5 Key Beauty Items Every Woman Should Carry Around In Her Handbag

My bag is more often than not filled with crap, a trait I get from my mother, who at one point was guilty of carrying around an entire encyclopedia on cheese in the back of her car, till this day no one is really sure how or why it got there....

There are plenty of things that should not be in my bag, however in term of my beauty survival kit, I've got it down.

1) Lip Balm - everyone needs it and at the moment I am SERIOUSLY loving the Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream in stick form - believe the hype it is so brilliant.

2) Small Mascara - When in doubt add more mascara, I like to carry travel size products and at the moment I am currently using the mini size of Benefits cult 'They're Real' mascara. It is so small it would fit in any bag.

3) Concealer - an absolute must have for any needed touch ups, or to simply refreshen up your makeup.

4) Powder - as you all should know, powder is not just for those with oily skin. Powder is great for setting your makeup, making it last all day and also to take away any unwanted shine. My current favourite is the Rimmel London Lasting Finish Powder - so long lasting, great coverage plus it comes with a little compact mirror! MARVELLOUS

5) Deodorant - there is nothing like a quick spritz of deodorant to make you feel all freshened up, so a compact aerosol is always to be found in my handbag.

6) Red Lipstick - probably the least essential in this little roundup, however if I make some last minute plans and I feel underdressed a red lip makes an instant impact with minimal effort. I love the Dior Rouge Lipstick in the shade 999 creamy and comfortable but long lasting with great pigment.

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How Did I Ever Underestimate The Importance Of Blusher?

via : http://wifflegif.com

For the longest time I steered far away from using blush, I've always used bronzer, but I didn't understand why anyone would want to look hot, flustered and flushed.

I truly underestimated the transformative power of blush and the difference it can make to the skin, taking dull, lifeless flat skin and turning it into a luminous fresh youthful base. Your face looks healthier, plumper and more glowing.

Blusher is in fact a sort of beauty SOS saviour, as it is ever so forgiving, helping banish signs of late nights, hangovers or just bad skin days. All are disguised with a pop of blush on the apples of the cheek. When used correctly it adds subtle contours and colouring to the skin.

The trick is all in the application and choosing a flattering shade, to avoid, what makeup artist extraordinaire Charlotte Tilbury describes as 'looking like Aunt Sally'

via : http://fortheloveofkinks.files.wordpress.com

To apply use a soft bristled brush, smile and place the brush directly onto the apple of the skin and apply in circular motions gently sweeping upwards towards the top of the cheekbones. Cream blush is generally applied best with fingers.

A little pop of blush on the apple of the cheeks really can enliven the face and take a flat, ashy complexion and transform it into a healthy perky glow.

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Why You Should Add Olive Oil To Your Bath

I have to admit having a bath is one of my favourite ways to spend a Sunday evening.  There is nothing quite like it, true bliss.

I like to add all sorts of different bath foams, bath bombs and oils, but my most recent discovery has been using olive oil in my bath.

I came across this idea when I read an article that mentioned Italian Beauty Sophia Loren admits to using olive oil in her bath, as part of her beauty routine. Side note, how gorgeous is she?! If it's good enough for Ms Loren, then it's defiantly worth trying it out.

Adding Olive Oil to your bath is in fact an ancient tradition, believed to have been used as a Roman custom, as part of their bathing ritual. The bather would rub the olive oil all over the body, as a substitute for soap, to cleanse their skin and then proceed to scrape off the dirt with a tool called a strigil. After they has finished they would remain in the bath a while longer, allowing any left over oil to soak into the skin.

Simply add a few teaspoons to your bath and follow with a bath product of your choice.

Since adding the olive oil to my bath routine, I have found my skin no longer feels tight or dry but is left feeling soothed, nourished and hydrated.

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                                       imaged sourced from: http://www.vogue.com/

Dressing Table Dreaming

Ever since I first saw this scene in the Parent Trap, when Lindsay Lohan's character is looking round her mother's bedroom, swooning over her mother's beautiful dressing table, I have yearned for one of my own.

Is there anything quite like a dressing table that evokes the image of an old hollywood star applying her signature makeup, think Elizabeth Taylor getting ready in the morning.

via: Pinterest

I love my bedroom, it is my sanctuary and the only room in the house that is all my taste. I perhaps should have entitled this blog post 'Ode to a Dressing Table', because if you can't already tell, I really really love them, despite the fact that they are not the most practical or necessary piece of furniture, it is the piece that gives me the most pleasure.

It saddens me how rare it is to find a dressing table in homes these days, and often if there is one they are there for decorative effect rather than actually used.

Here are a few of my favourites:

                                                    Delphine Shabby Chic Dressing Table

                                                   The French Bedroom Company

                                                                          £675

Toulouse White Dressing Table and Stool

Dunelm

£135.99

Minerva Mirrored Dressing Table

Frances Hunt

£311.20

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Bio Oil Benefits

In the Summer of 2014 I was rushed into hospital for appendicitis, this was extremely inconvenient as I was suppose to be sitting my A Levels 10 days later.

