Category Archives: beauty look

Sunday Tittle Tattle: Pet Picture Heavy

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mr bear british shorthair cat

If you’re a long-term AMR reader then you might remember the days when the Sunday Tittle Tattle was a random mess of nonsense, spattered with crap pictures and trailing off into a couple of pet photos to keep the animal-lovers satisfied. Things seem to have become more long-winded and wordy recently, but I suppose that the Sunday post is my chance to just ramble and jabber on about whatever I fancy, so it is what it is.

Read the first ever Sunday Tittle Tattle…

God, this post wasn’t even supposed to have any copy – I was just going to paste in a load of photos! I’m like one of those people at a party who just can’t stop talking no matter how hard they try. It’s like a disease.

mr bear the british shorthair cat

Pet photos, then; here’s an assortment for you – more cat than dog, because the dog doesn’t stay still for more than a tenth of a second at a time and also the cat is better looking. And just to remind you, the pets have an Instagram page (I know, shoot me), which is called Dexter and The Bear. Might not be your cup of tea, but if you do like pet pics then there’s usually one or two every week…

dexter and the bear

Dexter the Cockapoo having a lie down on the grass. This photo looks like something from a seventies photograph album – I should have added some sepia tones. 

dexter the cockapoo

Dexter with his crocodile toy, Mr Bear with…his death stare. Both had already been fed, but they like to group around the baby’s high chair at breakfast time. 

mr bear british shorthair cat

Mr Bear the British Shorthair, just casually taking a nap in the middle of the kitchen floor. I was trying to cook dinner and had to circumnavigate him with boiling pans of water, etc. Total liability. 

dexter and the bear

Dexter and The Bear. Joint nap, perfect pals. One day I think they might even snuggle up together…

mr bear the british shorthair cat

One more silly “hands up” pose, just because I can never get enough of them.

Read all of the Sunday Tittle Tattles…

The post Sunday Tittle Tattle: Pet Picture Heavy 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.

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Health + Beauty Haul.

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Ohhhh boy! I’ve been shopping.

Yep, it happened. Not all at once, this is perhaps spread out over 2 months, but I got some really nice things and wanted to share them with you!

First up we have a few foodie health bits which are all from Amazon. I’ve wanted to try nutritional yeast for so long now, but nowhere near me stocks it and believe me I looked everywhere. Amazon now have that annoying thing where you have to spend £20 to be able to buy certain items, the nutritional yeast included so I just HAD to buy a couple other items 😉 The nutritional yeast though? Pleasantly surprised it comes in such a massive tub and actually, it’s pretty tasty!

The Keep It Vegan cookbook by Aine Carlin. This had such good reviews and was only £4.99. I’m so glad I got this! It’s a beautiful little book and there are a tonne of recipes that I’m really excited to make including; crusty no-knead carrot and courgette bread; pea and lemon risotto; breakfast brownie with a strawberry bottom and vegetable rosti with a smoky salsa. There is nothing fancy or overly complicated about the recipes, and it doesn’t preach clean eating like a religion.

I also added some cacao powder as I ran out months ago and have been missing baking anything with chocolate! So of course, the moment it arrived I was straight into the kitchen and baking some black bean brownies (a minimalist baker recipe) that were utterly heaven. I snapchatted the whole thing and was terrified of beans in my baking, but hello, I’ll be making those again asap. I ate the whole batch to myself in 3 days.

Finally I purchased the Viridian Beauty Oil to add to my smoothies. This is cheaper than their clear skin omega oil so I thought I would give it a go, it contains less flax oil and more hemp, but is still omega rich and good for getting those healthy fats in for your skin.

Now onto the good stuff, a little beauty!

Yes that is May Lindstrom, yes I did lose my mind and no I don’t regret it. The Jasmine Garden is the most beautifully scented toner I’ve used so far, I’m going to end up using it up way too quickly because I go overboard with the spritzing just so I can breathe in the scent. Delish. If the scent thing worries you then I would suggest ordering the sample kit first! Then you get to try everything anyway, bonus!

