origins – Lily Pebbles

August Favourites

lily — Thu, 30 Aug 2012 09:30:00 +0000

Burberry Sheer Summer Glow Palette*

What a beautiful highlighting palette this is. It consists of 4 colours, 2 for bronzing and 2 for highlighting, which means its a real multi-pupose product. The quality is amazing and I’ve really enjoyed using it.

Dior Amber Diamond Highlighter

I caved and finally bought this after hearing so many great things about it. This highlighter is much more shimmery than the Burberry with 4 colours, ranging from a white, to champagne to a more orangey bronze.

Origins Plantscription Concealer*

This is everything I could ask for in a concealer, it’s moisturising, the perfect colour match and lasts really well on my skin. It reminds me of the Collection 2000 concealer but without the cakey look that it sometimes gives me. This is good for people with dry skin.

Origins Plantscription Foundation*

I’m going to make a pretty bold statement here… I think this is my favourite foundation I’ve tried. WOAH! I’m pretty fickle, so that doesn’t actually mean much, I’ll probably find a new one soon, ha. But seriously, I love this foundation. It’s quite sheer depending on how you apply it and it’s very moisturising, I also find it lasts all day on my skin. I’m really impressed by this and have loved using it.

Origins GinZing Mascara*

Another fabulous product from the new Origins makeup range, I swear I’ll stop raving about Origins soon. This mascara is supposed to lengthen and brighten but I also think it’s amazing for volume. The brush is massive and you hardly have to touch the lashes to get the volume and length.

Real Techniques Stippling Brush (missing in photo)

I’ve fallen back in love with this brush after spending months using the buffing brush for foundation. I think this one works better for sheer foundations and tinted moisturisers.

Origins Clear Improvement Mask*

This mask is pretty scary to use as it’s a thick, black and looks like tar. It’s the strangest thing because when it’s on I feel like it’s so refreshing and sort of zingy. I love how it feels and although it’s a bit tough to wash off, it leaves my skin feeling really good.

Fresh Sugar Lip Polish & Lip Treatment

This is my favourite evening lip combo and works a treat on my dry lips. The lip polish is a lovely sugar scrub that tastes amazing and the lip treatment is the best lip balm I’ve tried with ridiculous lasting power.

Illamasqua ‘Forgiveness’ Eye Shadow

I saw this eye shadow at an Illamasqua makeup masterclass that my mum and I attended, they used it on her and I fell in love with it. It a purple, plum, brown (I couldn’t pick which colour) and works really well in the crease and under the lower lash line. It really suits my skin tone and hair colour so I’ve been using it a lot.

So there are my monthly favourites! Do you like any of these too?

Lily xx

6 Product Lazy Face

lily — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 09:30:00 +0000

When I know I’m spending the day at home there’s really no need to put on a full face of makeup. Some people don’t bother at all, but I like to, simply because it makes me feel awake and more human.

These 6 products are the ones I’ve been reaching for recently and I really like this quick routine. For my base I use the Origins VitaZing SPF 15 which comes out as a white moisturiser and changes colour depending on your skin tone. It shocks me every time, but it really does give coverage and looks really nice on the skin. I’ve then been using the Origins Plantscription concealer because it’s really moisturising and easy to blend. For my face I like to use the Burberry Sheer Summer Glow palette as I can use it to bronze and also to highlight. One of the highlight shades is also quite pinky, so it’s pretty much a bronzer, blusher and highlight all in one. I find wearing brown on my eyes looks really natural and flatters my eye and hair colour. I draw a fine line along my upper lash line with the Make Up Forever brown eyeliner and smudge it out so it’s not too harsh. It’s a really soft eyeliner so it’s really easy to blend. I then use the Clinique High Definition mascara in Brown, which is the only brown mascara I own and it gives a nice natural, lengthening look to my lashes.

So there it is… my lazy face. Perfect for a Sunday. Do you use any of these products? What do you use for your lazy face?

Lily xx

I recently uploaded a fashion/shopping video to my YouTube channel if you want to watch it here.

A New Face

lily — Fri, 10 Aug 2012 09:30:00 +0000

Origins Plantscription SPF 15 anti-ageing foundation*
Bobbi Brown Corrector
Origins Plantscription Anti-Ageing Concealer in*
Burberry Warm Glow 01*
Burberry Sheer Summer Glow, Natural highlighting compact*
MAC Blush Baby
HD Brows Brow Beater
Origins Ginzing Cream Eyeshadow in Gingerzing*
Origins Ginzing Brightening Mascara*
MAC Satin Taupe

I’m excited to introduce quite a few new products in this post. First of all, the new makeup from Origins. I was recently introduced to this range and although excited I was a little sceptical at the thought of it. Origins is known for it’s amazing skincare and sometimes when skincare brands branch out to makeup it all goes terribly wrong. Luckily I was incorrect and I’m pleased to tell you that I LOVE the range.

