An Ode to Hydraluron

Recently I have been taking a keen interest in making sure I take good care of my skin. I have quite problematic skin and have been trying out products to get it on the road back to normality.

I have always wondered why my skin has soaked up my foundation and it has always extremely frustrated me when my foundation does not last past 12pm.

After much research and lots of help from one AMAZING blog by the skincare goddess that is Caroline Hirons, I have found out a lot about my skin and I thought it was about time I shared this with you.

You know that problem I mentioned earlier? Turns out it's dehydrated skin AND there is a way to get rid of it!

If you want to know more about Dehydrated skin and how to get rid of it, you can find out in the article I wrote for Fashion North last week - Dry or Dehydrated Skin: Do You Know The Difference

So, Caroline has mentioned many times of her holy grail product: Hydraluron. This is a rehydrating serum from Indeed Labs. It is packed with hyaluronic acid. This is an ingredient which is vital for rehydrating the skin. It holds up to 1000x its weight in water.

Now onto the effects. Is this really working?

The answer? YES IT IS. This tiny little product that I have added to my skincare routine has completely changed my skin for the better. My skin is a lot more rehydrated. It is more plump and holds make up really well. I no longer experience any flakiness of the skin.

Because my skin is now more rehydrated, I have noticed that the overall condition of my skin has improved and, slowly, it is on the road to normality. Because there isn't as much flakiness, the skin isn't over producing oil to compensate for the dryness... Longer lasting make up HOORAH

All of this is down to this one little product. My opinion? The best thing I have found for my skin in a long time.

Would I recommend this product? ABSOLUTELY YES.

Recently Indeed Labs have released Hydraluron moisture boosting masks. What are your opinions? are they worth the hype? I would love to hear from you

Katie

xx

LIEBSTER AWARD

Hello!

I have been nominated for the Liebster award by the lovely Maria, so thank you very much! 

The liebster award is to help promote and learn about other bloggers with below 200 followers and you can then submit other bloggers who deserve some support to keep doing what they are doing.

The rules state that a nominee must link back to the blogger from whom they received a nomination.  The nominee will then write 11 random facts about themselves and then answer the 11 questions which have been set for them. They will then in turn nominate fellow bloggers that they think deserve some recognition and pose 11 questions to them. This is a great chance for fellow bloggers to get to know each other and have some fun.

So please, take part!

11 FACTS ABOUT ME

1. I can't go shopping without taking a look at the beauty department

2. I'm a really fussy eater! Mainly to do with veg! 

3. When I was little, I was allergic to milk! 

4. No matter how I look after my skin or what I use, my make up will never stay on my face all day HELP

5. I buy at least one beauty product a week

6. I don't have a computer/laptop at home that works!

7. I edit all my videos at college! 

8. My favourite meal is Spaghetti Bolognese

9. My favourite dessert is warm chocolate brownie with ice cream and chocolate fudge sauce.

10. My celebrity role model for a long time has been Adele. This is because she has proved to the world that you don't have to be stick thin to be successful and has shown to the world that you shouldn't be afraid to be yourself and I really admire that! 

11. Since starting blogging, I have realised that it is one of the only things I am passionate about and I really enjoy, so a big thank you to the blogging community!!

MARIA's QUESTIONS

1.  WHY DID YOU CREATE A BLOG?

After watching other beauty videos on the Internet I was really inspired to learn more about make up and I really enjoyed telling people about beauty products. I knew that not everybody wasn't as interested and passionate about the subject as me and that was when I decided to join the blogging community where I could talk about beauty products I loved and I was able to see what other bloggers and readers thought! 

2. WHAT DO YOU PREFER, JEANS OR SKIRT? 

Well it obviously has to be jeans! They are much easier and I don't have to worry about my skirt blowing up or it being the right length! 

3. DO YOU HAVE ANY PHOBIAS? 

Oh my god! I am terrified of spiders! I can't even be in the same room as one, also I can't even go near them to capture them to get rid of them! That is why I don't think I will ever be able to live alone!

