RIMMEL WAKE ME UP FOUNDATION

Since my skin has improved and blemishes have been magiced away by the miraculous Alpha-h Liquid Gold, I have had the confidence to wear light weight foundations. I have always loved these foundations as they provide sheer natural looking coverage, whilst concealing any flaws!

I have found this product to be incredibly similar to YSL touché éclat foundation, in that is light weight, sheer, and luminous giving a healthy youthful look. The advantage of the Rimmel wake me up foundation is that it is less than half the price of YSL. YAY!

 

The product has quirky packaging with an orange lid that is rather striking – you definitely won’t lose this item in your make up collection! The product doesn’t have a particularly offensive scent and the best part – It is a foundation with a pump! Which means a clean, easy mess free application of the product with minimal waste as one pump seems to cover my entire face.

The foundation contains shimmer, lots and lots of shimmer which in the bottle looked a little scary, particularly for my oily skin. However when I tried this it gave my skin a subtle, natural radiant glow, and looks stunning in natural light. I have found that when I have had photographs wearing this foundation the SPF and shimmer causes a slight flashback look, but for everyday I think it gives your skin a little pick me up look!

The only disadvantage to this product is that if you needed full coverage this would not be the foundation for you. A generous amount of the product would be required and the effect would not be as good as the Revlon Colourstay foundation which is my Holy Grail foundation. But I do think this product is known to give sheer coverage and is not aimed for a full coverage look.

 

Broadly speaking this foundation is a great little buy at £8.99. It contains SPF and is almost always on offer at Boots, and is good completion for high end sheer foundations such as the YSL Touch Elcat, and Channel Vitalumiere Aqua. Perhaps it is not quite as refined as the high end products, but it is an excellent runner up!

We use the shade 103 True Ivory, which is perfect for those of you between fair and medium skin.

If you are about in town this weekend and are looking for a new foundation, why not give this one a go!

Don’t forget to follow us on @The1BeautyBloggers.

xxxxx <3 xxxx

ETUDE HOUSE MOISTFUL COLLAGEN CREAM

We have another Korean beauty product for you today! ….You know how strong our feelings are for Korean products :D

This is a cream from Etude House. It is the first ever product from this brand that we have tried and so far we love it.

 

The cream comes in a 60ml pot which lasts for months making it a very good investment. The container is a pearly apricot coloured jar which is rather deep making it slightly messy to get the cream out towards the end when you have to get your whole hand in to get the remains. The cream itself looks slightly white in the pot but as it slides onto the skin it becomes totally transparent.

 

The consistency of the cream is perfect. It is a relatively lightweight formula but it isn’t so heavy that it feels like it is blocking your pores. The collagen cream glides onto your skin easily and moisturises like a charm. I don’t think that my skin has ever felt this soft!

Now let’s talk about the collagen. This gives your skin a plum, firm feel which helps to promote youthful looking skin. It is also supposed to help reduce the appearance of fine lines but neither I nor my sister is at the age where we have lines so we can’t really comment on this yet. Sorry xxx But fingers crossed with long term use this may be a preventative step…….Stick around for the next 20 years and we will update you ;)

Over all, we love this cream. It does everything that a good cream should do: moisturises, plumps, is not sticky, is fragrance free, and does not cause break outs. For around £12 there is no way that we can fault this product and we will be purchasing it again.

If you have tried this product then let us know what you think to it. You can do this by tweeting us @The1BeautyBlog and we will be sure to reply to you :D

Also, don’t forget to check out our other posts, we range from products, to weddings, to outfits and Disney themes.

xxxx

SARAH'S FAVOURITE SPRING/AUTUMN OUTFIT

I decided that it was time for us to do our favourite outfit review for you. We used the website Stylefruits to put together several outfits that we will be uploading in the weeks to come which are brilliant for summer and autumn. This is a great website if you want to see how items from different shops would look together from the huge style fruit clothing database – We hope you like it.

