Matis Eyes and Lips Treatment Mask

I am a firm believer that prevention is better than cure, most people use a facial moisturiser but neglect their eyes. I read somewhere that everyone should use an eye cream and I have to say I agree.
The skin around your eyes is thinner than everywhere else and damages more easily and when you take in to account that the average person blinks 10,000 per day is it no wonder it's the first place to wrinkle!
It's also one of the places most prone to dehydration. This is why eye creams are needed!

Matis Eyes and Lips Treatment Mask - Feel Unique

I love the Matis range, and when it comes to eye care I'm no different. They do a fab treatment mask, which I apply twice a day to the under eye area. The reason I adore this product is it's a two in one cream. You can pop it on both your eyes and lips. If you put a heavy coat on it works as a mask or a light layer works as a moisturiser. It's perfect for layering on before bed and waking up with fresh, no puffiness in sight eyes! It is very expensive it's about £20 for 20ml but I've had my tube since November and it's still going strong! I find this product absorbs really well and doesn't feel greasy. If you ask me it's a small price to pay to keep those wrinkles at bay!

Desert Island Make up

I have so much make up, it's actually pretty overwhelming when you look at it all. I love to mix it all up though and having a rumage through it and discovering old favourites is always fun! When it comes to going away though, I always struggle. I hate only being allowed to take a selection, I like to plan for every occasion and that normally means that all my make up has to come with me! Don't even get me started about when I only have hand luggage to fly with. Nightmare! My friends tell a very good story about going through security at Dublin Airport. On this occassion I only had hand luggage, and had to watch with tears in my eyes as the security man rationed my make up and threw bits away. I've learnt my lesson since!

Thinking of that story, spurred me on to write todays blog. What make up would I take to a desert island if I was only allowed 5 pieces?? After lots of thinking I've decided that these are my five essentials.....

 1) Estee Lauder Double wear - can not go anywhere without it!

2) Bobbi Brown eyeshadow in charcoal (I'm going to sneak a hard angle brush in with this one) - I've decided I could double this up as eyeliner (if I wet the brush) and use it to define my eyebrows. I could also mix it with a bit of foundation to give me a bluey eyeshadow. 3 in 1 product!

3) Nars Laguna bronzer - I don't tan that well so this could help me a fake a glow, and I could use it for a bit of contouring too.

4) Nars Orgasm blush - need I say more on this one!

5) Maybelline Colossal Mascara  -I'll need fluttery eyelashes to sweet talk someone in to helping me to get home! 

Please can I take a lipstick too???

What make up do you find essential?

Vaseline Coca Butter Oil Gel

As you all probably know by now, I'm a little obssessed with moisturising, body, face, hands, you name it! To make this chore a bit more a fun I always buy new products to try out. I'm so easily pleased! One of the products I'd tried out recently is Vaseline Coca Butter Oil Gel. I love coca moisturisers so I thought I was on to a winner. I always think oils are going to more moisturising, (I think it's as they'd applied to damp skin), but I also find them tres messy. As this is a gel oil it sounds like your getting the best of both worlds!

So, the oil contains Brazilian nut oil, which is great at boosting the skins natural barrier and Almond oil, which is a known anti-oxdiant. I don't know how you feel but anything which seems like it's going to rid my skin of environmental stressors sounds fab to me! I'm not a hippy by any means but I do hate the thought of pollution contaminating my skin!

I used this product after showering on damp skin. It felt lovely to apply and as its a gel I found a little bit went a long way. The smell was of Coca but it wasn't too overpowering. I personally love the smell of coca but I know some people find it sickly sweet. BUT as moisturiser I found it rubbish!! I used it for about 3 weeks and my skin has never felt so dry. On my calves my skin looked all scaly, I've never had that before, and my skin went flaky on my hips. It was awful! Needless to say I stopped using it and have been layering the mosituriser on ever since. Vaseline Coca Butter Gel Oil, you're staying where you belong....on the shelf!