4. WHAT HAIR COLOUR DO YOU PREFER?

Well, it is obviously gonna have to be Ginger! GINGERS DO HAVE SOULS haha 

5. WHAT'S THE NICEST THING YOU HAVE GIVEN TO SOME ONE? 

My mum told me this. When I was little, I made a little box at nursery (part of the craft class) and I told my mum that I had made her a little box filled with love. She said she loved it so much and still has it today.

6. WHAT'S YOUR DREAM JOB? 

To have my blog professionally! Be trained in make up and have my own little blogging studio! 

7. WHAT'S THE LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? 

I haven't watched a movie in AGES! The last movie I watched was Elf at Christmas time! 

8. WHAT HOLIDAY DO YOU LOOK FORWARD TO THE MOST? 

The holiday I look forward to the most, every year, has got to be Christmas! I am so festive! I love Christmas because you get to spend it with the people you love (my family). I really enjoy Christmas time and I love doing all things festive with my family! 

9. DO YOU HAVE ANY SKILLS OR TALENTS? 

You know, I'm not that talented! Although, I did manage to teach my self a play a few tunes on the piano! Oh! I also learned how to play violin in primary school and I was in the school choir at secondary school. 

10. WHAT'S THE LAST THING YOU BOUGHT? 

Beauty wise: Simple Eye Make Up remover 

Non Beauty Product: Surprise, surprise, chocolate!

11. DO YOU KNOW ANY FOREIGN LANGUAGES?

No I don't but I did take French GCSE at school!

MY NOMINATIONS

Melissa

Helen

Athena Ben

(even though she nominated me!) Maria

MY QUESTIONS

1. On average, how long does it take you to write a blog post?

2. What is your proudest accomplishment to date?

3. Name one Beauty product you simply couldn't live without!

4. What is your favourite food?

5. What is the most outrageous thing you have ever done? 

6. Where would you like to go for your dream Holiday?

7. Lipstick or Mascara?

8. What is your most used app on your phone?

9. What is your most favourite shop?

10. Who is your role model?

11. What could you not last a day without?

Thank you so much for reading and thank you to Maria for nominating me! Go check out everyones blogs in this post and, if I have nominated you, you need to make a post NOW! 

Katie x

MY YOUTUBE INTRO

Well hello there my lovely beauty boutiquers! I just wanted to share with you today what I made in college! I made a super cool intro for my YouTube channel that will be featured at the beginning of every video! I hope you like it! Katie x

TANYA BURR AND DAILY MIX

Well hello there my little beauties! I hope have enjoyed your dreary Tuesday! Don't worry, the weekend isn't that far away!!!!

As some of you may already know (or found me via them) I was on DailyMixTV!!!! I have been waiting for what feels like forever to tell you all about when I got to go to London (in Covent Garden!!! Aaaaaah!)

Tanya is just so so so lovely! You really need to check her out on YouTube!

I applied for DailyMix about 3 months ago through email, where I then had to fill out a very simple form, and then about a week later I had to send in a little 30 second video telling Tanya what I love about her YouTube channel and which celebrity people tell me I look like.

I then sent that off to the lovely team at DailyMix and then I didn't really hear anything back from then until just after Christmas when I got a very unexpected phone call asking me to come down to London in two days time! Well, I was so so so shocked ladies!! I was like a little kid finding out they were going to Disney Land!!

The team that worked with me were so lovely and really helped me in every way possible to get me there on time!

The whole thing took an hour and a half and was so cool getting to watch how they film! After filming I had some time before my train to go shopping and go to a lovely restaurant! I was very naughty and treated my self to two handbags from Aldo!

So, this is a special post to DailyMixTV and Tanya Burr to thank them for giving me such a great day that I will never forget!

I really urge you to check out DailyMixTV to watch the amazing videos on YouTube, created by amazing people!

You can check out the Adele Make over Tanya did on me here

Enjoy your day where ever you are!

Lots of love

Katie x

SNEAK PEAK LOOK WHAT I GOT

Well hello there my lovely beauties!