I went for a pretty floral, feminine look which is perfect from spring through to autumn.

 

 The main peach colour is lovely and fresh which isn’t too over powering and is a perfect contrast to the dark denim and skirt base. This is my favourite skirt of all time! I love the floral pattern on it which gives the outfit a girly vibe and the belt which helps to define your natural curves, whilst the skater shape is great as it flatters most body shapes. I thought that a great way to finish off the outfit and bring it all together was by adding a cool denim jacket for an additional layer which is not only useful for cool spring and autumn months, but it also helps to give the outfit a quirky edge. For the accessories we went for a peach bag to match the detailing of the skirt and the vest top, tan sandals for the hot months and finally brown sunglasses which match the shoes.
 

This is one of my favourite outfits and it is very easy to take inspiration from it and make it your own.  I have styled it with a navy vest top, tan pumps, and a tan satchel bag. Although, if you want this EXACT peach look then we will put the links below so you can find every item listed, all you have to do is click on the item:

Boohoo skater skirt

Miss guided shopper bag

Diesel denim jacket

Vonzipper sunglasses

Missselfridge vest top

Les Tropeziennes sandals

We will be putting together more outfits for you and we hope you like them. If you have any requests such as cosy winter wear or an outfit for a date night then tweet us here and we will be sure to find you something that is perfect!

See you soon!!

<3

DISNEY PRINCESS DRESSES GO UP FOR AUCTION

We have HUGE news for all you fashion and Disney lovers out there! If you loved our last Disney fashion wedding post then you will be ecstatic about this ...

Disney and Harrods are auctioning their unique one of a kind Disney princess dresses to raise money for the Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity, which will take place in November 2013.

This means that you could have your own chic piece of the Disney fairy tale and bid for the dress of your dreams! Designers range from Oscar De La Renta to Roberto Cavalli, all you need to do is attend the auction and maybe win the lottery beforehand?!

The Disney princess dresses are designed for Ariel, Aurora, Belle, Cinderella, Jasmine, Mulan, Pocahontas, Rapunzel, Snow White and Tiana. These pieces will no doubt attract global attention, and raise a great deal of money for the fantastic work that takes place at Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital.

While we wish and dream that we could be the lucky bidder on one of these stunning ensembles, we are looking forward to seeing where they may eventually be in the future. We both have our hearts set on the exquisite Rapunzel dress by Jenny Packham ... We can only dream!

Here are all of the dresses that will be auctioned this November :) Which are your favourites?

Follow us on Twitter and les us know what you think! @The1BeautyBlog

xxx

SUMMER BRIGHTS OUTFIT

It is hard to believe that summer is almost over, with the new autumn lines entering out favourite shops, and back to school signs everywhere.  This means that we only have a few weeks now to make the most of the summer sun and bright bold fashion pieces.

We totally love the website called style fruits which allow you to put together outfits from new lines in high street stores. The website also gives web links to the pages of your selected outfit items so you may then purchase the entire outfit. I think this is fantastic, as I am one of those people who buy lots of lovely individual items when shopping them have to think hard as to what to wear them with. It’s also lots of fun and there are competitions for outfit of the week and prizes up for grabs.

This is our outfit that we have called Summer Brights, which we have both gone on to purchase. We think this is great for the summer months, but with a few changes can be perfect throughout the cooler autumn months too.

 

 

Here are links from the above outfit:

Boohoo Necklace £12.00

Miss Gudied Floral Top £14.99

Miss Guided Satchal Bag £22.99

Miss Selfridge Pink Gem Ring£25.00

Miss Selfridge Flower Detail Cuff£35.00

7 For All Mankind Yellow Slim Fit Jeans £185.00

Via Unno Ballerinas £29.14

Barry M Lip Stick £4.99

Miss Guided Nail Polish £5.99

Follow us on Twitter for extra updates: @The1BeautyBlog

xxx

 

ORTIGIA SICILIA - FICO D'INDIA OVAL GIFT BOX

We received this gift box from one of our relatives in Italy and realised that not very many people know about the brand so we felt we should review it.

