Ardell lashes, Americas leading lashes .. Why are they just so good !

False lashes are amazing in so many ways they add so much more to the "windows to the soul" the eyes. It can give a glamorous look or a more natural enhanced beauty. Which ever way you like your lashes its fair to say false lashes are here to stay ! 

The Birth of the false lash came to be in 1916, it was movie director, D.W. Griffith who originally wanted Seena Owen, the leading lady of his film, "Intolerance", to have glamorous lashes so long they would touch her cheeks. A wig maker wove human hair through fine gauze and stuck them to Owen's eyelids creating the very first set of false eyelashes. Needless to say, women wanted the same glamorous lashes and a trend was born..

So why Ardell ?
Ardell lashes have become the world's leading brand in faux eyelashes, strip lashes and individual lashes with it's stock on the shelves of thousands of retail and professional stores. And its not hard to see why. Ardell for so many users have the most natural looking selection of lashes in there field. Offering several lash styles to fit a consumer's mood, personality and lifestyle. They have become a must have, preferred beauty enhancers for millions of women, including makeup artists and Hollywood A-list celebs. With there 120 Demi whispy lashes being extremely popular due to its natural feathered look.

 What kind of lashes should I get? 

Good question! There are lots of different kinds to choose from. Depending on what sort of look you want there will the perfect lash to suit your style.

More lashes are available

Natural Lashes: Natural lashes should be just that, they should not be noticeable to almost anyone, unless your a lash freak like me ! You can see from comparing these lashes with others that they are much finer strands of hair. These are lashes that are going to give you a boost in length and thickness, but aren't going overboard. Perfect for daytime outings they enhance the natural look. Adding a slight touch of glamour with out looking as though your wearing lashes. Numbers 108 , 112 ,121,124,123,110,109 are all considered more of a natural range. You can also buy small accent lashes that just give a little extra length to the corners of the eye as shown below. These again are more natural as there a half set if you have never tried lashes before this is probably the best option to go for.

Natural full lashes: These lashes for me are my personal style. They are natural looking but they will give a much more fuller and thicker look. They have a little more drama than the natural lashes but can still be worn for a day look. Equally they can be worn for a night look as for many of us, we don't want it to look obvious we are wearing lashes, but do want just a bit more of a boost in that eye area. Numbers 118,117,Demi 120, 102 Demi, 122,119,113 are considered a fuller natural.

Full Lashes: These lashes are obviously much thicker than the natural lashes. These lashes for most are too heavy for everyday wear, But they are actually great for photos (especially distance shots). It's the same principle as theater makeup the further away people are from you, the bolder the stage makeup has to be in order to look right. If you were doing full body photos, these lashes would stand out much more, than the natural lashes would at a distance. These lashes also have a more blunt and even shape to the tips. Ardell do have more of a range than shown in this photo above, heavy lashes from this picture would be numbers 115 show girl,111,107,103,106,105, 101 Demi whispies.

Long & Short Lashes: This category of lashes has a bold pattern of longer and shorter lashes. Some may contain criss-crossed lashes, some may be straight, but the pronounced difference in tip length is their biggest feature.These can vary a lot they can be quite natural like the demi whispies 120 or they can be very dramatic looking like the show girl 115.

Individual Lashes:  These lashes come in different lengths and are attached individually until the lashline is full. These lashes do take longer to put on, but they look more natural where your eyelid meets your lashline. If you are a first time user i would stick to strip lashes but if you have a steady hand or a good friend these could be perfect for you ! 

Under eye circles, curing and covering !

Yes they are annoying ! Yes they are stubborn ! Yes they remind us we need our beauty sleep ! Dark circles and under eye bags ! I don't know about you girls but the only type of bags i want to be in possession of is a beautiful handbag, or bags filled with shopping (aka a new dress and heels.) Yes under eye bag and circles are defiantly not nice to have, but you will be please to learn there are ways of helping prevent, cure and cover these nasty baggies.

Simple tips to help cure and prevent !

There a few simple tricks we can try when it comes to the under eye bags. Cucumber being a great example. Cucumbers contain most of the vitamins you need every day, just one cucumber contains Vitamin B1, Vitamin B2, Vitamin B3, Vitamin B5, Vitamin B6, Folic Acid, Vitamin C, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium and Zinc. Some of these vitamins are good to be applied to the under eye skin and just the skin in general. That is why many faical products contain cucumber in the the ingredients. Also they are chilled the only vegtable/fruit (the debate goes on) that is actually colder on the inside than the out. Cold compressing can help with under eye bags.

