Yankee Candle Advent House

Yankee Candle Advent

For those of us who can’t scrape up the £250 for the Jo Malone Town House advent calendar (in which I might just point out, there are no candles anyway), then the vintage-Christmas-card style of the Yankee Candle Advent House might make up for it because it’s positively a snip in comparison at £25.

Yankee Candle Advent

Inside, you’ll find 23 tiny tea-lights in a selection of fragrances, including Christmas Cookie, Sugared Apple, Snowflake Cookie, Candy Lane Cane and Christmas Garland and one votive size for December 24th in Christmas Eve.

To be honest, you need to like your candles on the sweet side, and you also need to have a tea-light holder handy because there isn’t one included (in my opinion, there really should be) but tiny as they are, the tea-lights are really cute and I can see this being a lovely ritual with children – lighting the candle together as a family when it’s all dark and cosy.

Continue reading

Wicked Waves for Half the Price…

IMG_6658

Many of you (kindly) commented on how nice my hair and makeup looked in my latest video (click here if you haven’t watched it yet) and so I thought I’d do a little run-down on what I used. To wave my hair, the amazing Wicked Waver from Mark Hill, which looks like some kind of weird sex toy but is actually one of the easiest hair tools I have ever used. The lumpy bits stop the hair from sliding off the barrel and, if you use a heatproof glove, you can get around your whole head without ever burning yourself. Quick to heat up, loads of temperature settings and – this is the best bit – it’s back in stock on Boots.com AT HALF PRICE! £29.99. You’d literally be mad not to. I’m always wary of wholeheartedly and enthusiastically recommending something in this way, but I have tested this sex wand to the nth degree and can honestly say that it is amazing. Find it here before it goes – I’m popping it in my gift guide, too, so I hope they are stocked up!

Makeup: a touch of By Terry Densiliss foundation in shade 7, a whisk of a Clarins discontinued face palette that I love and use almost daily (Colour Accents, see photo below, you can find it on allbeauty.com for £16.50, sshhh!), a touch of Sunday Riley blush in Blushing (below), a sweep of Sunday Riley Primasilk eyeshadow in Godiva (this is one of the best “one sweep” shades I have come across. Perfect for brightening and adding a touch of sultry sheen), and to finish it all off, Givenchy Noir Couture7 4-in-1 Mascara. My lips look as though they have lipstick on but in fact, it was just some remains of Clarins’ Gloss Prodige in Waterlily.

colab dry shampoo

I’ve worn this look for near enough the whole week – natural, quite wintery but with a touch of healthy colour to the cheeks. The waves in my hair were three days old when I took this photo – they stayed in really well. Obviously there were liberal dousings of my CoLab dry shampoo to keep the roots of my hair looking acceptable! I always find that the trick to long-lasting waves, when you’re using a wand, is to make sure that when you release the hair from around the barrel you do it really fast and don’t pull down on the hair. Let the ends go so that there’s no tension in the hair strand and then just kind of “whisk” the wand away! And then don’t touch the wave/curl at all for about ten minutes. The wave sets as the hair cools, so if you faff with the hair before then, all you’re doing is pulling out the curl and allowing the hair to cool straight.

Right – if you’re reading this on Friday then it’s my birthday – THIRTY FOUR! – and if you’re reading on Thursday then it’s the day before my birthday. Either way, I have much to do, including answering about twelve milllion phone calls from my Mum who wants to know exactly what type of cake I’d like. So I’m off. You can read more beauty posts here.

The post Wicked Waves for Half the Price… appeared first on A Model Recommends.

Continue reading

Glowing All Winter Long.

It seems oddly inappropriate with this freakish snowstorm that we’re currently having to be talking about showing some skin – and tanned skin at that. But, seeing as spring still feels an eternity away, I think we all deserve a little self-care and self-love in the form of glowy golden skin, even if you’re the only one who sees it. A tan cheers me up. It makes me feel a little more confident. It puts a spring in my step.

After being stuck indoors with a brand new little human for the past 3 months, I am so READY for spring and summer adventures. but until then, I can shop online and apply gradual tan to my heart’s content. I’ve been using two products for this, one for face and one for body. They’re equally fantastic and work a treat at turning my vitamin D lacking pallor into something a little more healthy.

