EX1 INVISIWEAR LIQUID FOUNDATON

Hi all! It's been a while I know, but I'm back and have some exciting posts at the ready. Starting with today's post which is going to be all about my holy grail foundation by EX1 cosmetics. Like most make up lovers we all set out on a mission to find the perfect foundation in the perfect shade or fancy a change from time to time and try to find something new. It's taken me a long time to find this and I'm so happy to finally be sharing this with you all. So if your one of those people or your interested in finding out why this is my holy grail foundation then please keep on reading :)

ABOUT EX1 COSMETICS

Founded by British Asian Farah Naz, who turned a personal frustration at her limited choice of high street cosmetics into a single-minded passion to create the make up range of her dreams, EX1 cosmetics is a high quality collection of products designed for people with olive skin tones, otherwise know as skin with yellow undertones. Taking into consideration the biophysical characteristic of olive skin the product is also oil free as olive skin (not all) is known to have oily skin. Using only the best in cosmetic technology, this customised approach and attention to detail has not gone unnoticed as EX1 cosmetics is a multi-award winning line of cosmetics that is raved about by a lot of beauty bloggers, gurus and youtubers all over the world.  

INVISIWEAR LIQUID FOUNDATION

INVISIWEAR LIQUID FOUNDATION 30ml - £12.50

Description - Clinically and dermatologically tested, 100% oil and fragrance free and non pore clogging. This lightweight and luminous liquid base foundation which is cleverly designed with light diffusing particles that detract attention away from lines, wrinkles and blemishes covers imperfections and work perfectly with your skins natural tones using a velvety smooth, ultra-blendable formula. Giving you the perfect skin-on-skin effect, flaws concealed with make-up that looks barely there, even in natural daylight. Available in 5 shades.

RATING

It is defiantly light weight, however I am unsure how well the light diffusing particles work as lines and wrinkles aren't something I have problems with other than the smile lines, which I do have to keep an eye on through the day as my make up does start to build up in there which I don't think is a fault of the foundation, more the fact that it's an area that moves around a lot. I have a bit of scarring from when I was suffering with acne and this foundation does a great job of covering them which was a key thing in my search for the perfect foundation. It is a velvety smooth and blendable foundation and defiantly gives a natural finish. 

DELETE CONCEALER

 DELETE CONCEALER: ANTI BLEMISH/DARK CIRCLE CORRECTOR 6.5g - £9.00

Banishing blemishes and concealing imperfections, this is the  ultimate skin-trick for a perfectly photo-shopped effect. Antioxidants defend against ageing free radicals while Vitamin E helps soothe and heal blemishes, all in a lightweight super-blendable formula. Available in 3 shades.

RATING

This is an amazing product for helping cover my blemishes and scarring. I don't think it helps heal my blemishes, but it defiantly deletes them, temporarily of course. It is lightweight, but a bit harder to blend as it's got a thicker consistency to it. I haven't tried this product under my eyes as I don't suffer with dark circles, I can imagine it to be nice and light but would recommend for it to be set with a powder. 

OVERALL REVIEW

HOLY GRAIL! I have been using the foundation and concealer for over a year now and I love it! The foundation is so light and blendable, it can be built in coverage without looking cakey and I prefer that. The concealer is amazing for covering my scarring and blemishes and I like to use it as I don't like to have a heavy amount of foundation on so they are a dream together. It can wear all day with just a few touch ups as I can get a bit oily, I think the main thing for me with this product is how its created for olive skin. Just like the founder I found it so hard to find foundation that had the yellow undertone to it, especially in the drugstores so having to spend more than the average and go high end with my foundations wasn't something I was happy with. Anything I did find in the drugstore just wasn't that nice in wear and quality. I came across this foundation when I watched a video posted on youtube by the beautiful Amanda Ensing. I thought it was all to good to be true as she raved about it, it was ticking all the boxes in all that I was looking for, so I went ahead and googled it and to my surprise I saw the price which I though was amazing. So, I bit the bullet and decided to buy, using the shade chart available on the website I went for shade F400 and it was perfect, I have since gotten the darker shade (F500) for when I went on holiday and the lighter shade (F300) for when I go a bit lighter in the winter. Since using this I have had a lot of people ask what I use which is why I wanted to blog about it. I've gone through the hard bit of searching and hope that maybe this can help someone. I will leave websites you can find these items on below.

