Steamcream - My New Find

I've always been a fan of those products who do a bit "more" than what they are just supposed to do. A bit like Rodial Glam Balm, I've used it for years, it's perfect hydrating mask, dry skin moisturiser, treatment for sunburn etc, so I was very excited that there's another product that can be used in many ways. Except this one is a bit different and comes in super cool retro packaging - a tin. 

So why is it good? 

I like that it contains proven moisturisers such as cocoa butter, glycerine (palm free), almond and jojoba oil. In addition to that there are some lovely essential oils that as well as making the product smell nice, they are soothing and antiseptic, then orange blossom water that balance oily skins and also there is oatmeal which is so good for soothing sensitive skins. Not too many ingredients and it's made in traditional way, by fusing all the ingredients by steam. How cool is that???

Why do I love it? 

It's lightweight, it just sinks into the skin and leaves it nourished. You can use it on the face and body. Makes a good hand cream. You can take off make up with it. You can use it as a mask, mix it with oat flakes and use it as a scrub. You can massage your skin with it before a facial steam and cleanse. And you can mix it with foundation to make your own tinted moisturiser or BB or CC cream or whatever they choose to call it these days. I'm sure you can think of more ways to use it... And best of all, it's pretty much a bargain £12.95.

Chanel's A/W Catwalk Sparkle

Usually at this time of year I’d be busy doing all Spring/Summer colours like everyone else is. But the weather being as it is (yes we had snow this week in UK and it’s April) and it’s freezing, so I thought I’d check back on the A/W fashion shows from last month and pick some interesting looks. For all we know, this season might just carry on and we’ll have no summer at all. Last year, anyone?

 

Once again, fashion designers are flirting with punk as their inspiration (maybe because the Costume Institute is doing a Punk exhibition?) so cue the mix of different fabrics and textures in one outfit, teamed with the streamlined silhouette and darker colours. Always at the helm of originality while keeping their own style, Chanel interprets this look well.

Next year’s punk face, according to Chanel is fresh and glowing. And perfect. Skin is prepped with Hydra Beauty Serum and Vitalumiere Aqua foundation, cheeks are flushed with the natural pinky crème blusher. Chanel have always done a good blusher, and for the upcoming A/W the new shade is called Inspiration. Not yet available though, but you can find other shades from Chanel. Their blusher colours are subtle so incredibly user friendly.

 

Eyes are lightly lined with a pencil, with lots of black mascara on the top lashes. But this is where this look gets different. Platinum sequins are glued on around the eyes ensuring plenty of light would be reflected. Get your own sequins on with the help of Frontcover Cosmetics, their Sparkler kit comes with extras and with the glitter sealing gel to keep the sequins in place.

 

What stops this look getting all romantic and too girly are the eyebrows, strong and arched and beautifully filled in. Really good eyebrow pencils are available from Sisley, Laura Mercier and Shiseido. Choose a colour that suits your natural eyebrow and hair colour.

Keep the lips nude and sheer. Mix some Chanel Conditioning lip balm with some Precision lip liner in Pretty pink.

There you have it, your own Chanel catwalk look. You certainly don’t have to wait for the next season to wear it, now is always good!

Beauty Photos Archive

Thought I'd break the text again for the people who like to look at the pictures.... Featuring lots of glitter!

Bullshit Alert Skincare Ingredients – Tourmaline And Amethyst

Tourmaline is a mineral. It’s used in hairdryers to create ionic charge. The reason behind it is that the tourmaline itself generates electrical charge when under pressure and during temperature changes. How that works is a mystery to me, but I own an ionic hairdryer and it possibly dries my hair quicker than a normal dryer. Possibly. It could well be a placebo effect.

Amethyst is also a mineral. Folklore says it’s a good luck stone that dispels bad energy. Allegedly is beneficial for infrared radiation and negative ions.

But in skin creams? Please. None of the above applies to skin creams, but a super expensive face cream Nectar Opulent from By Terry claims it’s a magic ingredient. Magic is the price too. You will want to believe in good luck after spending £240. Sorry By Terry, you have some good make up products, but this cream is a "walk on the wild side". Someone prove me wrong please.  Ingredients below.

water, C12-15 alkyl benzoate, dimethicone, glycerin, methyl methacrylate crosspolymer, boron nitride, glycol palmitate, PEG-20 methyl glucose sesquistearate, butylene glycol, methyl glucose sesquistearate, cetyl palmitate, sodium acrylate/sodium acryloyldimethyl taurate copolymer, hydrogenated coconut oil, dimethicone crosspolymer, cetearyl alcohol, parfum/fragrance, tocopherol, isohexadecane, phenoxyethanol, pearl powder, methylparaben, polymethyl methacrylate, polysorbate 80, mica, laureth-3, CI 77891/titanium dioxide, chlorphenesin, tetrasodium EDTA, hydroxyethylcellulose, butylparaben, ethylparaben, amethyst powder, tourmaline, acetyl dipeptide-1, cetyl ester, isobutylparaben, propylparaben, cyathea medullaris leaf extract, prolinamidoethyl imidazole, xanthan gum, potassium sorbate, simmondsia chinensis (jojoba) seed oil, tocopheryl acetate, phalaenopsis amabilis extract, sodium methylparaben, alpha-isomethyl ionone, benzyl salicylate, butylphenyl methylpropional, citronellol, coumarin, eugenol, geraniol, hexyl cinnamal, hydroxycitronellal, hydroxyexyl 3-cyclohexene, carboxaldehyde, limonene, linalool.

