Away on vaycay

COCO LOCO FOR KORRES

The new KORRES Coconut Milk body line instantly sets the mood for an idyllic get-away. Juicy, exotic coconuts ‘meet’ the perfectly sweet and creamy aroma of vanilla in the newest entry to the brand’s recently ‘revamped’ body range. Yum! Scrumptious!

The coconut body milk smells good enough to eat (but don't).

EXOTIC, FRESH COCONUT WITH SWEET, WARM VANILLA WITH NOURISHING ALMOND OIL OF ORGANIC FARMING

200 ml/ 6.76 Fl. Oz. RRP: £9.50



Thank you Escentual.com

Dear Escentual.com,

Thank you, thank you, thank you for the kind review about Make Up It Girl and for awarding my blog with the Escentual Blog of the Week accolade. It feels great to be featured alongside awesome bloggers such as BeautyFulfilled, Get Lippie and many more.

Dear readers,

You can read the premier beauty destination,  Escentual.com's review right here.

Muchos gracias,

Make Up It Girl

Unveil luminous skin with Skin Veil by Ellis Faas

I was passing through Liberty's a while back (dangerous place for a make up fiend) and I noticed Ellis Faas had a new foundation..of course I had to stop and investigate.

I love my tinted moisturisers (Chantecaille being my favourite and Dr Perricone's No Foundation Foundation) but sometimes when my skin is hormonal or tired, I am in need of more coverage. Well, I have finally found the tinted moisturiser/light foundation hybrid type of product I need in my life..in the form of Ellis Faas Skin Veil.

Like Ellis Faas, I believe that foundation should illuminate the skin without feelingor appearing like a mask.

With an exceptional balance of high-quality ingredients, Skin Veil glides on in a thin layer, blending into the skin.

Made in Japan...I love!

Smooth illuminating skin with a bit of Skin Veil

Skin without Skin Veil

Skin Veil minerals diffuse light across the skin’s surface, reducing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. Ellis Faas foundation incorporates moisturising ingredients which nourish the skin as well as SPF 15 for ultimate protection.

There are 8 great shades to choose from, so there is a colour for everyone!

Available from Liberty's and Space.NK for £55.

'Eye' Spy and 'Eye' Sad

'Eye' spy

I spotted these beautiful brogues in Dune on the weekend! I WANT!!!

'Eye' Sad

I REALLY REALLY REALLY badly wanted these Bertie Pena wedges after I saw BeautyWowza wearing them! But they are sold out in a size 3! Boooooo.

E45: A classic brand with a new product

My ma ALWAYS used that huge pot of E45 on our skin when we were kids, so it's a brand that will always evoke childhood memories for me.

E45 has come a long way since then with a brand new specially formulated body lotion....to nourish mature skin and anyone who knows me, also will know my beauty philosophy..prevention is better than cure. So, why not start looking after the skin on your body as well as your face from NOW to prevent wrinkly skin?

The three key ingredients in E45's Endless Moisture Derma Restore are;

1. Glycerine - the moisture magnet.

2. Poly Hydroxy Acids (PHA's) - delivers anti-ageing benefits of AHA'a without any irritation.

3. Nicotinamide - Form of Vitamin B3 to boost collagen production.

Available from Boots for £4.59.

'Eye' spy: Vintage Leather Satchel Co

If you are after a leather satchel, from a reliable company, check out the The Leather Satchel Co.

I have my eye on a few, especially the hot pink!! Can't wait to put an order in.

Minaj and me

I was watching Marley and Me on Sunday and the begining of the story is soooooooooo freakishly similar to my story.."Minaj and Me".

Some of you know about my 9 month old puppy Minaj, she was abandoned at 4 weeks old so I looked after her thinking it would be a short term thing, until I found her a good home.

Boy was I wrong! Turns out, my hubby got so attached,  he couldn't bare the thought of giving her up when a few people said they would love to take her.

So, we had to give her a name now that we were keeping her....we struggled but then I remembered the first time I met her, she was crying, so I put her in my lap while I was driving home, stroking her (didn't work), so I put my music on..and yep, you guessed, it was my Nikki Minaj mixtape, the puppy was silent all the way home....Meet Minaj....

Here is her story in pictures.

Expensive taste already!

Expensive taste in lipgloss (YSL)

HD Brows in a Palette!

Meet your secret weapon for perfect brows...(Miss Moneypenny would be proud)

Introducing the newly re-formulated HD Brows Eye & Brow Palettes, from the experts who created the famous ‘Seven Step’ complete brow procedure.

