Author Archives: marc

Is it me, or does the last beauty favourites video only seem as though it went up about a week ago? I feel as though I’ve been sucked into some kind of space/time vortex! Oh well. Some nice new discoveries, this month, including the excellent exfoliating facial pads from First Aid Beauty (thanks for that tip-off, Caroline Hirons!) and a great mattifying moisturiser from Una Brennan’s Superfacialist brand at Boots. There are quite a few different things that I really rate from Superfacialist  – you can read more of my reviews here. I’ve also had a bit of a re discovery this month, falling in love all over again with the Ultrabland cleanser from Lush. I used to use this thick, balmy cleanser years and years ago when I first started modelling but had totally forgotten about it until recently. It’s simple, gentle and gets off every scrap of makeup. A pot costs £7.25, which I don’t think is bad at all!

You’ll also find details about my upcoming London meetup in this video – 6-8pm on Friday, November 7th at the new Bobbi Brown Studio in Covent Garden. I hope that lots of you will be able to make it; I specifically chose a time when people would have finished work or college and it will be a really nice way to end the week. Makeup, chatting and some lovely little surprise treats and goodies for attendees. If you want to come along then the full details are below the video pane – please be so kind as to email the lovely ladies at Bobbi Brown who are co-ordinating the event!

Details and Links from Video

I Love Makeup Video: http://youtu.be/xBsdizx4OvI

Makeup Meet-Up Details: 7th November at Bobbi Brown Studio, 4 East Piazza,
Royal Opera House Colonnade, Covent Garden, London, WC2E 8HD
Please email [email protected] to secure a place.
Lush Ultra Bland Cleanser: https://www.lush.co.uk/products/ultra…

First Aid Exfoliating Pads: ON SALE at the moment! http://tidd.ly/cc265b4

Una Brennan Tea Flower Mattifying Moisturiser: http://tidd.ly/9d763d61

TimeBomb Powerball Moisturiser: http://tidd.ly/1db187bb

YSL Black Opium: http://tidd.ly/a4b98872

CoLab Dry Shampoo: http://tidd.ly/cf450843

CoLab Giveaway (UK only, so sorry!): http://www.amodelrecommends.com/2014/…

CoLab product demo on Telegraph: http://fashion.telegraph.co.uk/beauty…

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Bargain little skirt to see you through the last of the summer days; it’s bold enough to hold its own against whatever you decide to wear with it, including bright orange shirts and neon-yellow vest tops. (I have tried both.) I like it because the white is still very summery, but the strong floral print means that you can wear it with deeper-toned autumnal colours for a more striking look. The fabric is soft and stretchy, really very comfortable and the length is just right, I think. Sitting on or slightly above the knee, it looks a little bit sexy, but is just about demure enough to pass as daywear! A great piece for those work-to-party days, too, as it looks good with ballet flats but even better when you stick some heels on.

(You can see this outfit and others in my new “Back to Work” lookbook on Youtube.)

As with most unstructured pencil skirts, you have to watch what you wear underneath – they tend to show up every lump and bump! I go for those smoothing knickers that don’t have any seams, kind of like a “boy short” style. Saying that, this floral skirt isn’t one of those shiny, clingy numbers; the fabric is textured, making things altogether a little more flattering and forgiving. It runs true to size – I chose a 10 and it fits perfectly. Find all sizes here.

Pencil Skirt in Floral Print, £25 at ASOS.com – the orange utility shirt is from M&S here.

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A few weeks ago I filmed the new NARS Christopher Kane collection for my video section on The Telegraph. I was pleasantly surprised that the entire range, so scarily neon and crazy at first glance, was actually very wearable – even the metallic lilac Multiple, which gave a kind of space-age illumination to cheekbones and arches of the brows.

My top pick, though, was the Silent Nude blush (pictured above, top right); brilliant as a matte bronzer for those with very fair skin and excellent for building up a bit of a subtle contour if you tend to be heavy-handed with the powder brush. You can see me applying Silent Nude in the Telegraph video here, along with a couple of the jelly baby lipglosses and both of the eyeshadow offerings, but I’ve also done some “before and afters” for you on a plain background, just so you can see the general effect.

Here I am wearing primer and base (primer is Laura Mercier’s Radiance Primer, base is L’Oreal Infallible which has an in-depth review here):

And here I am after application. The results are very subtle, admittedly, but where the natural face shadows are present in the “before” picture, there’s more of a warmth and a glow to the same areas in the “after”.

