Spotlight on Flint+Flint: A new hero brand!

Flint+Flint is an exciting new beauty brand, home grown right here in the UK. Skincare experts, Adam and Maxine, developed the brand after finding that none of the skincare products available on the market really did what they promised. They set out to make their own brand that really works, and developed entirely in the UK.

These are some of my favourite of their products, all available on their website

The Everyday Wash £27

How nice is the packaging, as well?

 

Sometimes washing your face can seem like a bit of a chore, but with the right cleanser it can be my favourite part of the day. I love that feeling of clean scrubbed skin. This cleanser contains glycolic acid which I swear by for healing and renewing the skin. And unlike other glycolic cleansers I’ve used, this one actually smells nice! One of the other active ingredients in this cleanser is something called Vital ET which a form of vitamin E that has anti-erythemal (anti-redness) and anti-inflammatory properties. After using this cleanser I did notice my skin redness seemed reduced.

The Lip Hero £12

I am so excited about this product. Not only does this balm plump and volumise, it also improves the shape of your lips, making the outline clearer and is supposed to even have an anti-ageing effect. I didn’t know a product could do this! I will monitor it’s effects over the next few weeks and keep you posted about my lip condition. It has a gloss like feel to it going on to the lips and a rose scent. At £12 it’s a no brainer.

For my american readers, they do ship internationally (yay!). I suspect big things for this brand, so snap these products up while you can!

 

Emmys 2014 Beauty Roundup

Last night, the 66th Primetime Emmy awards, saw the coming together of some of Televisions biggest stars (even if they did forget about Broad City). I could fill a whole separate blog talking about the shows, winners and nominees (I am TV’s biggest fan) but I’ll just stick to my favourite hair and makeup looks of the night. 

10. Edie Falco

I thought Edie looked gorgeous last night. Her tan perfectly complimented her sunkissed highlights, and she kept it glam with some fluttery lashes and a nude lip. Very Flattering.

9. Mayim Bialik

I love this grecian hair on Blossom – I mean Amy – I mean Mayim! 

8. Mindy Kaling

Even though The Mindy Project didn’t receive any nominations, Mindy still won in terms of beauty. The sixties beehive hair (always shiny) plus blushing pink cheeks and smokey eyes equal one beautiful Mindy. 

7. Christine Baranski

My personal favourite star of The Good Wife looked chic and classy last night. Her signature hair was as always coiffed to perfection and her makeup is glam but understated. 

6. Christina Hendricks

I love this boho hair with the sheer blushed lips and coppery smokey eyes. Nothing could look better with her hair and skin tone. She looks beautiful. 

5. Julie Bowen

Peng. I really like this edgy version of the classic bob. It looks fierce with her smokey eyes.

4. Keke Palmer

Keke’s hair and makeup is ON. POINT. I love the double nose piercings and the sleek long ponytail, plus the smokey cat eye to top it all off. 

3. Kerry Washington

This ombre grown out bob is everything! And who would have thought matte denim blue eyeshadow would go so well with an orange dress? I need to find out what eyeshadow her makeup artist used.

2. Sarah Hyland

My beauty winner. The simple hair donut looks gorgeous with Haley’s blonde highlights. Plus we can see all of her beautiful face. Her eyebrows look full without looking fake, her lashes and golden brown eyeshadow on the upper outer corner of her lids accentuate her hazel eyes and her lipstick is the perfect ‘Kylie Jenner’ shade. This is my favourite look of the entire evening, bar one..

1. Bryan Cranston’s Moustache 

VMAs 2014 Beauty Roundup

Last night/this morning (depending on what part of the ,world you’re in) it was the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards, nicknamed by Beyoncé fans as the BeyMAs. And you can see why, with her 17 minute performance and teary award acceptance. But enough people are talking about Bey today, so I’m going to focus on the other stars of last night. The BEAUTY stars.

The Ageless Beauties 

JLo

Lets be serious, JLo never misses a beat when it comes to looking knock out gorgeous. So it’s no surprise she’s on this list. I love the purple smokey eyes with pink lipstick and a glowing cheekbone. And with the complexity of her dress, she is keeping it simple with her hair. It works. 

