Super quick round up

I have found some fab stuffs lately and have been dying to post about them but just haven't had the time to get them altogether, take photos, sort photos, write words - in short blog about them.  I still don't have time to do the photo stuff but I really wanted to share the fantastic brushes I have just bought which are stupidly fab and crazily inexpensive.

First up is the Eco Tools 6 piece eye brush set.  It is fantastic - I'd nick the photo from Boots website but it wont let me.  Please google image this, or if you you'd like pics shout and I'll find a few mins to take some.  I comes in a linen wallet with a mirror and includes a big brush for blending, which I use to apply shadow all over my lid, in about 3 seconds flat, its terrific for rush job eye shadow at 5.30am, a pointed crease brush, which is fantastic and great used to smudge out a darker crease colour, an angled crease brush, great for applying the crease colour, a short haired curved brush which is terrific for smudging colour onto the lash line and small brush which I tend not to use a whole big lot.  For £14.99 it is almost too good to miss.

When I bought the Eco tools eye brushes Boots were doing buy one get on half price so I also bought the Buffing Brush.  Total love.  It has quite literally transformed how my foundation looks and I love it.  And even at full price its a crazy £9.99.  The only downside with this brush is that it feels so gorgeous and plush when you buff your face that I am frequently in danger of buffing the foundation right off my face!  Again, please shout if a photo would help.

The other thing I am loving right now is Maybelline Eye Studio Lasting Drama Gel Liner.  Since I read the post of tightlining that has transformed how I do my eye make-up this has become my absolute must use product, its up there with powdering in my, newly HD'd, brows - that good!!  It costs £7.99 and comes with a little brush which works really well.  I have never, ever, ever been any good with eyeliner.  For years I used powder shadow and cursed the bloody fall-out.  Then I tried this, after it was recommended on Twitter (and suggested as being comparable to the Bobbi Brown equivalent but a heck of a lot cheaper - thanks for that Simone!) and it is fab, for some reason having tightlined from underneath suddenly liner application along the top of the lash line becomes an absolute breeze, I am days a way from my first ever eye liner flick I think!  Above the lash line I tend to try and get it looking OK and then before it has time to set rock hard I wipe the brush on a tissue and use it to tidy up, works a treat!

I have recently decided that as my skin is no longer red, dry, flaky and sensitive - ALL thanks to using a face flannel to cleanse with my oil based cleanser, All Hail La Hirons! - that I could tackle the issue of radiance and some slight pigmentation issues.  After much Googling I opted to try NIP+FAB pigmentation fix.  Its £15.95 and comes in a one of those pump dispensers you cant break into to make sure you get the very last dregs out - I hate those - but I am really liking this product.  I have seen an improvement in a small area of sun damage on my face and in general my skin is looking very much more even toned. 
 

Oh, result, was able to borrow the photo from the NIP+FAB website, hope they don't sue me!  

I liked it so much that when I spotted their Glycolic Fix I decided I had to try that too!  
 
 I only purchased this up today so can't review it, but based on what I have picked up from some of the really clever people that blog it appears to have some pretty key ingredients including Glycolic acid to retexture and resurface and hyaluronic acid to moisturise and refresh, I notice having peeled the label off the bottom that it also contains lactic acid and which hazel both of which, I understand, are a help in the fight against ageing.  It comes as pads in a screw top tub and costs £12.99, given that this is pretty cheap I am guessing the % of the active ingredients isn't whooping but whilst it might not transform my skin it can only help!  I'll let you know!

And the reason I have had no time to do anything?  We finally finished destroying what was our lounge and turning it into our bedroom and it now looks like this:

The bedding is all wrong, it's our old bedding as I can't decide whether to go for grey or plum bedding and the door to the room and the walk-in wardrobe need fitting too but I love it!  Oh and the mirror - its my old one just stuck there til I find the one I really want! Anyway, the wall paper is just what I'd hoped it would be!
 

 

Dr Nick Lowe The Secret is Out skin care range

As you may know I have been using the Liz Earle skin care range for quite some time and have been loving it - my skin has been calm, happy and unblemished.  I know it has it's nay-sayers but I have got on really well with Cleanse and Polish, I think for me the fact that it has got me actually cleaning my face properly has made all the difference.  Back in the bad old days - before I read Beauty Mouth (Ness - the link there is for you! xx)- I had decided that my skin didn't tolerate water well so used cleansers I could smooth on and tissue off.  My head spins round thinking about that now!  I my defence back then I was also wearing much less make-up, but even so it would explain why my skin looked pretty crap a lot of the time.  Muslin or face cloth, makes no odds but using a cloth gives your face a mini-exfoliation each time you cleanse and its this that I think is key to clear, happy, healthy skin.  

