Bioderma: The Micellar Miracle.

So I decided to give in and buy Bioderma a couple of weeks ago. After reading so many reviews and seeing it featured in YouTube videos I was curious to see if it lived up to the hype. I thought it would be hard to get hold of as it's such a popular product but I managed to get it from Escentual and they offered a great service with updates of order status via text message and quick delivery. Bioderma appealed to me because of its gentle properties as I have sensitive skin and the claims that it removes all traces of makeup, this was my main reason for buying it. No matter how much I think I’ve removed all my makeup I still wake up with traces of mascara under my eyes, which leaves me wondering- where does it come from, do I reapply mascara in my sleep as I’m sure I removed it last night! I’ve looked into micellar water and how the micelles work but to be honest it’s all a bit beyond my intelligence to try to explain it but I found a couple of blog posts on it (here and here) if you want to read for yourself as I think its quite interesting (bit of a science geek). I was a bit sceptical about Bioderma before, I was slightly worried that I’d just paid out for some kind of posh water (like in the episode of Only Fools and Horses, with the Peckham spring water) and it wasn’t anything more than that- posh water. I’m glad to say I was completely wrong, Bioderma has completely blown me away, it is the BEST thing I have ever used to remove makeup and so gentle with it. It feels just like water on the skin yet effortlessly removes all makeup without having to rub around the delicate eye area. No more waking up in the morning with traces under my eyes (or I’ve just stopped reapplying in my sleep) my skin feels clean and fresh after using it and it really does remove ALL make up.

To remove my makeup I usually use a facial wipe (oooh! Naughty) to remove the bulk of my make up then I use a flannel and facial wash, after doing this my skin looks clear of makeup- no traces. From the picture below you can see just how much makeup is left on my skin, the cotton wool pads show what was removed by Bioderma AFTER using a makeup wipe and facial wash.

Gross eh? All I could think was how much of this residual makeup has built up over time on my skin- disgusting. So for me Bioderma is an absolute must have in my skincare routine, I wouldn’t dream of not using it now and it’s surprising that even though skin appears free of makeup just how much is left on there. Now I don’t have much to compare Bioderma to as it’s the only micellar water I’ve used but why would I use anything else, this works for me and I love it. Why fix what isn’t broken?

So have you ever used Bioderma? Do you love it as much as me? Have you ever tried any other micellar waters?

Until next time stay beauty-full xx

P.S. If the links don't work please let me know and I'll post the full web address xx

Here today, gone tomorrow.

Hello there lovelies.

Pictured above are 3 offenders of a very serious crime- non-transparent packaging.

Today I’m going be looking at packaging and how frustrating it is when you cant see if your running low on a product. Now I don’t know if you’re like me in that I like to have my replacement product lined up ready to use for when the one I’m currently using runs out. But how do you know when its about to run out without it being in transparent packaging? I don’t know either, I have to guess when it’s running low then I have the problem of I’ve either bought the replacement too early and its waiting around ages to be used or I leave it too late and I have to go without for a couple of days until I get to the shops or an order arrives. 

My suggestion would be just to put stuff in transparent packing so users of it can see when it’s running low. Yves Saint Laurent radiant touch concealer (may absolute all time favourite concealer) is the worse for this, it just stops clicking, no indication its running out, it just stops, usually for me this will be after I’ve done one eye and I’m just about to do the other, why? It’s like it knows or something. For swish packaging like that I’d suggest a thin clear strip running down the side of it so you can see the product. It’s the same story for Boots No7 Instant Radiance concealer, with the same solution of a clear strip down the side of the tube. Origins Plantscription anti-aging concealer could just be packaged in a clear tube(like Collections tube) I doubt it would put buyers off and wouldn’t really change the look of the product. I even emailed Origins suggesting this; their email reply is pictured below. I don’t want them to think I was dissatisfied with the actual product, I like it so much that I don’t ever want to be without it which is why it would help if I could actually see when I was going to run out. Origins probably thought I was a right jobs-worth emailing them about packaging but its only because I never want to run out and I expect any further emails from me will probably go straight to trash (jokes?). I did mean to email back explaining I’m not dissatisfied with the product itself but never got round to it (whoops!). 

Although I’m not a packaging expert therefore I don’t know what changing/making packaging entails but to me this is something that’s so simple and could really help users of these products to judge when the need replacing or maybe it’s just me being extremely fussy and over-thinking this issue way too much.

So what would you think of transparent packaging? What products do you hate running out of?

Until next time stay beauty-full xx

P.S. I’d just like to add that I love all the products pictured.

Email from Origins

The Naked Truth

Hello there lovelies.

