Author Archives: marc

The simplehuman Sensor mirror  is not a magnifying mirror by any usual standards: stare into the looking glass and it turns pores into moon craters, fine facial hairs into gargantuan tropical fronds with girths as wide as a lamppost. This is the sort of power mirror that might be used to help perform complicated and intricate brain surgery, the type of mirror borrowed by NASA when they need to fuse together two alien DNA spirals without having to look directly at the source. It’s a mirror that sees further than the skin – I’m pretty sure it allows you to see into your very own soul. Or maybe even into the future.

Everyone who has looked into my simplehuman Sensor mirror (it’s in the dining room at the moment because my sister-in-law was doing her eyebrows) has been instantly addicted to its supernatural magnifying abilities. “It’s like looking at a whole different face!” they say. “A whole new world!” I just smile, knowingly, because I’ve had quite some time to get used to the Simple Human now. My eyes can switch between Mirror World and real life quickly and easily – I no longer have to do a double take and think what the actual f*ck is that thing underneath my left eye? I know, instinctively, that what looks like an extraterrestrial wart growth is, in fact, merely a small skin tag that has been magnified to eight-million (ten) times its normal size.

It goes without saying – surely – that this is the mirror you need if you like eyebrow tidying, chin-hair plucking or any sort of pore-squeezing. It’s utterly addictive to be able to see exactly what’s going on, almost at a molecular level. And well worth the steep price-tag if you don’t want to be constrained by a long electrical wire and the need for a plug socket; the simplehuman mirror is charged via USB so you can put it anywhere, including next to the sink or on the ledge of the bath. The “Tru Lux” light (a sort of ring-flash affair, very good daylight tone) comes on when your face approaches the mirror and turns off when you move away, so the battery lasts an absolute age.

What else? Hm. Modern styling (I like) – very sleek and compact and well thought-out, not bulky and ridiculous like some of the other offerings out there – and a clever design that folds the mirror flat so that it can be placed in its travel case. A good call if you’re the sort of person who might constantly knock this from the shelf if it’s left there – just fold it up until next time.

Almost useless for doing your actual makeup in – it’s just too close for my liking – this is a face-poker’s mirror, a tool for faffers and fidgets, people who like to examine their eyelashes and trim their nose hairs to absolute perfection. I have become one of those people, and I’m not at all regretful.

I bought my Simple Human mirror from Amazon here – I paid £99.99.

The post The Mirror That Can See Into Your Soul (Probably) appeared first on A Model Recommends.

© 2016 A Model Recommends®: all opinions are my own and any sponsored or paid posts will always be very clearly marked. I accept press samples and receive product and services to review as part of my job. Outward links to retailers will usually be affiliate links. Please see here for full “about” section and disclaimer.  A Model Recommends and Ruth Crilly are registered trademarks.

Continue reading →

I don’t know why, but there’s a word that keeps popping into my head whenever I use Suqqu’s new Frame Fix Liquid Foundation Lightness, and that word is flexible. Perhaps it’s because the makeup seems to move with the skin rather than forming an opaque, mask-like layer, or maybe it’s the way in which it blends so effortlessly, gliding over imperfections with ease. Whatever it is that’s sparked the “flexible” word, this is one very convincing face base.

Frame Fix Liquid Foundation Lightness is Suqqu’s latest addition to their Frame Fix range (there’s a pre-existing liquid foundation and a cream foundation, both providing excellent coverage and glowy, real-skin look) and I think that it steps things up a gear in terms of formula, using something called “Airy Oil” to create a comfortable, breathable veil of makeup over the skin. All of Suqqu’s foundations are designed to blur imperfections whilst maintaining the look of natural, beautiful skin, but the new Lightness really triumphs at it; it’s so very fresh-looking and healthy.

I want to say dewy, but it’s not, not really; in terms of dewiness I’d say it’s almost on a par with the Armani Maestro Glow, in that it’s not all that dewy but it has a certain “fresh glow”. There’s a definite difference, I think, between glow and dewiness – the first looks radiant and light-reflecting and can have (these days, with the wonders of technology!) quite a matte or velvet finish, but dewiness has its own set of characteristics. It’s the juicy, hydra-quenched look of skin that has been doused in plumping serums and buffed with nourishing oils and finished off with rich, buttery creams that glisten on the surface, except that none of these things have usually happened, it’s all in the makeup. (Great dewy-looking things? Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua, Laura Mercier Illuminating Tinted Moisturiser and – new discovery – No7 Illuminating Cream.) Frame Fix Lightness is nearly dewy, but the finish is dry to the touch (clever) and the overall effect is one of brilliant, healthy skin.

The coverage is comprehensive but doesn’t mask entirely – the trick to such a real-skin finish, I’d imagine. It blurs, softens, throws up a smokescreen but somehow all of the charming nuances of the underneath-skin are still apparent. It’s the perfect balance, especially if you like to look as though you’re mostly makeup free. Here’s a before-and-after:

You can see that the Frame Fix Lightness gives a good evenness to the skin; redness and dark circles taken down significantly, a nice dose of radiance thrown into the mix. If we zoom in further, to the right cheek, you can see that bigger pores in the before picture are effectively disguised without being “polyfilla’d” or “plastered over”; likewise, the small areas of redness or faint pigmentation are taken down but not entirely masked:

It’s just such a gorgeous, natural finish. I think that the shade I used, 102, could just be on the pale side for me, now that we are moving into spring-summer and I’m outside more often, but for winter it’s an excellent match. This is clever makeup that creates expensive-looking skin – glowing, polished and fresh. You’re probably expecting what’s coming next – a high price-tag – but if you like to invest in supremely effective skin makeup then this one won’t feel too steep.

In terms of the types of skin this would suit, it held perfectly well on my PMT-oily skin and looked fine on dryer areas, but as always with a new foundation, best to go in and test on counter if you’re unsure. I’m also becoming quite a primer convert – if you have extremely oily skin or very dry then they can really transform whatever makeup you apply over the top and allow you to get the best from your foundation. I’ll be rounding up some of my favourites soon.

Suqqu Frame Fix Liquid Foundation Lightness is £58 at Harrods.com here. If you’re into the “oil in foundation” idea, then Armani Maestro is really excellent, slightly more surface glow than Suqqu’s but perhaps a little less coverage. Read my full review here.

The post Suqqu Lightness: The “Flexible” Foundation appeared first on A Model Recommends.

Continue reading →