Kerastase Initialiste

I've been wanting to try this product for a while now and finally purchased it a few days ago.

With a £40 price tag, it's not the cheapest of hair products, but the benefits that it promises to deliver are far too inviting to ignore...

I'm always on the look out for hair products that can keep my hair in good condition. I have medium-long, thick, dark hair and use heated appliances every day. Inevitably, this does give me split ends and dryness - so my hair is a good test for this product.

Kerastase promise thicker, shinier and stronger hair with up to 93% less breakage. The serum contains plant stem cells, which are meant to build and repair your hair. The clinical studies carried out on this product showed that applying it 3 times a week for a month delivered better overall hair quality, thickness and softness.

With all of the research and statistics behind this product, I was sold!

I have only used this twice so far but am already impressed with the results. There is no dramatic change in my hair, but then I wouldn't expect that this early on. However, my hair does feel a bit shinier and thicker, making it easier to style and giving it a glossy, bouncy sort of look.


The bottle comes with a dropper and you apply 2 pipettes (fine hair) or 4 pipettes (thick hair) directly to the scalp after washing and towel drying your hair, massaging it in to ensure full coverage.

The serum itself is a non-oily texture so once this is on your hair, it leaves no residue and once your hair is dry you wouldn't even know it was on - except for the lovely apple smell!

I'm going to try and regularly update you all on how this product is working, maybe every few weeks so I have time to notice a difference! At the moment, I would recommend it for the way it makes your hair feel alone, but I will let you know if I start to notice a real difference in the structure and quality of my hair.

Let me know if you are trying this product and what you think!

Liz
xo

Valentine's Day Make Up

Whether you like Valentine's Day or not, it's hard not to feel in love with these Valentine's themed beauty products...

This super cute lipstick by Marks & Spencer Limited Collection is only £5.00 and comes in a light pink or rose shade. Easy to wear, pretty colours. They remind me of the Paul & Joe 'cat head' lipsticks - both are adorable and a fun twist on a product many of us use every day.

Another product in this line from Marks & Spencer is this multi blush, which comes in at just £6.00. It features little hearts in various shades of pink for a rosy glow.

MAC's Archie Girls collection will be launching in the first week of March and I'll be snapping up this eyeliner along with a couple of other pieces. The packaging for this whole range is really cute and a lot of the products look really wearable.

This is the Pearlglide Intense Eyeliner in 'Black Swan'.

For the brave ones amongst us, these heart sequin eyelashes from ASOS (£15) are a really bold and creative way to get in on the love theme. These do not look particularly comfortable...However they undoubtedly add something different to a look!

Last but not least, heart decoration for the lips in the form of a temporary lip tattoo! This is another piece from ASOS and costs £10. Probably not an item to wear on a date or if you plan on eating anything (!) but for a girly night out with friends these are pretty fun.

Happy Valentines Day everyone!

Liz
xo

Autumn/Winter 2013 Trends from the Catwalk: The Glitter Nail

Hi everyone! Happy Valentines Day! I hope you all have romantic days planned, perhaps a romantic night in pampering yourself (you deserve it!) 

I'll be doing a Valentines beauty post later today but in the meantime I wanted to show you the nail look from Jenny Packham's show at New York Fashion Week A/W 2013.

Jenny Packham A/W 2013

This is such a simple yet effective look and is really easy to achieve. The polish used for this was Essie 'Set in Stone', from their 'luxeffects' range, which is a silver glitter particles polish, best used as a topcoat to add sparkle to any nail colour or in this case applied to a nude nail to bring just a touch of glamour.

Essie 'Set in Stone'

To get this look, start at the centre of the nail and paint towards the tip, letting the brush fan out to get that cascading effect.

The simplicity of this look paired perfectly with the Jenny Packham collection which is described as 'understated luxury'. 

If you want to achieve something a little more dramatic with this polish, try it over a dark shade - either all over the nail or just on the tips like a sparkly French manicure!

Liz

xo

Autumn/Winter 2013 Trends from the Catwalk: The Dark Lip

Fashion week is upon us and first on the schedule is New York which has been taking place over the last week.

Beauty at New York Fashion Week is typically very groomed, polished and immaculate. Beauty-wise it's a great place for fashion week to start because it always features the key trends.

One trend in particular that has popped up on various catwalks this week is the dark lip - namely at Vera Wang, 3.1 Phillip Lim, Derek Lam and Zac Posen. This is a beauty trend which comes round time and again but is a really beautiful autumn/winter look.

Vera Wang Autumn/Winter 2013

  

Derek Lam Autumn/Winter 2013

 The best thing about this look is how easy it is to achieve. A strong, dark lip looks best with pared-down make up on the rest of the face so you only need minimal make up elsewhere.

