April Favourites...

Hello beautiful people,

    As I have mentioned in previous posts I would love to start a Youtube Channel but I don't think I am ready to yet, however I can hide behind my keyboard and adopt some of the ideas from beauty channels so here are some of my favorite products that I have been loving in the month of April...

   First up is the Vaseline healthy hands + strong nails hand cream, this has been complete rehab for my hands and nails. I had acrylic nails at the end of March and my nails were so weak, constantly breaking and just in generally bad condition so I began massaging the healthy hands cream into my hands and nails each morning and night and it has completely changed my nails! They are in so much better condition and my baby soft hands are a complete bonus definitely would recommend if you can get your hands on it!

Next is a Sinful Colors Polish another nail product however this is a nail polish in the shade 'Hazard' which is a beautiful neon coral colour. I am a huge fan of the Sinful Colors Collection available at Boots they are such good quality for £1.99 and the range of colours is amazing. This shade in particular is great for spring and looks amazing especially with darker skin tones or a tan. 

A brand new product that I picked up on a complete whim that I've fallen in love with is the Maybelline Super Stay Better Skin Foundation. I needed a drugstore foundation to throw on when i didn't feel like using up my precious MAC Studio Fix Fluid and the Better Skin foundation is the perfect alternative. It claims to give you better looking skin in 3 weeks and I believe it has done this as I've been receiving lovely compliments on how flawless my skin looks when wearing this foundation. It applies really well with an in between dewy and matte finish and stays put for a good 6-8 hours! Well worth trying out in your local Boots.

To apply the Better skin foundation I have been loving using the Real Techniques Stippling Brush this month. The dual fiber make up of the brush allows you to work products into the skin and achieve the most flawless finish. Another brilliant buy from the Real Techniques range although I am yet to find a brush from them that I don't love.

Under my all of my foundations this moth I have been loving using the L'oreal Paris Studio Secrets Professional smoothing resurfacing primer. This little pot has been an absolute treat to use and gives the most perfect smooth base for make up. After suffereing from regular break outs foundations were clinging to all the wrong places but this primer has completely changed that and everything now sits just as it should on the skin! 

The last of this months favorites I'd like to talk about is a new candle i purchased in April and haven't stopped burning it since which is by www.lily-flame.co.uk and it is the Rhubarb! (And, of course...custard!) This candle just transports me back to an old fashioned sweet shop and smells exactly like the sweets if you do not like sweet smells it is definitely not for you but I am in love mmmm!

So thats everything I have been loving this month feel free to leave anything you have been loving in the comments below and I hope you have enjoyed this style of post!

Bye for now,
                      Ash
                              x

Brush up...

Hello beautiful people,

    Now, for us girls make up is part of our daily routine and for many of us the thing we take most care over choosing is the actual product itself. However, since really getting into make up I have realized that the tools we use to apply the products has a huge effect on just how good the product looks on and although we all know the phrase a good craftsman never blames his tools, they certainly do help if you use the right ones!

   I am not usually one for jumping on 'hype bandwagons' but I have found an exception in the form of Real Techniques brushes! They are just God's gift to anyone with a face really and seeing as that includes most of us they are pretty damn good. When I purchased my first high end foundation the MAC Studio Sculpt Foundation I just thought "oh ill just rub that bad boy in with my trusty fingers and it will be fine" but no! After being persuaded by my friend to buy the Core Collection brush set and I am in love! Never again will I apply my foundation with my fingers! 

Bye for now,
                      Ash 
                              x

Prime time...

Hello beautiful people,
    
   In my first blog post I mentioned how I have recently learned many new things about make up and the use of products I didn't even know existed; one of these is primer! I have to admit thought it was one of those products older women  used to stop the inevitable wrinkles or something along those lines however when make up shopping with my friend M I purchased my first high end foundation the MAC Studio Sculpt Foundation and I was so excited to use it! M knows so much more about make up than me and recommended that it would look even better if used with a primer and so I purchased the Bourjois Paris Happy Light Luminous Serum Primer which has now become one of my holy grail products!

   Primers are meant to act as a layer between the skin and foundation to create a more even surface to work with. Not everyone needs them but for someone who is very oily or has a lot of scarring from acne such as myself the difference from using primer to not using it is amazing(many primers are mattifying too which helps shine control)! Foundation goes on so much more flawlessly and make it last so much longer; which if i am spending over £20 on a foundation it is vital that it does stay put! 

    Although the main role of primer is to create a beautiful finish to your base makeup, they have many other benefits such as evening out skin tone, hydrating the skin and reducing breakouts. There are certain ingredients to look out for when splashing out on a primer to make sure it does all the things you want it to or that it says it does...
     For example: 

Cyclomethicone is a silicone grease reducing ingredient

Dimethicone crosspolymer protects the skin 

Retinyl palmitate  reduces flaking and restores suppleness

Tocopheryl acetate is a skin conditioning antioxidant

Propylene glycol is a moisturizer

   I hope you have learned more about primers and I have no idea what I was even thinking when I just used to slap foundation across my face without a proper base coat of primer and I will definitely not be skipping this step in the future!
      Bye for now,
                           Ash
                                  x