Today I got the Glinda Oz palette from Urban Decay!

I am so excited to try this out!

Keep posted for the review to follow!

Let me know if you would like me to post today's full haul!

What beauty products have you bought today? Let me know I always love to hear from you!

Katie x

NIVEA LIP BUTTER

Good morning my lovelies!

Just a quick post this morning to tell you about the new Nivea Lip Butters!

I heard many other beauty guru's reviewing them saying they were really good and I was a bit skeptical to try them as I do simply love my Carmex.

I got mine from boots and it was £2.25 for the little tin, which I think is roughly the same price for Carmex.

As you all can see in the picture I chose the Vanilla and Macadamia flavour as I thought the smell was just simply divine and so luxurious! I wasn't actually planning on getting this as I was out and about and was in need of a lip balm when I had lost my usual lip balm so I ran into boots and picked up this.

I think that this is the perfect lip balm for the winter months and it feels so luxurious when I apply it! There is no tingling or cool sensation when applied just complete luxury!

The only thing I'm not so keen on is the packaging. It's a bit flimsy and I think it can be easily damaged when it i knocking about with all the rubble in my handbag! Apart from that I'm in love with the actual product!

I particularly like to use this to make a tinted lip balm! I apply this to my lips first to make them smooth and soft and then my lip stick on top, as it will just give a nice wash of colour for a daytime look.

What's your favourite lip balm? I always love to hear from you!

Enjoy your day!

Katie x

I GOT A NEW FOUNDATION

I GOT A NEW FOUNDATION

with
Laura Mercier

SCHOOL/ MINIMAL MAKE UP TIPS

Hello! I hope that you are as excited about the snow as I am!

Anyway getting on with todays post!

Today I thought that I would talk about minimal make up that is natural looking and can be acceptable in your school (that's if make up is permitted!)

When it comes to picking your foundation I would go for a tinted moisturiser or a light to medium coverage foundation. You want to try and stay away from the heavier foundations as I believe that when you choose to wear them, they do not look good on your skin and your skin won't thank you for it either! I would also say the same goes for concealer!

When doing eye make up, you really want to try and keep it simple. Try to stick to just one to two colours. When I do a minimal make up look I like to keep my eyeshadow to a light colour with a hint of shimmer to brighten up the eyes. Occasionally I would take a soft dark colour underneath the eye to define the eyes.

Curling the lashes really helps to brighten and open the eyes making them standout even more.

For blusher I go for a soft looking colour and apply it to the apples of the cheeks, I think that it makes the skin look lovely and fresh for the day ahead. I prefer to use a cream blush as it looks loads more natural on the skin and gives a nice dewy finish to the cheeks.

If you have a drier skin type I would avoid powdering the skin as I believe it really isn't necessary for a minimal look but if you find your skin tends to get oily throughout the day I would add a little powder to the skin to help prevent oil breaking through and melting your make up away.

As for lips, stick with a neutral shade that compliments your skin tone! I would go for a tinted balm or a lip gloss.

I will be uploading a tutorial for a minimal look on a budget later on in the week to show you guys how I would do a natural look!


Thank you for reading guys and I hope to be back again soon!

What make up products would you recommend for natural looking make up? Let me know, I always love to hear from you!


Katie x

MY DAILY LOOK

ESSENTIAL MAKE UP BRUSH - MAC 217

Need a brush that blends your eyeshadow perfectly?

You have found the one!

This is one of the best brushes I have come across and if asked to pick my essential brushes I would definitely include it!

Don't have it? Get one. NOW.

Please comment, subscribe and share!

Thank you!

Katie x

Perfect Treats for Christmas!

Hello with Christmas approaching I thought it would be a good time for me to tell you to TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE GIFT SETS/ PALETTES! All of my favourite brands such as M.A.C., Bobbi Brown, Urban Decay and many more have released their palettes/sets for the coming holiday season!

With so many to choose from I don't know where to start! There are many that are out that include quite a lot of products so it really is good value for money and I do like to save mine, if I can!

