Beauty

Summer Review: L'Oréal Professional Solar Sublime Protection Spray

08:33

For me summer has finally started, I'm currently blogging from the beautiful island of Mallorca, and I'll be here until September (Lucky me!!). With the summer comes all the lovely products that are catered to protecting and caring for your skin, hair etc from that gorgeous yet harmful (if your not careful) sun. 
Before leaving to come to Mallorca i did a cheeky Feelunique order, and the L'Oréal Professional Solar Sublime Advanced Protection spray was the product i was most excited to try out. 

I've had a chance to try this product out in both the sea and the pool, and I also let my sister use it to get a second opinion, and we both love it. Priced at £11.25 you can't really go wrong. It has UV protection that creates a light film around the hair to protect it from any sun exposure; and it doesn't leave your hair greasy or sticky, in fact mine and my sister's hair felt softer once it had dried. The smell is another plus, it just oozes summer with it's tropical scent, which lingers in the hair even after its dried. 


I could not recommend this product enough! There are far more expensive ones on the market that do the same thing, but I just can't justify spending all that much money when, in my opinion this one is just as good. You get 125ml in the bottle, and only need a few light sprays to cover your whole head, so it will last you ages. 
However if you have coloured hair, i'm not sure if this would work for you, and just to be safe I would purchase something that specifically protects colour treated hair. 


Lara x 

Beauty

Review: NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer

08:05

I've been having a bit of a love affair with Nars recently; Its gone from me not even knowing where to purchase their products in the UK, to me using something of theirs on a daily basis, and even giving the Sheer Glow Foundation holy grail status (Read my review on that here) and i have a feeling that the Radiant Creamy Concealer could fast become the proud owner of a holy grail title also.



I was on the hunt for a new all round concealer and had heard good things about this new Nars product, so when i stumbled across a Nars counter on a shopping trip with mother dear, i just couldn't resist trying it out. 

It was like love at first sight, I swatched a random colour on my hand to get a feel of the texture, and, as it says in the name it certainly is thick and creamy, but despite that its a real joy to blend into the skin. 

There are 8 shades (In the UK, in America there is a choice of 10) in total, and normally I would hold no hope in finding a colour to match my skin with such little choice, however I was matched to 'Med/Dark 2 Caramel' and it is honestly the perfect shade for me, and blends seamlessly into my natural skin tone.


In terms of how it sits, feels and blends into your skin... its a dream! I have been using this on a daily basis, so I can sit here and safely tell you that if, like me, you aren't the biggest fan of wearing foundation during the day then this product is perfect!

I would say it has a medium coverage but can very easily be built up into a much fuller coverage without looking cakey on the skin, which is just what I want from a concealer. 
Its creamy hydrating texture means that it can be used all over the face, whether you want to conceal that annoying spot or hide those 'I stayed up all night watching One Tree Hill' eyes. It doesn't crease anywhere on the skin and in terms of staying power i can't tell you how it fairs on its own as i do always powder my T-Zone as I hate the thought of being shiny, although I have never felt the need to top up during the day.

It is slightly pricey being £21 for 15ml, but I can honestly say that this is my favourite concealer of the moment, if not all time! It is something I am constantly reaching for, and will probably always have in my makeup collection and thats always a good sign! 

Click Here to see me using it in my 'Everyday Makeup Routine' video. 

Lara x

1940s

The Blitz Party...

10:01

Last saturday I had the opportunity to go to The Blitz Party in Shoreditch, London. As you may (or may not) have guessed from the name of the event, it was 40s themed which therefore meant a whole lot of swing dancing, a big live band, and lets not forget all the glamorous hair and makeup. 

 The Village Underground had been transformed into a wartime air shelter, complete with sandbags and oil lamps; the drinks menu was made from ration cards and the drinks all had war time themed names. You really did feel like you had been transported back in time as soon as you stepped in, and once the live band started, the outside world no longer existed. 

