Quick Tips. Feeling Great!
Affordable Makeup Treats What's Out There?
My blog will let you in on all my great finds and pearls of wisdom learned over 50 years in the beauty industry, from Elizabeth Arden Salon in Bond Street, to training girls all over Europe, then running the Elizabeth Arden training School in New York and looking after 13 salons, to finally ending up in Exeter, Devon with my own salon Visage for 25 years! I've been busy! and it all started when I was 11, with very dry, sore skin, so I borrowed my mothers beautiful Elizabeth Arden glass bottles (with little pink bows!) I started using a cleanser, toner and moisturiser, and I haven't looked back since!
What goodies have I found, that I’m using that help brighten myself up? Both mentally and physically? I know the primroses are out, it’s a bit sunnier, though down here in the South West of the UK it’s really cold too, but it’s really time to perk yourself up, isn’t it? I like to have a more softer, muted approach in the Spring otherwise its all a bit too harsh, something that goes with a pale skin, pale hair, pale light, you get the picture!
Not too long ago I stumbled on this ABC idea of skincare actually on the Beauty Pie site, it was a piece written about how it was the best way to achieve a really good skin care routine and to get your skin at its very best! Oh I thought this is interesting, you know me, I love things like this, I’m going to give it a try! But with a slight twist! I’ll make it a bit more of a challenge by not just getting the best of what’s out there, why not try and find and use the Luxe for Less version! See what they are, if they are even available and if I get any result! There’s no more of a test than on a mature, sun damaged skin🤣😳
The weather seems to change so much, one day it’s freezing, then it’s milder, followed by rain then cold again! It’s no surprise that your poor skin doesn’t know if it’s Arthur or Martha! Along with the bursts of central heating and even worse if you have an open fire or log burner! Nice and cosy, but it can make your skin so tight and dry. I remember as a child we had an open fire, hot in front of it and freezing away from it! Oh God, the chilblains! At least when I went away to school the frost on the inside (yes inside!) of the windows was constant! No wonder I had great patches of red, raw skin. So with all that in mind, try and avoid extreme changes of heat and cold.
I’m so late with this post! But I think it still applies, and this time of year I think we can all do with as many skincare and makeup ideas as possible! So Happy New Year!
I love all these makeup tips and tricks that you see all over Instagram and TikTok to name just two sources.
Yup! That time of year again! Got the heating on yet? Have you lit the log burner? Skin feeling a little tight, hands feeling dryish? (that’s the first sign for me that things are getting colder!) the tan has completely faded and you’re wearing autumn colours?
So this was a complete surprise as to how many great makeup products Poundland has! It’s not your immediate thought is it? Ooh Poundland! Makeup! But look a little bit more closely and you’ll be delighted and very surprised. I have to say I went in there for something completely different, I think it was something for my dog, Torre, probably another treat!🤣 I ended up by browsing the makeup section and came away with a haul!
Summer, summer, summer! Where is it? What happened to it? Did it ever arrive? And as the Autumn begins to creep on, and the nights start to draw in just a little, I think we all just want to prolong the sunny, shimmering effects of the glorious summer (or the idea of it at least!). How can we do that though! I thought I would group together all those lovely products that have made it into a Shimmering Summer for me!
I love to have a good look around the marvellous French pharmacies and shops, Monoprix is a particularly good one! I didn’t have that much opportunity this time as it was a family holiday. It’s much easier when l’m away with my sister or a friend! But I did find a few opportunities!
It’s always so difficult isn’t it to take the makeup you need or dare I say it want on holiday! I’m no different! I tend to start off with the very best intentions, but somehow fall fowl! We went on a week’s touring trip around Brittany a week or so ago, and it was lovely! My husband is the first to admit that he has no patience to stay in one place for too long! This was his idea, and it was a good one! But with the maximum of 2 nights in one place, I had to be pretty clever with my makeup bag. My advice is, stick to your favourites, the ones you know will work, even though it all changes when you go away, and call it a woman’s prerogative, you’ll always want something you haven’t got ! 🤣
France is famous for their skincare, wherever you go in France there are pharmacies and perfumeries everywhere with every conceivable product from the most expensive to budget. But, I bet you didn’t think that Spain was the same! I discovered this when (before Brexit) we used to drive down and spend our summers by Valencia with our little dog. The fantastic, cool supermarkets are full of great makeup and skincare, beautifully displayed, clean (!) and easily accessible. The face creams are particularly excellent. Often for about €5.
