Want to WAKE UP looking PRETTIER?

I always, always take my make-up off before going to bed, following a disciplined cleanse, tone, moisturise ritual. My smugness about how much care I'm taking of my skin, usually disappears however, when I wake up the next morning and look at myself in the mirror. I still always look so damn dull and dehydrated and just...blah.

Research has made me realise that it's just simply not enough. Our faces are exposed to so much sh*t even if you don't wear make-up, so they deserve extra tlc. Even if you don't have any problems right now, it's much better to prevent future forseeable problems (ageing, wrinkles, thin skin, sagging, under-eye darkness, etc), rather than dealing with them when they come.

WHY SHOULD YOU USE A NIGHT CREAM/SERUM/TREATMENT?
* During the day our skin and bodies use their energy towards protecting itself against environmental and
   psychological stress.
   During the night, our cells focus on repairing themselves from the damage sustained during the day.
- It's thus v.important to have a different product for overnight use as our bodies differing natural functions require specific care.

There's a huge market out there for night serums and creams and treatments, it's so easy to get overwhelmed. I certainly have been - I've been on the hunt for the perfect night treatment for my face for the last year or so and haven't bought anything despite researching options because there's just too much choice.
Recently, I have been steering towards natural beauty products - I have switched to an SLS/paraben/silicone free shampoo (review to come soon), using natural oils on my hair, loving Liz Earle naturally active face products, and so I decided to look into a company that is geared towards this 'natural' consciousness.

MY SKIN TYPE:
* Dry, sensitive, dull
* Dark under-eye circles - not bags
* Pigmentation around my mouth (slightly darker there)

WHAT AM I LOOKING FOR IN A NIGHT TREATMENT?
* You should always pick a treatment that is tailored towards your skin type. All skin needs moisture
   and hydration (yes, even oily skin types), but my dry skin needs more, so my number one priority is to
   choose a product that hydrates and moisturises my skin overnight
* Replenishes what my skin loses during the day from exposure to sunlight/wind/pollution etc

After doing much research, I decided to buy Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Concentrate. 30ml. £36.00.

VITAL INGREDIENTS:

* Jojoba Seed Oil

* Evening Primrose Oil

* Coriander Seed Oil

* Lavender Oil (smells like this)

* Rosemary Leaf Oil

* Cucumber Fruit Extract

* Rose Flower Oil

* Jasmine Extract

* Sunflower Seed Oil

* Rosa Canina Fruit Oil

* PARABEN FREE. 

Clearly, the whole product is made up of a bunch of oils that have varying properties, all of which are soo good for our skin. 

I can't speak for people with oily skin types, I don't know if this would work for you, BUT despite the fact it has so many oils - this product does not leave the skin feeling oily or greasy at all. 

Gorgeous, luxurious packaging. A glass bottle with a glass stopper that looks pretty sitting on the dressing table. It's not travel friendly though at all - it would shatter in an instant if dropped!

  

WHAT DOES IT CLAIM TO DO? (according to the Kiehl's website - link)

* One night. A few drops. Younger-looking skin by morning.

* Replenishes skin with moisture

* Helps to recover radiance by morning

* This readily absorbed elixir helps the skin to recover radiance by morning, with skin feeling smoother and softer

* The formula instantly penetrates the skin surface to help replenish it with moisture. Our concentrate is designed to work at night; with skin hydrated, supple and soft, rest assured you can say goodnight to a tired-looking complexion. 

WHAT DO I THINK? HAS IT MADE A DIFFERENCE TO MY SKIN?
* Yes, yes and YES! Oh my goodness, my skin drinks this stuff up like it's been dying of thirst for years (which it probably has)!
* How I use it: Cleanse and tone using Liz Earle, on a dry face take a couple of drops of this and lightly press onto my skin focusing on cheeks with this oil. Do not rub it in. Wait about 30mins and then I apply my usual moisturiser although this step is optional. 
* Okay, so the first few nights I used this, I woke up in the morning and felt a little disappointed - I couldn't see any difference.
* Obviously, with any skin treatment, you have to be patient and disciplined, and so I continued using it every night.
* It was about a week into using this every night that I noticed a difference when I woke up. My skin looked very calm and balanced out if that makes any sense. I also didn't look like Darth Vader - my skin had a natural sort of radiance like I'd drunk a gazillion mls of water.
* Continued use over the last month has meant that I wake up with soft, smooth, even skin. And more importantly, my skin does not look parched. It definitely looks hydrated and moisturised and overall much healthier.
* I highly, highly, highly recommend this to people with dry, dull, dehydrated skin!
* One more thing to mention, yes it costs a little bit of money, but, you only use about 2 drops each night and so far it looks like I haven't touched it - a little goes a long way, this will last you forever, such a great investment. 

