Category Archives: beauty news

I envy people who can remember to do a proper little picture for their “vlogs”; if I ever make a casual diary-style video I always, without fail, forget to take a decent photograph to use as the thumbnail! Hence I’m stuck with a picture of Dexter the Dog to illustrate a video that has very little to do with dogs whatsoever – it’s almost completely irrelevant! Though you do get to see a close-up of a charming wicker chair and some nice beams in the background..

This was really just a video to keep Youtube viewers in the loop as I hadn’t uploaded anything for a couple of weeks. I explain my house move (most of you will know all about that) and do a little tour of my temporary barn accommodation, which might interest some of you. I also do a little whizz through my old beauty cabinet – the glass-fronted one that has appeared in the background of many videos – because lots of people wanted a close-up view of what was inside.

All quite random and roughly-cut, but please do take a look if you fancy a bit of a nose about. You can all tut-tut at the colossal mess that is my bedroom. I’m off to finish tidying it right now – I felt very shamefaced looking back over the video…

The post Vlog: Moving House and a Tour of the Beauty Cabinet appeared first on A Model Recommends.

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I’ve been suffering from perioral dermatitis now for a good few years. In recent months, however, I haven’t been able to remember what my skin is like without this irritating enemy taking over my face. Sure, I could go to the doctors and be prescribed yet another round of antibiotics for my skin issues, but, I’ve learnt antibiotics are only ever a very temporary cure for my acne and this annoying re-occurring itchy, bumpy rash. It always comes right back. Instead, I’ve been researching, trialing and looking into other methods for keeping the problem at bay – I know I’ve mentioned some of them before on the blog, and I promise eventually I’ll do a roundup of those that really work for me, but for now we have just one product that’s doing a stellar job.

I’ve been using the Comvita Medihoney Natural Skintensive Cream (£8.99) now for a couple of weeks and I really feel like it’s helped keep the inflammation down during a time of stress and a poor skincare routine thanks to moving house. Perioral Dermatitis is particularly ugly thanks to the little red bumps and constant flaking of the skin, I can’t use any of my normal spot treatments as it’s not acne, and I can’t use nourishing oils as they would exacerbate the situation even more, so a lightweight yet super hydrating cream is just what the doctor ordered.

The Comvita Skintensive Cream is PH balanced, completely fragrance-free and doesn’t use any phenoxyethanol (which is a preservative I’ve since learnt sends my PD crazy). Comvita use medical grade ‘Medihoney’ Manuka honey which is clinically proven to support wound healing, soothe skin and helps retain moisture. The cream itself is very lightweight and has a thin, almost runny texture that spreads easily over skin and feels immediately hydrating and soothing. Despite the texture, the cream’s first five ingredients are water, honey, coconut oil, olive oil and cupuacu butter, so it is still rich and soothing for dry, scaly skin.

This cream is specifically created to soothe very dry skin, so I only use it to spot treat the areas of dermatitis and don’t apply it all over my face as it would likely be far too rich for my oily, acne prone skin. I tell ya, having more than one skin issue in a small area is no walk in the park. I avoid using coconut oil on the rest of my face at all costs, but in the areas of PD it works a treat which is so weird?!
I have also been using the cream on any other dry patches I may have; elbows, knees and feet especially. It works a treat slathered generously over your feet with some socks on – hello super soft sandal ready toes! … it’s actually a little late for sandal weather, but who says you can’t have soft feet under your winter boots?

For under a tenner this cream is a total bargain, and now with the weather turning colder it’s a good one to have around for emergency situations!

What do you think? have you tried anything from Comvita before?

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We’ve all been there. Sometimes lining your eyes can be the worst thing ever. You’ve got your brush and messy pot of liner, or your dull pencil, or your disaster-waiting-to-happen liquid liner—and you just know things are going south, fast. Your wings are uneven, your line is further away from your lashes than earth is to the moon, or by the end of the day it’s completely slipping down your face. ARGH!

