Vaseline spray and go

The very lazy in me really cannot be asked to oil or cream my legs in this weather. Must I tell you that the weather I am pointing at is currently dry, biting cold winds and the priveledged have heating turned on to its highest for warm and cosy nights. Problem with London weather and water is that it makes skin even more dry as the water is hard and heating evaporates the natural

Moisture from skin.

From a beauty expert (not me) the advice is to moisture the skin right after a shower so it holds moisture better in skin.

This Vaseline spray and go has been a life saver (what a drama queen!) for my dry itchy legs which have become even drier thanks to ipl treatments and shavinh them every week.

If I do not use this my skin is so itchy that I can scratch and scratch until it bleeds (a very addictive feeling it is to scratch an itch). 

Aloe vera Vaseline is the only one i have tried and stuck to in the past year and it leaves my legs shiny, soft, moisturised for  hours. The best thing is it feels slightly cool which feels amazing on the hot itchy skin after itching!! 

I only use it on my legs as that is the only dry problem area for me but it is made for all over the body use. 

Highly recommend it.

Color b 4

So being lazy means you have to pay the price - literally! 

Few months ago as I did not have time to go to the hair dressers, I ended up buying a box of permanent hair dye to cover my roots and ends (what a mistake). I went from a medium brown to a very dark brown which even after a few shampoos looked as dark as the first day except ofcourse the grays at the front that keep popping up as silver strays.

So now that I had time I thought I would be even braver and use a color remover called Color B4. The box I used was of normal strength as It was the first time using a new chemical and all. I thought worse comes to worse It wont work and I have to visit a professional colorist anyway now......so the first time I used it I actually could see some brown in my hair and I thought this promising.

I thought after 1h if I can see some brown that is good, I should use itagain and   remove some more as I felt still dark. 

Apparently you can use it upto 3 times in a row to remove stubborn hair dyes after doing some research on the net.

So today was my second attempt and as expected am pleased to say I am a gingery brown now with a few patchy bits  . 

If you strip dark asian hair you are bound to get to an orangey colour thanks to our pigment makeup.

So yay am ready now for my ash corrector tone but this time in a semi Permanent colour that will last only a few washes.

Permanent color although covers grey better looks quite flat ie not 3d.

Here is my before excuse the posing

Here is the after from the front (I prefer) and the back (I

Dislike)

I wont be using another round of colour as I feel that would make my hair too light  to begin with.

Hope this review was helpful. Always do a colour test on your skin and strand test 24 h before you use any hair product.

This review is my own opinion and I have bought this product for my own personal use myself. This is not a sponsored ad!

Sisley anti age foundation

Texture looks moussey on skin and reminded me of a bb cream texture which becomes matt into the skin, and does not need powder on my skin (combination type to dry in winter). At first I thought this is for mature skin so where is the dewy finish in this and is this not going to make my dry patches look worse if it catches on my dry areas so I  moisturised really well before wearing this. I Wore it for 5 h and I was walking around shops but there was no shine and it still looked good and fresh without breaking apart which most foundations do and look patchy. Mind you it was sunny but 9 degrees C today. A better test would have been a hot and humid summer day of London weather in 20 something C. I shall try it again in the summer and let you know........

Smoothskin Gold ipl at home system

First all apologies for totally ignoring the blog for sometime but the good news is that huge number of posts with my opinions are coming through. Yay I hear you say!?

Let me start by saying that my genetic makeup makes me a very hairy woman, might be a waxing lady's delight but what a nuisance to me for years. To top it off being polycystic never helped either. To those hairy women and ones with hormonal imbalances, I truly sympathise with you and hopefully provide my experience that might help you keep your hairs away for months and even years.

In the past decade I have had laser on various bits of my bod and face and I must say in some places the hair never grew back. In most places that has grown back even after 12 sessions or more the hair is so fine that it is nearly a dark blonde. Those can easily be bleached but I don't even bother with that now. I forgive myself for being fluffy and shall easily live with those.

Now for those areas that I never tried ipl or laser before like my legs, I bought an ipl unit 5 years ago called the smooth skin system which actually reminded me of an old phone apparatus except that it was violet and white in colour.

I used to use that machine on my legs and a few areas on my face. The probe had glass area which touched the skin and in 15 min or so used to heat up enough to cause burns. Also from one area probed to the next you had to wait like 5seconds which was very time consuming especially for large areas of the body. The areas that I did do a few times, I noticed 80% reduction in hair regrowth which for me was amazing. Unfortunately, the time it demanded I did not have the patience for it, plus the burns it left me although superficial were painful and took 2 weeks to heal so all in all was not worth it I thought.

