Beauty Discoveries :

Hello, My name is Sophie, and I have come to live with the fact that I am never going to have perfect skin! I have large pores, it's oily and I have spots, It makes me sad, but it's the way my skin has always been.

Sometimes I wonder if I could have helped prevent it though, by looking after it when I was younger. I only religiously started looking after my skin properly about two years ago. Before that I was reckless, I would go to sleep with my make up on, and then rub away at my eyes and face with only a baby wipe each morning before reapplying it all again. I cringe when I think back to that now.

It's amazing, how being in the beauty community with so many others like me has taught me so much about so many different things, but I think that looking after my skin is the most important lesson I have learnt. When I was young I never even knew what pores were, even though they were there, I must have been oblivious! I never knew there were different skin types, or that there was such a thing as a face or eye primer!

My skin was worse when I was younger, but it was never something I paid attention too, I should have, but all of the attention was on my eyes and I wasn't bothered about what my face looked like. If I had of used the array of skincare items that I use now when I was sixteen, maybe my skin wouldn't be so bad now.

I'm never going to know that though, but you live and learn..

Nowadays I do the best I can to try and make my skin look as good as it can, I cleanse, tone and moisturise morning and night and I will never go to bed or apply make up without making sure that every trace of make up is removed! I have discovered that there are things out there that actually help with combating my oily skin and spots.

Primers have been an amazing discovery for me too, The first time I heard about an eye primer I scoffed 'nothing could stop eye shadow from creasing!' - To me it was normal that after two hours of wearing anything on my eyelids it would look gross, I really thought that was standard.. How wrong I was! ..

It took me ages to buy an eye primer and try it out because I was so sceptical of wasting money, even though I had heard so many good things about them. Eventually I caved in and bought one and the first time I wore an eye primer was on a night out with my partner, we went out to a club and I was so excited to see how it would work that I was looking in my hand mirror every five minutes to see if it had creased yet, It hadn't, and didn't. My eye make up looked just as good when I got back after six hours as it had done when we left the house, I was so excited and pleased at the prospect that my make up would never crease ever again!

Finding that eye primer wasn't some gimmick I invested in a face primer too, I wasn't so sceptical now because I had been so wrong about the eye primer. Well, face primer is just as awesome, if not more so. It mattifies my oily skin for hours at a time and fills in my pores and makes my foundation apply so much more smoothly and looks more flawless.

So, thanks to the beauty community for making me aware of how important skincare is and that face and eye primers exist, my skin probably looks better now than it did when I was sixteen! I seriously suggest that everyone tries eye primer, they are a must have and If you have large pores and oily skin try a mattifying face primer too, or a more hydrating primer if you have normal to dry skin.

I would love to hear about any of your beauty discoveries and products that you have found that you wonder how you ever lived without?

I'll see you here again next Wednesday, where I will be talking about some lovely Butter London nail polishes from this very site!

www.makeupwonderland.blogspot.com

It’s All Greek To Me …

Yammas! Welcome to my little corner of Zuneta, which they’ve very kindly let me invade for the next few Tuesdays. Lovely, lovely Zuneta-peeps.

It might come as a surprise to some people (and absolutely none to anyone who’s ever seen me in the same room as alcohol) that I used to work for a well known holiday company that caters to the, er, “youth holiday” market. For legal reasons I shall call them “Mob Hatin’ Thirty”.

Most of my repping career with Mob was spent on various Greek islands and I learned many, many things as a result. Things such as: how to drink a Cypriot bar-owner under the table, that black sambuca is actually really rather nice, how to lose the ability to sit down effectively, that lemon juice just makes your hair crispy, and – most importantly – that olive oil does NOT make a good substitute for Hawaiian Tropic, especially on your backside.

Sadly, my Greek odyssey (or, “The Wilderness Years”) did not teach me much Greek outside of the obligatory “cheers” and “Kindly unhand me young man, I am a respectable gentlewoman”. At least, that’s what I think that particular phrase means…

What does all this have to do with makeup I hear you cry? Well, what’s possibly most surprising about my time as a rep was that I spent those years wearing No Make Up Whatsoever. None. Not a scrap, outside of the lemon’n’oil combo mentioned earlier. I did have make up with me, but there was usually either no time to apply, or it being the kind of job it was, upon occasion there wasn’t, shall we say, the ability to put some on .

