Boots No.7 Match Made Lipstick Service

I finally got my act together and went into a local Boots store to try out their matching service and the No.7 girl was so lovely she offered to do both foundation and lipstick - winning!  The match made service is totally free and the little device which is no bigger than the average television remote control, reads your skin precisely to decipher which shade of foundation, concealer and lipstick will suit your skin tone. 

So I sat down behind the counter and was asked if I was wearing any make-up, which as I was, it was removed for me and then the gadget was placed on my cheek and she did it on both sides of my face to ensure she got the right reading, both sides registered my perfect shades and before showing me the machine, off the lady went to collect the foundation to try on my skin and then gave me a card which listed all of the lipsticks I should try.  

My skin shade was matched to Cool Vanilla which gave me a huge amount of option with regards to lipstick, so I had a good time swatching them.  As you can see below there is a choice of 10 different lipsticks from the Moisture Drench side and 7 for Stay Perfect - all of which I swatched except Rose Mist as it wasn't in stock.

As I couldn't decide which shade I liked more than any others, the lady who was testing the products on me offered to make the choice with her colleague, which sounded interesting, so having agreed they went off and spent 2-3 minutes deciding which one they thought would look best and picked one for me. I wasn't allowed to see it until it had been applied and once I did see it, I knew I was going to be buying it. 

 The shade I was given is Spring Pink which is a No.7 Moisture Drench Lipstick designed to keep your lips smooth and soft. Hypo-allergenic, Fragrance free, SPF15.

As for the foundation, the shade I was matched too is a Stay Perfect Superlight foundation in shade Cool Vanilla which I have to admit is brilliant, I absolutely love it. Described as being a new innovation in life-proof, light weight foundation. It gives a naturally flawless look which stays perfect for up to 24 hours. It has an SPF 15 and is hypo-allergenic too.

The best part of the whole experience is that there was also a 3 for 2 offer on at the time, so I needed to select a free product and this is what I chose.

Overall, I am really happy with the service and wouldn't hesitate to try something like this again.  There will be pictures of both the foundation and lipstick in a future post as well as the highlighter.

 Have you tried it?

The Library of Fragrance Perfume

If you hadn't guessed by now, one of the most popular items in this household bwteen Beautykinguk and I is something smelly - either a candle or some perfume/aftershave, infact between us, we probably make The Perfume Shop look half empty! When I heard about the new launch of The Library of Fragrance, I was really excited, if you are a US reader then your version is called Demeter. The Library of Fragrance here in the UK has a massive collection of 101 different fragrances to choose from, and secondly, each of the 101 fragrances have been designed to smell exactly like an object and experience from life so imagine my difficulty when it came to selecting a scent!

I looked at each and everyone within the catalogue to choose from and randomly rattled it down to five - Jasmine, Holy Water, Bulgarian Rose, Peony and Rain. All of which to me sounded like scents I would love. That said Thunderstorm, Fresh coconut, Fireplace, Wet Garden and Play Dough are all quirky enough to have caught my attention.  So if you do struggle to select a scent and want to order a few, then you can actually layer these scents one over the other to create your own individual scent - how amazing is that?  This is the first time I have heard of doing something like that and it is definitely something i am going to try.

I was sent the Jasmine scent which happens to be my favourite scent currently and it is every bit as amazing as I was expecting it to be. firstly the packaging, it is such a great rectangular shape that it stands out immediately, then the label which is quite old-fashioned but clear to read, with everything you need to know being visible right on front of you. described as follows:

"Jasmine – exotic, sweet, warm and heady. Our Jasmine fragrance is the experience of the living flowers picked on a beautifully fragrant spring night – at night because this is when the jasmine flower opens its petals and bestows us with its most intoxicating fragrance.

Captivating and seductive, jasmine is one of the flowers most valued by perfumers, and is largely grown in the French region of Grasse, the home of perfumery. Jasmine’s mood-inducing scent is one of the most distinct of all natural odours. If you like your fragrance to make an impact and to announce your arrival, our Jasmine is the scent for you"

I absolutely love this scent and have worn it a lot since it came into my possession, it isn't over the top when first spritzed but it does last a good 4-5 hours before you need to re-apply and given the size of the bottle, it is a handy size for carrying around in your handbag.

You can purchase The Library of Fragrance's scents from their own website, or you buy from selected Boots stores. Each of The Library of Fragrance perfumes are 30ml in size, and cost just £15 each.

What do you think to this concept? Has any of the scents caught your attention?

MasqueBar

MasqueBar is a Korean brand that has just launched at Boots. As the Korean beauty trend seems to have well and truly kicked off here in the UK, I was really interested to see what MasqueBar had to offer.

There are four masks within the range and they are; Anti-Blemish Mud Mask, Brightening Sheet Mask, Pore Refining Creme Mask and Anti- Wrinkle sheet mask. So a little something for everyone.  If you don't like sheets masks, you can use the cream/clay mask and vice versa.