The new machine by the same company www.smoothskingold.com is an advanced model and it seems like they have heard the negative reviews and fixed a few things.

First of all, the machine is now smaller than the old apparatus. It is now the size of a 1970s walkie talkie (that is the best way I can describe it). It is much easier to use and with a larger head so larger areas can be attacked faster!

Secondly, there is only a 1 second wait between one probe flash to the next. This means it takes me a few minutes to do my lower leg now as opposed to an hour with the last machine.

Thirdly, the machine has a smart sensor built in that recognises what tone of skin you are and only supplies the right amount of energy for that area which means no chance of burns!

Fourthly, there is now a clear window between 2 sensors of the probe and no glass that use to heat up and burn the skin.

Let me add that ipl works by absorbing heat into the pigmented areas of the skin or hair to destroy the hair follicle. For accurate scientific explanation please visit their website. Also, the ipl system is limited to certain skin colour range and hair range. It cannot be used on grey, white hairs or very dark skin.

I have so far used this 4 times, and even in less than half the time recommended (12 weeks, once every week after shaving the area), there is more than a quarter reduction of the growth of hairs. A lot of my follicles have no hairs in them and the ones that show growth, the hairs are very fine already.

All in all I am very pleased and shall persist because of the ease and pain and hair free amazing results.

For ladies with PCOS, there will always be hair am afraid according to aestheticians and doctors that I have discussed with but with laser and ipl the hairs will be very fine and the reduction will be 80 to 90 % less for many months to maybe years depending on your own individual hormonal issues. I still get my face done every 3 to 6 months even though I have done more than 12 yag laser treatments but am happier now without bleaching or waxing or threading every day!

I really hope this review helps some of you and here is to hoping we will need less and less of these treatments in the future.

Let me add that this machine was bought by my own money (£299 from Boots) and no company has sent me this for a review and any opinion expressed here is my own. It is well worth the money as 1 session of full leg with bikin line, the ipl or laser at salons is anything from £200 to £350 for 1 treatment. Recommended treatments for any area for a long term reduction is 6.

Face oils as moisturisers

Since last year and a half I have been experimenting with oils as moisturisers as I felt my skin needed something different to a cream due to breakouts. 

The ones that I have tried are below 

I started with the Sanctuary's therapist secret facial oil and used it straight after a shower and felt it made my skin a lot clearer, softer and brighter after a few months of use. To be honest, it was people around me who thought my skin looked very fresh for a change.

The above has been 'lifted' from the Boots website about this product. Hmmm as I have mature skin, am assuming this is why this product suited me :-). To be honest, I was reading about some of these ingredients and their effects on the skin and found that rosehip oilf contains the natural highest amounts of retinol and is therefore responsible for making more collagen etc

I then decided to use pure organic rosehip on its own on my skin instead and hence bought a bottle from Boots by Trilogy. I found this oil slightly thicker than the Sanctuary one as am sure that oil has a base oil with everything else mixed in it.

Also, I had that there are some amazing organic rosehip oils available in Australia so I ordered the Rosehip Plus and find it very similar to the one by Trilogy.

In general my skin looks more hydrated and to the touch feels smooth and actually looks smoother than ever before but ofcourse there is a limit as no scars from acne like pitting will reverse to flatsmooth  surface with these products.

But hey there are loads of other things out there to experiement with too.....and makeup only looks better on skin that is smooth and in decent condition to begin with enhancing your best features not masking them!

Tom Ford shade and illuminate by Sana K Makeup (Makeup artist and Hairstylist)

As contouring is the biggest thing on social media since Kim Kardashian or should I say thanks to her, here is my most luxurious item in two shades provided by Tom Ford beauty. Shade 1 is more of a flat brown (still has some warmth though) and shade 2 is a reddy brown (much warmer). In the pictures below I have swatched on my hand shade 1 is on the left and shade 2 is on the right. On the top of these colours I swatched the white creamy high lighter which on the skin looks like a shiny or a dewy effect.

The consistency of both the browny shader and the white looking high lighter is creamy and provides a satin effect. 

If you have oily skin I would not recommend this product as it will make you look shiny or maybe even sweaty especially the high lighter. You may try using a powder after to set this.

In London weather I have used this product several times on people with combination skin and dry skin and found it works a treat.

