Review: Clarins Beauty Flash Balm

Good morning!

This month is just flying past, is it really the 29th already?? Crazy!

Today's review is of a well renowned product in the beauty world that has been around for a while.
Clarins Beauty Flash Balm is a so called wonder product, it's an instant radiance booster that helps to minimise signs of fatigue. It not only acts as a primer but also a moisturiser and mask in one. Is this much of a wonder product even possible??

Allegedly you can use this in place of your normal moisturiser for when you need a bit more of a radiance boost, and as a mask for those reeeeeally long weeks where you just need something to SAVE your skin!

It contains four active ingredients with very specific jobs:

• Witch Hazel and Olive tree extracts tighten and promote radiance

• Algae extract revitalises

• Bisabolol soothes and softens

• Rice Starch purifies the epidermis

I've heard plenty about witch hazel over the years but the others I've not heard of so much. Clarins are generally pretty good at using different natural ingredients in their products though so this doesn't bother me too much.

The packaging is pretty standard for Clarins, their very iconic red and white packaging is simple but distinctive.
This balm comes in 50ml tubes and can be purchased from many department stores, online and if you're lucky in duty free too - always looking for a bargain!

So what did I think? Well I used this mainly as a primer. I did apply it as a moisturiser too on top of my normal moisturiser and I'm pleased to say my skin did look more 'awake' and slightly brighter after use.
As a primer I thought it also worked well, my make up stayed on my face just as well as any other primer I have used. It didn't feel like it was covering my skin as it sunk in like a moisturiser, I'd say this one works as a primer because it creates the perfect base with your own skin, rather than covering it and creating a base for your make up to 'stick' to.......if that makes sense?!

The product itself is a pale apricot kind of colour, and I find this helps it to blend in seamlessly. It really does just disappear!

I haven't used this as a mask, my skin needs a lot more hydration than this could give me and so it is unlikely I would use it as one. I pretty much use hydration masks daily at the moment as it's the only way!

That said, this product has been a fun buy. I've always wanted to try it and I'm glad that after all this time I've had the chance to try such a cult product.

One of my favourite things about it is the fact that even though it is brightening and radiance boosting....it's not glittery at all! Not in the slightest, not even the tiniest hint of a shimmery particle that I could see.

You can snap this up from Escentual for £25.50 at the moment, instead of the full price of £29.

Have you tried the Beauty Flash Balm? What did you think?

Do you like trying cult beauty products? What's next on your list?

L xxx

Review: Liz Earle Instant Boost Skin Tonic

Morning all!

We have a joint review for you today as we've both purchased Liz Earle's Instant Boost Skin Tonic.

We are both big fans of the Cleanse and Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser and couldn't resist picking up the skin tonic when it was on offer with the cleanser.

The Skin Tonic is a non drying toner that refreshes, soothes and brightens your skin all in one swipe.
It is alcohol free and extremely gentle on the skin. This surprised me as it is floral scented which often means that I won't like it and it will cause my skin to break out but it didn't.

You can buy this skin tonic in the 200ml bottle like we both have or in a spritz bottle so that you can spray it onto your face throughout the day as and when you need it.

The tonic contains multiple components to soothe the skin including aloe vera, chamomile, calendula and cucumber. It also contains essential oils such as geranium, lavender and sweet orange to restore and revive your spirits.

The instructions state to use the skin tonic morning and evening after cleansing and before moisturising as is with most toners.

As someone who isn't the biggest fan of toner it was a surprise to me that i enjoyed using it. As i have oily skin i was worried that it may react but it didn't, although I now save it for my evening routine as I prefer to use another in the morning.

I can't say that it has dramatically improved my skin but it smells gorgeous and is an extra step in ensuring my make up and any traces of cleanser are removed which is always welcome.

This costs £13.25 for the 200ml bottle but you can get the spritzer version for £13.50.

Have you tried the Skin Tonic? What is your favourite Liz Earle product?

I can't help but comment on the design of the bottle....the twisting up of the lid to get the product out looks far too much like a nipple! Whatever happened to having a flip top lid and pouring out the amount of product necessary?!

