Beauty Blog - Beauty Geek UK: January 2012

Philips ReAura: Yet Another Update....

After battling my skin for what seemed like an eternity, I am now at a point where I can comfortably ReAura around the couple of spots I have left, so I did! The next post will be up in a couple of days. I'm so sorry I took absolutely ages to start treating again, but it was literally a case of waiting for my skin to stop doing what it wanted to do and to just blimin' well calm down, which it finally has. On the plus side, I have a whole host of new pigmentation so hopefully the ReAura will help with that. Yay!

Boots No7 Airbrush Away Primer

As well as blushes and face masks, another of my recent obsessions is primers. I've tried quite a few different ones recently, but the one I keep coming back to it's the No7 Airbrush Away Primer.

What's most interesting about this primer is that it's kind of a hybrid of a light moisturiser and a primer. It feels slightly nourishing on my skin without any greasy after feel, meaning that, due to my oil-prone skin, I can comfortably get away with using this in place of a moisturiser and a primer without my make-up caking on any dry parts I have, like my cheeks.

Another interesting point that differentiates this from other primers is the fact that it doesn't have that silicone-like feel, it feels much more like a face cream. However, it still does a really good job at priming my skin by evening out my skintone, lightly covering my imperfections and softening the appearance of my pores, so people with fairly good skin could easily get away with using this instead of a base just to perk up their skin.

I wouldn't say this is the absolute best primer available for masking pores, but the fact that it's a really useful multi-tasker and time-saver are a couple of the reasons why I keep using it; it fades them enough so that I don't need to worry about them and for special occasions I use a primer that's specifically for hiding pores over this as the only area I have obvious pores are my cheeks.

I'd say I probably use more of this daily than I do other primers which might work out a little more expensive, especially as it appears to be quite a small tube (30ml) but I don't know whether that's just the appearance as after doing some research, most primers seem to contain around 30ml, if not less!

Not the most helpful of pictures but you can just about make out the primer worked into the skin.

I haven't found this to dry out or breakout my skin, so I'd say it's suitable for most skin types, although I'd say that dry and very dry types would benefit from using this over a moisturiser.

One thing that I really like about this primer is the fact that it sits comfortably under eye make-up and under eye concealer as again this adds to it's multi-use appeal.

I'd definitely say this makes my make-up last longer and it certainly slows down the appearance on oil on my nose and chin, which are my oiliest areas.

Same as above with different lighting.

"Airbrush Away" is definitely a good name for this primer as that's exactly what it does; I noticed this most when I took pictures of my face for another review as all my imperfections looked softer and less pronounced. I'm definitely a fan and will continue to use this under my make-up. Airbrush Away Primer is available in-store and at the Boots website here for £19.50. There's currently a 3for2 promotion on certain No7 products including this one, so if you fancy trying out this or anything from the new No7 Beautiful Skin range, now's the time!

*PR Sample

Mac Powder Blush in Mocha

I've made no secret of my obsession with all things pink, and this extends to my ongoing obsession with blushers. I really love a pop of bright pink on the cheeks, but it's a bit of a high maintenance look and if I'm pushed for time or just really can't be bothered, I turn instead to a blusher that is a closer replication of my natural flushed look.

I'm not a fan of anything too brown for lips or cheeks, but Mac's Mocha has just enough brown to keep my look natural, but also just enough pink to keep my pink craving quiet.

Mocha is a matte shade that results in a medium yet still rosy colour payoff. As with all Mac blushes, it's highly pigmented yet very blendable. The most important thing for me is that it looks completely natural, meaning I don't need to carefully apply it and blend it as it sits comfortably on the skin and looks genuine.

It's worth noting that it looks a lot browner in the pan than on my skin as you can see in the swatches.

I have pale skin (I'm neutral and half way between the Mac colour spectrum so 15 is too pale and 20 is too dark...fun!) and this works as a really effective colour to lift my complexion just enough, without looking like I'm wearing blush. Also, there isn't any red tones in it at all, making it great for anyone who has any red angry spots or post-acne scars as this won't accentuate or draw attention to them.

So it's safe to say that this is my go-to blush for days when I'm taking it easy or enjoying a few more minutes in bed.

It's available at the Mac store here for £17.50.

Living Nature Cleansing Clay Peel

I first became aware of Living Nature when they included 3 samples of their products in Decembers Feel Unique Box. Recently I was given the opportunity to sample the range further, so I visited the Living Nature website to be faced with a gigantic range of products that cater to a huge amount of issues and all skin types. I was seriously blown away by the massive amount of options available, so it was very tricky to narrow down the products I wanted to try!

