Aveda Be Curly

I know that most of the products I post about are good products in my book. This is because I spend a lot of time researching products on other blogs before I purchase them, so it is quite rare for me to buy a something that I really dislike. However, this is a range that I had asked for as a gift, so perhaps I added it to the gift list a little too hastily...

I have heard a lot of good things about Aveda - both about their products and their salons. I haven't been to any of their salons yet (maybe when I'm rich and famous), so I can't comment on that, but I can say that I am very disappointed with the range of products that I have tried.

I have very long, thick, wavy dark blonde hair, so it is often difficult to find products that are heavy enough to control it, but light enough that I don't have to wash my hair every day. That said, these things have a hefty price tag so I was expecting the very best.

I was given the shampoo, conditioner, curl enhancer, and style-prep. The shampoo and conditioner both smell amazing: very spa-like and clean. But that is where the good stuff ends. I persevered with these right to the bottom of the bottles (well you have to for that price!), but even right after I had blow-dried my hair, it felt lanky, lifeless and lacklustre. The shampoo didn't clean my hair enough, so after two days things were looking greasy, which is very rare for me, and the conditioner, although very conditioning on the ends, really weighed my hair down and just made it look a bit dull.

I was more sceptical about the curl enhancer and style-prep from the start. My hair doesn't usually like cream products in it post-wash pre-dry (usually just a bit of heat protectant and some serum will do) so I only put a little of the curl enhancer in. As expected, it just made my hair look kind of damp and clumpy when dry - not something that suits me. The style-prep is a little nicer, as I used it instead of my usual serum, but I definitely wouldn't turn it in for my Paul Mitchell. It did control frizz, but again, it just seemed to drain the life out of my hair.

So overall, sorry Avene, but I'm not impressed. I am so pleased I didn't ask for big bottles of the stuff as I usually do (my hair is long), but I am also pleased I have tried it as I can now confidently tick it off my lust-after list.

Which hair products are you loving at the moment? I've been trying the new L'Oreal ones for a couple of weeks now, and so far, so good. But more on that later. Let me know if you have any recommendations - I'm always on the look out for decent hair products.

French pharmacy haul

Hello!

First of all, huge apologies for the lack of blogging recently. My finals at university took over my life, and since graduating everything has been a bit of a blur: I turned 21, moved house, got a temporary job, and am currently searching for a career job. But fear not, I will be putting aside much more time for this blog from now on, and I am aiming to put up a new post at least once a week. So without further ado, let's talk French pharmacies...

So I mentioned I turned 21. Well, for my birthday, my parents and brother took me to Paris for the week. The weather was beautiful (as I write this, I am wrapped up in a massive jumper, clutching a cup of hot tea, and watching the rain beat against the windows...hello British September), Paris was gorgeous, and I was thoroughly spoilt with lots of lovely presents and treats. And I may have had 1 (read: 1000) too many Laduree macaroons...

But being a lover of all things beauty-related, naturally one of the main things I was looking forward to was the French pharmacy experience. With a list as long as my arm, I tried to narrow it down to the essentials, and here is what I cam back with. FYI: the cheapest pharmacy by a mile is the City-Pharma on Rue Four in the Saint-Germain-Des-Pres district.

As you may or may not know, Bioderma has long been a favourite of mine. Since discovering it a couple of years ago, I have not used another make up remover (except for very stubborn waterproof mascara), and I have absolutely no desire to do so. This stuff has something magical about it: it looks like water, smells like water, feels like water on the skin/eyes, but removes make up like a dream. No oily residue; no violent scrubbing action needed: just a quick swipe across the skin and a couple of seconds of pressing onto the eye area. This bottle is the Crealine version for sensitive skin. I have also tried the Sebium one as my skin is very oily, but I find it much less effective and a little more stingy on my eyes. Praise be to ecsentual.com for bringing this product to the UK (and you can also get it in some independent pharmacies, like The Garden in Covent Garden) but it is still far, far cheaper in Paris. To my dad's despair when we had to weigh the luggage, I got 4 of these 500ml bottes for 40euro. My only regret is that I did not buy more and sneak them in when he wasn't looking.

