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Katie Beauty

Elizabeth Arden 8hr Cream

As I sit and write this review, I have a huge burn on my right forearm that is smothered in a nice layer of 8hr cream. I never thought I’d see the day that I actually bought this wonder product!

After the recommendations of so many of you, I toddled off to the Elizabeth Arden counter to try the 8hr cream with a view to buy it there and then. On taking a first sniff of the product it set me off dry wretching. The smell was intolerable. I had to go outside and get air as I was gagging. I resigned myself that it wasn’t for me.

A few tweets and weeks later, I understood that the product doesn’t smell quite so strongly once applied and that it was actually a nice medicinal smell to most folk. I still wasn’t convinced.

Whilst sitting on the airplane in a huff that the Duty Free had no Chanel Bronze Universal in stock, I thought stuff it, I’m having some Elizabeth Arden.. I’ll learn to like it!

I picked up the 8hr Cream in the tub rather than the tube, with the pretty Parisian design on the box and the frosted glass tub inside. I have to say the smell is actually a lot less over powering in the tub than it is in the tube… I don’t know why but it is!

I thought the 8hr cream would be a fad with me but in 1 week alone it proved worth it’s weight in gold. I burnt my nose chin and forehead on holiday and whilst I was using the Proactiv moisturiser to keep it soft, it wasn’t really helping with the healing and peeling. That’s where the E.A came in! Due to the heat I couldn’t wear it all day but I gave my skin a healthy dose every night before bed and it really did keep that horrible sore tight feeling you get with facial sunburn. It really tamed the flaking skin on my nose too – pretty image huh!

Since I got back I have been using it sparingly on my dry elbows and lips but when I burnt my arm, after the skin cooled down the 8hr cream was the first thing I reached for and it is keeping it supple and pain free!

So, I’m now a convert to Elizabeth Arden and wish I’d bought the lip protectant too!

Have you ever hated a product in one form but loved it in another?

Katie Beauty

Naked eyes?

I’m a contact lense wearing, sensitive skinned, glitter obsessive, fake lash wearing, black eyeliner loving ex goth.

This is a combination which usually sends eye make up removers running for the hills.. or sending me running to the bathroom to bathe my poorly burning eyes! I just can’t win.

I need a super sensitive yet very hard working product to remove glitter, liner, primer and bits of icky lash glue.

We’ve all looked like this after the end of a mental night out…. haven’t we? Or is it just me?

I’ve been expanding my collection of late trying to find a happy medium. The gorgeous Laura’s post over on her blog HERE about her experience with Klorane has set me off on an even bigger quest to find that perfect remover.

One that popped up on my radar was a product from Jason’s. Jason’s products are animal cruelty free, as natural as possible and pioneering their natural products since 1959.

Their Quick Clean pads are jam packed with active ingredients such as Aloe Vera, Vitamin E and Cucumber. The cucumber alone will be lovely and cooling / soothing on those tired little peepers at the end of the impending Christmas Party season! The pack also contains 75 pads which is HUGE compared to most alternative offering.

I haven’t yet tried these but they are on the top of my shopping list I have to say!! They sound FAB!

Katie Beauty

Make Up – Traveling light?

I’ve just come back from a long weekend break away with my husband. I laid all of my make up out in readiness to get dressed and do my make up for our night out. He was amazed that I had brought so much stuff, even though I considered to be traveling quite light!

I tweeted the picture and I had a fair few requests to blog my kit so here it is!

This is the kit I take when I travel in the UK and cooler Europe climates. I refuse to take any of my high end make up as I would actually sit and cry if it got destroyed on a plane or train! C’mon ladies, we all know i’m not the only one eh!

My pink leopard print make up bag is a lovely Betseyville one, as is the skull and rose mini bag. This lives in my handbag with lippies and things in.

In the picture is also a travel can of Batiste, some Umberto Gianini serum for curls, Givenchy’s Ange ou Demon and No 7 false eyelashes in 40.

1. Bourjois Healthy Mix foundation – 53

2. Urban Decay Primer Potion (from Naked palette kit)

3. Benefit Cha Cha Tint

4. Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection concealer – 2 Light

5. 17 Falsifye mascara – Black

6. Proactive Green Tea Moisturiser

7. Vivo Lipstick – Coral Flair

8. Sheer Cover duo concealer – medium / tan

9. Specsavers contact lenses (-3.50)

10. FashionistA customisable palette (clockwise from top left – Golden Glow (38), Berry Brown (42), Auburn Glow (40) and Brunette Bombshell (24) )

11. Smooch Bronzer – Bronzed

13. Nars Blush – Deep Throat

14. Sleek i-Divine – Storm

15. Green People pressed powder – Honey

16. Royal & Langnickel Powder Brush

17. Superdrug Foundation Brush

18. Royal & Langnickel Blusher Brush

19. Bare Minerals Full Flawless Face Brush (perfect for bronzing)

20. Lydia Flat top Foundation Brush

21. Ruby & Millie slanted brush (eyebrows)

22. Royal & Langnickel eyeshadow brush

23. No 7 Eyeshadow blending brush (crease brush)

Hidden away in the little skully pouch is 2 Chanel lipsticks, 3 Kate Moss for Rimmel, a Collection 2000 pressed powder and a Natural Collection clear mascara for my brows.

