Review: Murad's Pore and Line Minimising Hydrator

Good morning! I've got another review for you today on a skincare product that's a little different and definitely a lot exciting!

Murad have recently launched their new Pore and Line Minimising Hydrator along with their Replenicell Hydration technique.

Hopefully I can relay this to you in a non-confusing manner that you will understand, the technique is obviously very scientific and I don't want to confuse you all! Here goes:

The brains at Murad (Dr Howard Murad and his son Jeff Murad) have devised a concoction of osmolytes, amino acids and trehalose to pre treat water used when creating all of their products. Replenicell is basically a new kind of water that is added to everything during production.

By doing this, water molecules are attached to compounds that can access the skin and pass through its barrier, taking water in through the barrier with them and therefore hydrating your skin. Because of the way skin is designed, water molecules cannot simply pass through of their own accord, if that did happen every time it rained or we had a shower we'd just swell up!

There are three ways that Replenicell helps your skin:

1) It attracts water molecules
2) It binds the water already within the skin's surface
3) It strengthens the skin's barrier to help it retain more water.

This is a really clever and simple way of getting more hydration into your skin without using complicated chemicals that could be more harmful to your skin.....why on earth has nobody though of this before?!

This technology is currently debuting in their new products the Pore and Line Minimising Hydrator (£49.50 from October 2013) and their new Rapid Collagen Infusion (£78.00 in February 2014).

So...how does the Replenicell technology affect the skin?

I was lucky enough to be given a tube of the Pore and Line Minimising Hydrator to test it for myself which I have been using religiously for the past couple of weeks.

This Hydrator claims to clear and tighten pores for a refined complexion, boost collagen and plump skin for younger and smoother looking skin.
Having done their research Murad have found that pores are just as highly rated as wrinkles in women's number one skin concern and so they have created this product to help combat both in one go.

Its key ingredients are:

Kombucha Collagen Defense - which stimulates collagen production and inhibits its breakdown

Lentil Seed Extract and Witch Hazel - controls excess oil and tightens pores

Cinnamon Extract - this restores the skin's surface by reducing inflammation and oil production

The Hydrator is a white lotion with a very thin consistency, I'd say it's a lot more like a serum than a moisturiser, it's almost like a gel and unlike any other product that I currently own.

I've been applying this morning and evening after cleansing, toning and applying my serum. This sinks in super fast and my skin hasn't had any negative reactions to it whatsoever. It feel quite cooling on the skin which has been nice, not so sure it will be so appreciated now that were reaching colder temperatures in the UK but nevertheless this feeling doesn't last long.

I was worried that this wouldn't hydrate my skin as much as it currently needs. My skin is temperamental at best and is oily in the centre and dehydrated everywhere else, therefore I thought the serum like quality wouldn't be enough for those areas.

I was very wrong and have been enjoying using this twice a day, it has certainly hydrated my skin without overloading the t-zone area and I've found that I haven't needed any extra hydration like I thought.

I'm lucky in that I don't have too many wrinkles as of yet...but I'm 25 so that time is coming very soon! Hopefully this product has helped to keep my lines at bay for a while longer and I'd definitely be interested in knowing about the other products that Murad will be including in their Replenicell range, which I believe will be all products eventually.

Fingers crossed!

Murad are such a great brand, not only do their products really work, their research is outstanding and they just have such a family vibe about them. God knows I couldn't work with my dad all the time, he'd drive me crazy!

What Murad product is your favourite? Do you like the the sound of the Replenicell technology?

L xxx

Revlon Nearly Naked Foundation

Happy Friday!!!

This is a rather late post that I didn't actually think i'd be writing as it has taken so long.



I picked up Revlon's Nearly Naked foundation as soon as it came out (no idea when that was now!). The promise of coverage that looked 'nearly naked' was very promising and I couldn't wait to get my hands on it. I chose colour 130 - Shell.

However after using it for a few days I was back to my usual foundations because the coverage wasn't enough and my face looked awful, so it was consigned back to the foundation box and forgotten about.



Having decided that i need to stop buying more and start using up it has recently come back into my life as I was determined not to waste it and my money. I started off by mixing it with other foundations so it was thicker and provided more coverage, but after applying it one day alone I suddenly realised the effects that everyone else had been raving over!



The bottle itself is glass which is lovely and luxurious but doesn't have a pump which is a little irritating. It means I end up pouring it out onto the back of my hand which can be a bit of a nightmare as I'm clumsy first thing in the morning.

That aside, I apply it with my Real Techniques buffing brush and after a few minutes of blending I really love the effect it has. My skin must have improved enough that it only needs lower coverage to look uniform, which is lovely and shows my hard work is paying off!

Emma Stone's skin in the adverts looks amazing and I'd love to look as naturally beautiful as she does.

My skin is nowhere near that good and god knows I get some lovely outbursts at the moment which don't seem to have any reason but in between those moments, I use this foundation and here are the results:

I have no other make up on in these pictures apart from the Nearly Naked foundation, so excuse my non existent eyes, brows and lips, ghost anyone?!

That said, the foundation has blended seamlessly into my skin and there's not a tango tideline nor a cakey catastrophe in sight. I'm actually amazed how well this blends now.




I do think that having slightly drier skin helps with this product, for oily skins the product would just slide off which is what was happening to me before, and then not cover enough of my blemishes.

I apply this everyday without primer as it seems to stick to my skin and stay well enough without, which is a money saver in itself!

Are you a fan of Nearly Naked? Which other products in the range do you like?

What's your favourite Revlon product? I'm such a fan, if only they wouldn't test on animals!


