Bio-Oil

Bio-Oil is not a new product but I feel that it doesn't get the attention it deserves. I love multi purpose products and this definitely falls into that category.  Bio-Oil is a mix of plant oils and vitamins that has been clinically proven to do what it says on the box.

It's great for fading acne scars, stretch marks and keeping skin looking good. I always find oils a bit fiddle-y to apply so I tend to put a few drops in the bath.  I'm not a fan of the smell, or the packaging but the effects are quite impressive so the small cons are easy enough to overlook. 

I have tried a non-branded "Bio-Oil" and I didn't get along with it as well although it is definitely a good alternative if you are on a very tiny budget. It's not expensive in comparison to some moisturisers that don't do anywhere near as much for your skin. You can find Bio-Oil here for £5.99.

Top tip: add a few drops to your bath for smooth, supple and moist skin!

Xo

MAC Carbon Eyeshadow

I really don't use  black eyeshadow enough, which is mainly to do with the 5 minutes I allow myself to do my make up each morning and also because I tend to neglect anything that's not in my Urban Decay Naked Palette. MAC Carbon is a matte eyeshadow which actually makes a better addition to a make up collection than a glitter shadow. It's such a versatile product, it can be used for setting gel liner, as a liner or for the perfect dark smokey eye.

It's not the most pigmented shadow in the world and I do expect a bit more from MAC but its very workable. I prefer a less pigmented shadow because I can be a bit heavy handed and black is not a colour thats easy to clean up if I make a mistake. It's long lasting and doesn't crease, and I highly recommend using a primer underneath. 

What do you think of MAC's Carbon eyeshadow?

Xo

NOTD Chanel Gondola

I've been a bit slack with blogging the last couple of weeks, I have been working so much overtime and actually making an effort to be sociable and make some friends in Paris which has left me little time to do anything online (aside from watch the Hollyoaks omnibus).  It's been very on/off Spring the last couple of weeks and a shimmery deep pinky-red is the perfect colour for this transitional season. This is Chanel's Gondala 499 which I think was part of a limited edition collection because I can't find it online. It is very expensive for a nail varnish but it's such a classic colour which assuaged my guilt a bit. 

It is fairly opaque after one coat, but after 2 it's perfect. Mine is fairly uneven because I was being sloppy and not doing this lovely polish justice. 

What colour's on your nails this week?

Xo

Bumble Bumble Curl Conscious Smoothing Shampoo & Conditioner

I normally am pretty faithful to Aussie shampoo and conditioner but recently I have had a lot of product buildup and they weren't really doing anything for my naturally curly hair. I've wanted to try Bumble Bumble Curl Conscious Smoothing Shampoo and Conditioner for a while to see how well they suit my hair.

The shampoo felt like it was really cleansing and was easy to rinse out, which is always a bonus. The conditioner wasn't as rich as I would usually like but it was still very nourishing and if and when I need something more heavy duty, I can always use a hair mask. The shampoo and conditioner aim to form more shapely curls and I <think> its the glycerin that allows it to do that. 

My hair is usually a mass of tight curls, loose waves and frizz all in one. At the moment, i'm in dire need of a haircut so it doesn't really have much shape to it (aside from triangular). As soon as i'd removed the towel from my head I could see that my curls where a lot more uniform which is ideal because I usually have to straighten and re-curl my hair before I am happy with how it looks- this is awful for my hair and I love the fact that I've finally found some products that can help me avoid heat damage and wear my hair in its' natural state. 

There was a bit of residual frizz but I don't think I will ever be able to do anything about that! A quick slick of serum and my hair was good to go.

Neither of the products weighed my hair down, as is often the case with curly hair products and I'm keen to explore more of the Bumble and Bumble Curl Conscious product line.

I would highly recommend this range for any naturally curly girls in need of a smoothing helping-hand. If you'd like to try either of these products the shampoo is £18.50 and the conditioner is available for £20. 

