Bobbi Brown: Scotch on the Rocks

holiday makeup review

This weekend I spent an inordinate amount of time playing about with Bobbi Brown’s Scotch on the Rocks makeup collection. It’s absolutely delectable. Warm, shimmery tones that make you think of candlelight and sparkling champagne; rich shades like Bordeaux and Scarlet and Sultry Red that are as deep and sumptuous as velvet… And then there’s the packaging – perfect golden lipstick tubes and tortoiseshell compacts and the faux-crocodile-skin casing on the eye palette. Perhaps I have a completely overactive imagination, but it all makes me think of a big Christmas party thrown in an old Scottish castle; twinkling candles and enormous chandeliers and walls swathed in tartan and women elegantly swanning about in long satin gowns. The kind of Christmas party I always imagined I’d go to once I “grew up”, until I realised that those kind of parties exist mostly in Ferrero Rocher adverts and Richard Curtis films.

christmas makeup

Anyway, we can but dream. Will you just look at those lipsticks? I usually balk at shimmery lipsticks, but these are decadent and pigmented and have more of a sculpting effect than anything too glittery. My instinct was to reach for the very palest (Beige Gold Shimmer) and the bright red (Sultry Red) but in actual fact my favourite of the bunch turned out to be Malt Shimmer, second from the left, which is a medium, hi-shine nude. (You can see it in my makeup look further down the page.) Continue reading

Space NK: £15 To Discover Something New

beauty products

It’s that time of year again; Space NK give you £15 off when you spend £60 so that you can try something new. Actually, that time of year has been and gone, because the main event finished earlier this week, but I have an exclusive code just for readers of A Model Recommends. Enter AMR15 in the promo code box before checkout, anytime until midnight on Sunday (18th October) and you’ll get £15 off your online order.

Everyone always has their favourites to stock up on when these offers are running, but the idea behind the promotion is to actually explore brands or products you’ve never tried before. So in the spirit of beauty adventurousness (is that even a word?) I’ve been trying out new stuff. Here we go.

space nk promotion discover

The Hourglass Ambient Lighting Palette. How it has taken me so long to give this a whirl I have no idea. It’s a one-stop-perfected-skin-shop with three different light-diffusing powders to blur fine lines and pores and give your face a gorgeous glow. Find more info here – it’s £56.

beauty products

Caudalie Resveratrol Eye Lifting Balm – £36 here. I’ve been using this on undereyes and lids – it’s intensely hydrating and feels refreshing and cool without leaving the skin uncomfortably tight.

Aurelia Skincare Refine & Polish Miracle Balm, £57 here. I loved the cleanser, and now I have a newer love in this 2-in-1 product that can be used as an instant exfoliant or an enzyme mask. (Or if it’s body stuff you’re after, I cannot rave about their dry oil enough!) The tube I’ve pictured is a sample from a gift set, just in case you’re (pleasantly) surprised when the proper one turns out to be bigger!

space nk promotion discover

Nail polishes from Smith & Cult (see the range here). Swanky packaging, cool names and colours that are all wearable and non-ridiculous. Which is rare. This is nail stuff for grown-ups – no ridiculous shades or stick-on cupcake shapes or whatever…

You can browse the virtual beauty shelves at Space NK here – again, the code for £15 off £60 order is AMR15 .

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Gentle Clay Face Masks for PMT Skin

diptyque l'art du soin skincare range review

I mentioned Diptyque’s luscious Multi-Use Exfoliating Clay for the Face earlier on this year, but I feel that it most definitely requires a second visit. Because somehow, out of the dozens of beauty products that are crammed into my bathroom, this understated little tub of creamy clay has managed to become one of my favourite bathtime rituals. It has the kind of sumptuous, rich texture that just begs you to get stuck in and the subtle scent makes it a joy to use. This is the kind of mask that you should crack out when you have the worst ever PMT; it’s just about functional enough to make your skin feel clean and de-greased, but at the same time it manages to feel like a proper beauty treat. Cool, creamy and comforting but also exfoliating enough to be a worthwhile skincare step.

As the name suggests, the Multi-Use Exfoliating Clay can be used in more than one way; spread it over the skin and massage in gently to slough off dead skin cells, or leave it on for five minutes or more as a luxurious mask. As far as masks go, it has to be said that there are far more powerful options if you’re looking for deep-cleansing and skin-polishing (I love Omorovicza’s Deep Cleansing Mask and Glamglow and Alpha-H’s Liquid Gold Mask) but none of these offer that extra little pampering touch. The delicate “bed of rose petals” feel that we can so often crave, especially when faced with an array of high-performance no-frills skincare options. Yes we want results, but sometimes don’t we also want something that will make us feel a tiny bit more cherished? In that “treat to self” kind of way?

