My Body Shop Splurgette

Hello my lovelies!

I’ve treated myself to a little splurge, a splurgette, and have bought a few new to me face

and body products.  A sort of Out of Lockdown treat.  

I am loving The Body Shop summer products I’ve picked up.  This was last night’s look for nipping round to my local. 

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Fresh Nude Tinted Beauty Balm #03 Medium gives me a light unnoticeable cover yet hides 7 decades of wear and tear - let’s call that life’s little imperfections!

The Honey Bronze Highlighting Dome #02 gives a natural glow (dare we call it youthful?!) and is so quick to apply. 

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And the make up sort of took the attention away from Thursday’s clumsily hacked fringe (I hope). 

Yesterday I bought myself a pair of  hairdressing scissors, some tail combs and a clipper thingey for hubs because one of the “good” things to come out of lockdown is that he’s perfectly happy for me to continue hacking cutting his hair, which for an outlay of under £30 will be a saving over time of the £100 + on annual hairdresser costs. 

 It also saves him having to sit in a chair ten times a year talking about “going somewhere nice”. 

And there you have scatterbrained old me digressing yet again.

Get back to the plot, Pout!  Make up!!!

There’s a few other @thebodyshop products that have been recommended to me so I’ll report back soon with my testing of those. 

The Body Shop has an excellent on line site.  You can have a splurgette 

BY CLICKING HERE

The Body Shop is an ethical and cruelty-free brand. 

And you can catch my rookie err,

“tutorial” of these products on YouTube - if you feel brave!

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A la perchoine, 

Mary x. 

#thebodyshop #bronzerstick #tintedmoisturiser #tintedbeautybalm #highlighterdome #freshnudetintedbeautybalm #honeybronzer #honeybronzehighlightingdome #over70makeup #over60makeup #over60beautytips #over70beautytips

My Favourite Beauty Products - 2010 +

Hello my lovelies!

This is the third and final part of my fave beauty products series, you will be relieved and overjoyed to hear!
But I felt compelled to write this mini series as a celebration of beauty products I’ve enjoyed over the past 55 years. So let’s get cracking!




The Born Lippy range from The Body Shop

I’ve often banged on about my favourite lip cover in old age - I find the combo of lip liner and balm so kind and, generous and forgiving on older lips.
These are my fave lip balms this past decade or so - and they’re all fromThe Body Shop!

Born Lippy lip balm, Grenade, The Body Shop.  The Best.  But I fear they may be discontinued this product.

These are glossy beauts and are still available. 

This one isn’t available now but fortunately I stockpiled it some years ago so I’m still good thanks.  It’s a pearlier non-colour which I use to glam up tired old lipsticks.  

Body Shop, please bring this back so that other ladies can enjoy its magic!

These little pots leave the lips with a glossy sheen and a touch of natural looking colour.

They’ve come up a with a fruity range in recent years. 

This is my instant makeup.  On days when I go makeupless (of which there are many!), when leaving the house for a walk, a visit to the doctor or whatever mundane stuff I’m up to, just before I go out the door I apply lip liner, one of these fruity balms and some sunnies and to the outside world it looks like I’ve made some effort!

Do try that trick!

Yes, for lip care products, The Body Shop is The Best!



And now we can move on to foundations and moisturisers

Link from 2016 post HERE, where I wrote about my fave foundation and the creams I was using at the time.  They are still my faves.

Vitalumiere foundation, shades 30 & 40 (winter and summer), Chanel

This gives a line luminous cover and I’ve been using it for many years.



I started using moisturisers when I was 14.  I began with Johnson’s baby lotion and used that throufh my teens and  I still go back to it occasionally as I like its feel on my skin ... and that baby smell!!
 Later in my teens I tried things like Astral and Nivea but have always found them a bit thick and draggy on my skin, so I returned to Johnson’s.  I’m a lotion gal.

Dramatically Different  moisturiser

Yes, to this day I still prefer a lighter lotion on my face and avoid creams wherever possible as I just don’t like the feel of them on my skin.  It’s a personal preference eh, each  to her own. 

This Clinique product became my moisturiser of choice during the noughties and that continued through to the beginning of this twenties decade.

These days in retirement I tend to use cheaper moisturisers like the Simple range (shown in the linked post).  My preferred moisturizer is the gel in the range. 

Or when I can get it ...

