Dr Bronners hand sanitiser spray

I have to say before you go any further that this product isnt the easiest to get hold of but i thought id give it a mention anyway, incase like me you are a fan of good hand sanitiser and more importantly if you are a fan of organic products then this may or may not be for you.

This is a product that recently i have been loving it is Dr Bronner's magic all in one organic hand sanitiser spray in lavender.
I got this in a previous Glossybox (beauty box subscription www.glossybox.co.uk)
And I only realy started using this product while on my London trip, although i think i have now tested it out enough as i was constantly using it everytime i got off the train!
It is small enough to carry around with you and has a lovely lavender scent, it doesnt at all smell like strong fumes (like some do) you only need about two sprays for both hands and the best part is that it drys in so fast after rubbing in for a few seconds which is great when on the move and it doesnt leave your hands feeling sticky, they are left feeling soft and doesnt leave too much of a long lasting scent which again is good for every use so you dont have to worry of it rubbing off onto things or if you eat.
If like me you like using a good hand sanitiser or at least something better other than the traditional gels and you are a fan of organic products, then i would recommend this to you, as i said before it isnt the easiest to find a uk stockist but they do have a wide range of products so if you do decide to buy one and buy something else to try aswel.
This is said to be around £3.99.

Stockist of Dr Bronners products are: http://www.kinetic4health.co.uk
http://www.theremustbeabetterway.co.uk

www.drbronnner.com

Hermes leather forever exhibition

I thought i would do a post on a Hermes exhibition i went to in London, it may not be that interesting but you dont have to read it.

Hermes is one of the worlds most iconic and Loved designers, it has been around for 175 years! Most famous now for there handmade hand bags but now hosting everything from silk scarves, ties, jewellery to shoes (everything) there most famous handbag is the Birken which unless you are a very rich person and or are lucky enough to actualy find one as they sell out straight away, most celebs or rich people have theres specialy ordered in.
This Leather Forever Hermes exhibition explores the 175 year history and fascination with creating designer objects from leather. Held in the Royal Academy of Art's sister space, 6 Burlington Gardens, this is a chance for fans of the Hermes brand to get up close and personal with some of the most stylish bags in the world.

My mum is a massive fan of this brand and has over the years purchased a few items, bags, scarves and jewellery (ill hopefully inherit these lol) as my mum is now well known to staff in Glasgow she was kindly offered two tickets to the Hermes opening exhibition 'Leather Forever' in London.
I was lucky enough to be able to go down with her for this so we made a day and a half trip down to London.

After spending a day wandering round london and shopping - i was very well behaved in the shopping side as nothing realy caught my eye so the only things i realy bought was a Harrods patent carry bag and a gift for my hubby - mum on the other hand treated herself in the Hermes shop.. Ill say no more lol.
While we were in the shop though the kind lady serving gave us the name of a restaurant to go to for dinner before the event, it was straight accross the road from the exhibition hall which sounded ideal since it was raining and we dont know London well. So i got a table booked and we headed home with only an hour to get ready! Nightmare but hey ho.

The restaurant was called Cecconis, the food was gorgous and the staff were great, as i said this was straight accross from the event so we had our meal and nipped accross the road just in time for it starting.
The place was full of people that looked very 'well to do' if you know what i mean and i think everyone except me had something Hermes on, even the men had Hermes ties and two guys had printed shirts and handbags! mum did offer me a bag to use but i dont know why i said "no it was ok" proberly scared i damaged it! (i pottered about with my primark special lol)
So as we arrived and took a glass of champagne we headed up the grand staircase and stood at the top to hear a speach from the three main owners of Hermes and how they put this event together and there inspiration for the event. After that they directed everyone to start of the exhibition and everyone strolled round the rooms eyeing everything up, they had rooms with samples of the leather they use, they had two people demonstration how they make the handbags this was facinating! Everything is made by hand, even all the stitching was double stitched by the makers, they also had bags from there Paris history archives dating back to 1930's!
After walking round everything they had two rooms where everyone could mingle and a buffet (it looked amazing, to bad we had ate already) we went round again when it was quiet then hung around for a bit but as everyone there mostly new each other from somewhere or are socialite minglers wed had our view and decided to head back to the hotel as it had been a long day and we seen everything there was to be seen.