L xxx

I'm the opposite of L and absolutely love a toner. I'm totally addicted to Lush A Breath of Fresh air and have now got my brother hooked on it too. As I love cleanse and polish I was excited to try a more high end toner.

I love toner and the always use it. It makes my skin feel better and for me I find I break out of I don't use a toner. After loving cleanse and polish so much I did expect really good things from this toner. For me though I found it was just ok. I don't find it does anything better than my Lush one does. I do prefer the scent of this one and it does make my skin feel slightly better.

I think I'd prefer to have picked up the spritz bottle as the lazy person in me can't always be bothered to get cotton wool when I'm in bed. It does have a refreshing scent and doesn't leave skin feeling tight which is always a good thing.

I probably wouldn't pick it up again but that's purely because I'm addicted to my Lush one and have been for 3 years now,

Love M

xxxx

Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum Foundation

Happy Friday!

Hope you've all had a good week. I'm on my first week of working a Saturday and after a busy weekend with a wedding and a trip to LFW and Benefit's new store on Carnaby Street I am so unbelievably tired!

This foundation has been helping me out this week.

Bourjois' Healthy Mix Serum Foundation has been giving me a healthy glow and covering up all of my complexion imperfections.

This is my first ever gel foundation, and it claims to be vitamin rich and anti fatigue which is exactly what I've been needing the past week or so!

I picked up the foundation in number 51, which I believe is one of the lightest colours that they have in the range.

Bourjois claim that this foundation is an instant blending gel with flawless complexion and undetectable coverage. They also state that they contain vitamin rich fruits including lychee, goji berries and pomegranate.
It's a low coverage foundation with a semi matte finish.

I like the glass bottle, and the pump feels really sturdy. It dispenses product really easily and feels more expensive than it actually costs.

I applied this foundation with a Real Techniques buffing brush for the pictures below. All I have on in the pictures is the Bourjois foundation and I think my skin does look like it's glowing.

Excuse my messy brows, I have now had them waxed (for the first time!) so they're looking a lot better now...

It does have quite low coverage, on days where my skin is a little worse than normal I normally end up mixing it with a higher coverage just to make sure that my blemishes are covered.
Normally though this foundation is enough to cover my lack lustre skin and give it a boost!

Have you used the Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum Foundation?

Do you like radiance foundations?

I love the extra hydration this foundation gives my skin as it has been a lot drier recently!

L xxx

Aveeno Positively Radiant Triple Boost Serum

Morning all!

I've been obsessing over skincare for a little while now, particularly for anti aging and hydrating reasons.
I picked up a few things a while ago and one of them was this serum from Aveeno.

It claims to have triple boost properties which is quite a claim, and as it was my first product that I've ever bought from this range I had no idea what to expect.

I've used more expensive serums in the past such as Origins and Aveeno is considerably cheaper at £11.99 for 30ml instead of £32.
This brand is also heavily based on natural products and scientifically proven ingredients.

Aveeno claim this product will even out skin tone and texture, visibly diminishes appearance of brown spots, hydrate skin and fight free radicals all at the same time helping to keep skin from aging. That's a pretty big list of promises!
It's also non pore blocking and suitable for sensitive skin!

I used this twice a day and applied it after cleansing and before moisturising. It's a white lotion type product which was surprising as serums (in my experience) are normally a clear runny product.
It sank into my skin pretty easily and left it feeling hydrated without feeling greasy. 

I really liked this serum and thought even though it was quite a bit cheaper to my beloved Make a Difference serum it wasn't a huge gap in quality.
I did think the Origins serum sank in easier but for the price this serum was great!

I'd definitely repurchase this but I do think you get what you pay for with skincare and I'd spend more on better quality knowing that you only get one face!

What do you think of Aveeno products?? Do you love serums? What's your favourite?

L xxx

Spring Series: Facial Skincare!

Hi all! We're back with another post in our Spring Series.

We've previously covered our favourite products and tips ranging from footcare to fitness and hands to body care, and you can catch up with all of them on this link.

This week is dedicated to facial skincare to help you with your way to brighter and more glowing skin!

