Mama Mio The Tummy Rub Oil

If you've read through my previous two pregnancies you'll know that I'm a little dubious as to whether any stretch mark oils/creams/gels/potions actually work or whether it's just down to your skin, the baby, the time of year, whatever. I mean. It's a hard one to judge.I hardly used anything at all with Ned and was fine. I used Rosehip oil all the way through Jim and thought I got away with it until a sad looking (huge) jelly fish of stretch marks appeared about two days before he was born. Thanks Jim.

I jumped at the chance when offered this to try though as this is not only a bit pricier than I would normally pay - do you get what you pay for with stretch marks? But I have heard great things about it and it has a lot of good reviews.

I'm not entirely comfortable paying £27 for something that is, to my mind, not guaranteed to work. But, so far, there is not a new stretch mark in sight and a little of this goes a long way. I have been using it for three months now and I'm pretty sure it will last me until I've had the baby in July. I've been using it mostly on the bump and a bit on the tops of my thighs which are the places I usually get stretch marks. If there's any left over then after the baby is born I'll use it on my boobs as it's when the milk comes in that they tend to get stretch marks. If I run out before I have the baby I may while buy a new bottle.

May 2017 News

The news is a bit thin this month. Not because there aren't a ton of new releases and things but because I was away in the South of France for two weeks with no wifi which was a strange mix of bliss and frustration. Bliss because it's so nice to not be tied to the phone and frustration because I had not planned sufficiently for two weeks with no wifi and therefore had to keep dashing to wifi cafes.

One other unplanned development was the arrival of two, previously unseen, massive crevice-like lines on my top lip that need attention. Who was I to think that nearly two decades of smoking would leave me unsullied? So I'm on the look at for a good cream to help sort it out - thinking of trying the Merumaya Lipline Restoration Treatment, another recommendation from the lovely Tahira Herold. Anyone tried it, or have any other recommendations? 

New Releases 

• Bobbi Brown Eye Glosses - glossy lids have long been a trick up every make-up artists sleeve but not so easy to recreate at home but now you can with these new eye glosses. Three colours available.
• MAC Fruity Juicy collection - its nearly sold out everywhere I thnk but the Fruit A La La eye shadow palette and pearl matte face powder look particularly appealing.
• NARS Sun Wash Diffusing bronzer - for those of us who don't want a whole face full of shimmer this is a gorgeous technically-matte bronzer with 'soft blurring technology'. It's a flattering bronzer in good shades basically - if like me you struggle with bronzer then try this baby out.
• Sunday Riley CEO Protect & Repair Moisturiser - I find Sunday Riley's products a bit hit or miss but have heard great things about this and as you know I'm a sucker for anything with Vitamin C in it. If you have the budget and want something brightening and soothing that will help protect against UV rays and pollution then this is the one to go for.
• The Ordinary Serum Foundation - this is not a new, new release but fairly recent and every time I've seen it on someone it looks fantastic, the colour range is great and the price, as always very impressive. This brand can do no wrong at the moment and I can't wait to try this out. 

May 2017 Empties

The latest batch of empties. It's weird how you get through a ton of the same sort of products at the same time. This month it seems to be a lot of mascara's and conditioners. Links to products below and to my blog reviews.

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PRODUCTS:

Cowshed Grumpy Cow Shampoo
Waitrose Bath Foam
Mane & Tail Conditioner
Kukui Oil Conditioner by Ogx
Dove Soft Feel Anti-persperant
Benefit Hello Flawless Foundation
Yves Rocher Total Radiance Treatment
Lancome Hypnose Drama mascara
Bobbi Brown Eye Opening Mascara
NARS Audacious mascara
First Aid Beauty Facial Radiance Pads

REVIEWS:
Cowshed Grumpy Cow Shampoo
Waitrose Bath Foam
Mane 'n Tail Conditioner
Benefit Hello Flawless Foundation
Lancome Hypnose Drama Mascara  
Bobbi Brown Eye Opening Mascara
First Aid Beauty Facial Radiance Pads

Ilia Multistick

Ilia is one of my favourite brands of the moment and I have been using their multistick pretty much daily since I received it a few months ago. Even though the colour, Tenderly, isn't necessarily one I would choose myself it blends so beautifully I'm a complete convert to a paler pink.

