Category Archives: beauty look

I realised that I’ve featured the Laura Mercier Radiance Foundation Primer in loads of videos but it doesn’t have its own post here on the website. And it deserves one. This is a primer so glowy that – if you’re not careful – you’re in danger of looking rather metallic. Like a robot. Or pearlised, like – er – a pearl. You need only look at the before and after pictures below to see quite how “radiant” we’re talking:

In exhibit A (above) you can see that the skin is flat, matte, with just an inkling of a natural highlight on the forehead. No doubt caused by natural oils in the T-Zone, but let’s move on quickly to…

PEARL HEAD! I had applied the Laura Mercier Primer all over my face, here, but actually you want to be a bit more sparing than that. Perhaps avoid the very centre of the forehead, the tip of the nose… I apply with my fingertips because you don’t need to get such a flawless finish with your primer and brushes and sponges tend to soak up so much (expensive) product. Remember that there’s a layer of foundation going on over the top – or tinted moisturiser, or BB Cream, or whatever it is that you’re using – and just whack the primer on in the places you’d like to see an extra glow.

Looking for a new foundation? Read through the latest reviews…

I have to say that many glow primers are absolutely pointless once you’ve got your foundation on over the top: not so with the Laura Mercier Radiance – it’d shine through a lead wall. Worth every penny, and one of my true makeup staples. You can find it at House of Fraser – it’s £29.

*Update: just realised I’ve reviewed this primer before. My opinion is the same – almost word for word! Ha. At least I’m consistent… Here’s the post.

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A completely frivolous and unnecessary beauty stash addition, but I love it nonetheless: Ciaté’s Dark Choc Pot Nail Polish Remover. Works in exactly the same way as the Bourjois Magic one (see here for that review); you just stick your fingernail into the pot and the remover-soaked sponge quickly takes off everything except for the most annoying, most glittery polish. It just happens to be a bit more expensive than the Bourjois one, and less than half the size, so if you’re looking for pure functionality and value-for money then this is not the way to go. If, however, you want your newly-clean fingernails to smell as though they’ve been dipped in melted dark chocolate (and who doesn’t want that?) then Ciaté’s polish remover should be your number one choice. The stumpy little pot is also much neater to travel with – the standard “Bourjois” size is quite chunky and fills up half of your toiletries bag if you want to take it on your hols. And it doesn’t, y’know, smell of chocolate…

You can add Ciaté’s Choc Pot to your ASOS order online – it’s £6 here.

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I’ve said many times that we’re short on decent mid-price body care in the UK, and just as I was saying it yet again, up pops Prismologie Body Care to neatly fill a gap. However, it’s not a straightforward range … Read more

The post Prismologie Body Care appeared first on British Beauty Blogger.

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Sorry if I’ve seemingly gone a little bit M&S crazy – I’ve been popping in there more frequently since I moved into my temporary barn because there’s a massive superstore not too far from me. I say not too far: everything is far from here, including anything remotely resembling phone reception, but the M&S is around fifteen minutes away by car, so. Bonus. It’s the small things in life that must thrill me, now I’m sans telephone. Gone are the days of lengthy phone-sex sessions and prank-calling 0800 numbers. (Joke.)

Vests! My search for the perfect – or near-perfect – vest has been simmering away for some years, now, and was stoked into a bit of a frenzy once I became pregnant, because I just wanted a soft, stretchy vest that didn’t cling too much but that also had a nice shape. When I wasn’t pregnant, I wanted a vest that didn’t cling around the tummy area but that looked good on the boobs; now that the bump is a-growing I want pretty much exactly the same thing, although I’m entirely aware that whatever I buy is going to cling to my tummy area.

Anyway, I think I’ve found quite a nice little vest in the lingerie department at Marks and Spencer: it’s the Ribbed Lace Trim Vest and it comes in four colours. I bought the lavender grey first of all (above*), but returned today and grabbed a black one, too. (It is jet black, despite looking slightly navy in my photos.) The ribbed texture is very flattering – and I always think it looks more expensive than just the plain, flat cotton or jersey – and the shoulder straps are wide enough to conceal bra straps, which is important. It’s not too low-cut, has ample room for the tummy yet still seems to be nicely respectful of the old contours and curves. ie, it doesn’t make your boobs look crap and it doesn’t hug onto love handles.

Not bad for seven pounds fifty – it’s turned out to be a bit of a wardrobe hero, really. The perfect staple for layering; soft, lightweight, long-length so that it covers hips and the lower back… God, I sound about eighty! But a longer length is important, isn’t it? Who wants half their bottom on show whenever they make the slightest move? Not I! In these days of cropped everything and vest tops cut for teens with Abercrombie-esque figures, I welcome the longer length top! I like the lace detail, but would send out a small plea to the people at M&S to consider a plain-edged ribbed version too – just for that sportier, more modern look. I would buy it in every colour.

Marks and Spencer Vest, £7.50 at Marks and Spencer here.

*photo taken the other day, so 27 weeks + 4 days pregnant. If you want to see me from the side (and you seriously can’t miss me) then hop on over to my pregnancy blog, The Uphill.

The post Unlikely Wardrobe Hero: The Marks and Spencer Vest appeared first on A Model Recommends.

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I know that I’ve gone on about this five year journal loads, but I just want to say one more thing before I shut up about it forever: it is so brilliant! For those who have missed my past raves and know nothing about it, each page inside the journal has the date and a question, and you answer that same question for five years in a row. So 365 pages, 365 questions and five gaps on each page so that as the years go by, you gradually fill up all of the space. What I love so much about it, now that I am into the second year, is that you can look back and see exactly what you wrote the year before, and sometimes it’s quite eye-opening to see how much you’ve changed in such a short space of time.

The questions are sometimes rather profound, sometimes silly, but I suppose it’s all in the way you answer them. At any rate, you only get a few lines to write on so it’s not as though you can go into any great detail. But it’s an interesting exercise, trying to condense your thoughts and feelings into such a small amount of space and perfect for those who hate the idea of writing a proper, lengthy journal. It’s like a little snapshot into your mind and life at that particular moment.

Take this genuine example from my own Q&A journal – it’s kind of ridiculous, but I like the fact that I can remember exactly the moment I wrote the entry last year and how I thought to myself, I’ll read that back and think about how silly I was:

8th January: What song is stuck in your head?

2014: Right now, but it’s only just popped in, it’s The Sound of Silence. I am singing it to the cat, but have changed words to Hello Monkey my old friend, you’ll be there until the end. 

2015: The jolly roger tune that they play about sailors and pirates. [Mr AMR] has just told me it’s called Captain Pugwash. 

Not all of my answers are silly, but I like that the questions posed are quite flexible and so your answers reflect your mood and state of mind. I’d reveal a more serious post, but it’s “Blue Monday” today and I don’t want to put anyone on a downer!

Anyway, enough – that’s the last I’ll say upon the matter, it just occurred to me that if I was going to write about the journal then it should be before the end of January, because then you would still have time to catch up without too much trouble. You can find the Q&A journal online for about a tenner (see here).

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