 Its not everyday that us girls (and the guys for that matter) have the opportunity to get this glammed up, and it was great to see that everyone had put so much effort into their looks; the girls were sporting typical 40s hair, makeup and fashion, and the guys were all decked out in solider, pilot and sailer outfits. 
Now i'm not that great when it comes to styling my hair, so I kept that really simple and easy and just stuck it up in a slicked back bun, and my makeup was pretty simple also but with a bit of winged liner and red lipstick to add that 40s glamour. (Pictures Below) 





I could not recommend this event enough, its something fun, out of the ordinary and I think everyone should go at least once. Click Here to go to The Blitz Party website, for information on when the next event is. 

I will be filming a video on the makeup look that I did on the night, and putting it up on my YouTube channel in the next few days, so keep an eye out for a post about that. 

Lara x 


Bronze Goddess

First Impression: Estée Lauder Bronze Goddess Skinsent.

12:38

After watching Anna from ViviannaDoesMakeup talk about the new Estée Lauder Bronze Goddess skinsent, i was keen to go out and buy it, but priced at £45 i was on the fence a bit. However i was out today in the beautiful sunshine and thought why not? 


The way i would describe the sent of this is a mix between sun cream and coconut, yes i realise that seems like a very odd combination, but trust me, one smell of this and you will be transported to a beach in barbados. You have to allow the sent to develop on your skin for a minute as the initial smell is nothing like the end result, but after that you will be smelling heavenly. 

 I highly recommend that you at least go and smell this and then join me in my new found love for this product. The name speaks for itself, one spray and you really will feel like a bronze goddess, its safe to say that i have found my new summer sent! 

 The Bronze Goddess collection is limited edition to the summer season every year. 

 Lara x 

Acne

My New Holy Grail?!

13:13

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 I finally did it, i finally brought the famous NARS Sheer Glow Foundation!











































After having been on holiday for just under a week my Bobbi Brown foundation had become way too light for me, so i decided i would take the opportunity and buy The NARS Sheer Glow foundation. Now unless you've been living under a rock you will know that this has been one of the most talked about products in the beauty world; because i had watched countless videos and read numerous blogs on it, i felt pretty confident in my purchase. 

The words 'sheer' and 'glow' are not words you want to be associated with a product your about to buy if you have acne/combination skin, however i was pleasantly surprised! I got matched to the colour 'Syracuse' and its perfect, it neutralises my overall skin tone and takes away any redness in my skin without making it look cakey. I would say it is a medium coverage and could very easily be built up to a fuller coverage for a night out etc. 

So far i have been using this product nearly every day and have pretty much fallen in love, and i now completely understand why it gets so much love and is considered by many to be a holy grail. 

















Me before (Top) and After (Below) applying the NARS Sheer Glow Foundation

Lara x

Ayurveda Gift Set

A Few New Rituals...

10:49

Almost five months ago i celebrated my 19th birthday. I got to celebrate it with my amazing friends in the city of Madrid, i honestly thought it couldn't get any better, that is until my friend pulled out the birthday present that he got me, and its safe to say that the boy did very well! Knowing my love for all things beauty, and how i like to keep up with the latest products, he got me the Ayurveda Gift Set from Rituals... 





In the gift set you get a 200ml bottle of the Yogi Flow shower foam (full size), 150ml of the Daily Rose deodorant (full size), 75ml of the Yogi Flow foot scrub (full size), 70ml of the Honey Touch body cream (sample size), 70ml of Brilliant Bliss shampoo (sample size), and lastly a 100ml sample of the Energy Bubbles bath cream. Now if you ask me thats pretty good value for money, with the gift set priced at £32.50 (naughty Lara for looking up the price of a gift) you get full sizes in what in my opinion are the best products, and the sample sizes are large enough for you too have a good old test of them before you go out and buy the full size. The over all smell of the Ayurveda collection is very tropical, with the exception of the foot scrub, and when you use any of the products, whether it be the shower foam or a spray of the deodorant, its smells like you could be on a beach somewhere sipping a pina colada, making these products that you will love to use on a daily basis.