Xo

John Frieda Frizz-Ease 3-Day Straight

I finally bought the John Frieda Frizz-Ease 3-Day Straight spray last month after wanting to try it for years. It kept getting pushed to the bottom of my wish list and when I spotted it for 50% during the sales I went for it. I wish I had bought this sooner because it has meant that I spend less time faffing styling my hair everyday and I haven't had to touch up with straighteners nearly as often. 

There are some definite pros to using this every time I wash my hair, curly-haired girls will know that washing, drying and styling hair (if you wear it straight) can eat up a lot of time, even more if your hair is long and thick like mine. I can usually get away with washing my hair every 3 days but the style never holds that long. I usually wake up with some kinks and maybe a random ringlet somewhere and this spray has really helped. My hair did not stay poker straight for 3 days, no product could ever make it do so- especially because my hair never straightens to be super super straight anyway. 

By day 2 my hair was still straight but had a bit more shape to it around my face, which I quite liked and by day 3 it was ever so slightly wavy. My main problem with this product is how heavy it made my hair feel. I didn't even use the recommended amount on the bottle and my hair felt sticky- almost like I hadn't rinsed the conditioner out properly. I have used this spray about 8 or 9 times now and I keep meaning to take before and after photos and always forget one or the other! After this going on for over a month I've given up and you'll just have to take my word for it ;)

I found it had a similar hold to a light hairspray as well, which was good for keeping the flyaways in check. John Frieda Frizz-Ease 3-Day Straight is supposedly 'semi-permanent' which is laughable because that just means temporary whilst implying its super long lasting. Yes, it does make a difference, but by no means is it miraculous. I like the fact that it contains heat-protectant and it made my hair quite glossy. 

I would recommend this if you're looking to cut down on the amount of time you spend styling and want to make your straight hair last that little bit longer. You can buy it here for £6.99.

Xo

March Picks// Wednesday Wishlist// Home Edition

1- Pantone Universe Coffee Maker, Amazon £19.95 This stove-top coffee maker is gorgeous and as a coffee lover, I love experimenting with different coffee-making processes. Our furnished flat came with a silver one but it's missing the coffee colander-type-thingy so we can't use it! Consequently I have never made coffee with one of these :( I love Pantone, I have an unhealthy obsession with anything Pantone actually, and my kitchen stuff back in England is all pink & blue so this would fit in perfectly. 2- Lappljung Ruta Cushion Cover, IKEA £9 I love geometric patterns, and this Ikea beauty ticks all my boxes. I really do have a ridiculous amount of cushions, and I seem to pick up more every time I go to Ikea, but a couple more can't hurt, can they?
3- Edge Wine Glasses, Crate & Barrel £10.31 each Eagle-eyed Gossip Girl watchers may have seen similar wine & champagne glasses in the Van Der Woodsen home, they always wapped them out at brunch. I've been in love with them ever since and although wine glasses certainly aren't something in short supply chez moi, these would complete any table setting.  4- Round  Bread Basket, ZARA Home €9.99 I'm sure Ikea make something similar, but I can't get over the novelty of Zara Home. Everything is so cute and I wish I could buy the entire contents of the   Champs-Élysées store. I probably wouldn't use it for break (low carb misery) but maybe to store toiletries.  5- Narrow Acrylic Drawers, MUJI £7.95 I recently bought these from Muji because fishing around in my make up bag everyday was driving me mad. As I will not be here forever, it seemed silly to buy the long, big drawers. I can fit the vast majority of my make up that I have with me here in these 2 drawers but another two would make it a little neater. Muji is also more expensive here, which i'm not impressed with- I paid nearly €13 for these.  6- Le Creuset Shallow Casserole, John Lewis £160 Le Creuset is really top of the food chain when it comes to cook ware. I truly want everything, but it's ever so slightly (ha!) out of my budget for the time being. They have so many different colours, and a pan for everything. If I could only choose one it would be this one, you could use it for cooking so many things and it would last forever.  What's on your homeware wishlist? Xo

Revlon Colorburst Lacquer & Matte Balms

I have been lusting after these beauties for what feels like ages, I have been madly commenting on other bloggers posts about these about how jealous I am etc etc because for some reason I was convinced that Revlon was not available in France. Today I was heading into Monoprix to pick up some strawberries and lo and behold, they had Revlon! Not only that but there was €2 off, taking them from €9.99 to €7.99- making them cheaper than in the UK.

