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



Big trip to the BIg Apple!

Last week I was in NYC to celebrate my mates birthdays (the Lee sisters). We spent most of our time eating delicious food and partying.

Me being a make up fiend, I had to get my beauty fix, so while the Lee's caught up with beauty sleep, I spent my spare hours in Sephora, Bloomingdales, Duane Reed and everywhere in between that sells beauty products.

I wish our pharmacies were more beauty focused like the USA and the rest of Europe, there are the odd few (a cool pharmacy on Great Portland Street) which sell NUXE and ART DECO but the majority are just so boring!

I also prefer the sales assistants on make up counters/pharmacies abroad, they are so friendly, full of knowledge and passionate about the industry they are working in (they remind me of me when I used to work in make up). I find that a lot of counter staff over here can be rude, judgmental and they definitely lack overall beauty and product knowledge (have found this on MAC counters and this kills me to say, but also a lot of Space.NK's, whereas the girls in Space.NK in NY were superb!!). The staff in Space.NK where I live are clueless, they are so clueless that I have even enquired about part time in-store work with them because I feel like the store will eventually close down because they don't appear to be making any money.

Do you guys prefer to buy your make up online or in-store? While you think about it, check out the highlights of my NYC trip in pictures.








My view everyday



My breakfast and hourly snacks



Pretty pigment glitters at FACE Stockholm store!

Pretty blushers at FACE Stockholm

The cream blush and eyeshadow I bought (which I'm using as a blusher)

Glorious tinted moisturisers

The KORRES stand in Sephora

Corrector palettes at FACE Stockholm

Highly pigmented eyeshadow range by FACE Stockholm

OMG, amazing! We need these in the UK

Me and Lee dying over our Pinberry order

I wish mascaras all showed their brush like this

Erm, hello! I need this supersize in guava!

Josie Maran Argan Oil Lipglosses! I WISH I bought them!!

Tarte Cosmetics stand! The Amazonian blushers are stunning!

The adorable French Bulldog who resides in the same building as Lizzie Lee

My Beauty Highlights 2010

After being stranded in Paris last week and being ill, all I wanted to do was eat, sleep and watch Christmas TV, hence the major backlog of blogging I have caused myself.

I'm going to kick off with my beauty highlights of 2010, these are all products I recommend as my 'Star Products' and have experienced noticeable results with. 

The first brand I highly commend is Liz Earle. I had heard a lot of talk about the Cleanse & Polish

product, but had never tried it until this year, it's a lovely cream cleanser which removes all traces of make up, dirt and oils with a muslin cloth. I am most impressed with the whole ethos of the brand, the natural ingredients, the extensive range of glorious products and the wonderful affordable price point. 

I also had the greatest pleasure in meeting Liz Earle at the launch of the long awaited (and amazing) Botanical Shine shampoo and conditioner range. I have been using the shampoo and conditioner since August, the shampoo makes my hair smell like lemons and feels squeaky clean. You can read more here.

Trish McEvoy has always been one of my favourite brands from my days as a MUA (Make Up Artist), there are a couple of products from Trish which will always sit in my day to day collection;  

Instant Eye Lift: a long wearing under-eye line filler and brightener, this does not budge at all! It makes such a noticeable difference.

24 hour Eyeshadow and liner in Topaz, I have never come across a cream eyeshadow which doesn't crease (without an eye base). This is my favourite eyeshadow for quality and colour.

Eye Base Essentials, this is a brilliant eye base which is nice worn alone or under eyeshadows to keep them in place all day, zero creasing! 100% true!

Finally, the Lash Enhancer, which I spent a few weeks monitoring the results, I need to stock up on some more because I have really noticed the difference since I have ran out. You can read more here.

This year, us gals went doolally for the new hybrid gel polish, yes, a manicure that REALLY does last for 2 weeks with no chipping and no smudging. I knew about gel polish way before Shellac launched due to the industry I work in and I can also tell you that Gel Polish will be BIG business next year too with other brands jumping on the bandwagon. Harrod's Urban Retreat is offering EzFlow Gel Polish called 'Gelez' manicures and Space.NK's Spa have chosen IBD's Gelac Gel Polish.

I am really happy to be a part of the beauty blogging world because the beauty bloggers I have come across are so lovely and helpful. I have made some great blogger friends, some I have met (the 6 inch stilettos, beautywowza, i heart cosmetics, hell candy) and some I would love to meet in 2011 (to many to mention, but you're all on Twitter). 

Beautywowza introduced me to the ultra glam eco body range 'Davina Peace'. This was one of my favourite launches of 2010 and I can't wait for the face range in 2011! I'm so excited! The Wowza also took me along to the launch of a beautful natural and halal cosmetic range, called 'Inika'. The Kabuki make up brush is magnificent, I wonder what Inika will bring out in 2011?

Boots launched the Nip + Fab range, my sisters and some friends have all went and bought the eye brightening concealer because they were so impressed. It's way better than YSL's Touche Eclat and half the price!

Friends and readers will know how much I LOVE Korres (I wish the store on King's Road was still open), this year I got to meet the beautiful Lena Korres, where she presented some new product launches. I can't wait for the perfumes to be launched in March, the plum/pear one smells just like my Creed Aqua Fiorentina. I'll be stocking up! I'm also predicting that the Quercetin Antiageing & Antiwrinkle range will be flying off the shelves of Liberty and Zuneta.com, this range is delectable. The primer (which has NO silicones like conventional primers) is a wonderful make up base.

This year, I finally got my paws on some OCC Lip Tars, thanks to beauty fulfilled, she sent me to www.geniecosmetics.co.uk! I didn't even know OCC was available in the UK until this little beauty sent me the link (she is wearing the bright pink lip tar on her home page, I also have it, he he, but it looks way better on her).

Other websites I discovered this year and love are; www.zuneta.com and www.thegreengrocery.co.uk.

I feel like I've rambled on a bit much now, there are many more products I could mention but these are definitely my top ones.

Thanks for reading.

x

Neglected blog post and puppy needs a name!

I must introduce you to the latest addition to my family, she is a four week old abandoned puppy and she is the reason I have neglected my blog over the weekend.

I have to feed her from a baby bottle every two hours and she cries throughout the night, hence the provisional name of 'Siren', she has very expensive taste already, loves leopard print, has amazing talons and the cutest little face ever, I'm in love with her. We were thinking of finding her a home but we just have to keep her, she's now part of the family.

I'm still trying to come up with a good name, what do you think?

Siren

Minx

Minaj

or something else?

Ps, got quite a few posts coming up on Korres, make up schools and Emma Hardie Skincare.

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?