Lavender & Coral

By Sarah Redman

Lavander macaroon & coral nails

Our summer weather seems to be dwindling a bit so I thought I would share a bit of colour and a summer memory.

This arty food photo is obviously and instagram snap – my summer has been full of colour, sun and macaroons.

My nails are painted in Really Rio from Clinique’s A Different Nail Enamel range – retailing at £12.00 for 9ml.

The lovely lavander macaroon comes from a bakery in northern France and was part of a few sweet treats my parents bought back for my sister and I.

I hope you’re all enjoying the last of your summers!

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The Matte Look

By Sarah Redman

For the past we seasons, the ‘dewy look’ has been the main one to aim for with regards to your skin and make up regime. However for Autumn / Winter 2013 the ‘matte look’ is most definitely back.

Rimmel London Stay Matte Foundation Samples

Rimmel London have just  released their new Stay Matte Foundation – liquid mouse (£5.99). I have always been a bit weary of matte foundations and mouses, thinking that they would dry out my already temperamental and dry skin. However I have been pleasantly surprised with this new formula.

I have never been a fan of that ‘shiny’ look, dewy fine – shinny no! But this matte look is really versatile as a base, letting you choose which area of make up you want to be the focus point, from the classic eyes or lips to the matte look skin itself. This formula includes chamomile, cucumber and cotton to calm, clarify and control shine respectively. This foundation also reduces redness and absorbs any excess oil for up to 12 hours.

This foundation feels great on, leaving  the skin silky smooth (even if its a bit dry), this sample (100 Ivory) is the second lightest shade available (there are 5 shades available), i am rather pale so can struggle to find a foundation that isn’t a stark contrast to my skin. Whist this foundation seems dark, it actually blend very well to your skin tone, you don’t need much at all to get an even yet still shear coverage. This was a pleasant surprise, i found applying this foundation easiest with my Real Techniques expert face brush.

There have been some bad reviews about this product, with some people finding it too cakey – but i found you really need a little bit and just take the time to blend to your skin, rather than ‘paint’ it on to cover up problematic skin. I also used a little Rimmel London Stay Matte Long Lasting Pressed Powder in 001 transparent (£3.99) to finish. In the packaging it looks like a pale colour but when applied really is just a mattefying translucent powder that i found helped any areas of excess oil for my combination skin.

Below is the finished look:

(I apologise for my skin – its having a bad time with the back to uni work stress!)

Stay Matte foundation look

I have finished my matte foundation look by adding a bit of bronzer (no.7 perfectly bronzed bronzing pearls), using my go to eyebrow kit (Rimmel London professional eye brow pencil & The Body Shop’s brow & lash gel), keeping my eye make up light (Clinique eye shadow & 17 doll’d up Mascara), lastly some neutral lip balm (Burt’s Bees Honey)

Have you been experimenting with different foundations lately, do you like this minimal winter look? Leave a comment and let us know or Tweet us @thesarahsblog

Mum’s the word

By Sarah Redman

I have always loved my Mum’s style, although sometimes I have steered her in the right direction, but I remember watching her get ready for a night with the girls or a dinner party in lovely dresses, pretty jewellery (which I subsequently raided her jewellery box for) and of course the high heels – no wonder I’m obsessed with shoes, I was just at the right height to raid her wardrobe!
Here she has a great smart casual style going on for dinner with the girls. I love the top and tapered trousers with the summer pumps, a really great take on a smart casual summer dinner look.
♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦
Top – Hobbs
Trousers – Miss Captain
Shoes – Lisa Kay
Jewellery – Triwa (watch) – Dominic Walmsley (rings) – Cohen (Ring)
Glasses – Ralph Lauren
Make up – Clinique Chubby Stick – Grandest Grape 08

Hi Sweetie meet Grapefruit Fimo

By Sarah Redman
No literally. My Hi Sweetie Clinique ‘A Different Nail Enamel’ has merged with my new nail art fimo fruit.

I have seen lots of nail art recently focusing on the tip of the nail, especially lots of pastel tips instead of the traditional white tip to the french manicure. A lot of these have based on a darker or lighter shade of the one on the tip or are on a nude base.

