Bobbi Brown Concealer

That lovely Ms Keren has been at it again, here she is with her review of Bobbi Brown's awesome new concealer...

As Ms Kelk is sharing some of her fave products with you this week, I thought I would jump on the bandwagon and share with you some new goodies I have been trying out too...

First up is Bobbi Brown’s Creamy Concealer Kit... according to Bobbi, concealer is the secret of the universe. She says the right concealer will make you look fresh and well-rested. I had my colour matched for this at a recent launch and as I feel like I always look tired these days, I was excited and hoping not to be disappointed. All the ladies who tried it left the room looking fresh, wide awake and minus eye bags! It is available in 14 shades and it comes in a dinky package for re-touches – on one side is the creamy concealer and the other side is a finishing powder. My only complaint is that the lights were pretty bright at both events and it started to separate after a while under the extreme heat. I don’t know if any one else experienced this. However I have been using it for a couple of weeks in a more normal environment, for example, tube-office-tube-home and even the recent sunny and hot days and it has faired much better... So it’s not much of a gripe as it does remove the purple tones better than the other under eye concealers I have tried over the years and looks very natural. One thing to note, it is really only for under eyes as the consistency isn’t suitable for other blemishes. Bobbi also recommends using a lightweight eye cream before you apply, but you can check out a video of how to apply it properly on their website too.

Creamy Concealer Kit is priced at £23.50

www.bobbibrown.co.uk

These are a few of my favourite things... L'Oreal Mascara

One of the reasons I started writing BeautyMecca was to fulfill my quest for the ultimate mascara. Over time I have discovered that no one mascara can satisfy the needs of a woman, it's just too much to ask. But thanks to my tireless dedication to buying up the entire mascara stocks of every shop I pass by, I have found several that between them, just about do every job I could ask for.

Given that mascara needs changing pretty often, I've found cheaper brands to be just as good as the designer labels and my top go to mazzy for thick, fluttery lashes is L'Oreal's Voluminous Million Lashes. It's cheap, it's effective, the brush is great, it doesn't make my lashes clump together and I like the shiny gold tube.



As someone who has fun chipmunk cheeks, I have a problem with mascara smudging under my eyes at the first sign of wear and tear but this bad boy tends to last a little longer than most others. It's not waterproof by any stretch of the imagination but it really lasts. And seriously, the longest, flutteriest lashes you ever did see.

Apparently J Lo and Jennifer Hudson are fans, so, you know... 'tis the shit.

Ardell Lashes

There are many things I love about being in New York. Missing out on awesome events like this is not one of them. Happily, Miss Catherine was my woman on a mission and reports from Ardell's lash masterclass...


There's nothing that makes a girl feel more fancypants than fluttery eyelashes. But I always end up with them half-way down my cheeks by the end of the evening. So hurrah! I was lucky enough to go to a lash masterclass with super-nice make-up maestro Louise Page using Ardell lashes, which are available in a dizzying array of styles.

First top tip from Lou is to carefully remove the eyelashes from the tray and then flex/bend them gently. This softens up the edges of the lash, so when they're applied you avoid that annoying curling-at-the-corners problem. Then hold the edge of the lash against the outer edge of the eye so you can judge the size against your lid. If it's a bit too long, snip a little off the end. Then take the lash glue, squeeze some out and apply to the edge of your lash using a toothpick. Starting from the outer edge of the eye, gently press them against your lashline. Et voila! Flittery fluttery eyelashes!

I wore style 109 in demi black. They were super fluttery but still realistic. If you wanted to, you could always apply 2 pairs - the lovely Claudia from the Lou Page Academy, who gave me a personal lash lesson, said that often they'll apply 2 sets when applying make up for celebs. And at only around £5 for a pair at Boots, totes affordable too. Apparently Katie Price wears 3 sets at a time. Even with my new-found lash addiction, maybe a step too far for me...

www.ardelllashes.com
www.louisepageacademy.com

Royal Wedding Make Up Special - Bobbi Brown

Now, I mostly avoided the royal wedding as just looking at wedding dresses make me come out in hives but I must admit to ogling everyone's beautiful make up after the event. I wasn't surprised to hear that most of the main looks were courtesy of Bobbi Brown, Bobbi is the master of natural looking prettification and I will happily say everyone looked stunning.

If you want to replicate the looks yourself, try these royal wedding inspired looks...

Bride

1. Start with clean, fresh skin. Even out skin tone with Corrector (£17.00), Concealer (£17.00) and Foundation.

2. Sweep Ivory Eye Shadow (£15.00) all over the lid.

3. Apply Rockstar Metallic Eye Shadow (£15.00) on the lower lid.

4. Blend Slate Eye Shadow (£15.00) into the crease.

5. Line upper and lower lash lines with Black Ink Long-Wear Gel Eyeliner (£15.50), making sure that the top line is thicker than the bottom.