The other two products in this photo are 'beauty waters'. The first, Caudalie's Eau De Beaute, is a pricey option, but it smells absolutely divine and just makes me feel so refreshed. I tend to carry this around in my handbag and spray it on my face mid-afternoon. It refreshes my skin, makes my make up look like it has just been applied, and makes me smell all spa-like. Definitely one for tube-goers. The other, Avene's Eau Thermale, is a little less luxurious, but it gets the job done. It doesn't have a scent, but it works in the same way. Just be careful not to go too heavy on the sprayer or you'll end up looking like you've got a little bit sweaty - never a good look. Overall, I much prefer the Caudalie offering, but at around one third of the price, Avene's water is probably the better option for a hot summer's day when you'll be spraying this on left, right and centre.

Serozinc by La Roche-Posay, is one of the products I have been lusting over for a while now. I wasn't sure whether to include it on this blog, as you cannot get hold of it in England, but I've heard a few rumours that it might be making an appearance soon, so I thought it was worth mentioning. This is a toner made of zinc sulphate solution, which is a chemical known for its healing properties: lots of people are prescribed zinc sulphate to minimise scarring etc after surgery. I use this toner twice a day, by spraying a little bit on a cotton pad and sweeping it all over my face and neck. I do have quite a lot of acne scarring, and this has definitely helped minimise that. I wouldn't recommend using it on any live acne as it does sting a bit, but it really will make a big difference if used on scarring regularly and over a period of time.

Another product that I picked up from Bioderma was their Sebium Pore Refiner. As I said, I do have very oily skin, and by the end of the day, the foundation I wear on my T-zone has usually found its way to the edges of my nose and the crease in my chin. This product is supposed to be used like a primer in oily areas, and it evens out the skin by minimising pores, and thus provides a great base for make up. I have used this for the past few weeks, and I really do think that this makes a difference. However, it was fairly expensive for the amount of product you get, and I'm not sure that it works any better than other primers I have tried. I am going to give the Urban Decay setting sprays a go next, so I will let you know how they compare.

The final product I picked up was the Embryolisse Hydra-Masque. This was recommended on Amelia Liana's blog LianaBeauty, so I thought I would give it a go - I hold her opinions on beauty products in very high esteem! Having said I have oily skin, I think it is more combination really, as my cheeks, forehead and around my nose do seem to get very dry and dehydrated, especially when the it starts getting cold. I have only used this a couple of times so far, but on both occasions I have taken it off, gone to bed, and woken up in the morning with skin that looks healthy and plumped and ready for the day. I have heard that for those of you with very dry skin, you could use this as a moisturiser every other day in the winter months for extra hydration. It sinks in immediately, and is completely unnoticeable on the skin, so I can definitely see how this would work.

And that's it for my French pharmacy skincare haul! This blog post feels like a bit of an essay, but I thought it was worth reviewing each of the products separately. I really do love all of them, and am so pleased I picked them up. French pharmacy skincare continues to put Britain's Boots offerings to shame, unfortunately, but with more and more French brands heading this way, there is hope yet!

Have a wonderful week, and try not to let this soggy weather get you down...

Clarisonic Mia 2

I realise that the Clarisonic is quite an extensively reviewed product around the blogosphere, but as this blog is fairly new, I thought I should talk about the staple products I use every day, just so that you get to know what I think are the best products out there. So this blog is going to be about the cleansing part of my regime.

Just to give you a bit of information about my skin, I have combination/oily skin but it also tends to get very dry in some places (around my nose and eyes in particular) and I have a little bit of scarring from acne. My acne has cleared up now, thank goodness (although I should probably thank my dermatologist who gave me every treatment on this earth until she found the right one to help me), so I have just been left with a little bit of scarring on my chin and lower cheeks. It's mostly just discolouring, so I can cover it up with foundation. Also, I do naturally have quite visible pores, which really doesn't help with spots etc. So as my skin has been quite problematic over the years, my cleansing regime is really important to help keep the spots at bay. It definitely isn't the be-all-and-end-all (eating healthily, drinking lots of water, getting lots of sleep all help too) but it is really important if you want your skin to stand a chance against acne and oily skin.

