Category Archives: beauty look

I have a rather fabulous worldwide giveaway for you today. I mentioned the gorgeous new OM Skincare in a recent Space NK post – it’s a results-driven brand, using complex formulas and luxurious ingredients, but it very much embraces a “mindful” approach to skincare and beauty. Mindfulness is a bit of a buzzword these days – we’re encouraged to take a step back from our busy, stressful lives and recapture valuable time for ourselves. I interpret it as enjoying moments of calm and peace so that we can take stock of our feelings and thoughts rather than ploughing through the day in a frenzy, leaving ourselves emotionally and mentally wrecked. Correct me if I’m wrong…

Anyway, whether you’re the sort of person who guffaws at the notion of anything to do with “mind and body” or you’re a fully-fledged yoga-posing energy-channeling guru, there’s no denying that your skin reflects the state of your physical well-being; burn the candle at both ends for a week and you soon see your face falling apart. And so the concept of taking time out to relax, breathe and pamper is at the heart of OM Skincare – it’s science-meets-mindfulness, a dose of Chi Energy mixed with a small (but perfectly formed) range of multi-tasking, skin-adapting  beauty products.

The range includes brilliant little bottles of skin “boosters” packed full of antioxidants, moisturising creams for line-plumping or added radiance and a brilliant invisible finish primer that leaves the skin soft and smooth and perfectly prepped for makeup.

I asked the brains behind the brand, Dr Om Prawarisa, for her top seasonal skincare tips – if you’re wondering what you need to do to keep your skin healthy as we enter the beauty hell-hole of autumn (central heating, cold winds, etc etc) then read on…

• Throughout the winter months continue to drink plenty of water throughout the day and exercise regularly, enough to bring a flush to the skin by getting your blood circulating and your pulse rate up – we especially love an invigorating Yoga session or a brisk walk in the park.
• As tempting as it may be to turn up the heat in the bath or shower, avoid going too hot as hot water is dehydrating to the skin. Warm water is skin friendly. Get more moisture-boosting benefits by adding a few drops of bath oil to your bath, or body oil all over skin immediately after bathing.
• Be mindful – Stress levels can harm your skin all year round- higher levels of hormone such as cortisol raised by stress can lead to collagen and elastin destruction. In addition, when you are stressed, your facial muscles are tensed which could lead to fine lines and wrinkles
• Sunscreen is a year-round necessity. UV rays will replace your natural glow with discoloration, dryness and eventually wrinkles, sun damage and pigmentation. Even sitting behind your laptop or mobile screen emits blue light that damages and ages skin. Protect skin with a sunscreen every day, even when it’s raining outside.
• Nutrition plays a critical role in the health of your skin. Load up on plenty of Vitamin C (Guava, Oranges, Kiwis…) and Omega-3 fatty acids (oily fish, walnuts, flaxseed oil…) over the winter as they are vital nutrients for keeping skin in optimal health
• A boost of Vitamin D via winter ‘sensible’ sun exposure, i.e., exposing your skin to midday sun (between 10 am and 3 pm) for 5-30 minutes twice weekly, may be sufficient to meet vitamin D requirement.

To help you along on your merry skincare way, I have one amazing FULL RANGE of OM to give away, including:

Pure Glow Cleanser – worth £35
Daily Radiance Moisturiser  – worth £58.50
No-Lines Nourishing Cream  – worth £55
Miracle Serum – worth £68.50
Invisible Finish Primer – worth £42.50
Konjac Sponge – worth £8
Beauty Booster Serenity – worth £22.50, available only at Space NK
Beauty Booster Revitalising – worth £22.50, available only at Space NK

I then have FOUR runner up prizes of the Daily Radiance Moisturiser, worth £58.50 each! Five chances to get your mitts on some utterly gorgeous skincare.

This giveaway is open to all readers internationally – all you need to do is leave a comment below before noon on Friday 21st October 2016, making sure that you leave your email address in the form where prompted. I’ll announce the winners in the following Sunday Tittle Tattle. Good luck – and if you have any questions for Dr Om then you can find her on Twitter here and Instagram here.

All products, if you want to get further details, are available at www.omskincare.co.uk and spacenk.com.

The post The Incredible OM Skincare Giveaway… 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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I know that this lipstick has been Instagrammed to death recently, but it is a bit of a gem. The YSL Kiss & Love lipstick in Le Orange is the most brilliantly bright shade for winter and the bullet is embossed with lip motifs. So you might not even want to use it, but the option’s there… Personally I’ve adopted a “life’s too short” policy when it comes to makeup special editions and have cracked open quite a few gorgeous palettes recently. The first brushstroke is the hardest, but after that it’s easy to get stuck in and mess things up! Anyway, the Kiss & Love lipsticks are out in a week or so – I’ll photograph this one and the nude for you, they’re true classics.