www.lookfantastic.com

www.beautyexpert.co.uk

I hope today's post was helpful :)

Elle xx

MIZANI

Hello everyone, hope your having a lovely Sunday. So today's post is going to be on a few select items from the MIZANI hair range. For those who haven't heard of the MIZANI brand it is a range formulated specifically for those with curly/afro hair types. MIZANI is a premium brand within L'Oreal's professional products division and has designed a wide line from treatments, shampoos and conditioners, hair styling products and even relaxers. The most interesting thing for me is how it not only cares for the hair but the scalp to, I'm one of the many people out there who suffer with dry scalp and find it very hard to find a product that treats both my hair and scalp together.

MY STORY

In July 2014 I decided it was time to take control of my hair properly and stop using products that were not suited for my hair. To start off  I took a trip to my hair dressers looking for a change in terms of my hair style and decided to have a bit of a chop! I discovered the MIZANI range at my hair dressers when they had switched from using Kera Care to MIZANI, my stylist explained each product that was going to be used and why he was using it. When he had finished I felt like a million dollars! My hair was silky smooth, my scalp felt deeply conditioned without it looking greasy and sleek!! After leaving the hair dressers I began looking up the MIZANI range and discovered that the price of the products were pretty reasonable considering the quality. On my next visit to my hair dressers in October I brought two products to see how I got on using them at home. I then came to the conclusion there was no other products I had tried this far that was doing my hair justice other than this range, so I did a big spend and brought five more products from the MIZANI range. Considering the costs of the products I figured I'd help out others who are on the fence about purchasing as I was as well as those looking for something new to use. I hope this helps! Enjoy and feel free to leave comments below :) 

SHAMPOO & CONDITIONER

THERMASMOOTH SHAMPOO 250ml - £10.25

Description - a creamy conditioning shampoo, leaves hair feeling thoroughly cleansed, is enriched with there advanced C3 smoothing complex deposits coconut oil that helps moisturise and detangle dry and brittle hair.

THERMASMOOTH CONDITIONER 250ml - £10.25

Description - a luxurious cream conditioner again enriched with there advanced C3 smoothing complex which helps protect the hair's elasticity.

RATING

Definitely ticks all the boxes, they are both truly creamy and luxurious! An important key I have to mention also is the amount I use when using them. When I normally wash my hair I have to use a lot of shampoo and conditioner meaning a big handful, especially conditioner! I cant help it I just feel like using a little doesn't do its job. With these products I literally only used about the size of £2 coin in my hand and they both went such a long way so that is big thing for me as they will last a lot longer. Also they help in the process of getting my hair from curly to straight as the thermasmooth collection is a thermal straightening system that helps protect your hair from humidity which leaves you with frizz free results and is also long lasting.

MOISTURISING

ROSE H2O - £12.90

Description - contains natural derived oils also botanical originated extracts that help replenish hair leaving it feeling and looking soft and silky.

COMFIDERM - £8.75

Description - a luxurious scalp oil that conditions the hair and scalp.

RATING

Love these!!! These two products I tend to use after washing my hair, I also use these before blow drying my hair. These products in combination with the heat from my hair dryer helps them penetrate right to the scalp leaving it nice and conditioned. I also like to use these when my hairs starting to feel dull and my scalp is starting to feel dry. Again with these a little bit goes such a long way. When I use the rose H2O I separate my hair into two sections and apply about a 20p size to each side and that is really more than enough! For the comfiderm I section my hair into four and using the nozzle I apply it directly to scalp in three rows across the section.

STYLING

COCONUT SOUFFLE - £12.90

Description - a light moisturiser that weightlessly provides instant protection against environmental aggressors, also enriched with coconut, camellina and rice bran oils. It replenishes your hair which increases manageability and gives a beautiful shine.

THERMASMOOTH SHINE EXTENT - £12.90

Description - anti humidity and high shine spritz that helps to protect hair against humidity leaving it looking frizz free.

