Liana Beauty Award: Ojon Volume Advanced Volumizing Styling Spray

Getting volume in long, quite thick hair is something I really have trouble with on a daily basis. Especially if I haven't gone through the hassle of blowdrying my hair upside down (a great tip for getting volume!) and applied some volumizing mousse. On a day to day basis, I reach for the finishing products that just add a bit of oomph to my hair, making it look less flat. Oribe Dry Texturizing Spray being my favourite, but a pricey one at that. I wrote about it in more detail here, but it's just absolutely incredible at adding volume to flat hair. 

Another alternative is Ojon Volume Advanced Volumizing Styling Spray, which pretty much does the same thing as the Oribe, adds lift and life into my hair, but does give that feeling of having sand in my roots. In terms of application, I create small sections in the roots of my hair, and apply the spray mainly in the roots. Another use is as a finishing spray, which personally I wasn't too keen on as it left my hair a little too crunchy but smelling lovely!

A big bottle will set you back £20 for 200g. I've had mine for a pretty long time and it doesn't seem to be finishing anytime soon! 

Ojon are a brand I'm becoming really familiar with at the moment, I've been trying out some of their other products so I will keep you posted! What are your favourite products for getting some volume in your hair? Have you tried anything from Ojon?

Liana Beauty Award: Kiehl's Creme De Corps

I've dabbled here and there in other body moisturisers but none of them seem to have everything that Kiehl's Creme De Corps does...

As my skin is less dry in summer I tend to put the intensive 24 hour body moisturiser away and bring out a lighter one. I look for moisturisers that don't interfere with my tan, aren't sticky so I'm not lying in bed being unable to move but also have a lighter texture as I don't need such hydrating properties in summer.

It's not heavily scented which is great as it doesn't interfere with my perfume. I normally apply it after showering onto damp skin, wait a couple of minutes for it to be absorbed (really fast!) and then get dressed. 

Kiehl's always have the cutest bottle designs too! The one above is a celebrate Britain theme and starts at £8.50 and £1 goes to SportsAid. 500ml will keep you going a while too but there are also smaller travel sizes available. 

Have you ever tried Kiehl's Creme De Corps? What's your favourite body moisturiser?

PS- my lips are from this post here!

Liana Beauty Award: Anastasia Brow Wiz

Brows are something that I have not yet addressed here so it's about time! I'm not really someone that sees brows as a big deal, mainly because mine are pretty full naturally (sometimes I even forget about filling them in!) even though I do notice the difference. There's definitely a brow trend going on at the moment and I do find myself crushing on celebrities brows like Camilla Belle and Lily Collins for their perfect full brows. 

There are 3 different ways I've tried to fill in my brows, with powder and an angled brush, with a felt tip brow pen and with an old school pencil. The latter being my preferred method. Especially since I discovered these Anastasia Brow Wiz!

You've probably heard me rave about Anastasia products before, them being the queen of brow products and all. Their Brow Gel is amazing for those with thick unruly brows (link to post here) as well as Lash Genius which is an amazing product for those unable to find a waterproof mascara they like (link to post here). Onto the Brow Wiz - a really soft creamy pencil that has the finest nib so it really helps create little fake hairs. As well as having a spoolie on the other end to blend the lines.

I use the shade Medium Ash which is great for lightly filling in gaps or totally building up the colour for a major scouse brow! It's not waterproof but does last a whole day in the heat despite it being more on the creamy side of the formulations as opposed to waxy. Being a wind up pencil, the only problem is there isn't actually that much product compared to a typical pencil and there aren't refills so once finished you have to buy the entire pencil again as opposed to another nib. 

What do you use to do your brows?

