Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair.

So, this product has stood the test of time and has been around for thirty years apparently - it has recently been relaunched with the addition of chronolux technology, which we'll come to later (pens and pads at the ready for that - Its gonna get "sciency"!)

I was recently sent a little sample bottle of this - similar to the sizes you sometimes get free with magazines etc. This was meant to last a week, however I can safely say that a little of this goes a long way - I've been using this at night for about a month now and I'd barely used a quarter of the bottle, so despite its hefty price tag (£36 for 30ml or £49 for 50ml), I'd expect a bottle to last a long time! The product was sent with no press info for once - a good sign in my book, when companies dont try to dictate the content of blog posts lol... I also enjoy doing a bit of research myself from time to time!

The Science Bit...
The theory is that environmental assaults (pollution, stress, smoke, sunlight and even stress) cause DNA damage, which in turn causes ageing. Now we all know that skin does much of its repairing and renewing at night while we sleep - the old adage of "beauty sleep" is definitely true!

Apparently though, our skin cells contains clock genes - if these are "in sync", then this night time repair occurs optimally. However, the problem is that environmental assaults mean that the clock genes are frequently knocked out of sync, so aging occurs.The Advanced night repair contains "chronolux" technology, which sets to work on clock genes, synchronising them, and therefore making the skins natural defenses against ageing more effective.

So does it actually work?
I've seen reviews on you tube making claims that this serum heals blemishes overnight, and other such miracles. While it didn't do that for me, I can say it did seem to speed up the process significantly - After a blemish I often get a red area on the skin which can take a few weeks to disappear completely. I noticed while using this serum that such marks were reduced within about a week to ten days. My skin also feels very smooth and soft in the morning, and I definitely look quite "well rested"

The serum is also easily absorbed too, and easy to use - I'd say I apply 3-5 drops at night (thats a rough estimate - the proper sized product comes with a dropper, which my sample does not have...) prior to my night cream (Clarins Multi Active).

As for long term anti-ageing results, I think this would only be possible to really assess over the course of a few months, so I'm not really prepared to say yay or nay to this. So far though I've been impressed enough to say I'm likely to pick up a bottle when my little sample runs out. This also comes in an eye cream, which I'm interested in trying when my current eye cream runs out too...

Have any of you tried this or any other products from the range? I'm feeling that I've neglected to look at the Estee Lauder skincare products for a long time - for example, the Daywear range sounds right up my alley - SPF 30 and antioxidants? Fab!

MizzWorthy xxx

Body Shop Vitamin E Facial Oil - A Review

Hi everyone,

Hope you are all well!

So I decided it was high time I started to review some of the products the Body Shop kindly gave us last Thursday, and I wanted to start with a product I've been very surprised by and am LOVING - their Vitamin E Facial Oil.

I have dry skin which is mildly combination, ie I get very slightly oily in the centre of my forehead and down my nose. Due to this my skin is prone to looking dull and feeling tight, especially on the cheeks... I wasn't sure of what to expect from this product - although I've recently been converted to how great oils work for cleansing I was sceptical of using them on my face, and fully expected this to make my skin feel a bit oily. I was very pleasantly surprised.

In the UK this retails for £14.65 for 15mls. This sounds like a lot but for my skin I use around two to four drops per go of the oil, so a little goes a long way. The Body Shop state that the product is for dry skin, so I'm not sure how well this would suit people with oilier skins...

What Does it Do?

The Body Shop say: An aromatic, pre-moisturiser treat for the skin to boost moisturisation, nourish the skin when used as part of a daily regime. Absorbs quickly into the skin to leave it feeling soothed, silky-smooth and perfectly prepared for your daily moisturiser. Ideal for dry skin. Non comedogenic.

What's in it?

Wheat germ, rice bran and soya oils - are naturally high in Vitamin E.

Grapeseed and jojoba oils - to nourish.

A blend of essential oils including rose - to soothe the skin and the senses.

The Capenema Farmers supply our Community Trade Soya oil. Thay are based in Brazil and we have been trading with them since 2000. The soyabean farmers in Capanema believe in preserving nature and their traditional way of life. Long before the idea of organic certification came into being, they were cultivating their crops and rearing their animals firm in the belief that they wanted to maintain the purity of the land. Soya oil is well known in the cosmetic industry for its moisturising properties and is a great base for hair and body products

Triticum Vulgare Germ Oil, Corylus Avellana Nut Oil, Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil, Glycine Soja Oil, Oryza Sativa Bran Oil, Tocopheryl Acetate, Boswellia Carterii Oil, Pelargonium Graveolens Flower Oil, Lavandula Angustifolia Oil, Linalool, Citronellol, Limonene, Geraniol, Rosa Damascena Flower Oil, Vetiveria Zizanoides Oil, Anthemis Nobilis Oil, Daucus Carota Sativa Seed Oil, Chamomilla Recutita Extract, Citral.

How do I use it?

Use Vitamin E Facial Oil as part of your everyday cleansing, toning and moisturising regime.
Apply to the face and neck before moisturiser. Use as part of your daily regime for a moisturisation boost.
(Source - http://www.thebodyshop.co.uk/)

My Thoughts? I've been using this for a few days now, and I am really impressed with it.

I love the packaging and think it works very well - the oil comes in a small glass bottle with a dropper top, so its easy to dispense the product drop by drop as you need without creating a mess. It's quite small as well, so easy for travel - I know a couple of the other people who attended had a problem with the bottle breaking though!

