Month: January 2012

Coming Soon!

/ MANY BRAVE FOOLS / Leave a comment

I hope! OMG I am so behind! So much stuff to try, and post about!

All the nail stuff, ach, and my nails haven’t improved very much at’all. Mainly because I gave up on them, so I better get back on that tip.

Oh, the false eyelashes! So afraid!

Avon’s Smoke and Mirrors collection: I love that lippy there, in Nude and Infused, but must do the quad and the nail varnish.

And Clarins Colour Breeze Face & Blush Powder — looks prettttty…

You can barely see the Johnson’s Body Care 24hour Moisture: Gentle Exfoliating Body Wash, or the L’Oréal Sublime Bronze Self-Tanning Fresh Feel Gel, which I thought it would be smart to use on my legs ahead of full-on tanning season…

Okay. Deep breath! Onward!

{And the L’Occitane Hand Cream! Ayyyyiiiii!}

♥Day: Bliss Fabulips

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Here we go! First in the series! File this under: Grooming.

Remember that picture of all those shampoos? Yeah, well, I won’t even dare to photograph all the lip balms, scrubs, and other treatments I’ve got all over the house, in my handbags, and in the pockets of my coats. It’s a Thing, and that’s all I’ve got to say on the subject.

If you want to get your lips in top-notch snogging condition for the ♥Day, or for any day, I wholeheartedly {oops, didn’t mean to do that, but feck it, it stays} direct you to bliss’ fabulips treatment kit. As it clearly states, the kit is completely fabu for your lips.

There are four components:
1>Foaming Lip Cleanser
2>Sugar Lip Scrub
3>Instant Lip Plumper
4>Softening Lip Balm

1>Foaming Lip Cleanser Once, I got a thing, it was like a lip cleanser or something, and it was the consistency of cold cream. Yuck! It was gross. This is a cleanser, too, and not that gross. Talk about damning with faint praise! This has the same scent and tingle as does bliss’ triple oxygen mask, which is interesting. It foams up, just a tiny bit, after you’ve applied the tiniest, tiny bit, and it feels pretty good. I’m not into heavy, dark lippy these days, but I am sure that this would clean off even the stubbornest long-wearing lip colour.

2>Sugar Lip Scrub Once, I also got another thing that was a lip scrub, and using it was like smooching a sugar bowl. Even as I cut back and cut back back the dosage, I always felt like I was wasting product. Not so with this little tub ‘o’ scrub: the merest swipe of a finger dispenses the perfect amount of product, which in turn does a terrific job of exfoliating your lips. Nut allergy people, beware! This contains walnut.

3>Instant Lip Plumper This is nice and minty. I don’t know, not a fan of lip plumpers, but at least this one doesn’t sting like you’ve just tried to snog a nest of wasps. I know the stinging is the thing that does the plumping, but sorry: ouch. Gotta love the flexible plastic applicator, though. I may use it, just for love of that.

4>Softening Lip Balm Oh, God, not another balm for me to fall for! This one is as soft as it says, and it smells coconutty. Since I am keen to keep the integrity of the kit, this most likely won’t find itself into a bag or a pocket. Probably…

€46/£39/$45

Okay, So, Here’s the Thing About Valentine’s Day

/ brightandbeautyfull / 2 Comments

Yeah, it’s a totally manufactured ‘holiday’.

Yeah, it’s completely mercenary.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, price gouging, blah, unrealistic expectations, blah blah, heteronormative, blah, blah, blah.

Actually, maybe I should say: okay, so, here’s the thing about Valentine’s Day and me. I totally get all of the above, but I frickin’ love it anyway.

I mean, I am in love with love, and therefore, this day gets a pass from me.

Now, it is annoying when one is single, as I am myself, to feel bombarded by all the literal hearts and flowers rubbish going around. It’s hard to not be sad/mad/just-go-grab-a-lad when the auld <3 day comes around again. I was going to try to sell yees a whole ‘Take Back Heart Day’ thing, Like, Show Your Pals How Much You Love Them, and Hey! Your Family Might Like a Nice Prezzie… it may still work out that way, but yeah, it’s a hard sell. It’s not like, ooh, Everyday Can Be Valentine’s Day, because: no.

Basically, it’s almost impossible to be a beauty blogger and fail to chip in with ideas for the The Big Day.

Well, you know what? For many, it is not A Big Day. Or: it is as Big A Day as you make it. So if you are interested in treats and deals that are available in the run up to the 14th of next month, then you will find such information here.