This all might have been a bit different if I’d known about Korres (which is what Zuneta would actually like me to be talking about instead of reminiscing about what is basically, well, corporate drunkenness. Dear, lovely Zu, please forgive my lollygagging) at the time.

Korres, in case you don’t know, are Greek, and they’re famous for their award-winning Materia Herba line of skin care, but they also have a cosmetic range, which I like very much indeed. The shadows are buttery-soft and shimmery, the eye-pencils are both densely pigmented and wonderfully smudgey (not so great if you want a clear, precise line, I warn you), and the lipglosses are sheer and moisturising. They even have an electric blue mascara. I don’t like it. You might though! It was alittle bit too 1986 for me. Luckily, Zu sent me something to try that I didn’t already own, and that’s their Rice and Olive Oil face powder which is for dry skins. As I have so much Korres, I thought I’d do a Face of the Day – nothing like scaring people off on your first guest blog, eh? Anyhoo, here’s me mush, all done up Greek-stylee:

I used: eyeshadows in 77s, and 11, Cherry lipgloss in 52 Red (not nearly as scary as it looks in the tube, eh?), Wild Rose Foundation in WRF2, eyeliner in 10 Blue Black (the only blue cosmetic I ever use! I love it) plus the aforementioned Rice and Olive oil powder, which I like a lot as it’s not as drying and cakey as I feared it would be. The mascara and blusher are some Lancome and Milani bits and pieces I had lying around. The gormless expressions are all my own, sadly.

So there you go, I had a ramble, and I hope you liked it. I also hope my face didn’t scare you off too much! Same time next week?

getlippie.blogspot.com

Product Review: Smith's Rosebud Salve
We all lust after super soft kissable lips right? As a self confessed beauty product addict, I'm constantly looking for something that will keep my lips in perfect condition. I battle frequently with my lips, they become dry and chapped quite often and Ive never really found a lip product that Ive been totally satisfied with until I was introduced to the miracle in a tin, which is Smith's Rosebud Salve.

First made by pharmacist George F. Smith in 1892 and packaged in a very cute vintage inspired tin, this cult product is a favourite amongst celebrities, make up artists and beauty fanatics like myself.

Although mainly recognised as a lip balm, this product has a potential number of uses as stated on the tin.

Consistency wise, the salve itself is very similar to Vaseline Petroleum Jelly although its pink in colour. For me this just makes it more appealing, anything pink and its automatic love. Yes I'm slightly fickle, but its a woman's right isn't it? It adds a gorgeous sheen to the lips, a slight rosy tint and has a subtle rosy scent.

This truly is a wonder product. Upon first use, my lips were in a bit of a state. Pretty dry and sore, within a day of using this product though they were back to their normal soft, smooth self. I also find the product to be slightly addictive. Normally I only apply a Lip Balm just before going to bed, so it can get to work over night but for the past 3 days Ive just been wearing this throughout the day and nothing else. Now for me, this is totally out of the ordinary. I am a big Lipstick junkie, I dub Ive ever stepped foot out of the house without my Lippie on, the thought alone makes me shudder but I just I love how this feels and looks on my Lips. The slight tint it gives, makes my lips look damn sexy!

After using this product and being so pleased with it, I highly doubt I'll ever buy another brand of Lip Balm again. This has become a staple item for me. Two of my friends have also become hooked. They just couldn't help asking what it was when I whipped out my cute little vintage tin for a top up!

I'm also pretty intrigued to see how it works for other things too. Now I'm not saying I wish Harvey (my 16 month old son) developed nappy rash, or I accidentally burn myself in the kitchen, which actually could happen at any time seen as I'm no Gordon Ramsey where cooking is concerned, but if any of the above do occur I'll sure as hell be slapping a bit of the old Rosebud Salve on.

