I reviewed Bioderma’s Sensibio H2O Micellar Solution a while ago; which was my first experience of these miracle waters. I love La Roche Posay’s Eau Thermale Spring Water Spray, so when I spotted their micellar solution in Boots, I just had to try it.
To recap on the micellar water phenomenon; they are soap and alcohol free. The solution is made of oil particles in water; but done in a clever way so that they don’t separate. They are roughly 80% water and 20% oil, and are designed to cleanse and tone at the same time, and remove all make-up. They are a great quick way to remove make-up, especially after a night out.
This La Roche Posay one (£11.50 for 200ml from Boots) is made from their famous thermal spring water, and is supposed to balance the pH levels of your skin too. I like it; but would prefer it doesn’t have a fragrance like it does. It does everything it says on the tin well; but doesn’t leave my skin feeling as fresh as Bioderma does. Maybe nobody can take their crown?
What other micellar solutions have you tried?
I’m loving Cult Beauty this week. Their range of brands and products is great, and there is free delivery when you spend over £50; which is easy to reach with just two or three items in your basket.
I bought a few things from them this month; and I thought i’d share my favourites with you in case you feel like a little spending spree too!
Aromatherapy Associates Inner Strength Bath & Shower Oil, £39, is a perfect antidote to tough times to give you inner resolve and a calm head. I had a little tester bottle of this, and just had to have the full size. A percentage of the profits go to charity too- link.
blinc Kiss Me Mascara, £18.50, coats your lashes in little tubes and is completely waterproof and smudge-proof. To remove you gently slide the tubes off when cleansing. What’s great is that there is no clumping of lashes together- they are all beautifully separated- link.
Rococo Nail Apparel Gold Leaf, £35, come in the most amazingly stylish boxes; which makes them the perfect gift. Gold Leaf is the ultimate luxurious polish, and a little of it goes a long way in terms of sparkle factor!- link.
I’ve been restyling my bedroom the past few months, and have done a couple of posts here about my ongoing inspiration of beauty storage ideas and unique stylish touches; so now that i’m making some progress, I thought i’d share some photos of the shabby chic look I am going for.
I fell in love with e.l.f’s Corrective Concealer Erase & Conceal palette (£3.75) when it greatly helped my own skin discolourations- redness left behind from teenage acne, and dark circles under my eyes from tiredness; but when I got one for my Mum, and tried it on her extremely dark eye circles from eye condition medication, I saw just how good it was.
It’s such a handy palette that will cover all your correcting concealer needs. It contains four shades- yellow to hide dark circles, pink to brighten the inner and outer corners of your eyes, green to counteract redness and blemishes, and blue to blur orange hues such as tan lines/fake-tan mistakes. You can use the little brush that comes with it, or just use your fingers. You’ll need to blend the edges in well.
All you then need is a flesh-coloured concealer of your choice to put over the top of the colour. Here, I have used my Mum’s Maybelline Fit Me Concealer in Fair (£5.99). She’s never going to get rid of the dark circles completely as they are so pronounced; but parts of them have gone, the shade has changed, and the eye area is brighter.
I truly think this e.l.f palette should be a staple in everyone’s make-up bags. It’s such amazing value too!
It’s the BAFTA Television Awards tomorrow night, and it gave me the idea of sharing with you what TV i’m loving at the moment.
The Middle is my go-to comedy sitcom when i’m feeling down or just needing comfort. It’s a US show that airs on Sky channels over here, and is a remake of sorts of Malcolm In The Middle. This time with much better actors and characters. It follows the ordinary middle-class American Heck family, and the comedy of their daily lives- their young son talks to himself and is a loner; their daughter is an uncool geek, and their son is the dumb football jock who has no luck with the ladies. It’s a funny, laugh-out-loud show about family love and the comfort of home life, and I can watch the same episode again and again.
I’m a soap lover. I NEVER miss an episode of Neighbours, Coronation St or Eastenders. I look forward to what I call ‘soap nights’- Mondays and Fridays when there is double Coronation St with Eastenders in between; and I love my afternoon dose of Neighbours. Working from home most of the time means I can enjoy this TV regularity, and I love it. Continuing Dramas are the ultimate escapism. I love to know what is coming up, so websites like Digital Spy and magazines like Inside Soap are my godsend.
