Beautifinous.

Do you love a product like Liz Earle’s Superskin Concentrate but want to have a go at it yourself? Then listen up!*

This is the second post of my DIY beauty products, the first being the DIY multi-purpose balm. For now I have only made up these two products, but in the future I want to make some more. Therefore, if you enjoy these types of posts then keep checking back!





This is the easier of the two products to make. It’s simple but highly effective, and better yet it’s so easy to tailor to your skin type!


*Before starting, I would like to clarify that I am not an expert in aromatherapy or producing skincare products but I do enjoy experimenting with my own blends.  Any recipe that has been posted on my blog has been tested out by myself before even being considered as a post. However, if you do have any bad reactions to any DIY recipe posted here, please stop using the product straight away. Also, please do keep essential oil safety in mind when applying them anywhere!

I know that this is straying slightly from what I would normally post, but I was recently tagged by the lovely Dagmara from Mummy's Beauty Corner to fill out the "Would You Rather..." Beauty Edition tag and I thought that it would be fun to fill out!

This is my first 'tag' so I hope that you enjoy reading it!

Have you ever considered making your own skincare products? Just think about it; skincare that you can be sure only includes the things that you want. 100% natural, organic or as synthetic as you like. And you get to feel like you have accomplished something. Sound good? Then read on!*





A while back, I wrote a post about essential oils that included advice and uses for them from Paul at Freshskin. I also posted a couple of pieces discussing One Love Organics Skin Savior (with a quick mention of Lush’s Ultrabland), Liz Earle’s Cleanse & Polish and Burt’s Bees Cuticle Cream. Taking most of my inspiration from OLO’s Skin Savior (in regards to the multi-purpose aspect) as well as inspiration from Cleanse & Polish, Ultrabland and the Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream, I placed an order at Freshskin to attempt creating my own multi-purpose balm.

Along with this I was inspired by Liz Earle’s Super Skin Concentrate - which I have used in the past - to create a nice facial oil.

Over the next couple of posts I am going to discuss my methods for making both of these products. I’m going to start off by discussing the balm, how I made it, how it worked and how it stands up in comparison to the aforementioned inspirational products. In my next post, I will be discussing the same things but with the facial oil.


*Before starting, I would like to clarify that I am not an expert in aromatherapy or producing skincare products but I do enjoy experimenting with my own blends.  Any recipe that has been posted on my blog has been tested out by myself before even being considered as a post. However, if you do have any bad reactions to any DIY recipe posted here, please stop using the product straight away. Also, please do keep essential oil safety in mind when applying them anywhere!

Clinique’s Anti-Blemish Clinical Clearing Gel is a lightweight blemish fighting gel. The product claims to begin fighting spots upon application and that it also prevents future breakouts. As well as fighting spots, this gel also helps to reduce redness on the face.





If you are a regular reader of my blog, you would probably have seen my post last month discussing Clinique’s Anti-Blemish All Over Clearing Lotion. Within that post I also mentioned that I had been testing Clinique’s Anti-Blemish Clearing Gel also and that I was getting some good results.

After using the gel twice daily since that post, I wanted to share with you my thoughts on the gel now and how it has worked over that time period.

The Cleanse & Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser by Liz Earle is a plant-based, creamy cleanser packed full of oils, butters and extracts to provide you with exceptionally clean and glowing skin. The key ingredients feature beeswax, hops extract, eucalyptus oil, rosemary oil, chamomile oil, cocoa butter, pro-vitamin B5 and glycerin. Oh yeah, it’s also won 100 awards.



The cleanser is made up of a two part system. The cleanser itself is a white cream that comes contained in a whole range of sized containers, so therefore also different types of packaging. The smaller sizes are packaged in a small, green tube where the bigger sizes are in green pumps (and then back to the tube again for the 200ml). The one I have currently is a s 30ml tube that arrived in my May Birchbox. Along with this, with certain packages you receive a white muslin cloth with a green trim, but this is also available to purchase separately. This is the half that will be used to polish and wipe away the cleanser.

Birchbox is a monthly beauty box that includes 5-6 deluxe samples of beauty and lifestyle products that are tailored to you.

You get to discover new products and test them out in the comfort of your own home with no pressure to buy the full product if you don’t like it! However, if you do enjoy it, you can purchase the full sizes from the Birchbox store with the most recent month’s brands being available with free delivery (min. £10 spend)! 





This months Birchbox is in collaboration with Harper's Bazaar and the theme is ‘the great outdoors.’ From garden parties to music festivals, this box aims to provide products for a range of occasions and to inspire you to get out and about.

This is what I received in my box this month and what I thought of each product:

Burt’s Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream is a 100% natural, intensively moisturising and nourishing cream for your cuticles and nails. It is enriched with a drop of Lemon Oil which not only makes your nails look clean, but also smell clean. In addition to lemon oil, this balm includes a range of other oils, extracts, butters and wax.



I have mentioned this cream on a couple of posts, so I figured that it was about time to write a proper post for my trusty cuticle cream. A whole post, especially for my Burt’s Bees Cuticle Cream!

The main ingredient in this cream is the Lemon Oil. This oil has astringent qualities that cleans up cuticles and nails by clearing away dirt leaving happy and soft cuticles behind! It also smells rather beautiful and fresh.