ANY Aldi face products 

Yes, I love any face products from Aldi, but we don’t have an Aldi store on the island.  When I’m in the UK I stock up on their lotions and even some of their creams aren’t too bad!

Face serums, any from Aldi

I’m new to the face serums but thanks to Aldi I’ve finally joined the party.  Serums are ridiculously expensive and that put off tight (cheap) old me.  But when I discovered Aldi’s beauty range I also discovered affordable serums (around £3) so my case always has a pile of these crammed into it when I return for a trip to the UK. 

This one is the BEST, but I fear they may have stopped producing it now as I haven’t found it of late.  And that’s made me a little sad. 

That’s it!
The End.

So,  my list starts late 60s and ends here today.  55 years worth of fave beauty products.  You’re welcome!
 Care to share what yours are ladies?


A la perchoine,
Mary x .

My Favourite Beauty Products - 2000 +

Hello my lovelies!


I’ve been putting together a list of my favourite all-time beauty products.
You can catch the first installment
by clicking HERE

My first post started back in the 1960s when some of you were too young to know what a beauty product was!  So I’m bringing us into the current millennium today.  Maybe there are a few of your own personal favourites in this little lot.




2000 to currently, mostly

Retractable lip liner, Ginger, Rimmel .
I’ve probably been using Rimmel’s retractable Lipliner in various shades for a couple of decades.  Ginger is the best shade.

I’ve stockpiled this over the years for fear that it may be discontinued.  I still have a few now, though I haven’t seen it on the Rimmel shelves of late so I fear my stockpile may be all the stock the world has of this perfect lipliner.

I often use it with lip balm for a day to day look and it creates a natural and perhaps even “youthful” pair of lips!
I personally think this combo is the best look for ladies of a certain age, it looks so natural, gives a moist look and is soft on the eye. 

Lipstick, Mocha Pink, Clarins
This was the perfect lip colour for me, not pink, not brown, it just met somewhere in the middle.
I used it for about a decade.  It discontinued in the mid noughties, sadly.
I’ve never since found a colour to replace this fave.
Do you know of perfect mocha pink on the market now?

Bronzer, in powder form, Clarins.
Gives the best natural glow from a blend of three separate colours.
Again I was sold on this through the 90s/00s until it discontinued in this packaging.

It came in a red container, as above.  There’s still a bronzer in the range (right) but it’s not quite the same. 

A blusher is now sold in the same red container (left).   On the right is what’s left of my latest bronzer.  

A sad sight eh. 

Clearly I need to buy a new bronzer at some stage - can you recommend a good one?

Bronzer, stick form, Clarins.
This was even better than the powder form above.  It had a sheen to it and looked err, naturaler.
It was shoved in a handbag and was so easy to whip out and touch up when needed.
If anyone can recommend a really good stick bronzer too, I’m all ears!

False lash mascara, YSL
I’ve been using this for about 20 years.  I’ve occasionally tried other products
  but always go running back to this one.  It gives unclogged luscious lashes and seems to nourish as it coats, for I don’t get the brittle break off of lashes I get with some other mascaras.

Occasionally it’s sold with this fabulous red lipstick.  If you find this deal, snap it up!

One step cleanser, orange, Clarins
My replacement for Cosmedin (mentioned in the previous linked beauty post).

It was like coming home when I discovered this all-in-one cleanser in the late 90s.  It’s a quick process, perfect for this lazy gal!  And it leaves my skin feeling so soft and moisturized ... and perhaps even a little glowy.
I’ve tried one or two micellar waters that have come onto the market in recent years, but none leave my skin feeling like the Clarins product does so I’m not going to experiment any more.  And it lasts much longer than other products of the same size as little is needed to cleanse.
This one is for me until they stop producing it.  Which I hope is NEVER.
NB: There’s a peach version of this Clarins product.  It cleanses well but it doesn’t leave my skin feeling quite the same as this original orange version.

Gentle/Instant eye make up remover, Clarins, as pictured above (there are two types, both equally good)

Paired with the above cleanser, this makes up a perfect cleansing duo.  Eye make up slides off in an instant.  There’s no need for harsh rubbing.  And it doesn’t irritate my eyes like some other removers do.  Again, I’ve occasionally tried other products in the past two decades but none matches this Clarins product. 

Ok that’s enough from me for today.  Over to you.

