Thursday beauty review - Liz Earle Daily Eye Repair

As promised here's my first Thursday beauty post.

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A good eye creme can be your best friend making you look fresh, youthful and awake.

So when I was given a sample of Liz Earle's Daily Eye Repair, I was keen to try it out as the Liz Earle cleanser's superb, (review to come).

Image via www.ukhairdressers.com

Did I find a new best friend?

Yes and no.  

I liked it because it kept the skin around my eyes well hydrated and it didn't irritate my eyes as so many eye cremes do.  It also contained an SPF20 which is good for protecting the delicate skin around the eyes.

On the down side, it didn't absorb very well.  It was quite thick and tended to sit on the surface of the skin.  I found myself having to rub quite hard to get it to sink in which dragged the skin.

So would I be willing to pay out £14.25 for it?  No, probably not.  There are other, cheaper eye cremes on the market which do just as good a job without having to drag the skin to rub it in.  

I would use it again though if someone gave me a sample.

Musings on beauty and why I'm a cosmetics addict

I am a cosmetics and beauty junkie.  There!  I said it.

I'm fascinated by the process of transforming oneself from a plain jane to a gorgeous siren.

There is a school of thought that says an intelligent woman should be above such superficial things as appearance and looking good.  To a certain extent this is true because intellect will always trump looks but I can't see any reason why you can't be fiercely intelligent and look fierce at the same time.  Seriously, if all you were interested in was deep intellectual thinking and nothing else, you'd be kind of boring.

You don't believe me?

Let me present to you the case of Hedy Lamarr.

Image via http://cssu-bg.org/WomenInCS/hedy_lamarr.php

She was a movie star in the forties, famed for her beauty.  But she was also a mathematical genius and inventor.  Along with George Antheil she invented a technique for spread spectrum communications and frequency hopping.  No, I don't really understand it either but apparently it served as the basis for Bluetooth and Wi-Fi communications.  See?  Being beautiful didn't undermine her intelligence.  Her looks combined with her brain made her so much more fascinating than someone who was either just beautiful or just brainy.

There's something enormously tender about pampering yourself.  I have a rather long before-bed routine which involves showering, cleansing my face and applying a lot of lotions & potions. It drives my boyfriend to distraction but I need it.  After a long, hard day it's a way of relaxing and taking care of myself. (Also, if I don't clean my face properly every day, I end up looking like a raison - all withered!)

Which leads me on to my blog...  Reading back on my old posts, I realise that I've been doing a lot of beauty and cosmetic reviews.  I enjoy writing them because I'm constantly trying out new products & I like sharing my findings and people seem to want to read them because these posts constantly get the most hits.  

So here's what I'm going to do.  Once a week, work permitting I'm going to write a cosmetics review.  I'll try and make it every Thursday so that if people do want to buy anything I've blogged about, they'll be able to get it in time for the weekend.  As I said though, this will depend on work.  I freelance so I can't guarantee I'll be free every week.  

I'll start next Thursday.  I do hope you'll join me.  x

Thinking of those affected by Hurricane Sandy

or should I say, Superstorm Sandy.

I've been watching the news coming in from the Eastern Seaboard of the United States with grim horror.

Although I've never been to New York City, I use the underground here in London so pictures like this fill me with dread at how awful this must be.  I've been in London when the whole city has closed down for one reason or another (usually a terrorist attack), and I know how horrible it is.  You can't do anything but sit and wait.

Image via guardian.co.uk

Image via businessinsider.com

Image via businessinsider.com

Ever since I was a little girl, I've dreamt of going to New York.  The glamour, the creativity, the buzz, the people, the iconic landmarks - I need to experience them for myself.

So, in solidarity with NYC, I've compiled a list of my favourite New York based films, TV shows and stage shows.  No disaster movies allowed.  Stay safe, New Yorkers, we're all thinking of you.

1.  42nd Street

I'm talking about the stage musical here.  This was one of the first shows I worked on when I came to London.  I sold ice-creams in the interval & I couldn't believe my luck to actually be working in a real theatre in London.  Every night I used to sneak into the auditorium and watch the show.  The spectacle and the glamour were breathtaking.

 

2.  Rear Window

I'm a big Hitchcock fan and this film is one of my favourites.  I love the way the tension is built up from seemingly ordinary occurrences.

Image via oilersnation.com

3.  Ghostbusters

What's not to love? 

4.  How to lose a guy in 10 days

Kate Hudson is the quintessential single New York girl about town. Career driven but looking for love.

