Fruity!

Ambling around Boots, desperately trying to recall what I actually went in for (curby grips - which I only remembered when I got home) I spotted the Neutrogena Visibly Clear Pink Grapefruit Daily Scrub - priced at around £4.49. I love the smell of grapefruit and wasn't having the best of skin days so decided to give it a go.

This product definitely dries out any blemishes and leaves your skin feeling super clean - it doesn't particularly tackle large/clogged pores from what I can tell so my quest continues! Moreover, (as to be expected) my skin felt extra dry after using the product so I had to slap on the moisturiser like there was no tomorrow.

Smells delicious, but not exactly the next innovation in skin care. 7/10

Blogger, Elizabeth (me) x

Ah! May! Zing! - A quick little grumpy post

My obsession with Strictly Come Dancing seems to slowly be turning me into Craig Revel Horwood. Could be worse, at least I'm not turning into Brucey!

I adore the OTT makeup on the show, but I have one pet hate

PATSY KENSIT'S EYELASHES. They make her look all gammy-eyed and are very distracting from the dance.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJI-obJXGEo&feature=related

Watch the first 10seconds of that clip and you'll see what I mean, they resemble Venus Flytraps whacking shut.

Patsy would be better off using individual false eyelashes and slowly building them up for a more natural look. The strip-lash doesn't suit all eyes as we have different sized and shaped eyes, if they're not sitting correctly on you it could be that you need to trim the strip down (always cut from what would be the inner corner).

Rant over, I can't wait for next week's show :)

The humble eyebrow

Eyebrows not only frame the face, but they can also enhance the beauty of ones natural eye shape, and accentuate the look you're going for: be it an everyday or sophisticated look, the best place to start is the humble eyebrow.


"Practitioners in the field of facial aesthetics, such as make-up artists and cosmetic surgeons, have long appreciated the influence of eyebrows on attractiveness (eg Cosio and Robins 2000). During the 18th century, in fact, in Western Europe full eyebrows were considered so essential to facial beauty that some upper-class women and courtiers would affix mouse hide to their foreheads."

Ok - So, I wouldn't go as far to say if your eyebrows are looking a little lackluster that you need to go shave the nearest animal and stick it to your face... just don't ignore your eyebrows.

Ideally when shaping your eyebrows you will want them to begin parallel to the innermost corner of your eye, and end diagonally from the outer corner of your eye (see image below). When plucking or threading your eyebrows always pull the hairs out in the direction of growth and pluck from below the eyebrow. If you pluck from above the eyebrow you will end up with a permanently grumpy look. The point of arch usually appears naturally, ensure that you do not take out too many hairs if the arch becomes too high or skinny your eyebrow shape will look unnatural and a little McDonalds 'M'. If you find plucking a little too painful then either pluck them after a hot shower (the heat will open up your pores and allow the hairs to be tweezed out with ease) or rub a little ice on the eyebrow area just before tweezing to numb the pain.

If you've never shaped your eyebrows before and they're airing on the side of werewolf then it's advisable to get them shaped professionally and then you can easily maintain them by following the shape given.


The best tweezers I have ever owned are Tweezerman's slant tweezer, they cost me £17 (expensive - but a god send) or you can buy the mini version for around £12... but I find them a bit awkward to use so would recommend getting the normal sized ones. For that pretty hefty price tag you get a lifetime guarantee and free sharpening (I've never used this service but if I do will let you know)

Top Tip: If you're going for a 1950's look, after you've added the brown in for extra definition, apply a small amount of either a blue or purple eye-shadow in to the brow. I promise it won't look like you have, but it just makes the whole look pop. 

I used this technique on Hannah's eyebrows: 

Because Winter HATES YOUR FACE

http://www.visit4info.com/advert/Winter-Hates-Your-Face-Gillette-Toiletries-Range/87073


I saw this advert and I had to think wow, over the top much?!
Rather than starting a hate campaign to stop Winter from being oh so unnecessarily abusive to your face I will instead tell you why it is so important to moisturise all year round.

You may be thinking, but I have oily skin, adding moisturiser in to the equation is surely a recipe for disaster? Wrong! By not using a moisturiser your skin has been over compensating and producing more oil. Invest in a good lightweight matte finish moisturiser such as Dermologica's Active Moist Lotion with ingredients such as lemon and burdock this moisturiser will help to balance out your skin's natural oil levels, at around £20 see it as an investment in to your long-term skin health.