What I love is the bright coloured edges around each mask sachet to denote which one it is, I love little things like this and I love that they are easy to open, yes even with wet hands and if like me you are stingy, you can get a good 2-3 masks out of each sachet, obviously not the sheets ones, but there is plenty inside.

So what do they do?

Pore-refining creme mask - said to minimise the appearance of pores for a more refined even complexion. Using a gentle blend of Coenzyme Q-10 and anti-oxidants to leave your skin feeling balanced and looking radiant.  The key ingrediants for this mask are Raspberry extract to soothe and calm the skin, Lemon Fruit extract to detoxify and clean blemishes caused by excess oil production whilst also brightening dull skin and lightening the pigmentation of acne scars and Vitamin E to protect the skin from environmental pollution and repair damaged skin!

Anti-Wrinkle sheet mask - A collagen-infused facial sheet mask which contours your face to help reduce wrinkles as well as hydrating your skin, leaving it feeling soft and looking refreshed.  The key ingredients here are Green Tea extract which reduced the UV damage to the skin and prevents collagen breakdown and Vitamin E to protect the skin from environmental pollution and repair damaged skin!

Brightening Sheet Mask - Helps minimise the appearance of dark spots and pigmentation for a more even complexion. This facial sheet is effective on all tones, leaving the skin noticeably more radiant.  Key ingredients are Vitamin C to reduce inflammation and promote collagen production and Liquorice Root to encourage a more even distribution of melanin to naturally brighten the skin.

Anti-Blemish Mud Mask - This mask is said to soothe irritated skin whilst helping to control excess oil. This mask is a non-drying formula which purifies and balances the complexion, leaving skin feeling calm and looking clearer.  Key ingredients afe Tea Tree to calm irritations and breakouts, Kaolin to increase the skins circulation, helping to stimulate healing and reduce irritation and Vitamin A to stimulate the turnover of skin cells and increase collagen production.

I have used the pore refining mask and after thoroughly cleanses my face with warm water, you apply the mask using your fingertips, or a brush if you prefer, ensuring you cover the whole of your face (except the obvious) and neck. Then lay back and relax for between 15-20 minutes before rinsing with warm water. 

As I applied the mask to my face, it was quite a thick texture, so it is a case of a little going a very long way. White in colour as it is a creme mask, once applied to the skin it does begin to dry quite quickly, so if you want to remove after those initial 15 minutes it will be dry, but I decided to wait for the full 20 minutes.

After removing the mask did it live up to its claims? Well I don't have large pores so I didn't notice any difference but I do have combination skin which leans to an oily t-zone for me and I did notice that for a few days after using, my shiny head and nose had almost disappeared, so that for me was quite impressive and did my skin look brighter, well it felt much more refreshed and definitely much cleaner, so the answer for me is yes it did.

I am really looking forward to trying the rest of the masques which I was kindly given and put them to the test.  They will be sold in boxes of three at £9.99.

Do you use any Korean skincare products?  Do you think you will try these masques?

Balance Me Super Toning Body Polish

I am  huge fan of Balance Me products, you will see them scattered about my blog full of praise, because they work so well with my skin and are just brilliant.

The Super Toning Body Polish is a new product that I have been using for the last few weeks and it is amazing, described as being:

"An invigorating, tone-enhancing, anti-oxident rich daily body polish with walnut shells designed to firm, plump and smooth as it cleanses and exfoliates. It offers your skina mini work-out each time you massage it all over your body"

Not only is it said to do all of that above but to also encourage good circulation thanks to the unique blend of Juniper, Geranium, Lavender and Bergamot essential oils. Add to that the use of Meadow Foam, Rice Bran and Sweet Almond Oil, all of which are rich in essential fatty acids, vitamins and anti-oxidents to leave your skin look super smooth, energised and smelling simply amazing.

When you use this body polish, the advice is to massage it onto wet skin, focussing primarily on problematic areas such as upper arms, bottom, hips and thighs.  You can also massage it onto the skin and then leave it for a few minutes before rinsing it off so that your skin gets an extra treat as the body polish makes for a really nice deep hydrating mask treatment too.  I find during the current changes in weather and temperature that my skin needs a little extra TLC,specially because I am in a heated environment, then out in the cold, wind and rain before going back into a heated place - my skin becomes quite dull looking, dry and in need of hydration.

For me this body works brilliantly as a body polish, it isn't too abrasive on the skin so it doesn't scratch the skin, it is gentle enough to remove dead and dry skin cells whilst leaving behind an amazing energising scent that really gives you a wake up.  Not only that but as you pat your skin dry, it feels so soft and supple there is almost no need to add any additional moisturiser, though I do.

Yet another brilliant release from Balance Me which you can find HERE.

Have you tried any Balance Me products? Do you have a favourite?