I use this product after cleansing and toning and before moisturising. I find it sinks in quickly and easily into my skin and does not leave it feeling greasy at all. My skin stays comfortable feeling all day - none of that uncomfortable dry and tight feeling I sometimes get. This product also seems to make the skin a little more receptive to my moisturizer, so that I get better results all round.

I have noticed an improvement in the appearance of my skin - blemishes appear to heal a bit faster (Vitamin E - Is naturally powerful and one of the best antioxidants that help protect the skin against damaging environmental elements, such as the sun, pollution and cigarette smoke) and my skin also looks more naturally radiant and well hydrated. I usually wear foundation everyday, but if this little beauty continues to work as well as it is, then I'll easily be able to skip that.

I also like the feeling of giving my skin a massage twice a day - I have been using this morning and night (I use a couple of drops extra at night to give my skin an extra boost), and the mere action of massaging the product in (which doesn't take long) probably boosts the circulation to and therefore radiance of the skin

One of the things I also like about this product is that is can be used for a number of other things too - the Makeup Artist Chase Aston demonstrated using this on the cheekbones under liquid foundation to give the skin a dewy look, and you could also mix a drop or two in with your body lotion in order to give the skin on your body a boost too.

I will definately be buying this product again and would recommend it to people with dry to very dry skin in need of a boost and skin which looks dull and needs a kick of radiance...

I'd be really interested to know if any of you have tried this product and your thoughts on it?

Hope you enjoyed!

MizzWorthy xxx

PS - I also keep forgetting to mention that the body shop has a great policy regarding samples - ie you can ask for samples of most of the products that they sell (apart from the perfumes and some of the makeup, due to how they are packaged etc) to try before you buy, so if you are unsure about how well things will suit your skin, I would highly recommend getting a sample first and seeing how you like it before you shell out your hard earned cash on it...!

Illamasqua Haul!

Hi everyone! Hope you are all well

I finally got paid today, so I unleashed myself on the Trafford Centre to visit my new favourite brand, and went to see the lovely makeup and see the lovely makeup artists at Illamasqua - this is a new British brand. It's currently available in Selfridges in London and the trafford centre in Manchester at the moment, but over the next few months, the brand is rolling out over the UK, and I was told it's launching in Newcastle today as well. I am in love with this brand for several reasons - Illamasqua's roots lie in theatrical Berlin and I love the way the brand completely captures the artistic and dramatic feel of the theatre. This makeup makes me feel special, and at the end of the day, this is what Make up is all about to me - the perfect fusion of art and beauty.

Some of Illamasquas Beautiful Promo Images

Naturally, with makeup and images this beautiful, I have been doing some serious hauling - this is stuff I've bought over the last couple of weeks by the way - my credit card has not had a totally serious bashing!

Illamasqua Pure pigments in "Charm", which the makeup artists acurately described as "mermaid blue", and "fervent", which is a bronze-brown based shade with reflects of blue, green and copper. These can be mixed with any mixing medium, they are highly pigmented and there are some beautiful colours available - They retail for £15 for 1.3g of product.

Pigments with "Underworld" Lipstick. The photograph is good, but really doesn't do this beautiful lipstick justice. Underworld is a rich true purple frosted shade with blue reflects. This sounds strange, but the reflects give this a beautiful understated glow - I can wear this shade subtley in the day time, or I can really vamp it up for a night time look. I absolutely love this shade! I also find the formulation lasts really well and is not drying on the lips. Lipsticks retail at £14.

Here it is on the lips - this is how I would wear it in the day, and again, I have to say the pic does not do this justice!

I also got a cake eyeliner in "Zeal", a deep dark green shade, this is a solid cake to which to add a drop of mixing medium (which comes with it)and mix to the depth and consistency you desire - I have been using this as you can see! Liner cake is also available in black, grey, deep blue, purple and a muted brown shade, and the cake and mixing medium cost £16. I also bought an undereye concealer, which I'm so far very impressed with. It stays put really really well and doesn't crease/shift or gather into those fine lines I'm trying to pretent I dont have... It covers my dark circles well too! Under eye concealer retails for £11.74 for 2.5mls.

Illamasqua have an amazing range of matte and creme shadows (they do make a few shimmer shades as well) - I purchased a grey cream shade in "Amorous". This is a pale shade with a muted purple undertone, and gives a beautiful subtle colour. These are great base shadows, and come in a range of bright and basic shades. I also bought powder eye shadows in "Bruised", a deep plum/burgundy shade, and "Predator" a beautiful passionate pink. The powder shadows are very well pigmented and give really great colour payoff, which can be applied for a subtle pop of colour or built up for full on drama. These all retail for £14, for 2g of product. They can also be mixed with the mixing medium to create intense eyeliners for dramatic looks.

Naturally, to set off my beautiful shadows, I simply HAD to get some dramatic lashes - Illamasqua do some amazing lashes ranging from individual to complete and utter drama, all of which retail for £11 and are reusable.

Finally a couple of beautiful cream blushers - I have to say that I have had issues with MAC blushers in the past in terms of the fact that they dissappear on me after about two hours. This is not true of Illamasquas blushers at all. They are available in powder and cream formulations, and some fabulously dramatic shades are available. I purchased "Dixie", which is one of those magical shades which seems to suit everyone, and also "Lies", a paler pink which can be used to give a beautiful sheen of colour to the cheekbone.

The ethos behind this brand is all about exploring and unleashing your alter ego! This has been the inspiration behind the competition which I am going to be launching tomorrow!

Hope you enjoyed!

Love MizzWorthy xxx

xxx