Current Favourite Body Products

Nip and Fab Dry Leg Fix is perfect for this time of year, once you need to stop wearing tights (noooo) and bear your legs to the world after being covered up for the Winter.  You always need to do a bit of prep before baring them for the first time like waxing or shaving, exfoliating and moisturising to make sure you don't have that horrible lizardy skin on your shins which isn't attractive at all and this moisturiser fixes that and quickly too, within a couple of days your skin will be baby soft and smooth and perfect for skirt season.


The cream is thin and absorbs really quickly so you can put it on and get dressed straight after.


This costs a very reasonable £10.25 and you can buy it in some Boots and also here Nip and Fab

Model Co One Night Tan  gives a gorgeous tan for one night only. The velvety mousse glides on effortlessly with a mitt just like a normal mousse fake tan to deliver a natural-looking, deep bronze tan in seconds but can be washed off if you make a mistake - genius! Also good if you get asked for an impromptu night out and you haven't had a spray tan or if your fake tan has 
rubbed off of your face and hands. And the best bit is, it's only on sale for £6! http://uk.spacenk.com/ONE-NIGHT-TAN-JET-SET/MUK200006964,en_GB,pd.html?start=1&q=model%20co

The colour is a nice subtle brown, nothing too bright or orange.

Pukka Organic Virgin Coconut Oil is amazing and I have been using it on everything and all over my body. It smells gorgeous and was only £8 from Whole Foods.  You can use it for moisturising your whole body, your hair even your face and it smells gorgeous! Definitely a beauty cupboard staple.


Have you tried any products that you really love recently?

Sofapop !

I am currently in the process of buying a flat and I am waiting to hear if I can have it (basically) but it is dragging on soooo long! I have already started perusing Pinterest (which hello, is like my favourite website in the world ever) for storage ideas, and blogs like Bubblegarm's fab blog which has great space saving tips and tricks as I just can't wait to move out and decorate my own home! I have only rented before so I find this amazingly exciting.

There are two items of furniture I am definitely going to need asap when we move and that is a sofa and a new bed as we had to get rid of everything we owned almost when we were evicted which was a right pain!  Onwards and upwards, we will have some lovely new furniture so it's not all bad.  The flat that I desperately want is a new built and decorated in cream and magnolia so it would need some nice coloured furniture and accessories to jazz it up until I decide if I would paint or wallpaper any of the rooms.

Fashion for Home are an online furniture store who have some amazing vibrant sofas, chairs and ottoman's where the covers can either be picked from stock or you can design your own.  It is also really easy to switch up the covers to change the look or if, like me, you are a right mucky pup and likely to get a stain on the sofa at one point or another!

The bright range is called Sofapop and the chairs and sofas patterned,  vibrant and amazing as you can see from the pictures below.  You can also create your own sofa cover in whatever print you like as you can see herehttp://www.fashionforhome.co.uk/about-sofapop-uk which is great if you are artistic or just like owning something that other people haven't got.

The prices are really reasonable starting at £439 for a 3 seater sofa which is much cheaper than I have seen at your High Street chain places and certainly less granny looking, everything in those places looks like it would be at home on Coronation Street!  I think the styles of furniture on Fashion for Home are like a posh Ikea but the prices are only slightly higher so I would say they are better value.  The designs are contemporary and functional, I think a three seater is nice for the living room and then a chair for the spare room so you can sit and read a book or just go and get some peace and quiet!  

The main thing I respect the company for though is this refund policy which is clearly written on each product page "The colour or touch and feel of the material isn’t quite what you expected? The piece simply doesn’t work in your space? We understand that in the real world everything does not always work out the way it is planned. That is why we offer a full return service and full refund on all our items safely delivered into your home - no questions asked. To avail of this amazing free returns, simply book a collection appointment within 30 days of receipt of your order." I really commend them for this as they are right, sometimes things just aren't as you expected, and more brands and companies should do this in my opinion rather than making it such a nightmare to make a return.

Do you need a sofa with interchangeable covers like me?  Any recommendations of colours that might be nice for a living room space (I hate green)?  

And let me know if you have any blogs you read about interiors girls and hook me up!