OTHER PEOPLE WHO USE IT AND LOVE IT
* Ruth aka A Model Recommends - link and link and link
* Ingrid aka Miss Glamorazzi (she has oily skin and loves it) - link
* MakeupAlley rating of 4.1 out of 5 - link


Woah, well that was quite a moutful. Overall, I am LOVING it, and I highly recommend you go to your nearest Kiehls counter and see if you can get yourself a sample to try if not the whole thing!
Have you tried this product or do you recommend any other by Kiehl's? What are your favourite night treatments?

Love, Emma xo
Currently Listening To: Hey There Delilah - Plain White T's

A little bit of MINT

Mint. It's most definitely the colour of the moment, I'm absolutely loving it and I'm sure you are too.

So perfect for this season, I've received so many compliments with this colour!

Other minty things I'm lusting over:

Topshop Jeans: link

Topshop Nailpolish: link

Miss Selfridge Skirt: link

Chloe Clutch: link

Zara Dress: link

Ippolita Earrings: link

Are you loving mint at the moment? What are you wearing on your nails?

Love, Emma xo

Currently Listening To: Against the Grain - Akon

Attention Seeking with YSL Rouge Volupté 11 'Rose Culte'

I'm going through a bit of a phase of collecting hot pink lip colours (full post on comparisons coming soon) and so it was only natural that when I saw one of my good friends wearing one of the YSL Rouge Volupté lipsticks in a serious, rich, gorgeous, gorrrgeous hot pink shade, I knew I had to own it. RRP £23.50.

I present to you, YSL Rouge Volupté, Shade 11: Rose Culte. Little bit fallen in love.

(Please click on the photos)

Packaging: It really should be illegal to make packaging this beautiful, I mean who doesn't just die when they see it?! Luxurious and stunningly high quality, it makes you want to whip it out of your drawer/bag just to stare at it lovingly. 

Pigmentation: Incredibly pigmented, this was only one swatch! It is as pigmented when applied straight onto lips and so I have found the best way for me to use this is to dab it on to my lips and then pat/blend with my fingers, building up the colour as I wish. This is a serious, bright, hot pink lipstick that really brightens up your face and really doesn't require much else make-up. 

Long Lasting: This lipstick and my other Rouge Volupté lipstick last foreverrr on my lips. A good 3hours, even after I've eaten, without any need of a touch-up, which is definitely good enough for me!

Tip: Lisa Elridge mentioned in one of her videos that with darker/more pigmented lip colours, you should apply a bit of the product in the middle of both top and bottom lips and then spread it with your finger - this warms up the product, spreads more evenly on your lips and helps it wear longer. 

Texture: This is deliciously creamy on my lips, I don't need to apply a gloss on top. I find that I like to use a lip liner with it but I don't think you have to! It wears nicely and doesn't do that wrinkly/crinkly thing that some lipsticks do when they've been worn for a couple of hours. 

Blush: Nars Deep Throat

Absolutely loving this shade right now. It's easy to soften out for a more Spring time look, and easy to build up so it looks punch-y for Summer. Highly, highly recommend you go check it out at your nearest YSL counter!! This little luxury is very much worth the price! 

Do you own any Rouge Volupté lipsticks? What do you think of this shade, is it too bright or up your street? If you have any other shade recommendations for my skin tone please comment and  let me know, I'd love to check them out!! 

Love, Emma xo

Currently Listening To: Alors on Danse - Stromae 

Laura Mercier Illuminating Tinted Moisturiser

It makes me physically cringe to think of the days I used to walk around my university library with Revlon Colorstay foundation slapped on my face *shudders*. It's taken me a while, but I've realised that less really is more with my skin type. I don't have bad skin, my main problems are pigmentation around my mouth, dark circles and very dry skin - all of which are very manageable and so I enjoy using a skin product that has light-medium coverage for day time.

I've been using the Laura Mercier Illuminating Tinted Moisturiser for about 4 months now and I have really been enjoying it. Before this, my go-to day time foundation was Chanel Vitalumiere, another truly fantastic skin base.

I thought it would be interesting to do a review of the tinted moisturiser and compare it with the foundation - I think you'll be surprised at some of the results! As this is primarily a post to showcase the qualities of the tinted moisturiser, here is how it looks on:

Click Photo
Laura Mercier Illuminating Tinted Moisturiser

CHANEL:  £33.00 | SPF 15 |  30ml
LAURA MERCIER: £33.00 |  SPF 20 |  50ml

Consistency: The first thing that is noticeable is that despite the fact that the Laura Mercier is a 'tinted moisturiser', it is actually much thicker in consistency to the Chanel foundation. One would assume that a foundation would be thicker than a moisturiser, but it can clearly be seen here that the tinted moisturiser is less runny than the foundation. The foundation has spread out a little more and faster, while the tinted moisturiser has stayed where it was first squeezed out.

