Christmas with Clarins

Ok so the title of this post may not strictly be utterly correct, and I may be just teasing you and giving a glimpse into what is actually only going to be hitting the shelves in 2016, but I just couldn't resist showing you all the beautiful newness from Clarins. We all need something to look forward to during these chilly mornings and gloomy nights, and I for one am looking forward to getting back my glow. Yes, a holiday in the sun would be preferable, but thankfully the Clarins Spring Collection has everything we need to bring that radiance back into our complexions.

Starting with the lips, dry chapped lips can be quenched with the new Instant Light Lip Perfectors - I've been a fan of these since they came to my rescue during the coldest months last Winter - as the ingredients soften and protect as well as offering just a hint of beautiful colour. The new purple plum shade doesn't look as intense on the lip as it does in the tube, but offers a light wash of colour and just a hint of shine.

As for the lipsticks, Clarins is my go-to brand when I need a lippy that delivers serious colour, but also moisturisation for my lips. The new shades of Rouge Eclat offer exactly that - protecting lips and also working to minimize fine lines. If that's not enough, they also contain ingredients which actually battle against dehydration and boost collagen! All of this doesn't compromise on the appearance or lasting power of the lipsticks though, and I can confirm that after standing on the rugby pitch side lines for over 3 hours in the biting winds, my lippy remained in tact, and I didn't even find myself reaching for my trusty lip balm once inside!

Claris never fail to hit the nail on the head when it comes to eyeshadow palettes, I've become a collector of their small palettes, and their new rose-bronze compact is my favourite so far! The shades are so incredibly wearable, ranging from a light beige (perfect for the brow bone or inner corners) to deep velvety browns, all of which are superbly blendable - making for an easy smoky or natural eye look. I'm never a fan of the brushes that come with these palettes (Naked Smokey palette is an exception) and I'm not too blown away by the one in the Clarins palette. It's OK for emergencies but these eye shadows deserve a proper blending brush to bring out their beauty.


The four new shades of Ombre Iridescent eye shadows look just like little round candies, dotted around my makeup drawer - and as fun as they are to look at, they are to apply too. With a pearlescent finish, I still find the cream to powder formula rather mind-boggling. How can something so flat in the pot create such a pop of colour and luminous glow?! I'll never know, but boy do I love it!

Available online and in-store on January 10th.

Which is your favourite from the new Clarins Spring Makeup range?

xoxo

New In Beauty : Clarins Joli Rouge Lipstick

It's big news, lipstick lovers, because Clarins have done the unthinkable - they've gone and played around with their infamous Joli Rouge lipsticks, revamping the formula.... and guess what? They're incredible. Often when a brand plays around too much with an already incredible product, the new launches are just 'different' and not 'better'. They play just for the sake of playing (plus, how fun must it be being a chemist in a beauty laboratory! I'd forever be creating new concoctions!) and I didn't think that there was much to be improved on on the Clarins Joli Rouge lipsticks. OK, maybe an extra shade or two might have helped, but Clarins have gone all out, and bought out 25 new shades, just in time for Autumn.

It's been over a year since I first reported on the Clarins Joli Rouge lipsticks (see my first review here) and since then they've become the lipsticks that I reach for mostly in the cooler months, when my lips are in need of some nourishment as well as a blast of colour. The new formula is even more moisture-enriched, so you can toss out your balms - because with organic marsh samphire extract and mango oil ingredients, these lippies will give you smooth, soft and nourished lips as well as a high shine, highly pigmented colour. 

With a scrumptious red berry scent, it does take a lot of willpower not to want to lick your lips constantly, but the Joli Rouge is a pleasure to apply so reapplication is never a chore. The tip seems to snugly fit the shape of your lips, with the point meaning you get a precise application every time. The beautiful gold casing ( much more beautiful than the previous silver designs if you ask me ) is the final detail that gives these lipsticks a great big nod of approval from me!