If you want to buy yourself stuff, and it just so happens to be in the shape of a heart, and may be coloured red, and you happen to like it, then you might come across something cute. There will be posts on grooming, gifting, and eating/drinking, and I have to say, I’ve got some sweet stuff in the bag.

If you hate the whole idea of the whole thing, read along anyway, I’ll try to keep things amusing.

Live Blog*: The Receipt of a Package

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This was sitting on the floor beneath my post box. Excitement! Confusion: Cake from England?!?

Once upstairs, I clearly do not intend to mess about. Let us investigate.

Ooh, Dermalogica, yay! Much excite — picture is out of focus as a result.

OMG IT IS TOTALLY CAKE.

And also an opportunity for me to talk about how great the Daily Microfoliant® is. See how that works? Brilliance in public relating combined with, if I do say so myself, an entertaining dessimation of said PR.

But forealz: I love this product and am delighted to join in marking its 10th birthday. So gentle, so delicate, yet so thorough. This is the best exfoliator of the facial area for those of you who require gentility and delicacy. Seriously. And as you use so little to do so much — about half a teaspoon does the job — it is excellent value.

All that from a wee package! Who knew? ;)

€46/£38/$50

*Yeah, not really.

Vitamin See: Jan Marini C-ESTA® Rejuvenating Eye Treatment

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Oh, the world of punny, eye-related headlines is vast, but this one is a natural, as is the treatment itself.

There is nothing, if you’re me, and maybe if you’re you as well! like walking into a spa. Everything about a good spa is designed and organising to the n-th degree of relaxation and rejuvenation: muted, clean colours, the burning of aromatherapy candles, the mellow yet friendly demeanour of the staff, the light chatter of women who are taking some time out for their self-care.

Based in Baggot Street, essentials Beauty & Skincare have all that in spades. They’ve also got several floors of an elegantly appointed building and unlike many days spas in which I have been treated, they saw to the soundproofing and be extension, to the comfort of their clients. Seriously, there is nothing more annoying then one’s mellow harshed by continually closing doors, chatter in the hallways, and one time, the sound of a fellow bliss-seeker taking a shower. There was no singing involved, but still.

Anyway! None of that nonsense at essentials. Additionally, the introduced me to a product line that I’d yet to come across, that of Jan Marini. Loads of celebs use her products — Cher, who I adore, is a big fan — and so I reckoned that the products hail from the West Coast. I was right! I love being right. When I was offered the chance to review the C-ESTA® Rejuvenating Eye Treatment, I happily accepted, keen to learn about a whole new bunch of products. When I was told it was only 30 minutes, I thought, ‘Feh, what’s the use of that?’

In this case, I am more than happy to be wrong.

The C-ESTA® line takes vitamin C as its main ingredient. Also involved is DMAE, which is short for Dimethylethanolamine,’a potent anti-oxidant, cellular mediator and product penetration enhancer.’ To parse: anti-oxidants wipe out free radicals, which inspire chemical reactions that are not beneficial, in this case, to the skin; cellular mediator, OMG, don’t even go down that WIki rabbit hole {scarred for life}, but let’s logic it and say that it gets the product to the cells that need, and doesn’t it waste its time with those that don’t?; and the last, well, this makes sure the product really gets down under the surface of the skin.

I said I was going to make more of an effort with this science-y stuff, so there you go.

The pleasure upon entering the warm, lowly-lit, and utterly relaxing treatment room needs not be parsed. Yay, for the warm towels; yay, for the terry-cloth boob-tubey thing I wore beneath the towels; yay, for the pleasant, lute-y music that played.

And yay hurray for the treatment itself, which, as delivered by Martha, was comprehensive, soothing, and did all the rejuvenating as promised. My skin was cleansed with C-ESTA® Cleansing Gel, followed by a ten minute micro mask for the eyes. While the mask did its thing, I got a massage to aid lymphatic drainage with C-ESTA® Cream; this was follwoed by applications of Eye Repair Concentrate and Intervention Eye Cream, respectively. Lastly, Antioxidant Face Protectant was swept on, and the interlude was at an end.

At some stage, there was a shoulder and upper back massage. Sigh.

Now, when I was in the States for the holidays, I saw endless commercials for this product that makes your eyes bigger? It’s like tape that you put on your eyelids? Whoa. As someone who has a very thin lid, I could understand the motivation behind this product, but: tape on your eyelids?!?! After this treatment, I looked like I had had an eye lift, the same sort of look the eyelid tape was producing. That is pretty amazing.