Gwen Stefani 

I think it’s fair to say these women look even better now than they did in the noughties. Gwen looks great matching her lips to her outfit and with her signature blonde hair. Of course, she has one of the most perfect faces of all time so I don’t think it is possible for her to look bad. 

The Model Chicks

Jourdan Dunn

That wig though. Such a cute style. 

Chanel Iman

Again, a beauty rocking some shorter locks. Is this going to be the new trend? And Chanel is giving us her signature smokey eyes and barely there lips. I’m not disappointed. 

Ireland Baldwin

I couldn’t find any close up pictures of Ireland’s makeup last night, but these two shots really capture her glow. She is also sporting a full pair of top lashes, sixties style. Again, Ireland is one of those girls who always look stunning, makeup or no makeup. 

The Talent

Iggy Azalea 

BAM! That’s the sound of Iggy knocking us all out with her body-ody-ody. I love this hair on her, and with all her natural beauty all she relied on was a pair of fluttery lashes and let her beauty speak for itself

Holland Roden

I don’t even know who this girl is except that she is some kind of actress, but this look blew me away. Her coppery brown smokey eye with her natural matte lips perfectly compliment her hair and skin tone. This girl got it 100% right. 

‘Other’

Kylie Jenner

Kylie’s many makeup artists always get it right. Whether those lips are surgically enhanced or it’s just the effects of a good lip liner, she looks stunning. Her hair is in her usual bob, and her lips are a slightly darker shade of her normal nude, and from the neck up she looks fantastic. 

‘Muva’ Rosebud (aka Amber Rose)

Her dress may have been a little controversial, but she kept it simple and classy with the face. 

A nice glow, some pink lips and cheeks and a couple of sets of eyelashes. Can’t go wrong. Let’s hope it was nice and warm in Hollywood last night. 

So those are my beauty favourites of last night. Join me tomorrow to discuss the Emmy’s! 

 

Clinique Haul

Clinique have currently got some great products on the go, some new and some classic. After a recent splurge there, I thought I’d share with you some of the great products I copped that I’m really excited about. 

Firstly, their High Impact Curling Mascara in Black

After a recent post about my favourite mascaras a friend told me Clinique mascara was her favourite. I had never tried any Clinique makeup before, but now I have tried this mascara I think I am a convert. I just tried it without curling my eyelashes and the specially designed wand really gripped the natural curve of my lash line so they looked great after one coat. 

The most exciting product of this haul is the Almost Lipstick

It looks scary but it doesn’t actually appear on the lips as that colour. It is very sheer and is designed to enhance your natural lip colour. To quote clinique “When pure pigment merges with the unique, natural tone of your lips, you’ve met your match” . This product looks different on everyone, so it really gives you your own unique colour. 

(Top: Clinique Curling Mascara. Bottom: Almost Lipstick)

I also got a powder blush in the colour ‘aglow’. It is peach toned so now that my tan is fading it won’t look so good, but the product itself is highly pigmented with a shimmer.

The pictures do not do justice to the glow. 

If you buy any two Clinique products right now you get all these free, plus some more face goos. Or you can buy them individually at retail price (Mascara: £18, Lipstick: £17.50, Blush: £22) 

 

 

The Big Debate: Applying makeup in public.

Since the Queen was spotted re applying her lipstick at the Commonwealth games, it has re-sparked the public grooming debate. 

I love this picture, because if you ask me, The Queen is the be all and end all of etiquette, and if she thinks it’s ok, it’s ok, okay? Debate over! As long as it doesn’t involve bodily fluids or depilation I don’t see the harm in a bit of touching up on the go. People would have you believe that the difference of opinion on this matter is generational, which could be a legit argument (my dad certainly does not approve when he sees girls applying their makeup on the tube on their way to work) but the Queen is certainly of a different generation to myself and she clearly approves. 

If you ask me, the ability to apply perfect liquid liner on the tube deserves to be applauded, not frowned on. Makeup is not a secret, so why must we hide our makeup regimes like it is something to be ashamed of? If we don’t wear it, we get just as judged. But if we wear it with pride, that’s a problem too? No. If I am on a long train journey, for example, and I want to brush my hair and make sure my lipstick is perfect before I arrive at my destination, I refuse to be shunned to the train toilets to do it. 