6. Brush on two coats of Black No Smudge Mascara (£18.00).

7. Smile and sweep Pale Pink Blush (£17.00) on the apples of the cheeks.

8. Dust Pink Quartz Shimmer Brick (£30.50) high on the cheekbones.

9. Apply Sandwash Pink Lip Color (£16.00) on lips, followed by Crystal Gloss.

Maid of Honour

1. Begin by applying Corrector (£17.00), Concealer (£17.00) and a little bit of Foundation for beautifully even skin.

2. Warm up the face with a skin-tone-correct Bronzer (£24.00).

3. Sweep Bone Eye Shadow (£15.00) across the entire lid.

4. Apply Long Wear Cream Shadow in Ash (£16.50) on the lower lid only.

5. Perfectly define the eyes with Long Wear Gel Eye Liner in Black Ink (£15.50) on the top and bottom lash lines.

6. Open and curl the lashes with two coats of Lash Glamour Extreme Lengthening Mascara (£18.00).

7. Play up the cheeks with Blush in Sand Pink (£17.00).

8. Softly brush a Highlighter Pen (£25.00) high onto the cheek bones for added definition and shimmer.

9. Apply Blondie Pink Lip Color (£16.00) on the lips, followed by Confetti Lip Gloss (£14.50).

I Want... Urban Decay Urban Bride

I'm a huge fan of Urban Decay and am rarely without one of their 24/7 eyeliners or shadow pencils, it's a weakness. Seriously, I've tried to write it off as a 'collection' like how one might collect stickers or Polly Pocket figures (which I did when I was like, nine) but it's just wanton greed and vanity really. Two sins in one, yay!

Anyway, I'm super excited about their new Urban Bride box. Chock full of awesome products that will guarantee every bride looks her best on her big day, I'll be picking this bad boy up for the two brides I'll be hanging with this summer (as well as one for myself because, sod it, why shouldn't we single girls have some fun too?). UD have the market cornered on cool, long-lasting products and this kit is a great starting point for any blushing bride. And once the products have all come out to play, the new missus can use the beautiful box to save her wedding mementos.

The box has been released to tie-in with the new movie, Bridesmaids, something else I can't wait for. John Hamm and Chris O'Dowd in one movie? Did they make this movie for me? I think yes. And I feel similarly about the UD kit. Despite the fact I'm single.
Please see above comment re: sod it.

These are a few of my favourite things... Davines

Since I went red in December (best. decisions. ever) I've spent rather a lot of time worrying* about fade out, something that never really bothered me when I was brunette. Luckily for me, the salon where I get my colour did - Woodley & Bunny - carries an amazing range for coloured hair by Davines. I've never been a massive fan of colour depositing shampoos and conditioners as I've always found them a bit drying but the Davines Alchemic system is amaze. I use the Red shampoo and conditioner a couple of times a week and seriously, I get next to no fade out plus my hair is super soft and manageable.


The shampoo takes a bit of getting used to as it needs a minute's massage to 'give' - make sure your hair is completely saturated before you begin - and the conditioner looks terrifying, just like red putty, but it really is fantastic stuff. I won't lie, it's an investment but if you're going to the trouble of colouring your hair red, you're kind of committing yourself to a hell of a lot of up keep from the outset. If you offset the cost of the shampoo and conditioner against how regularly you'll need touch ups, I'm pretty sure they'll pay for themselves within a year. I've been a redhead for nearly six months now and I've just opened my second bottle/jar of product. It lasts aaaaages.



For non-redheads hair, I loved the Davines Nourishing hair pack in days of old, it's ridiculously moisturising if you've got very dry or very long hair that needs a bit of TLC. Plus it's green and looks like something out of Ghostbusters. Score.



*I am spending way too much time worrying about things at the moment, aren't I? And this is just my beauty routine, don't even get me started on work or boys, you'll never hear the end of it...

These are a few of my favourite things... Elemis Cleansers

I realised the other day it's been an age since I shared some of my new favourite products with you so that's what you're going to get this week. Hope that's OK.

For the last few months, my skin has been awful dry and for someone who has only ever had combination skin at best, this has been extra distressing. Mainly because it means I'm old. Well, I am (whisper) thirty but still, it hurts. My lovely Philosophy Purity cleanser just wasn't cutting it and so I turned back to my Liz Earle Cream Cleanser but still, it just wasn't working out. And so I dug into the BeautyMecca box to see what I could see and lo and behold, hidden away was the Elemis Melting Cleansing Gel and Rosepetal Cleanser.



I immediately stuck the cleansing gel in the shower and started using it in place of the Purity in a morning. The Rosepetal cleanser took over from the Liz Earle as a cream cleanser at bedtime, massaged into dry skin and removed with a hot cloth. I LOVED it. And more importantly, so did my skin. The consistency is a lot looser than the Liz Earle and it melted all my make up and daily grime right away. It also sorted my eye make up right out.


The next morning, I busted out the gel cleanser. This is a really nice product, transforming from a pearlised gel to a creamy cleansing milk once on wet skin. It felt like I was getting a really great deep cleanse but my skin didn't feel like it was stripped at all.

It's been about two weeks since I switched up my routine and I have to say, my skin does look a lot better however, the real test will be at my facial appointment tomorrow. The last time I was looked at (during the wonder of spa week) I was told my skin was very dehydrated, the death knell of ageing skin. Fingers crossed I'll get better news in the morning...