Green tea bags-Loaded with anitoidants, green tea bag diped in to water and chilled can shrink under eye swelling reduceing the fluid around the area. Green tea is also fabulous to drink as it can give us more energy and is packed with goodness. It can actually suppress appetite too meaning it can keep us fuller for longer which is a added bonus. 

Tea spoons- Yes the tea spoon method is a quick fix for swollen eyes. The cold surface of the spoon takes down the swelling and just makes tiered eyes feel much better.

Sleep/showers- The obvious one for helping with dark circles is getting enough rest you need to be having a minium of 8 hours a night, to ensure your preventing getting those nasty bags. A few late nights wont hurt, but if you suffer with sleeping problems and restlessness it could be somthing to prehaphs seek some medical advice on. Everyone should more or less be able to sleep for 8 hours with out a problem anything under 5 or 6 hours a night i would seek advice. Cold showers espeical at this time of year can be great for your under eye bags and skin in general getting the blood flowing making us feel more awake.

Covering !

When it comes to covering dark circles you need a full coverage concealer. You need something not to thick to prevent it wrinkling under the eyes. But also not to thin, so you have the coverage required. Buying a shade lighter than your natural skin tone is also a tip not just for bags but to highlight that under eye area in general. Here are three top concealers i would highly recommend you trying !

Bobbi Brown - Tinted Eye Brightener

This brightening lightweight concealer now in new shades it is fantastic at its job its not to thick and it really does brighten up the under eyes. Its doe-foot applicator makes for more precise application and controlled delivery under the eye. Instantly brightens shadows so you look refreshed and revived-perfect for touch-ups too. Retailing at £20.00

Maybelline- Super stay better skin

The newest thing from Maybelline taking over from there normal range of super stay concealer is super stay better skin. This concealer is lightweight breathable the formula is a non-comedogenic and is formulated without perfume. Its good for sensitive skin and really does last all day with its super stay power ! Retailing at £4.99 its a bargain ! 

Mac - select cover-up

Select cover up from mac is a licquid concealer texture free and virtually invisible. It's lightweight and long lasting. Retailing at £15.00.

Get my look !

Quick makeup post ! Makeup run down for this look.

Foundation : Giorgio armarni designer lift mixed with rimmels 25hr

Concealer : Collection 2000 

Powder: maybelline matt powder

Hi light : high beam benefit / moon beam benefit

Lips : hot brown from maybelline 24hr mixed with Creme caramel maybelline 24hr

Blush : peaches from mac

Contour : light brown brozer from rimmel and dark sleek contor kit

Eye shadows : innocent mua pallet lightest colour inner eye then sleek contour colour in crease.

Eye liner : Maybelline gel liner.

Mascara : max factor clump defy mascara.

Lashes : Ardell Demi whispies 120 

Blouse : h&m 

Skirt : Florence and Fred ( beautiful skirt this range is improving all the time)

Remember to keep smiling, it's Monday which means it's a new week anything is possibly forget the stresses of last week and focus on what your going to make of this week. It's never to late to start a fresh ! Stay beautiful inside out ! 

Porefessional review

Say goodbye to pores with this perfect pore less perfection of a product !

Yes Porefessional gets a massive thumbs up from me, there are still bad points to this product namely the price retailing at 29.99 it is certainly expensive. However certain retailers you can find it cheaper and I will link a few places down below for you to price check.

I was given this product as a birthday gift for me the thought of buying a primer for 29.99 was not really somthing I'd be willing to do. That is until I tried it. I have always had larger pores around my nose area and have always struggled to cover them with a foundation even after using a primer. But straight away with the Porefessional primer my larger pores were no more. This really was amazing for me not only this but my foundation applied much better and it left a better finish altogether. Even on my bare skin it made it feel much softer and was nice just to wear it with just a hint of foundation on a natural day. 

So why is it any better than other primers ? Well if I'm truly honest as I always am in my reviews there is no real reason for this, it's simply the formula that works the best. It's texture and consistancy does the job that other primer do but just better ! It's second to none in every way for me and there is no other primer that stands against it. I use this primer on special occasions to get the most for my money but it really does last well I have had mine for four months using once or twice a week. For a daily primer I use loreals primer which is good just not quite pore fection !  9.5/10

John lewis

My skin care kit and routine

What's in my skin care kit !

