OMG she's back....

....and maybe here to stay????

I'm probably talking to no one right now, and perhaps ever again.... but if you are reading this then please, please leave me a comment or message! It's been so long since I last wrote that I'm sure this page has been the web equivalent of a ghost town..... echoes of previous posts howling in the winds.... html detritus blowing about.... you get the drift.

So think of this as a kind of re-development, a renaissance of sorts. I've been meaning to get back here for too long now, and it was only after a chance encounter today with a lovely make-up artist and hopefully, new friend, that I decided that I couldn't let all my writing go to waste. She was so enthusiastic when I mentioned I 'used to' have a blog that I really began to believe in it again and so, here I am!

This blog has always been my outlet for writing about something I love very much, all things beauty related. It's semi-autobiographical with a few nail polish shots and product reviews thrown in. I know that I have missed it, and I know that I need it back in my life. I welcome you to join in my journey here and add any contributions.

I'm also thinking of starting a Facebook page and.... I'm thinking of changing the title, but I'm yet to come up with something I'm happy with.

Until my first 'useful' post in ages, I'll leave you for now with a short list of a few of my current favourite products:

Make-up

Clarins Instant Concealer, Dolly Wink Volume Mascara, Bareminerals Eye BB 5-in-1, Estee Lauder Double Wear All-Day Glow

Estee Lauder Double Wear All-Day Glow - simply gorgeous, medium coverage which gives  a stunning healthy look to the skin.

Clarins Instant Concealer - Amazing coverage, beautiful finish, much hyped, hype is deserved.

Dolly Wink Volume Mascara - The only mascara I've ever found that holds a curl and does everything you'd want a mascara to. Only available from Japan sadly.

Bare Minerals 5-in-1 BB eye shadow - A surprise hit..... eye-smoothing, priming, colour... all in one. I love these!

Skincare

Apivita Serums, Decleor Micellar Oil, Vichy Normaderm Night Detox

Decleor Micellar Cleansing oil - Nothing removes make-up, even waterproof, faster. Seriously. Nothing.

Actually, anything Decleor is pretty amazing.

Vichy Normaderm Night Detox - Fantastic at sorting out troubled skin overnight. Angry spots are calmed, and skin looks radiant in the morning.

Apivita serums - I have both the Radiance and Hydration serums. These are beautiful, light and mostly natural and I've noticed that they do make a difference to how my skin looks and feels.

Bodycare

L'Occitane Almond Milk Concentrate body cream

Anything from the L'Occitane almond range.

Anything from L'Occitane in general.



There you have it, my lovelies...... I've broken the spell of blogging inertia.

Travel Make-Up Bag - London weekend

Mr P and I are off to London for the weekend, not just for the usual slob around at my parents' house, but also for a swanky night on the town on Saturday night. Finally get the chance to glitz it up a bit so this is a more upgraded version of my usual travel staples.

The bag is an old orange mesh Body Shop one that I've had for yonks but somehow it's always been my bag of choice. The mesh makes it practical and pretty and the size is just about right.

 My Effaclar K and Cicaplast are still my skin carers of choice. The Cicaplast is a must these days as I have a particularly nasty mark on my cheek which needs healing pronto and this accelerates the healing like nothing else. Also included are my Clinique All About Eyes which I've been using for the last 5-6 months or so and my new love, Nuxe Reve de Miel lip balm. Can't. Live. Without.

I picked up this little brush travel case in Muji and it's fab for carting about make-up brushes and keeping them separate from the rest of my make-up bag. Inside are my Real Techniques Detailer brush (for concealer), my MAC 224 brush (for 'airbrushing' concealer), Ecotools blush brush, and an old Body Shop foundation brush.

Eye stuff includes my Shu Uemura lash curlers, Laura Mercier Eye Basics primer, Hypnose Doll Eyes mascara (review to come soon), Kiko Long Lasting Stick shadow, Le Metier de Beaute eye pencil in Sequoia Brown, Benefit Speed Brow, and last (and perhaps least), some individual false lashes by Sephora which I may or may not use. 

Base stuff: Erborian BB cream, still going strong after almost 7 months of constant use, Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage, Garnier Tinted Roll-On for eyes, Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection concealer, and samples of Armani foundation.

Other: Nars Orgasm blush, Armani 400 lipstick (just in case I'm feeling brave and because GG wants me to ;)), and Viva La Juicy mini perfume (because Mr P likes it).

The look I'm going for on Saturday is a simple bronze-y smokey eye (with the Kiko shadow stick), and hot red lips. I have a plethora of lipsticks in my handbag so if the red lips don't work it's not the end of the world.

What are your weekend must-haves?

Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer Review

I would never have even considered going near Collection 2000 to pick up anything other than a cheapo nail polish. I think I was scarred by my nineties memories of skulking around the uber budget make-up displays and seeing how scummy the Collection 2000 one was. Even I, a penniless teenager who had no idea how to use mascara, knew that there were limits to how cheap one should go. Everything about the display looked kind of skanky, the packaging was just ugly, and no one had bothered to clear away lipgloss splodges smeared over the shelves and broken eyeshadow and lipstick testers. It was back then the Skid Row of make-up brands, it even made Rimmel look chic.

But as we all know, Rimmel have come into their own, particularly in the last few years. Collection 2000, although obviously much improved, I still hadn't much faith in. I tried their Big Fake Lash last year, after much Youtube hype, and was disappointed. It dried out in TWO WEEKS!!

But onto the review.... (finally, I hear you say)

So I heard about this concealer, and about how it rivals all the big expensive brands of concealer in terms of pigmentation, lasting power, concealability (is that a word? It is now.) etc. I picked up the medium shade (no.3) when I was last in London. It cost £4.19 from Boots and was the most 'expensive' of the other Collection 2000 concealers.

I'll get straight to the point. This stuff is brilliant. It kind of knocks spots off my expensive Make-up For Ever Lift concealer, which has been relegated to the bottom of my make-up box.

This baby is extremely pigmented and a little goes a long way. The colour is perfect for my pale, olive skin and it really covers my terrible dark circles, which is what I primarily bought it. It's great at covering blemishes too, even better than my Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage, which I find a bit fiddly and dry. You need an amount about half a grape-seed to camouflage each under-eye.

It's a thick liquid and comes with a doe-foot applicator, which I know some people hate, but for blemishes and pimples I actually remove some from the wand and use it with a brush. So no hygiene problems there.

The texture is so smooth and once blended (don't wait too long to blend as it sets within about 20 seconds) it really does stay put all day.

Yesterday was the ultimate test run. A day spent in 35 degree heat, an hour in a tin-can train which brought the temperature up to about 40 degrees, then a huge downpour. I came back home expecting to see a make-up downpour too, but everything was where it was meant to be.

This is now my go-to concealer every day. I use it over a bit of  Garnier tinted roll-on as this serves to brighten the whole eye area up a bit, and then I'll use it for my heavy duty coverage.

Did I mention that it also looks very, very natural? Even in daylight. My under-eye area has never looked better than when using this. The darkness under my eyes is minimised greatly. I still prefer a more natural look though, which is why I can still see the shadow but I don't want to layer it on even more or else it will become cakey and to me that's worse than a bit of under-eye darkness.

I'm so pleased with this that I'm going to get a back-up before going to the US, but in a darker colour in case I tan. That shows how much I can't bear to be without it now....

Have you tried this concealer? What's your all-time favourite cover-up?