Pixi Picks: secret

Tuesday, 5 August 2014

Flawless Foundation | Moisture Surge CC Cream Colour Correcting Hydrator Review

Clinique Moisture Surge CC Cream Colour Correcting Hydrator Review

Shhhhhhh!!!! I am revealing my biggest beauty secret here, you can probably tell what it is from the title. I worked at Clinique for a year and became totally hooked on a few of their products, they pop up through out my blog. People often ask my how my foundation looks 'flawless' and if I am wearing the Estee Lauder Double Wear Foundation (also a love), but I'm not and I can't take all the credit. The Clinique Moisture Surge CC Cream Colour Correcting Hydrator is one of those products I will never again be able to live without.

Light Medium

After (using Clinique Moisture Surge CC Cream)

With foundation

What they say: One day, your skin looks 'different.' Too red, sallow, dull or ashy. Our guiding dermatologists know why. Skin's undertones change. Now, Smart Colour Correcting Technology helps change them back. In seconds, you look like the picture of health. Lasting, oil-free hydration and a sunscreen mean a more flawless look tomorrow, too.

What I say: On its own it acts as a colour corrector, evening out the skin tone and providing light coverage; similar to a tinted moisturiser. I have quite bad acne scaring so this alone would not be enough to conceal the redness and any blemishes.

So here is my secret, I use the Moisture Surge CC Cream as a primer. I like to use a flat foundation brush to apply a thin, pea size amount over my face. This evens out the colour and redness but doesn’t give me the coverage I need, so I follow with my foundation. Today I have decided to use Clinique Anti Blemish Solutions Makeup as I do not want it to look too thick and I want my skin so have a slight dewy sheen. Using the Real Techniques Expert Face Brush I then gently buff the foundation over the skin and blend it in with the Clinique Moisture Surge CC Cream. The finished look is all one colour, redness and shadows gone.

Some people have questioned if this is quite thick but actually it isn't if you partner it with the right foundation. I also found that the finished look is better if you layer the products rather than mixing the CC cream and foundation together. Another great thing is that there are sooooo many colours! You are bound to find one that suits your skin tone. At the moment I am using the shade Light Medium because it is summer, but I also have the lightest shade Very Light which is perfect for me during the winter when I have less colour.

If you have quite dry skin I would recommend a gentle weekly exfoliator, I have heard some people say it can stick to patches of dry skin. I have oily skin so I haven't found this. If like me you skin gets oily, I like to set the foundation with Estee Lauder Double Wear Pressed Powder, but some other setting powder would work just as well.

Clinique Moisture Surge CC Cream Colour Correcting Hydrator, £28.00

Stay beautiful

xoxo

Friday, 11 July 2014

Rapunzel's secret colourist: LGD Twist Hair Salon Review - Cardiff

Taking a trip to Cardiff or are you a welsh lady?? Then this post is for you!

Pre warning: This post contains no makeup selfies!!

I am very particular about my hair. It is a love affair I have strung out for some 10 years. Having mousey hair that was neither brown nor blonde I begged my mum until I was blue in the face to let me have highlights for my school prom. I turned up all podgy and wedged into a tacky Jane Morgan dress but my hair was a hit. Since then I haven't looked back.

I have constantly changed from platinum blonde, during my student days, to a more demure natural blonde in my now late 20s, apparently I needed to grow up. But through out this constant change of colour there has only ever been one hair stylist, apart from when I once cheated and visited Toni & Guy.

But Janine knows hair better than any Toni and Guy colourist and every time she gets it right. She knows what colour I am after without getting her little book of hair swatches out and I always leave loving my new do. Last year she opened a small salon, LGD Twist, in the heart of Cardiff to teach the new generation of stylists and colourists the ropes and I want to share it with you.

As I am writing this I am sat with delicate foils threaded through my hair with the same excitement I have done for the last 10 years. You are provided with a constant supply of tea and the occasional cheeky doughnut in a relaxed environment. Unlike the larger salons LGD Twist is small and more intimate, it feels like a family run establishment where clients are friends and there is the obvious lack of blasting hairdryers and people shouting – often got from larger chains.

This is my little secret that I want to share with you, so much so that every 8weeks I get on a train to come back to Cardiff just to have my hair done. The best part is the price! To have the owner, Janine, work her magic on your hair it is £45.00….yes fall off your chair, its that good! This is for a FULL HEAD of highlights mind. You heard right! In Toni & Guy I paid over £130 for exactly the same thing. LGD Twist also run special offers, recently you could get a full head on a Thursday for just £30! Don’t be fooled by the price, the service is top notch, the colours are the same as the pricey salons and the finish is even better!

Janine starts by using a mixture of Matrix highlights and low lights which are brushed onto the hair and sealed in foils. Once they are all in you leave them to work their stuff for 20mins and then wash the colour out. I like to have a Matrix Fiber Strong treatment on my hair every time I have highlights, constant colouring can damage the hair so keeping it in silky condition is a must – condom head!

It is slightly cheaper to have one of the stylists do your hair, if you do I recommend you ask for Jodie. She recently came third in a Welsh competition and you can see why!