Soooo, whilst I loved the Liz Earle Skin Repair cream and the C&P I had decided that perhaps at 45 I should be looking more at preventing the affects of ageing than I was.  I have already mentioned Beauty Mouth, if you have never read Caroline's blog I urge you too, her credentials are massive and her knowledge more so, anything I know about skin care has come from reading Caroline's blog.  She wrote a brief post here recently and it was the point aimed at over 40's in her precis at the top that hit home!  I had no idea which products contained Vitamin A and what peptides were let alone where I could find them.  At this point I should say if I had a big enough budget I would just buy every product Caroline ever recommended - I don't, so I needed to find some alternatives that I could afford.  I am completely aware that in doing so I am no doubt buying products with less active ingredient than their more high end counterparts, but I figure its a start!

Necessary peptides - did a bit of googling and apparently Matrixyl and Argireline are the top peptides to instantly reduce appearance and creation of wrinkles.  Hylauronic acid is also hailed as being massive in helping the skin to restore mositure.  So next I googled "skin care Matrixyl Argireline" and up popped this Dr Nick Lowe The Secret is Out Anti-Age lifting cream.

Ta dah! contains the necessary peptides and costs £25 - bloody brilliant! It also has Vitamin A, C & E and an spf of 15.
I had a look at the full range on the Boots site, then on the Dr Nick Lowe site, then I did some further googling for reviews and found several including this one here which pretty much answered all of the questions that I had at the time.  I was in the car and off to Boots faster than you can say early on-set dementia.


To make things even better Boots were running their 3 for 2 promotion on skin care so for £53 I got the Lift and Repair Night cream (£27.56) and the Lifting Super Serum (£25.52) and I got the Anti Ageing Lifting Cream (£25.48) free!

I genuinely hadn't expected to see any visible improvement in my skin, anti ageing is all about the long haul after all, but I was actually very surprised at how much better my skin looked even within a couple of days.  My complexion was clear and even and whilst I am aware that this makes me sound nuts, I did look younger.  Maybe this stuff has something into it that seeps into your pores and then into your brain and causes delusions, I have no idea, but I could literally see a difference.  


I am using the Lifting Serum in the mornings after cleansing.  It does contain some Dimethicone, so if that is an issue for your skin you might want to avoid this.  You know when you apply a primer that is just Lancane in a fancy tube or any product that claims to make your skin instantly feel like silk  that you have just masked your skins texture with a heap of silicone? Well this doesn't feel like that, I can still feel my skin through it.  What they say about it:

The Star Ingredients

• Linseed Extract to improve skin's elasticity and firmness.
• A powerful Peptide Complex that visibly refines the skin's surface, fading expression lines .

Additional features and benefits

• Acai and Goji berries - extremely rich in antioxidants
• A powerful Peptide Complex that visibly refines the skin's surface, fading expression lines
• Vitamins A, C and E to help smooth, rejuvenate and protect the skin

I follow that with the Lifting Cream, this is a very heavyweight moisturiser that I can still feel on my skin - I apply it on my neck and decolletage as well - in the evening when I am cleansing.  I have dry skin and like this sort of heft in a moisturiser, I would strongly recommend going to Boots and trying this from the testers before buying if you aren't as dry skinned.  What they say about it:

• New generation peptides Matrixyl®, ChroNOlineTM and Argireline ® to help reduce instantly, and over the long term, the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.
• Hyaluramine® and Hydralys® to help restore the skin’s capacity to retain moisture. With time, the skin recovers its supple and elastic qualities.
• Anti Age Cranley Complex combining potent anti-oxidants Ferulic Acid, Pomegranate and Raspberry with Vitamins A, C and E.

In the evening I am using the Avene Emulsion reviewed here and then the Lift and Repair night cream, this is my absolute favourite of all the products. It has a body butter like consistency and an orange flower smell that I just love, its soothing to apply and the fragrance is so relaxing, if this was giving me warts I would still be tempted to use it! What they say about it:

This rich, readily absorbed cream works during the night helping to tone and firm the skin. The advanced tightening and hydrating formula with Sodium Hyaluronate, peptides and super fruits Acai, Blueberry and Pomegranate also helps to replenish and revitalise. With regular use, fine lines and wrinkles appear reduced the skin looks more youthful, fresher and more radiant.