It may sound vain, trivial and frivolous but I once I had had the operation I was particularly anxious to see my scarred stomach. In fact when I first woke up in my post anaesthetic delirium the first words I uttered to the post operative care unit was 'so much for my summer body' and then expressed my annoyance that I had missed the archers.

My point is, I was very hesitant to see what the scarring would be like, as all I had as comparison was my Dad's appendix scar, a huge prominent slash in his stomach, which he has had for over 30 years. Medicine really has come along great lengths, because I left the hospital with 3 small horizontal scars very neatly positioned.

Anyway getting to the point there has been one product that I consider just as responsible as the surgeon for the neatness of my scar and that is Bio Oil.

Expensive but SOSO worth it. Bio Oil has a plethora of benefits for the skin.
Some of which are:

• Helps improve the appearance of scars, stretch marks and uneven skin tone
• Great for Ageing Skin and severely Dehydrated

Bio Oil's advanced formulation includes a PurCellin Oil, Vitamin A & E, Calendular Oil, Lavender Oil, Chamomile Oil and Rosemary Oil. It's non-comedogenic and hyper-allergenic and therefore is suitable of even the most sensitive of skin.

I have been using this for several months applied on everything, from acne scars, stretch marks, healing scars and dry skin and I have really noticed  a difference in my skin.

Don't just take my word for it. Try it out!

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Best Bases for Oily Skin

As nice it would be to have that dewy and light spring skin, for those who has the misfortune of having an oily T-zone it is not really an option.

I have found that for my skin sheer thin layers of foundation work best and concealer can do the hard work.

Here is my Round-Up of Best Bases for Oily Skin:

• Revlon Colour Stay - Specially formulated for combination or oily skin, this oil-free foundation helps control shine all day long. Buildalble in coverage, Revlon Colourstay comes in 13 shades with an SPF of 15 and with a high street price tag it is an all round winner.

• Clinique Anti-Blemish Solutions - Lightweight yet matte in it's finish, Clinque's Anti Blemish Solutions foundation gives the skin a smooth coverage that never looks too chalky and conceals minor and major imperfections.

• Mac Pro-Longwear Concealer - this probably has the most coverage, yet I find if I wear it sheered out over my face it never looks too heavy and still feels comfortable. My only criticism is that I find it can go quite cakey if you wear it with powder.

• Nars All Day Luminous Weightless Foundation - natural-looking coverage with a claimed 16-hour wear, the formula of this Nars foundation is light, yet gives decent coverage and needs very little product to cover the entire face with satisfactory skin-like coverage. 

                                                       

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Current Favourite Non-Fiction Reads

In this digital age it is so easy to get consumed with technology, I for one am guilty and I can often find myself watching something, whilst also on my phone or my computer. For me therefore, I find reading is the only time I really sit down and concentrate on one thing without the distractions of technology.

During my A Levels I really lost my love of reading as it was a pastime so much associated with work that it put me off, however since starting my Internship, which includes an hour long commute  into Central London, I have been reintroduced to the joys of reading.

Whilst I would usually go for Fiction over Non-Fiction here my recent top 3 favourite reads.

1) Not That Kind of Girl - Lena Dunham - If like me you are also a huge fan of the HBO show 'Girls' written by and starring Lena Dunham then it is highly likely this book will be right up your street. Not That Kind of Girl is made up from a collection of essays, Dunham's familiar humour is just as amusing on the page as it is on the screen. Her witty repartee and often shockingly honest account of 'what she's learned' gives an interesting insight into the real persona of Dunham herself.  Empowering, frank and sometimes really quite sad Not That Kind of Girl is certainly one of the most subversive pieces I've read and I have to say I loved it. 

2) Sali Hughes - Pretty Honest - Written by one of the most successful beauty journalists Sali Hughes, Pretty Honest is what I would describe as a Beauty Bible, covering everything from acne, hair removal to what makeup you should wear to certain events. I think one of my favourite things about this book is the overarching principle that challenges the widely shared belief (especially of men) that women who love beauty are frivolous, selfish and stupid. Laced throughout this glorious hardback is touches of Ms Hughes' bold feminist opinions, humour and strict no BS policy. 

3) The Wrong Knickers - Bryony Gordon - Never before have a read something and wished more than ever that I could be friends with the author. In fact Bryony Gordon is quite possibly my favourite journalist, (for the Telegraph) simply because her voice is unlike anyone else's. At the end of last year I actually got the opportunity to go to the Telegraph, and whilst I was waiting in the lobby I saw her, I was so desperate to speak to her but missed my chance (not sure if you can tell, I still regret it), but if I had I would have asked her about how she was coping with having nits as that was what was in her last column was about. It's not just that this book is funny, because of course it is, so funny in fact I was crying on the train whilst trying to stifle my laughter. Gordon recounts the less than glamorous truth of what it is means to be a young single girl in London, with hilarious anecdotes and a touching end it's hard not to love this book.

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