My Makeup: Smokey Bronze Eyes With The Body Shop Christmas

The Body Shop always come out with lustworthy Christmas items, this year, out of all their offerings, christmas scented body butters, shimmer atomisers and powder pearls, what caught my eye was the Smoky Eye Palette in Smoky Copper. A warm eyeshadow quad, perfect for a smokey eye lover like myself.

The eyeshadows themselves are rich and creamy, a really lovely buttery formula and the beautiful colour transfers onto the eyes and looks beautiful. They aren't the most blendable formula around but that's nothing that a Mac 217 brush doesn't sort out - a little blend at the edges works perfectly. The lasting power is what you would expect from high end eyeshadows and despite the gorgeous satin finish I'm pleased to report they didn't crease after a long day! 

It's lovely seeing decent eyeshadow brushes in a eyeshadow palette, the liner brush is particular is fantastic which makes a massive difference compared to the usual doefoot applicator provided in most eyeshadow sets. 

I've been pairing it with a Metallic Eye Definer Pencil in Copper Brown, a warm bronze colour, which is really creamy and doesn't tug against the eyes despite it not having particularly good lasting power on the waterline. 

The Smoky Eye Palette Palette will set you back £14, which I can't fault at all - four lovely shades that are buttery soft included with two more than decent brushes! The Body Shop Christmas is available here and the Smoky Eye Palette is available here. Will you be visiting The Body Shop this Christmas?

How To: Put Best Legs Forward

In winter the first part of my body that gets neglected are my legs, this of course is not appreciated when they're on full show throughout the other half of the year. When it does become time to get my pasty pins out they do need a bit of sorting, especially as they are the part of me that takes the longest to tan. I rely on a couple of products to help me achieve semi-decent looking legs, nothing too masking just to naturally enhance.

Firstly, I'll apply some fake tan, my all time favourite being Xen Tan Dark Lotion Absolute Luxe (post here) but if, like in the picture above, I hadn't previously fake tanned then instant one is what I reach for. My lovely friend Johnny at Body Sun Tanning gave me Fake Bake Faux Glow, which is practically like foundation for legs. It's a wash off spray that provides a lovely matt colour, making my legs appear three shades darker. I do have a couple of scars on my legs that it's managed to cover too. It's a really miracle product that just makes my skin looks so airbrushed and flawless! I just wish it came in different colours as the shade is a little too red based for my yellow toned skin.

If I do have a tan that just needs a little enhancing I'll reach for This Works Perfect Legs Skin Miracle (post here), which is more like a tinted cream that makes skin look a little more alive. It provides a glow so I tend to keep all the product focused down the centre of my legs to help catch the light.

The last step is where my limited knowledge of contouring and highlighting comes in, if I want something to appear thinner, I'll sweep a highlighter down the centre, making the light catch it causing my legs to look thinner. A handy little trick eh? For this a big fluffy brush is handy, I used the Real Technquies Powder Brush as it's absolutely huge, and it's synthetic bristles pick up quite a bit of product. The highlighting product I'm referring to is The Body Shop Puff On Radiance (post here), which provides some serious shimmer. If you were looking for something a little more subtle, Gueralain Meterories (post here) would be my recommendation for you as it's more illuminating than shimmery.

This routine only gets pulled when my pasty limbs are in need of some serious leg SOS, especially for an important event - like weddings and birthdays. Do you have a little routine to get your legs summer ready?

Top Beauty Picks From Summer 2012 Collections!

I have a teeny problem when it comes to limited edition makeup, I want it all. I guess it's kind of like having, what my friends call - FOMO (abbreviation for - fear of missing out) but with cosmetics. I know limited edition items sell out pretty quickly and
1. Don't want to be frantically searching round ebay and amazon for sold out limited edition products
2. I'm too scared of missing out on what could be a fantastic item!  
I do end up hoarding a few pieces but after testing the summer collection releases for a while, I've decided on what can be given away to friends and what is staying in my cabinet. Here are my top pics from the summer collections...

 

Chanel Soleil Tan De Chanel in 917 Sable Rose - link to post

This is VERY much loved. Such a great one of taking a big brush and dabbing it on my cheeks as it's a highlighter, blush and bronzer in one! The shades are all really warm and when used together have the ability to brighten up my face in one sweep.

Lily Cole For The Body Shop Puff On Radiance - link to post

With such cute packaging how could I not pick this?! Apart from that it's a fantastic body highlighter - looks lovely down the centre of legs and on collar bones for some elegant shine and shimmer.

Guerlain Pucci Meteorites Perles D'Azur - link to post

Similar to the Body Shop Puffy On Radiance but much less shimmery and adds more of a glow. I've been using this as a face powder for days where my skin is looking a bit bla, it provides instant radiance and makes me appear to have a really bright complexion - love!

Estee Lauder Bronze Sands Eyeshadow Palette - link to post

I absolutely LOVE this palette! Being a different formula to the usual powder, they are described as Gelée Powders and are so pigmented and blend like a dream. Haven't found a use for the blue shade yet but the rest are lovely. Will definitely be looking out for Estee Lauder's other palettes!