The Cleansing Clay Peel is a clay peel designed to absorb all sorts of skin nasties whilst exfoliating the skin. You apply it sparingly, allow it to dry and then rub it off. I tread carefully with clay masks as I hate the way they dry, crack and start falling off all over the place, but this applies in a really thin layer that doesn't crack at all.

The mask comes in individual packs which I'm not usually a fan of as I don't like the idea of being told that the purchase I made is only good for six uses, but I think Living Nature have paid attention to this kind of reaction as there are ten sachets of the mask included so you'll get ten masks in total.

I inaccurately predicted how long it would take to dry as I thought it would be the standard 10-15 minutes, so I planned to remove my nail varnish during the drying time, but it actually took a matter of minutes to go tacky meaning that it was ready to be removed. Once dry, the mask was quite tight which is typical of a clay mask so I was worried it would take some serious effort to remove. However, I was pleasantly surprised that it buffed off really easily. The directions suggest that you hold the skin with one hand whilst rubbing the mask off in a upwards direction, but I found it easier to move in circles across my face until it was all off. When you're buffing it off, it comes off like a dust and leaves a slight clay film on your face, but this is easily removed with either water or a toner/cleansing water. I had a couple of dried out spots that the mask clung too, so I involved my exfoliating sponge to buff these bits off and it worked a treat, although I think the use of the sponge was more due to my lack of patience rather than a necessity.

Another good look for me, I'm sure you'll agree....

After the mask, my skin was seriously smooth; easily smoother than I'd experienced from other masks or exfoliators. My skin looked more even and much less oily, but it didn't look stripped of moisture or dried out. I would highly recommend this as a treatment mask for anyone with very oily, oily or blemish-prone skin as it's a very effective clay based mask and certainly one of the better ones I've tried. It also really smooths over the skin surface and if you add that to the fact that it's an easy to use treatment that only takes a few minutes to apply and dry, this'd make a great pre-night out mask to get troubled skin behaving and smoothed over in time for make-up application.

I believe this mask wouldn't suit anyone with very dry skin as whilst it didn't dry my skin out, it did absorb the oiliness really effectively and of course if you're prone to dryness then that's not what you want!

All in all I'd definitely recommend this as an effective treatment mask for anyone with oily or blemish-prone skin. The application is easy and you don't have to deal with the typical 'cracking face' that often comes with clay based masks, therefore I'll definitely be adding this to my at home facial regime. It costs £18.40 for 10 sachets and is available at the Living Nature online store here.

*PR Sample

Bobbi Brown Neons and Nudes: First Look

My beloved Bobbi Brown launched a new collection called Neons and Nudes today, and whilst I'm not really a fan of the Neons, I'm pretty much in love with the Nudes. I bought the Nude Pink blush today and my lovely boyfriend bought me the Nude palette this evening! I had a quick look at the Nude Peach blush (there's two in the collection) and I found it a little too orange for me. It's still a pretty peach colour, but I'm all about the pink.

Here's a couple of pictures of the Ultra Nude Pallete:

So far I'm really loving the look of the palette; both the packaging and the shades are right up my street. I love the neon pink housing and the neutral shades are gorgeous. I'm especially excited about Champagne Truffle (second from the right) as my go to eye shadow is BB's Champagne, so I'm hoping they'll pair together perfectly....not that that would be particularly tricky as the brilliance of nudes is that they all tend to work together (with the very occasional exception) so you can create customised eyes with ease.

This palette is priced at £39 and is available at the Bobbi Brown online store here.

Next we have the Nude Pink Blush:

The packaging for the blushes in this collection are the same as the rest of the BB range, but the paleness of this pink is quite a change. It's a matte finish and swatches to a rich pigment that blends almost creamily. I really can't wait to test run this tomorrow! It retails for £18 and can be purchased here.

Regular readers will know that I was obsessed with finding the palest pink blush I could get my hands on, and ended up finding it in Illamasqua's Katie blush. I'll swatch these together when I do the full review.

First impressions are excellent and I'm really loving the Nude aspect of this collection.

NOTD Kooky Zebra Pink and Silver

To continue both my obsession with Nail Wraps and my hunt for the perfect wrap, I decided to invest in a few more designs from the fab catalogue at Kooky Nails.

These wraps are applied in the usual way; peel and stick, trim and file and there's no heating necessary which I much prefer; in fact I'm yet to try a brand that does require heating, so maybe I should for the sake of comparison.