SO now I've got all of the gory details out of the way, I can get on with telling you about my Clarisonic. I have the Mia 2 in pink, which just means that it has two speed settings instead of one (like the original Mia). I think they're around the same price, so I thought I might as well go for this one. That said, I only use slower setting, so don't worry if you can only get hold of the Mia! I did think about going for the Clarisonic Classic, but my dermatologist has one and she says it is a waste of money because it has the same size brush head but is just much bigger in the body, so it isn't easy for travelling etc. I don't use mine for my body, but if you wanted to, you can buy different heads for the Mia 2 that suit various different functions.

Incase you haven't heard of a Clarisonic, it is a 'sonic skin-cleansing system'. It is basically like an electric toothbrush for your face. I know this sounds a little bit scary, and I have very sensitive skin so I was a bit worried that it would make my face sore, but it honestly isn't at all uncomfortable. In fact, my skin doesn't feel clean without it now! It claims to clean skin six times better than a regular cleanser used with water.

The Clarisonic does come with a little tester of their own brand cleanser, but I don't like it at all. I found the consistency really oily but the effect really drying, and it just didn't suit my skin. So I use my Neutrogena Visibly Clear Pore and Shine Daily Wash with it. (On a side note, if you have oily/combination skin or visible pores, I highly recommend this facewash. It is only £2.99 in boots and it has worked absolute miracles on my skin. It is really soft and gentle, but somehow really manages to reduce the shine on my face. It is definitely on a par with my more high-end favourite facewash which is the Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish.) Anyway, I find that this cleanser is really good with the Clarisonic because it foams nicely, so it's easy to spread all over the face.

So I just squirt some of that onto the Clarisonic brush, wet my face and the brush with a little water, and off I go. The Mia 2 vibrates three times to tell you to move onto a different section of your face. The whole thing takes one minute. Then after it's done, you just rinse the wash of your face with some water, and hey presto your face is clean! It depends on the state of my skin as to how often I use my Clarisonic, but it's either once or twice per day. Some people find that they need to use it much less than this though, so I think it depends on your skin.

The Clarisonic retails at £125, so it is definitely an investment purchase. If you are someone who has good skin without needing to spend a lot on it, then this product probably isn't for you. But if you are like me, and have always spent a lot on skincare, or if you just haven't found a skin routine that really suits your skin, then I would definitely recommend giving the Clarisonic a go. It will come with one brush, but the brush has to be rinsed in soapy water every week and changed every 3 months. The replacement brush heads are around £20, but they do pop up on offer every now and again so I tend to stock up then.

All in all, I am really really happy with my Clarisonic Mia 2. For me, it has totally been worth the money I spent on it because it has completely transformed my skin. My pores appear less noticeable, I haven't had a single spot since using it, and my skin just looks brighter and healthier in general. Some people mention in their reviews that they went through a flush-out period in the first few weeks of using their Clarisonic where it drew out all the nasties from their skin and they got a few spots because of that. I have to say, I didn't experience that at all, but again, I guess it just depends on your skin. But if you have any of the problems I had with my skin - acne, scarring, oilyness, shinyness - or you just feel like your skin needs a bit of a boost, then try the Clarisonic out.

Have any of you tried the Clarisonic? Do you have any particular facewashes for normal or dry skin that you would recommend people to use with it? Leave a comment below if so!

K
xx

la-tweez Professional Illuminating Tweezers

I was given my pink la-tweez tweezers in my stocking last Christmas, and to be honest, I thought they were just going to be another fad stocking-filler. Boy, was I wrong.

Tweezing your eyebrows is one of the most painful/boring/annoying parts of the beauty regime, right? I hate it. I always end up snagging little bits of skin, or pulling the wrong hairs out, or just getting really really annoyed and storming off. Yes, I hate it that much. Do you have these issues? If so, I've got just the thing for you...

This little pair of tweezers will solve all of your problems. Their main feature is an LED light which is situated in the handle of the tweezers. When turned on, it illuminates the whole brow area, and - TA DA, you can see all of the little blonde hairs that aren't visible in some lights. The tweezers are also really sharp and the wide, flexible arms give a lot of precision - no more catching bits of skin instead of hairs, or pulling out hairs which are in the middle of your eyebrows!