The star product is the Ginzing Brightening mascara, which is supposed to lengthen and lift your lashes and is one of the best I’ve tried. It’s comparable to the Bourjois Volumiser as it has a massive brush and gives a lot of thickness as well as length. The formula includes caffeine which helps the lashes to look healthy and vibrant. I’d definitely recommend going to check it out as the brush is quite unique.

I also really like the new Plantscription foundation and I’m wearing in the shade 02 light neutral. It’s an anti-ageing foundation that super moisturising and gives a medium coverage, depending on how you apply it. I used my beloved buffing brush to apply it and it lasted around 10 hours which is longer than most foundations last on me. This foundation uses the soft focus technology that everyones going mad about at the moment, which is why it’s so good at disguising any fine lines or wrinkles. Another great thing about this foundation is that it’s available in 12 shades, which is a very decent amount. I’m pretty sure this will make an appearance in this month’s monthly favourites.

The foundation gives good enough coverage on blemishes but I used a little of their new Plantscription anti-ageing concealer for under my eyes and I can tell you it blends beautifully. It reminds me of the Collection 2000 concealer in terms of coverage, but without the cakey dry patches that it sometimes gives. You can tell when using the foundation and concealer that unlike a lot of makeup, these are actually doing good for your skin and they feel nourishing.

Another new product to the range are the Ginzing cream eyeshadows and this one which is Gingerzing is very similar to MAC’s Bare Study. I wouldn’t recommend it as the best cream eye shadow I’ve tried, but it did create a nice base and was easy to apply with my finger. Just to add to this, I used my Satin Taupe eyeshadow along the top lash line.

On my face I was so excited to use my new Burberry bits. The Warm Glow bronzer is a lovely bronzer, which I used to contour with. It gives a really nice subtle warmth to the face and is easy to build up. I then used the lighter shades from the Sheer Summer Glow palette as a highlight along my cheekbones. Both products used together are just pure perfection for summer makeup. To add a bit of colour I used MAC’s Blush Baby which is a nice natural blush colour. Nothing on the lips… sometimes it’s just not necessary.

So what do you think? Any of these products make you squeal with excitement?

Lily xx

Availability:

Origins Ginzing Mascara and cream eyeshadow out September 2012

Plantscription collection out August 2012

I’m currently running a NEOM candle giveaway on my YouTube channel, find out how to enter here

Origins Travel Ready

lily — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 09:30:00 +0000

Origins Modern Friction £12*, Origins Clear Improvement £10*

I am so excited about this news… Origins are doing travel sized products!! I love Origins and often want to buy everything at the counter, so being able to get my hands on a 50ml product at half the price is great news. I also spend a lot of my time trying out new skincare so I often don’t finish a whole 125ml version. The luxury travel sized products are available for the Modern Friction exfoliator, Clear Improvement clay mask, Cheek and Balances face wash, A Perfect World cleanser, Make a Difference hand treatment, Blade Runner shave cream, Ginger Souffle body cream and my all time favourite Drink Up Intensive mask. They range from £7 to £12 which is so great for those not wanting to buy the full size.

Now here’s the sad news… it’s not forever. These travel sizes are currently being sold in a selection of London stores including Harrods, Selfridges, John Lewis (Oxford street and Stratford), Boots (Kensington, Stratford and White City) and House of Fraser (White City and Victoria) but this is just for a limited time. After this time (no specific date) they will only be sold in Harrods, which is a shame as it’s not convenient for everyone.

I’m hoping that if Origins see how well these smaller sizes go down they might make them permanent. Fingers crossed!

I’ve only used these two products once but here are my initial thoughts…

The Modern Friction exfoliator has a lovely thick consistency and the rice starch which is ‘cushioned in cream’ makes it really gentle on the skin. It exfoliated well without hurting my face which a lot of exfoliators do.

The Clear Improvement is a charcoal mask and definitely looks a bit scary, even when it’s just in the tube. This mask is supposed to clear pores using the activated charcoal ingredient. It was actually quite fun applying this (and then running into my room to scare Rich) and despite looking like a cave man for 10 minutes, I loved the results it gave. My skin felt really clean and soft after washing it off. If I have any negatives at all it’s that it’s a bit of a pain to wash off once it’s dried and is quite tough.

