Murad Event

I was lucky enough to be invited to London to the launching of a new Murad product at the Mayfair Hotel a little while ago. The hotel was obviously stunning and I can't not mention how amazing the place smelt when you walked in. I could sit and breathe in that smell all day! They must pump it through the air con as it was a gorgeous scent.

I was escorted to the lift on arrival and told directions to the Amber Suite where the event was taking place.

We were met with champagne, diet coke, flavoured water, cupcakes, popcorn and nibbles which was lovely.

We were lucky enough to meet both of the Murad's themselves; both Dr Howard Murad the brains behind the brand originally and his son Jeff Murad who has now taken over the development and production side of the business.

It was great to hear from both of them and really interesting to hear exactly how their new products work.
I loved listening to the explanation as being a scientist things made sense and I was pleased as although I'm scientifically inclined I don't deal with skin in any way at all!

What I love about Murad as a brand is that they don't just deal with the skin on your face as most other brands do, they deal with you as a person and understand the pressures of everyday life, general stress and environmental issues.

When leaving we were given a goody bag containing a gorgeous stripy make up bag and a full size of their new Pore and Line Minimising Hydrator.

The biggest introduction from the event was their new Replenicell technology. Basically Murad have created a new type of water. Water cannot pass through your skin and so applying products containing water actually dries your skin out.
Murad have created a new type of water where the water molecules are attached to special molecules which can pass through the bilayer of your skin, and therefore hydrate your skin at a greater rate than other products from other brands.

To me this sounds very scientific but also so simple, why on earth hasn't anyone ever done this before?!
But Murad are known for being innovators in skincare and were the first to use glycolic acid in the way that it is so commonly used now for resurfacing etc.

You can read the vital points of the moisturiser on the box in the picture above.
These kind of claims always excite me, but I know having used Murad product before that if they're not 100% fulfilled they will definitely have a positive effect on my skin and I cannot wait to start using it.

If you check back for my review in a few weeks I will endeavour to explain the Replenicell technology a little further for anyone wanting a fuller explanation.
I will also be sharing the terrifying image of my face under UV light and therefore all of the sun and environmental damage that I have....eeek.

A little message from the inside of the box.....Dr Howard Murad is full of these little quotes and I absolutely love them!
It was a pleasure to meet him and hear from his son about the new products too and I thoroughly enjoyed myself meeting lots of new people.

What's your thoughts on Murad? Which is your favourite product?

L xxx

Benefit's Erase Paste

Hello!

I'm sure you know by now that me and M are both BIG fans of Benefit.
The quirky packaging has a great sense of humour and contains products that actually work.

M has previously posted about Erase Paste but I just had to post about it after I finally picked it up almost a year after she raved about it....

The packaging says 'Signs of stress and fatigue are a thing of the past', I could definitely do with that happening! I'm up at 6am every day and get home at 6pm so it's a full 12 hour day for me before I get any kind of rest time.
Because of this I certainly need my under eye bags and blemishes completely covered.

Benefit claim the concealer is creamy and concentrated but blendable for instant brightening to conceal dark circles, discoloration and imperfections.

The instructions are pretty simple, and the box contains not only the concealer but also the spatula mentioned and the tips and tricks booklet inside every Benefit product.

I picked up the 'brightening camouflage' in No 1 Fair as I'm a super pale individual.

The product is a slightly pink colour, a bit like skin colour but with some extra brightness and illumination added to it.

I do have an issue with the pot, it's so awkward to get anything into to get the product out. The spatula was great....until it disappeared to the depths of my make up bag and hasn't been seen for months.

When my nails are relatively short, it's easy, when they're longer its a nightmare as I'm wasting so much product and getting it everywhere.
I have found a brush that I can use with it now which has helped a lot, I apply it with a thin concealer brush from MAC (can't remember the number sorry) and dab it on blemishes until it's blended. When applying to my under eyes I use the Real Techniques Expert face Brush as I find it covers the area just as well and faster, as speed is key for my morning rush!