This event is open to the public now for a few more days and is free entry so if anyone is around london i would recommend popping in

Exfoliating your skin

Exfoliating can help remove dead skin cells that dull your complexion, in exfoliating this exposes the healthy, vibrant, smooth skin underneath.

I would only realy recommend exfoliating once a week as you dont want to over stress and end up damaging the skin all you are looking to do is lift the dead skin from the surface of your skin.

Its best to start by gently dry brushing your skin with a body brush before you get in the shower, It may sound strange but brushing can help stimulate blood flow, when brushing always do this in circular motions and upwards always towards your heart.
This brings nourishment to your skin and removes some surface flakes of any dead skin cells.
Its best to use a loofah or a brush with natural bristles, you can find these brushes in the bath section of your supermarket or local boots or the bodyshop do some great choices.

Next it also good to exfoliate the skin regulary, there are many types of scrubs on the market and choosing the right one is a matter of personal preference. Many scrubs incorporate aromatherapy, so pick one with a scent you enjoy and be careful f you have sensitive skin, look for scrubs that are unscented and hypoallergenic. (Don't use body scrubs on your face — the abrasives can be too harsh.)

After dry brushing massage the body scrub into your dry skin, then turn on the shower and rinse away the scrub and those built-up dead skin cells along with it.

Always give yourself a gentle lather with your daily cleanser and it is a must to follow up with full head-to-toe moisturiser and realy let this soak in.


If your skin will be exposed to the sun, add sunscreen 20 to 30 minutes before you head outside.
Sunscreen is always a good idea, and it’s particularly important after exfoliating, which exposes fresh new skin that's especially prone to sun damage.

My Favourite Avon blusher/bronzer

I have been using one of Avons blushers for a good month now and I love it, It is advertised as a blusher but I have very fair skin and I prefer to use it as a bronzer.
It is the True colour blush - I have it in Earthen Rose, It comes in nice black packaging with a mirror and small brush inside (perfect for on the go application) and it is a good size to have around with you in your bag. The earthen rose shade is more of a mid toned kind of between a bronzer and rose blush compared to the other shades that are very much blush pink/coral colours. 
I personaly use it to dust over the outer area of my cheek bones and temples of the forehead, it has no shimmer at all so this can also be used for contouring the face, you get 6g of product which is great and even better at the moment Avon have it on offer for £4 normally £6 so it is a great time to buy while this offer is on.
As I said before I have been using it for a good few weeks now every day and it looks like ive not used any which is always a great sign that it will last well and at this price you cant realy go wrong, it does go onto the brush very lightly which suits my fair skin but this is also very buildable if you like alot of colour.
Great product and well worth trying, I have attached a picture of the product advertised by the gorgous Alesha Dixon and a link to avons latest brochure.

If anyone would like an Avon book delivered to there doorstep by there own personal rep in your area contact me with your details and I will arrange this for you - all orders are placed from the comfort of your own home and delivered to your doorstep free of charge.

Click on this link below to view Avons latest brochure:

http://www.e-pages.dk/uk_avon/416/

Steps when applying makeup

Here are my tips and steps i find give the best results when applying makeup. Follow these steps after your have cleansed and moisturised your skin (see my previous blog for these tips)

If you are lucky enough to be blessed with clear skin or are just having a 'clear skin day' then you should stick with a tinted moisturiser as there is no need to be caking on makeup when it is not needed, if you wear foundation then apply this mainly just to the areas it is needed at - any areas of discolouration or redness, add this in which ever way your prefer, finger tips are fine especialy when you dont have much time but if you want a flawless finish then i would always recommend a foundation brush or stippling brush and apply the product a little at a time so not to get any streaking, the best technique is to pat the foundation into the skin and use small circular motions when using a stipping brush.
(with foundation always get matched to the correct shade for your skin tone)

Now i would add concealer to the places where needed only - try to use a shade as close to your foundation colour, you can pat this on with clean finger tips or use a concealer brush for more of an accurate application.

For the under eye area you want a concealer or highlighter depending on how much coverage you need, the concealer should be around two shades lighter than your skin/foundation.
Place this only under the eye at the first third of the area nearest your inner eye area (or to cover any dark circles if needed) you dont want to apply lots of concealer all over the under eye area just where it is needed, be very gentle and only lightly pat the product onto the area with your ring finger.