Sponsored post

The Bare Make Under and Juice Detox

It's a good idea to move to a lighter base for Spring and Summer as the daylight shows up any cakiness or lines, I was invited to John Lewis Oxford Street who have teamed up with Bare Minerals to launch a new concept called the  ‘The Bare Make-Under’ – which is a  spring make-up tutorial that encourages customers to dare to do bare-faced beauty.  It is available from Saturday 14^th April - Sunday 27^th April only but I got a sneaky peek so I could write about it.  As you can see above there was a definite difference but the after doesn't really look like I have much make-up on at all. Job done!

The makeunder has been launched to celebrate the opening of the new Bare Minerals counter in the Beauty Hall and it's definitely worth a trip down there to check it out. Book here events_oxford_street@johnlewis.co.uk

I saw this pretty amazing lip colour while I was having a play about with the products, it's so gorgeous and the swatch below is of the Buxom lips gloss that I had on.  I am definitely going to pick this up on holiday next month.

The Buxom Lips gloss that I had on my lips

Above is one of the displays at the counter, lots of lovely shimmery products to play about with. 

During the makeunder you are shown how to use the bareMinerals swirl tap and buff technique which was clearly where I was going wrong last time I used the foundation as you need to buff the product correctly to heat it up and make sure it sort of 'melts' and blends into the skin properly.  Each (free) appointment is around 20 minutes long and includes prepping the skin, having half of your makeup applied and being taught how to correctly apply it on the othe half including how to correctly apply the foundation.

If you were thinking about trying the foundation I would definitely take them up on their offer of a complimentary make under as you have nothing to lose!

www.johnlewis.com

(makeunder provided free for review but it is also free for everyone else too)

In other news it isn't long until my holiday and I have been debating doing a juice detox or cleanse for 3 days in the week prior to my holiday just to make sure the old stomach is flat as I will be wearing a bikini at the Vegas pool parties.  I saw Lorraine Stannick (The Current Custom on Youtube) did one which gave me the idea. 

The one pictured above is by My Detox Diet and can be found here http://www.mydetoxdiet.co.uk/#/raw-juice-cleanse/4558760593   - has anyone tried this? It's only for 3 days of my life so I think I will be able to manage!  Let me know if you've done one or if you have any tips or hints.  I can't make my own though, I am sure that's better but I am currently living with my mum and the house literally has not a tiny inch of space for me to have a juicer or random bags of fruit and vegetables.

Have a lovely day and enjoy the sun if you're in the UK

XXXxxxxXXX

Fashion Targets Breast Cancer

Charity products are often a bit naff, but you buy them because money goes to charity.  Well finally there is a must have product that ALSO raises money for charity.

Brow Guru Shavata Singh has teamed up with Fashion Targets Breast Cancer to create a range of exclusive tweezers and matching compact set to raise money to help fight breast cancer.   Each product carries a 30% donation to Fashion Targets Breast Cancer and the range includes a pair of Shavata’s FTBC slanted tweezers in stylish black or white (£9.95), as well as a stainless steel mirrored compact (£12.95), all of which include the iconic Fashion Targets Breast Cancer logo.

The limited edition products launch at all Shavata Brow Studios from 1st May, but are available to pre-order online (www.shavata.co.uk), from 1st April (for delivery 1st May), for one month only.

I own two pairs of Shavata's tweezers and they are brilliant, I have a pair of heart shaped ones which fit perfectly in your handbag and come with a mirror - genius idea and can be used for ingrowing hairs or splinters as much as they can be used for plucking wayward eyebrow hair (clean them though obviously).

If you need some new tweezers then pick these up while they are donating 30% to charity and do your bit whilst getting an awesome product.

Win a free bouquet of flowers with Serenata

Spring has FINALLY sprung and to celebrate the lovely floral experts at

Serenata Flowers are offering up a prize for one lucky I Heart Cosmetics reader of a bouquet of flowers, of your choice, up to the value of £30.  The prize can be sent to any mainland UK address so you could treat yourself, your mum, your nan, a girlfriend or maybe you just know someone that needs cheering up! The competition closes on 4th April 2012 so enter quickly for a chance to make someone feel as fabulous as Serenata’s flowers.

If you haven't heard of Serenata flowers they are gorgeous, boast a longer shelf life than their contemporaries and are really well priced - you can see here that all of these stunning bouquets could be purchased for £30 or under.