L xxx

NOTD: Slytherin

Happy weekend everyone!

I've had a few quieter weekends recently which has been great for catching up with myself. There's always so many things to do, not only the usual cleaning and tidying but getting to the gym, meeting friends I haven't seen in ages and the all important Christmas shopping!

I've surprisingly managed to get mine done in record time this year as ideas came to me so easily, that combined with the fact I only have my parents and brother to buy for plus a little secret santa gift for a friend.

With that said, I've been going through my nail varnish collection and taking advantage of the darker and more wintery colours that I have. Here's a design I came up with one Saturday night:

For this I applied 2 coats of China Glaze Smoke and Ashes from the Hunger Games collection and then painted the tips only with 2 coats of Sinful Color's Nail Junkie





Both of these colours are ones that I adore but never wear very often. My immediate thought once finishing them is that they're a very Slytherin' kind of nail polish look! do you agree? I couldn't help but call this post Slytherin after realising this!

The dark green/black base along with shimmering green and turquoise glitter go really well together and look a bit magical; maybe that's what made me think of it!

What do you think of my nail idea? Do you like combining glitter polishes and effects like this for a new look?

I think I need to shop my stash more often, I'm forever buying new polishes and i need to control myself and get some will power. I have a whole suitcase full of them but no doubt I'll be buying shed loads in the sales still....and that's with them not even on sale price!

Which of the Sinful Colors polishes are your favourite? Do you buy from limited edition ranges such as the Hunger Games ones from China Glaze?

L xxx

Dr Organic Facial and Eye Serum

Goooooooooooood morning!

Hope the weather is treating you well today....i love the cold but I'm not a fan of the rain. Fingers crossed it will behave itself today!

Skincare is one of those things that I seem to have tonnes of, the amount of moisturiser and eye cream I have is quite ridiculous, but serums are something I'm always running out of. It's the same with cleansers, I obviously haven't overloaded my stash with these and sometimes find it hard to keep up with purchasing them.

Serums can be expensive so I'm always on the look out for an offer or products that are at a lower price without a compromise on effects.

Dr Organic are a company we have bought from many times before and having seen their products on offer in Holland and Barrett I thought I'd pick up some products and see how they fared.

First up is the Rose Otto Restoring Oil Facial Serum. It contains oil of rose damascena and is rich in polypeptides, phospholipids, antioxidants and omegas 3,6,and 9.

You can read the blurb on the back of the box below but essentially this serum contains a lot of different oils to create a super serum. I like that Dr Organic list their ingredients in their products and this is also on the back of the box:

Not sure I need to mention this but just in case, all Dr organic products are free from parabens, SLS, fragrances, harsh preservatives and artifical colours, this brand is definitely one to watch!

The Rose Otto serum has a list of regenerating and anti aging properties including optimising skin hydration, protecting with anti oxidants, reduces appearance of fine lines and wrinkles and improves elasticity and firmness.

The bottle itself is very simple and just like a lot of their other products, in a frosted glass and with sturdy white plastic tops.
This serum is dispensed through the lid, there's a dropper in the lid and you press the button on top to collect and dispense the serum as you please. This took me a little while to figure out as I'd never seen anything like it before....maybe it was a blonde moment? But hopefully this will stop anyone else being confused...!

A lot of Dr Organic products (if not all) are BioActiv and formulated using organically certified and natural extracts. This is great as you know you're getting what you're paying for.

This serum is definitely more of an oil than other products that you'd typically call a serum. for this reason it's harder to 'layer up' products which is what I normally do. My normal routine is to apply a serum and then moisturiser, which I find is more difficult as this is more an oil.

However this serum applies really nicely to the skin. I find i need a few drops for my entire face and neck and this sinks in pretty easily. I prefer to use this in the evenings because using an oil in the morning normally spells trouble for my make up!

This serum is really hydrating and it has helped a lot with my dehydration issues.

This costs £12.29 for the 30ml bottle and is currently still on offer on the H&B website. It's also listed as a customer favourite and has been given 5 stars, obviously everyone agrees that its a great serum!

The Moroccan Argan Oil Instant Tightening Eye Serum was something I'd wanted to buy for a while and the offer gave me the perfect excuse.
I use a lot of eye creams and a serum was something I'd been considering because a serum adds more moisture before a moisturiser and shouldn't cause any problems with overloading my skin. 

My eyes are somewhere that I'd like to keep an eye on so to speak....I have a feeling that my genes will cause my eyes to wrinkle and go 'baggy' before anywhere else so I'm constantly trying to find products to freeze/prevent this.

Again the list of ingredients on the side of the box is reassuring as they're all chemicals that are natural.

The eye serum is a white lotion that dispenses out of a pump, one pump is enough for a generous application for one eye, if you're eye area is small then one pump is enough for both eyes, depends how much you want to slap on really!

I love that it has the anti aging printed in gold, such a sucker for a bit of sparkle ;)

I really love applying this, my eyes are so sensitive especially on weekends which is when I wear my contacts more often and for longer periods and this helps to keep my eyes more hydrated. Especially after lots of eye make up and false lashes!

The skin around my eye area is a lot more hydrated now and at £11.99 from H&B for 30ml I think this is great value and will last a really long time. I've been using mine for 2 months now and only 1/2cm has gone from the top of the bottle.

Another great couple of products from Dr Organic, I cannot wait to try more of theirs especially odd ones like the Snail Gel, can it really be as amazing?! I'm dying to find out!

What do you think of Dr Organic? Have you tried any of their products and have a few favourites?

Let me know!

L xxx