The Intern & The Apprentice make me scream at the TV. One thing i’ve always prided myself on is my business sense. I’ve always been self-employed/freelance and managed my own career in the media; and have had to solve some super-size and delicate problems for people and companies on jobs along the way. Oh the stories… I love watching how other people badly handle situations on these shows, and I love getting a peek inside different industries. The Intern on Channel 4 puts 3 newbies to the test each week in a skilled profession to see if they can jump ahead to a high-level job; and BBC’s The Apprentice sees 12 ‘entrepreneurs’ compete in business tasks to win an investment from Alan Sugar.
I love Channel 4’s Made In Chelsea. Not for the ‘reality’ of it obviously; but for the style, shopping and travel that I love, and for a part of London that I love. I like the nice things in life; so I relate to it.
top photo credit: Funky64 (www.lucarossato.com) via photopin cc
I adore this product for my…boys look away now please…’time-of-the-month’ spot breakouts, as it dries them up and shrinks them over night.
I use it at night after cleansing as a toner. It removes any excess product or oil left after cleansing, and helps to kill bacteria with its Tea Tree and Witch Hazel extracts. It’s most important ingredient however, is the Salicylic acid. This is what fights the spots due to its anti-inflammatory effects. It does dry my skin out; but when I have a breakout that’s what I need, so I don’t put any moisturiser on afterwards. This is another reason I use it at night before bed.
It does smell very strong; but not that unpleasant. I’m excited to try the other products in the Clear Cell range now, as this one works so well.
You can buy online from Face The Future for £31 with free delivery.
The Chelsea Flower Show later this month, and the sudden appearance of the sun this bank holiday weekend has got me thinking about my badly neglected garden. I want to sit outside and read in style, so i’m on the hunt for new garden furniture.
I fell in love with this synthetic rattan chair from Belgian design brand Manutti, as it’s so sleek, and the design makes it look so comfortable to curl up on- just like your favourite living room armchair. It’s an all weather chair, so is water and frost resistant; which makes it perfect for the unpredictable British weather.
The best thing though is that the cushion doesn’t hold water and dries quickly, so those Summer showers won’t have much effect. I love the wooden teak feet too; which make it nice and sturdy.
Sadly I don’t have a swimming pool to pop mine next too; but it will look just as good next to the barbecue.
Manutti in general is a great brand for outdoor furniture as all its pieces are designed to last in all weathers. Designer Stephanie De Winter wanted people to be able to bring their interiors outdoors, so designed ranges that are weather-proofed with synthetic fibres and coated metals that won’t rust.
The Manutti Neptune Garden Chair costs £850 (‘it’s a design innovation’ is what i’ll tell my husband), and can be bought online from Go Modern in the UK, and from Jardin de Ville in Canada.
To find out more about Manutti’s designs and history, click here…
Images from gomodern.co.uk
I have long been a of Espa products ever since my Mum and I spent a 3-night break at the luxury Cameron House on Loch Lomond when I was around 15. Espa was their signature spa range then, and I enjoyed plenty of treatments, and got addicted to their relaxing scents.
This Relaxing Salt Scrub contains two sachets, and I found you could get two to three uses out of each, so for £7.15, this is exceptional value for a luxury brand.
It describes itself as “a calming sea salt scrub”, and it is very calming. I used it when changing my anti-depressants, and it helped last thing at night to calm me down in preparation for sleep. The sea salt texture is very course, so rub it gently on your skin. The salt will exfoliate, and the essential oils in the sachet of lavender, rosemary, bay and sweet almond oil will calm your mind, relax muscles and hydrate your skin.
My skin felt so soft and was highly scented afterwards- perfect for carrying the smell into bed and drifting off to sleep.
2 x 50g sachets cost £7.15 from espaonline.com.
I’ve been looking for the perfect new dressing table to display some of my beauty products and trinket boxes, and house my jewellery. I’ve been wanting an antique one, and I love the style of this Victorian mahogany one from Driscolls Antiques, as it has such ornate legs. It has got all its original handles too; which is rare.
It dates from 1870, and I love to imagine the elegant Victorian lady who would get ready at it for an evening out.
This piece costs £795 from Driscolls Antiques in Lancashire (but they deliver across the UK and abroad). I don’t know how i’m going to be able to resist!
Images: driscollsantiques.co.uk