The flowers are amazing quality and we have ordered various flowers and gifts from them at work for people's baby shower and get well soon gifts which have always been well received. What I always notice in particular about the flowers is that they last a good amount of time after they have arrived compared to other flower delivery services where they start to die after just a couple of days, you certainly get a quality product from Serenata.

Remember

The prize is a bouquet of your choice, up to the value of £30.

The prize will only be sent to a mainland UK address.

The competition closes on 4 April 2012

How to enter

Please follow @SerenataFlowers on Twitter and tweet the following message 

I just entered @sarahloolaa giveaway to win a £30 bunch of @serenataflowers

Comment below with your Twitter handle (name) once you have done this.  The winner will be picked at random and posted on the blog (and tweeted).

Simples! Good luck.

Slendertone Arms Challenge Week 1

It’s part two of the Slendertone Challenge and this month the challenge will be ARMS.  Or more precisely THARMS you know, arms that look like thighs! Be gone tharms!

I have just under 5 weeks until Vegas (baby) and I need to be looking fit and fabulous poolside.  Which would normally not be too much of a big deal as I have been eating green, clean and lean for a month or so now and was up to 5 workouts a week.  But then, just showing that none of that stuff had made a blind bit of difference to my immune system, I got ill and I am still not recovered and it's been 2 weeks now.  I had tonsillitis which meant 2 lots of antibiotics as the first lot didn't clear it, then I got post nasal drip and a chest infection, now I seem to have a chesty cough and cold, a mouth full of ulcers and an on and off eye infection! All in all I have felt like total crap and in no way able to look after myself or go to the gym.  I am sure my body probably doesn't look THAT different but I feel like a heffalump and just want to exercise! 

You can imagine how pleased I was when I got an email asking me to do another Slendertone Challenge but this time with the arms garment, sign me up! I may not be able to work out until I am able to breathe without coughing up a lung but I can at least tone my arms for my bikini while I wait.  You may ask the eternal question - Does Slendertone actually work? Well I have seen noticeable differences whenever I have used my different garments as long as I kept up using them a good few times a week so in my opinion YES they do work as long as you are near or at your goal weight and loooking to TONE as they are not fat burgers or weight loss devices, and don't claim to be, it's about inch loss and firmness.

The garment fits into the controller that I used with the System Abs Challenge so if you already have the slendertone controller the arm garment costs £39.99 and you use it with the controller you already have.  You use the garment 5 times a week for 4 weeks to see how much better your arms look after the challenge.

http://www.slendertone.com/en-uk/toning-for-women/arms/slendertone-arms-female-accessory.html 

The women's arm garment only tones the backs of the arms (bingo wings) whereas the men's tones the bicep and triceps so the front and back of the arm.  I am not sure if Slendertone or anyone else know this, but I bought the men's system arms myself as I wanted to tone the back and front of my arms around Christmas time, and I thought it was brilliant. I am still rather confused why the women's one only tones the back of the arm.

The garment is easy to put together with simple instructions, you simply stick the pads on the garment, plug it in, put it on, select your programme and level of zapping from 1 - 99 and then away you go.  I find that the women's arm garment is quite different to the men's one.  It is larger and more comfortable with bigger straps and there is no worry when it is on that it might loosen or fall off.  I do however find the vibrations so much more annoying with this garment as it works one arm at a time, the men's one works both together, it feels like they are constantly being zapped whereas I much prefer them both going together then having a few second break.

Week 1 I have managed to get up to level 27 so on Week 2 I will be aiming for level 30 or above.  Here is a picture of my arm after 3 of the 5 sessions of week 1.

Let me know if you have any questions!

Models Own Beetlejuice Nail Varnish

Models Own have recently added three new shades to their Beetlejuice range of funky nail colours. The collection consists of three brand new editions, Copper Pot, Tropical Sun and Indian Ocean (above from left to right), with each bottle containing four pearlescent colours mixed into one polish. 

I have taken my gel polish off and so my nails are naked (eek) as I am in the middle of going to college for waxing which you are not allowed to wear any nail products to so I am just leaving them with nothing on until that's finished which has left me wide open to trying nail varnishes again.  I am going to go and have a look at these in person and see which one to treat myself to, I am thinking Tropical Sun at the moment.