Yogi Flow Shower Foam
The shower foam was probably the thing that i was most excited to try as im a sucker for nice smelling shower products. When i first used this product i was unaware of how powerful the pump was, all it took was one push and a load of foam was all over my shower door, never the less i managed to get some onto my hands and actual use it properly. The fact that the product is already a foam consistency means that it lathers up in a instant, and i don't know about you but, if a product doesn't lather well, weather it be a shampoo or body wash it gains an instant position on my naughty list of products. Having used the product a  few times, i can safely say that this is one of the most hydrating body wash products i have ever used, i went through a bit of a dry skin phase while using this and i think it really helped.
The sent of the shower foam doesn't last on your skin once it has been washed off; personally this doesn't bother me and it certainly isn't a downfall of the product, as i like to be able to put a perfume on without the sent of my shower products distorting it, however it does make your bathroom smell heavenly for quite some time.

Daily Rose Spray Deodorant 
On to my second favourite product in the set. Normally spray deodorants aren't really my thing, i given the choice, i'd much rather have a stick deodorant; However it was like love at first spray, its no surprise that the smell was what made me fall in love with it initially, it definitely in keeps with the overall tropical feel of the set. The way it went onto my skin is also another reason why i really like this product (as weird as that may sound) most spray deodorants seem to go onto my skin at 100mph and its always a bit of a shock... for me at least, but this comes out as a mist, and this makes it much nicer to put on. I usually put this on just before i head out to class, and if i had a euro for every time someone has asked me what perfume im wearing, i'd be one wealthy student; you can only imagine their surprise when i tell them that its in fact my deodorant.
Its slightly pricier than your average drug store/high street deodorant but if you ask me it is definitely worth every penny.

Yogi Flow Foot Scrub
This was the surprise product for me, as im kind of picky about my scrubs, i like the ones with the big grains so it actually feels like its doing something, this goes for both face a body scrubs. When i first used this product i decided to do it as a part of one of my pamper nights nice which i do from time to time, and it made giving myself a pedicure a much more enjoyable experience. I would call this the black sheep of the gift set, as it doesn't inkeep with the overall tropical sent, instead it is very minty and refreshing, and once applied it has a lovely cooling affect on the feet. 
Being an oil-based product it is very hydrating and after having it on for about 20 minutes the oils will have soaked into your feet; because its so hydrating a foot moisturiser isn't really necessary, however if you wanted to take pampering to the next level, follow up with a heavy duty moisturiser and sleep with soaks on and in the morning you'll have feet to be marvelled at! 

Honey Touch Body Cream
If you're one of those people who like to feel the moisturiser on their skin then this is the product for you, however if your not, you may want to have a hunt for something else as i found the cream it leave a residue on my skin for a good hour or two, but lucky i quite like that in a body moisturiser. Combined with the shower foam, this is your skins dream as it is left hydrated and thanks to the cream, it is left smelling pretty heavenly. 
I would definitely consider buying the full size of this and use it for days when i want to smell and feel amazing!

Energy Bubbles Bath Cream
Talking of things that smell heavenly, this bubble bath is incredible. There is not much else to say really, it produces bubbles like no other and the smell will send you into the most calm a relaxed state. Just add some candles and relaxing music and you're good to go! 

Brilliant Bliss Ultra-Shine Shampoo
Its a shame that the conditioner isn't also in the set as i would have loved to have tried them both together. The shampoo however is good, again as with as with all the other products the smell is by far the biggest plus, however i can't say that it was particularly nourishing or that it made my hair ultra shiny, but it did the job i guess, i would be interested to see if my opinion would change is i had a the conditioner as well... i will keep you posted! 


I don't know if its obvious or anything but i really do love this set! I have tried not to use anything too much as i don't want anything to run out, i would highly recommend the gift set, wether it is a gift to your sister, friend, mum or simply just a little gift to yourself. Thank God my friend brought this for me or i would probably have never tried any of these products, and im now looking into making a few more cheeky purchases form Rituals...