M.A.C.

Where do I start with M.A.C's Holiday Collection?! It is absolutely unreal! I have definitely added some of these to my Christmas list!


The first of the M.A.C gift sets that I am going to

image taken from maccosmetics.com

to talk about is the Primped Out Brush Collection.







 The first of the M.A.C gift sets that I would like to talk about is their Mini Brush Sets.

 

image taken from maccosmetics.com

They are so lovely! The one thing I do really love about these gift sets is that they are categorised by colours. Your Pink brushes are your Advanced brush set, your Turquoise brushes are the Essentials set and the Peachy coloured (tell me if you think they are different!) brushes are the Mineralize set.

image taken from maccosmetics.com

The M.A.C. brushes are of very high quality and I think that these sets are very good value for money £39.50. I remember my dad paid £45 for a M.A.C. 187 stippling brush alone so around £40 for 5 miniatures, I believe is pretty good value!











Next, is the gorgeous Holiday Face and Eye palettes that M.A.C. have released recently. I saw these in House of Fraser today and to be honest the pictures really don't do them justice! They are such good colours that have a really good pay off - matte and shimmer.

I particularly love this kit as it includes your bronze, 2 lipsticks/sheen, 3 eye shadows and an eyeshadow applicator. I found that the bronze was very good for contouring as it didn't seem to have too much shimmer in it so still added good shadows to the face.

I think that the lipsticks are very versatile shades that will suit almost all colourings to the skin, they are not too light or dark.

The palette only features shimmer eye shadows, but they do have good pay off. I believe that these shades will be suited to more blue and green eyes to really contrast and make those colours stand out.






M.A.C. released 3 eye kits that each have 5 different shades together that can be worn together to create a dramatic look or simply be worn by themselves for  a glamorous day look. I particularly like the smokey eye palette as it was filled with plums and purples and they have been seen to be the key colours for A/W12 match them together with a plum/berry lip to really pull this look together, day or night.

Liz Earle

Here are a few of my favourites that I have even added to my Christmas list myself!

The first thing I am going to talk about is the Eucalyptus and Rosemary Candle from Liz Earle! I saw it in John Lewis and the smell was absolutely divine! It is the perfect candle to have for when your relaxing in the bath!

It gives off such a relaxing fresh scent and it burns for 40 hours so you will definitely get your moneys worth!

It is on my Christmas list and I am secretly hoping to receive it!!

The next thing that I have decided to mention is the Sheer Pink Lip Shimmer from Liz Earle. It is a great product as it helps to condition your lips, whilst adding a little bit of colour.

When it is applied with your finger, it gives a lovely light summer shimmer to your lips. Perfect for the winter as it helps to keep your lips conditioned. But, if you add some lip liner and use a lip brush to apply this, the colour is gorgeous and rich!

Definitely a staple product that I will be adding to my makeup bag!

Bobbi Brown

On to Bobbi Brown, one of my favourite make up brands!!

One of the things I love about Bobbi Brown is that they release some unreal palettes ready for Christmas, but be quick because they are only limited edition and once they have gone, they are gone!

Bobbi has just released the Caviar and Oyster Palette and it is absolutely beautiful!

It comes with 4 eye shadows on the left side that will be suitable for a daytime look. I particularly liked the matte plum colour and the bronze shimmer, they really suited my eyes! I really liked the white shimmer in the inner corner of the eye, it really helped to brighten up your eyes but still keeping them within the daytime look.

On the right hand side, were a selection of colours that would be really suitable for an evening look. The silver shimmer teamed with the dark brown in the outer corner would be perfect for a Christmas party!

The pink ballet shimmer highlighter is adds a lovely sheen to the skin. Perfect for the tops of the cheeks and through the brow bone. This also doubles up as an eyeshadow as well!!




The next product that I would like to talk about is the Limited Edition 24 Karat Shimmer Brick Compact.

I love the shimmer bricks from Bobbi Brown as they add colour as well as a bit of shimmer to highlight.