Is this cult favourite a favourite of yours?

http://www.beautyliciouslove.com/

I'm taking up my guest blogger spot here on Zuneta over the next 3 Sundays to talk all sorts of rubbish to you, starting today with mascara wands. I also have a couple of reviews of products that you can buy from this here very site coming up next week. So stick with me, it's Sunday... you don't have anything better to do anyway.

Lengthening, volumising or curling... never has a product promised so much. Mascara is one of the biggest money spinners in the beauty industry, with the majority of women owning at least one tube in that relentless quest for lashes that sweep the floor. It's a product we're endlessly looking to improve with 'innovation' being the buzz word du jour.

Squillions of pounds (probably) are poured into research and development of this little invention fondly referred to as 'mazzie' and the emphasis in recent years, has come to centre on one particular aspect. The wand.

Check 'em out. Some of the more 'avant-garde' mascara wands from recent history. Read below for the design inspiration:

The Mace - "to capture and separate each and every lash right from the root"

The Comb (over) - "separates lashes as it combs for volume without clumps"

The Helter Skelter - "ensures “Haute Couture” precision and dresses the lashes evenly from root to tip"

The Bobbly One - "curves IN to maximize lash loading, curves OUT to curl and de-clump"

The Square Root - "designed to reach the very base of your lashes, seperating and lifting"

The Double Helix - "reaches every single lash, even the smallest coating them from from root to to tip"

You know, in 40,000 years time when they're digging the soil around what was once my home... future archaeologists will make a total 'WTF' discovery - they'll stumble across my mascara collection. 'Aha! - Some strange primitive torture device!' they'll exclaim, whilst waving my Telescopic Explosion (a.k.a 'The Mace') about a bit.

And they'd only be half wrong. When you look at these wands separated from the context of the product, the packaging and the hype that surrounds them, you realise just how daft they are. Don't get me wrong, some certainly work better than others... I mean 'The Square Root' was invented as an insider joke no? Nevertheless, could we please have a little less crack-smoking dear wand inventologists? Hey! I have an idea! You could try something really groundbreaking and concentrate on the product formula for a wee while. It's a thought, and even if I do say so myself... quite an 'innovative' one.

What are your favourite mascara wands and just how much of a difference do you think they make?

www.lipglossiping.com

The collection I've amassed of my favourite Spring shades. Reaching for one of these beauties every manicure.

Going through a bit of a fuschia phase and it's on my lips that I'm usually sporting this craze. This week I've been reaching for Korres Mango Butter Lipstick £15 in shade 54.  Fuschia for me for Spring!

Right. A boy’s blog on a beauty website. This is going to be interesting. Yes, the men’s beauty industry is massive. Men use products, yes, but they don’t talk about them to one another. Fact. Those that do, have friends that do, and they are in the minority. So it’s my job to talk about good stuff for the boys, so the boys don’t have to…

Let me start with my bible in a tube. My god of all gunks. Yu-Be cream. This stuff id is PROPER. I suffer from dry skin. I always used to think, yep, so does everyone. Only I get REALLY dry hands, I’m talking painfully, cracking dry hands. I used a whole bunch of my mum’s and my sister’s pilfered cream - fancy, expensive, lady-smelling stuff. Anything to silk up my poor desert mittens. But none of them REALLY smashed it in. So I said hello to my local doctor. Blam. Dry eczema apparently. Very normal, he says. Loads of people have it, he says. So what do I do doc? Use stuff WITHOUT fragrance. Fragrance CAN be a nasty chemical when put on skin that irritates easily. Otherwise it’s harmless and amazing. Surely everything has fragrance, I asked. No. Yu-Be doesn’t. It’s minty, but its fragrance free, its vitamin enriched, and it’s been THE bestselling cream in Japan since 1957. Who am I to argue with a country…

It’s AMAZING. If you need a hand cream, if you’re cycling in winter and those paws are feeling the strain, you playing footie and they are getting chapped, on your lips skiing, when you’re on a mission to a pole (see below) or if you just want super-soft, bad bwoy hands, get this stuff. I always got one in my pocket…

Beyonce is so damn cool.