Lara x

Beauty

Mini Haul: Madrid Style

14:46

First off i feel like i should apologise for being a bit MIA recently, its been a crazy few months and blogging kind of slipped my mind; but fear not, i'm back, and i've come back with a haul for you guys. Now i don't know about you, but im a big fan of hauls, maybe its because im incredibly nosey like that; this is only a small one, but hey, any new makeup is good right?



So being the smart shopper that i am, i brought all the products at El Corte Ingles here in Madrid (i think the english equivalent would probably be John Lewis) and because i have a foreign passport i got a 10% discount (nice bit of helpful information for anyone traveling to Spain). 




 Nars Blush in Gilda






 Nars Long Than Life Long-Wear Eyeliner in Rue Bonaparte


The first two products, as you can see from the photos above are from NARS. Now these two products made this a pretty exciting purchase as they are the first things i have ever brought from the brand, it may surprise you that i didn't go for the cult favorites such as 'Laguna' bronzer and 'Orgasm' blush, but they weren't really what i was looking for. I was in desperate need of a new blusher, but didn't want to go down the pink sparkly route that i normally do when buying blusher and Gilda was the perfect product. As you can see from the picture it is a pretty vibrant salmon/ coral colour and i will admit that the thought of using it kind of scared me, but if i use a little and blend it well it looks really lovely and natural and looks even better now that i have a slight tan. The whole non-glittery blush thing means that you would probably have to use a highlighter with it, especially in the evening time. 
The second item i brought was a flesh/light coloured eyeliner to put in my waterline as part of my everyday look to brighten up my eyes. Having used this product for a while now, i can happily sit here and tell you that it does the job, im not going to give it holy grail status just yet, as i feel that i could find something better. In terms of it being called a 'Longer Than Life' eyeliner, i'd have to disagree a bit, it doesn't last all day on me and it does need touching, but thats the only down side i can think of. 



Rimmel Scandaleyes Mascara + La Roche-Posay Cleansing Gel

Now im not a fan of wearing/ applying false eyelashes, therefore i always buy mascaras that can give me the same amount of intensity minus all the fussing about. For this reason i have always been a huge fan of the Maybelline 'The Falsies' but this Rimmel mascara was on a 2 for 1 offer so i thought id give it a go, and i can't quite believe that im typing these words, but this may replace my beloved Maybelline mascara!! One coat of this, and i have my perfect day time look- defined but not crazy in your face lashes, and on a night out 3-4 coats of this and i may as well be wearing false lashes, and at times have even been asked if i am... i highly highly recommend that you go buy this and give it a try.
Last but certainly not least, i brought myself a face wash. If you have read some of my last posts you will know that i have/ some times still do suffer from acne breakouts. I would normally buy a product that was geard towards acne prone skin, but i decided to give my skin a break from all the harsh stuff, and get the most gentle thing i could find, and that is why i brought the La Roche-Posay Cleansing Gel, and my skin has really thanked me for it. It gets every little bit of my makeup off and doesn't sting or irritate my eyes. I've had very few breakouts since using this product and my skin feels a lot more hydrated then it did before. If you are looking for a bog standard face wash then this is without a doubt my highest recommendation. 

Lara x 





Blog

Essie. Essie.Essie

11:00

Todays post is about my Essie nail polish collection; the colours i own, how long they last, colour pay off etc. Now considering i don't have the longest nails seen as i have the extremely nasty habit of biting them (however i am slowly stopping) i own quite a few Essie nail polishes, and my love affair with the brand still continues.

      From Left: Over the Edge, Sorry the name rubbed off the bottle and i wasn't able to find the colour on the site, Pillow Talk, Aruba Blue and Lilacism.  

From Left: Smoking Hot, Not Just a Pretty Face and again i couldn't find the name for the last colour.