Have you used any of these products?
What’s your view on them if you have!
And do you have any recommendations for replacements for those that are discontinued?

A la perchoine,
Mary x.

My Favourite Beauty Products Of All Time

Hi my lovelies!

One of the good things to come out of lockdown is communication.  Have you found that too?
It didn’t take long for everyone to reach out to those they loved and missed.  Zoom calls became a bigger for group chats, FaceTime for one to ones.
Messenging in my Sibs group was ongoing so that didn’t change in lockdown, though we probably upped the messaging to keep our spirits up.
Chatting on WhatsApp was something new to me.  One of my lifelines was a group of girlie cousins based in Guernsey and the Isle of Man.  Although we’ve known each other all our lives, we’ve got to know each other so much more these past few months.  We talk about random things.  One day the theme was fave beauty products and I listed my all-time favourites.

So before I get started on my domestic goddesstry for the day, I’d like to share mine with you. 

Here are all time fave beauty products, in chronological order and some without pictures because they go back so far!

And STOP PRESS! the post became so big and unwieldy that I’m sparing you the dilemma of spending 20 minutes reading my post lor doing something more meaningful with your precious time.  Yes, I’ve broken it down into baby sized pieces, just for you because I value your time too!

1960s - 1980s

Cosmedin -  an all in one cleanser that I started using in the late 60s.  It was an all in one, no need for toner.  It’s long since discontinued.  Funny but that type of all in one product has only recently become available again and it’s become hugely popular, so why wasn’t that continued from the 60s onwards? Perhaps because if beauty companies could sell two products (cleanser AND toner) why would they shoot themselves in the foot producing one product that does it all?

Anyway, the concept is back in vogue and  I’ll give you my current favourite all in one in another post.
Did you ever use Cosmedin?

A cream eye shadow, shade nouveau beige, by Max Factor.
I used it through the 60s and 70s, it was just the right shade of non-colour.  A grey/beige.  These days it would be called taupe.
Although that taupe type of colour is all over the place now, it seemed to be banished from beauty counters for decades.  I’ve no idea why because it’s a perfect shading colour.  And despite the market being flooded with the colour now, I still haven’t found anything that quite comes up to my loved nouveau beige. 

Tawny Beige - A beige foundation, by Revlon.
Again a 60s/70s love of mine.  Perfect cover without being  treacley and it toned down my ruddiness.

My googling revealed that Revlon still do the shade but the product name and packaging has changed. 

Has anyone out there used this foundation? I’d love to hear what it’s like. 

Absolue moisturizer, Lancôme.
I discovered this in the late 70s and used it through the 80s.  The Absolue range lives on.  I know this because I just googled it. 

What I also know is that I will NEVER be buying this product again, despite it being good from recollection.  The reason?  Prices start at around £100 and go up to £320.  

The products were more within reach back then. Please tell me, who pays those prices for moisturiser?  Any of you?  Or do you know anyone who does dig that deep in their pockets for a face cream?

And now, as I’m on moisturisers, let’s dip our toes in the 1990s water ... 

Apri gel moisturizer - this was The Best Moisturiser EVER.  I used it in the 90s and continued addictively until it became a discontinued product.  I used to buy up armfuls at a time because this product gave me taughter skin. It was like having a Caci treatment.  The lines disappeared from around my eyes in an instant.  Honest!
And it cost about £3-4!

I couldn’t find any reference to it on google and therefore have no pictures. My google search did however pop up a link to the Superdrug site and some very similar looking products, I.e. they either ARE orange or maybe just the packaging is orange. Anyway, they seemed in the same price bracket as my dear old Apri, so I’ve just bought some and will try that out and report back.
I’m so easy to sell to eh?!



So today’s post is retro, with unavailable products, either because they are no longer produced or they are  astronomically priced outside of any pensioner’s budget!

Please join me in my next beauty post when I reach our millennium and show products that ARE still produced and ARE within our pensuoners’ budgets.

Now, my list starts late 60s.  Care to share yours faves from that time, ladies?
IF you were around.  And IF you were buying beauty products back then and not playing with your rattle.
That would really maje me feel my age!



A la perchoine,
Mary x . 