I will say that I felt some serious tingling during part of the process, and if you have sensitive skin, I would make sure that I got a patch test or something. The thing is, my skin can take just about anything, and if I felt an intense tingle, than those of you with more delicate complexions might like to ask a few questions first.

I was dewy and bright-eyed for days. I also felt like my skin didn’t need anything else doing to it for at least three of those days, so that is pretty impressive.

If you’d like to brighten your outlook on life, I recommend this, and the whole essentials day spa experience.

The Jan Marini CESTA Rejuvenating Eye Treatment is priced at €45 for one 30 min treatment with a recommended package of six treatments to be carried out over 6 weeks, usually priced at €270 but on special offer at €225

For further information on Jan Marini treatment and products, please contact essentials Beauty & Skincare Clinic, 7 Upper Baggot Street, Dublin 4, (01) 6683036 / info@essentials.ie

Day Cream & Night Cream: What’s the Point?

/ brightandbeautyfull / 1 Comment

It’s churlish for me to give out about having too many objects of a beauty-full nature cluttering up the place, but as I was moving things around the other day, I had to wonder, in true SATC talking-to-myself style: Is there really a difference between day cream and night creams?

I don’t usually have my logic-hat on when I’m thinking about beauty products. I don’t even think about beauty products, if you know what I mean: I simply accept them for what they are and am grateful that they are in my life. But now and then, I do wonder if my self-care routine could be made more simple, and the first thing I consider taking out of the rotation, if not outright chucking in the bin, is night cream.

Are those screams I hear? I got scolded roundly when I told a friend and fellow beauty colleague that I didn’t bother with eye cream, and I imagine that those in the know will start the finger-wagging any second now.

I’m on a bit of a campaign, however, to really understand what’s up with the why. Like, you can tell me, ‘Oh, anti-oxidants blah blah free radicals blah,’ but what’s it mean? And can I understand and believe it, without having gained a science degree.

Explanations are abundant, and okay, so they make sense: you need different things during the day as opposed to the night. During the day, you need to moisturise and protect, and during the night, moisturise and replenish. Okay, I get that. Also, here’s a cool thing, via allaboutyou.com:

During the day the skin’s energies are directed at protecting itself and you from stress, be it environmental or psychological. At night however cells focus on repairing themselves and damage sustained during the day. It follows that using different products for night and day supports the natural functions of the skin.

Okay! I totally get that, mainly because I think it’s cool that there’s a psychological aspect to skin care. As if I didn’t suspect that already!

I’ve got three day/night cream duos that I’m testing at the moment:

>Ziaja Rose Butter Anti-aging Moisturiser and Night Cream
>Renovage (for Aldi) Protective Day Cream and Rejuvenating Night Cream
>Clarins Extra-Firming Day and Extra-Firming Night

I will, of course, let you know how I get on…

Sweet Sixteen: Karaja Super Longwear Semi-Permanent Soft Eyeliner

/ brightandbeautyfull / 1 Comment

Aw! All done: here’s the last entry in the brightandbeautyfull.com Sweet Sixteen Sweepstakes. The sixteenth and final product was only slightly influenced by the discovery that I had very little make up in the running.

I went and got a makeover at a counter in a fancy department store — Dior in Brown Thomas — before heading the launch party for my first novel*, and among the many cool things the make up lady did was to line my upper inner lid in black.

Now, I am capable enough to just about poke my own eye out putting on shades, so the notion of going anywhere near my eyeball with a pencil-shaped object made me extremely nervous. I got the hang of it, though, because it looked so good, and on days when I can’t be arsed to do the whole mascara-and-eyeshadow thing, a little bit of a line in the inside of my upper lids is all I need to feel like a slightly vampy all-natural girl.

My first favourite was Origins Automagically ™ Eye Lining Pencil, but I ran out and then couldn’t buy it in Ireland anymore. {This is true, right?} Then, it didn’t matter anymore because I got Karaja’s Super Longwear Semi-Permanent Soft Eyeliner, and haven’t looked back since.

Oh, wow, didn’t even see what I did there. <– And there! Okay, enough with the cleverness. I love this liner, and I am using it down to the nub. I’ve consulted my archives, and am stunned to discover that I have only been using this for little over a year. Stunned! This is such a big part of my regime, that it feels as though I have been using this forever, if not two years at least.