As for the shade range, you'll find everything from bright spring corals (701 Orange Fizz) through to deep autumnal tones (705 soft berry) as well as everyday dusky pinks - my current favourite lip style, such as the above - 751 Tea Rose.

The new Clarins Joli Rouge lipsticks have just launched, and retail for �19.50 each.

Will you be trying the new Clarins Joli Rouge?

xoxo

Holiday Beauty Prep

Oh yes, that time of year has come again where I raid through my 'Summer Beauty Box' and pick out all the creams, lotions and potions which shake up my beauty routine to help me look and feel a little more holiday ready. As you read this, i'll be hopping on a flight to Menorca for a long weekend, but the holiday beauty process started weeks ago...

Before baring all, I like to give myself a head start in the tanning department, and this means picking the most flawless looking fake tan. Before tanning I like to prep my skin (more on this here), and recently I've been testing out the Sienna X Bronzing Mousse, which gives my skin a bit of a pamper by moisturising and protecting from early ageing signs, as well as giving an incredibly natural looking pre-holiday glow. The mousse gives a guide colour making it super easy to apply without any streaks, and this gradually develops into a lovely deep glow.

On my face, there's two products which are essentials in prepping for holiday. Firstly, the Kae ArgaSun Tan Activator. It's a natural serum which prepares the skin for the sun and then repairs and comfort the skin after sun exposure. One of the key ingredients is Carrot Oil which promotes an even and long lasting tan, and Argan Oil which prevents skin from becoming dehydrated, and encouraging cell renewal. I've been using this each morning for a couple of weeks now to hopefully stop the usual scenario of my face being several shades paler than the rest of my body!

Another facial tanning obsession is the Clarins Radiance Plus Golden Glow Booster which I spoke about previously here. Clarins do literally the best self-tanning products and these tanning drops are seriously special. You just add a few drops to your moisturiser (or body lotion if you have the body version) and it adds a beautiful subtle colour, you can even tailor the number of drops you add depending on the effect that you want to create.

My hair often becomes incredibly dry and knotty if I don't apply sun protection, so I've already stashed the Windle & Moodie Invisible Day & Night Cream in my beach bag to protect from UV rays. It also has the benefit of being a conditioning leave in cream, giving my hair a lovely healthy shine and feel - an essential after a day on the beach!

The Lancaster Tan Maximizer After Sun Oil is one of those incredible multi takers that not only heals the skin from a day's exposure to the sun, but also injects skin with the nutrients it needs to help it tan better, and more safely. This will be going in my hold bag for applying after my evening shower - anything that can help me achieve a more flawless and safe tan while I'm away is a winner!

What are your favourite products for Holiday Beauty prep?

Whats In My Beach Bag?

I didn't think that filming a video could be this exciting, but I had so much fun filming my Whats In My Beach Bag video - really getting into the Summer spirit! We are heading off to Corfu in just over a week, and yep, I've already packed up my beach bag! These are the pieces that I'll be taking with me on our days away from the villa, and there's quite a lot as we tend to spend the whole day away from the villa, out and about on the boats hopping from bay to bay.

Hope you enjoy the video! If you pop over after reading this post then be sure to leave a comment mentioning that you came from the blog!

Whats In My Beach Bag?

Dorothy Perkins Sun Hat

Ted Baker Kaftan

Ray Ban Sunglasses from Sunglasses Hut

New Look Tortoise Sunglasses

Figleaves Black & White Bikini

Figleaves Blue Bikini

Tory Burch White Sandals

Simple Face Wipes

Elizabeth Arden Lip Balm

Clarins Waterproof Mascara

Piz Buin Instant Glow Sun Cream

Clinique Moisture Surge Face Spray

Clarins Wrinkle Control Face SPF 30

Garnier Ambre Solaire Protective Oil

John Frieda Sea Salt Spray

Clarins After Sun Moisturiser Self Tanning

New Look Beach Towel

What will you be taking in your beach bag this Summer?