5.  Sex and the City

Of course I wouldn't have forgotten it!  Still the best programme I've ever seen about being single and trying to find love.

Autumn, how I love you.

Ah autumn!  It's definitely my favourite time of year.  I grew up in Africa so I really appreciate seasons.  The light is a little clearer now, the weather a little chillier and there's a feeling of 'back to business' in the air.

Although I love the relaxed, pretty clothes of summer, autumn fashion is really where it's at for me.  You can keep your denim cutoffs if I can have the fierce glamour of goth or brocade.  A rainy afternoon in an old wood panelled pub wearing cozy jewel coloured knits beats an sweltering day at a festival in dirty, muddy clothes surrounded by drunk students.  And the shoes!  A pair of killer heels at a barbeque looks far too 'try hard' but wear those same shoes with a velvet coat at the opera and you're smokin'!  Flip flops are fine but Manolos are better...

And the colours of autumn always make my breath catch as the majestic trees shed their leaves.

Image via http://www.akamum.co.uk/theblog/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/traces-of-autumn-leaves.jpg

Even now, seeing piles of autumn leaves just makes me want to go and jump in them.

I'll leave you with Keats's wonderful 'Ode to Autumn' which says it so much better than I ever could...

Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness,
        Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun;
    Conspiring with him how to load and bless
        With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eves run;
    To bend with apples the moss'd cottage-trees,
        And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core;
          To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells
        With a sweet kernel; to set budding more,
    And still more, later flowers for the bees,
  Until they think warm days will never cease,
          For Summer has o'er-brimm'd their clammy cells.

Hero beauty product - Clarins Daily Energizer Cleansing Gel

I have a tricky complexion - dehydrated and sensitive yet prone to congestion so I do have to be careful which products I use.

Clarins Daily Energizer Cleansing Gel was, in a word, superb.

Image via www.echemist.co.uk

  

It's a wash-off cleanser.  I have had problems in the past with wash-off cleansers dehydrating my skin but this certainly wasn't the case here.

It smells gorgeous - orangey & fresh and it's very easy to use.  Wet your face by splashing on water, squirt some cleanser into your hands, add a little water (not too much, mind) and work up into a lather. Apply it to the face and really rub it in, then rinse with water et voila!  A perfectly cleansed face.

I used it in conjunction with my usual wipe-off cleanser. It was great if I'd been in a very dirty environment and my face needed an extra thorough cleanse.

Visiting the Olympic Park

I'd tried and tried to get tickets for either the Olympics or Paralympics without any luck so when a friend texted me to say that he had a spare day pass ticket to the Olympic Park, I leapt at the chance.  The ticket was only £5 and didn't allow entry into any events but I did want to go, just to experience the atmosphere.

You don't realise just how big the park is when you're watching the games on TV.  We spent about six hours there just walking around, seeing the sights.

It was exciting to see the stadium up close...

...and The Orbit (designed by Anish Kapoor) Britain's largest piece of public art.

I was intrigued by the BBC's temporary studio

made from containers.

The flowers were incredible. Beautiful, vibrant wild flowers everywhere.

If you were tired of walking around, there was plenty to do.

Bands to watch

The Beat Box to explore...

...with music by Mark Ronson and Katy B

Hidden gardens to discover...

...filled with messages from well wishers and fans.

At one point we managed to get a tiny glimpse of the spectators and athletes in the stadium.  It was so thrilling and give us a glimpse of the excitement.  The roar from the crowd sent shivers of exhilaration down my spine.  One of the volunteers told us that the cheer when Usain Bolt won the 100m would stay with her for the rest of her life. 

A very good day all round.

Beauty review - Weleda Pomegranate Firming Night Cream and Pomegranate Serum

I've reached that age where everything is starting to head southwards, so I'm always on the look out for products which address the problem.  When Weleda's Pomegranate Firming Night Cream and Pomegranate Serum arrived in my Latest in Beauty box, I was keen to try them.

I started with the serum.

Image via http://www.goodness.co.uk

 
It had a light, pleasant texture and was easy to apply.  Immediately I could feel a tightening effect as the serum dried.  After a couple of days, it did seem to me that my skin was a little more taut and I think over time the effects would be more noticeable but I only had a 7ml tester.

Then I went on to the night cream.

Image viahttp://www.birchbox.com

I was far less happy with this.  The texture was far too rich, even for my dry skin and I ended up with a breakout of spots.  The smell was overwhelming and my boyfriend called it 'revolting'.

In the UK, the range can be bought at http://www.weleda.co.uk.  I couldn't find anywhere that sold it in the US.