Burberry Sheer Summer Glow Palette - link to post

I love the Burberry collections, they are a brand I've really gotten into recently for their love of neutral, very wearable shades, and this Sheer Summer Glow Palette is right up my street! It's the perfect highlighter for adding some life to my face as well as being really understated and subtle - perfect for daytime! 

No7 Nourishing Lip Shine - link to post

I wrote about these here and mentioned them being a great dupe for the Clarins Instant Light Natural Lip Perfectors, as they are both a really lovely texture, not sticky yet glossy.

Chanel Le Vernis Nail Colour in 617 Holiday (left)

The perfect summer red!

You can see the rest of the summer collections here. There are my top picks from the summer collections! What are yours?

Deal Alert! Benefit, Ciate Nails, Jemma Kidd & Body Shop with July Magazines!

July magazines have come out today with some amazing beauty freebies! I can't wait to try these... 

Marie-Claire July - Choice of three Ciate Nail Polishes, pink, lilac and taupe. I love the Ciate polishes so I ran to get these!

Glamour July - Choice of mini Benefit Porefessional Primer, That Gal Primer or Bad Gal Mascara. I've heard many great things about the Porefessional primer so I look forward to trying this - I love how they are the perfect size for travelling too!

Red July - Choice of Jemma Kidd Eyeliner or Mascara both in black. I love the Jemma Kidd eyeliners - very soft and creamy and blendable so I was very happy to receive this with Red!

InStyle July - Two Body Shop Eyeliners, blue & black

What will you be picking up?

New In: Lily Cole Makeup For The Body Shop

Lily Cole for The Body Shop Makeup 

Model Lily Cole has recently been named the face of The Body Shop and they have brought out a really cute girly limited edition collection. The range includes 10 products but what caught my eye were these gorgeous Lip and Cheek domes, and the Puff On Radiance.

First up the Lip & Cheek domes, swatched below, these are really really sheer and light which is perfect for summer. The creamy gel formula gives a really soft and subtle wash of colour and are really fun to use! Definitely should be used on a 'no make-up' day as they didn't apply well over foundation.

Lily Cole for The Body Shop Lip and Cheek Dome in 20 Pinch Me Pink and 21 Crazy For Coral

Next onto the Puff On Radiance, that remind me of Guerlain Meteorites, really fine shimmer that gives a silvery glow, definitely a great colour for lighter skin girls. Perfect to dust onto some collar bones in the evening or down the centre of the legs to give a more slender appearance.

Lily Cole for The Body Shop Puff On Radiance 

Have you tried anything from the Lily Cole for The Body Shop Range?

How To: Pedicure At Home

With exams on the way there's no better way of procrastination than a good pamper session    . Seeing as I hate people touching my feet I tend to give myself pedicures from time to time. This ritual starts with a good soak, followed by some scrubbing and ends with a lovely moisturiser to finish. Plus some useful tools in the middle. Since my feet have been in hiding throughout winter and summer is approaching (hello open toe shoes!) now is the perfect time to be indulging in a bit of feet pampering. 

To soak my feet I normally start by filling up a little tub with warm water and adding a couple of drops Aromatherapy Associates Bath and Shower Oil in Relax into the mix to get the aroma of a spa going. After letting my feet soak in the mixture for a while I then take one out and rub The Body Shop Peppermint Smoothing Pumice Foot Scrub all over my foot, it has a gel like texture which is really soothing and includes little exfoliating beads to help get rid of all that accumulated grime. Lovely! After letting that dissolve for a little bit I then go in with my trusty Boots Botanics Foot Pumice and scrub my heels, which are usually the most rough. This is quite an aggressive little tool so it gets reserved for severely bad days! I then place my foot back in the little tub and repeat these steps on the other.

The Star of the show really is this Rio Rapid Heel Smoother, a little machine which gently, and not tickling may I add, removes dead skin. There's also two different tips, one for your heel and one for around your toes. I'm constantly looking for time savers and this little machine is total genius as it does all the work for you! I found it works best on damp skin, so as I take my foot out the tub I wipe it with a towel, so it's still moist just not totally wet. As I mentioned it comes with two tips, the smaller one for toes is made for me as I can never seem to get rid of those annoying bits of skin round the nail and this helps me buff them away. This is a great little tool that I would recommend to anyone going on holiday while wanting to keep their feet looking pretty! Anyway back to the pedicure, any bits of cuticle left I then remove with a Tweezerman Cuticle Nipper. After all this exfoliating I then wash my foot a little bit, cover it in The Body Shop Hemp Foot Protector. Having my new best friend ingredient, hemp, means it's perfect for dry skin & adding in tons of moisture. For my cuticles I then take a little bit of cuticle oil, my latest favourite being Solar Oil, which I wrote about here if you fancy some extra reading :) other favourites include Essie Apricot Cuticle Oil and The Sanctuary Nail and Cuticle Oil. 

After this procedure, which usually takes around 10 minutes, I then pop some socks on and wait for all the oils and foot cream to absorb     

Hope you enjoyed this post! Do you ever give yourself pedicures? What do you use?