Super Facialist Hyaluronic Acid Firming Daily Brightening Cleanser review

I am a big fan girl when it comes to Super Facialist and I don't understand why people don't talk about the brand more. They are a lovely little gem within the high street beauty selection. Super Facialist (used to be Super Facialist by Una Brennan) has quite a tight range but they seem to be very much in tune what the modern skin needs and have a very smart, carefully curated selection. I am already in love with the Rose Hydrate and Vitamin C Brighten products but they offer a Retinol, Salicylic Acid, Neroli line too. 
Only recently I discovered that they have come out with a new Hyaluronic Acid Firming line (a cleanser, a serum, an eye cream, day cream, night cream, neck and chest cream) in Boots so without hesitation I went for their cleanser to try it. Here are the details:

What it is: an anti-ageing gel-like foaming cleanser with Calcium, Copper, Mango seed oil, Sunflower seed oil, Vitamin E loaded beads, polysaccharide and Hyaluronic Acid.

What it does: cleanses, has firming qualities and hydrates.

Who it is for: I can see this working more for oily, normal and combination skins.

Packaging: practical tube, easy to handle because the formulation is not too runny, fresh white-blue design.

How to use it: apply it morning and night on damp skin, gently massage it in and wipe it off with lukewarm water and a flannel. I would use this as a second cleanse at night or a morning cleanse. I wouldn't use this to remove my makeup. (They offer alternatives for that - the Vitamin C cleansing oil and the Rose Hydrate cream cleanser).

How it worked on me: this cleanser is pleasantly light and refreshing in the morning, the Vitamin E beads bursting on the skin is a nice experience and I love the fresh scent too. Most days I followed it with a super-hydrating skin care routine and added my The Ordinary HA serum too for an extra plumping effect which seemed to work really well together.

If you are concerned about Sulphates, however, this might not be for you, it is the second ingredient on the inki list but never mind, the Rose Hydrate or the Vitamin C cleanser is an excellent alternative for you within the brand.

Value for money: great as all Super Facialist products, you get 150ml for £8.99

It is exclusively available in Boots and Boots online. 

Industry news - Glamour UK is to cut back on print editions and goes 'digital first'

It's not so long ago that In Style and Company Magazine has shut down its print edition and Alexandra Schulman has left British Vogue, last week Conde Nast Publications has announced that Glamour UK is going 'digital first' and will cut back on print editions to two issues a year (UK only). Since then, Editor-in-Chief for 17 years, the amazing Jo Elvin has stepped down too. I have to say I am still in a bit of a shock, Jo Elvin and Glamour have been around for long and they've been consistent in my life. I remember the good old days, taking long bus trips with a handbag size Glamour (that first appeared in the UK) and reading it back to back by the time I arrived. I have plenty of fashion and beauty inspiration pictures torn out of Glamour, collected in folders because 'you never know when you need them' and because 'make-up artists and beauty geeks need to have them' (don't judge me, there was no Pinterest back then).

From a 'fashion first' magazine Glamour will become a "mobile-first, social-first" with a focus on beauty platform with two collectable print editions that will come out in Spring and Autumn every year. According to Conde Nast the idea was rooted in how people are "living their lives today" and how they consume media.  Things have drastically changed since 2001 so today ' It is a faster, more focused, multi-platform relationship.'

Hearing that Glamour is turning its focus on the digital platforms made me wonder:  with all the freely available beauty content online how can they perform better/different? Will it be worth for the advertisers to follow while Google and Facebook are devouring huge percentages of advertising revenues? Will quality suffer? Can high-calibre journalism survive this way? 

Forgive me, I digressed a little here but I am a self-confessed rambler just so you know.

Glamour (first published in the States in 1939) was launched in the UK in 2001 helmed by the Australian-born Jo Elvin and quickly became the most popular woman's magazine with a higher circulation than any other in Europe. It's unique mix of well-curated editorial pieces together with additional vibrant platforms (website, blog, podcast, Instagram posts, Instagrams live videos etc.) for the readers to engage with has made the magazine one of the most widely read in the country.  Glamour somehow has always managed to stay in tune with what their readers wanted and has created an enourmous back catalogue of fascinating content for them. 