I know I could have narrowed it down a little more….. but I think it’s pretty conservative compared to some travel kits I’ve seen.

Do you travel with more or less make up? Do you take your good stuff or have a back up basics kit?

Katie Beauty

Chanel Coco Rouge – The start of something beautiful

I’ve always veered away from Chanel as to be quite honest, I’ve always found them a little too ‘safe’ for my tastes when it comes to their lipsticks and eyeshadows. I love their nail polishes but as a habitual nail biter and car tinkering girl, I’ve never justified buying them.

It was on a recent jaunt to a Chanel counter that I realised my tastes had changed away from the brights and bold that MAC and Illamasqua are more famed for and that I had been stocking up on lots of neutrals and ‘sensible’ colours.

With this, I bought myself my first Chanel lipstick – Rouge Coco in 04 Cashmere. I did actually ask the S.A in Boots whether I’d get a Chanel bag or a poxy boots one (yes, shallow I know!!)

Cashmere is a goldy brown neutral with slight pink undertones to it. It borders between Satin and a mild frost finish in my opinion but I think that’s from the colour being shot through with a fine gold sparkle.

Application is impeccable, either from the bullet or with a brush. It goes on smoothly, with high pigmentation and a not too shiny finish. The bullet has a very subtle rosie floral scent which isn’t overpowering at all and doesn’t linger.

The lipstick lasts an age without losing that nice moisturing feeling. Minimal transfer from the lips too.

I guess they are right… you get what you pay for… and I’ve already bought a 2nd and got some mascara! Ooops!

Katie

x

Katie Beauty

Bourjois Jetsetter Collection – Come fly with me……

I picked up this little trio on a recent haul day in TK MAXX for the princely some of £7.99. I think that’s a great bargain for 2 full size Bourjois products and a 95% full size little round pot too don’t you?

In the set, we have the blue tinged Gloss Menthol to tidy up that morning breath… or that icky post coffee / smoke break whiff we all sometimes get. The blue tint is so super faint on applying it, it’s pretty much a clear gloss. It certainly doesn’t make your lips blue! They say using anything remotely blue toned will whiten the appearance of teeth and counterbalance deep red lips – I’m all for that!!

As usual with Bourjois lip glosses, the applicator is a very short, synthetic fibre brush on the end of the wand. Whilst the short stubby firm bristles afford you some rigidity for neatly applying a coloured gloss, I found it a bit unweildy for applying a clear gloss that I just wanted to slap on quickly. Just a personal bug bear and nothing to write home about really! The blue gloop has a nice, quite strong minty smell and remains nicely thick and in place on your lips with a super high gloss sheen. It did give a slight tingle effect, but no where near as much as a plumping gloss, just barely noticeable.

Next up in the trio of wonder, is the Brush Concealer which is your usual run of the mill twist-to-use liqiud concealer. The product has a definite pink tone to it which will perfectly counteract all those sallow under eye bags (we all have them at some point!!). It gives an average coverage to spots and blemishes so I probably wouldn’t recommend it for that but as an under eye brightener and then pulled across the brown bone and down in to the bridge of the nose, it really does perk up the eye area without overloading it with product. It’s not something I would seek out to buy alone as I feel there are better products out there, but for the kit, I think it’s a really great item.

The last piece in this make up menage a trois is the Illuminating Touch which is such a beautiful colour! I’m always a bit dubious of wearing anything shimmery on my cheeks as it can go 1 of 2 ways for me.. Making me look like a lady of the night touting for business or hot sweaty shiny mess. I can’t seem to strike a happy medium. I am pleased to say that with this little round pot I can achieve that stunningly subtle glow to my cheeks that I crave. It looks predominately pink in the pot but on swatching and using, it gives a peachy gold light shimmer that looks so pretty dusted along the top of the cheeks, across the brow bone and down the nose. I feel that it is perking my face up and giving it a bit of a glow as I am not wearing foundation at present due to my tan.

This kit is obviously designed with a traveller in mind, probably sold on the plane / duty free and I can totally see it’s benefit on a journey. I only wish I had found this 2 weeks earlier before my holiday as I would defintely have included this in my hand luggage. As it stands, these are 3 very very handy pieces to keep in your handbag to give you an instantly refreshed look without carrying a full kit around. Say in a school bag or a gym bag just to perk you up in a hurry with 3 well suited partner pieces.

Bargain buy at £7.99 so I suggest you all dash out to TK MAXX now!

You can also buy it in the following ways :

www.fragrancedirect.co.uk – £12.99