EDGE TAMING GEL - £9.55

Description - a transparent gel texture that can smooth and tame flyaways, it becomes a high hold gel once cooled leaving hair with a smooth and polished finish. It also protects fragile hair with anti-breakage cermide, jojoba and argan oils. It does not contain mineral oil or petrolatum.

RATING

It has taken me so long to find the perfect products to style my hair. I've gone through many of products that claim to protect your hair against heat which ended up leaving me with broken ends. I have tried many gels, waxes and heavy products that claim they will hold down my flyaways but haven't been strong enough to do so, as well as many 'light' moisturisers that turn out to be heavy and greasy. It really has been hard finding the right products for my hair but finally the heavens opened up and shone its light on these three beauties :D.



I use the coconut souffle first which smells divine! I use about a size of a 50p and spread through all of my hair with ease as its really light textured it doesn't leave my hair looking greasy at all. The thermasmooth shine extent is the perfect everyday heat protector it isn't heavy and it really does protect my hair, I had used a horrible heat protector before and it actually made the heat from my straightener singe my hair off at the front and back of my head so finding a good protector was important for me.

 Finally the edge taming gel is the bomb! The singed sections of hair have been tricky to help grow back and since using all these products and caring for my hair they have started to grow back beautifully. The last thing I want is for them to break again so I use the taming gel to hold them down when styling which makes the perfect combination to protect my hair with its has anti-breakage cermide.

OVERALL REVIEW

I AM IN LOVE! This range is absolutely amazing! I don't know how I've coped without it and I will be defiantly using this for a long time. The most important thing for me is the quality of these products, they are worth every penny as they are going to last a long time! A little bit goes a long way! The prices vary depending on where you shop so I will list different websites you can purchase the items from below.

www.lookfantastic.com
www.allbeauty.com
www.feelunique.com

Hope today's post helped and don't forget to leave comments below, thank you.

Elle xx

Glam Glow

Hello again! Hope your all having a lovely day!? So today's post is all about the one and only GLAMGLOW|SUPERMUD clearing treatment. It's been raved and ranted about so much over social media the past few years but the question is, is it really something to rant about?  The one thing that has made me want to post about this is the price, it is pretty expensive which makes it something not everyone is going to want to buy just to try out. I'm hoping this review can help anyone who is on the fence about buying it as well as people looking for a new face mask. So to find out more please keep reading :)

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

So here are some factors you should know before purchasing this product.

This particular treatment is targeted for those who suffer with common skin concerns such as spots, pimples, black & white heads, razor burns, in-grown hair, breakouts, problematic skin and more.

It's suitable for all skin types.

Acnecidic-6, Pore-matrix, Bio-life-cell-science & Teaoxi are the main things used in this mask which is what makes it so different from the rest. All information on these are listed in a leaflet in the box. 

It can be used as a full mask or spot treatment.

It can be used by men or women.

It's 100% paraben free.

HOW I USE MY GLAMGLOW

Before applying it as a mask, be sure to wash your face. Doing this will open your pores which will help the mask get deep into the skin to do it's work. When you've washed and patted your face dry with a clean towel then your all set for application. The mask is a clay mask so it is a dark grey/black colour, it has a lumpy kind of texture to it which will be from the ingredients used. So apply as you would a normal mask, I use my fingers and spread evenly all over my face being sure to stay away from my eye area. Once applied you will see areas turning a light grey colour, this is the clay setting and drying on the face (note not all the clay will turn light grey.) The areas that don't are the areas which the mask has drawn out all the bad stuff like excess oil, dirt and all that yuckiness. Leave on for 5-20 minutes then rinse off with warm water and dry your face with a clean towel. I always make sure I follow up with a moisturiser after applying the mask as the mask may leave the skin slightly dehydrated, I personally think this makes my face feel more refreshed.

When using as a spot treatment I use it before I go to bed. I do my normal night time routine of washing my face, then following up with toning and moisturising avoiding the problem area, I then apply the treatment to that area and leave on overnight. In the morning I rinse it off and continue following my morning routine.