Apart from being a reputable authority in fashion, beauty and women's lives in general, Glamour Magazine has always made sure they are supporting successful women and giving them a platform, a voice by devoting the majority of their pages to their life stories.

source: Getty Images

There are many achievements Glamour has had over the years to rave about, including creating a revolutionary handbag size format, the Glamour Beauty Festival, the Glamour Beauty Club or making the  reputable 'Glamour Woman of the Year' Award Ceremony unmissable  in the London social calendar where the list of attendees are well-known successful women and celebrities attracting huge amount of media attention and a whopping 484 million audience reach. Elvin, who is widely respected in the world of print media has refined the brand 'Glamour' to a tee over the years.  She is most proud of the long-standing relationship and the constant dialogue she had with many of the readers of the magazine. There's no denying, lot of lives were touched or changed by Glamour. 

When it comes to the print vs digital argument which side are you partial to? I'm always trying to convince myself that papers, magazines going digital is the natural progression of things and there's no choice but to adjust to the evolution of the media BUT I still feel there's an undeniable appeal about the physical print to me. When I am reading a magazine with my Sunday morning tea it completely switches me off for hours and it feels relaxing to be away from the perpetual noise of the digital world that has become so overwhelming and such significant source of stress only a few of us are realizing. Looking at the beautifully crafted fashion images, beauty stories, opening and sniffing all the tiny fragrance samples might sound trivial but for me, it is a welcome distraction, a form of meditation if you like which I find incredibly soothing.  In my world print is comforting,  it does good for the soul and mind. 
Food for thought: even neuroscientists have found that a physical paper-based content or advertising causes a lot more activity in the brain in areas that are associated with value and desire.

source: www.riverisland.com

Let me finish this post with the heartfelt statement of Jo Elvin who posted a fun snap with Amy Schumer on Instagram on the day her resignation surfaced: 'I have no idea how to sum up 17 years of an amazing job in one picture. I'm going with this because it represents the fact that wow, I had so much fun and was given so many incredible experiences, such as meeting my heroes, eg @amyschumer . But it's true, it's time for pastures new. I think the best thing about launching and editing Glamour has been the conversations I've had with readers. You really are the best audience of women (and I know, a lot of men) I could have ever wished for. Excited for what's next but terribly sad to be parting with the absolute best team in magazines. #elvinout'. I am looking forward to see what she will do next.

Before I get too teary-eyed I only have one more thing to add: it will be incredibly strange not seeing Glamour on the shelves of newsagents every month and I am definitely going to miss it. How about you?

The Bodyshop British Rose Petal-Soft Gel Toner review

There probably aren't any other beauty products that went through as drastic changes over time as toners. A product loaded with alcohol, camphor, ammonia, sage, menthol and salt that was used for 'making the skin elastic', 'strengthening and whitening the skin' while 'soothing the terrible nerves' later evolved into Helena Rubinstein's Astringent Wash, a water, menthol, zinc sulphate and perfume concoction.  Do you  still remember the alcohol-laden 'cooling', 'refreshing' product of our youth (over 35s) to 'close the pores' (as if!) and 'take off the remains of your makeup' (let's not even go there!) in the '80s?  All these notions sound ridiculous now if you're at least a bit au fait with skin care. However, surprisingly enough, there is still a huge section of the public that still believes these beauty myths.
A decade or so later toners have grown into a luxurious addition to our skincare routine and now they act as hydration boosters or an AHA/BHA exfoliators.

I am big on acid toning and have been for years but I have been quite lazy using hydrating toners. When I saw Fresh coming out with the Rose Deep Hydration Facial Toner I thought THAT is something I would love to use but I always shied away from the hefty £34 ($44) price tag. The gel formula infused with rose petals seemed very appealing, I always kept flirting with the idea of splashing out on one bottle. Fast forward a good few months and I got the news that Bodyshop is launching their dupe for the Fresh toner. I was delighted. I'm already obsessed with their British Rose mask, I instantly knew this was for me and I was right. Here are the details:

What it is: a gel hydrating toner, rose petals are suspended in a light golden coloured gel formula.