Saturday Snippets - Beauty Must-Haves

HELLO, my sweetnesses, I hope you're enjoying a relaxing start to your weekend.
So it's Saturday, you're cosied up in your PJs, you've grabbed yourself a coffee and you're looking for some light weekend reading.  Well, look no further 'cos here I am with some Saturday Snippets for you!



#1.  Dental Hygiene

Yesterday I braved the brewing storm to pop into town.

It was blowy!

There, safely indoors in my dentist's surgery, I enjoyed my quarterly session with my hygienist, my chum.  You'd think that "enjoy" and "chum" were perhaps out of context here?  Well, wrong!  I've been seeing this particular hygienist for a good ten years now and on a regular basis.  My visits are now quarterly as plaque doesn't clear as efficiently as we age.
As the frequency of visits had grown, so has our relationship.  It's grown into something quite chummy and this takes my mind off what's going on in my mouth!

We have a good old catch-up, then there's that bit in the middle that we can brush over (pun intended!).  At the end of the session she gives me pointers on areas I need to work on, cleaning techniques and the tools to use.
One tool I've been using in recent years on her recommendation is an interdental brush, and my hygienist has commented on how my dental hygiene has improved since using them.

So as we age and our teeth need more attention, a good hygienist and using the tools she recommends are beauty must-haves.


My lovely blogger mate Laurie has written a great review of TePe products.
SEE VANITY AND ME'S DENTAL POST, HERE
Do please pop over to Laurie's blog to read up on these most effective little brushes (and her other great posts too!).



A beauty regime stands a better chance of becoming habit with me if it's kept simple.

#2.  Facial Hygiene!

OK, I've cleaned my teeth, now let's clean my

I. Swear. By. This.

I've been using this cleanser for about 15 years or so.  It removes all face make up in a few swipes of a cotton wool pad.  Simple and effective.  It leaves my skin soft, nourished, and clean of course.
I don't use night cream, preferring to let my skin breathe overnight, yet I wake up with beautifully soft skin.
When away for a few days some months ago I used facial wipes, to save decanting the cleanser into a 100ml bottle.   I woke up to uncomfortably taut skin.   I think next time I'll go through that decanting


A squirt or two on a pad gently dissolves all eye shadow and stubborn mascara.  Simple.  Effective.
My eyes don't sting or redden as the product is uber gentle, just as it says on the  tin  bottle.


Both of these products may seem a little pricey but they last for ages, so I'm sure CPU (cost per use) works out very favourably.


#3.  Facial Nourishing

I keep it Simple, quite literally!

Face

Now I can't explain this, but in relative terms I splurge on cleanser and skimp on moisturisers.  That is how it is, I'm a walking, talking, writing anomoly.

I prefer moisturizing gels.  They seem to be absorbed more efficiently into my skin.  Gels leave my skin looking and feeling better, IMHO.  And when I say better I mean it - my skin looks tauter, it's almost like it gets a daily face lift!
But gel moisturisers are difficult to find.  I've discovered gel products in the affordable Simple (!) range.

I've been using this gel moisturiser for a good few years.  Amazon sells them in bundles of 6 (putting it into FREE DELIVERY territory) so at £3.50 a tube I'm left in moisturised skin heaven.
I'm such a fan that I've found myself popping it into pressie parcels!


 Eyes

I use Waitrose Pure eye gel.

It's a gel and I swear it's like giving myself a little daily eye lift too!
And this 69-next-weeker sure needs her daily eye lift!

Simple products are unperfumed and are perfect for my skin, which tends to be on the sensitive side.
If you haven't yet tried the Simple range, or haven't yet had your world rocked by gel products, why not pop over to Amazon and waste no time in putting these products through their paces.



I hope you are enjoying my snippets.  I'm trying to theme them.  Next week I'm tackling cleaning again, but house, not face!

Credit,livingroom. gg

Today the sun is shining and the storm has moved on.  I'm going to enjoy a weekend of yet more cleaning (the house this time!).
But I'll take time out to enjoy a few sunny walks and a Sunday brunch with my lovely family.
I wish you a very pleasant weekend, doing things you love and with those you love.



A la perchoine,
Mary.

You know I'm tight when ... The Tube Cutter .

Hi my darlings, hope today is bringing you joy and fulfilment.

Today's been a gob-smackingly gorgeous Spring day so it's brought me joy and fulfilment in bucket loads.  Last week, not so much.  Whilst I wasn't quite confined to barracks, I did spend more time indoors than I would have liked due to rain and winds.  

