L'Oreal Revitalift Laser Renew Eye Cream

Although I am a newbie to eye creams I have been on the hunt for the perfect one over the last year. Some are too light, some are too thick and greasy, while others make my eyes sting... there must be one out there that (like Goldilocks' porridge) is just right!

Over the last few weeks I have been trying out the new L'Oreal Revitalift Laser Renew Eye Cream. This cream isn't a laser treatment but it does promise to target wrinkles, skin firmness and skin texture leaving your skin feeling smoother, plumper and looking more even. Revitalift Laser Renew contains a naturally-derived glycan (or complex sugar)-Pro-Xylane, which has been proven to reduce the appearance of crow’s feet wrinkles, boost skin density and improve bounce.This molecule has been combined with two other active ingredients, LHA (Lipohydroxy acid) a smart exfoliating ingredient and fragmented Hyaluronic acid, a moisturising ingredient to boost the effects of the formula.

Fortunately wrinkles are not something that I worry about (yet), but because of my allergies and all too frequent late nights I do get prominent bags under my eyes and blue circles. I have found this cream so easy to apply with its cooling metal applicator that smooths and massages the skin. The cream itself has a great consistency as it sinks into the skin without leaving an oily residue or milia, but it still feels moisturising and hydrating. I think it also has a slight light reflective property and acts as a great base for your makeup.

L'Oreal's Revitalift Laser Renew Eye Cream is available in leading supermarkets and pharmacies and can be found in Boots online here for £13.33.

Have you tried L'Oreal's Laser Renew Eye Cream? What are your favourite eye creams?

L'Oreal Miss Candy Collection

 

Pastel colours were all over the runways this Summer so I was excited to see that L'Oreal have brought out a new collection of candy colours for eyes, lips and nails. The collection features a fun selection of mouth watering, sugar sweet swirls of sparkles and shimmering shades.

Miss Candy Glam Shine lip glosses give a great twist on the classic glam shines with contrasting  swirls of shimmery and creamy colours. They are available in 6 glistening shades for £7.69 here.

Left to Right: 710 Pink Treat, 711 Nude BonBon, 703 Tart Lollipop, 712 Dolce Pralina, 

709 Miss Candy

My absolutely favourite part of this collection is the gorgeous assortment of candy cane nail polishes. There are 10 shades to choose from ranging from effervescent pastels to tangy brights at £4.99 each here.

Left to Right: 202 Marie Antoinette, 101 Opera Ballerina, 305 Dating Coral, 601French Riviera, 213 Sassy Pink, 616 Innocent Turquoise, 304 Spicy Orange.

I was so excited when these colours landed on my office desk that I almost gave myself a mini manicure straight away! I chose the gorgeous creamy 601 French Riviera to set off my (spray) tan. I absolutely love the summery colour with a hint of shimmer, though it is quite sheer so it needed 3 coats to build to an opaque finish.

The last part of the collection is a trio of Miss Candy Color Infallible eye shadows. These colours promise to be waterproof, long lasting and crease resistant. Each shade has a mix of contrasting flecks adding depth and interest and retails at £6.99 here.

 Left to Right: 32 Sassy Chamallow, 36 Naughty Strawberry, 31 Innocent Turquoise.

Have you seen L'Oreal's Miss Candy Collection in stores? What do you think of their selection of colours? I love pastel shades and am really excited to have a play with these over the summer! xxx

FOTD: 10 Mins Going Out Makeup

When in a rush I usually go for fail safe combo of bright lips and neutral eyes. This whole look took about 10 minutes, which I think is pretty speedy... though I have no doubt the bf would disagree ;).

With my amazing new Boudoir lashes (review coming soon) all I had to do was add a flick of L'Oreal carbon gloss eyeliner and a tiny amount of MAC's Phloof in the inner corners to open up my eyes.

I then used a small amount of MUA's Hot Lips lip balm on my cheeks (multi tasking) and mixed a red Eyeko lipstick with MAC's cool toned gladiola to create a statement. I find that mixing colours and layering up different textures of lip products ensures that your colour stays put all night!