This Solait Mattifying Face Fluid SPF30 High has advanced UVA/UVB protection, is water resistant, and has 24 hour hydration. It is specially formulated with a combination of broad spectrum sunscreens to help protect the face, hands and chest area against UVA (ageing) and UVB (burning) rays. With five star UVA protection it helps to defend against sun damage and pigmentation. What more can you ask of an SPF that you wear daily? It needs to be soft, smooth, lightly fragranced, not sticky, and most of all easy to plonk on! That’s why I always end up by using this one, there are plenty of other good ones on the market, but this one is only about £3.50, easy to buy in Superdrug, and is just really a super little SPF, comes in travel size too!
This Solait Mattifying Face Fluid SPF30 High has advanced UVA/UVB protection, is water resistant, and has 24 hour hydration. It is specially formulated with a combination of broad spectrum sunscreens to help protect the face, hands and chest area against UVA (ageing) and UVB (burning) rays. With five star UVA protection it helps to defend against sun damage and pigmentation. What more can you ask of an SPF that you wear daily? It needs to be soft, smooth, lightly fragranced, not sticky, and most of all easy to plonk on! That’s why I always end up by using this one, there are plenty of other good ones on the market, but this one is only about £3.50, easy to buy in Superdrug, and is just really a super little SPF, comes in travel size too!
I’ve been using this Kiko Long Lasting Colour Lip Marker 107, £9.99 for a long time. I’ve kind of rediscovered it! It’s a very different lip pencil to all the crayons out there, It’s like a felt tip. It’s very easy, as you can imagine, glides on like a felt tip so that you haven’t got the slightly chalky look that you can get with a crayon. The look is much softer and very easy to control and stays on. I also love this colour, it’s a pinky brown and looks great with every lipstick. It just gives a very different look. I either use it before my lipstick application and sometimes afterwards to give a more defined line.
I always have great problems with my scalp after having psoriasis is my late teens. It lasted into my 30’s. It was Tea Tree shampoo and conditioner that finally cured my scalp, but it’s made me constantly wary of shampoos! And the added problem of an often itchy scalp. So with this in mind I thought I would try this Aldi Lacura Bonded Shampoo £3.99 (and conditioner) I discovered afterwards that it’s apparently a dupe for the Opilex brand. The results have been very good and oh It smells delicious! (I know I always go on about smells! But to me it matters!) it lathers up nicely, and leaves my hair squeaky clean, but most importantly for me, my scalp doesn’t itch afterwards and dare I say it feels soothed!
This pencil is a bit of a story! I love blue, but unless it’s a navy blue it just doesn’t work on me. Somehow a bright blue pencil just drowns out my colouring , I wore it when I was 17! But not now! So why have I got this one then? Well it was a gift and I wanted to see how I could make it work. It’s one of those ink pencils, so it’s much easier to use, I think than a crayon, it’s sort of waxy and they leave a much more definite colour, deeper. I also think they must be waterproof. The way I’ve found to use it (I think I’ve worn it everyday) is to put under my top lashes on the water line. That way it gives me a hint of blue without showing, if you know what I mean! It’s a good, subtle way of getting colour on and getting some definition. Try it! Soft Eyes by W7 in Icy Station. £3.95
Do you change your fragrance in the Summer? I tend too, so I can get fresher, sharper and use it liberally when I fancy it! I love perfumes, but like most people, are extremely fussy about what they like. My go to favourite that I wear nearly all the time is Mitsouko by Guerlain, sherbety, oriental and sublime. But come warmer weather I go for something lighter, because as it heats up your perfumes smell stronger. So this one is very similar to the Cedrat by Guerlain (gorgeous) but a lot more expensive. Acqua Colonia Lemon & Ginger by 4711 is one of those lovely, sharp, fresh summertime fragrances. Makes you feel wonderful and allows you to spritz all over, get it on Amazon. £16.78
Oh this is a lovely cream blusher in a stick! PS Crème Blush by Primark £2.50 is a superb product. Very vibrant, very creamy, perfect for that lovely pop of colour. Whether you’re jumping on the strawberry makeup trend or on the hunt for a blusher you can use on the daily, this weightless cream blush should be on your radar. Coming in a sleek silver-tone package with the colour of the blush on the bottom, this cream blusher stick is perfect for on the go. The rounded tip really helps with smooth application, simply swipe or dab onto cheeks and blend with your fingertips or blusher brush to perfect the look. Fabulous!