You can see the results in the photos below:

(Again, please ignore my brows, this was pre wax..)

I have no other make up on in these photos so apologies for scaring you!

You can clearly see in the photo below the massive difference in how much it covers. My under eye dark circles are dramatically reduced and my skin tone is evened out.
Imagine if I'd applied foundation with this as well, my skin would look completely flawless and dare I say it....perfect?!





You can see that the dark circles have been significantly brightened and a hell of a lot better than without!

After seeing my skin under the focus and zoom of my SLR I'm definitely going to be applying it all over...

What do you think of Erase Paste? Do you love the brightening and concealing effect it has?

I picked mine up from Debenhams during one of their 10% off which meant I only paid £17.55 for mine.
Normally I'd think it was expensive for a small pot of concealer, but this pot has lasted me around 6 months so far and I've used it most days on undereyes and blemishes.

L xxx

Lush Christmas

Last Thursday Lush Cardiff had a late night opening to grab the Christmas range before it officially launched on Friday. I decided to pop along and see what was on offer this year. I'm still yet to try the ever popular Snow Fairy.

They had some absolutely gorgeous soaps! I'm a big fan of the lush soaps. They smell amazing and last ages too.

There were lots of new Christmas bath bombs. I tried to be good and only pick up one. It was definitely a hard choice and I'm sure lots of people will be glad to see Cinders is back. 

There were some gorgeous sets. A Mr, Mrs and Baby Frosty containing bath bombs and bubbles bars in a scarf. These would make such great stocking fillers!

I absolutely love the bubble bars. The melting snowman is so cute and smells amazing. I really need to pick one of these up but resisted on the night. The wand was also hard to resist but I have heard it doesn't give as good bubbles!

How cute is this little bubble bar!! I have a feeling he'll be popular. I would be gutted to break him up though.

The body butter bars are one of the lush products I've not actually tried. I love that santa has a slightly exfoliating hat. 

The snow fairy massage bars were amazing and felt so soft!! I think this may be the first snow fairy product I purchase. My arm felt amazing after testing this.

I love the gift sets and they didn't disappoint. I love the cone ones the best. Though I was drawn to the pink glitter star!

I couldn't resist a few sneaky purchases!!

I had to get Mrs Frosty. She contains a comforter bubble bar, butter ball bath bomb and a so white bath bomb.

The Porridge soap is one I've been eyeing up for a while. It smells soooo good. It's creamy smelling and reminds me of honey I washed the kids. Which is one of my favourites.

The snowman bath bomb had to come home with me. It just smelt so good!!

Have you picked up any of the Christmas range yet? What's on your list?

Love M

xxx

Collection Colour Lash in Clear (brow gel)

I've been meaning to pick up a clear mascara for ages. I absolutely love using my Benefit Browzings to shape and define my brows but I have one eyebrow that pokes up straight while the other is curved so it needs some taming.

Mac sell a brow gel that I've heard people rave about but over £10 for a clear mascara I can pick up a lot cheaper doesn't seem worth it. The new release of the Brow Drama by Maybelline definitely caught my eye. Especially as I love their mascaras but at the moment I am trying to save money so decided to pick up the colour mascara instead.

Mine looks a little cloudy as I couldn't resist a quick use before photographing it. The brush is perfect for brows as it's not too big!

The Colour Lash mascara (seems a weird name for a clear mascara if you ask me) claims to condition and separate lashes. I was intrigued by this as I was concerned a clear mascara would just set hard on my eyebrows and look awful.

This was immediately after application so they look a little wet but that does go to leave you with great brows all day.

So far so good with this. It leaves my brows looking defined and the hairs on them looking well groomed without removing too much of the product I've put it. It softens the product and leaves it looking more natural too as I do find sometimes on me powders look too powdery in my brows and fake!

The collection colour lash mascara retails for a bargain £1.99. I'm sure it'll look pretty horrible in the packaging soon enough but so far I'm really enjoying it.

Do you use a gel on your brows?

Love M

xxx