On one such stir-crazy day, I found myself walking around the bathroom noting signs that a pensioner lives in this house!  You know, random little things,  money-saving, some quirky, some a tad old-lady.  And I started taking photos because, well, because I just like sharing with you guys !

When I took stock of the photos, I realised that these aren't funny ways I'd taken up now that I'm living on a reduced income.  I realised that some are things I've been doing since my early teens, like the one I share with you here today.  

Creams came out of pocket money back then in my teens, or from holiday job earnings, and I often found myself with a seemingly empty tube of moisturiser or foundation, and no money for a replacement.  So I eked every last drop of everything. 

And so this frugal habit has continued, apparently.

 So without further waffle, here's my first stop during my pictorial walkabout.  You know I'm tight when you see ...

this.  The cut tube.

 Tubes eventually appear to be empty.  But they are so not!  I dissect the tube, then I "live" off the cream that would otherwise have been thrown away with the tube.  Often there is an amazing amount still in the tube.  Often I live off the dregs for days.  (I use this Clarins product on an irregular basis so it lasts for simply ages anyway) 

The Clarins plastic is quite hard to snip but this is a better example of my work ...

Unadulterated.

Adulterated.

This is usually the end result, a much neater sealed container.  Aethestically pleasing and far more hygienic as the tube is properly sealed.

BTW, I have quickly become infatuated with this moisturiser.  If you haven't already developed your own little love affair with it I really do recommend you try it.  And Boots is selling this Simple Water Boost Hydrating Gel Cream at half price right now, £3.49, so it would be rude not to try it eh?

So let's talk about gels.  

I just love the feel of gels on my skin.  And I swear gel does something quite magical to older skin.  Gel seems to tighten the skin as it moisturises and my skin feels fresher, cleaner too.

So with this big gelmance going on,  I grab an eye gel whenever I can.  Same thing, gel's divine on the eyes too. OK, brace yourselves.  Waitrose Pure Eye Gel is sold at £1.33.  And frequently Waitrose does one of those BOGOFs on it.  I pounce and scoop up multiple buys!

With these two buys my whole face is fully moisturised for under a fiver!

Now, a warning.  If you've read about my approach to about eye hygiene (SEE HERE) , it will not surprise you that I definitely do not advocate using the thrifty cutting open technique with eye products.  Nuff said.

I keep my face clear of any creams or products at night.  My face likes this break and shows its thanks by feeling moist when I wake up. Each to her own, this may not work for your skin type but that's the way my skin rolls.

So with no night cream,  that really IS my full 24/7 skin care for under £5!

And now, this is probably quite "duh", but I've only just realised that the amount that's squeezed out of tube with one squeeze before it runs out of puff is probably the right amount per application.

Yeah, it's really DUH and I am a tad embarrassed about only realising this recently but it really stands to reason that the clever designers would design tubes so that the prescribed amount  comes out in one splosh on your hand.

So, I've got that off my chest, but if you haven't worked that one out yet, well, you're welcome!

And finally, here's the funny thing.   I thought it was just old me who cuts her tubes, so to speak!  But I think Anna of Mutton Style has been tube cutting and Lisa of Coast to Coast showed a pic of her tube work yesterday.  Great minds eh?


So, dear readers, today I've shared with you two great moisturizing products.  And I've shared tube-cutting to get the most from your buys, but maybe you've been doing this for years too?   Maybe you've got money saving tips you'd like to share today?  I'd love to hear from you in the comments box below ..





A la perchoine.

Rellies, Balance and Getting Lucky

I'm mostly really on the ball with my admin, but occasionally something will slip through the net. Like this post.

So I'm taking you back a couple of weeks, to when I ignored my own dressing rules and stuck with the day's "lady-wot-lunches" outfit for the evening's bar meal, even though normally I'd prefer jeans.  Pub = Jeans, one of The Pout's simple dress codes!

Out with rellies.  My Sis, two cousins, and me, at The Rockie, my local.  My lovely local ladies.  We had a great catch-up.

You can already see the fish and chips on the left of the table.  And because I've been amiss considerate in withholding food pics until my previous post, let's address that balance some more with the rest of our meals! 