I found this photo just after I’d posted my Space NK post on Friday; a brilliant eye cream that was a suggestion for “things to try”. I’ve mentioned the Eye Elixir before, but it definitely deserves a bit of consideration if you’re wondering what to buy to get your £15 off! The Eye Elixir from Elemental Herbology has quite a lightweight feel but is one of the richest eye creams I’ve used and the effects are really long-lasting. It’s here at Space NK. Excellent for tired, overworked eyes – soothing, smoothing, I have it in my makeup bag that’s tucked into the bottom of Baby AMR’s bedside crib! You can get £15 off if you spend £60 at Space NK until midnight tonight – the code is AMR15.

Space NK

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1) My run of “beauty at home” experiences continues: first was the home pregnancy massage from Home Spa London (read that post here) and then came a little visit from the fast blow-dry girls at Blow Ltd. Blow have a new “Fast Beauty To Go” app that allows you to quickly book a beauty appointment (blow-dry, makeup, nails) at your own home or in the office. It’s available to anyone in London Zones 1 and 2, or you can use the app to book an appointment at one of the flagship beauty bars in Covent Garden or Canary Wharf.

There’s a really handy “menu” of looks to choose from (I particularly like the fact that I can ask to “look like myself” as I modelled for the menu last year!) and appointments can take as little as 2 mins. You can find the app by searching “Blow Ltd” at the app store.

Blow Ltd

2) I found this photo that my Mum took a few weeks ago and it made me really want to see Mr Bear again! I miss him loads. He’s such a cuddly little chap and I think he would have enjoyed curling up on top of my baby bump. Though he’s probably a bit too heavy for that – I’d get instant heartburn. I might be popping up to visit him again in the next few days so I’ll be sure to take a load of new pictures.

The post Sunday Tittle Tattle: Home Visits and Cat Cuddling appeared first on A Model Recommends.

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A few affordable and effective deep cleansing masks that I’ve been testing out over the past few months. Actually, two of these are established “fixtures” in my beauty cupboard – the Neutrogena Visibly Clear mask and the Deep Cleansing Mask from Liz Earle – but I thought that I’d revisit them and see if they were as good as I seemed to remember. My favourite deep cleansers and clay-based masks tend to be on the pricey side (Omorovicza comes in at number one, I think, in terms of effectiveness, and I adore the Multi-Use Clay from Diptyque) and so I thought that I’d explore some options that won’t break the bank. If you want a weekly treatment that makes your skin feel de-clogged, deep-cleansed and nicely purified then one of the below might just float your boat…

Neutrogena Visibly Clear 2-in-1 Wash and Mask. When it comes to face masks for oily skin, there are hundreds of clay-based versions out there that will do the trick in terms of purifying and helping to keep skin a little clearer. What I like about the Neutrogena one is that it’s quick to work, so you can use it in the shower if you don’t have time to luxuriate in a full-length treatment, and it doesn’t feel harsh or drying. Some of the cheaper wash/masks that I’ve tried have bits of scrub in them, or a strong-smelling “antibacterial” kind of vibe, and the Neutrogena feels positively gentle in comparison! I actually think that it’s rubbish as a “wash” – Neutrogena should just market this as a mask and be done with it. As a wash, I can’t see how you get the benefits of the clay and the salicylic acid, and it’s a faff to rinse off if you’re just looking for a quick cleanse. As a clay-based mask, it’s great. It’s also only £3.50 at Boots.com, which makes it a total bargain.

Read more Deep Cleansing Mask reviews…

Sanctuary Spa 5 Minute Thermal Detox Mask is a newish discovery for me – I started to use it at the beginning of summer. It’s something of a revelation, for a clay treatment, because it’s bouncy and plump and almost gel-like in texture, never setting hard or completely drying. It warms up on contact with the skin, but never mind that – it’s the beautiful texture that does it for me! If you’re looking for a gentle deep cleanse that won’t dry out your skin, this is just gorgeous. Those who are spot-prone but don’t have particularly oily skin, this is a nice, inexpensive treat that’s non-aggressive and actually quite soothing, despite the scary name. £10.50 at Boots.com

Liz Earle Deep Cleansing Mask. This was one of the first product I tested when I started A Model Recommends, so it holds a special place in my beauty heart. I think that it smells like black olive tapenade, but it’s actually a clay mask with added manuka honey and propolis and rose-scented geranium. I get a distinct tingle with this one, and that’s with my AHA-hardened skin, so I’d personally go easy with it if I had sensitive skin, but it’s one of my favourite deep cleansing masks for PMT weeks and for when my skin is generally down in the dumps. It’s £14.50 from Liz Earle.

Have you tried any of the above? I’m about to give Lush’s Cosmetic Warrior mask a whirl this week, so I’ll let you know how I get on with that one, too. It smells rather strong, but I have it on good authority that it’s a nice little number. Any Cosmetic Warrior fans out there?

More skincare reviews….

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