3.1 Phillip Lim Autumn/Winter 2013

To achieve this look start with a seamless, neutral base. Buff in any foundation until you have that 'no make-up' look. Apply concealer only where needed for added brightness, add one coat of mascara on the eyes and then move on to your lipstick.


There are a few different shades to try in this trend, depending on your skin tone and hair colour. Darker skins can carry off bright wines, plums and reds, whereas pale skins should stick to more muted tones of brown and pink. Olive or medium skin tones can pull off the dark lip easily - brownish reds, burgundies and aubergine colours are your best friend for this look!

If this trend scares you, try a gloss first to ease yourself into the trend.


A few recommendations...

MAC Lipstick in 'Cyber' - an intense, dark purple with a satin finish

MAC Lipstick in 'Dark Side' - a full-bodied dark grape shade

Nars Lipstick in 'Fast Ride' - a vibrant shade with a velvet finish

Dior Rouge Lipstick in 'Hypnotic' - a long-wearing, buildable burgundy shade


Let me know if you have any favourite dark lipsticks that I should try!


Liz
xo

Diane von Furstenberg Autumn/Winter 2013 New York Fashion Week

I am a big fan of Diane von Furstenberg, not only because she creates beautiful, womanly clothing but because she has always been about empowering women. Her clothes have all the glamour of the seventies but with a clean, modern twist.

Some of my favourite outfits from the show...

Diane von Furstenberg Autumn/Winter 2013 at New York Fashion Week

The make-up for this show is my favourite from NYFW so far. James Kaliardos, who created the look for Diane described it as "Life is the party...how you get up in the morning, and feel great" which I think is the perfect description for this look. The pink lipstick is so vibrant and fun, and seems to suit every model regardless of hair or skin tone.

The whole look was created using MAC products. The lips were created by using MAC Chromographic Pencil in 'Magenta' all over the lip to give them that bold, matte colour - this isn't available in the UK but MAC's standard Lip Pencil also comes in Magenta. Face and Body foundation was applied lightly to the face, using a slightly different shade on the temple and cheekbones for that warm and 'real' skin appearance.

MAC products

For the eyes, MAC's eyeshadow in Omega was applied very lightly to the brow, and a highlighter was applied along the cheekbones to give skin radiance.

I really love this look. The clean and perfectly highlighted skin complimented the power lip perfectly, and the simplicity of the look allowed the lip to stand out without making the whole thing look too 'done'.

I hope you like this look too! I'll be featuring a few other Fashion Week looks on my blog so if there are any that you love and want to know how to recreate, leave me a comment!

Liz
xo

Dior Skin Forever Foundation Review

This foundation is by no means a 'new' product but I wanted to feature a review as I have been using it for a while now and think it is a really great foundation.

The best thing is about this foundation is how diverse it is. It is a fluid foundation which is really light when you first apply it, but gives great coverage and is easy to build up for more coverage or a full-face base. With a foundation brush, it blends in seamlessly and doesn't 'sit' on the skin like a lot of foundations do.

It has pretty good staying power even without a primer but does work well with a primer if you are worried about it slipping during the day or have oily skin.

It is SPF 25 which means you don't need to worry about applying sunscreen when you are wearing this and Dior say it is 'bursting with made-to-measure perfecting skin care ingredients'. I'm not sure how they can call it 'made-to-measure' since every bottle is the same except for the shade, but I will say that it has never broken me out or had any negative effect on my skin.

It's quite pricey at £31 per bottle, but one bottle seems to last a really long time and I wear foundation every day. You only need a little bit for flawless coverage and the pump action bottle means you can just pump out as much or as little as you need straight onto your foundation brush.

This is probably my favourite foundation at the moment, and has been for a year or so now despite trialling loads of newer ones so I would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a new holy grail base.

Liz
xo

Sanctuary Spa 'Relax' Range

The products in the 'Relax' range by Sanctuary Spa all have THE most amazing smell! 

It's described as an infusion of essential oils including vetivert, cedarwood and labdanum and the whole range is meant to make you feel peaceful, relaxed and de-stressed.

My favourite pick from the range has to be the 'Unwind Candle' as it makes my whole room smell gorgeous. I love candles anyway but this one has to be one of my favourite scents. The candle comes in a heavy glass jar and it costs around £12 - well worth the money for the smell alone!

Sanctuary Spa Relax Unwind Candle

A few other items from the range that I am liking the look of...

Nourishing Bath Soak

Melting Body Fondant

Warming Body Oils

If you fancy a treat (Valentine's gift to self?) I would highly recommend this range. It has a gorgeous, relaxing smell that is perfect for a pampering night in.

Liz

xo