Thursday 20 June 2013

The five product face

When you wake up in the morning, you know when you leave yourself the least possible amount of time to get ready by strategically resetting your alarm clock every so often to get 5 more minutes... sometimes the makeup aspect of getting ready goes down the drain and a quick get up and go regime is in order. However maybe you're just like me and just can never be bothered! Enter the five product face.
Right, first I take the Laura Mercier SPF20 oil free Tinted moisturizer in Porcelain and when in a rush simply dot one little blob on the cheeks, chin, nose and forehead and blend with fingers, this product is really nice blended this way, or you could use a brush if your prefer, a good choice is the Real Techniques buffing brush or even the Beauty Blender. The SPF 20 is good for us girls who ALWAYS forget SPF, don't wanna be wrinkly do we.
Then next I take the Bobbi Brown corrector in Porcelain and apply under my eyes to cover my massive blue bags and on top of any redness around my nose, I just pat this in with fingers. Now I am left with a ghostly white face from being porcelained up with my base, so then I put a dab of the Max Factor Miracle Touch Creamy Blush in Soft Pink on each high point of my cheek, y'know the hard bit of your cheek, and blend that in either with fingers in a rush or the Real Techniques Stippling brush, using circular movements.
Then curl your eyelashes if you can be bothered, I have to because my eyelashes never co-operate, and apply a  couple of coats of your favourite mascara, here I used the Soap & Glory Thick and Fast mascara in Black, my favourite is the L'oreal Telescopic mascara in waterproof. Then lastly a quick slick of the Mac Peach Blossom lipstick for a subtle nude lip and you're done. 

Frances x

Wednesday 19 June 2013

REN kit for sensitive skin: Review

A few days ago I purchased the REN kit for sensitive skin on a whim. This kit includes a 25ml Hydra-calm cleansing gel, a 15ml F10 smooth and renew mask, a 10ml Omega 3 Night repair serum and a 15ml Hydra-Calm Global protection day cream. As the name suggests these products are all aimed toward sensitive skinned folks therefore all contain gentler or generally less ingredients than the other products from REN. The products from REN all state that they contain NO: parabens, sulfates, mineral oil, petrolatum, synthetic fragrance, synthetic colours, T.E.A, D.E.A, glycols, silicones, PEGS. To me this is very impressive and is really what interested me in the brand to begin with. Anyway, on to the review...

Lets start with the cleanser first. This cleanser is very very lightly foaming and feels very silky on the skin and is also of a very liquidy consistency, I sometimes can struggle to get this to lather...however this does not mean it is not cleansing the skin. I found this to be a pleasant enough cleanser and very refreshing, however I am a lover of balms and cream cleansers. Anyone searching for a gentle foaming cleanser that won't strip your skin should give this one a try.


Now the F10 Smooth and Renew mask, this is a strange one, the texture is very much reminiscent of marmalade, and it is also the same colour. I believe it is a gentler version of the Glycolactic Radiance renewal mask, and it's job is to gently exfoliate and reveal a brighter complexion. Just pop this on to cleansed dry skin and leave for 10 minutes before rinsing (which might I add is refreshingly easier than with most masks). I found after using this my face was much more even toned and felt slightly plumper.


Next up is the Omega 3 Night repair serum. Which is an oily textured serum which is to be used at night obviously, underneath your moisturiser. I found it's texture to be a tiny bit heavy however in the morning my skin looked very calm and even toned which was nice because I do suffer from a little redness in my skin. 


Finally the Hydra-Calm global protection day cream, this cream smells lovely and is a very good texture, not to thin or thick and greasy, it moisturises very well and doesn't upset my skin. It is quite a thick cream however it absorbs very well and leaves skin plumped. 


Overall I am very impressed with this kit and if I had to pick I would love to repurchase the F10 smooth and renew mask, and the Hydra-calm global protection day cream, as these made the most difference to my skin and smell beautiful.


Frances x