Beauty Blog - Beauty Geek UK: July 2012

Love Your Skin Skincare

Love Your Skin range

Today saw the launch of a new range of skincare which combines "the best that nature has to offer, perfected by science". I absolutely love that philosophy as I do believe that good skincare takes elements from natural ingredients as well as making use of scientific development.

The range is developed by skincare expert, Lorraine Winslade, who created the line to treat, complement and assist the skin in its normal, everyday functions to optimise both its appearance and performance.

Love Your Skin Apothecary Set.

The line is quite small which I personally prefer from a new company as whenever a new line lands and it has too many products, I always wonder how it was possible to put adequate time and thought into developing each, individual product effectively.

Love your Skin Intensive Hydra Gel Moisturiser.

Price wise it's mid-range, with the cheapest product being the Floral Hydrating Spritzer at £19.99 and the most expensive being the rather charming Apothecary Set at £75 (with a value of £120) which contains four serums and the Intensive Hydra Gel Moisturiser, allowing you to customise your daily skincare routine depending on your skins requirements. The rest of the range comes in between £20-£40.

Love Your Skin Complete Cleansing Water.

The Intensive Hydra Gel Moisturiser is the product I'm most interested in, as my skin responds really well to gel formulas, but I also like the sound of the Complete Cleansing Water.

Everything is available now at the Love Your Skin website.

Lust List

Very occasionally there are times when there are lots of things I'm lusting after, but due to a busy schedule, I don't get a chance to actually purchase them. Normally it doesn't take long before I find the time, but at the moment things are so ca-razy that I've built-up quite a shopping list.

Therefore, I thought I'd share with you the things that I'm currently pining after. I might do this as a fairly regular post, and of course it'll come with the obligatory Photoscape collage as shown above...

Illamasqua Alter Ego Mystery Selection Box

Queen Enabler, Mrs BBB, mentioned this on a recent blog post and I absolutely love the concept of it; you get six full sized products with a value of £91.50 for £38, but the catch is that you only know what two of the products are, and the rest are surprises. In all likeliness this could just be a clever way of Illamasqua getting rid of their less-popular stock, but I don't care; I want it! It's only available at Debenhams here.

Body Shop Vineyard Peach Range

This hasn't been released yet, but that doesn't stop me coveting it any less. I absolutely love peaches; both to eat and to smell, and I can't think of anything better than a range of products that'll scent me with the mouth-watering aroma of peaches. This range doesn't launch until September which I think is a real shame as peach is such a summery fruit!

Skindinavia No More Shine Make-up Finish

I'm yet to find a bad review about this range of make-up setting sprays from Skindinavia. There are several variants available to suit all skin types and apparently the No More Shine version does a great job of not only keeping make-up in its place, but also controlling shine without drying the skin out. It also apparently leaves skin with a great finish, so I really, really want it!

OPI Minnie Minis Summer Mini Pack

I'm a sucker for OPI Mini packs as I love having little tasters of lots of different colours. The Minnie Collection is all about Minnie Mouse, meaning that the line consists of a few key feminine brights and a rather gorgeous varnish that contains little pink hearts! Unfortunately the hearts varnish doesn't seem to be included in the mini kit, which is a bit of a shame. Having had a hunt around, I've found it for £9.71 all in at Rush, so it's safe to say I'll be buying this soon and will swatch on arrival.

Sanctuary Deep Cleanse Facial-in-a-Box

I mentioned this kit aaages ago when it first came out and for some reason I never quite get around to trying it. I think it's because I have so many facial bits and bobs to work my way through that it seems a bit ridiculous to purchase something that I clearly don't need (although that's hardly typical beauty fanatic logic!) but I just really like the idea of a facial box aimed specifically at my skin type. I'll inevitably cave soon...

Bobbi Brown Desert Twilight Eye Palette

Do I really need another nude eye palette? Obviously not, but I still really want this one and can't stop thinking about it. I've held off so far (very proud of myself) but I feel my willpower waning so it isn't looking good. In this palette there are eight shades of varying finishes, all of which aim to create the "tawny skin glow that happens just before dusk". I'm not really sure what that means, but I know I want in. Priced at £48.