I talked myself into buying two, because I couldn't possibly choose between lacquer and matte as well as narrowing down the shades. I felt really smug until I remembered at least in Boots, I would have had a 3rd one free.

I went for 210 Unaplogetic (Sans Remords) in the Matte Balm and 120 Vivacious (Exubérante) in the Lacquer Balm. I swatched all of the available shades and Vivacious seemed like the least sheer of the bunch that I liked the look of and Unapologetic was the only shade that put me out of my comfort zone but that would still suit my colouring. I want to try bolder lip looks for spring/summer so this is a welcome addition.

  

Wearing Revlon Colorburst Matte Balm in Unapologetic

Revlon Colorburst Lacquer Balm in Vivacious

Please excuse the state of me, I've got basically no make up on here- I'd just gotten in from work and the lighting in my flat is beyond horrendous. I've still not quite mastered the art of the selfie and I am aware of my ridiculousness. I also had to take these on my iPhone rather than using my camera because all the photos looked really yellow and didn't portray the shades very well which is why the quality is so awful!

On the left is the Matte Unapologetic and the right is the Lacquer balm in Vivacious. 

If you're in the UK and want to get your hands on these, they are available here for £7.99.

I really like the texture, they apply very smoothly and feel quite rich and nourishing. I love the minty scent, it's very refreshing. The matte balm, being matte, is less not very forgiving on dry lips but I haven't found it to be at all drying in itself. They are not super long lasting and not particularly kiss proof but I'm keen to try more colours because I love the high shine effect of the lacquer balm and matte colours look so much more grown up somehow. The colours are extremely buildable so I can use these for a subtle hint of colour or a statement lip. The packaging is adorable, the fact that the lacquer balm is shiny and the matte balm tube is matte, is too cute. They are obviously very similar to the Clinique chubby sticks but seem just that little bit more girly & feminine. 

What you you think of the Revlon Colorburst Balms?

Xo

My Week In Pictures

I've finally started using the Instagram account I made over a year ago, and although we share almost all social media accounts for the blog, this isn't really one of them. It just isn't practical with Jasmine living near London and me in Paris so this will most likely be 100% me. I finally have a phone that can cope with Instagram (see ya Blackberry Bold that has given me jip since 2010) so I'll be instagramming quite a bit from here on out.

If you'd like to follow us on Instagram, you can do so here, it's @beautypblog.

I've had quite a jam packed week, with a friend visiting me on the weekend followed by 6 days of work. I had a bit of an awakening the other day and realised that I am in one of the most beautiful, and most visited, cities in the world and I won't be here forever so I should take advantage of it whilst I can. I've been going for a fair few walks and because I live so centrally, I get to see some really stunning landmarks and architecture. 

From L-R:

1- This one needs no explanation, on one of the last days of winter the weather was perfect for a stroll through the Champ de Mars.

2- I thought there was only one 'love lock' bridge in Paris but it would seem there are two, this was on Pont de L'Archevêché which is right by Notre Dame.

3- I love cooking, but I don't have an oven in this flat so I have to make do by vicariously living through recipe books. This beauty has pretty photos and some useful recipes for me to try out in the future. 

4- I went to the Jardin d'Acclimatation in the bois de Boulogne with my visitor, which is basically like a mini farm-y zoo with a kids theme park inside. 

5- There's tonnes of street art in this area of paris, and Beaubourg is home to this beast. 