I have ofcourse as always used it on myself and always love the effect it gives onces blended in. I am an nc35 in MAC cosmetics and can use intensity 1. Intensity 2 looks very orangey on my skin so unless I have had a tan and can use nc44 I would not bother.

As a makeup artist I have experimented with this product further, and ended up using them as cream eye shadows and lip stains for photoshoots and again loved using them.

If you have used Kryolan TV paint sticks then I would say that in comparion Tom Ford shade and illuminators are very creamy and will not last more than half a day as oppsed to the dry consistency of Kryolan or Dermacolour for long wear that lasts even in humid conditions (like in the sub continent). Kryolan is also a thicker product whereas this is sheerer even though it is a cream.

Lorac behind the scenes eye primer

At first glance through the tube, the primer itself is pink coloured. At first I thought maybe that is a great idea as it would have a dual purpose of being a primer and a corrector for pigmented lids. 

The application was a bit streaky on my skin and chalky although felt creamy to the touch. I took a picture of the primer on my hand to show you the colour but realised that this unfortunately is not great for flash pictures as it has a flash back. This was confirmed once I took a picture with my eyeshadow on with it underneath. I do not want a eye primer which will look glowy in flash pictures so this is no no for me and my clients am afraid. 

Dolce & Gabbana the foundation perfect luminous liquid foundation teinteclat parfait

Having heard many a good things about this foundation, I finally decided to try this  particular one for my (aging skin). God only knows as I would like to look luminous and glowy with little bit of cover up now and again (sigh).....

I purchased 2 shades (as I am a mixer woman) as I wanted something with a yellow shade and something warm and peachy. 

shade 120 is on the left and 144 is on the right. 120 has a more yellow golden tone to it and 144 has a more peachy warmer tone. Saying that I found that both colours when they come out of the bottle look lighter but ince blended into the skin oxidise and so darken.

I found that 120 even though looks remarkably yellowy still has some pink undertone to it and this is something I had heard about this range that none of their colours have a true yellow undertone. 

I have swatched on my hand here

Second picture already shows some darkening

This is both rubbed into my skin looking very peach!

Pictures of this on my face with flash photography to follow 

Lorac behind the scenes eye primer

At first glance through the tube, the primer itself is pink coloured. At first I thought maybe that is a great idea as it would have a dual purpose of being a primer and a corrector for pigmented lids. 

The application was a bit streaky on my skin and chalky although felt creamy to the touch. I took a picture of the primer on my hand to show you the colour but realised that this unfortunately is not great for flash pictures as it has a flash back. This was confirmed once I took a picture with my eyeshadow on with it underneath. I do not want a eye primer which will look glowy in flash pictures so this is no no for me and my clients am afraid. 

Kevyn Aucoin Sculpting powder

For a long time I had been searching for a contour shade which did not have any reddish tint. Finally, this one by Kevyn Aucoin in shade medium is a perfect flat brown shade that I had been hunting for a while. For my skin tone I am sure that the shade in dark wouldnbe fine too. The texture is slightly creamy but powder and highly pigmented. My only complain (yes I  am fussy) is that it is only 3g and retails around £22. I know that I will need to purchase this often so maybe a bigger one would be better value for money. The new packaging also makes this look tiny but I should not complain as a makeup artist  the tinier it is, the more I can stuff my kit with (seriously).

Maybelline Fit me foundation

After hearing amazing reviews about Maybelline Fit me foundation, I thought there is no harm (yes it is to my finances) in trying out one. I went to Superdrug and tested a few colours out on my jawline (as you do) and found that 220 was the closest match in the liquid. I then also saw the stick foundations which were a thicker consistency so picked 220 in that too.

I have now worn the liquid and find that it has a yellow undertone and matches quite well and looks flawless. I would also say that it does not make my skin greasy after a few hours like some others so I am happy with it.

The stick foundation in 220 on the other hand is another story - it has a pink undertone and after an hour makes my skin look quite red. I am quite miffed as both liquid and stick have the same numbers there should not be a difference in the undertone unless it is meant to be a corrector which it clearly does not say!?

My fault totally as I should have swatched the stick foundation and compared it to liquid one before an impulsive buy!

Shiseido Lipsticks

I must say that these lipsticks by Shiseido are probably the best blingy lipsticks I have ever worn. They have tiny sparkly bits in them and are highly pigmented and moisturising. 

You won't be needing a lipgloss on top of these! 

Ideally I would like to have all of them.