Today I’m chatting about Urban Decays Naked Basics palette. I asked for this for my birthday last year and chose this one over the other Naked palettes because I knew I would get more use out of it. I like the other Naked palettes but I just don’t think I’d utilise all the colours in them and I hate good makeup going to waste so I opted for the Naked Basics instead. I absolutely LOVE Urban Decay eyeshadows with their creamy butter like consistency (even tough they are powders) their fabulous colour range, brilliant pigmentation and incredible staying power. I really can’t fault them. The Naked Basics palette does not disappoint, there’s so many different looks you can create with this little palette of joy and I’d recommend it to anyone who wanted a nice ready made neutral palette or anyone who’s just starting to build a collection. This palette is so versatile, the eyeshadows feel lovely on the eyelid and although greatly pigmented they feel weightless too, don’t crease at all and boy do they stay put. I use the shade Walk of Shame (WOS) as a base colour all over my lid as it’s a lovely matte nude colour with the slightest champagne pink tinge running through it. I use the shade Faint to do a cut crease line and line my bottom lashes as it’s not as harsh as black and better for a daytime natural look, I then blend Naked 2 into my crease to blend out and soften the line created with Faint and also use it in the outer corner to the middle of my lid. Venus is a lovely creamy shimmer shade, great for highlighting the brow bone (I’ve even used it to highlight down the centre of my nose and on my cheekbones before- works a treat, although I don’t know if you should use an eyeshadow as a highlighter but it worked great for me). I then finish with lining my upper lash line with Crave, absolutely jet black perfect for liner (I use this daily for lining my eyes) finished with my mascara of choice and voila! The perfect natural look. I can’t rate this palette high enough and I hope so much that Urban Decay never discontinue this as I know it’s going to be a firm favourite of mine for years to come.

So have you ever used this palette? How do you rate it? Have you ever used Urban Decay eyeshadows? Tell me what you think.

Until next time stay beauty-full xx

Pick Of The Week 1: London Bound

Hello there lovelies.

WARNING: LONG BLOG POST ALERT.

So every Sunday I thought I would post my Pick Of The Week (POTW). This can be anything under the sun, a makeup product, a T.V. programme, something I’ve done, ANYTHING, every week something will be awarded my POTW for me to tell you about.

This week it’s my trip to London. I’m fortunate that the train journey into London is really straightforward, so I cosied up with my book ready to endure the hour and a half journey. I love our countries capital, my main reason for going to London was of course shopping and to see my best friend (MissM), she made the move a few years ago for uni and now she’s there I get to combine my favourite things, shopping, food and her.

First stop was Topshop as it’s easily located across the road from the tube. Surprisingly I came out empty handed, nothing jumped out and screamed buy me. Next stop was Selfridges, I love Selfridges, its my favourite shop in the world, I love the atmosphere in there and the history of the place. It also holds a special place in my heart as my granddad always used to tell me about when he was a bus driver (He drove the number 73 bus, a proper open back old fashioned one with a conductor). At Christmas time he would stop outside Selfridges and they would bring him out a Christmas pudding. I still feel a pang in my heart every time I see a number 73 bus driving down Oxford Street. I knew exactly what I wanted to buy so headed straight for the makeup counters of Nars and Shu Uemura. After Selfridges it was Primark. I hate the Primark down Oxford Street its always so busy and disorganised, I picked up some bits for my mums birthday and some clothing items for me, just a jumper, shirt, trousers and socks, nothing exciting though. As I couldn’t get the Nars concealer I wanted in Selfridges I tried John Lewis- no luck but the staff were so helpful and offered to phone Liberty and Fenwick for me to see if my shade (vanilla) was in stock there. Off to Fenwick- out of stock but I did manage to get the Nars albatross highlighter so not a wasted journey. Then I went to Liberty, another beautiful building steeped in history, where I got the Escentric molecule 01 fragrance and a Diptyque candle in baies. I then hopped on the tube to Covent Garden and was quite alarmed when I stepped out the station to be faced with a street performer dressed as Punch (I’ve just read Rivers of London, if you’ve read it you’ll understand). I headed to Mac to get a new eyeshadow quad because you can never have enough Mac eyeshadows. I saved the best till last- Space NK, such a pretty shop and the staff are lovely. I came out happy having just purchased Nars sheer glow foundation, Nuxe Reve de Miel lip balm, Nars deep throat blusher and another Diptyque candle in mimosa, which smells just like The Body Shops moringa range which I love.

By this time my bank card was feeling rather hot from being used so much and I was freezing cold, a bit wet and very windswept, so I headed back to the Piazza to meet MissM for dinner. I couldn’t resist a quick stop at Whittards for some very yummy sounding caramel and sea salt and strawberry and clotted cream biscuits though. For our dinner we went to Wagamamas and it was yum, just what I needed as I was beginning to get the shakes from lugging round my bags of loot. We then both went to Westfields but by the time we got there all I could do was sit, my feet hurt and my arms ached so that’s all we did, sit and talk. It got to about 8.30 and I decided I should start making my way home. On the train home I kept having sneaky peeks into my bags to see what I’d got, I’d wanted this stuff for ages and now it was mine, long sigh out and smile. So that’s this weeks POTW and a pretty good one at that, next weeks pick is going to seem a bit rubbish compared to that.

So what have you bought for yourself lately? Have you tried any of the things I bought? What did you think?

Until next time stay beauty-full xx

P.S. I'm sorry about the dodgy looking border thing around the pictures, it's the only way I could work out how to put pictures side by side. If you now another way please let me know as this looks awful xx