6- I started a carb-restrictive diet this week and this was one of my least boring meals; pancetta w. brussels sprouts, chicken breast and a spinach cream sauce. 

7- The view from Place de la Concorde as the sun was setting. I love getting little peeps of the Eiffel Tower from different parts of the city.

8- Café Pouchekine is my new favourite Pâtisserie, their macarons are better than Ladurée's and this giant took me ages to munch through. It definitely made a perfect last sweet treat before low-carbing.

9- This is the hot chocolate we had from Angelina's in the Jardin d'Acclimatation. Service was very different to in the Rue de Rivoli tea room, it was almost like a canteen but it was half the price  (€5) for the heavenly l'africain hot chocolate. 

If you want to read more about my little parisian adventure, follow my other blog all about life in Paris here.

Xo

30 Tips To Show-Stopping MakeUp: Tip 8 - Imperfections? What Imperfections?

Totally forgot about this series of posts I started doing! Well I got to Tip #7.. so here's #8!

Going through the effort of covering  up spots and lines everyday is a nightmare! Applying foundation then going over the imperfections with a smaller brush and your heavy-duty concealer... I'm tired of it.. but it's a nightmare we all must suffer at some point in our lives... Or is it?

 Usually when covering redness or spots around the nose and cheeks or covering bags with the standard beigey concealer makes the area look muddy and unattractive. Especially if your concealer does not match your foundation or if it's not the right consistency!

What you need to remember is.. Opposite colours cancel themselves out. So if it’s a red area you want to hide, use a green-pigmented concealer. I use my Natural Collection Corrector Stick (£1.99).. like a lipstick tube, apply it in the red areas to bring the colour back to a neutral beige. No7 also do a really good one in Green and Lavender.

A Lavender colour is often used to conceal any yellow tones you don't want.

A Yellow concealer is used to hide blacks and blue (works well on bruises) and dark circles under the eyes.

Orange/peach concealer covers blueish bags and dark spots. 

Use a white eyeliner on the inside corners and inner lower lash to cancel out the appearance of bloodshot eyes - great trick for use after a night out!

And finally.. if you're after a super smooth finish, ensure you use primer before you use foundation & concealer. A great primer is POREfessional by Benefit (£24.50 for regular size/£29.50 for larger size).

My favourite all-over beige concealer by far has to be MAC Pro Longwear Concealer in NC30 (obviously everyone's a different colour though) which is £15.50.

You can find all of these coloured corrector sticks at your local Boots, Superdrug, Debenhams etc or any other store that sells makeup! Ask someone for help if you can't find them, they're not always in obvious packaging (the Natural Collection one for example!) But you'll find a great one, whatever your price range!

NOTD: Hema Long Lasting Nailpolish in 804

Hema is literally my new obsession, it's kind of like Dutch Ikea but just the marketplace area plus toiletries, stationery and some food. Basically, my favourite kind of place for bits and bobs. I have avoided buying any of the cosmetics because, (i'm a cosmetics snob) and it looks a teeny bit dodgy. Everything is very cheap and I when I spotted the nail varnishes I knew I had to try one. At just €2.50 this was a real bargain. 

Hema is quite a budget store, so i'm not really surprised that the colour doesn't have a name, just a number; 804. It's a lovely middle, bright pink which is perfect for S/S. It's glossy and was perfectly opaque after 2 coats- you could probably get away with just one but i'm a little cack-handed and tend to miss tiny strips on the sides on my first coat!

I cannot attest to the longevity of this 'long lasting' polish just yet, but I haven't used a top coat here. My nails don't tend to last very long though, and I even break them several times a week. Perks of washing your hands in an OCD fashion! I will definitely be adding a few of these to my collection, they had loads of great, bright colours. Hema have stores in the Netherlands and France, not too sure about elsewhere. If you want to get your hands on this polish from within France, you can find them here. 

Xo