I ended up ordering the Couleur Caramel Green Concealer because I’ve been so interested in the idea of colour correcting! I have a lot of redness and blemishes to cover, so something neutralising is helpful to cover. I really like the thin and creamy formula of the concealer too, I may end up ordering a regular shade for my everyday concealing!

I haven’t bought any new makeup brushes in so long that it was quite a shock to find two new ones in my little collection! Luckily they’re both fantastic and have been getting a lot of use. The first is a fancy little Zoeva number, the 231 Bamboo Petit Crease Brush, this is such a pretty brush with the gold detailing a bamboo handle and it’s fantastic quality too, I really would like a few more so it’s not lonely! 😉 The other brush I bought is a cheap eBay one, because I just had to know what all the fuss was about for these funny oval shaped brushes! Well hype CONFIRMED! This is amazing. And it was a whopping £1.17. I’ve been using this for foundation and holy smokes it blends in 3 seconds flat and everything looks SO good!

My June Beauty Heroes also arrived at the beginning of the month. This month was all about Modern Minerals makeup, a new to me brand. The box contained 4 full-size products worth $96 including 2 lip glosses, a mineral eyeshadow and cream highlighter. The highlighter is my favourite from the box for sure and was the only reason it wasn’t a total dud for me (as I’m really not a fan of lipgloss). The next box though I *think* is going to be skincare! maybe even an SPF? That would be fab. Sign up here.

I also repurchased the First Aid Beauty Facial Radiance Pads again. I should buy the larger pot but the smaller size is travel-friendly and I would hate for the pads to dry out before I used them all in the larger one.

Finally, I ordered a lot of samples from various sites. I’m looking for a new foundation and have been at a loss of what to choose. From Content I ordered samples of the W3ll People Narcissist foundation stick in a different shade to what I have previously used, the new W3ll People concealer (love love love!) and the Jane Iredale Circle Delete. From Amazingy I ordered 2 samples each of the palest shades of the Gressa Minimalist Serum Foundation and they were SO generous, I still have 2 completely unopened (this is looking like the winner for shade and finish). I also ordered samples of Living Nature, Zao, and Couleur Caramel foundations from Glow Organic, but none were for me. So the quest continues!

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Behind the Scenes at the MinMax Beauty Shoot

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minmax beauty

A few weeks ago I did a shoot for the amazing new online magazine MinMax Beauty. MinMax is the brainchild of top photographer Elisabeth Hoff and is as glossy and gorgeous as magazines get; every shoot is perfectly executed and has some kind of twist or unusual element to it.

My story has just come out and I’m so over the moon with the pictures. The idea was that the MinMax Beauty team were “getting their hands on me”, quite literally, and Elisabeth wanted to show various hair and makeup stages taking place but in a really graphic and interesting way. So over the course of the shoot we had “cleansing” (visually helped along by a bit of white paint mixed in with the cleanser!) nail-painting, hair-conditioning and lipstick application – all quite run-of-the-mill things, really, but made striking and beautiful by using vivid colours and interesting textures.

elisabeth hoff

Not only do I have the shoot itself to show you (click here for all of the pictures) there’s a proper behind-the-scenes video too. I don’t often get the chance to do proper b-t-s videos because it’s almost impossible to film myself when I’m on set or having hair and makeup done, but we had a dedicated videographer (Matt Jarvis) roaming about and capturing candid moments. (God, how I wish I hadn’t spent the whole day with a big bulky dressing gown tied around my chest! So unglamorous!) So a rare “day in the life” kind of video – I really hope that you enjoy watching it.

MINMAX BEAUTY SHOOT

With many thanks to the MinMax Beauty team for a wonderful shoot day. All credits are below – please check out the mag! http://goo.gl/oFhk26

Amazing filming and editing by Matt Jarvis: http://www.influencesports.com

Ruth Crilly’s Instagram: http://instagram.com/modelrecommends
Ricki Hall’s Instagram: http://instagram.com/rickifuckinhall