I will admit to being a bit freaked out by the semi-permanent aspect of this. It does have amazing staying power, but it also does require at least one touch-up in the day. On the other hand, it is a bit of a bitch to remove. I have gone through more than my normal allotment of cotton pads. But then, on the other other hand, even when I blink like a … a bunny? Do bunnies blink really fast? Even when I blink really fast when applying, it never ends up on my bottom inner lid, never mind the rest of my face.

It’s also sort of been my gateway product as far as The Smoky Eye is concerned. I have always been afraid of TSE, which is silly, because it is totally hot, and using the Karaja pencil eased me into the whole look gently, easily, and unsmearingly.

Next long-from feature: Desert Island Sponge Bag {or Wash Bag, or Toiletries Bag, depending upon from whence ye hail.}

€10/£9.99/$13-ish, plus P&H via euro-products.co.uk

*which is also available on Kindle.

If You Ever Get Kicked By a Horse…

/ brightandbeautyfull / 1 Comment

… and the bruise is not going away, then I highly recommend Cicaplast, by La Roche-Posay. If you want the whole story, it’s here.

This is not blatant blog-rolling on my part, I’m just too pressed for time to get into the details. Condensed version: got kicked by a horse, a glancing blow to the shin, very lucky I had been turning my mount away or else God knows what would have happened {or been broken}, it stung like m***erf***er for a couple days, was sore for a few more, and then… nothing much. Some discolouration, but no real bruising.

Then, two months later, it started to itch like a double mofo, and I grabbed the Cicaplast. I hadn’t used it before, as I don’t have sensitive skin, and this stuff seems to be for those who do. I read up on it, noticed on the website that there were images of other parts of the body besides the face, and slapped this on the dent in my leg.

It cleared it up in no time a’tall. The itching stopped within moments of contact –>foreals,  and the discolouration faded in days. A cursory wander round the web reveals that it is good for all manner of skin complaints, from nappy rash to use as primer by make up artists to the healing of scars. The tiniest bit of it works like a charm, it is light, fragrance-free, and I think it made by the fairies under the full moon, because it is pure magic.

Now, if only there was a topical that could do something about that dent, which is still apparent, almost a year later…

€12.50/£13.00(NI)/$36.50 list price on Amazon, down to $12.50, but still?!? See here, in the comments, for recs on where to buy Stateside.

Sweet Sixteen: Almost There!

/ brightandbeautyfull / Leave a comment

Well, here we are, almost on the last installment* in the first long-form editorial feature on brightandbeautyfull.com. I just had a bad moment in which I thought that I had miscounted and actually had three more to do, rather only one. It gave me pause, in that it A} reinforced my belief that I suffer from dyscalculia (must self-diagnose myself, there has to be a test I can take online) and B} made me wonder how the previous fifteen added up, in terms of categories covered. Like, if I had to survive on a desert island with only these products, could I?!?!?

Well, I’d certainly smell good, and have incredibly soft skin. No less than six of the products had to do with exfoliating, moisturising, oiling and scenting the bod. I think this is a good thing, because of predators, you know, on the desert island. They’d be put off by all that perfume, right? So thanks to Bliss Vanilla + Bergamot, Jo Malone Body Créme, Elemis Frangipani Monoi Moisturing Oil, the L’Occitane Almond line, the Lush Karma line, and Nuxe’s Huile Prodigieuse, I am safe from… I don’t know, monkeys?

Skincare-wise, I’ve got Clinique’s Clarifying Toner and REN’s Cleansing Milk, Dermalogica’s Soothing Booster to zap away those pesky zits, Yes to Carrots Exfoliating Mud Mask, and Lancôme’s Visionnaire to keep me youthful while I wait for the rescue ship. Perhaps if I had realised I was going to be shipwrecked, I would have packed some SPF.

As far as make up goes, I’ve got Benefit’s Erase Paste, Mac’s Beauty Powder, and Too Faced Caribbean in a Compact which is surely redundant. Also surplus to requirements, at least in the middle of the ocean, is Voya’s Lazy Days seaweed bath.

Hmmm: no lip balm, and I am as addicted to that as I am to shampoo & conditioner — and no shampoo & conditioner?!? No regular moisturiser or serum, nothing for my brows. Since I already know what my last item is, I see that I may have to do something else along the lines of… My Desert Island Sponge Bag???

Too lazy to link — already gearing up for the laid-back island lifestyle — but if you click on the Sweet Sixteen tag or category link below, it’ll take you where you want to go.

*Appearing tomorrow…