One Love Organics Skin Savior Waterless Balm is a multi-use balm made up of a range of oils, extracts and wax. Every single oil and extract is plant based, cold-pressed and blended into this beautiful balm. The extracts and oils are able to clear out all of the dirt in your pores without stripping the protective layer of skin.





I have mentioned this cream a couple of times previously in my Top 10 Mulitasking Beauty Products post as well as my Birchbox April 2014 review. It arrived as part of my April Birchbox and I have become obsessed with it!

As I explained in my top 10 post, multitasking products are fantastic for busy mums because they're just so darn convenient! Plus, think of the money you save when you have one product that you can use for everything!

From this, I decided to set myself a challenge to find as many uses for this balm as I possibly could and write about how each method worked out.

The Cosmopolitan Blog Awards in association with Next are back for 2014, celebrating the best of the blogging world!




I'm aware that you have possibly seen a whole bunch of this type of post lately and I would like to apologise for straying from my regular theme of post. However, I would genuinely really appreciate your help.

I have entered two categories of the awards and would be forever grateful if you were to nominate me!

The two awards that I have put myself forward for are:

Best Newcomer - sponsored by Next

You can vote for me here by filling out a short form.

Best New Beauty Blog

You can vote for me here by filling out a short form.


I understand that it means that you have to go out of your way to fill in the forms, but I honestly won't be able to thank you enough if you put a nomination my way. It would truly mean the world to me!

I have been working incredibly hard in an attempt to provide my readers with what I hope is quality content and useful information in regards to products that I have tested. Even if you have only read one post and enjoyed it then hopefully it was enough for you to want to vote for me!

I have to admit that I'm fairly rubbish when it comes to trying to explain why I think that I 'deserve' to win. There are so many fantastic new blogs out there that it's super hard to compete against them! One vote alone would be enough to make me feel as if I have accomplished something because it would mean that one person heard what I had to say and thought that my blog was worth that vote, which would be amazing!

Thank you if you do nominate me, and please let me know if you do so I can thank you properly!

My normal posts will resume tomorrow.

Zoe.
@Beautifinous

Diorshow Iconic by Dior in black is a mascara that defines lashes, providing length, intensity, curl and volume in a snap. Including two Dior innovations, the 'Lift Model' complex contains unique coatings for long-term hold and the brush contains soft silicone bristles so each and every lash curls.





On Twitter I have seen a lot of questions regarding what mascaras people love the most. From this, I have decided to explain why Diorshow Iconic by Dior is my current mascara obsession!

Diorshow Iconic includes 10ml of product that is packaged in a classic silver tube that is then packaged in a very shiny, silver box. The brush is described as being 'oblique' with 'soft silicone bristles specifically designed to curl every lash.'. 

Givenchy’s Hydra Sparkling Velvet Luminescence moisturising cream for normal to combination skin (a bit of a mouthful, there!)  is a light, oil-free hydrating moisturiser that features a patented, five-molecule, ’sparkling water’ complex to provide radiant skin. It is part of their Hydra Sparkling skincare range and this particular moisturiser also has a twin that is available for severely dry - dry skin.





On my most recent visit to Debenhams, the lady at the Givenchy stand very kindly provided me with a sample of their Hydra Sparkling moisturiser (I’m not going to keep typing out the full name as I assume that it is just as exhausting reading it over and over as much as it is to type it out repetitively!) and the complimentary night cream (which yes, does come with an equally long name! - Givenchy Hydra Sparkling Night Repair Recovery Moisturising Mask & Cream). 

At first I was a little hesitant to test it as anything that claims to provide 'luminescence' is usually a disaster for me. I’m sure that you are aware by now if you are a regular reader, but I have incredibly oily skin. Therefore, this is the type of product that I usually stay away from even though I have the occasional dehydrated skin issue.

Using products to combat oily skin can actually cause dehydration whilst still being like an oil slick. However, a lot of products that combat dehydration usually make oily skin worse, cause breakouts etc. I usually find that this is due to oils that are included that end up clogging up the pores. It's such a nightmare of a problem where products to help a certain issue just make the other issue worse!

When I read the ingredients of this particular cream though, I was pleasantly surprised to see that it was oil-free, so I gave it a go.

Endless Euphoria is the latest perfume release from Calvin Klein. It is a flanker of 2005’s Euphoria and it is categorised as a fruity floral in comparison to Euphoria’s oriental floral/exotic fruity floral.




Euphoria features top notes of pomegranate and persimmon with a heart of lotus and black orchid. The base is a combination of mahogany, black violet and amber. 

Endless Euphoria features top notes of orange, bergamot and cherry blossom. The heart is made up of rose, violet and syringa and it is rounded off with a base consisting of bamboo, sandalwood and musk.





But which one is better?

To help me out with this decision, I called upon the biggest Calvin Klein fragrance fan that I could think of: my mother.

My mum loves CK perfumes. Whenever there is a new release she will be instantly drawn to it over anything else.  However, even though she loves herself a CK perfume, she will still be unashamedly honest and blunt in regards to her thoughts and feelings on each scent. There wasn't anybody else better to ask, plus she got really excited when I proposed the idea to her.