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.

Bare Eyes, Bright Lips

On Friday, I rocked the ‘No Mascara’ trend which was hot at the Christopher Kane A/W show. I thought I would be horrified to look at myself without mascara and my signature eyeliner but I actually quite liked it. I enjoyed the freedom of not wearing mascara.

Only two people at work even noticed a difference, they both commented how much they liked it and how natural and fresh I looked. I’m glad I didn’t scare everyone at work and I will definitely be rocking this look again. I’ve listed all the products I used below.

The base: It’s important to have a flawless base with the no mascara look. I achieved this by using;

• Korres Quercetine & Oak Face Primer: a silicone free, wrinkle filling and skin perfecting primer which is enriched with powerful antioxidants and creates a super smooth surface.

• My face cosmetics ‘my mix foundation’ in Med/Dark. I never usually wear foundation, I normally use Chantecaille’s tinted moisturiser but I like this product because it is just like a tinted moisturiser. It matches my skin colour with and without fake tan.

• Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse Oil on my cheekbones.

Cheeks: I tried to be as natural as possible with my cheeks but blusher is my make up weakness, just can’t live without it and you’ll never find me rocking the no blush look that Grazia was raving on about recently.

• Korres luminous finish blush in 15 Natural with Nars Deep Throat.

Eyes: Trish McEvoy is my eye-saviour. If I hadn’t been using the Lash Enhancer, I don’t think I would have had the courage to wear this look. The night time lash enhancer treatment has made my lashes so thick, healthy and a bit longer. I have also discovered a new star product – the Trish McEvoy Instant Eye Lift. This is an under-eye concealer which fills in lines and brightens eyes. I even used this on my eyelids and my colleague commented how she loved my ‘eyeshadow’, this would also make a great base for eyeshadow if you’re after a multi-purpose product. I used to recommend Bobbi Brown’s Secret Brightener or By Terry’s VIP Touche expert but I highly recommend the Trish Instant Eye Lift – especially if you have dark circles (like me) and you want smooth under-eye skin.

Lips: A pop of colour is key with the no mascara look, so I wore Mac’s amplified lipstick in Impassioned with Illamasqua’s Intense lipgloss in Indulge.

What do you think? Would you be brave enough to ditch your mascara for the day?