And if a girl chooses that extra 15 minutes in bed in the morning because she decided she will do her makeup on the tube, that’s just good sense. My dad tried to explain why he didn’t like it, and drew the comparison that it is like a man shaving on the tube. But shaving is not the male equivalent of applying makeup. Applying makeup is hygienic and doesn’t leave stubble all over the person next to you. The truth is, it doesn’t hurt anyone, you will never see those people again, and if people don’t like it they can look away or read their neighbour’s paper. 

Makeup is not our secret shame. It is our war paint. And our days of hiding it are over! Get used to it, world. 

 

(picture courtesy of womendoingtheirmakeuponthetube.tumblr.com) 

The best painted Queens in Drag Race herstory

While all us RuPaul fans are waiting for series 7 of Drag Race to start, I thought I’d crown my own winner of each season…for their makeup. Drag makeup is a lot more complex than anything girls have to go through on a saturday night. Drag Queens have to transform their face from male to female which takes a lot of illusion and painting skills. Just watch any of the many transformation videos available on youtube. In fact I learnt some of my best makeup tricks from Drag Queens, but I have never had to know the ordeal of covering my beard, glueing my eyebrows down or contouring my face from a male shape to a fierce female. 

So without further ado, here are my list of America’s Next MAKEUP Superstars, season by season.

Starting with Season One:

Nina Flowers

Nina’s punk glam look went down very well with the judges, and she made it into the final two. She did admit to getting up at 5am the morning the contest started to paint her face, but it pays off. Her face is a work of art. 

Season Two:

Raven

Raven knew how to beat a face. She looks like a Mac face chart. 

Season Three: 

Being a professional makeup artist, Raja had all the other Queens beat in terms of makeup. I rooted for her the second she walked in the door.

Season Four:

Chad Michaels 

Oh, season four. This may be my favourite season. I was a Sharon Needles girl from day one, however on this series, nobody beat a face like Chad and her Cher realness. 

Season Five:

Detox

Purely for this black and white reunion look. My jaw hit the floor. Also, Alaska should have won…but that’s none of my business

Season Six:

Ornacia

No, I’m totally kidding. I would have say the best makeup of this season goes to:

Milk

For doing something different.

But out of all these, I have to say my over all Makeup Superstar has to be

Raven!

Thankyou Drag Race for continuing to inspire, can’t wait to see was Season 7 brings. 

 

Half a Top Knot

Continuing the theme of 90s hairstyles that have come back in fashion, I present the half top knot:

 

All the cool kids are doing it. It’s pretty simple too:

1. Brush your hair and take the top section of hair that you want to tie and brush out all the knots

2. Tie it into a ponytail

3. Like with the space buns, twist the ponytail and wrap it round the base. 

4. Secure with another tie and pin any unruly bits. 

It looks great on these cool kids, however whenever I try it, it looks really unflattering. I know the point of the hairstyle isn’t to look ‘pretty’ but sometimes a girl wants to. So for a much more flattering look, albeit less 90s and more 60s, just do steps 1 and 2. 

Less ‘trendy’ but way more flattering and pretty. 

Once you’ve followed steps 1 and 2, make sure the ponytail is secured high up with lots of volume and then just back comb the hell out of the rest of your hair for a classic pretty 60s look. Have a play around and see which style suits you best 🙂

 

Space Buns

I am so in love with the modern day revival of the 90s trend, Space Buns. 

I think they’re cute, youthful and a perfect solution to a bad hair day (of which I have plenty)

They’re also pretty easy to do on long or short hair. In fact they might actually be easier with short hair because that makes for smaller buns whereas with long hair if you don’t wrap them tight enough you could end up looking like Princess Leia

Oh, Liz.

To achieve the look,

1. Part your hair in the middle and brush out all the knots till it is as smooth as your can get it.

2. Brush your hair into two high pigtails.

3. Twist the hair and wrap it round the base of the pigtail, where the hair band is.

4. To secure, tie with another hair band.

5. You can secure them even more by pinning the base and pinning down any bits of hair that are trying to unravel. 

Super cute. 