This is a beautiful gift which can be found here at a retail price of £45.00 which is a very reasonable price for the quality of the product and what is included in the set. The set itself includes a 300ml shower gel, 40g bar of soap, 7ml hand cream and a cone candle.

We love this gift set because it is presented in a beautiful printed and silver lined box and it contains a selection of the best selling Ortigia products in the best selling Fico D'India fragrance.

Now lets get down to the facts. The products are beautifully packaged in an ornate gift box, making it a fantastic gift for yourself or for somebody special. The products are infused with exquisite scents from Sicily. Fico d India is a cactus plant which aids skin regeneration. The smallest amount of shower gel and soap are needed as they lather up quickly, leave you feeling refreshed and have a long lasting scent. The Hand Cream is very rich and great for dry dehydrated skin, blended with natural lanolin and olive oil. A lovely bonus to this gift set is the Fico Cone Candle, with a rich aroma that fills the house.

The products are all natural scents and made from natural ingredients which include olive oil, vegetable glycerine, and organic colours and the best part is that the products are not tested on animals.

We absolutely love this gift set and will be buying it again. We recommend that you buy it too; if this gift set is a bit out of your price range then they also have smaller, individual products which are just as amazing. Also there are other fragrances which are based on Sicilian plants: Orange Blossom, Sicilian Lime, Pomegranate, Lavender, Fico d’India and Almond.

If you have tried this set then let us know what you think by tweeting us on our twitter page: @The1BeautyBlog

Thank you for reading this and we will see you on our next review!!

<3

L’OREAL EVER RICHE NOURISHING AND TAMING SHAMPOO, CONDITIONER AND HAIR MASK SET

We are a bit late on reviewing these products as we were lucky enough to win them from the Glamour Magazine competition a few months ago. Nevertheless we will give you the review now as we have had plenty of time to test it! Before we do, here is something you should know. This set comes from the Ever Riche Sulphate-Free range and its aim is to smooth dry and frizzy hair.

Let’s start with the packaging. L’Oreal has literally struck gold with the containers of the shampoo, conditioner and hair mask by giving it a sophisticated and classic golden theme. The shampoo and conditioner are in tubes which are very easy to use and the hair mask is in a little tub, which when it is running out can be quite hard to get at.

 

And now the nitty gritty …

Shampoo:

This is a brilliant shampoo which lathers up so well that you hardly have to use any of the product at all, which is a great thing as you know the shampoo won’t run out too soon. Also the botanical oils make the shampoo rich and intensely nourishing so if you have heat frazzled hair like us this will help bring it back to its silky life! This is an amazingly scented shampoo and the best part is that even though it is intensively nourishing, it doesn’t leave you hair feeling greasy, weighed down or heavy.

 

Conditioner:

A rich and deeply hydrating conditioner that leaves you with soft and glistening locks which would easily be competition for Rapunzel. The conditioner is suitable to be used every day as it isn’t too heavy so you won’t be left with flat and greasy hair, which is a huge turn off.  Another great thing about this creamy conditioner is that it also contains the botanical oils like the shampoo so that when used together your hair is left feeling luxuriously soft.

 

Hairmask:

This hair mask is a weekly treatment for extra nourishment. It is very heavy duty so I wouldn’t recommend using this more than once a week unless you hair is extremely dry and damaged. All you have to do is apply to damp hair and leave for 5 minutes before washing off and revealing envious hair!

 

Make sure you try out this range and tweet us what you think on our twitter page @The1BeautyBlog

 

<3

GOOD THINGS MATTIFYING MOISTURISER

I am always on the search for new and effective mattifying moisturiser, but a firm favourite that I keep going back to is the Good Things Mattifying Moisturiser with Goji Berry and Blackcurrant which are awesome skin loving ingredients.

