An Evening With Beauty Bible Authors Sarah And Jo – And Luxe Goody Bag To Take Home

 

Me With Beauty Bible Authors Sarah (left) and Jo (right)

The Beauty Bible rolled in to Tunbridge Wells on Saturday night, for the final leg of a 6-date tour of selected Fenwick stores up and down the country. The events were being held to toast the launch of authors Sarah Stacey and Josephine Fairley’s latest tome, The Ultimate Natural Beauty Bible.

I was lucky enough to attend Saturday’s finale (promoted via You Magazine), as a fully paid up £12 ahead VIP guest. Was I excited to be going? You could say. In the weeks leading up to the evening I had been marking off the days on my wall calendar - how sad is that! Now the night of toasting was finally here.

From the moment I arrived to the point where I left with a bag full of Beauty Bible recommended products, it was a slickly organised night of utter pampering. The Fenwick staff were impeccable, the beauty consultants friendly and helpful, and Sarah and Jo absolutely gorgeous and charming.

Tackling Sun/Dark Spots With Spotner Hands and Body – Mum’s Tried And Tested Review

Applying a broad spectrum high SPF to my face is as much a part of my daily skincare routine as cleansing and toning. I’m sure this goes for anyone who wants to protect their skin from sun damage and premature ageing.

But how many of us pay the same level of care to our hands? I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t. Yet our hands are just as much exposed to the sun as our faces, if not more so. Our faces can shelter under a wide-brimmed hat in summer without too much bother but our hands? Donning gloves in August might attract some odd looks, not to say give us rather smelly sweaty hands!

Unprotected sun exposed hands can lead to the early onset of pigmentation spots, those tell-tale signs of sun damage and ageing. Fortunately, if we have got them there are products available that help to lighten the spots and limit the onset of new ones. One such product is Spotner, for hands and body.

The UK distributor for Spotner, Zurego, recently got in touch to ask if I wanted to test the product. I immediately knew of one person very close to me who would love to give it a try - my mum!

My mother has some pigmentation spots on her hands and on her arms and she really hates them, so I sent off a couple of the pens for her to try.

My mum is now at the end of her 4 week trial on both arms and she is delighted with the results. Here is her story:

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New Products: Jeunvie - By Terry - Benefit

If you’re after something a little bit different then I may have just the thing. My top picks of new products this week include a candle for moisturising skin (yes, a candle), plus an innovative liquid face bronzer.

Jeunvie - Moisturising Candles (out now)

Jeunvie, a UK-based natural skincare brand, have launched a range of candles that can be used to not only lighten a room but also moisturise skin. Made with cosmetic grade soya wax and other pure and natural skincare plant oils, the candles are formulated specifically for stressed skin. The scented ones contain cosmetic grade fragrances and are allergen free. The melted wax can be applied directly to the skin via a spoon (included with the large size candles) and massaged in to soothe irritations and treat dry skin. Jeunvie say the candles burn at a relatively low temperature and are luke warm to the touch, so there's no danger of burning the skin. Available in two sizes, a miniature priced at £10 and a full size at £20. The large candles come in Coconut, rose blossom, lavender/chamomile and citrus scents, plus unscented. The small candle is available unscented or in rose, with spoons sold separately at £5 each. More on Jeunvie here.

L’Occitane Almond Milk Concentrate – Body Cream Heaven Scent

So exquisite is the fragrance of L’Occitane’s Almond Milk Concentrate that I would happily sit with a jar of it stuck under my nose all day. I really don’t think I have ever come across a body cream that smells as good as this. 

While the aroma is what first enticed me, this wonder of a body cream has a lovely rich and creamy texture that leaves my skin feeling velvety soft. I am never without a jar of it in my bathroom.

Dermalogica UltraCalming - skincare for sensitised skin – tried and tested review

If you have sensitive skin prone to flare ups that often leave your face feeling sore, red and itchy, finding products that don’t aggravate it are hard enough, never mind finding ones that actually treat it.

Developed specifically for sensitive skin is UltraCalming, a skincare range from Dermalogica. Key active ingredients include acetyl tetrapeptide-15, extracts of red hogweed, oat kernel and ginger, plus bisabolol. Together they target inflammation, soothe skin, reduce redness and relieve irritation.

The range includes the four products pictured: UltraCalming Cleanser, UltraCalming Relief Masque, UltraCalming Mist and UltraCalming Serum Concentrate.

All four products featured in last year’s You Beauty advent calendar, which is how I came to acquire them. I have been waiting to test them with my Philips ReAura home Fraxel laser. I don’t suffer from sensitive skin but after every ReAura session my skin is left feeling very hot and sore, and extremely red.   

I finally got around to using the Dermalogica products this week. These are my thoughts:

New Products: Aromatherapy Associates - NARS - La Prairie - This Works

‘Go on spoil yourself’, is the theme for my top picks from products launched this week. That’s because all the items I’m featuring today are gorgeous treats, though you're going to need very deep pockets indeed if you want to buy one in particular!

Aromatherapy Associates - De-Stress Massage & Body Oil (Out 1st April)

Aromatherapy Associates, who make the best bath oils going in my opinion, have expanded their De-Stress Muscle range with the launch of a massage and body oil. De-Stress Massage & Body Oil is intended as a soothing treatment with anti-inflammatory benefits to help ease muscular aches and pains. It combines a blend of arnica, lavender and rosemary to improve circulation and ginger to help warm overworked and tired muscles. Priced at £41 for 100ml, it will be on counter from 1st April at Aromatherapy Associates, Liberty, Heals, Selfridges and Fortnum & Mason. More on Aromatherapy Associates here.

