The CND 1 Week Top Coat Review

I have had some really bad experiences getting Shellac manicures in the past. I love the fact that it stays chip-free for 2 weeks, but it does something strange to my nails and they proceed to break consistently for about 3 months afterwards. The last normal manicure I got chipped in the first 48 hours. I was not impressed.

Fresh out of the salon and looking pretty damn perfect ...

The CND Vinylux Weekly Topcoat sounded too good to be true when I saw at at my local nail salon. I was pretty sceptical, but since it costs the same as a normal manicure I thought I would give it a go. I opted for a medium grey shade called Rubble (you can view the other colour options here although not all colours are available in the UK yet) which is uncannily similar to my Prada handbag. It took about the same length of time to be touch dry as a regular polish. I did do a few minor dents later that afternoon when the polish was still soft, but nothing major. 

The polish seems to get harder as the days progressed. I gave my hands a proper workout during the week with a photo shoot, bathing my two children, going to the gym and more. I made it through to day 6 with only a very minor chip on my thumb and was so impressed it had my grey removed and a red put on.  The other aspect I love is that it is removed with normal nail polish remover, so there is no hidden costs of having to go back to the nail salon to get it taken off professionally. 

I had a colour change on day 6 but the grey could have easily stayed on another day or so.

This may be a dream-come-true product for people like me who can't tolerate the damage shellac inflicts on your nails! I had my nails done at Tip To Toe nail salon on Northcote Road which you can find here. I paid £17 for the original manicure, and £9 when I went back for a shape and polish change.

My Obsession: By Terry, Baume de Rose

I now refer to my life in two parts - life before I purchased By Terry's Baume de Rose, and life after I purchased By Terry's Baume de Rose. You know that feeling of finding something that you love so much you just can't imagine what you did without it? Well that is me and this lip product. I was amazed to find that this product is 10 years old. What the? How have I not known about this sooner?

I am an avid user of lip balms and cannot go to sleep at night unless I have some on my lips. I have tried many in the past, some that were expensive but just meh (Hourglass Lip Oil i'm looking at you), and I was reluctant to spend this type of money in case this wasn't good. When I visited the By Terry store in Paris (which you can read about here), I finally decided to take the plunge and invest. 

So why is it so good? It is quite a solid balm that you have to work up a little to get from the jar on to your fingertip. Due to the fairly solid consistency, you can still feel it on your lips when you wake up in the morning. And for the first time ever, my lips are hydrated enough to wear matte lipsticks without feeling awful. You only use such a small amount that a jar will last a long time. It smells amazing, as all the By Terry products do. 

It is not often I fall for something this hard! You can buy this here if you are in the UK, and here if you are in Australia. Once again, I am totally blown away by the Australian price tag on this compared to the price you pay in the UK. £35 versus $84 just doesn't make sense to me ....

Monthly Favourites - January

Since putting myself through a month long ban on any makeup purchases which I (almost) stuck to, this months favourites are all about skin care. Travelling from one side of the globe to another this past month definitely put a strain on my skin, but luckily I found some amazing products to help with the transition.

Shiseido Benefiance Pure Retinol Instant Treatment Eye Mask

I attended my 20 year school reunion while I was in Sydney and there was no way I was going to that with bags under my eyes. These are so easy to use. You just pop them on for 5-10 minutes while you get dressed and do your hair, and by the time you are ready for makeup you just remove them and delicately massage in any excess. I think they did pep me up a little and gave me a perfect base to go in with my corrector and concealer. £ 59.00 here.

Sanctuary Spa Thermal Detox Mask

I picked this up in a mini travel sized sachet in Boots and took it away with me. I was so impressed with it that I purchased the full size last week while at the Sanctuary Spa. What makes it different from other deep cleansing masks is that it heats up once applied to your skin. The heat feels amazing! It is so reasonably priced and has been really good for my combination skin. A definite thumbs up. £10.20 here.

Kora Organics Hydrating Mask

I have been using this in tandem with the detox mask above. I use this one on my cheeks, forehead and all other areas of my face that are not congested while I use the detox mask around my chin area. Living in London in winter with the dry heating being pumped through the house makes your skin so thirsty and this mask does a good job of replumping the skin. £37 here.

By Terry Or de Rose Blush Prestige

I picked this up for half price while at the By Terry store in Paris in December and have been using it constantly. There are a few ways to use it, but my favourite is to add a pump to your foundation to give your skin a radiant glow. If I have any extra left on my hand, I lightly dab the remainder along my cheekbones for some added highlighting. Did I mention it was half price? 

By Terry Baume de Rose

I finally took the plunge and purchased this late last year. It is so good that I am dedicating an entire post to it so stay tuned. £38.00 here.

My Skin Consultation with Caroline Hirons

Last week I met with the Caroline Hirons, UK skincare guru and all round lovely person, for a skin consultation. In Sydney I see Amy Erbacher who is amazing ... but Sydney is a long way from London which makes keeping stock of my current skincare products by Aspect a bit of a logistical nightmare. Having been an avid reader of Caroline's blog (which you can see here), I was keen to share with her my skincare woes and to see if she could tweak my regime and recommend products that are more accessible now that i'm based in London.

My and Caroline taking a selfie ... as you do ...