Silent Nude is a clever shade; it looks quite flat and deathly compared to a traditional bronzer, but it actually contains more warmth than you’d expect. Most importantly it’s the kind of warmth you can wear without turning your face orange, which is important for the very fair. I don’t have very fair skin by any stretch of the imagination – more fair-medium, maybe even medium-toned in the height of summer – but I’ve built up the blush in a couple of layers to give you an idea of depth and hue. It’s kind of a honeyed, pale bronze – slightly cooler than Guerlain’s Joli Teint and actually very similar indeed to Burberry’s Earthy Blush. I’ll do a “fair bronzer” roundup soon – I’ve done the photos, just need to write some words!

If you fancy giving NARS Silent Nude Blush a try, you can find it at Selfridges here – £23.

The post The Silent Nude Blush (NARS x Christopher Kane) appeared first on A Model Recommends.

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I realised that I’ve featured the Laura Mercier Radiance Foundation Primer in loads of videos but it doesn’t have its own post here on the website. And it deserves one. This is a primer so glowy that – if you’re not careful – you’re in danger of looking rather metallic. Like a robot. Or pearlised, like – er – a pearl. You need only look at the before and after pictures below to see quite how “radiant” we’re talking:

In exhibit A (above) you can see that the skin is flat, matte, with just an inkling of a natural highlight on the forehead. No doubt caused by natural oils in the T-Zone, but let’s move on quickly to…

PEARL HEAD! I had applied the Laura Mercier Primer all over my face, here, but actually you want to be a bit more sparing than that. Perhaps avoid the very centre of the forehead, the tip of the nose… I apply with my fingertips because you don’t need to get such a flawless finish with your primer and brushes and sponges tend to soak up so much (expensive) product. Remember that there’s a layer of foundation going on over the top – or tinted moisturiser, or BB Cream, or whatever it is that you’re using – and just whack the primer on in the places you’d like to see an extra glow.

Looking for a new foundation? Read through the latest reviews…

I have to say that many glow primers are absolutely pointless once you’ve got your foundation on over the top: not so with the Laura Mercier Radiance – it’d shine through a lead wall. Worth every penny, and one of my true makeup staples. You can find it at House of Fraser – it’s £29.

*Update: just realised I’ve reviewed this primer before. My opinion is the same – almost word for word! Ha. At least I’m consistent… Here’s the post.

The post Laura Mercier Foundation Primer: Instant Radiance appeared first on A Model Recommends.

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You know that an SPF has an acceptably pleasing texture when you mistakenly use it as a serum, at night, for more than two weeks in a row. I had no issues whatsoever with L’Oreal’s Revitalift Laser Renew Day Cream as a night serum, which is worrying on my part (my notes read, shamefully, “it’s not very serum-like – thicker, very moisturising and smells of holidays!”) but great if you’re looking for a daily face cream that doesn’t feel chalky, leave a residue or clog up your pores. No breakouts here, and that was with a night cream over the top as well.

Oh dear. You’ll have to excuse me – I’m usually very methodical when it comes to testing my skincare products, but I just got it into my head that this was a serum (maybe because it was a long, tall bottle next to the stout pots that house L’Oreal’s other Revitalift creams?) and didn’t think to check. The “Laser X3” on the bottle threw me, too, because it’s the sort of terminology I’d associate with a serum. As it turns out, the Laser Renew Day Cream is rather more than just an SPF; it contains 3% Pro-Xylane, which is L’Oreal’s anti-ageing powerhouse ingredient, stimulating collagen synthesis and regeneration of the epidermis as well as helping to correct hyperpigmentation. Add to that a form of salicylic acid (exfoliates dead skin cells, antiseptic, anti-inflammatory), retinyl palmitate (helps with wrinkles and dark spots) and niacinamide (my love for this ingredient has been well-documented, a quick summary here) and you have a very nice all-rounder that covers all bases and – most importantly – protects against sun damage without feeling claggy or gross.

When I say “gross”, I mean that grubby sort of feeling that often comes along with SPF, when you put it on and feel desperate to wash it off again ten seconds later. None of that here; it’s a bouncy, almost gel-like texture, moisturising without any greasiness, quick to sink in and leaving the skin nicely prepped for makeup. Not at all like a serum, now that I know it’s not one, but what a happy accident!

You can find Revitalift Laser Renew Day Cream SPF25 online at Amazon here – it’s £13.01 (free next day delivery with Prime) or Boots currently have it online for £13.33 here.