March Madness

I thought I ought to write a quick post to explain my recent blogging absence. Without me really intending to, I've managed to take a couple of weeks off.

March tends to be a busy month for us but this year seems to have been busier than usual. So far I've had my parents to stay, celebrated my birthday, Mother's Day, missed my blogging anniversary, painted four rooms and a hallway, had some lovely friends to visit and survived a really upsetting assessment appointment for one of my children. I've also attended my first event in ages, volunteered myself for some fundraising work at nursery and had a brief dalliance with the idea of being an Avon lady. There's been tears and laughter but not much time for writing and the never ending bad weather hasn't helped much either.

New purchases

Although it's been busy, makeup and skin care hasn't been entirely forgotten. I've bought a few new bits recently and I've also started trialling some PR samples for review. I'm still focusing on using things up: the Avene Anti-Rougeurs moisturiser is my most recent empty and I'm really close to finishing the Emma Hardie Cleansing Balm, Live Native Exfoliating Cleanser and Pai Rice Plant & Rosemary BioAffinty Tonic. So there are definitely plenty of posts in the offing, I also have pictures and swatches ready for a little taupe eyeshadow comparison (see sneak peek below). Hopefully I can ignore the call of the paint brush long enough to get some writing to go with the pictures!

Testing, testing...

Empties and almost-empties

Have you had a good March so far? Any new good purchases to share?

The one where I pretend I'm 'Lost'!

It's my turn to do the Beauty Spotlight Team's Desert Island post and you're about to be subjected to my Lost fantasy. Of course, I have cast myself as Kate Austen (I have a very active imagination) and in order to maintain the interest of the two men in my life, I figured some of my favourite beautifiers might come in handy. Yes, I know they'd fallen from the sky, had no access to a bathroom and were running from a smoke monster but please don't try and tell me that Kate was going completely au naturel. I've seen those lashes!

So, if I was Kate, these are the makeup and beauty items I would have packed in my backpack (prior to the handcuffs) then carefully retrieve from the plane wreckage. When I wasn't suturing Jack's wounds or hiking through the rainforest of course.

NARS Pure Radiant Tinted Moisturiser
This was my summer base and I think it would make an excellent desert island foundation. I deliberated over whether to take my BECCA Luminous Skin instead as it gives a sheerer coverage than the NARS but I find my skin gets upset if I wear the BECCA everyday (I suspect it's the sunscreen ingredients). The NARS tinted moisturiser also has an SPF of 30.

rms beauty 'Un' Cover Up Concealer
I spent rather a long time dithering over which concealer to take but I decided on the rms beauty concealer because it's creamy enough to use on the undereye area as well as blemishes. My old favourite RMK Super Basic Liquid Concealer would have been a good alternative too.

BECCA Turkish Rose or Hourglass Rouge Cheek Stain
I wanted to take a fairly natural looking blusher that would be easy to apply with my fingers. Turkish Rose immediately sprang to mind but after I had taken the pictures, I realised my Hourglass Aura Cheek Stain in Rouge might have been a better choice. The cheek stain has more of a translucent quality than Turkish Rose and is a little brighter, plus it's more likely to stay put in the heat and humidity.

Ilia Arabian Knights
Like the concealer, it was very hard to pick only one of my lipsticks. I have so many lovely sheer, moisturising lipsticks but I chose Arabian Knights because I felt it would keep my lips in the best condition and it's a nice bright berry shade. RBR Murmurings came a very close second.

Mascara
The Maybelline Falsies Flared isn't particularly a favourite, it's just what I'm currently using, but there's no way I'm going to be stranded without a tube of mascara. Max Factor Masterpiece or Hourglass Film Noir are my personal favourites.

MAC Teddy Eye Kohl
Although I do have a great number of brown pencils, Teddy is the one I'd choose to be stranded with. It looks great worn as a smudgy line, pairs well with Solstice Halcyon and it also makes a good base for a smoky eye.

Customised eyeshadow palette
Aren't you feeling better about me de-facing all those pretty Rouge Bunny Rouge eyeshadow pots now? This palette includes some of my most favourite eyeshadows ever, namely RBR Solstice Halycon, Delicate Hummingbird and Kjaer Weis Wisdom. I've also recently discovered that Gracious Arasari is an excellent colour for blending out dark colours at the crease. Unfortunately, sticking to only 12 items meant that I have been restricted to the small travel brush that sits in my palette. It's a good job I'm going for a no makeup look really...

Pencil Sharpener
It was a shame to lose one of my items on such a practical necessity but as I'm no good at whittling, I figured it had to come along.

Tweezers
I had to do some cheating^✝ to get this into my bag. The tweezers fought off stiff competition from brow pencils and brushes. Without tweezers, I fear the rogue hairs would gradually start to take over my face and I don't recall Kate ever looking like a Yeti.

Emma Hardie Cleansing Balm*
I felt it would be pointless taking along all this makeup without remembering to pack something to take it all off again. I find this balm takes absolutely everything off, including eye makeup with minimal effort which is pretty convenient if you're washing your face in a rainforest.

