Products du jour

Pinched the theme of this post from Make up and beauty musings. Haven't had time to blog any swatches etc so thought this would be a quick way of giving a little beauty update til the weekend, when I hope to report on some new Guerlain purchases and do a nail of the day.

HAIR
I've recently started using a permanent all over colour on my hair after my 6-month old blond straggly highlights were starting to annoy me. So I've gone for a lovely dark glossy brown with kind of an auburn tint. I was getting a bit frustrated at how quickly the colour faded then realised I wasn't using a colour prolonging shampoo and conditioner (doh!), and so I purchased the Aussie Color Mate range, which is on sale in Boots, Wilkinsons and a few other places at two for £6.

So far I've been really pleased, it smells nice and has brought my color back to life a bit (although those damn highlights are starting to show through again now, what a mistake that was!)

Anyway I'd recommend these for affordable colour care, but I'm definitely no expert in this area, so if any of you other colourers out there have any products you'd care to recommend, suggestions would be gratefully received!

SKIN - FACE
My skincare routine is a bit of a mismas at the moment.. but it seems to be working! After finally, aged 31, learning what my skin type is after a facial (combination), I think I may be now be free of those annoying shiny squares in the middle of my forehead that spoil most of my 'night out' Facebook pics

Ridiculous!

So basically, I had an amazing facial in November at the Decleor spa at the McDonald hotel in Manchester. Afterwards I purchased the Ylang Ylang oil, and since then I've purchased the YY night balm and the Mattifying moisturiser. The oil goes on beneath the moisturiser in the morning and the balm at night. I'm also adding a few drops of Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair over the top. The only problem with this routine at the moment is the lack of SPF, so I'll have to remedy this come spring / summer.

I also had a Dermalogica facial at Renata Brown's wonderful salon in Crystal Palace. My skin still looks clear and quite soft almost a week later, v impressed, and I've been using the Dermalogica pre-cleanse every day, which seems to be working although it does sting my eyes a bit.

Finally I've been using the Kiehls Abyssine eye cream since August, when I finished my tub of hideously expensive Sisley eye cream that didn't really do much for me. My boyfriend actually picked this for my birthday (I said anything Kiehls - I do have a slight obsession - and he remembered that I'd run out of eye cream... good skills I thought!). Actually I really like this - it's so light that at first I didn't think it could be doing anything, but actually it does seem to be moisturising round that area and is a good base for make up and concealer. I do think though that the best thing anyone can do for that area is drink lots of water and get lots of sleep!

MAKEUP
I'm actually trying to give my skin a bit of a break from make up at the mo (sacrilege!), however my fave products at the moment are:

Kiehls Tinted Moisturiser - love this, gives me fresh looking, glowy skin and just enough coverage for broken capillaries, acne scars etc.

By Terry concealer - great undereyes and for any bits the above doesn't quite cover

Nars Amour blush from the Lust for Life palette - gives cheeks a nice, subtle, wintry flush

MAC charcoal brown for my eyebrows, currently in a horrible state as I'm growing them out to get them threaded again!

Nars medea lip laquer, Nars Pigalle lipstick or Shiseido Honey Tea lipstick - nice rosy brown wintry shades (Pigalle is pinker and creamy in texture, Honey tea is glossy) or just my trusty Eight Hour Cream which actually is not quite cutting the mustard in this skin ravaging snow / central heating weather despite it usually being a saviour for my lips in the winter, so I'm on the lookout for a seriously heavy duty lip protectant.

For the evening, I'm also loving Lancomes Blush Subtil highlighter on the cheekbones, can't remember the name but its a shimmering champagne colour, lovely texture, which works very well with Nars' matt brown brush Zen in the hollow when one needs a sharp cheekbone (which we all do from time to time n'est pas??)

Brushes - MAC 266 for brows, my new half price Lancome powder brush, No 7 concealer brush and Ruby and Millie's fab blusher brush are my essentials. I'm on the lookout for a new eyeliner brush - suggestions welcomed again.

And finally my trusty Shu eyelash curlers with, when i feel like it, Lancome Hypnose mascara.

SKIN - BODY
I'm currently trialing Bio-Oil. Having been plagued by stretchmarks on my hips since I was about 13 (unfair I know though thankfully they have faded and not worsened as I've aged), I've always been interested in this oil, and picked some up in Superdrug recently as it was on offer. I haven't tried it on the hips as yet but I am applying it on my chest twice a day (it recommends using it twice a day for three months to see results) to see if it will have any effect on the worsening wizened skin that seemed to appear out of nowhere when I hit 30 - (I blame one very hot holiday in Turkey when I was 16 for this!), as it says the oil helps dehydrated and ageing skin. So I'll update on this in three months perhaps with before and after shots if I'm brave enough! The reviews on MUA for this are pretty mixed so I'm not expecting anything spectacular but we'll see.

I'm also using my Clarins and L'Oreal body scrubs as detailed in my last post, and my Kiehls Hand and Body Lotion with Aloe Vera and Oatmeal which I adore and am going to post in separately shortly, though sadly they've discontinued it in my favourite fragrance, Vanilla. I do need to replace this with the Creme de Corps though as it's another thing not quite cutting the mustard in this horribe winter weather.

Hand cream is Clarins Hand and Nail treatment - nice, pleasant smell and absorbs well but wish it had SPF.

I'm not fussed about shower gel - can't see the point in spending lots of money on something that gets washed away. Boots Botanics do a lovely soft sea sponge though that seems to make it go a lot further.

SCENT
None at the moment as I've lost my beloved Kiehls Original Musk oil!

NAILS
Again having a break but Essie Mink Muffs and OPI A oui bit of red are both recent favourites.

Well that's the closest thing I have to a winter routine. Have made a few exciting new purchases recently so hopefully will get round to blogging about them soon!