I think by now you have got the gist of this post!  I am really loving this range and wish I had found it years ago.  I asked the kids for the Cleanser and am not completely loving it, it does seem to be more aimed at smooth on tissue off cleansing and I am not going there!  I think I am going to buy a balm cleanser too and then alternate between the last of my C&P, this cleanser and the balm to keep my skin in tip top condition.  From the range I'd like to try the Neck and Decollete firming cream too and maybe the Instant Face Lift too, just to see what happens *ping and I'm 9 all over again* maybe?! Has anyone else tried any Dr Nick Lowe products?  What did you think?  I am rushing around recommending this to anyone that will listen!

Top: Serum, Middle: Day cream, Bottom: Night cream

Serum ingredients:
Aqua (Water), Cyclopentasiloxane, Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Glycerin, PEG-12 Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Butylene Glycol, Sodium Chloride, Phenoxyethanol, Sodium Benzoate, Alcohol, Euterpe oleracea Fruit Extract, Linum usitatissimum, Lycium barbarum Fruit Extract, Xanthan Gum, Lecithin, Carnosine, Magnesium Ascorbyl Phosphate, Retinyl Palmitate, Sodium Hyaluronate, Tocopheryl Acetate, Potassium Sorbate, Glyceryl Caprylate, Sorbic Acid, p-Anisic Acid, Tocopherol, Silymarin.

Lifting Cream ingredients:

 Aqua (Water), Glycerin, Octocrylene, Ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate, Bis-ethylhexyloxyphenol methoxyphenyl triazine, Butyl methoxydibenzoylmethane, Cyclopentasiloxane, Cetearyl olivate, Dimethicone, Sorbitan olivate, Glyceryl polymethacrylate, Hydrolyzed glycosaminoglycans, Butyrospermum parkii (Shea butter), Phenoxyethanol, Polyacrylamide, Pullulan, Methylparaben, C13-14 isoparaffin, Parfum (Fragrance), Propylene glycol, Butylene glycol, Rubus idaeus (Raspberry) leaf extract, Cucumis melo (Melon) fruit extract, Ferulic acid, Propylparaben, Punica granatum (Pomegranate) extract, Sodium lactate, Algae extract, Laureth-7, Disodium EDTA, Phospholipids, Sodium benzoate, Sodium hydroxide, Potassium sorbate, BHT, Carbomer, Polysorbate 20, Retinyl palmitate, Quaternium-15, Caprooyl tetrapeptide-3, Dextran, EDTA, Tocopheryl acetate, Ascorbyl palmitate, Palmitoyl oligopeptide, Palmitoyl tetrapeptide-7

Lift And Repair ingredients:

 Aqua (Water), Cetearyl ethylhexanoate, Glycerin, Prunus amygdalus dulcis (Sweet almond) oil, Cetearyl alcohol, Caprylic/capric triglyceride, Cyclopentasiloxane, Polyacrylate-13, Punica granatum (Pomegranate) sterols, Phenoxyethanol, Butylene glycol, Cetearyl glucoside, Polyisobutene, Parfum (Fragrance), Salicyloyl phytosphingosine, Benzoic acid, Disodium EDTA, Isoquercetin, Sodium hyaluronate, Sodium lactate, Euterpe oleracea pulp powder, Polysorbate 20, Decarboxy carnosine HCL, Sorbitan isostearate, Dehydroacetic acid, Ethylhexylglycerin, Sodium hydroxide, Vaccinium myrtillus (Blueberry) fruit extract, Potassium sorbate, Sorbic acid, Hexapeptide-9, Benzyl salicylate, Hexyl cinnamal, Butylphenyl methylpropional, Limonene, Linalool, Alpha-isomethyl ionone.

Avene Ysthéal+ Emulsion & eye contour cream

If you have trawled through this blog you may have noticed posts on the Avene anti-redness range, I used to suffer from mild roseacea and very flushed, red, sensitive skin.  I had spent fortunes on all sorts of products and never really saw any genuine improvement in  my skin, until I spotted the Avene range in Boots and decided to give that a whirl.  It is no lie to say that the relief was instant and the results long lasting.  My skin has now really calmed down, due I think in part to changes in my diet - I each much less bread and sugar than I used to! - but I keep some Avene products handy just in case I get a flare up. 