Anastasia Brow Wiz £15.50 is available from Cult Beauty here

Liana Beauty Award: NARS Sheer Glow Foundation

Whenever my friends ask me for foundation recommendations there are two I will always mention, Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk, which I raved about here, and NARS Sheer Glow. It's just one of those foundations everyone loves! First thing, don't be put off by the word 'glow'. For a girl who doesn't love a glowy finish its the perfect combination between matt and glow - doesn't make skin look shiny or greasy but has a lovely natural look about it that acts like a glow. It delivers medium coverage, even though NARS describe it as 'sheer' and can be easily buildable which I really like especially for days where I just need to slap something on! 

In terms of wear on my skin I find its about the four or five hour mark without a primer before I feel the need to slap on some powder, but usually I pair this with a mattifying primer like Givenchy Mister Matt if I'm having a long day. Probably best for combination skins like myself as I did notice it clung to a couple of dry patches on my skin. 

One really annoying thing - there isn't a pump! This means pouring the foundation onto the back of your hand and probably pouring a bit too much! At £29.50 I would expect it to include a pump but these can be bought separately from NARS for £3.00 and are worth investing in. Saying that I do like the selection of shades they carry and have found on my darker skinned friends it didn't make their skin look ashy which some foundations can do. 

Have you tried NARS Sheer Glow? Whats your favourite foundation?

Liana Beauty Award: Anastasia Lash Genius

Anastasia Lash Genius

As much as I love my Giorgio Armani Eyes To Kill Mascara, which I sung praises about here, the waterproof version isn't the same. It makes my lashes clumpy, feel heavier and the overall effect isn't the as great as my beloved Eyes To Kill original. For the past four or five summers I have searched (and never found) a  waterproof mascara that I adore. Anastasia Lash Genius is a transparent top coat that 'waterproofs any mascara' essentially solving the waterproof mascara search! 

So here's the test...

1. Applied a non waterproof mascara to my lashes (Collection Multiplier Mascara)

2. Applied Anastasia Beverly Hills Lash Genius over the mascara to only one of my eyes

Sprayed both my eyes with water

3. My finger pressed down on my lid without Anastasia Lash Genius

4. My finger pressed down on my lid with Anastasia Lash Genius

Lash genius did alter my lashes slightly, if you can notice the slight difference between the clumsiness of my lashes in pictures 1 and 2 but in terms of making the Mascara waterproof i'll let the pictures speak for themselves! Overall I think its a great option if you don't want to run round searching for what waterproof mascara works for you lashes, just apply Anastasia Lash Genius on top of the one you use already and all good       

Thankfully one of my favourite beauty websites Cult Beauty are the first ones to stock Anastasia Beverly Hills in the UK! You can purchase Anastasia Beverly Hills Lash Genius for £14 here or shop the whole range here

Liana Beauty Award: Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation

Sometimes I think my life will be a constant quest for the perfect foundation. Seeing as perfecting skin is such a dominant factor in my makeup routine I'm always searching for the easiest foundation, the most long wearing, the best coverage without looking cakey, one that doesn't separate after time on the skin and the list goes on and on! One that I always go back to that has never failed is the Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation. So far in my foundation quest this one has been the best - the perfect coverage, perfect lasting power and a huge range of colours (I purchased my first bottle around 3 years ago.)

One of the main things I search for in a foundation is one that I can not feel on my skin, we've all tried those foundations that throughout the day you can just feel sitting on top of your skin and all you can think about is going home and scrubbing your face. Well with Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk that is not the case! Its one of those awesome products that meshes with skin instead of layering on top of it. I would describe the finish as a heathy-matt and by that I mean not one of those matt foundations that looks like you've been hibernating indoors forever. 

The main reason I tried this foundation in the first place is being someone who has major take-photos-of-everything syndrome I try and avoid foundations with SPF as they reflect the flash of the camera and give you a ghostly white appearance. Luminous Silk does not contain SPF or light reflecting particles so your makeup is safe for photographs! 

So there it is, all the reasons why this foundation that has remained at the top of my foundation chart for over three years. It's also a bit of a celebrity favourite as people like Kim Kardashian and Megan Fox claim Luminous Silk is one of their favourites too       ! To see this foundation on my skin it's here and here.