Coverage: Both of these products are very easy to blend and buff into the skin. I would say the Laura Mercier Illuminating inted moisturiser requires a little more buffing because as can be clearly seen, it has heavier coverage than the foundation. It is noticeably thicker but definitely not in a cakey way. Don't be fooled into thinking that because it has been marketed as a tinted moisturiser that it won't provide 'enough' coverage. The Chanel foundation blends effortlessly and skins into skin to provide a very natural, polished finish. The tinted moisturiser does the same, but with it I require less concealer. 

Finish/Long-Lasting?: As seen be seen above, they have both blended beautifully into my skin, the foundation leaving almost no sign of presence! This is the kind of coverage that is so perfect for day-time and I think they can both be built up coverage-wise a little bit for an evening look. As this particular Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturiser is the illuminating one, you can see that it leaves a dewier finish than the foundation - something I personally love. Neither of them look shiny in a bad way, but look healthy and give off a somewhat iridescent glow. However, I don't think I would recommend the illuminating tinted moisturiser for people with oily skin, I think they should check out the normal tinted moisturiser! But for us girls with dry skin types this is incredible!
The Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturiser lasts longer on my skin than the foundation (I don't use powder, ever), and I think this is because it is thicker and less runny in consistency but the Chanel foundation lasts a decent amount of time too!

I don't think I have a favourite from the two - I genuinely enjoy both of them and would recommend them both to anyone who is in the market for a good amount of coverage for day-time but doesn't like too much. With this post I aimed to clear any misunderstandings people may have about tinted moisturisers, if you choose the right one, it can be a great alternative to a foundation and you don't have to compromise on quality, finish and coverage!

What do you think of tinted moisturisers? Have you tried this one? The next one on my list to try is the new Nars one!!

Love, Emma xo
Currently Listening To: Hey Daddy (Daddy's Home) - Usher

Revlon Lip Butters

Feel free to skip reading this post, I totally understand how boring it must be to see these infamous lip butters grace on your computer screen again.

I am a big fan of moisturising, conditioning lip products; I love my MAC tinted lip conditioner and my Sleek Pout Polishes, and so it was perfectly natural for me to feel the need to test out these Lip Butters. I don't always feel like wearing a heavy duty lipstick and especially during spring/summer I enjoy using sheerer, more natural looking lip products.  As the name would suggest, these aren't lipsticks, or glosses, they are supposed to be more moisturising than a balm and more pigmented than lip conditioners - they are, quite basically, butter for lips, packaged to look like a lipstick. RRP £7.99. 

PACKAGING: I really like the packaging; they are bright, simple, sturdy, not tacky & travel friendly! Win! 

My favourite one! 

TEXTURE: They feel very soft on the lips, although I wouldn't go so far as to say that they are buttery soft - the texture is a little too thick for that I think. I do enjoy the feel of them however and think they are perfect for spring/summer when you don't want to slap on a matte, drying lipstick, but don't want your lips to look dead either. They aren't sticky or gloopy, but leave a pleasant feeling of un-chappedness! 

The most pigmented one - so vibrant and loud!

PIGMENTATION: You would expect balm/butter consistencies to be quite sheer, but I think the Lip Butters are very pigmented and could easily pass as a sheer lipstick. I sometimes pat the colour and blend it in with my fingers to sheer and soften it out, but for evening the colour pay off is perfect. They last a surprisingly long amount of time on my lips without need of a touch up which is always a good thing! 

The one I could easily live without. 

MOISTURISING? I was quite surprised to find that these aren't in fact very moisturising at all. I would not say that you should use these instead of your regular lip conditioning treatment. Blistex and Carmex actually change the texture of my lips and make them visibly smoother and softer. The Lip Butters do not have the same softening treatment qualities and I feel they have been marketed in a way that is slightly misleading. They aren't buttery, but are more comparable to a non-sticky lip balm or a moisturising sheer lipstick like the Benefit ones. 

Overall, I'm glad I tried them out and I will definitely get use out of them in the months to come. I don't think that at the moment they are must-haves in my collection but I do enjoy using them. I do think they have a (fairly) good colour range and I plan to try out a few more, namely Candy Apple and Tutti Frutti. Do I think you absolutely need them in your life? No. Do I think they make for a nice alternative to a lipstick for summery weather? Yes. 

What are your thoughts on them? Did you get sucked into the hype and try them out? Overrated? Let me know what you think! 

Love, Emma xo

Currently Listening To: Boyfriend - Justin Bieber