What are you fail safe makeup choices? What products do you rely on to get ready in a hurry? xxx

L’Oreal Color Riche Nail Collection

You all know how I love my mini polishes, so I was really excited to learn that L’Oreal Paris have recently launched a fantastic new range of mini nail varnishes. The Color Riche Nail Collection comprises 41 new nail shades perfect for every summer-time mood!

 (With flash)

Left to Right: Insolent Magenta 504, Cafe St Germain 109, Divine Indigo 609, Boudoir Rose 204.

 (Without flash)

I was kindly sent a little selection to play with and I absolutely adore them. First of all they are mini (collective awwwww), though despite their size they do feature a large flat brush, which makes application super fast and easy. All the colours I have tried were pretty much opaque in one coat too, so perfect for painting on the go.

Once again I was desperate to try these out as soon as they landed so I had to borrow a nail or four from a friend ;). The above shows just one coat of polish. Pretty!

Color Riche Polishes are available from Boots for £4.99 here.

Have you tried the new L'Oreal Color Riche nail polishes? Which are your favourite shades? xxx

L'Oreal Lumi Magique

After reading the breakdown of the products used in LFW I noticed that L'Oreal's new Lumi Magique Light Infusing Foundation was all over the catwalks. I was particularly lusting after the milky, natural skin seen in the Mulberry show, which used both the LM primer and foundation. 

I therefore jumped at the chance to try the collection which includes a trio of luminising products - Lumi Magique Light Infusing Foundation, Lumi Magique Touch of Light Highlighting Pen and Lumi Magique Pure Light Primer.

I don't want to make this review too long, so let's concentrate on the foundation first. The Lumi Magique foundation is designed to illuminate and revitalise the look of dull skin with instant radiance. It claims to provide 24 hour hydration and 14 hour luminosity (not sure how this is measured?), while being oil free and non-comedogenic.

I was sent C1 Rose Pearl, which is the lightest in the selection of 6 shades. It is a real shame that there is a limited range to choose from, but I have found that to be the case in all too many a drugstore foundation (this topic really deserves a post of its own). 

The foundation itself has a light consistency, and as you can see from the above is pretty thin and runny. This makes it super easy to blend into the skin and it looks very natural once applied and feels light and fresh. It has a light/ medium coverage and evens the skin beautifully, while adding that illusive glow.

The photo above is unedited (other than cropping) and shows two pumps of foundation applied with a large flat topped brush. The coverage isn't heavy, letting the skin show through and giving it a clean, dewy and natural finish. As I have some larger pores around my nose I was worried that it could highlight these, but luckily it sits on the skin very evenly, without highlighting flaws. It offers just that little bit more coverage than a tinted moisturiser so I did find that I needed to add concealer on any blemishes and redness. Plus, as my skin can get quite oily in the t-zone throughout the day I like to set it with a powder, so after this photo was taken I applied my usual makeup.

The foundation still looked quite glowy, even when set with powder and definitely gave my skin that extra bit of life! Throughout the day I did notice that my forehead, nose and chin did become shiny, but that was easily fixed with some blotting or extra powder. Lumi Magique isn't particularly long lasting, especially on oily skin, but I would recommend it for those with dry skin as it is very smooth and feels hydrating.

The new L'Oreal Lumi Magique foundation is available for £10.99 from Boots and Superdrug.

So what do you think? Does the Lumi Magique foundation look luminous? Have you tried this new foundation? Are you tempted to pick it up? What is the most important aspect of your foundation? Is it oil control, lasting time, coverage or indeed 'luminosity'? xxx

L'Oreal Hair Expertise Review and Competition

L'Oreal's new Hair Expertise range of premium, non-sulphate hair products has been designed to provide a gentle cleansing system with a myriad of botanical oils to nourish and protect even the most over processed hair. I was lucky enough to be invited to try out the range prior to its release and have been faithfully using it ever since!

If you want to be one of the first in the UK to try the range scroll down to the end for details of a competition to win 1 of 1000 full size shampoos and conditioners!

These non-sulphate shampoos and conditioners smell amazing and surprisingly lather really well to leave the hair feeling clean, smooth and silky. I am often wary of products that claim to be sulphate free as they can sometimes be difficult to use (due to the lack of lather) and can leave the hair very tangled and coarse. This range feels very gentle on the hair - foaming and being easy to rinse out - without leaving behind any unwanted residue.