The new shades are available online and in Boots for £5 and from the Models Own website www.modelsownit.com 

If you have tried any of these or have any swatches then please do let me know and comment with the link xx  

Sarah

Shellac Hotski to Tchotchke Swatch

Just a quick one today, one of last year's September 2011 launched Shellac shades was hotski to tchotchke and one of my clients had it last week and I finally remembered to take a picture.  So here you are - isn't it gorgeous?! Like a mermaid colour.  Find your local Shellac salon via www.cnd.com

Mac Extra Dimension & Trest Cheek

Mac have announced two new limited edition collections which are launching in April.

Extra Dimension is a liquid-powder hybrid formula with prismatic reflections that sculpt, highlight and model the face.

This range features two formulas: three shades of Extra Dimension Skinfinish (£21.50 each) and ten tints of Extra Dimension eye shadow (£16.50 each).

The second new collection, Trés Cheek contains six blush powders, priced £17.50 each.

Shades available include Pink Tea Neutral (beige pink), Lovecloud Bright (mid-tone pink), Peony Petal Bright (blue pink), Modern Mandarin (red-orange), Immortal Flower (bright peach) and Full of Joy Lavender (frost).

Both limited editions will be available from all MAC locations next month.www.maccosmetics.co.uk

What do you think?

Garnier BB Cream Miracle Skin Perfector

The BB cream phase sweeping the nation seemed to start with this one by Garnier despite BB creams being a big thing in Asia and originating from there. I generally dislike the Garnier brand as everything is overly fragranced, from hair dye to face creams and I dislike that they DO test on animals.  After almost a year of hype I figured I would pick this up, after using quite a few different BB creams, and see if it really is as good as Garnier seem to think it is.

Stepping back for a second, if you don't have a clue what a BB cream is then check out my description and information post here  so you are up to speed.  I bought shade #2 Light in the BB cream.  It is a 5 in one Miracle Skin Perfecter.  The 5 selling points are:

• SPF 15
• Evens tone and boosts glow
• Blurs imperfections
• Smooths fine lines
• 24 hour hydration

Let us just go over it's 5 points shall we? SPF 15 is the bare minimum that I would wear on my skin daily, my Clinique BB cream has an SPF30 which I much prefer and a SPF of at least 20 would be preferable.

Evens tone and boosts glow - I would say it does even tone and it has a luminous/moisturising finish so would technically boost glow. I did look a bit greasy but if you are someone who wears powder then the luminous finish would just be matte anyway.

Blurs imperfections - bit hard to gauge, it does in a way but just the same as any other tinted moisturiser.  Same with the 'smooths fine lines' it gives the appearance of the lines being smoothed, it doesn't actually smooth them does it? It's not an iron!

24 hour hydration - really? Do I really plan on wearing this for 24 hours? Hell to the no. So another one of those stupid claims that they make like 48 hour deodorant and 24 hour foundation.  I don't care if it lasts more than 12 hours I like to wash twice a day thanks! 

What I like about this product 

I like the colour of shade #02 and as long as I have a little fake tan on or a little colour to my skin it blends in fine.  From the swatch above you might think that it is quite pigmented but once you have blended it into your face it is very sheer, like a super sheer tinted moisturiser.  This is actually fine for me for the purpose I would use it, which is on a no-makeup type day or daytime at the weekend when I don't want to put on lots of slap.  Also maybe for the gym as I hate going there with no makeup on.  You definitely need a concealer as this doesn't cover any blemishes or dark circles but it does mean that the coverage over you cheeks or any good parts of your skin is left sheer and natural. The price and amount of product you get seems quite reasonable compared to other high street brands and the packaging is functional and sanitary.

Personally I much prefer to use this product as a primer underneath my normal foundation, I think it works pretty well like this and I will continue to use it as a primer and a gym/lounge about the house foundation.

What I dislike about the product

I dislike that the product is scented as I see no need for additional fragrance in any skincare product as it is an irritant.  The cream gives a shiny and dewy finish which isn't great for everyday circumstances, it doesn't give a finish that would be considered acceptable for a smart place of work for example so you would need to apply powder over the top, completely negating most of the benefits of using a BB cream or use it as a primer before your regular foundation to even your skin out and gain the SPF if there isn't one in your foundation.


