Category Archives: beauty look

This came around quickly, didn’t it? I’m still recovering from cooking the Christmas dinner! January Beauty Favourites; we have some hair stuff, some nice morsels of makeup and the results of my sponsored Olay skincare trial*. I also have another giveaway for you (UK only, this time) so keep on reading to find out how to claim a free serum.

If you missed the last couple of Olay posts then you can catch up with them here – basically I’ve been testing out the new Regenerist Luminous serum and SPF20 and have refrained from using all other skincare products for the past month. Five or six weeks, actually, if you want to be pedantic, but for the first week or so I was a bit ill (first trimester pregnancy woes!) and hardly got out of bed to wash my face, let alone apply serum. But anyway, to cut out the waffle, I have definitely given the serum a proper, full, month-long trial and am very happy with the results. I mentioned in one of the last posts that I was very pleased that Olay had added a serum to the line-up – easy to slip into any skincare routine, simple and quick to apply, but with targeted results. (Regenerist Luminous concentrates on helping to even out skintone and generally brighten the skin.)

I was particularly pleased to be testing the serum during pregnancy, because one of my skincare worries pre-conception was that my melanin production would go all wonky and I’d be left with dark patches; using the serum felt like a bit of a skin “insurance”. The key ingredients, niacinamide and Sepiwhite (see here for the science bit), not only help with excess melanin production but help to diminish existing signs such as dark spots and patches of pigmentation, so it felt like a good fit for me! I didn’t have any dark spots, but the serum definitely kept my skin on an even keel, I think, and it looked brighter and slightly more luminescent after the trial was up.

You can hear more about the serum and SPF20 in the video, but if you’d like to try the Skin Tone Perfecting Serum for free then the first 50 UK readers to email their name and address through to Olay will be sent one. [email protected]

There are some nice makeup treats in this month’s favourites; a pretty Chanel blusher, a great lip gloss and the new Roller Lash mascara (pictured above) from Benefit. It doesn’t launch until March, but I’ll make sure that I review it properly before then – it’s very good. Right, take a look at the video – the product links are below. Enjoy, comment, share…

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I had the original La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo (reviewed here back in April 2013) which wowed me for the first eight weeks of use, but for some unknown reason, after I’d used it everyday for two months, it just stopped working. I found that whenever I applied it, it just did absolutely nothing for my skin so I ended up just giving up on it. When La Roche-Posay launched the new and ‘improved’ Effaclar Duo +, I knew I had to try it. The La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo + is supposedly proven to correct the appearance of blemishes, unclog blocked pores, helps to refine the skin’s texture, controls the appearance of shine and fights against appearance of marks/scarring.

The Effaclar Duo + has a gel like consistency, whereas the original formula had more of a cream consistency. The directions recommend applying the gel all over your face morning and night, but I only apply it to my blemish prone areas; my chin and jawline. I find that if I apply it directly to broken skin or inflamed blemishes, it can sting a little; but not uncomfortably so. I’ve been using La Roche-Posay Effaclar Duo + for a good few weeks now, and I really don’t know how I feel about it. I can’t honestly say that I’ve noticed an improvement in my skin since using it.. my blemishes are just as frequent and my acne scarring is still existent. I have scoured the internet looking for a negative or on-the-fence review of the Effaclar Duo + and I genuinely can’t find one.. I just don’t understand why it doesn’t work for me? My breakouts are always hormonal so I don’t know if that’s the reason why I don’t see any improvement to my skin when using this.

I’m such a Kerastase fan – there is nothing like a wash with Kerastase for silky and supple hair and that’s across all their ranges. My perfect range from Kerastase is Age Recharge – it just works for me. However, I’ve just given Kerastase Discipline a go – I think it’s the secret to happy hair! Discipline is for unruly hair – hair that won’t lie smooth, whether curly or straight and at the risk of sounding like a press release, it’s down to technology called Morpho-Keratin. From there, it’s all a bit woolly in explanation; a concentrate of Morpho-Keratin in consumer products (although there is an accompanying salon treatment which I can’t book in quick enough for). I hope it’s enough to say that Kerastase Discipline works if what you want is fluid, shiny and glidey hair. Sometimes, the how just doesn’t matter.

Kerastase Discipline, in common with other Kerastase products, isn’t cheap by any means. Shampoo is £17 (there’s also a sulphate free version, also £17),  Conditioner is £20, Hair Mask is £27.50, and the Blow Dry Activator is £19.50. If budget is for just one product, then I’d choose the mask every single time.

Kerastase Discipline hasn’t quite launched yet – but will be arriving in salons in the next few weeks.

The post Kerastase Discipline appeared first on British Beauty Blogger.

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So many people have been asking where this sparkly jumper is from – I wore it in my BAFTAs video when I was getting my hair and makeup done: it is from Hush. (Which will come as no surprise to many of you, as my wardrobe is filled with bits and pieces from Hush!) It’s a loose-fit lurex number that has a sparkle thread running through it and it looks really good with pretty much everything! Especially blue jeans and some little ballet pumps, or with a summery cotton skirt. It has been quite handy whilst I’ve been travelling loads; it’s really easy to wear but can add a dash of glamour to a casual outfit if you’re just popping for dinner and want something to cover up with. It has a nice amount of “V” at the neck – not so low that you’re flashing maximum cleavage, not so high that it looks boring and plain – and it’s cut so that it hangs with a nice shape but doesn’t cling where you’d prefer it not to… A good length, too – you can see more pics through the website link below.

The Lurex V Jumper is at Hush – click here

Did you see my video of the BAFTAs Red Carpet Preparation? You can read that post here and there are more “what I’ve been wearing” style posts here.

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