At first I thought these were really easy to apply as they're nice and thin and fairly pliable, but unfortunately they don't bounce back after you stretch them which isn't ideal if you consider that stretching wraps is absolutely essential to get a decent fit. Having said that, I do like these and even though they're quite prone to creasing (due to the stretching issue) it doesn't show up too badly once they're in place.

They feel a little on the flimsy side which worried me as I thought they might peel off, but they seem to have stuck well for the past 24 hours with no sign of peeling. One thing I didn't like was the lack of size choice; there seemed to be either absolutely huge wraps of fairly small ones available and I found that a few of them didn't fit the nail properly. I realise you can trim them down, but I'd prefer to have more of a variety of sizes available to choose from.

Most importantly, you're not left with scratchy nails which I personally really hate; this put me off other brands of wraps that I tried. However, what you are left with are tips that wear quite easily, as demonstrated by this pic:

As you can see, the tips have worn a bit. It's not terrible and certainly not obvious, but when I'm examining them closely I can see the wear.

I really love this design. I'm not used to such a shiny finish, but it is very eye catching and I've had lots of lovely compliments. I'll definitely try Kooky nails again as they do some of the loveliest designs I've seen and I think that with a bit of practice I could get the hang of smoothing them without stretching them too much.

The wraps in this review are called Zebra Pink and Silver and are available here for £5 plus VAT.

Chanel Rouge Coco Shine Royallieu Dupe?

My obsession with Chanel's Royallieu continues and I've found a few similar shades that I thought I'd share. I've tried to take these pictures in various different lights to give you an idea of how they look.

From left to right in all pictures: Palladio Tinted Lip Balm* in Cotton Candy, Chanel Rouge Coco Shine in Royallieu, Revlon Lip Butters in Cotton Candy and Strawberry Shortcake.

Interestingly, I'd say that the closest match to the Royallieu is the Palladio in Cotton Candy, wouldn't you say? As whilst the Lip Butters are very similar, they're a little more blue-toned. I'm inclined to think that one of the Lip Butters featured here is closer to a Dior Serum I have that I'll be reviewing shortly, so I'll take some dupe shots when I do. As you can see though, the creamy finish is almost identical in all of them, and if you consider that the Chanel retails for £23 whereas the rest of them are under a tenner, these are pretty decent finds!

*PR Sample

Palladio Tinted Lip Balm

I am completely obsessed with lip balm style lip colours. I love Dior Rouge Serum, Revlon Lip Butters and anything else that is both a colour and a treatment in one. This lip balm is such a stand out product as it delivers buildable colour but is first and foremost a lip balm so it's really good at treating dry and cracked lips.

The one I have is in the shade Cotton Candy which is a very pretty pale(ish) pink that can be built to a slightly stronger and brighter pink. It's got the tiniest hint of sparkle and is pretty much neutral in my opinion; it does lean slightly towards peach but only ever so slightly.

According to the blurb it's flavoured with vanilla. I love vanilla but I wouldn't say it's got a strong enough flavour to mention. What it does have is UVA and UVB protection which is fab, especially if you consider how reasonably priced it is at £6. There's currently a promotion running making it even cheaper at a fiver, so it really is a fantastic find, both as a lip colour and a lip balm. It comes in nine different colous, all of which can be found at Beauty Naturals here.

Taken in daylight, as used in my FOTD post here.

Taken in artificial light.

I believe this is a really quality dupe for my all time favourite lip colour which is Chanel's Rouge Coco Shine in Royallieu, so I'll be uploading some dupe shots shortly.

*PR Sample

Five Things That I Love (January 2012)

I can't believe it's almost the end of the month and I haven't written my love list! It's been really tricky to narrow it down this month, and I did toy with making a longer list, but then I thought that kind of goes against the whole idea of having a list of five. Anyway! Here's the list of things I haven't been able to live without this month:

1. Boots No7 Airbrush Away Primer*

This is a really fantastic primer that I'll be reviewing fully soon. I've been obsessed with primers for a good few months with varying levels of success, but I'd say this one is the most that lives up to its claims the most. The fact that you don't really need a moisturiser underneath makes this a great time-saver and definitely a worthy addition to my love list. It costs £19.50 and is available at Boots here.

2. Revlon Lip Butters

Even though I've only had these a few days, these had to make the love list as they are just amazing. The colours are bright and flattering and the finish is just beautiful. I'm trying not to obsess too much about them but it's safe to say that I'm really looking forward to their UK launch on my birthday on 14th March.