Balmi Lip Balm

These are about to land at Boots and I just think they're too cute! I love the shape, I think the application will be novel and easy, but most importantly, they have a raspberry flavoured version and I love raspberries (almost as much as peaches) so I'll definitely be trying this. I carry around a lot of rubbish in my HUGE handbag, so something that will stand out from the fifty thousand other lip products I insist on lugging about will also be really handy. Priced at £4.99

Sleek Glory i-Divine Palette

This is 'such' a cute palette that contains all sorts of brights that I would normally avoid. I've developed a bit of a thing for the idea of red eyeshadow (I have no idea why as it's hardly known as a flattering colour and I'll need to make sure I'm well slept before trying to experiment!) and there are some truly vivid brights included, along with some very workable pales, all for the bargain price of £7.99. I've never tried anything from Sleek before, so I think this'd make a great introduction.

OCC Lip Tars

This is another product that I've read soooo much about, yet not had the chance to try out. The colour range is phenomenal and I really like the idea of a product that really stains the lips in a buildable fashion. A lot of stains seem to be limited to berry shades (I guess that's any easy colour to force into a stain?) but the huge array of colours available in Lip Tars is very cool. The shade I'm going to start with is Pretty Boy and all shades are priced at £9.50.

Rimmel Wake Me Up Concealer

The Rimmel Wake Me Up foundation seemed to do pretty well review-wise, and whilst I haven't tried it myself, when a company describes a concealer as full-coverage I need to try it to establish if it's true. It contains a moisturising complex which I'm thinking could be quite good for spots that are drying out (either that or it'll make them worse...we'll see) and whilst I doubt it'll prove a worthy competitor to my Vichy Dermablend, it can't hurt to try, right? Priced at £5.99, if it's any good it'll be quite the bargain.

So there are far too many products on my wish list but it's nice to have a goal and whilst I probably (PROBABLY) won't end up buying all of the aforementioned items, I'm excited to start working my way through the list.

Super Facialist Tea Flower Deep Clean Mattifying Moisturiser

Super Facialist by Una Brennan recently launched a small range of products at Boots, with plans to launch the rest of the range next month. For more info, have a look at my intro post here. Part of the range includes a line of Tea Flower Deep Clean products which are designed for problem skins like mine, so I've been trying out the Mattifying Moisturiser.

Firstly, apologies for the manky packaging but my Pug took a shine to the tube and decided to try and eat it, as you do. The dominant ingredients in this moisturiser are green tea and salicylic acid, as well as watercress, horsetail and nettle. After years of not being a fan of salicylic acid, I've recently come to love it (thanks to Etat Pur) so I was happy to see it included in a moisturiser.

The green tea scent works really well in this; it's pretty reminiscent of Elizabeth Arden's Green Tea EDT which I personally don't like as a perfume, but as a facial treatment it's refreshing and gentle without overpowering at all. The moisturiser itself is surprisingly thick considering it's aimed at problem skin types, but I'm personally a fan of this as I don't think all oily/problem skin by default need a moisturiser that's thin and light and this one feels really moisturising without leaving a residue.

It's difficult to tell whether this is an effective standalone treatment, but it's definitely a good, solid moisturiser that sits well under make-up, moisturises really effectively and leaves a matte finish. The only thing it's missing is an SPF, but for £12.99 this is a great day cream that comfortably rivals its more expensive competitors.

Currently available online and in store at Boots.

Disclosure: PR Sample sent for the purpose of this review.

Leticia Haute Coiffure Summer Nail Colours

To celebrate the Olympics, Leticia Haute Coiffure have launched a manicure special encompassing five Essie shades that coordinate with the Olympic shades and these are Coral Reef (red), Shifting Power (yellow), Lapiz of Luxury (blue), Cocktail Bling (grey) and Navigate Her (green).