Moan about fragrance aside this didn't irritate my skin at all and it is quite sensitive so that was a plus point.  Overall I can see the fuss in a way, as so many people I know just grab a random foundation from Boots and use the same one, usually the wrong colour for years and years, so this could be a revelation to them but personally, as someone who has tried better BB creams, better tinted moisturisers with SPF and just generally better base products I can't say that is makes me that excited.


Overall I give it 6/10 and wouldn't repurchase.  The Garnier BB cream costs £9.99 and you can get it from Boots


Have you tried this product?

Win a £250 Ted Baker vouchers!

I have been offered a very exciting competition opportunity for you lucky lot in conjunction with Ted Bakers new toiletries.

Just click on the link below and fill out the SUPER EASY form to enter a competition for the chance to win £250 worth of Ted Baker Vouchers!! 

The winning entry is picked at random and there are no age or country restrictions, so get entering girls, you can also tweet or facebook the link or forward it on to your friends via email xx

http://www.tedcares.com/competition/?referrer=IHeartCosmetics

Boots Large Sleep Rollers

Sleeprollers are all over twitter, mainly by the brand Sleeproller funnily enough. But since I don't fancy spending nearly £20 on some small pieces of velcro I took to my local Boots.  I heard about the Boots version from the review On Jen's blog - jenniferrosellen We share a love for big hair although she is definitely the winner in that stake as my hair is normally flat as a pancake despite my efforts.  I was having my usual read, spotted the rollers and bought them the same day.  I have been using them nearly every day since and I think they are great.

The only thing is I don't actually wear them to sleep in as I am a very bad sleeper and every time I put them in before bed I would wake up in the middle of the night and have pulled them out and thrown them across the room!!! I even remember quite vividly doing it.  They stay in your hair whilst you are sleeping really well as I really had to tug them out. I am sure if you are not quite as weird as me that you could pop these in and go to sleep and wake up with some super volume.


How I use the rollers is I rough dry my hair with the hairdryer and then around the crown of my head I put all 6 of them in and leave them in while I am doing my makeup and getting dressed or if I am going out I will leave them in for as long as possible.  


They are filled with foam and are so soft compared to normal velcro rollers which means they are super comfortable and don't pull your hair or hurt yoru head or scalp.  I just use these for volume and I don't get any curl when I use them, but the lift at the roots is so needed and I am in love with them, I am definitely going to get another packet so I can put my whole head of hair into the rollers for more volume.


As Jen suggests:

To use:

• Comb through a section of hair and place a roller at the end of the section.
• Curl to scalp in the direction required.
• Push gently to fix in position.
• To remove: gently lift roller and unwind.
• Comb or brush lightly to style as required.

Perfect hair - sorted!  Thanks to Jen and Laura for mentioning these and helping me find a new must have item thats under a fiver xx  
Buy them here at Boots for £4.99 for 6 Boots

Philips ReAura-skin rejuvenation laser Update

As you can tell from my previous posts about the Philips ReAura-skin rejuvenation laser I found it quite tough to get to grips with because it made my skin so red and stung like a mutha!  But after quite a lot of sessions I have had quite a difference in my freckles/pigmentation on my cheeks and I have been bloody impressed.  You can see above where I have circled the freckles.  Bearing in mind I never go in the sun I have no idea how I have got them, I am a spray tan afficionado? Perhaps they are from when I was a child or something.  Now you can see from the below picture that they are almost invisible.

I still have 2 more treatments to do so hopefully they will be totally totally gone after that.  I will do a proper update when I have finished all 16 treatments but I wanted to post these pictures now as I am so pleased!


Philips Reaura can be bought from http://uk.spacenk.com/Reaura/Reaura,en_GB,pg.html and you can also buy it from freestanding stores too.

2-3 Week Fake Tan - Vita Liberata pHenomenal

Vita Liberata are bringing out an amazing new product, it's a mousse fake tan that ...wait for it.... apparently lasts 2-3 weeks!  Now normally I am lucky if mine lasts a week, I do find that Vita Liberata's spray tan lasts about 10 days but imagine if it lasted 3 weeks that would be fab if you're going on a fortnight's holiday or just mean that you only have to tan once or twice a month.