For our table was piled high with other tasty morsels; sausage and mash, a seafood platter.  It groaned under the weight of this abundance.  Then I groaned the next day when I dragged myself on to the scales!  Or the balancing scales, as I think they were originally called, though sadly my electronic scales are a cruel imbalance of aspiration and reality check.

Here's my dish.  You'd think my tempura prawn tails would have had been a slightly calorie-friendly choice with that pile of salad stuff on the plate.

But then a side order of double-cooked chips had counter-balanced any hint of healthiness!

Yes, I'm all about balances today, folks.  And posting oversights.

For if I'm fessing oversights, I'd better open up to this one too.  This little pic was also in my drafts box.

There are a few things I don't skimp on in retirement, like my beauty essentials.  My quality-budget balance.   A few weeks ago I shopped for three of my four staples, YSL false lash mascara, Clarins Gentle Eye Make Up Remover and Clarins One Step Facial Cleanser (orange extract).  I've used these products for about 15 years and I love them for two reasons. 

1) They are one-stop-shops so fit in with my lazy-girl, corner-cutting approach to life.  A flick of the mascara wand or a swipe with the cleansers and the job is so effortlessly a good 'un.

2) These staples leave my lashes, eyes, and skin feeling good.  Noticeably so as when I was in Southampton a few weeks ago and I used facial wipes for travel - well, on awakening after the first day of using them my skin felt so taught and dry.  I don't use night cream, believing that the skin should have time to relax and breathe, and my skin feels so beautifully soft when I wake up after using the Clarins facial cleanser the night before. 

So I stick with these products, hang the cost.  Their priciness is off-set by their efficacy and my life gets balance, harmony, order.

And I got lucky! When I did the essentials shop recently in Creaseys,  my local department store, I totally lucked out and the freebies kept coming! I was allowed to choose three products from Clarins; and the mascara came with two gifts as well.  5 gifts!!  I haven't used them yet so nothing to report back on.  But I will.

Sometimes I have to buy these beauty essentials on line because of logistical issues, like the 100ml flying restriction.  But mostly I buy in the high street.  I get a great personal service and just occasionally I am showered with freebies! 

And we pensioners like freebies, eh?  Life's give-take balance.

Do you have any beauty product must-haves?

Products that never let you down?

Products that you don't ditch, even when money is tight?

I'd love to hear.

A la perchoine.

Touché !

A Dive into the Cosmetics Counter

I been fighting off the advances of the local department store beauticians for years.  My request for YSL false lash mascara has invariably been followed by "Are you OK for Touche Éclat, Madam?".  Like it was a given that all visitors to the YSL counter are users of its supposed miracle worker.  I was not that person.

I've fought them off with my very brave stock-response, "I don't use it, dark circles isn't one of my many beauty challenges, thank you".

Until now.

For I have capitulated.

I popped in to our local department store beauty department Creaseys some weeks ago for a YSL mascara, when on the way to the hygienist.  On reflection, I realise the trained salesperson could easily spot my vulnerability, could see that I was looking for any side-tracking opportunity to put off getting to the hygienist.  Even a mini-makeover.  It must have been written all over my clearly-needy face.

When the stunningly beautiful beautician (not tautologous!) realised I was a rarity, a Touche Eclat Virgin, she very casually, very sweetly, asked me if I had time for her to try some on me. 
Well, as it happened, I did have 20 minutes till my appointment, and I didn't want to sweat out those interminable minutes in the hygienist's ante-chamber, so what's a girl to do?
I said "where do I sit?"!

 She deftly applied the magic potion to where she believed my face so desperately needed it.  But to just the one side of the face.  She led me to a mirror and let me see its magic for myself and then showed me how to apply the potion to the other half.

Oh, she was good!  But in an oh so gentle, casually coaxing way. 

A light touch, or should I say a light touche?

And of course I could see a difference and of course I told her to ring up a hit on the till.

Many before her had tried to get me to buy it. Many had failed.
But she finally got me with her light-touch épée work.  I surrendered.   Touché.

If you're not familiar with the product, I think the idea that it illuminates the dark bits to lighten up the face.

So I've been giving it a go for a few weeks.  Maybe you have even noticed!

I took a few shots this morning.

As instructed by my new bestie, it's applied to the under-eye, into the cheek crevices and down the nose - like I would want to have my nose highlighted!

Can you see a difference?  Have I wasted my pension money?!

I think it does lighten the dark circles which have now appeared under eye in recent years.