I was really pleased to be sent some of the Avene anti-ageing skin care for review.  Now that my redness issues have settled the fine lines and incipient wrinkles are a much bigger concern!

The  Ysthéal+ Emulsion comes in a pump dispenser and is a nice rich, peach coloured cream that I have been applying in the evenings after cleansing.  It is aimed at normal to combination skin and so I have been applying it and letting it soak in well before applying a little of my night cream as I just need a tad more moisture over night.  The Emulsion is designed to both prevent, yay!, and correct the signs of skin ageing - whilst I like something that makes my skin look better I LOVE anything that is working to prevent it from looking worse!  It contains Retinaldehyde and Pretocopheryl, I am not going to pretend I know what they are!  According to the Avene website Retinaldehyde is the most effective form of Vitamin A and Preotcopheryl is a powerful anti-oxidant, which is as science'y as I need to get! Full list of ingredients is here:

WATER (AQUA). CAPRYLIC/CAPRIC TRIGLYCERIDE. AVENE THERMAL SPRING WATER (AVENE AQUA). MINERAL OIL (PARAFFINIUM LIQUIDUM). PROPYLENE GLYCOL. GLYCERYL STEARATE. PEG-100 STEARATE. SQUALANE. BHT. BUTYLPARABEN. C13-14 ISOPARAFFIN. CARBOMER. DISODIUM EDTA. LAURETH-7. PHENOXYETHANOL. POLYCARYLAMIDE. PROPYLPARABEN. RED 33 (CI 17200). RETINAL. TOCOPHERYL GLUCOSIDE. TRIETHANOLAMINE

Emulsion at the top, eye cream at the bottom

Well done Avene for having ingredients listed on their website.  I was a tiny bit concerned when I read the leaflet enclosed with the Emulsion that sensitive skin might sting a little initially when using the product, so I was very tentative at first and would have stopped using it had I experienced any stinging, I haven't experienced any stinging or discomfort at all when I have used the Emulsion, my skin seems to love it!  I think with all anti-ageing products it's a case of looking back in years to come with much less lined and wrinkled skin than you might have had and knowing that applying products with key ingredients have worked, nothing actually, visibly diminishes the appearance of fine lines over the course of a fortnight!  It's unrealistic to think "cure" I have to be thinking "prevention"!

I was also sent the Ysthéal+ Eye Contour Cream to try, this is again a rich, peach cream in a pump dispenser - I found a full pump of this was more than I needed and Em benefited from some proactive eye wrinkle prevention - fortunately you can squeeze out less than a full pump which prevents waste.  I have been using this cream at night, along with the Emulsion and whilst it's rich it's not greasy so I am not waking up with puffy, over-fed eyes.  You may have seen my post about the No 7 roll-on eye cream, this has a brightening effect so I am using that one under make-up in the day and the Avene one at night, the combination of the two is perfect for me and I am seeing a visible improvement in my under eye area.  I think that I had overlooked it horribly in the past and the skin was very dry and papery, constant application of eye cream morning and night has really helped plump up this area and as a result the fine lines are much less visible. The key ingredients in the eye cream are again Retinaldehyde and Preotcopheryl. The full ingredients of the eye cream are here:

WATER (AQUA). MINERAL OIL (PARAFFINIUM LIQUIDUM). AVENE THERMAL SPRING WATER (AVENE AQUA). BUTYLENE GLYCOL. POLYSORBATE 40. SQUALANE. CAPRYLIC/CAPRIC TRIGLYCERIDE. SORBITAN PALMITATE. BHT. BUTYLPARABEN. CARBOMER. DISODIUM EDTA. METHYLPARABEN. PHENOXYETHANOL. RED 33 (CI 17200). RETINAL. SODIUM HYDROXIDE. TOCOPHERYL GLUCOSIDE. XANTHAN GUM.

The Emulsion costs £22, in Boots and the eye cream is £17, both are at the higher end of the price range for Avene products but still not expensive when compared to other anti-ageing products. That said I would certainly purchase the Emulsion again, I would probably also purchase the eye cream for use at night, although I am drawn towards eye creams which offer brightening for use during the day.  Has anyone tried any of the Avene range?


These products were sent to me for consideration for review.