The Brand Focus | Kiehl's Pt. 2

Previously I mentioned a trip to my local Kielh's store where I picked up the Ultra Facial Cream [read here]. The trip in to the old New York style apothecary also resulted in me coming away with a new eye cream, which I was also in absolute desperate need of.

Although I had heard of Kiel's avocado eye cream, I hadn't previously done a lot of research into the product so I was quite unsure about what I was taking home with me. It claims to provide intense hydration to the eye area whilst containing Avocado Oil, Vitamin A as well as fatty acids all of which sound like they'd round up to make a good hydrating product - I am a little uneducated on the elements that make up an A* eye cream so this is a very vague assumption on my part!

After finding time to do a proper scour of the internet looking for other peoples views on this product the excitement to use the Creamy Eye Treatment had begun. A whole hoard of reviews mentioned the decrease in fine lines around their eyes after using this product, as well as noticing results in how hydrated their eye area was after just a small amount of time using the product.

After nearly eight weeks of trying this out I'm somewhat unimpressed. The cream has an incredibly thick consistency, which once applied to the eye area goes to an almost watery texture, I've never come across anything like it before. It's not at all sticky and it applies fairly easily.

Results wise, there hasn't been a lot. Although my eye area doesn't necessarily feel 'dry' it definitely doesn't look hydrated. I still have fine lines making an appearance, despite the many reviews that claim this product helps to diminish them.

Like with the Ultra Facial Cream I went for the jumbo pot (28ml) as it's better value for money and retails at £33.00, however there is a smaller (14ml) pot available for £20.00.

I didn't get on with this product and was left a little disheartened by the lack of results I saw from using it, nevertheless you may see great results with the avocado cream. Everyone's skin is different and just because it didn't work for me does by no means, defy whether it will do the job for you!

The Brand Focus | Kiehl's Pt. 1

Being in desperate need of a new daily moisturiser I set about the inter webs looking for something that was going to do the job. I stumbled across a few mentions of the Kiehl's Ultra Facial Cream and decided to give it a bit more of a thorough research before parting with my pennies.

It's designed to be a light, but still hydrating, cream that prevents the loss of moisture without being too rich and heavy on the skin. Ideal.

After reading enough A* reviews and finding very little that states against this cream I decided to call into my local Kiehl's store and pick a tub up.

Ive now been using the Ultra Facial Cream for about a month and my views are mostly positive. It's a lovely light formula, just as stated in the product description, making it perfect for daytime wear.
It melts into the skin relatively quickly without too much blending in and fuss, aswell as  providing a smooth base for makeup.

In terms of effectiveness I'd give it an 8 out of 10. Reasons being that it has appeared to keep my skin hydrated, having had no dry patches occur since I started using it, however I don't feel as though my skin is super hydrated. By this I mean, it doesn't feel plump, fresh and hydrated as I would hope from well moisturised skin.

Obviously other elements affect the condition of skin and so I'm not saying that this product isn't doing a fabulous job. I'm just saying it's not perfect and I'm still on the look out for something a bit more hydrating.

I got the 125ml 'Jumbo' size (RRP £43.50) because the lovely sales assistant pointed out that it was better value than the 50ml (RRP £24). Looking back I wish I'd got the smaller of the two as I had never tried it before. 125ml is a lot to get through and I'm already on the hunt for something I think I'll prefer a little more. Definitely check out this product if you're on the look out for a light, hydrating day cream, maybe steer away if your skin falls into the 'very dry' bracket though!

The Purchases| Mini Winter Haul

   

I've had my eye on a few high end foundations for a while, and a trip into Cambridge bought too much temptation and home with me came both Chanel's Vita Lumiere Aqua & YSL's new Youth Liberator Serum foundation.

 Chanel claim that this foundation creates a 'second skin' & a 'lit from within' glow. I agree. To an extent. I really like this foundation, it's lightweight, not heavy at all & I have found I can build it up to a near medium coverage. Although it's not got quite as much coverage as I would like throughout the winter, paired with a concealer, I have found myself wearing this as my everyday foundation. Rarely switching it up.

It's not incredibly dewy but it does seem to give off a slight glow, making the skin look quite radiant and healthy.