HD Brows Eye & Brow Palettes make it easier to maintain that ‘fresh out of the salon’ appearance. And, what’s more, the new long-lasting, anti-smudge powders will keep your brows looking fab for up to 24 hours.

The handbag-handy palettes come in three styles – Bombshell, Foxy and Vamp – each tailored to complement a different skin tone and hair colouring and each containing four specially selected matt, neutral powders. These can be used alone or blended to achieve the perfect shade for your brows. Create defined, soft, or natural brows depending on your mood or the occasion.

• Bombshell: For blondes…a nude, a carbon shadow, and two blonde tone powders. When used as an eye shadow palette, this will create a cool natural daytime look and a soft evening look.

• Foxy: For brunettes…a nude, a carbon shadow, and two medium brown tone powders. Use this as an eye shadow palette to create a warm natural daytime look or a smouldering night time look.

• Vamp: For dark hair…a nude, a carbon shadow, and two dark brown tone powders. Used as an eye shadow palette, this will create a dramatic smoky look

The versatile powders are not solely for brows, they can also be used as eye shadows and eyeliners depending on how they are applied. The neutral shades make perfect daytime eye shadows swept across the lid and the carbon and dark brown shades can be used along the lash line as eyeliners to create a complete eye look. The nude shadow is also perfect for enhancing the brow bone and highlighting the shape of the brows.

I haven't tried this myself yet but I definitely will be investing in one!

HD Eye & Brow palette RRP 19.95.

Available to buy from www.hd-brows.co.uk.

News in Tweet: Wish I was back in the Maldives

Diamonds are a girl's best friend but your husband's worst enemy!

Girls, this is the iced out manicure by Cherish-me, the ethically sourced 10 carat diamond manicure which costs an eye watering £32,000.

So, who's booking in for one first?

J.Lo's Glow

I am forever being asked how can one achieve Jennifer Lopez's infamous 'glow'. In fact, her 'glow' is so popular, she even named her perfume Glow right?

Well, this is my take on the whole 'J.Lo Glow' (baring in mind, friends, clients, customers have been asking me this for the last 10 years or so).

1. You're either blessed with naturally good baby-soft plump skin, where just a bit of red lipstick on your cheeks creates a glow. (I must admit I get very jealous when I see others with this perfect skin, I was even glued to Wimbledon staring at some of the women tennis players flawless skin).

OR

2. You've got the budget for weekly/monthly expensive facials a la Jennifer Lopez (rumour has it she indulges in placenta facials, weird but hey if it works then I'm up for it).

However, my advice to everyone who asks how they can create glowing skin who don't have J.Lo's perfect skin or her big bucks for regular super pricey treatments is;

1. Begin working with your skin. Invest in a good quality cleansing regime, do not just wash your face with 'whatever is in the bathroom', as I am frequently told. It's important to use products which are designed for your skin needs and skin type. (I could babble on for ages about the importance of a good skin care regime but I'll keep it brief on this occasion.) ALWAYS remove make up before bed, I don't care how tired or sick I am, I make sure I Eve Lom. Finally, before I go off track, DO treat your skin to the occasional facial - "you're worth it".

2. The fun part....the products which can help you with your J.Lo 'glow'.

The products you use do depend on your skin type and also skin colour. I don't like long blog posts, so I'll just mention a few for today and continue with more next time.

For my skin, olive toned, when I have a tan, I love to use NUXE's Huile Prodigieuse with the gold shimmer.

Ideal for: dry skin

When I am pale, like at the moment, I am loving Daniel Sandler's watercolour blusher in spice, a warm terracotta with pink shimmer. (Perfect for those beach scenes like in J.Lo's latest music video, because this is actually waterproof, separate blog post coming soon).

Ideal for: all skin types as it's water based

Daniel Sandler's watercolour blush in Spice

I also like Paul & Joe's bronzer from the Blue Horizon Collection. I love that you can contour with this bronzer (for J.Lo chiselled cheekbones), it gives a really nice sun-kissed look with shimmer.

Ideal for: normal/combo/oily skin

Finally, for my skin with a tan or darker skin (Indian/Black), I highly recommend Iman's Afterglow bronzer. It has three genius sections which combined give skin THE AFTERGLOW! You can use a blusher brush with the Egyptian-gold section and sweep over cheekbones and blush. HOT!

What do you think?

Have you tried any of the products above? Or is there another celeb's glow you'd like?