Caroline consults from a lovely office just off Westbourne Grove. Be warned shopping friends, this neighbourhood is dangerous. I may or may not have taken advantage of the Claudie Pierlot half price sale that was taking place across the road! Caroline in real life was a lot of fun. She even obliged me with a selfie! She also has amazing skin as you would expect and she knows her products like the back of her hand. She was able to asses my skin issues and recommend affordable and attainable alternatives.

My hormones have been through the wringer over the years due to several rounds of fertility treatment, and there is evidence of it on my skin. Caroline was able to go through the extensive list of products that I own and help whittle it down to what my skin really needs in this climate. She recommended products at several different price points and I really got the feel that her extensive knowledge meant she could confidently cherry-pick the best of what is out there.

The samples - I am totally in love with the Aesop Fabulous Face Oil already!

One key message that came across was - don't buy your skincare from a makeup brand and don't buy your makeup from a skincare brand. This makes sense and I should really have known this already. Another interesting point was the issue of SPF and vitamin D deficiencies - while you obviously still need to use an SPF in the UK, I don't need to be quite as strict on it as I have been. I also discovered that the eye cream Eyesilix from Indeed Labs is not suitable for those in my age bracket.

Following my consultation I have picked up a couple of new products to work in with what I already have - the RMS Coconut Cream cleansing balm, the Ole Henriksen Truth Is In The Eyes peel and the REN Omega 3 serum. I will also be buying myself  a few new face flannels to use in my cleansing regime.

Caroline Hiron's approved!

Meeting with Caroline is not as hard as you may think, just go to her website and request an appointment (here). It may take a little while to get seen, but the wait times were not ridiculous when I booked.

And if you are based in Sydney, go and see Amy (contact details here), she is brilliant.

The Sanctuary Spa Review

Last Friday, as part of my Christmas haul, I spent a day relaxing at The Sanctuary Spa in Covent Garden. I had wanted to check it out ever since reading Paula Joye's review (which you can check out here). I'm not a seasoned spa goer and tend to find switching off completely a challenge, however I was determined to spend the day and give it my all.

My first dealings with Sanctuary Spa were somewhat challenging. I tried to book by leaving a message which was never returned. I then tried again to ring through a few days later only to be left on hold for more than 15 minutes per time. I ended up having to harrang them on twitter, and finally a few hours later someone returned my call. It was a touch exhausting. 

The outside of the Spa. You would never guess that 5 levels of bliss are hidden behind these walls ....

When booking I opted for the Perfect Pamper Day which included a couple of treatments and use of all the facilities over an 8 hour period. My first impressions upon arrival were good - the check-in process was amazingly smooth, the change rooms were buzzing with staff and fellow spa goers. They had really thought of everything in terms of robes, plastics bags to carry paperwork with you, mini juice shots to enjoy and more.The spa is set out over 5 levels and includes 2 swimming pools, sauna, steam room, the koi lounge, tons of treatment rooms, a cafe and very well stocked shop.

Once I was changed and orientated, I went for a swim in the exercise pool followed by a stint in the sauna. The Koi Lounge was a really nice chill-out area where I had a spot of morning tea while reading a magazine. I came back to this area a lot over the course of the day. 

The Koi Lounge, image courtesy of Sanctuary Spa

My first treatment was a 25 minute Hot Lava Shell massage on my back, neck and shoulders. I am a big fan of a hot stone massage and this didn't disappoint. I glided out of there on a cloud to my next session which was a 30 minute sleep retreat. This was held in a darkened room where you lay on chaise lounges which gently vibrated as you were taken through a guided meditation. I'm not one to meditate but I must say, I did find this thoroughly relaxing and as I held fairly low expectations for this one, it was an unexpected treat.

Lunch was immense - two courses with a glass of wine thrown in. I'm not sure I would recommend the wine. I felt quite zonked for the rest of the day after that. My final treatment was the Sanctuary Prescription Facial and it was really just so average - no proper analysis of my skin under a bright light, it was like the facialist was on auto-pilot. She massaged the most grainy exfoliant all over my face which I was not impressed with as I suffer from broken capillaries and have always been told to avoid using anything granular. I felt as if my skin was being rubbed red raw. There was no explanation as to what masks she used after that and honestly by that point, I was not even bothered to ask. I kind of just wanted it to end. It was a shame really as up until that point the day had been very enjoyable.

At the end of the day I did what I do best, I shopped. 

All in all this is a really lovely place to spend a day and make full use of the facilities. The facial really let it down for me so unless you are like Paula Joye and get to see Nichola Joss herself,  I would stick to the body treatments. Having said that, I would definitely go again to relax as I really enjoyed the pools and the overall ambiance. Oh and the shop sells their lovely range of products which are all really reasonably priced!  You can check them out here and in Australia you can buy them through Priceline here.

Spring Beauty Lustings by Dior

There are some amazingly pretty things launching for Dior this Spring, exclusive to Selfridges. I couldn't help myself but include some examples below for you to lust over! 

I'm not sure I could actually bring myself to use some of these palettes, the detail in them is just so lovely.

Trianon make-up palette for glowing eyes and a fresh complexion £59.00

5 Couleurs Trianon Edition couture colour eyeshadow palette £41.00

Diorblush Trianon Edition vibrant colour powder blush in Corail Bagatalle £30.50

Glow Maximizer light boosting primer £28.50

Dior Vernis Trianon Edition frosted effect nail polish £18.00