Neal's Yard Training

Last week I went up to Covent Garden London for some Neal's Yard training. Neal's Yard is the most surreal and beautiful place! If you ever get the opportunity to go I suggest you do! Its a small little community in a courtyard full of flowers and wacky cafes that you would never believe was in the centre of London. It has it's own cafe, juice bar, and cheese shop, all naturally and organically derived, much like the skincare's motto. I really liked the place so this post is quite picture heavy!

Shop entrance 

Neal's Yard school on top of the Neal's Yard shop

Inside the shop. There is a wall of jars filled with plants and ingredients.

The Courtyard

Panoramic view of the courtyard.

The actual training was really interesting. We were told all about the back ground of Neal's Yard and how they work towards being organic and economical. We had a little tray of testers in front of us so we could try all the products we were being told about. All Neal's Yard products are made in Devon by 3 people so it is a totally British company.

Some products I really want to try for myself are the wild rose beauty balm, the rose and mallow moisturiser and the beauty sleep concentrate. We were also told about the new Frankincense Intense moisturiser that launches on the 28th August. It is a totally natural moisturiser but with the results of chemical creams on the market that cost an absolute fortune. Using nature and science they have create the ultimate anti wrinkle cream, that have had visible results! This will be attached to there Frankincense range that is already out. 

 Another new item to the shop is the Bee Lovely try me set. A long while ago I did a post about the hand cream from this range that I absolutely loved! It smells of orange and honey and is my favourite hand cream of all time, and the range also contributes money to saving the bees from harmful pesticides that can kill them. I really suggest buying the try me kit so you can experience it's freshness.

I couldn't resist adding to my collection so bought the Bee Lovely lip balm which is a real luxury. For £6 it is quite a lot but it is a really soothing lip balm with the same incredible smell. It almost turns into a oil as soon as the warmth of your skin touches it, and it can be also used as a cuticle cream.

 I was also lucky enough to get given a full size hand lotion from attending the training.

 As I said, I would really recommend going to visit Neal's Yard just to escape the hustle and bustle of the London streets, and to escape into a natural wonderland.

This Works Skin Care

A few months ago, a representative for 'This Works' came into the shop I work in to give us some product training and to give us a bit of information about the brand. As a little gift, she gave me the 'Perfect Skin Super Moisture' to say thank you for listening, and to let me have a go of the products. I was running out of cleanser at the time, so I thought I would buy their 'gentle cleanser', so I had a proper experience of the brand.

The brand was created in 2003 by Kathy Phillips, who spent seven years at Vogue as Health and Beauty Director. She saw so many brands go into the magazine but wanted to create something herself, that was modern and natural. The brand has a panel of 50 women who test each product before it comes out, and they will not launch the product until all 50 women agree, 'This Works'. As a natural brand it contains no parabens, sulphates or synthetics, and uses organic plants for their products.

The 'Clean Skin Gentle Cleanser' I bought contains Roship, vitamin A, Frankincense (an anti aging ingredient) and Eucalyptus. I really love this cleanser as it removed makeup really well, including eye makeup. It left my skin really hydrated and I could go to bed without using any moisturiser which I quite like, as I find it a bit heavy when I go to bed. For £19.00 its quite reasonably priced for a high end cleanser, and I really would recommend it due to its luxurious feel. I've had it for a few months now, and there are no signs of it running out anytime soon, although the bottle is white plastic so I can't see what is inside! I'm not great at cleaning my face every day but I enjoy doing it when I use this cleanser.

The 'Perfect Skin Super Moisture' is a daily moisturiser with a built in serum, which means it protects the skin on the outside, and further down. I personally found it a little hard to rub into the skin, and that it absorbed quite quickly before I could get it all over my face. Again, rose is quite a heavy component to the moisturiser with is evening primrose oil, but it also has vitamin C, blackcurrant, walnut and shea butter. The representative gave this product to me as she said it was perfect for my age. It's very hydrating but also has anti ageing properties. The life span on the moisturiser was not as good as the cleanser but it still lasted me a good two months of morning and night application which isn't bad for £22.50.

Both products smell quite strongly of rose which I am not usually keen on as I find it quite a dusty scent, but I have overcome the smell and just have two products I enjoy using. 