And I think the smile creases look less-pronounced. 

With apologies for the less-sharp quality of the pictures, BTW.  I did Kindle selfies as I knew The Photographer wouldn't have the patience for all this close-up malarkey!

I know so many have raved over this product over the years.  It has been in the Top Ten of beauty products for so long.  I've been strong to resist but now that I have succumbed I'm going to run with it and see if I do continue to feel it makes a difference.

You can find details of the product here.

(Currently on offer with a handbag-sized False Lash mascara)

My new bestie also gave me a sample of the new Touche Eclat foundation, details here, which magazines are raving about, so I'm trying that out too.  What fun!

Well, dear reader, do you use Touche Eclat?

Have you been using it for years?

Do you see a noticeable difference?  On you?  On me?!

And have you tried the Touche Eclat foundation too?

I'd love to hear what you think of these products.

A la perchoine.

Getting Lippy!

Bleeding Lips. What's that all about?

Well, actually, it's quite a big deal.

I posted this shot some weeks' ago.

Then the lovely Janet of The Gardener's Cottage here, wrote a piece on bleeding lips.  I visited my blog pics to check for bleedin' lips and found this pic Here.  Bleeding? Tick.


So today I'm giving some thought to lip bleed.

What is it?

Lipstick bleed occurs when the skin surrounding the lips become lined and lipstick enters the crevices.  So it makes sense to work at minimising crevices and keeping lipstick within the space it's designed for, the lips!

Keep lips in good condition

I moisturise my lips when moisturising my face.

I use lots of balm.  When writing this piece, I had to give some thought to things I do on autopilot. Like applying lip balm. I splodge it on passed the lip edge and just below the corners of the mouth, where my lines are busiest (see pic).  It fills the cracks. Polyfilla for the face!

I use this sort of thing at the moment, costing £2-3.  The Body Shop stick in Pomegranate is great too!

Here ir is in Grenade

Clarins lip balm, Elizabeth Arden 8 hour cream, Vaseline balm, or Vaseltine itself are all good too.

Lip Liner
Contain lipstick by creating an outline for lipstick. http://www.allbeauty.com/1165813-yves-saint-laurent-touche-eclat-radiant-touch-n2-luminous-ivory-2-5ml-volume-effet-faux-cils-2ml It seems to make sense as you want the lipstick only on the lip, right?  As it's only
when the lipstick strays off-lip that the lipstick bleeds into the outer area's crevices.

I've used Rimmel liner for years,  the propelling pencil type in a browny-ginger shade; lighter shades go invisible on me.

This one is designed to minimise lip bleed, see here.

Lip gloss
My lips are quite coloured so for a casual look I fill in the outline with lip balm; this gives a nice gloss whilst allowing my natural colour to come through.
For more glitz, I love this baby.  I stockpile for fear of The Body Shop discontinuing it.



Lips don't bleed coloured balm or gloss.  That's my experience.

Lipstick
Keep it within your liner outlines.  Color-wise, fit to your face, your colouring, the occasion and your outfit.
I adore a clear red with a charcoal outfit.  Actually, any excuse to wear red.  I feel sophisticated.  A lady makes an entrance wearing red lipstick!

YSL's still doing this deal - a gorgeous red lipstick free with their superduper faux lash mascara.

Because of the high colour on my lips I look sick with light colours.  I wear darkish pink, pinky-brown or that YSL statement-red.

Foundation can provide a blank canvas for lipstick and reduces lipstick bleed.  Just don't use it without lipstick -  the mature lady should avoid the 60s Julie Driscoll look!

To Blot or Not to Blot?
I sometimes blot and reapply if I want the lipstick to last for hours, as I rarely touch up when out. It also reduces the risk of bleed.  Often I don't.

Sun Care

At 17 I had bad sun burn lip blistering; that area has since been prone to blister-repeat and cold sores.  Use a lip sun barrier on the lip and surrounding area.  Lipsyl do a good one.
Damage =  vulnerable areas =  lip bleed.

So, to summarise my tips in this this lengthy article!
Keep your lips in good condition.
Foundation helps.
Use lipliner.
The glossier the lips, the less the bleed.
Blotting lipstick helps.
Use a lip barrier in sun.

And so endeth today's lesson.  I hope I have been of some small service.  To your lips.

A la perchoine.