I very rarely attempt to wear any of the jazzier runway makeup looks; often they are interesting and edgy – or very theatrical – on the catwalk, but ridiculous in real life. I suppose you could say that the same goes for the clothes a lot of the time! But Chanel’s “Quilted Eyes” for the AW16 show really tickled my fancy – the iconic quilting from their gorgeous handbags and accessories, brought across to makeup. It’s not very often you can work with patterns on the face – usually it’s just certain colours that become the makeup trends for the season – but this pattern is, I think, surprisingly wearable.

Mine turned out a lot smaller than the Chanel quilting, but I like that it’s a sort of “soft snakeskin” effect – a texture rather than a design. (Also I couldn’t get my diamond shapes to go any bigger, it was just too fiddly without help, but let’s ignore that part.)

I used pieces of fishnet stocking as a stencil (I tried to find something that would be reasonably easy to get hold of) and settled on a mid-brown shadow to create the quilting design, rather than the dark gunmetal used at the show. So I have very definitely done a “version” and not a recreation of the show look; I can’t imagine that they were sat there cutting up bits of fishnet stocking backstage! If you have any suggestions as to how to create an easier-to-use stencil (it’s incredibly tricky trying to stretch the fishnet over your eye and stipple-brush the shadow on) then please leave a comment below.

Take a look at the video to see how I “quilted my lids”. It’s actually quite quick once you have the knack of holding the fishnet with one hand and brushing the shadow on with the other…

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Magnesium is an essential mineral for the human body. This isn’t just a ‘take it when you feel a cold coming on’ superfood or a handy vitamin C shot in the winter, it’s serious stuff and responsible for over 300 different reactions in the body. Without an adequate amount in your system you could develop insomnia, muscle weakness, lack of energy and fatigue, headaches, nausea, high blood pressure, imbalanced blood sugar, depression and quite a few more problems… plus, none of the above listed are helpful for getting beautiful skin!

Magnesium contributes to:

• a reduction of tiredness and fatigue
• electrolyte balance
• normal muscle function
• normal energy yielding metabolism
• normal functioning of the nervous system
• normal protein synthesis
• normal psychological function
• maintenance of normal teeth
• maintenance of normal bones
• role in the process of cell division
• skin health

You could be eating plenty of magnesium rich food, but also doing all the wrong things to stop this mineral being absorbed. Sugar and carbonated drinks can seriously hinder absorption, prescription meds and too much calcium, especially from dairy deplete magnesium levels, and a diet high in animal products and low in plant foods is stopping you reaching your magnesium goals. Eating lots of bananas, avocados, dark leafy greens, seaweed, spirulina, beans, dried fruits and dark chocolate help as these are all really good sources, but the amount you ideally need to consume to stay on top of your magnesium levels is high. Which is why I decided to pick up the Kiki Health Magnesium Spray recently, as I’ve been feeling really tired and have had more headaches than usual – plus my diet has been all over the place as I have transitioned to eating vegan! We’re talking lots of vegan ice cream, cheese ‘gary‘ toasties and Linda McCartney sausages.

The Magnesium Spray is applied topically, has no scent and even though it’s not an oil has an oily feel that makes it easy to massage into skin. Applying magnesium topically is proven to be more effective, the magnesium is absorbed through the skin and transported directly where it needs to be, instead of being lost in the digestive tract.

The first 2-3 times I used the spray I felt a very mild warming/tingling sensation – this is actually a sign you are deficient in the mineral and fades as your magnesium levels increase. I also convinced the boyfriend to give it a go and it tingled so much for him that he had to wash it off! Clearly he needs some magnesium but won’t risk using the spray again, even though I’ve told him he can dilute it – ha!
I’ve also found the best time to use the spray is straight out of the bath or shower onto wet skin. The oil has a watery, thin consistency and absorbs much easier when the skin is as wet as possible. The times I’ve tried applying this on dry skin it just doesn’t sink in enough and my clothes feel weird over the top. I use about 5-10 sprays every couple of days and apply it pretty much over my entire body (avoiding the face), this amount gives a dose of approx. 309mg of magnesium – around 80% of your daily intake!

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