For those of you with dry skin who are not already moisturising, shame on you. Next time you're in the chemists grab yourself a Simple Kind to Skin Replenishing Rich Moisturiser at less than £4 It would be rude not to! Within a few days enjoy your newly soft and healthy looking skin.

I have the dreaded (and most common type of skin) combination! My moisturiser of choice is the well known Simple - Hydrating Light Moisturiser, at less than £2 a bottle it is most definitely a beauty bargain. I use it religiously - fabulous as a base to any make-up it will give your foundation a much more even appearance even on a bad skin day. My foundation has an SPF in it already (MAC's studio sculpt), however on the rare occasions that I do venture outside without any make-up on I always wear a more intensive moisturiser that contains an SPF. I am currently using No7's Protect and Perfect Day Cream, It's priced at £20.50 but is currently on 3for2 in store.

Reep the rewards now - and thank me later. Not only will your have a much healthier glow from the offset but in years to come you will be benefiting from having protected your skin from sun and wind damage.


Remember, NEVER use a body moisturiser or a perfumed moisturiser on your face - these intensive creams are not meant for your face, and the perfumes will just irritate the delicate skin around your eyes.

You will not be tangoed! (Guest Post)

Everyone's been there... great night out and you wake up to see pics on good old facebook of you looking a little on the orange side of life. While some of you may enjoy the oompah-loompah look I for one do not, especially because I am more than a tad pale! Due to the au naturale Morticia Adams look it is essential that I find an all covering, subtle colour giving foundation and, because of my student ways, all at a reasonable price.


I'm not usually overly fussy about labels, but I will say that when it comes to finding the perfect foundation you have to spend a little bit extra to get a good result. I have tried several palest of the pale foundations and they either make me look Katie Price esq or they make my skin look heavy, flat and dull. Not a good look. A chance trip out in Maceys, New York, changed my seemingly never ending quest to find the perfect foundation when an overly bubbly sales assistant asked to do my make up. Clinique in Alabaster. My make up revolution began and I have never looked back. It's a little pricey at around £25 a bottle but it's not so much that you can't treat yourself to something that is definitely worth every single penny.

Cover up don't colour up.
Blogger Emily x

A day at the Fun Fair

Last month I had the great opportunity to be the MUA (Make-Up Artist) for a very talented new photographer Katherine Oliver. It was a great learning experience and a hilarious day spent with my good friends. Special thanks to Ali and Hannah (the models) for enduring the very cold conditions that day!

The Make-Up star of the day was definitely a good under eye concealer. A versatile and essential for every make-up bag, use it under your eyes for a more refreshed look or to disguise a hangover, the corners of the nose (edges of the nostrils) for a softer look - and a great tip I picked up from my teacher is to use a thin concealer brush and a little bit of concealer to draw around the outer edge of the lips before you use your lip liner. This little line of concealer not only gives you a better edge to draw your lip liner against, but it also gives the lips a fuller without the constant need to pout. Just make sure you keep that concealer line thin and soften the edges in toward the lip if you've been a little too heavy handed. A little touch of concealer is also great on the lips if you've had a slight lipstick overspill, wipe off the excess and touch up the skin with the concealer and nobody will know the difference!

The key to finding the perfect concealer is going one shade lighter than your foundation. I'm certainly an advocate of Yves Saint Laurent's Touche Éclat, however at around £20 a piece I cannot currently afford one in every colour when helping out on photo-shoots. Another great under eye concealer is Soap & Glory's Trick & Treatment (£9 at Boots). With a very yellow undertone Trick & Treatment is brilliant for those of you with a purple tone to your under eye circles, if you have more of a green under eye tone then you are best to find an under eye concealer which has a warmer pinky/red undertone. 

Photos from the shoot, check out the rest on Kat's blog.

We're hoping to do another shoot soon (weather dependent) - will keep you posted.

Joining the blogging bandwagon!

We spend tens of billions of pounds on cosmetics worldwide each year, but do we know what we are buying? Or are we just buying in to the brand name, or the celebrity used to promote the product? When watching a certain Avon advert I do find myself questioning whether Reese Witherspoon can really look that good from just using Avon products... !

This blog is intended to give honest product reviews and make-up tips that I've learnt at The London School of Beauty & Make-Up, seen on online tutorials and read in magazines. When I find a product that I really like and that actually works I like to share this with my friends... this way I can hopefully share my finds with a lot more people!

Every face is different, and what suits one person may not suit another. Due to this I welcome any product review that you may want to share - just email me on: hiddenfrecklesblog@gmail.com