And if functionality just isn't enough for you, then have a look at the beauty of these things. They are designed to look like a lipstick, I think, so you can just chuck them in your handbag and still have some hope of finding them when you need them. Mine are bright pink, but I think they also come in black, white and silver if you want something a little less girly. The LED light is turned on when you press the diamante switch on the side - which I actually find really cute, given that diamante isn't usually my thing. Also, there is a mirror on the inside of the case, so this is definitely a good on-the-go product.

I know you all probably think I'm being a bit dramatic over what is essentially a pair of tweezers, but I honestly cannot recommend them enough. I can't believe how under-hyped they have been or that I hadn't heard of them before I was given them at Christmas. At £15.99 they are definitely a pricey pair of tweezers, but I really think they are worth it. If I didn't already have a pair, I would definitely go and get some. They make a thoroughly unenjoyable part of my routine so much more bearable! So if you hate tweezing as much as I do, go and grab a pair of these - you won't regret it!

Have you tried these tweezers? Do you love them as much as I do? Leave a little comment below - I'd love to hear from you.

K xx

Bloglovin'

I'm sure most of you are aware of this, but just incase you haven't come across it yet, Bloglovin' is a website where you can follow all of your favourite blogs in one place. It means that you don't have to keep checking individual blogs for new posts - all you have to do is check Bloglovin' where all of the most recent posts from the blogs you follow will be listed for you to read. You can even arrange for Bloglovin' to send you an email notification when you favourite bloggers post new blogs. It's really easy to join, and I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys reading multiple blogs like I do!

Here is the link to my blog via Bloglovin' - just click on it and press follow, and you're away! I know my blog is fairly new, but it's something I've been wanting to do for a while and I hope to be posting very frequently.

http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/6915245/?claim=kbnqffec24c

Love,
K x

Revlon Colourburst Lip Butter

Morning!

As it's supposed to be Spring, and I think little pops of colour make everyone feel a bit better, I'm going to do a blog post of another lip product I've purchased recently: the Revlon Colourburst Lip Butter.






















These lip butters are, as you would expect, so lovely to wear. They glide on like a lip balm and they feel like a lip balm on the lips. My lips have a tendency to get quite dry, so any sort of drying or cakey lipstick really doesn't look good me - which I why I picked up a couple of these Revlon lip butters. I definitely haven't regretted it!

When I got mine from Boots, I swatched quite a few on my hand when I was deciding which colours to get, and I found the finishes of the products really varied between colours. Some of them are definitely on the balm end of the spectrum, in that they leave a balmy sheen with a hint of colour, while others are probably closer to being a lipstick.

The two colours I picked are definitely two of the more pigmented colours. I kind of felt like if I wanted a balm I could pick one up much cheaper in a different aisle, so I went for colours that would hopefully feel like a balm on my lips but would look as pigmented a gloss/lipstick on.

So the two colours that you can see in the picture below are '015 Tutti Frutti' (the coral-y one) and '050 Berry Smoothie'. I really love both of these. The coral colour is really on-trend for S/S13 and I thought that the pink was a really easy everyday lip colour. They are so easy to apply - definitely the sort of thing you can whip out on the tube and put on without a mirror, which is a huge plus for me!

The only negative thing that I can think of is that the consistency of the product on the stick reminds me just a little bit of the MAC Cremesheen lipsticks, which I absolutely love, but which do tend to melt quite badly when the weather warms up. So we will have to wait and see whether this happens to these Revlon butters - fingers crossed!

Overall, I think these lip butters are a really great product. I've been so impressed with the Revlon lip products recently, and these are just another addition to their wonderful collection. The packaging is beautiful, and the covers are the same colour as each of the butter colours, so you won't have to spend ages rummaging around in your makeup bag for the right colour! They are a really easy on-the-go product, and retail at only £7.99 (or just over £5 each if you hurry up and get the Boots '3for2' offer). Every girl should have one (or five?) of these in her Spring handbag!

L'Oreal Paris Glamshine Stain Splash

Another product that I have recently discovered - and which has now become a staple in my makeup regime - is the L'Oreal Paris GlamShine Stain Splash. This product seems to me to be a really good dupe of the dreamy YSL Rouge Pur Couture Vernis a Levres Glossy Stain. The main difference that I can see is the price tag, with the YSL version retailing at a very steep £22, while the L'Oreal version is £7.99.