I was invited back to Leticia Haute Coiffure to sample the summer nail colours and have my rather neglected feet tended to with a Spa Pedicure. Regular readers will remember my first visit to LHC when I met the fabulous Pierre who did wonderful things to my hair which can be seen on my review here. All the staff at LHC are absolutely lovely so I was keen to go back, but nothing excited me quite as much as the opportunity to see Jack, Pierre's ridiculously cute King Charles Spaniel, again and the boy has grown! He's HUGE now! I couldn't believe it was the same dog when I saw him, but thankfully he recognised me immediately, and like old friends, we caught up during my pedicure:

Leticia Haute Coiffure is split into two sections with one side being the hair salon and the other side being more focused on beauty. The main part of the beauty section has a couple of workstations for manicures and a large, raised sofa-bench for the pedicures with several foot baths beneath. I really liked the set-up for the pedicures as it was comfortable and easy to just drop my feet in and allow my feet to soak. The Spa Pedicure is a standard pedicure with the addition of a Paraffin Wax treatment (to soften hard skin) and a Callous Peel which involves placing thin strips of pre-soaked material on to areas of hard skin which are then left for a while to dissolve any roughness. The Spa Pedicure was indulgent, pampering and most importantly, comfortable for the whole duration of the treatment. The colour I chose for my nails is Essie's Secret Stash.

After my pedicure, I had my Nail-Ympics manicure which was a standard manicure that followed the usual manicure process of cuticle removal, nail shape, massage and colour. Unfortunately by the time we moved on to my manicure I was running seriously late for my next appointment, so I had to rush through it so I could get going! The colour I chose was Essie's Lapis of Luxury which I absolutely love as it's a slightly purple toned blue that's really pretty whilst being something a bit different.

Just like my last visit to LHC, I enjoyed copious cups of choco-milk along with some chocolate nibbles and biscuits. I won't go into too much detail about the salon itself as I covered it in my last review, but it really is a lovely place to visit with friendly staff who make a real effort to make you feel welcome and pampered without overdoing it. I've really enjoyed both appointments at the salon and it already feels like I'm visiting old friends each time I return.

The Spa Pedicure costs £70 and the summer colours manicure is at the special price of £20.12 (I'm sure you can work out why!) for the duration of the Olympics. More information can be found by visiting the Leticia Haute Coiffure site.

Disclosure: treatments provided for the purpose of this review.

Dove Damage Therapy Volume Boost Shampoo and Conditioner

Up until recently my go-to hair wash products have been the ones from the Apivita Propoline range, as reviewed here. I've run out of conditioner and haven't been able to locate it at my local M&S (although apparently it'll be arriving soon) so I was at a loss as to what to use to tide me over.

I've always had a soft spot for Dove as I love the fact that the products all contain high levels of moisturising ingredients. There was once a time when I was using Dove head-to-toe as I really love their products. I used to use the Dove hair care range when I had one of my ill-conceived perms (good for the first day, frizzy mess from the first wash onwards) as their moisturising hair products were fantastic for taming the dryness. I wasn't aware they'd added a volumising range to their line of hair products, but as soon as I saw them, I had to give them a go.

I'm a typical consumer in that if I buy a new hair cleanser, I need the set; so I always buy a shampoo and conditioner together rather than use a shampoo from one line and a conditioner from another. I rarely find shampoo and conditioner sets that make much difference to the volume of my hair and this set is no exception. However, what I do seek in hair care are products that won't weigh my hair down and will instead leave it soft without being too slippery and with a healthy shine and these two products do exactly that.

Above shampoo ingredients, below conditioner ingredients.

Unfortunately I don't know how much these are as they don't seem to be available on the Boots website, but they're definitely at the cheaper end of the spectrum and I believe each product is less than £4 each.

Disclosure: paid for by me.

Sk:n Laser Hair Removal: Treatment Three

A couple of weeks ago I had the third treatment of laser hair removal at Sk:n on my underarms. I'll be having six treatments in total, so we're about half way through now. I have a treatment roughly once every six weeks, meaning that it's been 18 weeks since my first treatment. I'd say that I've only had to shave my underarms about 4 times in that duration, bearing in mind that I used to be someone who would shave every couple of days; not because there was a lot of hair, but just because I don't like anything to show so I shaved a lot!