Well listen up, we’re here to help your solve all of those issues! Our NEW they’re real! push-up liner makes lining your eyes SO easy, it should be a crime. BUT! Before we treat you to this life-changing liner, we want to hear ALL about your funny & frustrating liner stories.

Like….

“I end up wearing an inappropriately sexy smokey eye to work ’cause my pencil liner smudges & I don’t have time to correct it. #LinerCrimes”

“My lines are so thick, I might as well be applying with a king-size Sharpie Magnum. #LinerCrimes”

“I look like that ’80s ‘Walk Like An Egyptian’ song—one wing goes up, the other goes down. It’s a hot mess. #linercrimes”

Now we want to hear your #LinerCrimes for a chance to WIN a sample of the not-yet-released they’re real! push-up liner!

How to Enter: 

• – Tweet your liner disaster to @BenefitBeauty with #LinerCrimes. Ex. That moment when you look in the mirror after a long day and your liner is hugging your brows, not your lashes. #linercrimes @BenefitBeauty
• – Enter once a day, and we’ll select 5 winners every day from 5/14-5/25. It’s criminally easy to win, ladies!

What You’ll Win: 

We’ll hook you up with a sample of they’re real! liner (PSST… You’ll be getting it before you can even purchase it in store)! But that’s not all.. we’ll also send along a full-size they’re real! mascara, because no look is complete without beyond–belief lashes.

P.S. The more creative & funny the stories are, the better. We won’t be accepting “the dog ate your homework” kind of answers. Get creative, gorgeous! 🙂

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There’s a huge trend for big, fluffy teddy-bear coats and faux-furs, this season. And I must say that although big, furry coats are very attention-grabbing, (something I’m usually not too comfortable with, believe it or not), there’s something almost protective in their massiveness and fluffy bulk. They make you feel strong and confident rather than self-conscious or embarrassed. I suppose that they increase your size, somewhat – just like a peacock spreading it’s feathers or a cat making its fur stand on end – and so make you feel a bit more bolshy and puffed-up. This is one eye-catching trend that I can deal with – it’s not revealing or totally outlandish, but a big fluffy coat definitely pulls an outfit together and makes it look as though you’ve made far more effort than you really have.

I love this teddy-bear/furry trend so much that I collected together the best coats of the season and drove out to the seaside, car-boot crammed with samples, to film a fashion lookbook. The video will be up later on this week, but I couldn’t resist giving you a little preview! The coats on this page are both made by Unreal Fur, an Australian brand who make beautiful faux-fur jackets. The Fire & Ice style, shown above and at the bottom of the page, is really unusual and has a definite Kate-Moss-Rock-Chick vibe about it…

…and the De-Fur coat (above) is huge and shaggy and so very warm and comfortable that it’s almost as though you haven’t left your bed! It’s really striking and is possibly my favourite of all of the coats that I shot over the course of the day. It’s lined in grey jersey (nice touch) and the finishing is perfect. You’ll see it in full beach-walking action when the video goes live, but if you can’t wait then there are more details on ASOS.com here.

I definitely think that teddy coats and faux-furs are going to be my staple outer-garments of the winter months; warm, cheerful, supremely comfortable and as fashionable worn with jeans and a pair of battered Converse as they are slung over the top of an evening dress. You can find the Fire & Ice jacket at Hush – it’s £180. If you’re looking for this year’s “investment” jacket then these are absolutely worth a good look; amazing quality but not prohibitively expensive – the De-Fur is perhaps more of a trend buy, but the Fire & Ice wouldn’t date too fast as it already looks quite retro…

(Sizing notes: the De-Fur is roomy and a size “small” was perfect for me (I’m a solid UK10), the Fire & Ice was also “small” but a tad too little for me, but only because of my frontage. I probably could do with a “medium”.)

The post Unreal Fur: This Season’s Investment Coat appeared first on A Model Recommends.

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