Guest Blog: Winter Beauty Essentials – Kate from Adore Beauty

Our second guest post regarding beauty experts and their winter beauty essentials comes from Kate – founder of the amazing Australian online beauty store Adore Beauty.

Winter Beauty Essentials – Kate from Adore Beauty

Winter for me means three months of fighting dehydrated skin. I love my central heating, but goodness, it really does dry out my face! My three winter must-haves include:

01: Skinceuticals Retexturing Activator – what a godsend. This serum is super hydrating AND exfoliating, so it’s the best for getting rid of winter flakies.

02: Aesop Geranium Leaf Hydrating Body Treatment – I love using this on damp skin, just after turning off the shower. That way I can moisturise from neck to toe without having to leave the nice steamy shower cubicle.

03: Benefit Benetint – this berry tint on my cheeks gives me that gorgeous snow-bunny flush. Which is handy, because I don’t ski, so there’s no other way of getting it!

My winter tradition is badgering my partner to cook me his famous Cheesy Triangle Hotpot. It’s a delicious thick rich spicy vegetarian casserole, baked in the oven with cheesy triangle scone-like dumplings on top. Trust me, on a chilly Melbourne winter night, it’s the best thing you’ll ever eat. Particularly with a nice glass of Heathcote shiraz!

Mood Inspiration

image source: thefashionspot

Product Review: Clarins Everlasting Foundation

Clarins recently released a new product – the Everlasting Foundation, a long-lasting foundation that is designed to “stay true” for 15 hours. “The High Fidelity System, an invisible microfilm that ensures even coverage and 15 hours of flawless hold. The Light Optimising complex captures, diffuses and amplifies light. Both ensure a radiant and flawless complexion.” Sounds pretty good, huh. Well I was lucky enough to be sent a bottle for trial and review, so here we go…

What is great about this product…

I will start, as I so often do, with the scent of the product. Clarins products have a history (at least in my opinion) of smelling amazing, and the Everlasting Foundation is no exception. It has a less rosy smell than it’s counterparts, and has a rather distinct fruity “melon” scent. It’s very pleasant, and not overpowering. The foundation is rich and creamy, and gives medium to full coverage – depending on how much product you’re applying. And the foundation lasts. Initially the foundation gives a sort of matte finish, but the natural radiance of your skin tends to blend through. I have combination oily skin, and after applying this foundation in the morning and going about my busy Saturday as per usual, I came home in the evening to see that I still looked quite well put together! My face had a nice “glow” about it (not oily, more of a radiant look), and I still had decent foundation coverage. Also, SPF in foundation is always a bonus.

What is not so great about this product…

If you are super pale faced like me and live in Australia, you will be unhappy to know that at this stage we are not carrying the entire line of foundation shades. Which means that the lightest colours in the line are not available for purchase. I trialled the lightest shade available -‘Ivory’ which was probably 1 – 1 1/2 shades too dark for my complexion. This is not unusual in Australia though, for some reason a lot of brands seem to leave the lightest or two lightest shades off of the stock list. Aside from that issue, which is not going to be a problem for everyone – I couldn’t see anything wrong with this product.

The Clarins Everlasting Foundation retails for $65 AUD and can be purchased online from Adore Beauty

The List 2010 – #3 Progress Update

The third item on my list of things to achieve in 2010 was to “learn to cook 5 beautiful dishes”. I have become a bit of a cookbook addict as of late, in particular the cheap and cheerful Woman’s Weekly cookbooks that I find at the newsagent near my work. (I think these are available in almost every newsagent, but mine seems to stock the entire range. Dangerous!) At this stage, I have settled on 2 definite recipes that I believe I have perfected, and will cook time and time again. The first was the Chilli Con Carne that I recently posted the recipe for. This was so simple to make, doesn’t cost a lot as far as ingredients and time are concerned, and is the perfect dish to make in large amounts to freeze and store for a later date. I will be making my second batch tomorrow, and will continue the newly appointed Sunday night tradition of eating chilli and watching Dr Who. The second recipe is for Tollhouse Cookies that I found in my 500 Cookies recipe book. I will be sure to share the recipe sometime soon, as these are absolutely amazing. I have been browsing through my new cookbooks and have some possible recipe options to try out soon. They are: cuban black bean soup, spaghetti with chilli & leek, cinnamon scrolls with marscepone drizzle and white chocolate fudge bars. If they turn out to be any good, I’ll be sure to share the recipe!

image source: weheartit

Newsflash: Marcel NARSissistic Tip #4

Marcel Says: “Matte skin always looks beautiful and clean. After foundation, apply a translucent loose powder with a powder puff and buff away any excess with a large, soft brush. This will create a luminous, satin finish rather than a dry, powdery surface.”

Stay tuned for more from Marcel! In the meantime, don’t forget that you can shop the NARS range internationally at the NARS website, or at Mecca Cosmetica for readers from Australia.

Guest Blog: Winter Beauty Essentials – Celeste from Adore Beauty

As I mentioned in my previous post, I have asked a few of my beauty insider friends to tell me a little bit about their must-have items for surviving the winter months. First up is the absolutely delightful Celeste from Adore Beauty (who also happens to be my personality-twin!)

Winter Beauty Essentials – Celeste from Adore Beauty

Ahhh, winter. Season of sniffles, red noses, dry hair and flaky skin. Reow. Despite these beauty afflictions, winter is actually my favourite time of year. The key is being prepared and nourishing my skin and hair. Who can say no to that kind of pampering? Gosh, it’s hard sticking to three… but here are my top three picks for staying fresh and lustrous in winter:

01. Aesop Perfect Hydrating Facial Cream: hydrating yet not too rich for my combination skin, this moisturiser is packed with vitamins to ward off dryness and stop skin from looking dull. It keeps my skin soft and battles dehydration, without being oily. A real winner.

02. Alpha-H Liquid Gold Smoothing + Perfecting Mask: this mask hydrates, exfoliates and smoothes the skin, keeping it looking supple and feeling soft. I use it weekly in winter to boost hydration levels and help remove any pesky dry skin.

03. Moroccanoil: after shampooing and conditioning, applying a small amount of Moroccanoil to damp hair will help to protect it from the elements (wind, heating etc). This nourishing oil is suitable for all hair types and adds shine and strength to my locks. It smells delicious – and it shortens styling time. Bonus!

My favourite things about winter are beanies and scarves… and my secret tradition of Friday night footy. I love nothing more than staying in on a Friday night with a blanket, the heater on, the footy on tv and the kettle close by. If Geelong is playing, I even sit on the sofa wearing my vest, Cats beanie and scarf. Please don’t judge.