I have recently been looking over my skincare products in shock at how much my collection has grown in the past year (eek!).

There are products for everything you can possibly imagine so initially it was hard to narrow things down.

The best place to start for me however is with a great cleanser. Removing the dirt of the day to reveal your skin is the best place to start especially when combined with an exfoliator.

I tend to use either Liz Earle' Cleanse and Polish or Origins Checks and Balances for every day, and then Murad's AHA/BHA Cleanser to exfoliate as well.

This exfoliating cleanser has so many benefits it was hard to write about when we published our post a few days ago but honestly it has had such a great effect on my skin.

The next step I'd suggest is a good radiance inducing face mask. My favourite is the REN Glycolactic Radiance Renewal mask.

It's well known on the bloggersphere for being the one that's pretty much like marmalade, but the orange smell combined with the amazing radiance effect it gives your skin makes it top of my list when my skin is feeling a tad dull.

I tend to use this once a week, normally Thursday or Friday to give me a glow ready for the weekend!

Lastly for keeping your skin tip top for every day I would recommend the Make A Difference range.

I personally use the Rejuvenating Treatment due to my skin type but there are different types of moisturisers for all skin types which is what i love about it. There's a heavier cream for drier skins and a gel for oilier skins, both of which are light on the skin and don't clog the pores but deliver a hydrating punch that actually does diminish blemishes and has helped my skin to recover from my random bout of acne.

It has definitely helped my skin to become more uniform so fingers crossed it does the same for everyone! And as it's so light it would be great for warmer weathers.

Ginzing is another popular favourite, the eye cream has particles in it that helps to reduce any signs of tiredness and dreaded under eye bags. It sinks in easily and of course with all Origins products is free from nasties, hurrah!

There's my facial product tips for Spring, what would yours be??

L xxx

I'm the same as L and love to use Liz Eearle as my hot cloth cleanser of choice, I have tried the No7 one but I wasn't really a fan of that one. For some reason though I don't like to use a hot cloth cleanser in the shower so in the Mornings I'm currently loving Soap and Glory Peaches and Cream. This smells amazing and feels luxiourous as well as leaving my skin clean but not itght. It does suggest on the packaging it's more of an evening cleanser but I've noticed no problems using it during the day.

I'm also loving the Murad cleanser as my scrub of choice at the moment. I love using scrubs, it's good to make my skin feel extra clean and the Murad one is great and isn't too harsh as some can be.

As for masks I'm currently loving Origins Clear Improvement. I've reviewed that here. In love it for bad skin days and it's great for my oily skin and really helps control it. I really want another mask that's more of a brightening one. So any suggestions are welcome? I am tempted by Ren.

Something L didn't mention was toner. For me toner is a product I can't live without. I've been using a one from Lush, Breath of Fresh Air for about 3 years now. I love it, it closes my pores after cleansing and prepares my skin for moisuriser. I find when I don't use it I get spotty.

Lastly my favourites for Skin care have to be Origins for Eye Cream. For day I favour the Ginzing eye cream, it sinks in easily and has a brightening effect which is great for mornings. For evenings I prefer to use something thicker and more targetted for wrinkles. For this I use Origins A Perfect World for Eyes. This is a much thicker cream/gel forumla and feels great on the eyes.

I love using the Clinique Repairware laser focus serum. I use this before moisturiser. I'm hoping using products like this will delay me getting wrinkles for as long as possible.

Lastly for mosituriser I absolutely adore Clinique Super Defense and Super Rescue Cream (reviewed here) there is no better than this pair for me. Unfortunately they are expensive so I do try to use others to save money. Do you have products you love but can't afford to always splash out on?

What are your skincare must haves?

Love M

xxx

Review: Origin's Brighter By Nature

We've both previously mentioned an event we went to at the John Lewis beauty hall in November where we both spent a hefty sum of money in Origins resulting in us getting a bag of goodies.

Not that we were bribed with the offer of freebies at all.... ;)

One of the products in the gift bag was the Brighter By Nature face pads which we've both been intrigued by and after finding out there were 20 in the gift set for free (worth £20) we couldn't resist!