Beauty Alert: Anti-Ageing Elixir

There has been much discussed, written and praised about Argan Oil, it seems to be the ingredient of the moment, after all I have recently written plenty about this super beauty oil, but let us not forget it has been a hidden beauty secret for centuries and on past trips to Morocco, I regretted not haggling for tank loads of this gem.

As an Argan Oil devotee I just had to tell you about this Anti-Ageing Elixir from terre d'Oc which is unusually smooth and light for an oil, especially Argan as it's qualities are often more oily and full bodied.  This elixir has a lightweight texture and has the additional ingredient of Prickly Pear, which has soothing qualities, a must for sensitive and mature skins as this protects the skin to the max.

As with most oils mixing can them into other formulations is an advisable way to boost moisture and I've been adding the odd drop into my Argan based moisturiser for a subtle glow on my dry skin resulting in 24 hour hydration.

If you don't want to take my word for it, the Beauty Shortlist has just awarded it as the winner of the Best Serum!

Shine, shine, shine on!

Every few years a new ground breaking nail system is created, costing more each time we visit our local nail bar but we've gotta try it!  Some time ago, I was regularly getting Bio Sculpture nails applied to assist my bad habit of anxiously picking at dry skin around my nails.  I know vile but sometimes I wouldn't even realise I was doing it.  By maintaining my nails with Bio Sculpture I was constantly aware my nails were immaculate, therefore, resisting picking at them.  Good job, it worked but it suddenly seemed too much of a luxury to keep up and consumed my time as each session would take up to 3 hours to soak off, tidy cuticles, then reapply and set in the hand machine. In addition, my nail plates were becoming less and less attractive when natural and this bothered me, what damage was being done and was this really the answer to my stress related habit?

A few months ago, a good friend of mine who is friends and a regular at the salon, Maximiliano Centini, New King's Road, Fulham, showed me her new Geleration nails made by Jessica Nails, 'a hybrid between gel and polish giving fantastic colour', artistically applied by Jessica Centini, wife of Max and nail expert at the salon and director of The Nail Lounge.  My first impression was, 'Really?  They don't appear as thick as the other type of gel nails!'  

This is because technology and formulations have moved on and thank goodness, it takes about an hour from start to finish.  

Above are my nails after my first visit about 3 weeks ago with the French manicure, what do you think?

I think fantastic!  I love the finish and short length with a light cream base (very natural) over a white tip for an ultra natural appearance.

I visited Jessica's colleague at The Nail Lounge again this week.  My nails had grown quite a bit though they remained so shiny and only I noticed they didn't appear as immaculate as before. They had only one chip by this second visit and seeing as I use my hands a lot for work, they were impressive results after 3 weeks.

The soaking off period wasn't as painstaking as I'd experienced with gel nails, it took half the time and with no damage to my nails as you can see this is because there is no filing to the nail bed as an oil-free formula is applied to adhere to the chosen colour.  

During the soak off, I was deciding on whether to go for colour or back to the 'french' manicure.  Last week I would have chosen colour such as the bright coral 225, it was sunny and bright but now the weather has changed back, I contemplated 529, a rich metallic purple but being someone who never opts for dark on my nails, ever, I couldn't do it, so...

...half and hour later I had the shimmery, pale peach 952 shade, a pretty nude and good compromise.

Finally the price which varies on nail technician, the maximum being £40 for full colour and £45 for a French manicure finish, costing on average £14 every 3 weeks.  I find this economical as your average manicure can cost £30 a week, plus I would rather not endure the chipping and fading of traditional polish, I'd rather go au natural.

Have you tried other gel nail systems and have you opted for Geleration?

5 Make Up and Hair Looks: Fashion Press Event!

Its not often I can show you my work live but on April 4th, I tweeted my work as it happened for a sumptuous Fashion Press Event at Quo Vadis for designers Suzannah, Rebecca Street and Edwina Ibbotson to name a few!

The Salon model was Rebecca Pearson from First Model Management, very beautiful and great fun to work with.

My make up kit is vast but I literally kept it to a minimum with a few staples from myface cosmetics, mainly mymix foundation, mycover concealer, Blingtones, R&B Blush and Lip Pop all kindly supplied that very afternoon and they didn't let me down.

My hair kit is stacking up with some fantastic products and appliances, namely Enrapture Extremity Heated Hair Rollers and...

...Operation Glam and Lee Stafford.  These are the only two hair products I used, yep, I told you I was going minimal!

Hair was setting nicely with the Enrapture rollers, which has to be said are so quick to heat, easy to roll into hair sections and so secure with firm grips.  After applying the base (mymix, Fair 01 and 03) and concealing lightly (mycover, Fair 111) around Rebecca's eyes I started applying the wet look Blingtones to the eye lids and into sockets as well as along the lower lash line. 

Hair beautifully curled in no time!

Hair brushed through to create a bouncy wave and gently sprayed with Lee Stafford Hair Spray to finish.

Finishing touches to eye brows, Rebecca is looking gorgeous even in her boyfriends jumper but now the finished look...

Sultry and seductive waves with hot cheeks with Paradiso Pink and a reddy pink Lip Pop gloss to add colour and stand up against the stunning Absinthe dress by Suzannah.

Seeing as I was challenging myself with many looks I decided small tweaks to hair and make up here and there would work with all the dresses to be worn by Rebecca.  The second look had intensified sockets with myface Blingtone Bellbotton Blues and cooler lips and here is the end result...

Just a hint of drama!

Later I began the third look with more intensity of the Blingtone blue shadow adding depth to the sockets and around the eyes, then softened slightly by blending with the brown Blingtone.  My lovely assistant finished off with a pale Lip Pop while I hastily created a new hair style to flatter the next dress.

As well as this alteration to eyes, I backcombed the ends of the hair then secured into the nape with grips to create a shortened, fuller version to achieve volume then a touch of hair spray to retain the shape.

Look number four went back to a fresher style.  I applied a thick eyeline of the silver Blingtone to brighten eyes, then another pop of luscious Lip Pop with Bleeding Love Lip Stick.  Hair back to something smooth and sophisticated.

And finally another elegant look with hair speedily waved with Enrapture Jumbo Waver then pinned up to one side to show off Suzannah's showstopping dress.  A hint of definition in the sockets using a charcoal eye liner pencil (a quick tweak) and to finish a cool pale lilac Lip Pop was added on top of the previous red lips.

And there you have it, 5 looks designed and applied with a few essentials and a really enjoyable fashionable evening!

Find out more about myface at http://www.myfacecosmetics.co.uk/home

 Lee Stafford products at http://www.leestafford.com/ Lulu's Operation Glam products at http://www.lulusplace.co.uk/operation-glam and Enrapture Hair Appliances at http://enrapturehair.com/  and Suzannah http://www.suzannah.com/

NB: Images are a mixture of my own and supreme snapper, Antonio Salgado.