This product has the most amazing fruity scent, and is a pale cream with that it not too heavy. The moisturiser feels incredibly hydrating unlike some which leaving the skin feeling dry, tight and incredibly dehydrated. This product enables your skin to feel hydrated, soft and supple for the entire day, even with heavy duty make-up on. It has a thick consistency which instantly sinks into your skin, but does not leave a tacky residue. I also notice that when I use this product I am always less prone to breakouts, probably due to the fact that my skin oil levels are being carefully controlled by the mattifying agents in this moisturiser.

This is my holy-grail product. It has been on the market for some time now but very few people seem to be are of the brand. Included in the brand are masks, exfoliates, cleansers, face washes, and moisturisers. And the best thing about the product is how inexpensive the items are. They start at £6.00 -£9.00. Often in boots they are on a BOGOF offer, or 3 for 2. These are great product for any age range, and are long lasting, and have the cutest packaging: It really is hard to resist!  A small amount of the cream goes a long way, so this is an inexpensive and effective product! Something to tell your friends about, especially in this tropical English climate we have been experiencing...32 degrees Celsius - WOW!

You can find this product here at Boots for £6.00

We hope you like the blog post, if you do then follow us on twitter for extra little things you won’t find on here … @The1BeautyBlog

<3

PEPPERMINT BEAUTIFYING FOOT TREATMENTS

...No, thank YOU Body Shop!

Once again the Body Shop has struck gold in their Peppermint range, specifically designed to beautify feet for these hot summer months. Products within the range include foot scrubs, lotions, gels, recovery balms, and soaks.

We were asked to review some of the items in this collection and we chose to review the peppermint smoothing pumice foot scrub, the peppermint cooling foot lotion and the peppermint reviving leg gel, so here goes!

The peppermint scrub is simply a miracle product. It, alongside the entire peppermint range has an incredible long last scent, and feels cooling and refreshing in this tropical weather we are experiencing here is the UK. While it feels harsh to touch, it is the perfect consistency to revive dead skin cells from feet.

The reviving peppermint leg gel is lovely and soothes tired legs and it great if used after exercise to help your muscles recover, and after a long day at work.

The cooling foot lotion again smells amazing, and soaks into the skin perfectly. This does infact leave your feet and legs feeling refreshed and cooled after using the scrub and leg gel.

Combined these products really do hit the tri-fecta. Now that I have discovered how equally brilliant these products are in regards to packaging , consistency and value for money, this is something I will continue to buy and will explore the range.

Have you tried any peppermint products from The Body Shop? How do you find them?

Follow us on twitter for more beauty news and reviews! @The1BeautyBlog

BENEFIT HELLO FLAWLESS OXYGEN WOW FOUNDATION AND STAY FLAWLESS PRIMER

Benefit Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow Foundation

We have been incredibly excited to test this product for our 300th Twitter follower. This foundation is amazing, and totally flawless! It is available in 9 shades, and has buildable coverage. We use the shade 'Believe in me Ivory', and as there are 9 shades there is a shade to suit you for sure.



What do Benefit say about this product?

''Hello... it's flawless time!
Our new oil-free brightening liquid foundation builds from light to medium coverage for a natural complexion you can believe in.
It's you... just more luminous and healthy looking''

What do we think about this product?

The product has the typical girly benefit style packaging. It is contained in a clear bottle so you can keep your eye on how much of the product you have, and has a pump so the foundation is easily dispensable, without using too much of the product. This product doesn't have a strong scent: There is nothing worse than having a fantastic product that is intolerable due to an over-powering fragrance.

This foundation has an oil-free formulation which is fantastic for those of you with oily/combination skin, but it does keep your skin hydrated. The coverage is light-medium, but the great thing about this foundation is that it is buildable, so you can get a very light barely there look, to full heavy duty coverage without looking cakey. We prefer to apply the product using our fingers, or with our Sigma stippling brush to get an amazing air-brushed finish! Additionally,  the foundation contains SPF 25 to combat sun damage to your skin, but it is always advisable to wear a SPF under your foundation.