Face

The Tropic Sun Drops Gradual Tanning Facial Serum is a booster serum that you add to your regular daily moisturiser to instantly give a little warmth and glow whilst gradually tanning the skin over several days.


The serum is incredibly intense and a little scary at first glance, but don’t be afraid like I was! It dilutes right into your everyday moisturiser and application is as easy as pie. Suitable for tanning pros and first-timers alike.

Tropic say to use 2-3 drops for a subtle tint, or 4-6 drops for a more sun-kissed glow. I only ever use 2 drops at a time to go slow with the gradual tan developing. I have used this at most for three days in a row so far and I really loved the colour it gave to my skin, it evened out redness and made blemish marks seem less harsh. I don’t wear makeup regularly at the moment, so this has been great for making me feel a bit better when I catch myself in the mirror after being up 4 times in the night 😉

Ingredients:

Aloe Vera Juice, Coconut Water, Sugar Beet DHA Skin Tanner, Plant Allo-Melanin, Plant Derived Humectant, Vegetable Glycerin, Jojoba Esters, Plant Erythrulose, Caramel, Radish Root Extract, Passion Fruit Extract, Corn Sugar Derived Gum, Gentle Preservatives from Basil and Star Anise, Lactic Acid, Phytic Acid

Body

For lacklustre limbs, we have the Eco by Sonya Winter Skin Gradual Tanning Moisturiser. I’ve been using this on and off for ages now and the bottle is still going strong, so that’s a huge win right off the bat.


I originally bought this in September last year to apply it a couple of times before our holiday so that I wouldn’t be so shockingly pale next to all the gloriously tanned Spanish folk and of course the crispy brown Britons who sunbathe from sunrise until sunset. You know the ones. Upon first use, I was pleasantly surprised to discover the moisturiser is, in fact, more of a thin lotion consistency that makes application quick and easy, no spreading a thick cream over the skin and massaging it in for half an hour only for it to gather at your ankles and turn them 5 shades darker. It sinks in quickly and you’re free to get dressed and go about your day, or evening, without feeling sticky.

The colour transformation is subtle and does take a good few days to build up to that ‘beautiful honey complexion’ mentioned on the bottle, but I like that! It’s much less scary waking up in the morning to a subtle tan rather than a patchy orange disaster.

At the moment I only use this once a week, during the 15 minutes or so every 168 hours that I get to myself to have a mini pamper routine; apply a face mask, moisturise, and maybe even brush my hair. Glorious. The boost in colour lasts a few days, even after showering, and like I said before, it’s not necessary for winter really, but it makes me feel good, so screw it!


Cosmetics Trends of 2013

I read this article from SupplySide Insights, in which experts and companies are predicting what the trends for cosmetics in 2016 will be.  Not to sound overly critical, but some of these trends are pretty stupid.

  1. Classic Cool Colors – Um…doesn’t the word “classic” imply that it will never go out of style?  Maybe it went through a tough breakup with warm colors, left the apartment, traveled the world, and now it’s back, kicking ass with cool colors?  Nevertheless, experts predict that 2013 will bring bright, deep, metallic red eyeshadows and eyeliners.  Black will be infused with silver or gray mica, and dark blue will work for nails.  I kinda like the dark blue nails…but red eyeshadow?  Too vampy for me…
    121112_01
  2. Cosmetic Kits – Self-explanatory.  When you’re lazy or clueless (like me), a kit is perfect to help prettify yourself.  Also, great gifts for Christmas.   Can I make my own customizable kits?  Was that an idea for a new start-up?  You can thank me later.
  3. Green Packaging – Finally!  This has been trending for all of 2015, so I’m glad to say many companies are *finally* getting the hint and converting to greener packaging.  Greener packaging meant more cost, but the desire to protect and save the environment, driven by consumers, are now driving R&D towards innovation and lower costs.  This should have been the trend every year
  4. Natural Ingredients for Face – Seriously…people have been fighting for natural ingredients since forever.  So glad companies are using ingredients that are beneficial and safe for us and our planet.
  5. Multi-Functional Cosmetic Products – Yes!  Multiple uses for my mascara!  BB cream that also act as primers, SPF, and moisturizer…AND it doesn’t clog my skin!  Do such products exist?  YES!  Consumers demand everything, and eventually companies will make it!  Let’s just hope it doesn’t cost an arm & a leg.