To help eye makup last even longer and especialy if you have oily eyelids a great tip is to add a touch of concealer to the eyelid as a base for any eyeshaddow, this gives it something to hold onto and not move around the eyelid.

Next up i like to add a tiny touch of highlighter to the face, only apply a
touch to the tops of the cheekbones, down the centre of your nose, the tops of your eyebrows and above the cubids bow on your top lip.
This all just helps give a slight glow to the areas where you would naturaly glow from and makes the face looking instantly fresher (remember only the tiniest amount is needed)

Next up if you have oily skin then i would recommend powdering the skin, also if you want your makeup to last even longer then i would follow this step.

The best powder to use is a colourless translusant loose powder and a big fluffy powder brush, you only want to use one light dusting over the areas where you get oily if you do - normaly the T zone (over the forehead, nose and cheeks)
It is realy important to only apply a tiny amount to set the makeup (if you use to much certain product make you look like a ghost in phographs as the flash makes the product stand out)

Then a good way to help slim the face down is contouring the face (i will do a more in depth contouring blog post)
You take a non shimmer bronzer and apply with a small angled brush only to the under neath hollow of the cheekbones and blend only to the outer area of the cheek next to the ears, this adds a shaddow making the face look slimmer and cheekbones defined.
Dust a touch of bronzer to the tops of the forehead and underneath of the jawbone area - all around the outer area of the face.

Finaly blusher if you want or you can be fine just using a touch of the bronzer the the cheeks, when applying blush you want to use a small amount, preferably with a small brush or finher tips to pat on. Add a small amount to the cheeks only and blend back towards the cheekbones and where you have added bronzer, this all should look nice and blending together only giving you a tiny pop of colour where you would normaly flush.

With any of these steps always remember a little at a time, it is always easier to add more on that it is to remove so take your time and you will get great resluts.

Now you are ready to apply eyehaddoe and lipstick of your choice- i will do a post on different eyeshaddow techniques

The best order to apply skincare

It is realy important when using skincare that you apply them in the correct order to give the best results.

You should always start by cleansing your face to ensure you start with a clean base and removing anything that may clog your pores.
Next add a toner if you use (toners are great for helping clear away anything that has been left on the skin even after cleaning (alot of people dont bother with a toner- i personaly like it) you want to now add any kind of serum and anything medicated, such as creams for treating acne or rosacea, this all goes on next to skin, this way the active ingredients can penetrate properly into the skin, If your treatment cream is heavy then youll want to let this soak into the skin for a few minutes first before the next step.

Next is the best time to apply a sunscreen to make sure your skin is protected - alot of people dont do this step but it is recommended to alawys wear some sort of sun protection (even if the weather isnt sunny) - you can save time and money with a moisturizer with an SPF added or even a tinted moisturizer with SPF (if you dont need a foundation)

While the cream is settling into the skin I would then apply eye cream all around the eye area, from underneath where the eye bags normaly are right up to the brow bone.
When applying eye crean you want to always use your ring finger as this is the finger with the lightest touch and you only want to pat the product onto the area gently- no rubbing this can seriously cause broken vessels under the eye and make the eyes look even darker underneath and give off a constant dark blue shaddow.

Next and last step is to apply a moisturiser if you dont have a built in spf as previously mentioned, let this set in the skin then you are ready to apply your makeup (if needed)

Check out my next blog post on the best step i like to use when applying makeup, to give the best results.

Tips for long lasting lipstick

Here are some tips on helping your lipstick last longer.

First start by appying a little bit of foundation or concealer to bare lips, this will reduce some of the natural colour in your lips to help your chosen lipstick show better and last even longer.

Next dab on a little colorless lip balm to keep your lips moist and blot with a tissue, Line your lips with a nude lip liner and then fill the whole lip.

Apply a thin layer of your chosen lipstick from the tube or for more precise control apply with a lip brush.

Blot your lips with a tissue, then lightly dust on a little translucent powder to set the color. Repeat the application, blotting and powdering a second time to increase the staying power and saturation of the color.

This does seem like a long process but it realy does set your lipstick and helps it stay in place so much longer