Go forth and have nineties fun. 

Top 10 Beauty Hacks

A beauty hack is a time or money saving beauty tip, and there are plenty out there. Here is a list of my personal top 10:

1. Making lipstick out of Crayola

I did a post about this a while back, where I made my own lipsticks out of Crayola crayons. They weren’t the best quality lipsticks I’ve ever used but great if you need a really specific weird colour, say for halloween, that you will never use again and you don’t want to spend any money. Check out the link to see how it’s done. 

2. Use hairspray instead of setting spray to set your makeup.

This really shouldn’t be done…but I am not willing to spend £25 on a setting spray when a £4 bottle of hairspray will do an even better job. Just make sure you close your eyes when you spray and then walk to another part of the room when your finished so you don’t have to breath it in. It’s not good for your skin, but it will do in a pinch. 

3. Out of dry shampoo? Try talcum powder.

Dry shampoo is basically just talcum powder in an aerosol. So when you’re in between bottles talc will do the same job. Make sure you rub it in really well to absorb all the grease and you don’t have powder roots. Also dry shampoo works better when applied the night before. It gives it time to absorb the grease.

4. Baby Shampoo as brush cleaner.

I’ve mentioned this before, but baby shampoo can work really well for cleaning your brushes. Just see my previous post on how to use it.

5. Use Toothpaste to dry out spots

Any time I’ve gone to stay somewhere and forgotten my spot treatment, that’s when I am bound to breakout. If I can’t find any replacement I use something found in every household. Toothpaste. Just a tiny dab on each spot should dry it out and reduce redness when nothing else is available.

6. Use scotch tape to get the perfect eye makeup.

7. Make any lipstick matte with translucent powder.

After applying lipstick, put a single ply of tissue paper over your lips and brush over them with a translucent setting powder. This will mattify your lipstick and make it last longer. 

8. Make your eyelash curler into a heated eyelash curler. 

Put it in your bra while you’re getting ready, or blast it with a hair dryer before using it to give your lashes a longer lasting curl.

9. Use an old T shirt instead of a towel to dry your hair

Sometimes towel drying your hair can cause frizz and split ends. A t shirt will absorb the moisture without breaking or damaging the hair. Also if you use sunbeds, wrap a t shirt round your hair before using one to protect it from the heat. 

10.  If you’ve run out of your expensive mascara, try keeping the brush and using it in a normal drugstore brand formula. Often it is the brush design you are paying for, not the mascara itself so this will give you a similar effect while saving up for a new one. 

Happy hacking!

Review: Clinique Anti-Blemish treatment

A couple of months ago I went on holiday and forgot all my skin care goos. I was panicking because a week without my various acids, peels and lotions and I’d go back to looking like the pimply teenager I used to be. At the airport I did an emergency run for something spot related. The cheapest product I could find (£18.50 RRP but about £15 at the airport) was the Clinique All-Over Clearing Treatment from the Anti Blemish Solutions line, which incidentally I had been meaning to try. 

Unfortunately, during that week away my skin was terrible. I had more spots that I’d had in about 5 years, and I put it down to the my fancy new Clinique cream not working and when I got home I stopped using it and returned all my old products with vigour to get rid of all those newly acquired spots. It turns out what I thought were spots were just blocked pores from 7 days of sweaty sunbathing and sun tan lotion. (I am yet to find a sun tan lotion for oily skin that won’t cause breakouts.)

So when I ran out of my usual overnight clearing cream I returned to the Clinique one to give it a proper chance in a home environment. And it worked like a charm! 

I am using the Mario Badescu Drying Lotion (a previous Miracle Product of the Month)less and less because I have no spots I need to get rid of. This cream seems to work by preventing spots from appearing in the first place so that I don’t have to deal with them or the messy scars they leave behind. Not only that, but I feel like my old scars are reduced, but that may just be the healing power of time working it’s magic. It does have a bit of a funky smell, but the kind of medical/clinical smell that makes you think it must be the real deal. I’d be very interested in trying the rest of the Anti-Blemish range. 

Overall, I give this product an 8.5/10 for spot treatment ability, a 6/10 for price and a bonus point for reducing redness.