes in a convenient squeeze tube and retails for $40.00 for 1 ounce of product. I wear the color G40. This will last a while though as a little goes a long way. The feeling is very silicon like and it feels amazing on the skin as it doesn’t cake up or feel heavy. This comes in a wide range of colors (24 to be exact). The water-resistant formula has Vitamins C and E which soothe inflammation and reduce redness.
Price: $40.00
Where To Buy: Amazon, eBay, Sephora
Cover FX Cream Concealer
This concealer comes in a squeeze tube and is easy to access. Mine is the color medium/deep simply because I need something darker for under my eyes to cover the dark circles. This has the ideal silky consistency for under the eyes. It glides on smoothly and evenly and doesn’t get cakey like many under eye concealers do. You get 0.33 ounces for $27.00 which will last a while as a little goes a long way. This also does not contain gluten, mineral oil or talc. This comes in 12 shades so you are sure to find one that works for you.
Price: $27.00
Where to Buy: Amazon, eBay, Sephora
Cover FX Blotting Powder
I really wanted to check out this brand since are really trying hard not to use bad ingredients. This is their powder in the color Light, which I got for use under my eyes to brighten up the area. It also is available in medium and deep. The formula is very smooth and silky and doesn’t feel heavy at all. I love the sleek compact as it’s convenient for putting in your purse and taking it with you for touch-ups wherever you go. You get 0.4 ounces of mineral, paraben and talc free product which is great for the skin.
Price: $24.00
Where to Buy: Amazon, Sephora
Korres Quercetin & Oak Antiageing & Antiwrinkle Concealer
This is a lot like the Cover FX concealer, this is the color tan which great for under my eyes. This has a gel like consistency and doesn’t cake up, crease or get into the fine lines under my eyes which can make you look older. This aids and protects the skin around the eye and contains the natural antioxidants, Quercetin & Oak, which aids in minimizing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. This comes in four shades; fair, light, medium beige and medium tan.
Price: $22.00
Where to Buy: Amazon, eBay, Sephora
Kat Von D Everlasting Blushes
These blushes are perfection! What I love about them is they are completely talc free but they are so smooth. I am very impressed by these. I love the packaging on these. They have a sleek black design with textured flowers on the front, perfect for a blush compact. I do feel like there could have been a wider range of colors but for the ones she did have they were really nice.
Shady Business 1 – Pearlized brown with a slight gold shimmer. This will be great for light to medium skin, if you have darker skin you might be able to use this as a highlight. They also make a #2 which is better for darker skintones. This is a nice tan color that isn’t to orange and won’t make you look like an Oompa-Loompa.
Truth – A natural flush pink shade with a matte finish. Very creamy and smooth.
Wish – Nude peach with a subtle shimmer to it. This is ideal for light to medium skin; you dark skin girls can use this as a beautiful highlight. I got it because I am trying to incorporate more peach colors for the spring and summer.
Essex – This is a cool rose shade that will look best or medium skin tones.
Price: $25.00
Where to Buy: Amazon, eBay, Sephora
Illamasqua Gleam Cream
This lightweight cream adds lifts and adds highlights to wherever you apply it. This has a creamy consistency that is perfect since my skin can be dry sometimes; this gives a dewy finish to the skin. It’s very smooth and non-greasy and non-glittery, which I love.
Aurora – This has a golden under-base which won’t make me look pink at all it will just add a nice warm glow to the skin. Perfect for the summer.
Price: $26.00
Where to Buy: Sephora
Tarte Glamazon Pure Performance 12 Hour Lipstick
These are pricey but I absolutely love these! I love the packaging with the bamboo at the bottom and the colored designed top; it’s amazing. These have amazing pigmentation and glide on smoothly for a stunning finish. These are long-lasting, creamy and don’t feel drying on the lips.
Foxy – A true deep pink, fuchsia shade. This is great for all skintones but you darker skinned girls will look absolutely stunning in this color.
Playful – This is a cool tones purple/rose shade that will look great on everyone.
Whimsy – A bright medium cool pink color that will look amazing on every skin color. This is a fun, girly color to have for the summer.
Fierce – This red has orange undertones that will look best on medium to dark skintones. I prefer cool toned reds for fair skin.
Wild – This is a cool red that is almost a berry color. This color will look great on every skintone whether it’s light, medium or dark.
Price: $26.00
Where to Buy: Amazon, eBay, Sephora
Nars Lipstick in Scarlett Empress
This is a stunning plum shade that will be perfect for the fall months. This would be ideal on those days when you want to do minimal eye makeup and have stunning plum colored lipst to play up. This color will work for every skintone.
Price: $26.00
Where to Buy: Amazon, eBay, Sephora
Bare Escentuals in Swinger
This is a vivid magenta/purple shade with a satin finish.
Price: $21.00
Where to Buy: Amazon, Sephora
And that’s it for my Sephora haul. I hope you found something in here you are going to try and if you do leave me a comment and let me know what you think of it.
Because I got my last Love Lula Beauty Box last month, I thought it would be nice to round up my favourite items from the 5 boxes I did get. And it turns out there was quite a lot! It doesn’t always seem like it at the time, but you accumulate an awful lot of product with subscription boxes.
What I loved most was getting to try new brands, over the 5 month period I sampled about 12 new brands, ones that maybe I would have noticed and bought myself in the future, and ones that I know I would not have, but surprisingly won me over once I got to try them.
One of my highlights was discovering Madara, which I talked a lot more about in my previous brand spotlight post here. I got to sample 3 miniatures from them and have been hooked ever since.
I also loved finally trying the MOA (Magic Organic Apothecary) Fortifying Green Bath Potion, which smelt nothing like I was expecting – a pleasant surprise! Keeping with the bath and body theme, the Apple & Bears Body Silk was another surprise, a lush cream that sinks into skin in a flash and smells dreamy. In my last box I also got the John Masters Evening Primrose Shampoo for dry hair – I’ve been using this for the past week or so and feel like I’m onto something here. Instead of searching out scalp specific shampoos that often clarify, I’m going to try some super moisturising ones for a while as this seems to be very soothing on the ol’ noggin.
I also very much welcomed some Ooh! Oils of Heaven into my stash, with their baobab and argan oils. Highly recommend for fuss free, nourishing natural single-ingredient oils available in a bunch of affordable sizes. The Balm Balm rose water mist was so handy for travel and setting makeup. And I really enjoyed using the FoM London Hydra Plump Serum, too. It made a nice change from all the creams and oils in my routine to use something that felt like water!
My favourite box has to be the December box (pictured above). Three amazing full-size items, a moisturiser sample that turned out to be fantastic and a handy mini argan oil from a brand I already love. The Strawberry & Ginger Tea from Beauty Brews has been a tasty treat over the past few weeks, and the sugar scrub is so good! like, seriously good! Just be careful if you use it on your feet in the shower because it quickly becomes slippery city. The Spearmint perfume was a lovely surprise too, it smells so fresh and bright.. and obviously minty. I think I need to pick up another single note perfume from Balm Balm to layer this with to avoid the mouthwash vibes. I’m just not sure which. I like it for clearing food smells from clothes or the room at the moment, though.
The boxes cost, including shipping, £12.50 a month for UK subscribers and have options for discounted pre-pay. If you’re further afield you can also subscribe and it works out at £17.50 a month (though you have to pay 3 months at a time).