The Hair Expertise collection is made up of a selection of shampoos, conditioners, serums, mists and masks grouped into three main categories:

• EverPure - Colour Care and Moisture/Smoothing/Volume, infused with rosemary, juniper and mint botanical oils. EverPure protects the hair's hydrophobicity making it more resistant to external aggressors, like water, which help to maintain colour vibrancy.
• EverSleek - Smoothing and Intensely Nourish/Moisture, infused with botanical sunflower extract. EverSleek is designed to combat coarse and frizzy hair and provide it with 48 hour anti-frizz protection.
• EverStrong - Reinforcing and Vitality, infused with rosemary and juniper botanical oils. EverStrong is designed for fragile and brittle hair to increase strength and leave it feeling full of life.

The lovely Chris Appleton (BBC3’s Young Hairdresser of the Year) from the L'Oreal Professionnel team was kind enough to assess my hair and recommend the right products to suit my slightly overprocessed, long, coloured and frizz prone locks. He said that despite all the abuse my hair was quite healthy and strong, but due to its length needed an extra infusion of moisture. He therefore recommended the EverPure Colour Care and Moisture range, which is designed to leave hair nourished, smooth, soft and shiny. I was then allowed to try the products straight away to see how they would work for my hair...

 The charming Chris and I after my wash and blow dry.

As you can see the shampoo and conditioner worked wonders on my hair leaving it smooth and soft, yet bouncy and full. I absolutely loved this range and have been using it ever since.

Given that the Hair Expertise range falls into L'Oreal's premium products I was pleasantly surprised at the price. The shampoos and conditioner retail at RRP £5.99, while the indulgent masks are £6.99, the UV filter protective mist is £6.99 and the serums £7.99.

Hair Expertise will be launching in Boots later this month. However, if you can't wait till then and want to be one of the first in the UK to try the range you can enter their Facebook competition here to win 1 of 1000 full size shampoos and conditioners.

Will you be entering the competition? What do you think of the new Hair Experise range? Do you look out for non-sulphate products for your hair? xxx

Drugstore Valentine's Makeup Tutorial

So many of you lovelies have requested a look using only drugstore/ affordable makeup, so I decided to incorporate this into my Valentine's look this year. 

Products Used:
Maybelline Dream Satin Liquid Foundation
Maybelline Dream Mousse Blush
Sleek Brow Kit*
UDPP

Rimmel eyeshadow 139 Tribute
Rimmel eyeshadow 33 Dusk
BarryM Dazzledust 51
Rimmel Glam Eyes Quad 25 Summer Bloom
The Body Shop Pencil 14 Glowing Amethyst*
Eyeko Skinny Eyeliner Powder Pink*
L'Oreal Carbon Gloss liquid liner
Eyeko Skinny Brush Mascara*
Eyelure Girls Aloud Nicola Lashes

17 Mirror Shine Beehive Lipstick
MUA Hot Lips Lip Balm*

All products marked with * were sent to me for review consideration. This is not a sponsored video.

Valentine's kisses! xxx

Cast Yourself: Please vote for me!! :)

Many of you have probably heard about the L'Oreal Cast Yourself Competition on Facebook to be the face of Casting Creme Gloss alongside Cheryl Cole. I have unashamedly entered and with only a few days left to vote I am so excited to be in the top 60 entries for my colour (red!) so far. Voting closes in two days so I am hoping for one more little push to get me into the lucky few who will audition for the part!

I would absolutely love the opportunity to meet the gorgeous Cheryl and it would mean so much if you could vote for me on facebook here!!!

Thanks so much my lovelies and fingers crossed! xxx

Lipsticks Made For Me

When running low on time I find the best way to look polished is to apply a statement lipstick. I have quite a few L'Oreal lipsticks in my collection as they have a great range of colours, are never drying and are easily accesible and affordable (£8.19 @ Boots, but often on offer). I was therefore excited to try the new L'Oreal Color Riche 'Made For Me' collections - Intense and Nude!

Above and left - Nude No. 380 Luminous Coral. Below and right - Intense No. 371 Pink Passion.