The Ingredients In Colour Cosmetics - Make Up

I made it my mission to go through the ingredients of cosmetics, so I somewhat neglected to list a colour cosmetics ingredients. Why? You can say I was focusing more on the wild claims made by skincare brands on how different your life would be if you bought into some of those claims.

Colour cosmetics don’t make such claims, not the ones that will stop you from ageing and the like, they do some different ones which I’ll cover at a later date.  Mascara and foundation, I’ll be looking at you soon!

The colour pigments that are used in making the colour cosmetics are the most regulated in the world. Different countries have different rules, but generally you’ll find Japan to have the most stringent safety regulations for cosmetics. The EU and USA are behind and you’ll find that most breakthrough make up innovations come from Asia these days.

The colours come into two groups: organic and inorganic.

Inorganic are the mineral pigments (I bet this inorganic and organic matter confuses people) that are found around the Earth as compounds of transition metals. The inorganic colours are:

Iron oxides (reds, browns, black and yellows that can be mixed and blended together), chromium oxide, (green), ultramarine (blue, purple), titanium dioxide/zinc oxide (white and uv protection).

Organic pigments are organic molecules that start with N or S or similar (not the names but their chemical or dye name). They are anthraquinone (green), AZO colourants (red and yellow), Triarylmethane (blue and green), Xanthenes (red, orange), and some natural colourants such as caramel, caretonoids etc. The problem with these natural ones is that they very often stink and they are unstable.

Then we have fillers and finishers. Those are the ones that make the product “glide” and spread evenly. The most usual of those are talc (a widespread mineral) and mica (potassium aluminum silicate – another mineral).

Fillers and finishers also include emulsifiers, preservatives, fragrance, and so on.

In a nutshell, that’s it. I’ll come back later to discuss mascaras. If any of you want to experiment with making your own lipstick or eye shadow , please make sure that the pigments you use are safe to be used either around eyes or lips!

Sulphates – What’s the Fuss and What Are They?

Sulphates (sulfates), or sodium laureth sulphate, ammonium laurel sulphate and sodium lauryl sulphates are well known foaming agents or detergents used in loads of cosmetics products and industrial cleaners. 

When I say in loads of products, I’m not joking. Sulphates are in toothpaste, shampoos, washing up liquid, shower gels, cleansers, laundry detergents, bath salts, hair colours etc. Pretty much in everything that cleans, foams and washes.

The sulphates originate from coconuts so they can be both created from nature or in a lab. They are cheap to produce and do the job well.

But they can also cause irritation. The sulphates that come from coconuts are no less likely to cause irritation than the lab created ones, but the “green” or “natural” manufacturers will never say that their products contain sulphates, it will be called “natural detergents from coconuts” or something like that. I just thought I’d let you know in case you’re convinced you are using something sulphate free when in fact you might not be at all.

Now the major issue about sulphates are that some studies show that they are possibly linked to some cell mutations that lead to cancers. Other studies are inconclusive and claim that the concentration of detergents present is never high enough to cause any damage. Plus there’s also skin’s permeability. Most sulphates will not be absorbed through the skin or stratum corneum, but there is some danger that they can be absorbed via eyes and other mucous membranes. Now some say that there are the cumulative effects to take into consideration too. So the jury’s still out.

Where do I stand on sulphates? To be honest I’m a bit in the middle about it all.

To me if I can’t see the irritation, it’s probably ok.

Saying that I don’t leave cleansers on for longer than necessary. I don’t take long foamy baths, but I’m happy to take my make up off with foamy cleanser.

At the end of the day I like stuff to do the business it’s made to do. I don’t generally like brands or products that centre their marketing about things their products “don’t contain” or are “free from”. Seriously, I don’t care. Tell me please what is actually in your products that will do the job that it’s designed to do.

And write the ingredients in their latin name and state the source where it comes from. Then I’ll be very happy.

Blow To Go - New Hair Service

There's an exciting new service that my hairdresser friend Oliver de Almeida has set up not long ago and as it's such a brilliant and obvious idea I thought I'd give it a shout out.

Going to the hairdresser's has always been a bit of a pain to me. First you need to book an appointment and then get there, then if you're lucky you don't wait around too much and then you're faced with staring at yourself not looking your best, putting it mildly. If you don't have a life then this might be a fun day out, but for most people it's a chore. 

That's where's Blow To Go different, instead they come to you. Plus they are really good. I've known Ollie for years, we worked together many times and not only he's an amazing hairdresser, but he's super cute and charming, and he's a nicest guy you'll ever meet. Plus he has a lovely Brazilian accent which is a bonus :) The rest of his team are just as lovely!

You do everything online, the booking, picking the stylist, the time and the payment. Then you can get on with whatever you were doing.... Cool, yeah?

This is the website http://blowtogo.co.uk so check it out!