Who it is for: all skin types that need hydration.

Packaging: clear plastic bottle, shows up the product perfectly, looks pretty on bathroom shelves.

How to use it: after cleansing, according to the website you should soak a cotton pad with the product and 'cleanse' the skin.


How it worked for me: the toner has been mostly part of my evening routine and on some mornings when I felt I needed a pick-me-up. The consistency of the formula is just right, not too runny, it is easy to handle. I went against the company recommendation so instead of using a cotton pad (it felt like a wase of product) I was squeezing some into my hand and gently patted it on the skin. On application it instantly felt cooling, soothing, smoothing and my skin felt plump. 
The fresh rose scent is a lovely addition to the luxurious feel of using it. I have found this working really well after sun exposure or after acid toners, AHA/BHA treatments to sooth the skin.

Ingredient-wise* the Fresh toner wins, obviously, but that doesn't mean the Bodyshop counterpart is not a great product. It's a lovely sensorial experience: it looks great, smells great and feels great on the skin. It works for me so without a doubt this will remain in my beauty stash.

Value for money: great - you get 250ml for £9.50.

Next up on my list to try from the Bodyshop? The Chinese Ginseng & Rice Clarifying Milky Toner. I love the mask and this sounds intriguing.



*Ingredients:

Bodyshop British Rose Petal-Soft Toner: Aqua/Water/Eau, Propanediol, Methyl Gluceth-20, PPG-26-Buteth-26, Glycerin, PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Phenoxyethanol, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Parfum/Fragrance, Ethylhexylglycerin, Caprylhydroxamic Acid, Rosa Gallica Flower Powder, Panthenol, Sodium Hydroxide, Methylpropanediol, Trisodium Ethylenediamine Disuccinate, Rose Extract, PEG-30 Dipolyhydroxystearate, Trideceth-6, Benzyl Salicylate, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice Powder, Limonene, Benzyl Alcohol, Citronellol, Geraniol, Alpha-Isomethyl Ionone, Linalool, Citric Acid, Sodium Benzoate, Potassium Sorbate.
Fresh Rose Deep Hydration Facial Toner : Aqua (Water), Glycerin, Butylene Glycol, Rosa Centifolia Flower, Rosa Damascena Flower Water, Rosa Multiflora Fruit Extract, Angelica Keiskei Extract, Rosa Damascena Flower Oil, Sodium Hyaluronate, PEG-150, PPG-26-Buteth-26, PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Sodium Citrate, Xanthan Gum, Citric Acid, BHT, Parfum (Fragrance), Phenoxyethanol, Citronellol, Geraniol

Make-Up Trends for Spring Summer 2018

To me one the most exciting time of the year in the beauty calendar is Fashion Week season. 

Fashion is always looking ahead, this is the time when major trends are established for the next season and hundreds of runway looks provide endless beauty inspiration for all the beauty lovers out there. This years' fashion week series have seen an unprecedented amount of diversity not only in fashion, make-up and hair but in skin tones, body silhouettes and sizes too. As a big supporter of diversity in the industry, I can't complain.

There is one common underlying message from the fashion houses this year. Women and girls a are strong and confident like never before and beauty is becoming more and more inclusive. The industry has still a lot of catching up to do but I find that this is an incredibly appealing and hopeful message to many of us in the socially and politically challenged world we live in these days.

There a 6 major trends I will touch on today: graphic eyeliner, natural/glossy/fresh face, glitter/rhinestones, strong lip, pop of colour, smokey eyes. 

Graphic eyeliner and the no make-up make-up look ruled the runways in different interpretations.

Diane Kendall did a perfect and precise black liner around the eyes for Marc Jacobs. All the drama was kept in the eye area, the rest of the make-up was fresh and clean.

Source: Rex Features

Val Garland created a super black flick for Erdem but only following the upper lash line:

Source: Indigital

Karim Rahman at Lanvin and Yadim at Jason Wu went for a laid-back, "unfinished" liner look:

Source: Rex Feature

Tom Pecheux at Oscar de la Renta played with adding a pop of colour:

Source: Rex Features

Pat McGrath did a sparkly bold rounded liner look for Tom Ford:

Source: Indigital

At Rochas, Lucia Pieroni paired natural skin with a playful black line around the eyes.