  

 

 

 

NARS – Artistry Brush Collection (Out 1st April)

Murad Rapid Collagen Infusion – ‘First Ever Product To Penetrate Skin With Pure Collagen’ – Tried and Tested Review

I confess I did raise an eyebrow as I read the label on Murad’s newly launched Rapid Collagen Infusion: ‘reduces the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles in 2 hours*’. In 2 hours! Goodness!

It is an attention grabbing headline, even with the label disclaimer: ‘*individual results will vary; clinical results on file’. In the fight against wrinkles, the prospect of a wonder cream is alluring indeed. You could say I was rather keen to test this product!

New Products: Zelens, Lavera, HealGel, Elemis

The rain has stopped, the sun is out and beauty brands have begun launching new summer products – it must mean Spring has finally sprung. Upcoming summer skincare from two beauty brands kick off my 'top picks' of the week's new launches, one from Zelens and another from Lavera. Also catching my eye this week was the launch of the first bodycare product from HealGel (love their face serum), and a rather lovely new limited edition skin capsules collection from Elemis.

Zelens Daily Defense Suncreen Broad Spectrum SPF 30

Luxury skincare brand Zelens will be launching in stores next month Daily Defense Sunscreen Broad Spectrum SPF 30. As the name suggests, the sunscreen offers high factor protection against both UVA (the major contributor to deep down skin damage) and UVB (damages our skin’s more superficial layers). It also contains skin plumping low-molecular weight hyaluronic acid – low molecular is key for anti-ageing as it is able to penetrate the skin much more effectively than the high-molecular. Other ingredients in this non sticky formula include vitamin E and C, plus botanical antioxidant complex. Priced £55 it will be available from 14th April online at Zelens, BeautyMART and cultbeauty.co.uk, as well as instore at Space NK, Fenwick, Fortnum & Mason and Selfridges.

My Top Rated Foaming Cleansers - L'Occitane, Jurlique - Reviewed

We really are spoilt for choice when it comes to cleansers. There is such a range of types to choose from – creams, lotions, hot cloth, balms, waters, oils and foaming (have I missed any?). If you love foaming, or you fancy trying one out for the first time, I really can’t recommend these two below highly enough.

L’Occitane Immortelle Precious Cleansing Foam

Beauty Boots – A Post Inspired By My 9 Year-Old

I was so excited when I picked up my  gorgeous new Ilse Jacobsen wellies on Friday, that I told my family that I simply must write a post about them on my blog.

Then my 9 year-old daughter pointed this out: ‘Oh mummy, you can’t put them on your blog. They don’t have anything to do with beauty!”

She was right, of course. But she then piped up: “I know, how about if you put some of your beauty things inside them. Then you could put them on your blog couldn’t you?” Genius!!

So here, thanks to some clever thinking by my lovely daughter, is a picture and a post about my fantastic new Ilse Jacobsen wellies, dressed above with my favourite Jo Malone perfume, and modelled (sort of) below by me.

Mother’s Day Sunday 30th March – Beauty And Other Luxe Gift Ideas

It was only when I became a mum myself did I start to fully appreciate everything my own mother had done for me as I was growing up. Not that I was ungrateful - quite the contrary. Only, I confess, I did take it for granted having a home cooked meal waiting for me on the dinner table every night and having freshly washed and ironed clothes always in my wardrobe. Then there was mum’s ‘taxi’ service always on call when I needed it, and not forgetting the ‘tidy-up’ fairy who would visit my room each night to pick up the Pippa dolls (remember those?) I had left carelessly scattered across my bedroom floor.

My mum never complained (still doesn’t when I phone her to have a moan about something or other!). I guess that’s unconditional love for you. Now that I’m a mum myself, and it’s me doing the above aforementioned ‘chores’, Mother’s Day has taken on a very special poignancy. With just over 3 weeks to go before the big day, here are my top suggestions for what to buy the World’s Best Mum this year.

Face Up Beauty Has Had A Makeover

Followers and frequent visitors may have noticed something different about the blog today. Yep, it’s had a facelift (dreadful pun, but I couldn’t resist – sorry!). As well as a new logo and fresh branding, Face Up Beauty now features a different colour scheme, an updated layout, and a number of additional features, including a ‘popular posts’ section and a site search box.

Since launching Face Up Beauty 8 weeks ago I have become a little obsessed with blogging, well beauty blogging to be precise. I was already pretty fanatical about skincare and beauty, and now that I’ve found an outlet for it which also feeds my love of writing, well, my addictions are being well and truly fed.

I have been very moved by the friendship and support from readers and fellow bloggers, as well as the help I have been getting from beauty brands, who in the main have been only too happy to return my phone calls and emails, and provide me with the information I need for writing my posts. 

I want to say a big thank you to my very dear friend Maylin Gouldie, who designed the new logo for me. Maylin is a superbly talented storyboard artist and has worked with a number of major beauty brands on high profile projects. Check out her website here.

I want to finish by saying a massive thank you to you for stopping by my blog and reading my posts, especially in these early launch days when it’s quite a challenge getting yourself noticed in a very saturated playground. If there is anything you’d like to see covered more on the blog (or perhaps less!) please just shout.

Tracey x
PS: I hope you like the new-look!