In my opinion as a beauty obcessed woman trained in hair and makeup there are a lot of gimmicky products that say they will do miracles for your skin! You don't have to be any sort of expert to know the beauty industry is a gold mind. So it's no wonder diffrent cometic brands constantly compete for the best most amazing products to be released. Us weman are obcessed with making the most of our selfs and rightly so, but it's important we aren't wasting our money on miracle creams that don't actually work. For me a lot of my products I buy are 100% natural or 100% the product or chemical that actually works. I'm not staying these products are the best for everyone, but they are by far the best for me and I hope they can help some of my lovley readers ! 

Clear skin is vital for a lot of things. It makes us feel good and boosts are confidence, it also makes applying makeup easier and gives a over all better finish and even base. So what do I find works for me well here we go !

Frankinsence oil / tea tree oil 

These are two oils I get from mistic moments who actually have a store on eBay so everyone can buy them for a really reasonable price I'll link it here. They are 100% pure and the oils them selfs are fantastic for your skin. Frankinsence oil rebuilds broken DNA it literally has soo many good benefits and uses check them all out in my full article on frankinsence here. It's amazing for moisturising, rebuilding the skin and I use it predominately for anti ageing and moisturising. Tea tree oil I use for anti ageing and also it's a natural aniseptic so it helps remove bacteria stored in the pores causing spots and blackheads.

Salicylic acid

Salicylic acid is my new best friend ! It is amazing for the skin perticuarly blackheads with one use of this product the blackheads on my nose were almost gone. This product helps peel and exfoliate the top layer of skin which in turn removes bacteria stored in the pores. Eliminating those bothersome blackheads !

Miroderma

There alot of miroderma kits you can get Clarasonic being a very popular and quite exspensive one. Microdermabrasion is a general term for the application of tiny rough grains to buff away the surface layer of skin. Many different products and treatments use this method, including medical procedures, salon treatments and creams and scrubs that you apply yourself at home.  It's important to understand how skin works.The skin is made up of two main layers, the epidermis and the dermis The epidermis is the layer closest to the outside world. It's a set of dead skin cells on top of another layer of cells that are in the process of maturing. With this miroderma kit i gently buff away these dead skin cells which leaves my skin looking glowing.All the dull dead skin is removed and this helps with spots and blackheads particularly by removing the dirt in that top layer of skin. Using this once a week or once a fortnight is enough with this treatment as we dont want the skin to be over buffed and exfoliated. You can find this kit here

Quinoderm cream is a amazing product, it is primarily a spot cream.  The product contains two active ingredients, benzoyl peroxide and potassium hydroxyquinoline sulphate. Benzoyl peroxide is a type of medicine known as a keratolytic. This means that it works by breaking down keratin, a protein which makes up the cells of the skin.When you apply benzoyl peroxide to the skin it causes the top layers of skin to shed. This helps break down deep dirt in comedones (blackheads)and those pesky spots. Not only this and unblocks the sebaceous glands to prevent the formation of new comedomes. I use this twice weekly but if you have a lot of spots of have had a bad break out you can use it every day. And I do use this for preventing spots to. Click here for more information.

Nivea soft

This is my favourite moisturising Creme, I find the formula is nice and simple. It's got a nice scent but it's not over perfumed. It's not to watery and lasts nicely on the skin, but does absorb well too. For me it's my perfect moisturiser. For very sensitive skin you may want to patch test before use as anything containing a scents as it can irritate the skin. 

Neutrogena blackhead eliminating scrub. 

I like this blackhead exfoliating scrub as it just helps remove dead skin while tackling those nasty blackheads. 

Baby wipes are less expansive than makeup wipes and for me these Johnson extra sensitive baby wipes just feel really nice on the skin. Now it's important to totally remove makeup and baby wipes don't always get it all out of the pores. But let's be honest girls we all have days that we just remove our makeup with wipes so it's important we get nice ones. If there good enough for baby's skin they are good enough for our faces and these ones for extra sensitive skin are truly perfect. I'd happily use them on my baby as it has no harsh chemicals so pies that go on your face should be no diffrent.

I hope this was helpful and remember to stay beautiful inside out !