May Mission

 Can you believe it's May tomorrow? The months seem to be flying by. Hopefully we'll leave the April showers where they belong or I'm going to start building an ark! I thought I'd start the new month by having a cosmetics clear out. One of my worst habits is not fully using a product before I move on to the next. As soon as I've got a new product I just want to use it - I guess you could say I'm quite fickle! So, my May mission is to use up the dregs of these products. I'm hoping I'll rediscover some love for a few of them too. Wish me luck!

Collection 2000 Illuminating Touch Concealer

Yves Saint Laurent Touche Eclat is a cult favourite - there's no denying it. It's the most popular luxury highlighter on the market and  a beauty editors favourite. It's best known for highlighting and eye brightening
and is great if you can afford its price tag! If you can't I have find a great purse friendly substitute courtesy of Collection 2000.

 Collection 2000 Illuminating Touch Concealer

Collection 2000 Illuminating Touch Concealer comes in 3 different shades: glow, naked and natural. I bought it in "natural" as this seemed the best shade for my skintone. This concealer contains light diffusing particles which helps to soften lines and blemishes and add light. If you're looking for an undereye concealer this isn't the product for you. The secret to using it is to use it as a highlighter not concealer. When I first bought it, I used it as an under eye concealer and was massively dissapointed but now I know how to use it I'm addicted!

I apply it above my eyebrows, along my nose and in the creases of my nose, (if that makes sense!). I gently pat it in and then I'm ready to roll. It's also great to pop on the top of your cheekbones to give a little glow.
I find it fab at brightening at my face and its feel so light. I would definitely recommend it if your looking for a quick fix!

Estee Lauder Double Wear Zero-Smudge Volume and Lift Mascara

I have so much love for the Estee Lauder Double wear range that I really should be on commission! When I noticed the Double Wear Mascara I was ecstatic. I always get black marks under my eyes from mascara no matter what I use. Even putting powder under my eyes doesn't seem to stop the smudge. I was really hoping that trusty double wear would one day come to my rescue - and now it has!

 Estee Lauder Zero-Smuge Volume and Lift Mascara

The brush of this mascara is very thin, and is great at seperating the lashes but in terms of definition and volume I'd say it's nothing special. There's a lot of high street brands that do at a fraction of the cost. However when it comes to minimilising the smudge this mascara is second to none.

I wore this mascara to work one day, this is the ultimate test! After a 14 hour shift I always have unsightly mascara marks under my eyes but on the day I wore the double wear I had none. Amazing!! It's due to this staying power that I can't give up my Double wear addiction. To make the most of it, I normally curl my lashes and then apply whatever high street brand mascara I'm using at the time to my lashes. I then go over the top with the double wear mascara. This seems to work perfectly for me. It's all most like the double wear sets my mascara. I find that layering my mascara in this way gives me volume, lift and more importantly staying power.

The mascara is pretty pricey to use just to prevent smudging but it's the only thing I've found to work. If you're lucky enough not to suffer with smudging mascara, steer clear of this as that's about all its good at!

Have you got any tips to stop mascara smudging?

Make up brush cleaning

I've read a few blogs recently about how people clean make up brushes so I thought I'd let you in on my secret.
Cleaning make up brushes regularly is so important, not only does it improve the look of your make up but it also gets rid of any bacterial lurking in them. In an ideal world I'd clean my brushes properly everyday but lets face it that's NEVER going to happen.

Once a week I like to give my collection a proper wash using baby shampoo. I find this perfect for make up brushes as it's gentle but still gives them a good clean. It also makes them smell devine! After every use I also like to give them a little freshen up.

To do this I use diluted Milton sterilising fluid. You can pick this up from pretty much every supermarket. Milton is normally used for sterlising babies bottles but if it's good enough for baby, it's good enough for me! I use a spray bottle (like you get from Boots) add drop of milton and then top it up with water. When I've finished putting my make up on I quickly spritz my brushes and dab them dry. It takes a couple of minutes but is well worth it. I do dilute it quite a bit - I don't want it to be too harsh on the bristles  - but I find it really works and stops your brushes going cakey in between going washes.

How do you clean your make up brushes?