Using a special combination of natural nourishing extracts and the unique pHenO2 technology, Vita Liberata has reinvented self tan. pHenomenal contains all the USPs of our other tanning products, but can last up to 4 times longer:*

• No streaking & No smells.

• 100% free from parabens, perfume and alcohol.

• Easy to apply.

• Unique Pentavitin moisture lock complex.

• 70% organic extracts that are kind to skin and produce a natural fade (eventually!)

It's apparently very easy to apply: use a tanning mitt or latex gloves to protect palms of hands and apply to skin in sweeping movements. For extra long lasting 2 - 3 week results shower between 2 and 24 hours after first application and reapply.

It's pretty expensive at £37.50 from Vita Liberata Store however if you only have to use it once a month say then I think that works out alright.

So are you as excited as me?

The non review

Today I have nothing much to review, I have tonsillitis and an eye infection and am bored off of my face. So this is more just a ramble of a very very bored person who has been left home alone for far too many days with no sensible conversation.  So if you're ill too here are some of the things that have amused me 

I'm probably seriously behind with the series New Girl with the gorgeous Zooey Deschanel but ha I have totally caught up now as I watched the entire series in the last two days. I love it! Although after a while I started to think Schmit was kind of cute? I have the excuse of having a fever so don't judge me.  I was really surprised that Janice Ian from Mean Girls is Nick's new girlfriend?  Do you know who I mean>

All I can say Janis Ian or whatever your real name is, is that DAMN GIRL .... you are hot! Not quite sure what happened to her but if something similar could please come and happen to me that would be cool haha! 

Soup. I am seriously fed up of flipping soup. Soup is boring the hell out of me. Covent Garden Broccoli and Stilton is the least boring of the soups. I am just having soup overload at the moment, stupid throat.

It's Mothers Day here in the UK tomorrow. I posted my mum a card as she is looking after my grandad at the moment so I don't get to spend it with her. Grandad needs a nurse/mum/Sue more than me at the minute, if anyone would like to be an understudy that would be nice, Matt has f'd off and left me alone as well...men are rubbish.  While I remember - Big thanks also to the lovely people of Asda, who kindly sent me the above items to review/give to my mum, how nice was that?  I thought she would like the notebook best as she likes all that arty card making stuff but I think she actually likes the cup more as it's a ceramic version of a starbucks style cup, the lid is rubber and it keep the drink warm in there for ages, also it's a lot bigger than a regular mug so it's good if you are travelling or busy working and don't have time to keep getting up and making a drink. Love it!  Also it's nice that if you don't have a lot of cash at the moment you can still get you mum a lovely present from Asda as all items are £2 apart from the cup which is £5 talk about a bargain!

I ate the whole tub. Then I felt fricking sick.  Don't eat the whole tub it is tooooo much. Felt nice on my throat I have no idea what it tastes like I can't taste anything. Seriously though yoomoo why is this not A) Fat FREE not low fat? And where is the chocolate and vanilla twisty moo eh? Could do better.

Since I've had so much time just laying doing not much I went through all my photos on my computer and found this fabulous one which is my friend Lou and I demonstrating how to make yourself look amazing and not have a double chin before you take a pic on a night out... you just get someone else to kneel down and pull your face back pmsl! Errr it could work? We definitely weren't drunk.... definitely.

As I never get time to sit and play with my nail products I thought I should take advantage of the time now and after I painted my new nail wheels with the collections colours I did the above nail wheel with some nail art.  I wanted to do the half moon mani as a lot of people go for that and it's quite popular as always is pink or red nails with white polka dots so I wanted to show it could also look cute as just a tip.  The cupcakes and Cath Kidson inspired flowery designs were because I did my own nails today and wanted cutesy nails to cheer me up.  One hand is blue and then other hand which I haven't got a pic yet of is a beigey lilac with the same spots and flowers.

Well that was my day, very productive haha!  Off to bed now and hopefully some germs will be busted in the night. xx

Semi Permanent Makeup Correction and Removal

Lorena's Corrective Work - click to enlarge

When semi permanent make up goes wrong, like the pic to the left,  the consequences can be dire. The reasons for wanting semi permanent make up removed can vary from bad work to simply not feeling comfortable with the results but how do you know if the person who is doing your semi permanent makeup in the first place is any good or qualified?  How do you know what salon or person to go to?