I've never been much one for multisticks - I can see their usefulness but I'm not that into matchy-matchy make-up though I do keep meaning to try this as an eyebase, it would probably work well under a taupe. This has completely converted me, it has such a beautiful finish, lasts for ages and is so incredibly easy to use. I've even dug out my old Kiko one that I bought and never really got round to using.

The multisticks are made using Shea Butter and Vitamin E so they feel great on the skin but these seem to last a lot longer than other cream blushers that I've tried. Really easily blendable too you can draw it straight onto your cheeks and blend out with your fingers or use a brush if you prefer. I think this would a great - if pricey - place to start for those who want to try a really natural-looking cream blusher.

Evening Skincare

A month or so ago I did my morning skincare routine, this is my evening one. As I explain in the video I go for it a bit more in the evening, partly because I have more time and partly because I have make-up to remove and my skin will have more time (i.e. overnight) for the products to do their thing without having any make-up, pollution etc over the top of it.

All products are linked below as are any full reviews of products from the blog. If you haven't already then please subscribe to my channel and if you haven't already seen my morning skincare video you can watch it here.

Coconoil
Nude Perfect Cleanse Cleansing Oil
Lush Ultrabland Cleanser
Pixi + Caroline Hirons Double Cleanse
Emma Hardie Amazing Face cleansing balm
Darphin Intral Toner
Origins Mega Mushroom Skin Relief
Amelia Moss Rosehip Oil
The Ordinary Lactic Acid
Aurelia Night Cream
Origins Make A Difference Plus
Sukin Purifying Masque
Neutorgena Norwegian Formula Moisturiser
Mama Mio The Tummy Rub Oil

Clarins Extra-Comfort Anti-Pollution Cleansing Cream

Another skincare product that made it's way into my bathroom during the dark days of post-Jim tomato face. And another that, at the time, got relegated for not immediately fixing my face. This is partly down to cleanser snobbery as I am a balm gal, will I ever love a cleanser that's not a balm? Well it would have to be bloody good and this one is pretty great.

I feel that the first thing I should mention, because it's the first thing you notice, and I notice it every time, is the smell. This smells amazing. Well, I love it. I've read some reviews that don't like the smell - if you are buying this in store you can have a whiff of a tester before you buy. It's fragranced but doesn't irritate.

Another thing worth mentioning is that a lot of the reviews for this are from those who have used it for years when it used to come in a tub and be a slightly different consistency. I never used it then so I can't comment on that - maybe if you were one of those people you could let us know in the comments which you prefer and what the differences are (from what I can tell it seems to be smell and consistency). 

Face of the Day 27th April 2017

The light's a bit off in this video - sorry about that it's the crazy English spring weather and the fact that I have to set up and film in the brief moments when I am child-free and the builders are not drilling right, next, to, my, head.

I've been loving eye shadow sticks at the moment (more on that to follow) but one that I get almost scared of using is the Colour Chameleon from Charlotte Tilbury because in my head, Bronze Garnet is incredibly orange. It's not. Every time I use it I'm reminded of what a great product this is and how annoying Tilbury is with her cleverness.

All products and reviews are linked below. If you haven't already then do go and subscribe to my channel and now you can sign-up to get a monthly email from me with everything that has been on the blog for that month.

Reviews:
Charlotte Tilbury Colour Chameleon
Lancome Hypnose Drama
Pixi Correction concentrate 

Products:
Charlotte Tilbury Colour Chameleon (bronzed garnet)
L'Oreal Perfect Slim Liner
Laura Mercier Caviar Eye Liner
Laura Mercier Smokey Liner Brush
Lancome Hypnose Drama mascara
MAC Smoulder eye liner
Origins Make a Difference plus +
Joan Collins Ten Effects Skin Treats Spray
Daniel Sandler Invisible Radiance Foundation
Hourglass Hidden Corrective Concealer
Pixi Correction Concentrate
Cover FX Translucent Powder
Laura Mercier Secret Brightening Powder
Clinique Bottom Lash Mascara
Ilia Multistick in Tenderly
Louise Young Blusher in Coop
Daniel Sandler Radiant Glow Illuminating Powder
MAC Lip Pencil in Soar
Dior Baume Rouge in Lili
Maybelline Brow Drama
Hourglass Diffused Light Powder

Daniel Sandler Invisible Radiance Foundation and Concealer

This is one of the products that was on my 2017 wishlist and in fact I have been meaning to try for years. The reason I haven't is that I sometimes see Daniel at make-up events and wanted him to colour match me as it was his product and he's such an amazing make-up artist... but it never happened. Then he very kindly sent me some to try and it was probably one of the highlights of 2017 so far. Seriously, I have been desperate to try it.