Above are pictures of swatches of all the colours i own, excuse my stubby finger. Now i won't be doing a review on every one of them otherwise we'd both be here forever.
As i previously said, im slightly in love with Essie, the colour range is incredible and the limited addition colours are always gorgeous and they are super affordable unlike similar brand O.P.I. Therefore its a great brand for someone like me who has only just got into painting my nails regularly. In terms of colour pay off, what you see is what you get, the colour that goes on the nails is exactly what you see in the bottle; however the orange one in the last picture, tends to come off slightly more brown once its on the nails. The best thing in my opinion about the Essie nail polishes is that you can get away with one coat, i've tried Topshop, Barry M and No7 nail polishes and i always feel that to get the real colour you need two coats to get the full effect, but if your in a rush one swash of any Essie polish and you are good to go. 
In terms of chipping, if you don't apply a top coat they will chip within a few days, however with a top coat i've managed to keep the colour on for over a week and they still looked good (the top coat i use is the Sally Hansen Insta-Dry)

Essie is available in most boots stores across the UK. 

Lara x 


Acne

Bedtime Makeup?

13:41

See, did i or did i not tell you i would be writing more posts? Today's post is about The Bare Minerals Pure Transformation Night Treatment, as you may have noticed that Bare Minerals is somewhat of a recurring theme on my blog, but fear you not, i will spice things up a bit!

 Priced at £45/ $60 The Bare Minerals Night Treatment, is quite a bizarre concept, as you are going to bed with coverage, now i'm the type of person that likes to go to sleep with a squeaky clean face, so the thought of putting makeup on and then sleeping in it, kind of freaked me out, but i'm happy to report i was pleasantly surprised. The active ingredient in this product is called ActiveSoil complex, the main factor that this ingredient helps with is your cell turnover, this basically means that it helps shred dead skin faster so that the new healthier skin can replace it, as well as delivering a faster cell turn over, the night treatment also helps reduce your pores, and increase luminosity. Seen as the product does provide some sort of coverage, it is available in 4 colours; clear, light, medium and tan, now the sales assistant told me that the clear one isn't exactly clear, therefore is you have a olive/dark skin tone, it will give you a kind of white mask affect, for that reason its recommend that people with these skin tones, go for one of the other shades that best suites there skin tone (i own it in the colour medium).




I'll start off by telling you weather or not this product actually lives up to the expectations; and im happy to report that it does. I've found that when the time comes and i have one of those horrid spots that just sits there under your skin, this really help to diminish it slightly, along with another product that i put on in the evening (Clinique anti-blemish solutions, spot treatment gel). I found that the brush does have a tendency to put too much product on the face, however this does not affect the longevity of the product, as a little goes a long way with this stuff; i have had my one for abut 4 months and it is still going strong, the only thing i would say is that when you are coming to the end it is hard to get enough product on the brush, i normally sit there shaking it like a mad woman until something comes out! 
Now you may be concerned that if you get a colour that matches your skin tone that it will transfer onto your bed sheets but don't worry, if you don't cake your face with it then you will be safe. I have white pillows both at home and at uni, and for the most part the colour doesn't transfer  but like i said if i put too much on then there will be faint orange patches on my pillow, and to be honest thats the only down fall, but then again its something that can easily be avoided. 

 If you have any problems with acne/blemishes/scarring then i would really recommend this product, not only for the results that it brings but because it has some form of coverage, if you live in a comunal area, like a university halls of residence or you've moved into a flat with people you aren't 100% confortable with, then this will that little bit of confidence to just go downstairs in the mornings and face anyone who's there, as you can count on most of your imperfections being covered, it certainly works for me at least.

 (Sorry for the bad picture quality, using my IPhone until i can get a good camera, forgive me?)

Lara x



Acne

Bare is Best.