Next time, more products to fake J.Lo's glow...MAC's Lustre drops, New CID, NARS, Benefit Cha Cha Tint...plus more.

The Kneipp Factor

Please tell me you have heard of the world famous spa brand, Kneipp?

No? Well, let me give you a very brief overview. Since 1891, Kneipp, made in Germany has been manufacturing contemporary products for health and well being. Founded by naturopath and priest Sebastian Kneipp, who was diagnosed with Tuberclosis (and was told to basically just rest up and die!), he healed himself using hydrotherapy. This kind priest also treated poor and sick people and refused to take any money.

There are five pillars of Kneipp;

1. Water

2. Plants

3. Exercise

4. Nutrition

5. Balance (interaction of all of the above four elements keeps body and spirit equal)

The range of products are stunning, from the colour therapy bath oils to the massage oils enriched with natural ingredients  (which I can go into at another time).

For those of you with excellent taste in beauty products, then you will already know or have experienced Kneipp at some point in your life. Kneipp is HUGE in Europe (and you know French women know good products right?)

The product I am raving on about from Kneipp is the 100 % natural, NaturaRenew Organic Body Oil, a luxurious blend of golden safflower, grapefruit and olive oils which leaves my skin feeling richly moisturised and wonderfully firm.

I have only been using it for a week but I have already noticed a difference in the tone of my skin, dry patches are long gone and the smell is deliciously sweet (unlike all other Bio Oils, apart from Davina Peace). Which brings me back to Davina Peace, I used that oil so sparingly because it is SO expensive (but so worth it). However, Kneipp is so similar to the Davina Peace Oil it is quite unbelievable, especially when you consider the price difference.

Davina Peace Oil costs £45.00 and Kneipp's NaturaRenew costs £8.95.

If you want a slice (or a drizzle) of the action, go to www.victoriahealth.com.

Amazon Series Part 2: Acai Oil Hair Treatment

I'm hoping you read my first post on the Amazon Series hair range, if not, you can catch up here.

I gave my salon sized bottle of Moroccanoil to my sister after using the Acai Oil for the very first time. 

I have never smelt Acai berries before but if this is how they smell, then I MUST find some, the oil smells good enough to eat and I love how the smell lingers in my hair throughout the day and night.

Acai berries contain the most potent and effective antioxidants on Earth, these beautiful berries have been used in this wonderful hair treatment to keep hair healthy and super shiny.

It mends split ends, eliminates frizz and contains acai berry extracts, olive oil and vitamins. So, you can use it everyday and you'll find it doesn't weigh your hair down like Moroccanoil (which contains silicones hence the weighty issue I had after a while).

Finally, I must add, a little goes a long way.

You will only find Amazon Series products in the UK at www.nuusuite.com.

RRP £16.99 for a 59ml bottle.

A decorated face..by ELLIS FAAS

"A decorated face is a way to show strength and pride. And playfulness! Life is a joke, so don't forget to laugh."

How awesome is this?


I LOVE everything about ELLIS FAAS, the ethos of 'make up not war' to the bullet shaped products! 


Check out Ellis herself, she has also made a film of herself wearing a similar kind of make up look here.


Next post on ELLIS FAAS, the dreamy Skin Veil.

RED Friday with IMAN

Ok, so ages ago I decided to tweet my collection of pink lipsticks as a feature called 'Pink Friday'. I would like to introduce you to the latest addition to my lipstick/gloss/tar collection, which is not pink nor coral...it is RED!

This red is so good, I just have to share it with the world! My favourite matte red lipstick is NARS Vesuvio because the tone is perfect for my olive skin and the quality is unbeatable! However, I have always had issues with red lipglosses (apart from MAC's Russian Red but I got fed up of it because I wore it so much when I was 18/19) they don't stay true to their colour in the tube.

So I am so happy to find the ULTIMATE red lipgloss from IMAN Cosmetics, it is called Lavish and is part of the luxury lip shine range. It is super highly pigmented and really IS the colour you see in the tube.

I would describe this shade of red as 'Gwen Stefani red', bright, rich red yet a classic all year round shade. It has orange undertones which really complement olive and dark skin.

with flash

in natural light

I only used a little with a lip brush but you can really build up the colour to make it as intense as you wish.

RRP £14.95

Visit www.imancosmetics.com (SO glad IMAN is back in the UK, wait until you see IMAN's Afterglow, if you're after J.Lo's glow, you need this in your life! Post coming soon).