However i wanted to give my nails a bit of a break so after preparing the nails I just applied Rimmel London’s Nail Rescue Save Me and Rimmel London’s Stronger Try Harder Double Duty Base Coat to my nails. (I finished this look with top coat Rimmel London Pro Super Wear Ultra Shine Topcoat – see below)

After they dried, I applied my new Clinique ‘Not Just Another Nail Enammel’ in Hi Sweetie (£12.00).

I then applied my Grapefruit nail art fimo from a set from Claires (£3.50) by painting one side of the grapefruit fimo with Topcoat and then placing on the nail.

Lastly i finished with a Topcoat to seal the Grapefruit fimo to the nail and protect the polish.

Did you like this post or have you tried a new nail art style recently? Let us know and leave a comment or Tweet us @thesarahsblog

The golden triangle

By Sarah Redman
I haven’t done a ‘What I Wore Today‘ post in a while, so I thought I would share today’s outfit. My outfit is made up of some golden oldies found in the back of the wardrobe / jewellery box.

In accessorising this outfit has centred around ‘The Golden Triangle’. I’m not a matchy-matchy person, but I am a shoes and jewellery person, so it was only a matter of time before they matched!

Shoes: I love these shoes, they are the most comfortable heals I own (shown by how battered they are!) these are from the wonderful Clarks. I have always associated this brand with comfy shoes, but last year I really noticed how fabulous some of their pieces are – even if I can’t bring myself to replace these beauties.

Jewellery: In sorting out my jewellery box I have found these lovely gold triangle matching earrings and necklace from Dorothy Perkins. I got these in one of their end of season sales where all their jewellery is really discounted #Bonus I’m never one for matching jewellery but I love how these pieces have a little bit of quirkiness about them, but are still nice and simple.

Bag: This is the first preview of my beloved holiday bag. Last year I went to France and completely fell in love with the woven bags sold at the markets (great for carrying all the fresh fruit and veg home… And I have actually done that, but when I wanted stuff for a smoothie from Waitrose!) so this year I finally came to a decision about which one I wanted. They come in all different shapes and sizes, not to mention colours – the stalls always look beautiful. But I decided understated and versatile would be best for me.
Finally, my jeans are this season Gap, whilst my jumper is another oldie but goodie from H&M. This jumper is great it is really comfy and so versatile – H&M have done it again! My nail polish is the new Clinique ‘A Different Nail Enamel‘ in Hi Sweetie. I also thought I would share a little pic of my hair, loving my new hair care routine as my hair is easily styled like this even freshly washed! *new post coming soon*

Does your outfit ever centre round your accessories? Let us know and leave a comment or Tweet us @thesarahsblog

3 holiday beauty essentials

By Sarah Redman
Each year I have a different product I can’t live without on holiday, whether it is a new frizz serum, a BB cream, or plain and simple but classic eye lash curlers. This year is no different, so here are my 3 holiday beauty essentials for 2013.
No.1
The Body Shop – Vitamin E Cool BB Cream

This is a new find for me, I have normally struggled with BB creams as I have problem skin and find they either upset my skin; drying out sensitive areas or inflaming the oily patches and they just didn’t provide the right kind of coverage.
But I have started looking at this product as my halfway house between tinted moisturiser and full on liquid foundation. The vitamin E really is cooling just as the packaging says, great if you are battling sea salt or chlorine.

This light formula blends easily into the skin, (it comes out quiet dark at first, see photo above, but it will adjust to your skin shade) leaving an even, glowing skin tone, without shine (although if you want more coverage then a light powder works well). I also love this look for dinner, if you aren’t going anywhere too fancy, just add some bronzer. Great if you are looking for less coverage – especially during the day, letting your skin breath in the heat – £10.
*Also, 50p from each BB Cream sold goes to the teenage cancer trust #Bonus #Charity
No.2
17 – Smoky Eye Palette

This is by no means a new piece of make-up for me, it is a Christmas present from my parents. But each time I go back to this palette I love it even more, it is very easy to blend and you have the choice between a goldeny brown and a bluey grey smokey eye hue.

Depending on the occasion this palette can take you from day to night – just add eye liner and mascara. Simple and easy for when the weather is warm – price not available.
No.3
Clinique – Chubby Stick Moisturising Lip Colour Balm (11 Two Ton Tomato)

I love Clinique’s chubby stick, one of the first of its kind on the market and pure genius as far as I am concerned. Whilst on first glance it does kind of looks like you are colouring your lips in with Crayola, but persevere, the formula glides on nicely, leaving a hint of colour and moisture. I now have four shades in the original chubby stick and love every one of them.