But, this is different to other highlighters as it doesn't give much colour but a beautiful sheen to the cheeks that looks absolutely beautiful when it catches the light.

I was a bit concerned that the highlight would be a yellow gold colour but it was more of a warm pink/rose colour that really did look beautiful on the skin.

Definitely added to my collection!

 

Urban Decay

 

 

Urban Decay have recently released the Vice palette! It is 20 new never before seen shades! Hooray!!

 

The colours vary from those that are subtle enough to wear for a daytime look and there are glitters and brights that will look so classy for an evening look!

 

One thing that surprised me was the dual ended brush that came with the palette. It is surprisingly quite good! On one end is your flat brush that is used to apply the eye shadows and the other is the crease brush that was good for blending and apply a darker shade to your crease.

 

One tip - Urban Decay eye shadows tend to have quite a bit of fall out but if you dampen your brush before you apply it will reduce fall out and I found it also made the colour more intense.

 

 

If you love Urban Decay eye shadows then you definitely need this palette added to your collection!

 

 

 

 

 

So that is it for the Perfect Christmas Treats! If you would like me to do a blog post on my Christmas list just let me know!

 

So, thank you for reading this very long post!

 

Please don't forget to like, comment, share and subscribe and I will do another post soon!

 

 

Thank you!

 

 

Katie x

Liz Earle HAUL!

Hello everyone! This is my first post... WAHOOO! So I thought why not start of this amazing blog with a few posts of what I bought when I went shopping in Newcastle on Saturday. Yes, I was very naughty and I spent all my pennies on Saturday but it was so worth it!

So the first thing I bought in Newcastle was a Liz Earle Exfoliator. I have just recently started using their products and I find them so amazing! They work so well for my skin and I can feel the benefits. I have been using their Cleanse, Tone and Moisturise routine for over a month and didn't feel that I was getting much out of it. I felt as though the Moisturiser wasn't giving me what I needed. I have combination skin so I get patches of oiling skin mainly through my T-zone and patches of dry skin around the cheeks and forehead. My moisturiser would work great for my dry areas but the oil in my t-zone was getting worse, even though I was using the correct moisturiser for my skin.

So, I went back to Liz Earle and the very helpful assistant recommended that I try using their Exfoliator. Now, I was worried about using an exfoliator on my dry skin because I thought that it would make it to sensitive and make my dry skin even worse. The assistant explained to me that because I'm trying to benefit my dry skin, I am applying too much moisturiser and that is why my t-zone is too oily. She said because I don't use an exfoliator to remove and dried dead skin from the surface of the skin (gross i know!) the healthy parts of my skin are trying to make more oil to give moisture to the dry parts which is why my t-zone was getting so oily and my foundation was sliding off!

So, I was sold. I bought the exfoliator and used it as soon as I got home. Because I had never exfoliated before I used 2 pumps of the stuff and by god it didn't half work! It already had the Cleanse and Polish in it so it was a moisture rich cream base filled with little exfoliating beads. When I was massaging it into the skin it didn't feel harsh on the skin, I felt as though it was doing its job! The difference being from the exfoliator and the Cleanse and Polish is that you don't use a Muslin Cloth to wash it off your skin your just supposed to use warm water. I believe that this is because you have already used a product on your skin that exfoliates and you don't want to repeat it by using a cloth that removes dead skin as well. Once removed, my skin was really soft to touch and some of the redness had gone, that was there previously, this is before I applied my tonic and moisturiser! Once I had finished my usual routine my skin felt loads healthier and there appeared to be a reduced amount of oil in the t-zone! Result!

The lovely assistant from Liz Earle recommended that I exfoliated with this once a week to keep my skin at optimum health! This was definitely a good investment for me and I think that if you feel you have the same skin problems as me you should definitely give it a try! The good thing about Liz Earle is that you buy Try - Me kits to try out the products before spending money on full sized products that may not benefit your skin needs!

Hope you liked this please comment if you liked it and keep watching for the next posts on what else I bought this Saturday!

Thanks

Katie x