Whilst there's still definitely hair coming through, it's that fair, fluffy hair that can neither be seen nor felt unless you're on a mission to find it. Since I've been having the treatments, the skin under my arms has become a lot more dry. Apparently this isn't common, so it could be due to the fact that I used to use a lot of moisturising products when I shaved, so now I'm not using them, the skin has started to dry out more. The skin doesn't feel dry though and instead feels very smooth.

So far, it's definitely a treatment I'm happy with and the fact that I don't have to shave so often is a huge bonus. I'll be most interested to see what happens a few months after I've finished treatment to see if the hair stays fair and fine, or if it starts returning back to how it used to be.

Here's more info about my first treatment and second treatment, and more more information about the laser hair removal I'm having, have a look at the Sk:n site.

Disclosure: treatment provided for the purpose of this review.

Colour and Blow Dry at Daniel Galvin

A couple of weeks ago I visited the Daniel Galvin Salon in George Street, W1 for a colour and finish. Daniel Galvin is unlike any other salon I've been to before. Firstly, it's absolutely huge with room for hundreds of Stylists and Colourists to do their work, but also, on a weekday early afternoon it was absolutely packed! My first appointment was with Chloe, a mid-level Colourist who has been at Daniel Galvin since 2004.

We sat down for a chat and she immediately said that my hair was too golden toned which was consequently washing me out. She suggested we take my hair a little closer to my natural hair colour using a few highlights that were closer in tone, as well as a slightly lighter shade to ensure the multi-dimensional effect was still present. I really felt as though Chloe was analysing the best colour choices for both my hair and my complexion and it was obvious she knew what she was talking about. I've been a golden blonde for a while now but I've always liked the idea of going more towards caramel and toffee shades, yet I've always been advised against it. However, Chloe believed it would be a better and more natural match than anything too golden, so we went with that.

When speaking to Chloe, I asked her a lot about her training and experience at Daniel Galvin. All trainees go through a pretty hardcore apprenticeship with unbelievably long hours that last 3 years. There's no quick career path available and you instead have to prove your worth through hard-work, dedication and a demonstrable talent which is why only around half of the apprentices make it to the end. The consequence is, when booking in for a hair treatment of any kind, you know you're putting your hair into the hands of someone who's well and truly proven their ability over a long and gruelling process.

Chloe applied the first colour in sections all over my hair to blend in the roots. Whilst I was waiting for the colour to take, I was offered a menu of drinks and food to choose from. All the way through my time at the salon, there were people walking around taking orders for the kitchen. As you'd expect, drinks and snacks came at quite a premium and I had a cream cheese bagel with a coke that came to around £7, so they were pretty standard inner London prices. However, I really liked the fact that you could eat and drink from an impressive selection during your visit and I much prefer paying a little more for something I actually want (especially as I usually always arrive at these appointments starving!) rather than sticking to the standard biscuits and coffee.

I then had the next colour applied around the original colour and all colours were left to take for a little longer before it was all washed off. During the rinsing process I was given a Detox Miracle Solution treatment packed full of Vitamin C to clarify my hair. This Detox was amazing and left my hair unbelievably shiny (as you can hopefully see in the pictures) and soft without feeling flyaway or static.

My next appointment was with Becky who dried my hair. I was interested to note that she didn't use any products at all which I personally find refreshing as there's nothing I hate more than leaving a salon with hair stuck full of product. Becky showed me a new blow drying technique to give my hair a bit of texture and definition and I've managed to integrate the technique into my Babyliss Big Hair drying process, which I'm really pleased about.

I prefer to take "after" hair pictures when I get home so I have time to take as many as possible, but unfortunately the moment I left the salon I got absolutely drenched thus removing all Becky's hard work, so the pictures below are taken once I'd had a go at drying my hair myself.