10:11

So todays post, is going to be about Bare Minerals makeup. For those of you who haven't heard of Bare Minerals, it is part of a brand called Bare Escentuals, and as the names suggests all their makeup products are made using a blend of finely ground minerals, they promise that their makeup will give you long lasting and great coverage and that the minerals have a 'creamy blendability'.
Now the reason i started using Bare Minerals makeup was because i had been told by a lot of people that it was the best makeup for people with problem skin as it doesn't clog up your pores like a liquid foundation would. I thought it would be a good idea to do a post and my experiance with the makeup as far, and that maybe if you have the same issues as me, you can get some useful information out of this post. Before i get into this post, i'll just quickly mention that i have acne prone/combination/sensitive skin, therefore some of you may need to take what i say with a pinch of salt, because one product will never work the same for two people. 




Primer

Now i didn't purchase all these products separately  the lovely girl in the shop suggested that i get one of their kits, in which you got three makeup brushes, a ful size foundation and then the warmth and mineral veil. If you purchase the starter kit like i did, then you will get a sample size of the Bare Minerals foundation primer. They say that the primer will help a multitude of things including dryness, enlarged pores and an uneven complexion. Now this is probably the nicest thing to put on you're face, it has such a silky texture and feel incredibly when you put it on your skin, and then it sinks leaving your skin lovely and smooth! However it doesn't make my foundation last all day like i would like it too. 


Foundation


The foundation kind of scared me a bit when i was researching it, and then when i went into the shop, because although i had watched videos and read blogs claiming that they got a really good coverage without it looking cakey, all i kept thinking was that i have acne scaring which is hard enough to cover up with liquid foundation let alone a powder! So when i went into the shop to get colour matched it was safe to say that i was pleasantly surprised. Now the coverage wasn't as full as what i normally have, but it did the job, it covered the redness on my face and some of the scars on my face. I wasn't too bothered about it giving really really full coverage as i am slowly using less and less makeup, and you may be surprise to know that although i have acne, you will normally see me without makeup on and when i do have makeup on its normally a light-medium cover, so the bare mineral foundation seemed like a perfect buy! 
The colouring of foundations is always something that i struggle with, i have quite a dark olive skin tone, therefore drug store foundations never really make the cut in terms of getting the perfect colour match. But when i walked into Bare Minerals i was kind of surprised at how many colours they had! and the girl matched me perfectly, so put three colours on my jaw/cheek and i went for the one that was virtually unrecognisable on my skin. 
In terms of how long the foundation lasted on me, it would be nice if it lasted a bit longer. I can get really good coverage for about two and a half hours, and then it just starts to disappear meaning that my scars start to show again, and this was despite using their primer and the mineral veil over the top. So for me that is a pretty big down fall, as im not one for touching up makeup throughout the day so i like my foundation to be long lasting.



 

Warmth

Now when i saw warm i instantly thought it was some kind a bronzer and i guess you could say that it is. However it was described to me as a product that brings the color back to your complexion that the foundation takes away, and it does exactly that, it adds a bit of dimension to the face so that you don't look flat and washed out. This is probably my favorite product out of the starter kit that i got, as you only need a little to just add some colour, however you could go quite orange if you weren't careful. 
In terms of the colour range, well...there isn't one, believe it or not it is one colour for every skin tone, weird right? but it actually does work for everyone, and i know this first hand, because my friend who is literally as pale as you can get, i mean true english rose colouring used it and it didn't make her orange at all, you could barely tell that she had it on! 



Mineral Viel 

Mineral Viel is basically Bare Minerals finishing/translucent power. Bare Minerals claim that the Mineral Viel will help with minimising pores, absorbing excess oil and and smoothing out your complexion  now i can't say anything about it minimising pores or smoothing my complexion but i can tell that it absorbs oil ver well, as when im wearing it my face isn't shiny at all!



So as you can see its so far so good with the Bare Minerals makeup, there will be another Bare minerals post coming up soon, but that will be focusing on their rather bazar night treatment, so keep a look out for that post!


From Left - Full Flawless Face Brush, Flawless Face Brush and Max Coverage Concealer Brush
Lara x