And so I’ve been reaching for Diptyque’s pot of clay on a frequent basis. It’s the perfect blend of functional skincare and luxury goods and I genuinely look forward to using it, though I try not to dig in more than twice or three times a week. It’s probably gentle enough to use every day, if you felt so inclined – it’s not drying in the slightest – but it would be an expensive beauty habit! It costs £44 at SpaceNK here.

By the by, another luxurious and creamy clay that I’ve been trying: NUXE’s Clarifying Cream Mask with Rose Petals. Similar to Diptyque’s Multi-Use clay in many respects, including the gorgeous, creamy texture, this mask has been formulated to purify and cleanse but again with that added (and unexpected) touch of rose. Like Diptyque’s product, it’s perfect for days when you want your skin to feel clean and refined but don’t want something too hardcore. Both would be a good option if you were looking for a clay mask but wanted something that was kind and gentle on drier or more temperamental skin. Many clay masks are strongly geared towards those who have oily or combination skins; these have a softer “kid gloves” kind of approach. You can find the NUXE mask for a very (very!) reasonable £18.50 here.

Read more face mask reviews….

Some face masks that actually do something…

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Sunday Riley Tidal Cream: Instant Love

Sunday Riley Tidal Brightening Enzyme Water Cream Review

I’ve very quickly fallen for Sunday Riley’s Tidal Cream. It is, to summarise prematurely, a fresh-feeling moisturiser with superb brightening effects that seems to be highly effective without feeling as though it’s going to burn my entire face off. So many products are a no-no for me during pregnancy, especially acid exfoliants, that I approach anything with the words “exfoliating”, “brightening” or “enzyme” with an almost comedic level of caution, but this one feels very cool, comfortable and soothing.

Not many products will make me leave the house in the dead of night wearing only a pair of pants, a parka and some old slippers, but after I realised the other night (as I was doing my grooming faff) that I had left the Tidal Cream in the office I became rather frantic and – despite the fact I had about seventy billion night creams lined up on the windowsill to test – it became imperative that I fetch the Cream of Dreams.

My love for this cream is twofold: firstly, it’s incredibly hydrating. To the point where my skin – I think – actually looks more plumpsome* as well as feeling it. You know when you meet those people who look – quite literally – like a “picture of health”? And their skin is almost waterlogged, as though someone’s left a mini hose-pipe running just beneath the surface and you wonder whether, if you touched it, it might sort of wobble, like a waterbed? Sunday Riley’s Tidal Brightening Enzyme Water Cream didn’t quite make my skin wobble with water, but it was just about as hydrated as it could possibly be.

The other thing I love is the brightening effect – and there really was one. I just looked…better. More refreshed. I’m putting that down to the “enzyme” part of the show – the cream contains papaya enzymes to “resurface” – which appears to be rather powerful despite the lack of tingle. Good Genes (same brand) is out for me, during pregnancy – mostly because it smells like old cat wee, but also because it requires an industrial strength fan to stop my face from combusting, such is the tingle – and I did wonder whether Tidal was doing much in comparison. But the results are inarguably good – fresher face, plumper in the cheek area and even where the eyes are usually slightly sunken-in around the socket area.

The cream also contains what is touted as being a relatively powerful skin-lightener and alternative to  hydroquinone – Alpha Arbutin. I’m not overly familiar with this area as I’ve never had any real skin pigmentation issues, but it adds up that the inclusion of this ingredient result in quite a noticeable brightening effect over time.

So there’s my two cents on the Tidal Cream: a comfortable, fresh gel-cream moisturiser that will delight those who want maximum hydration with minimum grease, who want instant exfoliating and resurfacing effects as well as a more long-term brightening of the skin. Though I’ve recently got back into using facial oils on a regular basis (and have been a serum devotee for years) this cream is a brilliant one-pot wonder. It works if I just slap it on quickly after cleansing, nothing else added, and that – for someone who quite often falls into an exhausted sleep-coma before they’ve managed to even get their feet under the duvet – is priceless.

Tidal Brightening Enzyme Water Cream is £60 at SpaceNK here or Cult Beauty here.

*I’m moving away from the word plumptious for a short while, due to overuse. It needs a lie-down. Rather like me, really.

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© 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.

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September Favourites

Yesterday I brought you “September Empties”: today, September Favourites. Never say that I lack imagination. Tomorrow is October (I think?) so maybe there’ll be a change of theme. Ha!

Some corkers in this video, though, including the brilliant new mascara discovery from Diego Della Palma. It’s honestly one of the best mascaras I’ve used in ages – and it’s not bank-breakingly expensive, either. Very refreshing. There’s also a little preview demo of my new Luxe Shine hair fragrance spray from Colab. As always, products and links are below the video – you know the drill. Grab a cup of tea, etc etc…

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