Flannel
We have another necessity taking up space that might have been filled with something else more exciting. However, if I pack the Emma Hardie, I need the flannel too.

Avene Antirougeurs Light Moisturiser SPF20
Like the mascara, the Avene Antirougeurs isn't necessarily a favourite product but it does contain an SPF. Plus, it would help to tame the telltale red cheeks once I started hitting the duty free bottles. Oh wait, maybe Kate didn't actually do that...

It was extremely difficult to stick to just 12 items, particularly when you realise that so many items require accessories to accompany them. Kate was a very resourceful girl though, so remaining in character, I can't promise I won't go back and rifle through other people's bags later to look for shampoo, razors and a couple of makeup brushes. Don't judge me!

^✝ Cheating
I mentioned cheating and I thought I better explain myself as this was an integral part of my desert island preparation! Rather than use up one of my 12 items with my Shu Uemura brow pencil, I decided to dye my eyebrows. I can credit Pixiwoo's Evangaline Lilly tutorial for planting the idea in my head. I've never dyed my brows before and I was nervous that it could be a disaster but I'm actually very pleased with the results. If I could have added a 13th item into my bag, I would have taken the kit with me to top up. I used the Eylure Dylash kit in Dark Brown for reference.

* I received the Emma Hardie Cleansing Balm as a press sample.

Guest Post: Why Avene Thermal Water is not just water in a spray bottle, and other miracle skincare stories

We have a guest post today from the very lovely Musing about Beauty. Mariella lives in Belgium and I secretly hoped she would pick a European pharmacy favourite as her subject. She hasn't disappointed! I've got a cup of tea on hand and I'm about to settle down for an interesting read.

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I was thrilled when our lovely host invited me to guest post here, and my first question was: what shall I tell them about. «The world is your oyster, subject wise» she said. There, I had a learned a new English expression, yet I was still subject free. Until I remembered one of my pet peeves that regularly comes up in YouTube videos and beauty blog: people saying that Avène Thermal Water is just water in a spray bottle.

Actually, people will say that about pretty much any thermal water in spray bottle, and I don’t know about all the others, but if we’re speaking about Avene, they’re wrong. And I thought it would be good to explain why, given that I’m currently using that product myself at this very moment and it is my saviour in a time of very upset skin.

So, what is «thermal water» exactly.

In order to be declared thermal, a spring water must be naturally mineralized and suitable for therapeutic use. It has a particular content in minerals and trace elements, as well as a particular temperature and flow, which all contribute to the healing properties. It must also have verified results on particular skin disorders.

The Avene Spring Water comes from very deep in the ground and is from very ancient rainfalls, yet there is still a huge quantity available (good for us). It undergoes no chemical treatment so its composition is not altered.

What is the Avene Spring Water good for?

Avène is a little thermal city in France, and each year, thousands of people go there to treat their skin issues. The Avene water is proven to reduce inflammation and irritation (itching), and to accelerate healing. It is particularly useful for:
- burn-related scarring
- follow-up to dermatological treatments
- psoriasis
- eczema and dermatitis
- ichtyosis (a hereditary condition of dry skin with lots of itching)

The Avène water has been used for over 200 years in skin healing treatments and has been declared of public benefit in 1874; it is well-known by dermatologists and cures at the Avène Thermal Stations are mostly prescribed by a doctor.

Ok, but what’s in it for me?

If you get Avene Thermal Water Spray just to set your makeup, clearly, you’re spending unnecessary money on something that you won’t find special.
However, if you suffer from dryness, sensitivity or eczema, you can definitely include this water in your daily skincare routine to help relieve your skin.
Simply spray the water on your face after your cleansing routine, and gently pat a towel to dry your skin (no rubbing, ladies, it’s irritating!), then follow with your skincare products (and if necessary, use the Avene products recommended for your skintype and condition: these also contain the Avene Spring Water)

Being seriously addicted to trying new beauty products, it is bound to happen that I, once in a while, would get a reaction to something new that I am trying. Every time that happens, I remove the culprit from my face and spray with Avene Thermal water - it always helps my skin calm down really quickly.

If the water is particularly hard where you live, you can use the Avene Water to rinse off your face after you’ve washed it with tap water: it will help your skin restore its balance. If you suffer from dryness a lot, you can even skip tap water altogether and cleanse your skin using micellar water then Avene Water, and you’re good to go!
I have actually been doing that myself lately, as my skin was seriously dehydrated after Winter and the tap water was really giving me a hard (no pun intended) time. It made such a difference over the course of 3-4 days, it is truly amazing!

It’s a kind of magic.

The composition of the Avene Thermal Water being well-known, scientists have recreated it artificially, which is actually pretty easy to do.
It turned out the copycat water just didn’t do the job.
It looks like, when it comes to thermal water, the real deal is more than the addition of its components. How interesting is that?