Both of these lipsticks are well pigmented with a lovely, creamy texture that feels smooth and hydrating, giving a subtle sheen to the lips, without being glittery. Like most L'Oreal lipsticks these have the traditional 'lipstick smell', which I personally like as it reminds me of playing with my mama's treasured lipsticks when I was little, but I know it is not to everyone's taste. The packaging has a gold metal look, but is in fact plastic and feels very light, and a bit cheap. Since the lid can only be replaced with the cusp at the front it is quite easy to crack the plastic if you are not careful.

I wore Pink Passion (371) this weekend and loved the intensity of the colour. It also lasted well, even through a meal, as it stained my lips a little. However, as you can see below on my lips this colour was a lot more orange than it appears in the bullet.

 I think this makes a perfect Summer coral shade and I can't wait to try it with a tan!

Luminous Coral (380) is a more wearable peachy shade with a neutral base.When applied lightly it gives a beautiful tint, but is also buildable to a more intense saturation of colour as below.

Have you tried L'Oreal's Color Riche Lipsticks? What are your favourite shades? To see other colours in the range just click here. xxx

New Hair

I love long hair. I have always loved it. I play with it constantly, until people tell me to stop. I think I will be 60 and still have long hair, I can never imagine getting to that stage that all women seem to go through in their 40s when they decide to go for the chop. I have always wondered why that happens!

When I was 12 my hair was so long I could actually sit on it! To be honest it was pretty horrible and a nightmare to wash and dry. I didn't give it that much thought until I went to boarding school. I definitely couldn't fit my super long hair washing ritual into my schedule and didn't want to annoy everyone with my hour long showers each day! So I got it cut to just below my shoulders and since then it has been getting long and then being reigned in for the last 10 years. I'm not very exciting when it comes to hair. Long soft waves, volume at the crown and a side parting (ie. playboy bunny hair) is what I love. If only I could transplant Cheryl Cole's hair, plus her numerous extensions, on to my own head, then I would be forever happy.

Enough of the rambling, I really should not be allowed to post at 1.30am. I just wanted to share with you guys my new hair :). As you may have noticed when I came back from Thailand it was very long, which I loved. However, I did not love all the nasty split ends and the fact that the colour had really been bleached by the sun, so it was turning somewhat coppery, and very orange on the ends. It was time for a trim, and as much as I hate having my hair cut I could not put it off any longer. In the end I was right to be scared as the initial promise of "I'll only take off an inch" turned into 4 inches! I hate it when hairdressers do that! Luckily my hair grows like wildfire and there are always extensions meanwhile.

As for the colour, I decided to go darker for autumn and more red. I always dye my hair at home as I find it a lot easier, cheaper and I like being in control of what I am doing. Sometimes I add my own highlights, but this time I decided I wanted to keep it dark throughout.
Before:

I used my favourite hair colour (usually 5.3), but in a deeper red shade. I chose L'Oreal Couleur experte in 3.54 a dark copper mahogany. Unfortunately this photo has bleached the colours somewhat and it looks much more red in real life.

I can't decide whether these photos make me look like the girl from the ring, cousin IT from the Adam's Family or the little hair creature from those 'don't break up with you hair' adverts. What do you guys think?

Have you been brave enough to ever do anything drastic to your hair, or do you experiment within limits like me?  xxx

FOTD- Neutral with a pop

When skin looks clear and healthy it lets the rest of your features shine, and always gives me a confidence boost! Having very little time, but still wanting to look put together, I always spend the most time on perfecting my base and then add a quick pop of colour either to my eyes or lips.

Yesterday I chose my eyes as I was wearing a dark teal jumper dress and did not want to make my lips too dark. I think bright or dark lipsticks always look best if your outfit is more neutral. I know everyone says you shouldn't match your makeup to your clothes, to some extent this may be true, but it is always important to take into consideration the colours in your outfit and make sure your makeup compliments them.

Face- Dior Forever Foundation spf25

MAC MSF natural

NARS Laguna bronzer

ELF mineral blush in Joy

Eyes- L'orel HIP liner in teal
Lancome Hypnose Mascara

Lips- MAC cremecup (officially my favourite pink lipstick ever!)

I love this look as it is simple and quick, yet polished. Today I am wearing exactly the same, just with MAC's macroviolet fluidline. 

I just had to include this for all my Maxie lovers... he is getting bigger every day!!

Hope you all had a lovely weekend :)
Natalya xxx