May Favourites

Even though this is only my second ever favourites video, I can already tell you that they're my favourite to film! Looking through all the beauty and other things that I've been using that month and picking out the best of the best is such a positive experience, whether it is sharing a life-changing skincare product *cough* Liz Earle *cough*, talking about a great afternoon tea or discovering a bronzer which gives you the greatest faux holiday glow you've ever experienced!

This month I was loving lots of new (to the blog) brands, and also revealing a rather dorky obsession that I have! I've also found some incredible budget nail varnishes which you must try!

Enjoy!

As always it would mean a lot to me if you would give my videos a thumbs up, subscribe the my channel here, and if you're feeling super generous, you could leave me some comments!

What have your favourites been this month?

Carry-On Beauty Essentials!

When you go away for a long weekend, taking only a carry on suitcase, you are pretty restricted when it comes to how many beauty products you can take! No more than ten bottles of 100ml (including suncream, conditioner and after sun!) and space is very limited (especially when most of your tiny case is filled with shoes, like mine!). So, it was pretty tough making the shortlist for beauty products that I'd take away to Seville, #firstworldproblems, but here are the beauty products that made the cut for my Holiday Beauty Bag!

Firstly, to cleanse skin and remove makeup, I packed some Simple Face Wipes (not pictured) as well as my trusty Clarins Water Comfort One Step Cleanser. With space at a premium, it's all about the multi takers and this cleanser really does the trick at removing all my makeup (including the worlds most waterproof mascara, more on that later!) without the need for water. This means you can pop it in your beach bag along with some cotton pads if you do have any poolside panda eye emergencies, or just want to freshen up before heading to lunch. I popped a mini Caudalie Polyphenol Serum in my beauty bag too, which helps skin protect itself from environmental aggressors, as well as plumping and moisturising.

I like to keep my base quite light while on holiday, and needing something hydrating, with some sun protection and some lovely coverage, there was only one option; the bareMinerals Complexion Rescue Tinted Hydrating Gel Cream (SPF 30). I have been wearing this lots on good skin days in the UK, and it was the ideal multi tasking product to give me a fresh, flawless and protected complexion while away. I used the Zoeva 102 Silk Finish brush to buff it in, and in the evenings added a touch of the bareMinerals powder foundation to keep the shine at bay without caking the skin. In the evenings I added a little more colour in the evenings I used the Too Faced Dark Chocolate Soleil bronzer. It has a light chocolate scent and is perfectly matte - they call it tan without the twinkle which is perfect if you want to use it as a contour or all over colour like I did.

For contour and blush I used the Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick in Bronze - one of my my all time favourite multi tasking products. While away I used it to create a little contour shadow, but it can also be used to highlight, or even as eyeshadows. I used my Bobbi Brown blusher brush to apply the powder, and then added a very subtle pop of the Bobbi Brown blush on my cheeks.

An eyeshadow palette which can create the perfect dress up or dress down eye look is Charlotte Tilbury's Sophisticate palette. The smooth shades can be used to create a subtle wash of colour for a day time look, or built up to create a smokey look for evenings - plus it's tiny so ideal for popping in my carry one! To really make my eyes pop, I also took the Charlotte Tilbury Rock n Kohl Liquid Eye Pencil in a nude hue which makes eyes look bigger and brighter.

There was no other option than the Clarins Truly Waterproof mascara - this mascara will not budge! Since discovering it, I've never suffered panda eyes on the beach or by the pool, plus the formula coats lashes and protects them from chlorine and salt water.

Finally lips! As well as a nourishing balm (I took the Elizabeth Arden 8 hour lip balm) I took just two lip products away with me; both coral! For the daytime I chose the Too Faced Melted Lipstick which has ultra long lasting power, and I love the creamy formula which I apply over a balm. In the evenings, my favourite lipstick at the moment (and one which looks beautiful on lightly tanned skin), Charlotte Tilbury's Sexy Sienna. It protects, smooths, hydrates, and the colour is stunning!

What are your holiday beauty essentials?