Author Archives: marc

Goodness. If there’s a fresher-feeling foundation out there with the same amount of coverage and glow and real-skin finish then I want to know about it. Becca’s Aqua Luminous foundation ticks so many boxes when it comes to a summertime face base that it’s almost perfect. I say almost, because the whole “teat pipette” dispensary system gets on my nerves (same sort as the Bobbi Brown serum foundation, though the Becca one is admittedly far neater – the Bobbi pipette is, quite frankly, inept) but as I’ve said in many a video – I can overlook that flaw. The Aqua Luminous finish is just so lovely, I don’t mind having to drip-drip the product onto the back of my hand before brushing it on.

I’ve been using the shade “Fair” which, considering it’s supposed to be the lightest (actually just spotted “Porcelain”, so perhaps that’s new) is not that light at all. It’s just right for me, and I’m definitely not the fairest of them all.

It’s worth noting, though, that this foundation does seem to end up lighter in tone than it looks when first swiped on the skin – it’s sort of like reverse oxidation! Definitely worth applying it properly, to a large area of your cheek and jaw, rather than just striping it onto your face to find a colour match. It’s gorgeously sheer and blends out really well, so getting an exact-to-the-nearest-fraction-of-a-shade match isn’t quite so important as it would be if you were going for a heavy-duty pan-stick sort of base.

See how it seems slightly fairer than you’d imagine from the swatch in the first photograph? But it definitely lives up to its name – so luminous and so fresh to apply. I’ve done some skin close-ups so that you can see coverage (good) and propensity to sit in fine lines (none). Here they are:

Note that we are really zoomed in here and things look a bit weird (nobody is ever going to see your face this close up unless they wear binoculars to bed), but you can definitely see that the redness is knocked back, blemishes nearly entirely covered and darkness beneath the eye reduced. I actually think that I could probably go a shade darker (“light”) and warm things up for summer, now that I examine my photographs! And look at that glow – radiant but not shimmery, dewy but not sweaty or waxy.

Aqua Luminous does not give full coverage by any stretch of the imagination, but it has a fabulous, juicy sheen and it sits well on the skin, whether it’s the dry, flaky patches around my nose or the oilier parts of my cheeks. I’d say that this is a dream foundation for those with normal to dry skin, any oiler then perhaps use with a little more caution. You can get away with using just a few

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If I didn’t have a house renovation happening (aka “the money pit”) and a baby about to emerge, then I would one hundred percent be going on holiday right this very minute. You know when you get to the end of your tether and the only thing you want to do is run away and hide on a beach for a week? That is happening, to me, right now. But the house thing: it’s a pain. Also, at thirty-eight weeks pregnant I don’t think I’m even allowed on a plane. Am I? Surely not – I’d need an extra seat!

Anyway, as I was saying: were I not pregnant, with a half-demolished house, living in a criminally overpriced short-term holiday let with a mountain of work to get done, I would definitely be escaping. Fantasy holidays coming right up – feel free to book them and then smugly report back to me with all of the juicy details. I promise I won’t hate you. Much.

1) Aenaon Villas, Santorini. Current weather conditions: approx 26C. The perfect compromise between hotel-staying and villa-renting. There are just a few villas (totally luxurious) set over various levels and terraces so that each one is very private. There’s a beautiful infinity pool, the views are stupendous and the breakfasts, brought to your outside (or inside) dining table, are what can only be described as epic. There’s no bar or restaurant here, but if you want a cocktail, a glass of wine or a tasty light lunch then all are provided on a kind of casual, “pretend you’re staying with relatives” basis. There are also self-catering facilities.

Take a look here for more details – the villa at the very top of the resort is incredible, with its own private plunge-pool. Santorini is so easy to get to – you can fly direct and then just grab a taxi at the airport. Mr AMR and I always said we’d go back for a long weekend, but I can’t see that happening for a while!

2) Poggio Piglia, Siena, Italy. Current weather? 25C, ish. For the quick weekend away somewhere sunny and easy, a jet across to Tuscany is ideal. You can find cheap flights to Pisa and it’s not too much of a drive from there to the beautiful Poggio Piglia hotel, an imposing stone fortress surrounded by beautiful vineyards. There’s a pool to lie beside, an excellent restaurant to eat in and the famous Montepulciano to visit when you’re sick of doing nothing. (Never.) I reviewed this hotel as a secret spy – you can read my review and find booking details here. Rooms start at about £150 per night.