Cream Eyeshadow by Primark (on sale at £2.50) is a super soft, slightly shiny and metallic cream eyeshadow in Champagne, is a Summer wonder! Perfect for this time of year when you want a slick of something gorgeous on your eyes! Simple, easy and great to just throw on, there’s absolutely no need to be careful with it, as you can’t go wrong. It suits simply every colouring and every eyelid, wear it by itself or with a soft pencil smudged on the top and bottom lid, finish off with a swipe of mascara! Easy! All finished for the day!
French Girl Lips! That soft, pouty, sexiness that they somehow master with attitude so well! Along with fabulous, smart but careless dressing ( or that’s what they would have your believe!)) and perpetual slimness, while drinking wine and eating cheese) Oh we could go on, couldn’t we? But let’s get back to these lips! So first your lips have to be super smooth, no dryness or bits of skin falling off! Use a lip exfoliate like the super Elf Lip Exfoliatior, or a toothbrush! Have a good go over your lips with one of these. Wipe and then use a little lip balm. My favourite is the Nuxe Miel Lip Balm which smells of honey! Lovely! Then you can apply your lipstick. Make it a bright one! A la francaise! Swipe your lipstick over the bottom lip, then with the pad if your finger, pat the colour over the bottom and top lid to blend in the colour and voila! a soft, bright and undefined French lip. For more colour, if you want it, pat the lipstick on a little bit more.
Thank you so much for reading this blog, I hope you found it interesting, informative and not to be taken too seriously! Mostly I hope it encourages you to go out and try new things!
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We all love new stuff, don’t we? It’s a thrill to find something new , to try it and see how it looks. It definitely gives you a lift, remember when you bought that lovely little lipstick that you didn’t need! I have a drawer full of those, all the same kind of shade, the same goes for nail varnishes! So these a some of my new finds! New stuff!
I’ve had a lot of fun this last month as always, with some new finds and some old favourites!
What a wonderland of products to see, feel and find! Of course I was in my element seeing what there was, and what I could try! The first thing I saw was this mascara, I had heard so much about and I wanted to see what all the fuss was about! wow! I couldn't believe this mascara! Could this be the mascara of my dreams? Oh I think so!
I went back to New York last week! I haven't
It's fair to say that I love makeup! I sneekily started wearing it when I was about 12 or 13, of course I wasn't allowed to, and never went out of the house with it on! I seem to remember a love of turquoise eyeshadow, I think I had more under the eye than on the top! Ha!
So another month has passed, and I've been using all kinds of products as the weather has gone from Spring to Winter all in one day! so starting with skincare that really doesn't change that much! I take my eye makeup off with the Beauty Pie Eye makeup Remover (members price £9). I really like this one as it's an bi-phase one that you shake up to disperse. It really takes all my makeup off with a few glides, it's great for my sensitive eyes too. A fraction of the price compared to all the equivalents like Lancôme and Clarins.
Illuminate Under eye Concealer. I had such trouble opening this sponge tipped concealer! Anyone else found this? I had to go back into Primark and ask them how to get the concealer up and in the sponge. I was turning it right instead of left! ha. I’ll know for future!
Sunset blending - from dark to light with my favourite DollFace palette (Primark £3.50)!
We all need Euphoric Lilac in our lives! This is a super soft, creamy eye shadow stick, looks a little like a lipstick tube! and its so easy to use! It just glides over your lash line or eye lid. I paired it with my current favourite Dollface eyeshadow palette from a Primark which has bronzey and tan eyeshadows which really do make the most of this glorious colour! It's by By Revolution, there were a few other colours too, so I will definitely be trying those! All at only £5!
Try a Kiko Matte Lip Crayon in no 06, perfect for Spring Lips, to use as a pencil or fill or use as a lipstick. Vibrant colours, easy to use crayon, so soft. I added a bit of H & M lipstick in Cerise -ly Metallic for a little bit more pink! Spring Lips for £5.99Subscribe at www.shoestringbeauty.com for all the latest blogs, offers and advice straight to your In box
What's new? Dollface! A super eyeshadow palette from Primark, 9 great eyeshadows for £3.50! Wow! I love their kits, with usable, fun, easy to blend eyeshadows. I put the palest on my lid, with a little of the light tan above my socket to open my eyes. Then using a Maybelline Tattoo Ink crayon, lined the top of my lid next to my lashes. A little of the denim blue in the outer corners going over the pencil line, to anchor and soften it, followed by the deeper tan in the socket to give my eyes more definition. Then I took a fluffy brush to just help blend the colours together. All brushes were from Primark. Great Spring look!