I met with Lorena from www.dermaeraze.co.uk last week about skin needling treatments but before my consultation I asked about other treatments that were available and we had a discussion about semi permanent makeup and the corrective work that Lorena does.  Lorna splits her time working between a clinic at 1 Harley Street and one in Caterham in Surrey.


I started to feel quite emotional once I realised how the bad tattooing had affected some of the clients that had come to Lorena to get her to help them,  especially when she showed me some of the horrendous pictures of some of the poor ladies as they had come with such awful eyebrows that had been done elsewhere.  Honestly some of them were just like marker pen straight lines, others were wonky, missmatching, one higher than the other oh my they were atrocious! A couple of women had even gone to a regular tattoo parlour to get their eyebrows tattoed! It is a totally different style of work doing semi permanent makeup to a barb wire leg tattoo! They looked horrific.

Natural look hair stroke brows

I decided then and there to do a separate blog post to my skin needling review about semi permanent makeup and I asked the ever so sweet Lorena if she would provide some information so anyone reading this can ensure that they know what to look out for i they are thinking of this treatment which she was very happy to do so here is here advice:


Over to you Lorena! 

Please remember that a tattoo is permanent and a lot of the cowboys are doing this work with permanent ink!  So if you're thinking of going down the semi permanent make up route here are a few things to look out for.

• PRICE!!! OK, it’s a recession, but your face is not where you want to be saving money.  I don’t know of any competent semi permanent make up technician that charges under £300.  Anyone that charges under that is cutting corners.  The initial investment to do this job when we pay for training, equipment, insurance, council inspections and pigments is easily £20,000.  There are various people charging as little as £50 to £100!  Its these people that most of my correction work comes from.

• Do not let anyone use tattooing pigments on your face. Ever.  Fashions change and the eyebrows that are in vogue today may not be the ones you want in 20 years (Lorena advises that semi permanent makeup eyebrows last about 5 years).

• Check that they have Professional Indemnity Insurance.  Any serious technician will have insurance and its there to protect you should anything go horribly wrong. 

• Facilities need to be inspected by the council to ensure that they are sanitary.  A certificate will be visible.

• This is not a job that can be done properly on a mobile basis.  I have done this in the past with my family overseas and it’s difficult to get the right angles without a couch and stool.  I tattoo them at their own risk!

• In this business your work is only as good as your equipment.  Digital machines are expensive but a necessity.  A technician that does not have a digital machine should not be allowed near your face.  DO NOT let anyone with a tattoo gun near you!  You will know a digital machine because the needles come in a sealed cartridge and its all one part.  If you see your technician fiddling with individual needles and parts, this is not a digital machine.

• This job is an art form and as such make sure you see a portfolio of their work to make sure that their style suits what you want.  Styles vary and what suits one person does not suit another.  Some technicians cater to what I call the “glamour” market (think WAGS).  This suits younger trendier clients.  I am more of a reconstruction specialist.  So you would come to me if you wanted eyebrows that no one will know are tattooed.  I work with cancer and alopecia patients as well as anyone that has over plucked and want natural looking eyebrows back.  It’s down to your individual taste.

• Disclaimer forms.  Technicians need to protect themselves but don’t sign anything you’re not comfortable with. (and I would add - make sure you read them properly).

• The shape is the most difficult part of the procedure.  This is NOT the time to be shy.  I do a lot of correction work and half of the people I get through my door come with flawless work, only the shape is not what they wanted.  They felt pressurized into it.  Getting the shape right, even for an experienced technician like me can take easily an hour.  You need to be over the moon with the shape before you let anyone put a needle in you.  If you have any reservation of feel pressured in any way then walk out!  A responsible technician will never want to put a needle in you unless you’re 100% sure of every step of the procedure.   Its always a good idea to take a friend along with you to help making sure the shape is right.

• You will be told that eyebrows are sisters and not twins…..yes….but…..lets face it, they do need to be very close……again, if you don’t think they’re the same, don’t let the technician tattoo.