Giorgio Armani Lumious Silk is £32 pounds and available from Harrods, Harvey Nichols, Selfridges and other Giorgio Armani counters. 

Liana Beauty Award: Soap & Glory Some Like It Hot!

I recently tweeted asking what everyones favourite body scrub was and the answer was all the same! Soap & Glory! I've used and loved Soap & Glory The Scrub Of Your Life pretty much since it came out until I purchased this one. After my first use of the Some Like It Hot! Hot Thermal Body Scrub was quick to the top of my 'products that work instantly' list! Using it combined with my Dermalogica Buffing Cloth - link made such a difference in the softness of my skin.

After being warned that this scrub gets really hot I dispensed a dollup into my hands and quickly rubbed into my arms - the warmth kind of felt like it was soothing my muscles as well as my skin while being really relaxing. Being a hot thermal scrub newbie I was totally blown away by the results as soon as I washed this off. I'm not sure which ingredient is the miracle one or maybe it's just a combination of macademia oil, sugars, vanilla seeds and aloe vera that are all included. For those that like a really strong lather in their scrub I would recommend the Soap & Glory Scrub Of Your Life instead as it's creates more of a foamy lather.

To use this apply a fairy large dollup onto your hands and then straight onto your damp skin in the shower or bath. Massage in and then rinse! You'll be amazed with the results I promise      

Some Like It Hot! Is £10.00 and available here or at Boots here

Liana Beauty Award: Eyeko Skinny Eyeliner

Eyeliner is one of those tricky things but when done can make such a difference to one's eyes! I definitely prefer pencils as opposed to felt pens as personally I find them easier to apply and easier to blend. One that I've found myself picking up quite a bit recently is this Eyeko Skinny Eyeliner in Black.

A simple felt tip pen that is fine and stiff you could draw anywhere in between a really thin line to a quite a thick one. Above are two swatches, one pressed very lightly using just the tip, and one using the whole nip, you can see the difference in width is huge! Very pigmented, longlasting and once set it won't budge. To apply this I look down into a mirror and press the tip into my lash line and draw along just as you would with a felt tip marker.

If you're looking for an eyeliner to do a smokey eye that you can blend out I wouldn't recommend this, however if you like a nice neat defined line then look no further!

Eyeko Skinny Liquid Eyeliner is £10.00 and available here or on asos here and from Harvey Nichols!

Liana Beauty Award - Tom Ford Lip Gloss

Meet my most pigmented lipgloss ever, by Tom Ford. 

The colour I own is 01 Naked, a nude colour infused with small gold shimmer particles, but slight problem - as the colour does not resemble my natural lip colour I can't actually put this on without a mirror as these are sooo pigmented! The finish is very glossy and shiney and being quite a thick texture lasts a couple hours on my lips (without eating or drinking) I like to layer it over Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick in 001 Nude Attitude - here 

Assuming the pigmentation in the Tom Ford lipglosses are the same I would love to pick up a couple more, if you have any colour recommendations let me know!

Liana Beauty Award: Benefit High Brow Glow

Everyone has their what I wouldn't leave home without it list, mascara, lippy or concealer. One that is slowly creeping up to the top of my list recently is highlighter. Something so subtle yet makes such a difference. Benefit have recently released High Brow Glow, for those benefit fans that used the original High Brow (aka me) that was matt, but really felt it was time for something with a bit of shimmer this is for you! Benefit High Brow Glow is a pencil that is made to give the illusion of a higher eyebrow arch but can be applied anywhere to get a bit of a glow, I've also been using it in my cupids bow and on the inner corner of my eye - great for faking a couple hours sleep and giving a more awake appearance!

Benefit High Brow Glow blends really easily with fingertips & is perfect for travelling around on the go - a really quick step that makes a large difference!

Benefit High Brow Glow Left- Swatched Right - Blended

Benefit High Brow Glow is £14.00 available here.