What's New? Don’t be frightened of colour! Especially going into Spring & Summer. This Revolution Mousse Eyeshadow is a fabulous colour called Lilac. At £3.99 it’s really good value. Soft and easy to use, with a brush or fingertip. Added some pencil in Twilight, which was actually a very old Cosmetics a la Carte one and finished off with Telescopic black mascara. So don’t let colour put you off or frighten you as it will give you that new look you want!
A gradual tan to give you that healthy look without the mess and worry of being too dark and it all looking a disaster! I’ve used the new Dove Summer Revived Gradual Tan from Superdrug. £2.79. Good texture, easy to apply, not sticky and nice smell! Definitely one of the better options. What's not to like! Really it’s foolproof! Www.shoestringbeauty.com
What's out there? Trying to combat slight dodgy Winter hands? My go to hand cream is always the soft and creamy Lacura Hand Cream by Aldi £3.99, hits the spot every time! I’ve fallen in love with the Rubarb & Rose hand cream by Molten Brown, oh the smell! But if you want the ultimate in hand care with 1% retinol, to help fade those dark age spots (what an awful word) aka sun damage, then look no further! It comes from Beauty Pie £12.50 for members otherwise £40. This is the stuff of miracles! I’ve used it for a week, day and night and all I can say is, wow, what a difference! If you want results, get it! Super Retinol Anti Ageing Hand Cream.
Published on 17 April 2024 at 16:52
What's out there
I wanted to try Victoria Beckham’s chiseling techniques! Considering that I've never had cheekbones I thought I would give it a go! So I used a Barry M Chisel Cheeks Contour Kit for light and medium toned skin. £6.99 it's like a dry powder( I know sounds strange!) but it's neither matte and flat or creamy. It's a good product and nice colours, easy to blend. From Superdrug. I used it under my cheekbones, in a cross each side of my forehead, down the sides of my nose and under the jaw! Then blended all in towards my hairline with a nice chunky brush from Primark. This was fun, though on retrospect I think I needed to blend it in more, and it’s definitely not a something I would do everyday!
Quick Tips
When does Rosa not mean rose?
Wanted so much for this Beauty Pie Sam Chapman Soft Matte liquid Lipstick in Rosa to be the perfect colour, but it was so orangey on me! Disaster! But I have to say it had the most sublime soft texture, a wonderful soft matte, a wonderful lipstick! I added some pink lip pencil from Kiko, still wasn’t right. It was only when I put something really pink on top that it was perfect. H & M Cerise-ly Metallic! From Rosa to Rose!
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Quick tips!
A lovely summery bit of kit! How to tone down the bright pink of this double ended eyeshadow crayon by Primark £3. The best thing is to blend it in and up with a nice fluffy brush, then add a little definition with a neutral grey pencil along the lash line. Soften that with a brush and a little bit of Bourgois Eyeshafow in Brun. A fabulous soft look and a lovely summery bit of kit! #shoestringbeauty
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Feeling Great!
Quick Tips
Feeling Great
Affordable Makeup Treat
A fabulous eye shadow pencil, which is the perfect colour for everyone! Glides on like a dream. Lady M from Beauty Pie! Such a wonderful browny colour that will suit every colouring, you won't be able to go wrong with it, it's easy-peasy. Such wonderful value at £10 members
April 1 2024
Rose Quartz Facial Massager
Every evening after I've cleansed, toned and put my serum, oil, cream and eye cream on! I then massage my face with a beautifully curved piece of Rose Quartz. I got mine from Superdrug for about £9.99, a couple of years ago. It really has lifted my face, drained any puffiness and has worked wonders on my head achy eyes. It's becomes a habit and only takes a couple of minutes! I would really recommend it!
April 2 2024
My favourites in March!
Is it really April, springtime? It's blowing a gale outside and pouring down with rain, yet again! But I've got my very favourite product line up from March, quite a mixture, but I've been using them over and over again!
Primark Bronze Whip £4.50, scary but marvellous!
Elf Multi Stick £5 in Dazzling Peony, so pretty
NYX Blur foundation in Soft Beige £4.99
Solait SPF30 Superdrug £3.99, still one of my favs!
L”ordeal Telescopic Mascara £12.99, there’s nothing better!
Build a brow! Wow get it if you have no brows! £12.99
Wow Brow, Elf £5, totally brilliant!
All brushes, from Primark, such good quality about £1
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