They even upped their game and introduced their range of Chubby Stick Intense Lip Colour Balm‘s (for a more intense colour) and then Chubby Stick Shadow Tint for Eyes (next on my beauty list) – all £17.
What are your holiday essentials, leave us a comment or Tweet us @thesarahsblog to let us know.

Suprise!

By Sarah Redman

Bobbi Brown. A make-up brand that up until now I have never really investigated, it is my sister‘s make-up of choice, so I just left it with her. She told me it was amazing and to be perfectly honest, her skin does look great. But I have tried almost every brand out there and when I found my Clinique foundation that just works so well for my difficult skin, I was sold and have stayed with it for ages.

A friend once said “If you have a great base then you can put almost anything on top.” So basically, invest in a good quality foundation and then you can have a £2 blusher. What could be simpler? On a student budget this works well as I have found that the more I pay for a foundation the more it lasts (not sure if I’m just more precious about it, but hey!)

Whilst I have never experimented with Bobbi Brown myself, my sister – clearly a valued customer – received a free gift in the post this morning. #Jealous

Bobbi Brown set their Intensifying Long Wear Mascara and a code for free nominated day delivery, wrapped in a lovely black embossed with small circles package. After their ‘Surprise’ complimentary gift I may just have to try out a few of their products myself. Especially after seeing their new Sheer Lip Colour range!

If you like this post or are a Bobbi Brown or Clinique fan then let us know and leave a comment or Tweet us @thesarahsblog

They’re Real!

By Sarah Redman

Yes, i’m talking about the new Benefit mascara ‘they’re Real!‘

This product I acquired through the goodie bag from the Cosmo Careers Masterclass, but you can get yours from Boots, feelunique.com or anywhere with a Benefit counter! It may come out at an eye-watering (excuse the pun) £19.50, a fair penny more than some great high street brand’s best sellers. However, even as a student, i would definitely invest in this product – it’s worth it.

The reviews speak for themselves, with the Benefit site racking up 461, Boots 130, and feelunique.com 38, with the majority overwhelmingly positive. The one downside seemed to be that the mascara itself was ‘clumpy’, mine has been fine so to anyone with this problem I suggest having a look at where you store your make-up! Yes the bathroom mirror may have great light, but those hot showers aren’t doing your make-up any good. Don’t forget, they may be promising fantastic lashes but if you pile any mascara on too heavily it will clump – sorry! Take it slow and watch a few YouTube tutorials or ask your local makeup counter for some tips.

Before this mascara I used Clinique‘s High Lengths Mascara (£16.00), I have been using this mascara for a while now and to be honest would be and still am reluctant to change. It is great to have variety in your make up, because lets face it you wouldn’t go out in the same make-up you wear down the supermarket, so I would advise having a few – just make sure this is one of them. My sister is blessed with stunningly long natural lashes that look like she is wearing falsies or at least a good mascara when she has little or none on – Grrrr… and breath! But this mascara helps with the sibling rivalry, it has a fantastic precision brush which separates and defines lashes for a wide-eyed look.

Clinique have also released High Impact Extreme Volume Mascara (£17.00) this product promises not only the length of their High Lengths Mascara, but also great volume – when pay day arrives i’ll let you know!

I have also recently tried 17‘s Doll’d Up Mascara (Up to 24 hr curl), retailing at £6.29, however if you are beauty savvy you will have already noticed that your recent vouchers for your Boots Advantage Card contain a lovely discount on this product, bringing it in at a credit-crunch happy £2 (Not going to lie I bought it first and foremost for the discount, without even looking at which mascara was so cheep!) But boy am I glad I did. For a mascara that is great for a student budget even without the discount, I was really pleased with the results, I have fair hair and am fair skinned, but the ‘Black’ wasn’t too harsh and actually produces a finish not dissimilar to Benefit’s ‘they’re Real!’ just without the stunning length. This is not to say they don’t add length as the brush is great for that, but curl your lashes before applying and that curl will last!

If you have a favourite mascara and want to share it or want to let us know about one of those mentioned please leave us a comment or tweet the sarahs style blog @thesarahsblog