Oh My Orly!

Hiya,

I have been major busy lately which reflects my lack of blogging (sorry). There are so many wonderful products I just am bursting to blog about!

Before anything else, I must say I am very excited for the Clothes Show Live this year! Can you believe it will be celebrating it's 21st birthday? Wow, I didn't even realise how long it had been running for. I am looking forward to hunting down any cool beauty products, so I'll be blogging all about what treasures I find.

So, back to the title- Oh My Orly! I am actually in love with Orly nail polishes, I have passed all my Chanel, Nars and OPI polishes on to my little sister because I am starting an Orly collection.

Orly was founded by a guy called Jeff Pink from L.A in 1975, he named the brand after his now ex-wife. Orly follows fashion trends on which he bases his seasonal colours and he redefined the whole concept of nail care and introduced nail fashion! The founder developed the Original French Manciure after working on the Paris fashion shows, he wanted a nail colour that complimented every outfit on the runway.

So, there's a bit of history on the brand, I must mention that this brand is 'three-free', so no nasty chemicals, which may be dangerous for pregnant women.

I stumbled across the most amazing and must-have colour for the Winter, it's called 'take him to the cleaners'. The name is hilarious and was actually part of the 'divorce' collection, but the colour was so popular in the states that it made it to the permanent collection. It's like an upgrade of Chanel's Rouge Noir.

I've had mine on for four days now and not one chip! It's easy to use as well with a nice long thin handle and brush, so you don't get big blobs of nail polish running down when you're painting your nails.

There are so many colours I love; Liquid Vinyl, Passionfruit, Basket Case and Naughty (don't you just love the names)! I also recommend using the Flash Dry drops if you're impatient like me and risk smudging your nails.

Have fun trying out some of the colours!

I'm trying out some massage candles tonight, so will update you about those tomorrow.

Love,

Farrah

x

Join the Badger Balmy

Hiya,

I do apologise for not blogging lately, I have a range of amazing products to update you about. So, I'll start off with my hot star product of the week- Badger lip balm.

My lips are always dehydrated and the only product that keeps them hydrated is Eight Hour Cream, that is until I discovered Badger. I'm currently using the Pink Grapefruit flavour, which is major yummy! It makes an amazing lipstick base as well!

The packaging is well cute and men can feel comfortable pulling it out their pockets too. The best thing about these products is that the ingredients are certified organic, with key ingredients like extra virgin olive oil, exotic butters and herbal extracts, so no secret nasties to watch out for! Oh sorry the best thing is the price, it only costs a few quid for an organic lip balm with natural ingredients.

The lip balms come in a range of flavours from Ginger & Lemon to the cocoa butter range with sub flavours like 'Poetic Pomegranate'.

I also have some calming balms and a cuticle balm I'm yet to try out, which I'm looking forward to. I hope there is a calming balm for my hormones or impatience.

I am a MAJOR badger balm fan now! You must try it out, I bet you'll ditch your current lip balm and join the badger balmy.

Let me know what you think.

Love,

Farrah

Blusher RULES!

Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiya,

Have you missed my blogs? I am sorry I haven't blogged over the weekend, just been super busy! To be fair, I could have spent Saturday or Sunday night blogging but I was distracted by X Factor and Cheryl Cole's CRAZY blusher!

So, today as you've already guessed, I'm paying homage to my KEY make up product, the only product I will NOT be seen without...BLUSHER! Yep, blusher RULES!!! The most amazing invention ever, my ma used to call it ROUGE when she used to put it on me as a KID!!! (I swear she put it on me throughout my childhood, oh and eyeliner).

Anyway, so do you ever go to make up counters and get told there are 'rules' for applying blusher?

Personally, I believe there is only one rule when it comes to wearing blusher- make sure you're wearing it. I disagree with rules when it comes to make up, it's fun and as long as you're wearing it to suit you then that's all that matters.

I overheard someone giving advice to another lady about how to apply blusher, she was saying how "you should suck your cheeks in and drag your brush outwards" (so basically, 80's blusher which looks like it's been applied with a ruler). This may have been flattering for the woman suggesting it but not so for the other lady. We have different face shapes, sizes, cheekbones and skin tone.

I personally apply my blusher just on my cheeks and I always use pink/peach tones because of my olive skin tone, I tend to look ill/yellowish so I need colours to brighten me up and to bring out the beige tones.

I don't know what Cheryl Cole's make up artist was thinking on Saturday, she had bronzed blush around her temples and near her eyebrows, that looks good for high fashion shoots/music videos but wasn't doing anything for the pretty Mrs Cole this weekend, she reminded me of when kids have their faces painted into animals, like a tiger or something.

There are different types of blushers from gel to powder, in my teens I used a liquid blusher for years (Benetint) but as I've got older, I use powder for everyday and a cream when I'm on holiday or wearing minimal make up.

Here are some of my favourite blushers;

1. Nars (all of them) but at the moment, I'm loving Exhibit A. Orgasm, Gina and Mata Hari are beautiful colours too (I have all of the Nars blushers).

2. The Nars Multiple in Mauritius and Portofino are my fave for the summer and holidays (I keep mine in the fridge), oh and South Beach for a nice bronze glow on holiday too.

3. Bobbi Brown Apricot, this is the best colour blusher ever! It suits every skin tone.

4. Shu Uemura in Red 14, got the slightest shimmer, barely noticeable but the colour is easy to use and blends in easily.

5. Bobbi Brown cream blush in Calypso for lips and cheeks. I love dual products and this colour is just like the YSL Rouge Volupte Lipstick in 13.

So, go bright this Winter with your blusher and if you've never tried it, give it a go and watch your skin glow (good tagline eh?).

