Bakery Beauty: January 2016

 

At the time of writing this, I had only the day before come up with exactly what I wanted the opening paragraph to say, but do you know what, I have completely forgotten it! Gone. Pfft. No more. Maybe it will come back to me, but until that time let’s just get on with it.

These posts will be a mixture of new things (and thoughts about them), re-purchases (and why) the occasional bummer (hopefully, occasionally I mean), things I have used up but that didn’t necessarily impress me enough to warrant a re-purchase and general favourites for that month. Plus there may be the odd beauty related kind of post. Whatever takes my fancy that month really. And it goes without saying (because I am a nosey parker and my beauty addiction really needs no further feeding but . . .) that I would love to know your favourites and thoughts on any of the things I jibber jabber on about.

So without further ado . . .

Skincare:

Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish – this is a constant cleanser in my bathroom. I could honestly write a whole post on exactly why I love it so much (let me know if you want me to do that, always open to suggestions). The special editions that they come up with are not a patch on the original. I have in the past tried other cleansers and I always come back to this one. I have temperamental skin – it will react to the slightest thing with no warning and I will have no idea what has caused it (I have spread sheets comparing ingredients and I am still none the wiser) but this doesn’t cause me any problems. Tackles make-up well and I adore the scent (rosemary and eucalyptus). It will probably feature more than once in these little round-ups.

Clarins Instant Eye Make-Up Remover – This is a new one for me. I had been removing my eye make-up with micellar water, however I noticed that my lashes were breaking and had become quite sparse. Initially I blamed my mascara (I was using drug store at the time) but I got a little sample of this eye make-up remover and what a difference! My lashes are back (I also changed my mascara, but . . . ). Combined with the fact that many of the beauty bloggers I follow rate this as one of their favourites, I got the full size. It is a duo formula, so it needs a little shake – and as you will see in the photo above the clear layer goes cloudy eventually. Because of that it does leave a greasy residue, but as you have to remove the rest of the make-up from your face anyway, I don’t think that’s a deal breaker. It breaks down make-up well, but if like me you wear anything more than a mere swipe of mascara then you do need to put in a little effort to remove it. I put some on a cotton pad and hold it over my eyes for 30 seconds before wiping the rest away. As I said, a little effort but no scrubbing.

Clinique Turnaround Night Cream – I always feel as if Clinique skincare gets brushed over in the world of beauty bloggers. It hardly gets mentioned at all, but I have always found that it works well for me. Granted, I am not a fan of the whole 3-step system that they harp on about, the ‘soap’ is way too harsh for me, even the mild one, and whoa, no toner should ever contain that much alcohol. I do like the dramatically different lotion however.

I had a little pot of this in a bonus time (I am a sucker for bonus times / gifts with purchase. I love getting a) more for my money, and b) tiny sizes of things to try out). Although I say tiny, the bonus time pot lasted a good 4-5 months! I don’t find that this is quite as radiance inducing as other things in the same range, but it does pack quite a hefty punch on the moisture front (I do layer something underneath it, be it a serum or an oil). I take my make-up off when I get home from work and then slap a good ol’ layer of this on and let it sink in during the rest of the evening. I feel it is a good antidote to the thrashing that my face is currently getting when I cycle home at the moment.

Body Bits:

Kiehl’s Creme de Corps – I have found it, finally found it. The one body lotion that I want to use for the rest of forever. For years I have put off trying this, despite the many, many, many good reviews I have read about it. I guess I just didn’t believe that anything could be that good. Well, what  a silly billy I have been, because I have searching a body lotion that I wanted to be faithful too, and it was staring me in the face all along. This bottle isn’t the biggest one you can get (I will be purchasing that next time), but having devoured one bottle the same size as above I was still hesitant. I have no idea why. It makes your skin so soft, and more importantly it doesn’t leave me with little lumps on my arms like so many body lotions in the past have done. There is a lighter weight version available which I may get for the warmer months, as this one is quite rich and does take a little time to sink in. I have also spied a whipped version in a tub – has anyone tried either of these? I would love to know what you think.

Lush Prince Charming Shower Cream – I originally went in for a bottle of The Comforter, but came out with this instead! It is a special edition and it only available for Valentine’s Day, so I’d rush down there pronto if you want a whiff for yourself. The scent is interesting – sweet, but then not sweet, fruity but then not fruity, citrus but then not citrus, vanilla but then not vanilla, you get the idea, it is one that morphs around all over the place. I really like the Lush shower cream formula because when in a hurry I can get away with skipping on body lotion with these, *if I want to (see above). Also – it creates pink bubbles, need I say more.

Nuxe Rêve de Miel lip balm – I have to say that I am a bit of a fan of lip balms and I seem to have them scattered all over the place. This one has taken up residence on my bedside table. It is definitely a balm and it hangs around for ages, there will still be a film of it left when I wake up in the morning. Great for reviving winter lips or lips that have worn matt lipsticks! I adore the scent too – a very vague hint of honey but predominately a citrus scent. I find myself reaching for it not only at night but also on any occasion when my lips feel extra parched.

Make-Up (the fun stuff, right?):

Caudalie Eau de Beauty – this is one of those products where you wonder what it is it actually does but you can’t bring yourself to stop using it. It seems to divide people on the scent front – I love it, fresh and herby and minty, others detest it. I have absolutely no idea if it helps my make-up stay on longer, as it claims, and I certainly haven’t really seen any reduction in pore size (maybe mine aren’t large enough?) but spritz away with it I do. Many class it as a pointless product, and maybe it is, but I won’t stop using it any time soon.

Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer – I popped this one in as I only buy it once a year as the tube will last a whole 10-11 months before showing signs of running out. Great consistency which is easy to blend. I use it predominately under my eyes but also occasionally on the odd spotty visitor to my face.

Bare Minerals Moxie Lipgloss in Sparkplug – not new, as you may have guessed from the photo, but I have been reaching for it a lot this month. Mainly because it is the perfect low key pink-brown (it is not as orange as it appears in the photo above) that a) doesn’t wash me out like so many ‘nude’ colours do and b) pairs well with what I am about to mention . . .

MAC Eyeshadow in Cranberry – I will admit that I was sure I would never wear a shade like this. It looks pretty scary in the pan, right? When I swatched it in the shop I was pleasantly surprised, yes, it is red, but it isn’t a pinky red and has a bit of a brown undertone. I usually wear it with a mid-brown colour in the crease and outer corners and black eyeliner, which just takes the edge of the redness and stops it looking as if you have a nasty case of dermatitis on your eyelid. Plus, and this is the one of it’s many charms, if you have blue/grey eyes, like me, you need this shadow. It intensifies the blue in my eyes and makes them look brighter.

If you need a little more convincing watch the make-up tutorials below for inspiration:

Claudia’s Knockout Lip Balm – I told you I had a thing about lip balm! I am not sure why this one is in the make-up section and the other one is in the body, maybe because I keep this one in my make-up drawer, who knows. I picked it up in Marks & Spencer’s just before Christmas for half price. If you are not a fan of menthol, then I would avoid it. Other than that it is a pretty decent lip balm and it doesn’t disappear instantly once you’ve eaten or drunk anything.

That’s all for this month folks! Let me know what your favourites for this month have been or if there is anything you think I should check out.