Minion Nails

I'm sure a majority of you have seen the film 'Despicable Me' and if you haven't, then I'm sure you will know what minions are, from advertisements on buses and on TV. I absolutely love the film and think it is great for all ages and a really cute story! My friend recently saw the film and caught the bug, and asked if I could do the endearing little creatures on her nails. This is the first time I'd done nail art on someone that wasn't a family member so I was a little nervous. She was happy with the outcome though and so was I, so here they are!

You can see the dungaree detailing better on this picture

Dior Overcurl Mascara

The fateful day that my Dior Overcurl Mascara ran out occured a few weeks ago, and it is only now that I feel I can review it now the sadness has dampened. As you can probably tell, I really loved this mascara. It was lightweight, easy to wear and did exactly what it said on the bottle. 

The Dior Overcurl is the newest of the Dior mascaras, and lengthens and curls lashes, but in a very subtle and natural way. I don't like lashes that look over the top and I'm not a huge fan of clumping either. This mascara was perfect for coating each individual lash, and its thick wand made it very easy to apply to every corner of the eye. For £23.00 it isn't a mascara I could buy all the time, but it certainly is a luxury product I will miss.

Butterfly Nails

Hello there! I am back from holiday which means I am back to blogging!!

As you may know, I went up to Norfolk on a boat trip with friends. Whilst up there, I caught my first fish, saw loads of cool plants and animals, and the main insects I saw were butterflies! Norfolk is full of them! Really pretty ones as well, so my next post is inspired by the beautiful little bugs.

Peacock Butterfly

Tortoise Shell Butterfly

To create this look, you will need:

-base coat

-two contrasting colours

-foil and a make up sponge

-black and white nail art pens

-corrector pen or nail varnish remover and a cotton bud

-top coat

Firstly, paint your nails in a protective base coat, and then your first colour. Here, I used two coats of a new Ciate polish I received in a recent Glossy Box. This Orange colour is called Speed Dial. Next, on your piece of foil, stripe your two colours next to one another like so

Some people recommend using a white coat before ombre effects so the colours are stronger, but I find if you use the lighter colour on the bottom then you don't need the white as your just layering onto the colours you have already used. Take your Makeup sponge, and dab the two colours on the foil and pat onto the nail in a blending effect.

If the blending doesn't look perfect then do not worry as a topcoat will smooth it out and make the gradient less dramatic. Clean up around the edges where the paint has gone over the nail.

Now your ready to do your butterfly effect! You can try all sorts of patterns, but I just googled butterfly nails and got this simple idea. Using nail art pens, you simply do a half moon in the corner of your nail, then do long arcs coming out of it.

Next you fill in the top part of the nail black and then using a white nail art pen, do little dots of white at the tips. (I realise a visual tutorial of this would have been much easier but I painted them before I thought about it!)

And there you have it! Butterfly wing effect nails. Let me know if you like them and if you have any natured inspired manicures you would like to see.

Bon Voyage!

I am off away on holiday today! Not too far, just good old Norfolk for a boating trip with friends! Although i'll still have access to all my blogging resources, I'd quite like to escape the modern world and learn a spot of fishing and catching up with friends! My little blog will not be forgotten about though, as I have some fantastic reading material to keep me occupied! Yeaterday I purchased the infamous Nail Candy book by sisters Donne and Ginny Geer. It's pretty much the number 1 nail art book that I've wanted for ages, and I happened to stumble across it in urban outfitters so purchased immediately! (£12.99) I also was blessed with the timely arrival of my latest Scratch magazine which has some awesome tortoise shell nails on the front which I want to do!

I will be straight back on the blogging as soon as I return! Enjoy the next week and see you soon! Xxx

Floral Nail Art

A long time ago back in Febuary, I went to the Beauty Show in Excel Centre, London. Whilst there I purchased a 'Mo You' stamper set which I have not used enough! I decided to have a little practice the other day and think I'm slowly improving. I always feel like I'm slightly cheating when I use a stamper set, but actually they're quite professional, and create really neat detailed nail art. I chose quite a dainty floral pattern and used my MeMeMe polish in 'Pensive' which I got in my Glossybox and reviewed the other day. For the blue flower detailing, I used Nails Inc 'Baker Street' which is a really striking, cool colour. I still need a lot of practice but I will definitely persevere! This print came out a little patchy, but I quite like how it makes the delicate flower pattern look antique and vintage.