Bon nuit (feeling very French lately)

Farrah

x

Sweet as Honey

Hi Hunnies,

Well, at this present moment in time, my face is covered in...HONEY. So, I thought I'd share a cheap yet super effective face mask with you all.

First of all, I want to share some of the amazing benefits of honey with you, I personally feel that not enough credit is given to honey bees and their beautiful honey.

I remember my dad telling me that honey cures more or less everything from infections, heals wounds and even diseases and he told me this has been mentioned in the Qu'ran and now scientists are catching on to the amazing benefits of honey.

I won't list everything but I will mention the benefits of using it as a face mask, it's an antiseptic and powerful antioxidant and helps healing the skin.

So, to get your skin ready for Christmas parties, proms, charity events, girl's nights out or a hot date, apply a thin layer of honey and leave it on for at least 20 minutes (I leave mine on for 30 mins). If you do this a few times a week, you'll get a nice glow as well as super soft skin.

Now it's time for me to wash mine off.

Enjoy and try not to lick it all off! Haha.

Love,

Farrah
x

The future's bright...

Hi again,

I'm back already, I've got so much to write about and I've been so busy. Eeeek! So, I'm making the most of the bit of spare time I have tonight (I am supposed to be walking my dogs right now) but tonight, you guys are my priority! He he.

It's Christmas in a few weeks and 2010 in 2 months! There are some amazing products out on the market and 2010 is all about skin, lips and nails!

Our skin doesn't half take a bashing with our harsh Winter (I hope you are all using an spf moisturiser?) so it's important to look after it (both face and body) so it's ready to be revealed for Spring/Summer. However, if you're a last minute kind of gal and you like quick fixes, then this product is screaming out for you, it's the Clarisonic skincare brush!

It's kind of like an electric toothbrush for your skin, Manchester Make up It Girl Jade tried it out the other day and actually said "it's like having a facial, it's amazing". Have I mentioned there is also a brush for CELLULITE?!

The brush gently cleanses skin but is twice as effective as manual cleansing and allows better penetration of serums and creams, so you'll really reap the benefits of those products.

Apparently, if used twice daily, it will reduce the appearance of fine lines and pores, which makes sense due to its deep cleansing.

I must warn you, if you want to get your mitts on this product, there are waiting lists (unfortunately, even I have to wait for one) but they are available at Space.NK.

Manicures are expensive and let's be honest, they're more of a luxury treat in these hard times of the credit crunch, which is why nail care companies are working very hard to make great products for us and beautiful colours for those dull Winter days, two brands to watch out for are; Rococo Nail Apparel (don't you just love the use of apparel?) and Butter London nail products (love the British heritage).

Rococo nail polish comes in an array of daring and delicious colours from Hip-pop (a red/orange) to gold leaf (gold glittery) and our tester Jade has had it on for FOUR days now and it hasn't chipped!

They are highly pigmented and as Jade has proved-staying power! Nothing worse than chipped nail varnish (especially after a day like OPI).

The names are brilliant and my favourite is FunBoy, the name is hilarious and the colour is my fave-a bright pink!!

Butter London is all about natural nail care, I was won over by the packaging and the hilarious names such as the 'nail fertiliser' and I love the base coat which is called 'nail foundation'. They are certfied '3 Free' (you should know what this means from my toxic blog). There are like 30 colours and my favourites are Macbeth and Primrose Hill Picnic. I love the way the names evoke a feeling like I really am at a picnic on Primrose Hill.

Finally for 2010, lips are big, bright and beautiful with long lasting lipsticks which are creamy and moisturising during cold winter days. Some of the best are the Nars velvet lip pencils (my fave is red square) and the YSL rouge volupte, these are really highly pigmented so they have solid staying power without drying.

Before applying lippy, scrub lips with a toothbrush and a bit of vaseline/8 hour cream or make your own lip scrub with some brown sugar and vaseline or honey. Honey has amazing healing properties. Jelly pong pong actually have a lip treatment made from honey and it's brilliant!!!

So, let's brighten up our gloomy British Winter with some beautiful products.

Night night,

Farrah

x

Perfect face begins with a perfect base

Hiya,

Everyone wants great skin, so the question is how do we get it? This is Part 1 of 'Perfect face begins with a perfect base'.

Well, it might be obvious but it all starts with a good diet and great skincare regime. I personally have a terrible diet, I don't drink litres of water, I indulge on chocolate and cake because I am a very fussy eater and rarely eat fruit unless I make a smoothie, so what's the secret to my skin? I don't have flawless skin but all credit is due to the Queen of Skincare- Eve Lom.

I have been using Eve Lom for years now, I always remember the first time I used it, I was so frightened because I was told I would have a 'huge breakout', but I didn't. Some first time users do breakout because their skin may be congested so Eve Lom unclogs pores and decongests skin, bringing all the rubbish to the surface of the skin.

So, back to Eve Lom...well, it's a creamy cleanser which cleanses, tones and exfoliates the skin, it's made from four powerful oils; Eucalyptus, Egyptian Chamomile, Hops and Clove. It comes with a specially woven muslin cloth (100% cotton), it's used with the cleanser to improve circulation while cleansing and gently exfoliates the skin.

It comes in different sizes, I buy the largest pot and it lasts me ages, it comes with two muslin cloths too.

The fabulous thing about Eve Lom is because she knows you'll love the cleanser, she does a starter kit, so it comes with mini versions of the cleanser, a moisturiser, TLC cream etc to give you a taster of the products without spending a lot of money.

The product is suitable for all skin types and I swear by it! So, even with my diet which lacks everything good, Eve Lom is my saviour!

Watch out for Part 2 of 'Perfect face begins with a perfect base', where I'll be talking about fabulous bases once you've got a good skincare regime.

Au revoir and Bon nuit,

Farrah

x