3. Savar Advanced Hand Repair*

I receive a lot of lovely goodies to try out and as a consequence, I end up putting my favourites aside to try out other things and eventually forgetting about the things I love to use. This hand cream is so fantastically nourishing - easily the most nourishing out of all my hand creams - and yet it's absorbed within minutes leaving me with seriously softened hands with no residue. I'm doing my best to focus on my hands and nails more as part of my NY resolution (which is going well so far, I'm pleased to add!) and this cream is definitely back at the top of my list of favourites. It costs £19 and is available at Savar's online shop here.

4. Bioderma Sensibo Micelle Solution

My skin has been on a major freak-out lately, although it's definitely much better and I'm starting to reintroduce more products again (more on that in another post) but one thing that has been absolutely amazing is this Micelle Solution. It's the absolute best eye make-up remover I've ever used, it seriously just melts everything away in a couple of swipes and yet is so gentle that you'd never believe how effective it actually is without trying it yourself. The fact that it can be used on the inner eye for removing tightlining just makes this a firm essential in my beauty kit.

5. 17 Peep Show Mascara*

I'll confess to never really giving 17 make-up the time of day as I have such ridiculously expensive tastes that it didn't occur to me to try out 17's mascaras. I got sent a couple of items to try and the stand out product is this mascara. Not only am I in love with the packaging (it's pink and lacy so inevitably I'm a fan) but it's actually really effective at delivering full, long yet natural looking lashes. Full review coming soon, but I did use this on my Face of the Day which can be found here (scroll down for the zoom-in on the lashes). Peep Show is available at Boots here for £6.29.

*PR Samples

Revlon Lip Butters Full Review (GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED)

As mentioned here yesterday, I've very luckily had the chance to try some of the Revlon Lip Butters that have been causing a storm in America. I've been working my way through all of them today (I've kept five) and I really do love them. Firstly, when I started using them this morning I had really dry lips and without using any lipbalm they've completely eradicated the dryness, so as a treatment they work wonderfully. The finish is creamy, glossy without being OTT and feels so much like Chanel Rouge Coco that I doubt I'll be buying the Chanel ones again, especially as there are so many amazing shades in this range.

I've tried to take some decent pictures but unfortunately the front facing camera on my phone has taken images that are a bit fuzzy so my lip pictures aren't as clear as I'd like them to be. Here's a run through of the colours I've tried, going lightest to darkest:

Strawberry Shortcake

This is a beautiful pale pink with with a slight blue tone.

It has tiny flecks of gold in it, making it very similar to Chanel Rouge Coco in Royallieu (my absolute favourite from the range).

It's a slightly vinyl pink that wears well both sheer and built-up.

Cotton Candy

This is another of my favourites (although it's difficult to choose as I really love them all!) as it's another very pretty pink.

I really struggle to tell whether this one has shimmer or not and I've tried swatching it in various lights; some lights looks a bit like it contains shimmer but if it does then it's incredibly subtle.

This is incredibly similar to Strawberry Shortcake, but just slightly less blue toned and definitely less shimmery.

Cherry Tart

This is a really vibrant red with an impressive payoff for such a nourishing formula.

It's definitely more blue-toned than orange toned which thankfully works really well with my pale skin tone.

This is another shade that's really buildable, so you can apply it lightly for a hint of red, or build it up for a true pop of colour.

Berry Smoothie

This is more of a pinky red that's really flattering and quite sophisticated (in my humble opinion!).

In the tube it looks like a dark, moody red, but it wears as a medium berry colour which I personally really love.

I personally like this as a daytime work look as I think it's polished without being too over the top.

Sugar Plum

This is a deep plum shade with a very slight hint of pink.

This looks a lot more intimidating in the tube than it actually is, but it's another very buildable shade so it could be built-up to a really deep plummy pink.

This is probably the colour I'll get the least wear out, mainly because it's a little too dark for me. It's still a very pretty shade though and not one I'll write-off easily. I think this is the perfect shade for when you can't face doing a full face of make-up, but need to look like you've made an effort as whilst it isn't a wow colour, it definitely has enough of a punch to draw attention to the lips without overpowering the face.

I really cannot wait for these to launch here (which will be on 14th March) as I'm so impressed with them and I can't wait to stock up on the other shades.

I have a sealed and unswatched Lip Butter to giveaway to one lucky BeautyGeekUK reader. The shade I have is Tutti Frutti and if you fancy having a look at a swatch and an on the lips picture, have a look here.

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