I’m excited to use these again and highly recommend you use this limited opportunity to go to an Origins counter and sample a few of their popular products.

Lily xx

Pamper Night

lily — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 11:00:00 +0000

M&S Hair Turban, Peptalash*, Elemis Milk Bath*,Honeysuckle Jasmine Northumbrian Candleworks candle*, L’Occitaine Shower Oil, Philipp Kingsley Elasticizer, Neom Body Scrub*, Satin Care shaver gel, Origins Drink Up Intensive Mask

Ojon Dry Recovery Shampoo & Conditioner*, Ojon Restorative mask*, Regis Curl Lock Curl Cream

Neal’s Yard ‘Melissa’ Hand Cream, NUXE Reve de Miel lip balm, Jo Hansford Illuminoil*, NEOM Body Oil*, Paul & Joe nail file*

Sometimes I get the urge to have a pamper night… a night to myself to indulge in products, relaxation and forget about the world (and the Internet).

I thought I’d show you an example of the products I would use during one of my pamper evenings.

The first thing I’d do is wash my hands and remove ALL my makeup so I can start from scratch. I’d then run the bath (extra hot) and light a candle; this time I used one from Northumbrian Candleworks, which is a pure soy wax candle. I use some of the Elemis bath milk, which is a lovely soft, creamy product. If it was a shower kind of night I’d be using the L’Occitaine shower oil. Whilst I’m in the bath I apply the Peptolash (I still haven’t decided if this works or not) and smother my face in the Origins Drink Up Intensive mask. This mask always relaxes me as it feels so nice on and smells amazing. I also use this time to give my hair a pre-shampoo treatment using the Philip Kingsley Elasticizer. After I’ve coated my dry hair I put it all up in my new M&S hair turban. I then exfoliate my entire body with the NEOM body scrub (this usually involves standing up in the bath and nearly killing myself) which is my favourite thing to do as it leaves me feeling so soft and clean. After exfoliating I shave my legs, which isn’t very glamourous… but you know, it’s gotta be done! Then it’s 20 minutes of relaxation…

After my bath I sometimes use a body cream or gradual tanner, but on this occasion I used the NEOM body oil which is incredible! I have long, thick hair so washing my hair whilst in the bath isn’t an option, so I wash it over the bath once I’m in my PJs. I wash out the pre-shampoo treatment and then use the Ojon shampoo and conditioner which leaves my hair in really good quality. I also love the Ojon hair mask which I will often use instead of the Philip Kingsley. If I am doing my hair curly I use the Regis curl lock cream and if it’s straight I like to use an oil. The Jo Hansford oil is a really lovely one and makes my hair look nice and shiny.

The final part of my pamper evening includes sitting on the sofa, watching good (crap) TV, using my favourite Neal’s Yard hand cream and NUXE lip balm and doing my nails.

Wow… that’s a lot of writing. I hope this was slightly interesting for some of you. It’s made me want to jump in the bath just talking about it! If you ever have a tough day or you’re feeling a little stressed, I’d highly recommend pampering yourself and using a million products… it really helps!

Do you have a pamper evening routine?

*GIVEAWAY WINNER* The winner of my giveaway is Ava Tunnicliffe!! Congrats. I’ve emailed you Thanks to everyone who entered!

Lily xx

Origins Never a Dull Moment

lily — Tue, 29 May 2012 14:30:00 +0000

Origins ‘Never a Dull Moment’ – £24.00*

More Origins… can you guess what my favourite skincare brand is at the moment? I really wanted to try an exfoliator and hadn’t really heard much about the ‘Never a Dull Moment’ so I was intrigued. It comes in an orange tube and the product itself is orange too… I’m not sure how I feel about orange, but I still went ahead and gave it a go!

As this exfoliator has bits in it, I was expecting it to be gritty and quite harsh, but it’s in fact a lot more gel like than I thought. It smoothes over the skin very easily and doesn’t really feel like an exfoliator at all. You can hardly feel the bits in it, so I was a bit sceptical whether it would work. Origins say “Nature’s potent enzyme from crushed Papaya, helps to dissolve lacklustre cells and gobbles them up with no irritating friction”. It really does work! Once i washed off the orange goo from my face, my skin was left incredibly soft and smooth. Like most Origins products, it smells gorgeous too.

Have you tried this exfoliator? Do you prefer harsh exfoliators or more gentle exfoliators?

Lily xx