OVERALL REVIEW

My overall review on this product is definitely 10/10. The one thing I love about this mask is how you can feel it doing it's work, while waiting for it to set you can feel a tingling sensation all over your face and deep into your skin. I notice after using it there is a difference in my skins appearance and any problem areas. Now one thing I will say, never expect to wake up with a completely clear face the next day. Any spots, white heads, pimples etc that were above the skin will have popped if you like and will have reduced in size. Any under the skin will have come to the surface leaving you with the impression it has given you more spots. It's not the products fault! If you had a spot under the skin it will bring it to the surface so that it will go! This was a lesson I had to learn. It's not always the case everyone's skin is different it could very well leave you with the perfect skin the next day. Now the big question answered, is it worth the hype? YES!! I really do love it especially when I feel my skin hates me. It doesn't just leave your skin feeling beautiful the next day it continues to do so for days. I will be trying out the rest of the range at some point as I have no doubt I will be getting the same good results. In terms of price they sell from around £25-£50 depending on where your purchasing from, I will list some sites for you below:

http://www.lookfantastic.com

http://www.zestbeauty.com

http://www.feelunique.com

CHEAPER ALTERNATIVE

Being aware the GLAMGLOW range is high in price I wanted to add on a cheaper alternative for those on a budget. These are the Montagne Jeaunesse range, they have a HUGE collection of masks at such an amazing price! They can be found at most beauty drugstores or supermarkets, I buy mine from my local boots store. They're normally sold on offers where you can get a selection for a certain price like 4 sachets for £3, otherwise they sell for around £1-£2 which is certainly a fantastic price! The sachets I have in the picture above are called Strawberry Souffle, Passion Peel Off, Apricot Scrub, Sauna Masque & Green Tea Peel Off. 

I hope today's post was helpful, please leave your comments below. Thank you.

Elle xx

My Strawberry & Banana Smoothie Recipe

Hi everyone, today's post is all about how to make this yummy smoothie I've been loving. It's so easy, quick, healthy and the perfect thing to snack on in between meals. Now I know there are a tun of recipes out there on how to make the most delicious strawberry and banana smoothie but one thing I never do is follow recipes! I always look at a bunch of different ones to see what is used and pretty much wing it. With this recipe I didn't want to add any additional things like sweetener or honey because I wanted to keep it low in sugar and calories making it more nutritious (you can add either if you'd like). I will also list at the bottom the benefits of the ingredients used to make this smoothie. So to find out how I make my strawberry and banana smoothie please keep reading.

For ingredients:

8 strawberries

1 whole banana

1/4 of a pint of milk

1/2 of a pint of natural yogurt

ice cubes

So when you have all the listed ingredients all you need to do is throw them into a blender in no particular order and let the blender do its work. Be sure not to blend for to long otherwise you will lose the thickness, usually 45 - 60 seconds does the trick. 

Once blended, pure into your fave glass, top with a strawberry and enjoy.

How this smoothie benefits you

Strawberries:

Strawberries help to boost immunity and fibre, prevent those wrinkles, help fight cancer and cholesterol, promote eye health, reduce inflammation and regulate blood pressure.

Bananas:

Bananas are high in levels of vitamin B-6, potassium and antioxidants, strengthens blood, relieves anaemia, reduces PMS and aids digestion.

Milk:

Milk can help with the appearance of skin giving it a glow, it is a great source of calcium, helps rebuild muscles and when warm soothes frayed nerves.

Natural Yogurt:

Natural yogurt provides calcium, beneficial probiotic bacteria, boosts your immune system, helps with weight loss and can also be used to create your own face mask.

Ice cubes:

Now we all know the most beneficial source of an ice cube is what its made out of, good old H20 which can help with calorie control, muscle fuel, helps clear skin, boosts brain cells and aids a hangover.

hope this helps 

Elle <3

Welcome!

Hello everyone and welcome to my blog! I just wanted to start off by telling you a bit about myself and why I have made a blog. Firstly, making a blog is something I've wanted to do for a really long time but felt I never really had reason or had the confidence and knowledge. The truth is these were all excuses and there was not one thing holding me back. For the longest time now a lot of my family and friends have been telling me how I should just go for it. (Being as I seem to be there personal guide when it comes to things I'll be addressing on this blog ;P) From makeup to fashion, hair and even health you'll be able to find it all here. Now I am by no means a makeup artist, fashion designer, hairdresser or personal trainer but I do have a huge passion in those areas and I'd love to share all I know and continue to learn with you. So welcome & enjoy, Elle <3