Source: Rex Features

Versus Versace collaborated with Charlotte Tilbury in creating this fierce, black liner heavy look with nude lips:

Source: Rex Features

Peter Phillips at Fendi went for all-out fun with indigo liner  and matching hair pieces:

Source: Indigital

Here are two looks from J.W. Anderson (make-up by Mark Ryden) and Coach1941 (make-up by Pat McGrath) where the liner is on the lower lash line:

Source: Indigital

 

Source: Rex Features

Linda Cantello created a soft, blurred liner for the Giorgio Armani show:

Source: Indigital

Finally, no fashion week would be fashion week without a fun, out-there liner look or two, here is Thomas Kluyve's creation for Ashley Williams:

Source: Firstview

Can you notice the pattern? Nearly all of the liner looks were paired with a toned down, natural, fresh skin and neutral lips.

Our next trend is the no make-up make-up look which is all about clean looking, fresh skin with glossy highlights.

Diane Kendal created beautiful fresh faces, groomed brows and glossy lids for Alexander Wang.

Source: Getty

  
The Balmain show was a huge success and great fun, Val Garland complimented the imaginative, bold designer creations with fresh-looking clean faces and healthy looking glossy lips.

Source: Getty

Subtle, barely there highlights and shadows blended to perfection by Pat McGrath were key to achieve the look at Bottega Veneta.

Source: Getty

Just look at the beautiful faces at Christopher Kane. Lucia Pieroni used Nars makeup to achieve a perfectly polished look. The art is in the restraint, the result is a perfect harmony of subtle metallic colours and highlights.

Source: Indigital

The understated elegance of the makeup by Mark Carra let the beautiful patterns of the dresses speak at Etro.

Source: Rex Features

Isabel Marant was all about the classic laid-back French girl chic. Groomed brows, well-looked after skin. Lisa Butler perfectly executed the healthy looking effortless look.

Source: Indigital

Alex Box designed this youthful glowy look for Issey Miyake, she is the master of sculpting the face with perfectly placed and blended colours, shadows and highlights. 

Source: Rex Features

We could see minimalism at its best at Michael Kors. Dick Page apparently only used concealer just where it was needed.

Source: Indigital

A little bit of colour was sneaked into the looks of the girls at Philosophy di Lorenzo Serafini but only to enhance the lips and give them a fresh, juicy look. Tom Pecheux's brilliance in the artistry of makeup is still undeniable.

Source: Getty

Eyegloss will be a big trend next season. Diane Kendal gave her models an extra sparkle by glossing up the eyes at Prabal Gurung.

Source: Indigital

The girls at Prada looked youthful and natural with strategically placed understated highlights. Pat McGrath is mostly known for her bold make-up looks but gosh, she can do low-key too!

Prada: Indigital

The models at Simone Rocha looked like they stepped out of a painting. Sam Gyant has put the focus on delicately blushing cheeks.

Source: Indigital

It's hard to pick a favourite of all the looks but this is definitely one of them. The Victoria Beckham girls look ethereal with satin highlights and gorgeous clean skin.

Source: Indigital

Artists surprisingly loved glitter and rhinestones this fashion week season.

The Anna Sui girls looked like fairies crying glitter tears courtesy of Pat McGrath.

Source: Peter White

Peter Philips played with rhinestones at the Dries van Noten show. Girls wore the tiny gems around the eyes, on the lips even in their hair too.

Source: Indigital

Kabuki at Jeremy Scott used coloured rhinestones, the looks were made even more fun with bright orange nails and fingers dipped into silver glitter.

Source: Rex Features

Glitter was placed on the lips at Shrimps by Lucy Burt, why not?

Source: Getty

This is how you make glitter look cool:  at Topshop Unique Lynsey Alexander smudged pink and green sparkle around the girls' eyes for a rock 'n' roll touch.

Source: Getty

The vintage style hairdos were paired with lashings and lashings of glitter on the eyes by Katsuya Kamo at Undercover.