Just take the video to Video Phone. What a creative delight. Although maybe not if you are prone to epileptic fits.

Another visual feast of colour and booty shaking. I can imagine trying to replicate one or two of those moves after a couple of tequila's when on holiday in some cheesy venue later this year. It will be a horror to watch, apologies in advance to anyone that has to witness it.

Lady Gaga is in the video. Not such a fan of her. Definitely team Beyonce for me. Gaga tries just a little bit too hard for me and leaves 'cool' way behind and instead sits somewhere in tacksville. But I know that will be a contraversial statement.

Lady Gaga's Telephone, for example, is also watchable, but it's Beyonce that makes it great. Lady Gaga is channeling Madonna in bucketloads. Think I might have seen it before.

Beyonce - you rock.

The last 5 months have seen me embroiled in an immense battle with BT. They were doing a Broadband trial in my area, promise of lightning speed fibre optic greatness.....for free for a few months. I am so bored of the saga that I'm not going to go into it but basically they cocked up on a monumental level and now I'm moving to Virgin.

But the bad news is I won't be getting my Virgin cable and 50mb broadband until the end of March.

So I'm going to miss the premier of Jersey Shore which I believe is tonight on MTV.

On my recent trip to my old stomping ground of NYC, I asked my girls about town what I had been missing and they both immediately brought up Jersey Shore.

There is just something tragically addictive about this breed of car crash TV and the idea of watching a house full of brash, offensive, tacky as hell kids from New Jersey is strangely appealing. I mean, I still can't get over DJ Pauly D's Ken style helmet hair or Snookie's.....well, just Snookie I suppose. So wrong on so many levels.

So, for all of you that will be settling down with Snookie, the Situation et al tonight.............think of me! I'm jealous! But I will catch up. And will no doubt report back. Maybe when the Harpers issue comes out with them gracing a double page spread. Can you believe it? No, I can't either.

Whiling away an afternoon watching the six nations with my visiting Dad has been fun.
But what made it more fun was a twitter debate that ensued about favourite nail varnishes.
I am a die-hard Essie fan. Why? I love the shades Essie do, the bottle rocks and the thin formula is the most chip resistant...I find.
Once upon a time in my previous life, I used to work in strategy & product development on nail for L'Oreal Paris and the results of our testing was always interesting. In a blind test (bottles disguised so you don't know what your using), respondants always chose OPI as the best for application, but scored Essie best overall due to the long lasting formula. The average was 5 days without chipping for Essie, and 3 for most others. The challenge for 'home-use' brands has always been how to make a nail varnish comfortable to apply and make it long lasting?
The truth is its very hard to do.
OPI is the worlds leading nail brand in terms of sales due to ease of application. The formula is thick, the brush is flat. Its quick & easy.

Essie has the salon business nailed. The Essie brush is round and its easier for a professional to get better coverage and a thinner layer of varnish which inevitably means it lasts much longer.
And so the two camps are divided, meaning there is always a market for the hoardes of other brands that come along, like Nubar, Butter London, Jessica (big in UK salons) and the huge range of mass brands available.
So what was the outcome of the Twitter debate? That everyone has their own opinion! I like Essie, BritishBeautyBlogger loves OPI, others were voting for Nubar....the list goes on.
What's your fave brand and why? What brands would you like to see on Zuneta? Who does the best shades? Who has the best formula? Have your say!

For all the boys out there that have been waiting to be catered for on our lovely site, YOUR TIME HAS COME!

There are a few mens sites out there with a number of typically bland mens brands ( I won't mention any names as that would be bitchy) so we wanted to find something that was new, pleasurable to put on your face and pretty damn cool. A brand should always look as good as it feels I reckon.

So I was very pleased to come across SHARPS. Rob, Zuneta Creative extraordinaire (and my bro for those that don't know) came to me with a picture of Kid Glove Shave Gel in his hand, torn from his copy of VICE magazine. It described the product in question as a 'blow job for your face'. Big words.

So, does it live up to expectation? You'll just have to try it and find out!

Here are some pics from the TopMan location of SHARPS Barber & Shop.