My experience at Daniel Galvin was a true eye opener. The huge salon consists of an array of specialists (there's quite a few beauty treatments available on top of the more standard hair focusses) and I have genuinely never visited a salon quite like it. I absolutely love my colour, I think it's natural, flattering and easier to grow out and whilst Becky was great, the star for me was Chloe as not only is she lovely, she also knew exactly what she was doing and had the ability to work out the best colour for someone taking everything into consideration, as opposed to what's easiest to work with or what the client is used to, which I think is so important when visiting a Colourist. Whilst nobody knows me better than I know myself, there are certainly people who are far more expert at deciding what's best for my colourings and what will really suit me, and I was very confident in Chloe's ability to do just that. I've always wanted caramel, toffee-toned hair in flattering shades and now I do!

My treatment included a half head of highlights, a Detox Miracle Solution and a Blow Dry. A half-head of highlights with a mid-level Colourist costs from £155, Blow Dry with a Stylist costs from £32 and a Detox Miracle Solution treatment costs £17. For more information on the Daniel Galvin Salon visit his site here.

Disclosure: treatment was provided for the purpose of this review.

My Top Five BB Creams

As the beauty world has moved on from BB Creams to brighter and better base options (including the apparent arrival of CC Creams....I'm not ready!) I have refused to catch-up and have instead continued my quest to find the perfect BB Cream. BB Creams aren't a standard choice for skin types like mine who need a lot of coverage, but I really do prefer the look of BB Cream all over with concealer on the problem areas rather than heavy coverage over the whole face as I think it looks a lot more natural.

Therefore, the BB Creams in this list are the products I've found work best with my skin. I have oily, spot-prone skin with dry patches, and this lot are good all-rounders that don't break me out, nor cling to any dry areas. I've mentioned their coverage level in relation to BB Creams rather than foundations, so a high level of coverage in this list won't compete with a high coverage foundation.

Boots No7 Beautiful Skin BB Cream for Normal/Dry Skin

This wasn't one of the first BB Creams to arrive in the UK, but it was one of the first to give us a bit more choice rather than the 'one size fits all' approach of previous brands.

No7 BB Creams are available for three different skin types, each of which come in two different shades.

My favourite is the normal/dry variant which gives a good level of coverage, leaving skin looking natural and not too dewy.

Here's my review and some extra swatch comparisons.

Coverage level: medium

Range: good - 2 shades, 3 skin types

SPF: 15

Price: about average at £12.95 for 40ml and available from Boots.

Omorovicza Complexion Perfector BB SPF20

The idea of BB Creams is that they mix skincare and make-up, so if you're after luxury skincare that'll also work as a base, then Omorovicza is a great choice.

There's plenty of goodies in this including Vitamin C and Hyaluronic Acid, and this is one of the few BB Creams I use where my skin feels as if it's been taken care of under the make-up. This also gives one of my favourite finishes which is a lightly dewy effect that lasts surprisingly well.

Here's my Pug giving it some loving and I'll be writing a full review soon.

Coverage level: light but buildable to medium

Range: low - only 1 shade/variant available

SPF: 20

Price: very high at £80 for 50ml from the Omorovicza store.

Dr Jart+ Regenerating Beauty Balm

Dr Jart+ arrived to much fanfare recently due to their popularity in Asia. There are four types in the range and I've tried a couple, by my favourite is the Regenerating version which I understand has the highest coverage.

It's a little on the dewy side, but manages to avoid being overly greasy and it does a great job at reducing redness. As featured in my monthly favourites for June.

Coverage level: medium but buildable to high

Range: pretty good - 4 different variants, each with a slightly different shade, all of which are fair

SPF: 30

Price: medium, ranging from £18 - £24.

The Regenerating version costs £21 for 50ml from Boots.

Garnier Miracle Skin Perfector Oil-Free BB Cream

The original Garnier BB Cream was one of the first to be commercially successful in the UK, but a lot of people complained that it was too rich and left skin feeling greasy. So Garnier finally released an oil-free version, but unlike a lot of oil-free products, skin isn't left looking stripped and plasticky and instead takes on an ever-so-slightly dewy finish without being OTT.

