“Beauty With Heart aims to create a community of individuals who are united in their belief that beauty is more than skin deep.”

“Look good, feel good, do good.”

This week i had the pleasure to be invited by The Body Shop for the release of their new summer collection – Beauty With Heart. The flagship store on Grafton Street was buzzing with beauty bloggers, champagne was flowing and cakes were tempting everyone, while the hostesses were offering pampering mini treatments like hair curling or hand massages.

New Body Mists

New Beautifying Dry Oils

New packaging for the Body Butters

Lily Cole’s favorite products: The Lip and Cheek Dome

A great evening was had by all, thank you so much The Body Shop for all the pampering and TLC. Lovely to see all the great Irish beauty bloggers, girls you are even prettier in real life!

Zara TRF coral blazer (current season), Zara T-Shirt (old), Villa black leggins (current season), Zara TRF bag (current season), Pull&Bear wedges (old).

Fell in love with this bright coral blazer the moment i entered the TRF part of  Zara, love the shape and im absolutely crazy about coral. Honestly this year im obsessed with coral and orange tones, i cant get enough of them.

This is what i wore on Saturday night when i went for dinner and cocktails with the girls. I like my comfort so blazer, t-shirt and skinny’s are usually my uniform. Also got a hair cut, chopped about 5 cm of my hair and colored it dark brown again…whom am i kidding, i will never be a light haired girl lol. It feels so bouncy and healthy now, i will definitely stay away from bleach (ups!) from now on.

Raided Boots again for hair products and got myself a proper hair dryer from Peter Marks, plus im trialling the new Viviscal hair supplement so im sure ill get my Rapunzel locks in no time. By the way, the Viviscal really works! My head is full of baby hairs popping all over, even my hairdresser mentioned it.

Lately i find that there are two products that are difficult to explain to a person: serums and primers (full post here). I don’t mean here the savvy bloggers who are up to date with all the latest innovations, but the general public. Ladies get confused when to apply them, where, why or are concerned about layering products.

What is a serum? A serum its a potent, high concentrated skincare product meant to tackle one or few problem areas. Usually it is focused on one active ingredient (eg retinol) and on one skin imperfection (pores, aging, pigmentation etc).

Consistency wise, a serum will have a thin consistency so it can be absorbed in the skin fast. Regardless the brand, always follow up with a moisturiser. A serum will not protect the skin, hydrate, have SPF or other benefits a moisturiser will posses.

Yes, you can layer your skincare and makeup products without problems. For example, apply serum, moisturiser, primer, foundation and so on, you will not be building inches of products if you use the instructions accordingly (which ive noticed nobody reads the packaging anymore).

A serum will always be a little pricier due the technology and ingredients behind it, but bare in mind that it lasts ages too (in average about 3-4 months). Only a little is needed, don’t make the mistake to drown yourself in it.

Always give time for a product to work, especially the ones for pigmentation. If its taken years for a spot to form (the sun damage shows on the skin in 10 years time from when it was produced), it will take more then 4 weeks for a product to work.

So here are some points about the serums Ive tried and liked over time:

Estee Lauder

Idealist – one of the most popular serum amongst the people with oily skin. It is targeted to smooth out the skin and minimize the pores by 30%. This is my second bottle, yes it does visibly minimize the pores but when you stop, everything goes back to normal. More a quick fix and even makeup primer, rather then treatment. Best to be used in the morning, for all ages.

Advanced Night Repair – im currently using this at night time, its a recovery – regenerant serum suitable for all ages. Its meant to boost the skin’s capacity to heal itself. I find the texture a bit sticky for my liking and im not a fan of the scent (a bit herbal), had high hopes but didn’t noticed major results yet (after 4 weeks), will give it more time.

Idealist Illuminator- the latest serum on the market from EL, it boost radiance and evens out the skin tone. Haven’t used this one yet, have a few pigmentation spots on my cheekbones and i am very curious to see if it delivers.

Lancome – The Super Serums Vissionaire and Genefique

The only Super Serums on the market, Genefique Youth Activator will boost the youth proteins in your skin during the morning and adds tons of radiance and smoothness, whilst Visionnaire Advanced Skin Corrector will treat the visible signs of aging (wrinkles, pores, pigmentation) during the night. Very efficient and you will see results in 7 days (Genefique). Always come back to them.

Vichy

Liftactiv Serum 10 – having an active ingredient like Retinol, makes this serum a very efficient anti-age product. I loved using it during the night, it immediately plumped my skin and smoothed it out. Has a slightly richer texture, which makes it loved even by the dryest of complexions. Great for a budget brand (RRP. €35) and targeted for the 30+ women. I enjoyed using it during the night (the bottle in the picture is empty, kept it for blogging), but it can be used morning or/and evening.

Aqualia Thermal – this serum is like a bath for your skin! Rich in soothing thermal water, this will add hydration and strength to the sensitive skin. I have a very long relationship with this serum, its my summer holiday must!

Also, check out the La Roche Posay Dermaox serum – a fabulous radiance booster based on Vitamin C.

Clarins

Im struggling at the moment to finish this one out, this is a skin renewal serum meant to combat fine lines. I say that im struggling, simply because is too rich on my skin and i have to wait a couple of minutes before im applying the moisturiser. Very fragranced, haven’t noticed yet a dramatic improvement and im suspecting this is braking me out. Ill give it more time to see what’s happening.

Thank you for reading and please let me know what other serums i should try, im a little obsessed with skincare .

Seems like i’ve only done lipstick posts lately, so decided to show my lip glosses some love too.

The new glosses from Clarins have really hit the jackpot: lots of pigment, long lasting and yet not very sticky. There is no need for lipstick underneath, maybe a touch of lip liner to add more definition.

Gloss Prodige in Papaya – mild coral, peachy shade. It looks a lot brighter and uniform on the lips then in the photos.

Gloss Prodige in Grenadine – bright coral-pink, bordering on fuchsia.

RRP. €17.80.

MWAH!

We went to Belfast on Monday to have a browse in the shops and finally go to the blogospere famous Junction 1 outlet. We had a fabulous day, himself got so many nice things in Topman (a lot cheaper in the North then in Dublin) and i picked some bits too, mainly in the Outlet.

Ojon Daily Hydrating Shampoo, Conditioner and Mask (474ml x 2, plus the mask only £33)

Have already used the shampoo and conditioner twice and im really impressed with them. Very moisturising without feeling heavy, i mean my hair is detangled and feels bouncy without spending hours of brushing. Haven’t used the mask yet, it will be a weekend affair. Ill do a more in-dept review after using the products for longer.

Also there is a great offer on Ojon products at the moment: buy £20 worth of stuff and get for free  full size volumising shampoo and conditioner plus free shipping. Haven’t come across such a good offer in ages! Link

Asda Toffee Dry Shimmery Body Oil £1

Candy scented, gorgeous sheen and gold particles?! For £1?! Should’ve gotten two.

Got some basics from Zara Trf: a pair of blue distressed skinny’s and two organic cotton t-shirts in yummy summer colours. Oh and these wedges:

Been lusting after these burnt orange wedges for ages, seen them first on Vivianna’s blog in black and then fell in love with the orange ones. Because i’ve become obsessed with coral lately, i accumulated a fair amount of bright coral pieces of clothing so these babies are the final piece of the puzzle.

And my favorite shopping item: Nike runners from the Factory Outlet (were £50, got them for £35).

I’m absolutely in love with them! They are not bulky, black and so, so light. I’m never going to get them off haha!

Hope ill manage to do an OOTD, honestly those posts are so hard to do…im an awful body poser .