Photographer: Elisabeth Hoff @ A&R Photographic http://elisabethhoff.com/
Make-Up: Caroline Barnes @ Frank Agency http://goo.gl/tVdBnD
Hair: Liam Curran @ Frank Agency http://goo.gl/7e9a44
Fashion Stylist: Hayley Caine http://www.hayleycaine.com/
Models: Ruth Crilly at Models1: http://goo.gl/fEXM4G
Ricki Hall at NEVS: http://goo.gl/4OcTMO
Digital Operator: Curtis Gibson
Photographic Assistant: Eva Haftmann
Behind the scenes filming: Matt Jarvis

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Chanel Spring Lips 2015: Variations on a Theme

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ruth crilly

The three lip products above look almost identical in tone, don’t they? When I was trawling through my still life photos (I tend to do a huge batch all at once, at the beginning of the month) this picture really caught my eye – strange to have such similar shades in a relatively small seasonal collection. The Rouge Coco Shine, Brilliant Extreme Gloss and Rouge Allure Intense are all from the Chanel Spring 2015 makeup collection and – in this photo at least – all look to be very juicy, bright coral-reds. I was intrigued enough to sit down the next day and have a play about, so here they all are, tried and tested:

rouge coco shine desinvolte

First of all, the Rouge Coco Shine in 97, Désinvolte. (£25 at John Lewis.) I love the texture of Rouge Coco Shine; it feels nourishing and balm-like, but there’s also a low-key sheen, almost a gloss, but entirely non-sticky and absolutely maintenance free. It’s the kind of lipstick you just want to keep applying and it’s just sheer enough to be pretty much foolproof. Désinvolte is a cheery springtime coral – a beautiful shade for giving a little “lift” to your makeup collection if you fancy something colourful but at the same time slightly muted and non-scary.

For those who prefer a true glossy gloss, the Brillant Extreme Glossimer in 192, Fleur d’Eau (£22 at House of Fraser) is pretty:

ruth crilly

but it’s quite similar in tone to the Rouge Coco Shine, and I must confess I find the lipstick easier to wear. That applies as a general rule, I suppose – I prefer to be absolutely stickiness-free – although watch this space for my rave about the Rouge Allure glosses, which are simply sublime.

But back to the spring shades, and my pick of the three has got to be the Rouge Allure Intense in 152, Insaisissable:

chanel spring 2015

Punchy, perky and just the thing for whipping out on a dull, grey day. Because that’s the thing with all of these spring makeup collections, isn’t it? They come out in the winter, and so really they have to stand up to the constant drizzle and the bitter, windswept mornings – no sign of blossom or green shoots or gambolling lambs. By the time the lambs come and the trees start looking lovely, the summer collections are out and we’re thinking of beaches and bronzing and improbable eyeliner colours.

Anyway, Insaisissable, the most impossible-to-pronounce shade name of any lipstick in existence, ever, is quite hard to track down online – it was sold out in most places at time of writing. I found it at Boots here – it’s £26 or 2,600 of your most splendid Boots Advantage Points. A lovely, luxe little treat if you can hunt one down…

The post Chanel Spring Lips 2015: Variations on a Theme appeared first on A Model Recommends.

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RMS Does Nails (& Diabolique Swatch).

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RMS have been on a roll lately with lots of exciting new releases; brushes, powder shadows, nail polishes, and in a few days… a new luminizer!

I recently ordered a few of their new releases and today have swatched the polish I picked up, Diabolique!
I don’t have this shade of lip2cheek, but it was the nail shade that stood out to me the most – a lot of the polishes are shimmery or bright and not for me. Diabolique is the perfect shade for autumn/winter, a deep berry that’s a complex mix of purple, brown and red. I don’t have anything like it in my collection and it looks really different in all lights. It’s a beaut

Two coats of Diabolique

Diabolique looks best with a glossy top coat applied. On its own the polish is glossy, but any smudges or annoying fabric indentations really dull the shine, so definitely go for the top coat to prevent that and obviously help it stay chip free for longer!

Wear time is above average I would say, after 6 days of wearing the polish 5 out of 10 nails are showing tip wear and have started to chip, with 2 of the 5 having quite big chips. I have been doing a lot of washing up, though… So if you have a dishwasher your manicure would probably be way better than mine 😉

What do you think of this shade? Have you tried any of the RMS polishes? I have a post with the eyeshadows I got coming up next week! so watch out for that, too.

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