The coverage of this is also phenomenal and can be built-up to almost perfect coverage, which is very rare for BB Creams. The big downside of this one is that the shade leans very yellow, meaning that any neutral, pale or pink toned girls are going to end up looking like they've been tangoed if they're not careful. Here's my full review.

Coverage level: high but buildable to very high

Range: not bad with 2 shades and 2 variants available (normal and oil-free)

SPF: 20

Price: average at £9.99, although it's worth noting that you only get 40ml in the oil-free version as opposed to 50ml in the standard version

Ginvera Green Tea Nude Cover BB Cream

Ginvera's BB Cream was one of the first I fell heavily in love with as it's soooo good on my skin.

It gives good coverage, leaves skin dewy without any greasiness and blends phenomenally with my skin tone.

Having worked my way through quite a few different BB Creams over the past year this is still one I keep coming back to as for me it meets all of my criteria. You also need very little for a full face, which is a great bonus.

Read my full review here.

Coverage level: medium but buildable to medium/high

Range: not great at just the one shade

SPF: 30

Price: not bad, coming in at £20 for 25ml although it's worth noting the lower quantity.

Disclosure: Omorovicza, No7 and Ginvera BB Creams were sent for review, Garnier and Dr Jart+ were paid for by me.

Five Things I Love (July 2012)

Another month, another list of things I've fallen in love with. Usually my love lists are dominated my skincare, but this month make-up has the edge.

Vichy Normaderm 3 in 1 Cleanser + Scrub + Mask

Last night I reviewed this fabulous new product from the Normaderm line which is aimed at problem skins like mine. As it's so recently reviewed, I won't launch into lots of detail but if you can't be bothered to read the full review, I'll instead summarise by saying that it's a great scrub come mask that does a great job at both treatments. It'll land everywhere in August priced at £11.

Mac Heavenly Creature Colour Lipstick in Venus

This is another product that I've already reviewed, but I'm still loving it, proving that impulse purchases are not always a bad thing. This is a limited edition shade from Mac's Heavenly Creature Colour line which is a pretty and easy to wear pink that works both dressed down and up. It's the perfect balance between bright enough to finish off a natural look as well as muted enough to work with stronger eyes. I'm a huge fan! Currently available and priced at £14.

Pixi Lid Last Shadow Pen in Peach Pave

I've been wearing this a lot lately (including in my full face shot from my Mac Venus review) and it's the ideal lazy girl's eye shadow as it's easy to wear and even easier to apply. The shade is a bright, almost rusty peach shade that's fab for blue eyed girls and once it's on and in place, it doesn't budge. It's also creamy enough to work around the eyes and you get a little while to do that before it sets. It takes all of 30 seconds to apply and leaves a lovely, shimmery finish that looks like it took a lot longer to achieve. Available now priced at £12.

Erno Laszlo Blue Firmarine SPF 30

Once you pick your jaw back up from the floor from reading how much this costs, this is actually an amazing day cream that fills several roles including moisturiser, SPF and primer. It's a beautiful gel/cream texture that melts in immediately leaving skin smooth and glowing without a sign of grease. I have such a soft spot for Erno Laszlo products as I do think that, unlike a lot of other high-priced luxury brands that live off their name, these are products that are carefully formulated to work incredibly well. I've been researching Erno Laszlo a lot lately and some of the things he achieved in dermatology are pretty amazing. I've only been using this a few days so far so I won't be writing a full review yet, but it'll definitely be coming soon. Available now priced at £225(!!).

Revlon Photoready Cream Blush in Pinched

I took advantage of the Boots promotion recently and purchased two of these new blushes from Revlon; Flushed and Pinched. I haven't had a play around with Flushed yet but Pinched is the most perfect name for this shade of blush as that's exactly how it leaves your cheeks looking; as if you've gently pinched them to bring some colour forward. It looks like a very peachy shade in the tin, yet on my complexion it applies more of a peachy pink. It's lovely to use, matte, natural and considering it was £5.99 it was a total bargain. Normally priced at £7.99 but currently on special at Boots.

Disclosure: skincare items were PR samples and make-up items were purchased by me.

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