And of course, as with every Daniel Sandler product I've tried I have not been disappointed. The finish is beautiful and one thing I've noticed is that I can't stop stroking my face when it's on. Not in a weird way, well, not in that much of a weird way. But it feels really soft, and not clammy like some foundations.

Everyday Guide to Brows

This is the first in my new series of Everyday Guides where I tell you the absolute basics of what you need to do for certain aspects of make-up. If you have something you'd like to see then let me know.

One of the questions I get asked most often is about brows and how to just 'fill them in a bit' or 'make them less crap'. Brows are still huge in the world of make-up but a lot of my clients want to know how to make the best of theirs, on a daily basis without looking like they've done anything to them at all.

I wanted this to be a short video but it's incredibly hard to cover everything - you always feel like there will be someone somewhere saying 'she didn't even mention... '. I can't mention everything. This is not a video on how to fill in your brows if they are really sparse. As far as I'm concerned Sam from Pixiwoo has covered that in the video I've linked to below. It's also not a tutorial on how to get really full, drawn-in brows that are so fashionable on Instagram now. That can seriously backfire when done in real life and is, I believe, the main reason I have so many women coming to me asking for brow advice. I am by no means queen of brows, I rarely do anything to mine. This is just the basics - what you can use, my favourite products and how to do it.

All products are listed below and products with a * that I haven't used but have had recommended to me from other make-up artists are listed under that. There are so many brands that do brow products now that again I may not mention ones that you use and love. Do feel free to mention them in the comments.  If anything is not clear then do feel free to leave me a comment either on here or on YouTube or send me an email.

Pixiwoo brows
Pixiwoo Microblading

Tools
Eco Tools Brow Shaping Set (I don't love the angle brush from brows but it's fine for smoky liner. The spoolie is worth the money on its own)
Louise Young brushes (specifically the LY22 spoolie and LY37 angle brush)
MAC 263 Brush
Barbara Carranza Tweezers (also great for applying false lashes) - http://bit.ly/2p2gDjT
Tweezerman Tweezers*

Pencils
Laura Mercier Brow Pencil
Anastasia Beverley Hills Brow Wiz
Hourglass Arch Brow
Tom Ford Brow Sculptor*
Nudestix Stylus Pencil and Gel*

Mascaras
Maybelline Brow Drama
Benefit Speed Brow
Illamasqua Brow Gel
Anastasia Beverly Hills Clear Brow Gel*
Diego Dalla Parma Volumising Eyebrow fixer*

Powders
MAC eye shadows (Omega, Cork, Charcoal Brown, Brun)
Louise Young Essential Eye Palette

Gels
Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow Pomade*
Diego Della Parma Water Resistant Cream Brow Liner*

Sukin Purifying Facial Masque

I was sent this so long ago, when I had just had Jim and my skin was peak-tomato and I wanted to try everything and anything to make it stop. I used this once, my face went red and angry and I returned it to the 'sad box of things' in my bathroom. Then recently when I decided that doing nothing to my skin wasn't helping at all, I added this mask to my Sunday night skin routine to see if it genuinely did aggravate my face or was it, as I suspected, everything I used that had been making my skin red and sore. I was right, it wasn't the mask, the mask is just lovely and now sometimes I sneak it on in the middle of the week as well as Sunday just for a little mid-week face treat.

Masks are everywhere at the moment - collagen masks, sheet masks, dry sheet masks. Clay masks were huge in 2015/6 and a lot of brands bought out 2 or 3 to be used on different parts of the face at the same time. I've always loved the relaxing ritual of a face mask but rarely see any real results from those I've used at home so I rather got out of the habit of using them*.