It applies easily, just like Chanel have stated within the product description, claiming that 'applying foundation has never been this easy'. It also recommends to apply using just your fingertips. I haven't tried this method, having only applied  it using my Zoeva 102 Silk Finish brush which works wonderfully, however I will give it ago with my fingers.

Overall it's definitely a winning foundation, and widely mentioned across the blogging scene for good reason.  I think it'll prove to be the ideal foundation through the summer months because of its lighter texture and coverage. It retails at £32.00 and you can find it at most department stores.

I spent a long time contemplating whether to include the YSL Youth Liberator Foundation in this post. Not because of the product itself but because unfortunately this, along side a couple of other products, got stolen out of my clutch on a night out a few weeks back.
As a result I no longer own it, and didn't have long enough to try it out and build up a proper opinion of the product.

In comparison to the Lumiere Aqua, it's thicker and has a higher coverage. Ideal for the winter months. It gives off an incredible glow, much more so than the Lumiere Aqua whilst still remaining natural.

I'm not going to go into any more detail about how I found it to be because I'm going by memory and my judgement from when I last wore it (over two weeks ago) is probably somewhat inaccurate.

In terms of price, it retails in the range of £34 - £36 and like the Chanel Vita Lumiere Aqua can be found in most department stores.

Whilst browsing the YSL counter in John Lewis, I spotted the Rouge Volupte Shine lipsticks. I'd had my eye on these for a while as I wanted something slightly sheerer than you're usual lipstick & with this  luxe packaging who can resist!?

The colour range for these is fairly vast, and after much deliberation I made up my mind with Shade 2 Pourpre Intouchable. What appears to be a dark wine colour, actually translates onto the lips as a glossy balm-like violet colour. 

It's simply beautiful. I bought it on the basis of it being an evening shade, however since having it I've not stopped wearing it day or night. It's a perfectly wearable daytime shade for the winter, whilst being as equally well suited to evening looks. 

They retail at all department stores, like the other two products, for around £25.00 and they are absolutely worth every single penny. 

The Purchases | 'S' Curler

Having deep set eyes means I find it slightly awkward to curl my eyelashes. I've contemplated wearing faux eyelashes everyday to save myself the hassle of the curling process (a somewhat simple task for most people) however my eyelash applying process is even more of a nightmare than simply curling. Fail.
Dismissing the idea of becoming a daily faux eyelash wearer, I searched into other solutions so I could avoid the use of curlers altogether, eyelash extensions and perming being a couple of options I considered.. Until the release of Shu Uemura's 'S' curler. I gave them a slight research before I ordered, dismissing anything bad I had read about these, I ordered them in hope that they would do as promised. This being that they give precision curling, meaning you can reach each individual lash which you cannot always do with the standard sized curlers.

I got mine from the limited edition Takashi Murakami collection purely because they were half price at the time and the standard non limited edition ones were still at full price.

I can't give a fair review of these yet. I've tried them a couple of times with very little success, I've found them awkward to use and I think they're going to take a bit of time to get used to with a lot of trial and error. So for now I plough on through the hassle of curling with my ordinary Shu Uemura curlers with increasing consideration of getting my eyelashes permed. Watch this space for both an eyelash perm & a full review of the 'S' curler.

Baking The Basics | 1

I love to bake - it's simple; Grab the ingredients, follow the step by step guide (the recipe as it's more commonly known) and as if by magic the few ingredients you chucked in, combine to make something totally scrummy. 

I hadn't baked for a really long time, I have no excuse other than I just don't seem to have the time. However earlier this week when I was browsing around Waitrose I found my way down the baking aisle and into the world of elaborate sprinkles and never heard of before cake decorations. Did you know that rose gold, popping candy now exists in tiny little tubes ready for you to sprinkle all over your cupcakes?! Me neither until this occasion.

All it took to inspire me to get my (mum's) apron on and start baking again were some cake sprinkles. I'd go as far as to say that I needed some restraining when it came to selecting which of the vast array I was going to select for my bake off. Alas I managed to come home with just two of the pots, skipping the popping candy this time and going for the rose gold sugar sprinkles, as well as some white chocoalte stars. 

The final result?