Source: Rex Features

Nearly every season we see an incarnation of a red lip:

Charlotte Tilbury evoked 1940s Hollywood at Alice Temperley with summery, warm, orange-red lips and glossy skin.

Source: Getty

The decadent, rich look created by Pat McGrath at Dolce & Gabbana was finished off with exquisite berry shade lips.

Source: Indigital

  
Helmut Lang opted for an ombre pout.

Source: Rex Features

Tom Pecheux blurred the red liplines at Max Mara.

Source: Getty

Thomas Kluyver at Sies Marjan played with the overdrawn lip line idea. Is it cool or does this look more like sore lips? You decide!

Source: Rex Features

Call me old-fashioned but I think I might prefer the beautifully ethereal, delicate and traditional red lip look at Badgley Mischka.

Source: Rex Features

We can always trust that all the Chanel shows will blow us away with inventive beauty looks, they didn't disappoint this season either. Mixing trends they went for bright blue eyes and bright red lips paired with a strong blusher - who said emphasizing all features was wrong? Tom Pecheux was responsible for this exaggerated '80s look (but it wouldn't be wrong to say it looks '50s inspired either).

Source: Getty

Source: Getty

There was a little pop of colour on the runways too, mostly pastel washes of colour and bright blues. It seems the colour blue is here to stay.

At Matty Bovan Hung Vanngo created a bold, graphic look with electric blue.

Source: Rex Features

ADetacher had a soft wash of pink on the eyelids.

Source: Getty

A delicate rosy shade on the eyes complemented the floral designs at Brock by Gucci Westman.

Source: Rex Features

James Kaliardos used delicate blended colours to go with the casual style collection at Fenty x Puma.

Source: Rex Features

Pat McGrath's make-up creations ruled all the trend categories, see her rocking the colour blue at the Marni show below.

Source: Rex Features

At Missoni, exquisite pastels were oozing feminity and perfectly complemented the various busy patterns of the dresses.

Source: Getty

Uzo at Novis used Nars make-up to give the girls a beautiful wash of yellow on the eyelids.

Source: Getty

The girls rocked a softly blended copper flick by Romy Soleimani at Rachel Comey.

Source: Rex Features

A wash of pink and yellow was blended into the brows at Self-Portrait by Erin Parsons.

Source: Rex Features

Pat McGrath gave everyone a masterclass on draping with pink hues and highlighters at Valentino's.

Last but not least a few smokey eye looks popped up too mostly evoking the '90s with neutral monochromatic looks, soft contours and nude lips.

Using neutral tonal colours Gucci Westman at Marchesa created a sophisticated smokey eye.

Source: Getty

The girls at Tommy Hilfiger looked fierce with a bold black smokey eye with hard edges courtesy of Mark Carrasquillo.

Source: Firstview

Diane Kendal gave the girls at Tory Birch a warm mustard coloured smoke with black liner in the upper and lower waterline.

Source: Rex Features

Pat McGrath at Versace went all '90s with neutral taupe-brown smoky eyes and soft contours.

Source: Getty, Rex Features

Last but not least we had another tribute to the '90s with dark smoky eyes and nude lips evoking the supermodel era at Julian McDonald's.

Source: Getty

The '90s are still very present as an inspiration in both makeup and hair. One of the best examples was the look by Tom Pecheux at Moschino. The girls wore ninties haircuts, big brows, big lashes and lined neutral lips paired with flawless satin skin.

I hope you enjoyed this summery of the beauty trends. To finish off this post let me share my two highlights of the fashion weeks: 

Carla Bruni, Claudia Schiffer, Naomi Campbell, Cindy Crawford and Helena Christensen joining Donatella Versace on the runway of the Versace show to George Michael's Freedom evoking the legendary 1991 show where the supers were walking arm in arm while George Michael was in the audience had me a bit teary. The unique moment was marking the 20th anniversary of Gianni's death was moving and powerful.

Source: Getty

The cherry on top? Cindy's daughter Kaia Gerber reaching runway appropriate age and doing all major runways at 16, even headlining the Chanel show. Her debut was a huge success and no doubt she will make her mum proud in the future.