What do you think to the foundation? Leave us a comment below, and let us know of any alternative.

You can purchase this foundation here for £25.50

<3





Benefit Stay Flawless 15 Hour Primer Review

This is a great primer! It is a light beige cream stick which applies evenly when swept on the face and gives a subtle shimmer. This is great, particularly for dark circles as the slight shimmer really illuminates the under eye area without appearing glittery. However I am sceptical about using it over blemishes as the shimmer may illuminate rather than conceal them. Therefor I think this product is ideal for people without oily skin as it would provide a touch of luminosity.

The product is very easy to apply. It is packaged as a stick primer so you simply twist the primer and apply onto cleansed skin. This draws your foundation to your skin and helps to keep it in place throughout the entire day. The primer did give the corresponding foundation a stronger look, and gave a smooth canvas to apply the foundation, but after 10 hours the foundation noticeably faded.

We do like the Benefit Stay Flawless 15 Hour Primer, but we don't think it is as long lasting on our skin type as the Smashbox Photo-ready Primer. The subtle shimmer meant our under eye area was illuminated, but it did not flatter the blemishes on our skin. For our skin type we prefer a mattifying primer to combat oil, but for those of you with normal skin this primer would be great for you.

We bought our primer here for £24.50

<3


Make sure you follow us on twitter for more updates and little beauty tips that you wont find on here! xxxx

L'OREAL YOUTH CODE LUMINIZING SERUM

This is a light- infusing serum used to hydrate, correct hyper-pigmentation and provide youthful looking skin. It is packaged in a chic and simple silver metallic glass bottle, with a pump to dispense the product. While some may say it is not particularly creative, I rather like the simple design, but it isn't about what the product looks like, it's the magic inside that counts?!



The claim: Immediately deeply hydrated skin, with an extra luminous glow. In one week your skin is more even. Correction of different types of dark spots begins. Marks start to fade; dark spots, sun spots and age-spots. In one month, dark spots are visibly reduced. Your skin tone is even and more luminous.

Our findings: As we have oily skin, the thought of using any product to add luminosity is a big NO! However as I tend to opt for full matt coverage, using a luminous serum prior to make-up application adds a controlled glow to give a youthful fresh faced look, compared to the traditional shine free, totally matt zone.

The product has a lovely light perfumed scent which is right up my street, and while we shouldn't rate our products on scent, it is certainly an added bonus! It is light in texture and feels silky, and has a pearlescent look, which must be the luminous particles that totally transform your complexion. It gives the same umph as the Touche Éclat, without large glitter particles. On application it instantly absorbs into the skin without leaving that horrible greasy residue typical of some formulations.



While all L'Oreal products are clinically trialled to provide their claims, my experience has shown that they are not entirely correct. The immediate glow and smooth hydrated skin, and the even complexion is given. Unfortunately hyper pigmentation and dark spots, after six months of testing, have not been reduced. Not even slightly. This may be different for each person but this was the aspect I was most intrigued by on purchasing the product. My skin was much smoother and did glow, but this did fade as the day went on. This serum reminds me of the Liz Earl brighten treatment mask - a quick fix to add life back to lacklustre skin. On that note, it works wonderfully giving a controlled even brightening yet flattering effect, which is important to those of you with combination/oil skin.

On balance, while I found this product did not entirely live up to the claims stated by L'Oreal, it is a fantastic luminising serum which is great to use on those days when you need a bit of extra help to look human! I will definitely be repurchasing this product again. It retails at £14.99 from Superdrug.

Let me know what you think, and if you know any other great serums for extra luminosity/ hyper pigmentation removal.

Make sure you follow us on twitter for more beauty updates! @The1BeautyBlog