3) Polzeath, Cornwall. Current weather? Who ever knows?! When you stay in good old GB, you have to take the rough with the smooth when it comes to climate. But if you’re right on the beach in somewhere as beautiful as Cornwall then it almost doesn’t matter whether you’re doing cliff-top walks in the drizzle or lying prone on the hot sand. A true British Holiday is one that requires all of your outerwear and footwear to be crammed into the boot so that any eventuality is covered and being able to cram your car full and just set off is one of the true joys of the “staycation”. Luxury house rental company PerfectStays have a new property on Polzeath beach; Rainer Rocks sleeps 8, is dog friendly and has a great outdoor terrace as well as being just minutes from the sea. Find out more, pore over the gallery photos and see availability here. If there were eight of you, this would be an incredibly good value (yet luxurious!) holiday.

4) I was undecided as to whether I should recommend this fourth place because I have a feeling that it would be far too hot for most people. And, unless you are an actual royal, it’s probably too expensive. But I think that it’s possibly one of the best places I’ve ever been and so as far as fantasy hols go, it’s in. The Al Maha Desert Resort with its individual tented villas (each has its own infinity pool) is set within the Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve. You feel as though you’re as far from everything as you can possibly be. Food is exemplary, service is seamless and discreet – it’s the kind of place you’d go if you were a celebrity and had just undergone some weird, dramatic facial transformation. The only things that would see you would be the camels humpling past on the horizon. Villas here start at around five million pounds a night, but if you can afford it, or you’re planning a honeymoon and asking people to chip in, then try and do a couple of nights here. I stayed when I was doing a fashion shoot with a magazine about ten or more years ago and I still remember every little detail. Take a look at the website here.

The post Where I’d Go On Holiday, Right Now. appeared first on A Model Recommends.

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As far as gifts go, this one is pretty unbeatable. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a bigger gift with purchase. It’s worth about sixty billion pounds.

OK, it’s worth over £600. But, hello, SIX HUNDRED POUNDS! Who is mad enough to give away that much stuff in a single hit? Harvey Nichols, that’s who. Not a store you’d really associate with getting a load of free stuff – it’s one of the most prestigious shopping destinations in the world, after all – not the sort of place you go into expecting surprise discounts or impromptu money-off vouchers…

But here we are, with a whopping great big tote bag full of high-end beauty products and samples. It’s so much booty that the sturdy tote bag it all comes in appears to have reinforced rope handles. And from today, if you spend £195 on three or more products from Beyond Beauty at Harvey Nics then you get this enormous beauty haul, completely free.

It’s almost an entire beauty and grooming regime – everything from super serums to luxury toothpastes, bath essences to overnight tans. Obviously £195 is a big spend, but I’m taking a wild guess that HN are aiming to catch all of the people who have started their Christmas shopping and are buying a load of gifts anyway – it’s the classic temptation, isn’t it? A little something just for you as a reward for buying all of those nice presents!

Only it’s not just a “little something”, it’s a massive something – and there are a few bits and pieces in the GWP that you could feasibly wrap up and add to the presents pile, including the EOS lip balm gift set, the Foreo cleansing device and the Rodial Eye Masks…

I’ve listed all of the contents here on this page, so take a good look – I’ll wager that more than a few of your favourites are on there. But it’s always the new and mysterious things that grab my attention the most – I love trying new brands but hate wastage, so these little trial sizes are just perfect. Guilt-free beauty testing, usually done when I’m travelling and I dig into my enormous stash of minis!

And my Beyond Beauty picks? I’d be going in for a mixture of Christmas presents and things that need restocking in my bathroom cabinet: the Sleep Together gift set from This Works (£26 here), Omorovicza’s Queen of Hungary Mist, (£49 here), their gorgeous Thermal Cleansing Balm (£46 here) and then the Ole Henriksen Three Little Wonders kit, (£80 here). Blatantly that’s actually all for myself, but I have to at least pretend that I’d give some away…

My latest skincare trial has been an interesting one; the new Hyaluron-Filler CC Cream from Eucerin. I must say that my heart sank, somewhat, when I heard the phrase “CC Cream” – I’ve tried so many claggy, thick versions lately and had no desire to plaster another one on my face – but an initial test showed Eucerin’s offering to be quite dramatically different. For a start, it felt very lightweight and fresh – almost the consistency you’d expect from a gel or gel-cream product – but at the same time it was incredibly moisturising.