• The touch up is very important and should be included in the price.  This is your second visit where you make sure that the work is perfect.   We always play it safe on the first visit so you may decide they eyebrows are to light or too thin etc.  The touch up is when we get it right.  Also, you may lose some hair strokes when you heal.  This is your natural healing and not the technician’s fault.  Technicians are not responsible when the client does not return for a touch up, so make sure you go!

It can take me as long as two years to correct badly tattooed eyebrows and the expense can go into the thousands for the clients.  Worse still is the emotional effect it has on the person.  I have one lovely Muslim lady that had begun covering her face for the first time EVER.  It was very nice to see her leave my practice this week with her face in full view.  I hope this will keep some people safe from disaster!

Thanks again to Lorena, and I hope this helps anyone out there who is thinking of having this procedure and wasn't sure what to look for.  If you fancy having Lorena doing your eyebrows and can easily get to Harley Street or Surrey then have a look here:
Facebook http://www.facebook.com/pages/DermaEraze-Ltd-at-Gerard/144693972236187 


Website http://dermaeraze.co.uk/

Benefit Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow Foundation

Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow Brightening Foundation is the new liquid foundation that Benefit have brought out.  It was created to fulfil a wishlist of different foundation must haves that both Benefit staff and consumers were looking for to make it the best foundation possible.  They started brainstorming in 2009 and their wishlist for a perfect foundation contained brightening and hydrating properties, SPF, oxygen and an oil free formula and they managed to get it all into the new Oxy Wow foundation.  

After a short video presentation at the launch event we had an overview of the product from some of Benefit's lovely staff including Lisa Head Make up & Trend artist (& Brow Expert) and Jasmine the Digital Manager  on the idea behind the foundation and the process behind getting it from the idea stage to the shop shelf.  After that we got to have a little play with the foundations and try it out in conjunction with the porefessional primer as there is a small sample of the primer in every box of the foundation,  we were then colour matched to our perfect shade of foundation (I was 'cheers to me champagne') and showed how to apply it perfectly by Lisa.  Lisa suggests that a foundation brush is definitely the way forward with the Oxy Wow to create the optimum finish.  I must also add that Lisa also has the most fab nails and glittery shoes and was super lovely, if you are able to get down to any of the events Benefit are holding around the country that she is at demonstrating then definitely go and meet her.

We were sent off home with our new foundation to test and report how we got on and, as I do like a nice new foundation I cracked it open the very next morning.  I did think at the time that it seemed so much lighter in shade than when I was being colour matched but I just slapped on lots of bronzer and thought nothing of it.  I used the foundation for the last few days both with powder and without, to see how it fared.  As I was taking the photos for this blog post I happened to look at the bottom of the bottle and realised that instead of shade Champagne which I think is number 3 I had got shade 1 in my goody bag which is called 'I'm pure for sure Ivory' so that is why the pic below makes me look rather pale.

Packaging - the clear plastic pump dispenser, to me, is both practical and functional as it isn't as heavy as a glass bottle so won't make your handbag weigh a ton and the pump gives out just the right amount of product.  A friend mentioned that she thought the packaging looked rather cheap considering the price of the foundation but even though I normally like fancy packaging for foundation I can't say it really matters to me as I might whip out a bronzer or a mascara on the train, but not a foundation I either put it on at home or at the gym.


Coverage is great and I don't think it is too light at all, it covers imperfections and redness/veins without being thick and mask like and it does  give a nice luminous finish.  I think perhaps when they say light they mean weightless or not thick and mask like, as it is definitely pigmented enough to cover well which I was impressed by.


There are 9 shades in the range which I think is a good amount, they seem to come in 3 different depths and three different tones which should cover a good amount of people.


I found that the foundation lasted all day without the need to be touched up, I did set it with powder on my t-zone for work and then it easily lasted a 12 hour day without fading or being eaten by my skin!


Overall I give this foundation 9/10 and am only -1 because of the packaging not appealing to some people and the price maybe being too much for some.  But then again I am reviewing this as a higher end product.  If you want something similar but at a lower cost then you would probably enjoy Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum foundation.


The foundation costs £24.50 and you can purchase it here http://www.benefitcosmetics.co.uk/product/view/parentsku/HELLOX?intid=comp_00000001UC 


Do you like Benefit products?  What do you think of the foundation?