As for the product, I absolutely love it. The flat heart-shaped applicator makes for really quick and easy application, and the colour pay-off is fantastic. They claim to be a sort of lip stain wrapped up as a lip gloss, and this is exactly what they are. When I was swatching them on my hand for this blog, I tried to rub it off, and the gloss did come off as you'd expect, but the colour had stained my hand. L'Oreal says that these last for 6 hours on the lisp. I personally think this is a little bit ambitious, but I can certainly vouch for the fact that they last much longer than my beloved NARS glosses.

The feel of the product is also really nice. I have only really started wearing lipgloss as part of my daily routine fairly recently as I don't like the sticky feeling on my lips that a lot of lip glosses seem to give. (It also really annoys me when my hair keeps getting stuck to my lips!) But because these glosses are 30% water, they really don't feel sticky at all - in fact, they feel soft, moisturising and really comfortable.

One thing I would say is that the colour range is a bit disappointing. I really like both of these colours -  '200 Princess' (the orangey one) is really good for spring and very buildable and the '101 Lolita' is a kind of 'your-lips-but-better' look - but the other 4 colours are quite boring, nothing-y colours. Who knows, maybe they will bring out some new shades for summer.

All in all, I think this is another really great product by L'Oreal, and well worth the small price tag - great value for money. The packaging, as with most L'Oreal products, is beautiful, and it really is a great dupe for the YSL Glossy Stain. It's highly pigmented and long-lasting on the lips, so is perfect as a daytime gloss that doesn't need too much attention throughout the day. AND if you're quick, boots have a '3for2' on all makeup at the moment, so you could snatch up three of these beauties at just over £5 each. Go, go, go!

lllamasqua 'Fragile' nail varnish

So I'm dedicating my first proper post to this little gem by Illamasqua. I have to admit, I am a bit of a nail varnish fiend - I always have my nails painted, and I absolutely hate chipped nail varnish. It makes me feel yucky. So in my eyes, the key to a good nail varnish is durability (well, that and colour, of course!)

I first saw one of these speckled nail varnishes on a blogpost and thought they were a bit of an Easter fad. I'm not really one for 'textured' nails, so it didn't really appeal to me. It's also fairly expensive for a nail varnish (around £15) and when I can get a Chanel polish for the same price, that's the option I usually go for.

However, this product seemed to spread like wildfire round the blogosphere, and I'm not one to enjoy being left out, so I put my worries aside and purchased the speckled-look varnish in 'Fragile'. As you can see, it is a really pretty baby blue colour on the base with navy-ish flecks, which are designed to make your nails looks like little duck eggs. Personally, I think they look more like mini eggs, but I'm not complaining.

Having said I don't like textured nail varnish, I was pleased to find that after I'd put my Seche Vite topcoat (definitely the best in the market!) on top of two coats of the Illamasqua beauty, the texture is pretty smooth. You know how some glittery nail varnishes tend to catch on everything you touch? Well this one doesn't, thank goodness! It really is just a textured appearance, which is a big tick in my book.

I can't really comment too much on durability just yet, because I've only had it on two and a half days, but I can report that so far, so good! I haven't needed to touch it up at all, and there is no sign of any chips occurring in the near future. I'll keep you posted...

If you're one for packaging, I think this packaging looks elegant and as high-end as the pricetag. You get 15ml of product, which is fairly good for a nail varnish, and the brush makes it very easy to apply. The consistency is fairly thin, so you won't get those horrible bumps that gloopy nail varnishes tend to give.

All in all, I absolutely love the look of this nail varnish. It's cute, it comes in about six pastel colours for Spring, and it's something a little bit different! You're sure to get lots of nice comments on your nails. As for the price, it is certainly is at the top end as fair as nail varnishes go, but so far I think it is worth spending the money on. Perfect as a little Easter treat for yourself, and a way to get into the Spring spirit without having to freeze.

Introducing the blog

Hello everyone!

This will be my first blog post on perfectionisbest. I'm 20 years old, I live in London, and am so excited to be starting a new blog about my favourite things.

I'm hoping to include posts about lots of different things of beauty on this blog. I will probably mostly be writing about beauty products and makeup, but I hope to be able to share anything else I find that is beautiful - photography, fashion, places, etc.

Please do let me know if anyone has any requests or ideas - I'd love to hear from you.

Lots of love,
K x