And so away I went with my sample of the Hyaluron-Filler CC Cream to give it a thorough testing. I’ve been using it quite regularly for a few weeks, now, and I think it’s telling that I’ve been wearing it way above and beyond the amount I’d need to use it to give it a proper test. I’ve tried it in just about every way imaginable – with moisturiser, without moisturiser, layered over serum, under foundation, buffed on with a brush, blended with fingertips, finished with a quick dusting of Chanel’s Les Beiges or Hourglass Ambient Lighting powder…

They key thing that stood out for me with the Hyaluron-Filler was that it felt so intensely hydrating. Even used without a moisturiser underneath the CC Cream spread easily and blended out beautifully, feeling very plumping and comfortable. If I needed a moisturiser at all, then it was just a light one – on most mornings I’d simply layer the CC over a serum. I suppose this should have come as no surprise, really, because the name of the product kind of gives things away: Hyaluron-Filler. It’s formulated with Hyaluronic Acid, which helps to prevent moisture loss from the skin and make everything look a lot plumper and filled out, as well as working on wrinkles and fine lines to prevent them deepening. As far as ingredients go, a nice visible-anti-ager – it definitely brings some juiciness and life back into my sleep-deprived skin!

So anti-wrinkle properties, then, but what about the makeup element of the CC Cream? Well, it’s quite a sheer coverage cream but for me the benefit is in the way that the Hyaluron-Filler corrects and evens-out the tone, rather than providing a full-face base. As you know, I’m a champion of the “barely there” makeup look – at least on my days off! A few years ago I might have just gone completely makeup free, but I do find now that my skin needs a bit of a boost – a sheeny glow, a hint of a tint – to make it look healthy and well-rested. I like that I can very quickly apply the CC with fingertips without having to be overly careful about tide-marks and so on; this is easy and convenient complexion perfecting. Sheeny, tone-correcting and with a shot of warm colour. I’ve put more than I need on my forehead below so that you can see the tone: Continue reading →

I’m writing this post a few days in advance because – DRUMROLL! – this weekend I should be moving back into my house! I say should – who knows what might happen between now (Thursday) and the weekend. But the carpets have been laid, the water and electricity are back on and my bed (complete with television that rises from the end, don’t ask, Mr AMR’s insistence) is set up and ready to be slept in. So long as the mattress arrives on time. I can’t even tell you what an enormous relief it will be to finally step through the front door and throw my bag down messily in the hallway. (I’ve put that bit to wind up Mr AMR in case he’s reading. Of course in reality I am going to be so tidy from this moment on. Of course.) Once I’m in there will be lots of interiors and renovations posts for those who are interested – those who aren’t can by all means skip them and stick with the beauty. Watch this space.

I forgot to mention when this it first published, but if you are into knowing more about how your beauty products are formulated, then skincare guru Caroline Hirons has written a very quick and easy guide. She talks about how to read ingredients lists and spot the good and the – potentially – not so good. You can find the page on her website here. I thought that it was very enlightening and useful.

Talking about good and bad ingredients: whilst living in Hertford (temporary accommodation number five, very kindly provided by my amazing cousin Anna!) I found a couple of really great takeaway places. Mr AMR and I have been eating a terrible diet for the past few months, partly because we are always on the move but mainly because we have become incredibly lazy.

So, so lazy.

Anyway, if you’re after a good curry place in Hertford (I realise that this information has very limited appeal to many of you, sorry!) then the Ruby is great, and if you fancy Thai then I can’t say enough good things about Baan Thitiya. Everything is so fresh and nicely cooked and the spicy beef salad is a thing of utter glory. If only all takeaway food was as good as this – unfortunately, during our little “time out” from healthy eating, there have been far more dinner disasters than successes. One meal in particular, from a Chinese takeaway in Saffron Walden, was virtually inedible. So. Hurrah for the good ones – keep up the tasty work!

A luxury bath buy that sees a £35 donation go to the Macmillan Cancer Support charity, Floris’ Rose Geranium bath essence is a double-win kind of situation. These weeny little bottles of bath fragrance are incredibly posh – you only need one or two drops and the whole bathroom is left beautifully fragranced. (My Mum has the White Rose one. Or had. I used most of it when I stayed at her house for a month! Ssh.) If you’re after an alternative to the aromatherapy oils and just want some luxurious scent then this is the stuff to go for. The Floris website is here.

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