Elizabeth Arden Flawless Finish Foundation

After being a dedicated devotee of Estee Lauder Double Wear Foundation for a couple of years now, I decided it was time for a change. I don't know about you, but no matter how good I find a type of make up, after using it for a long period of time I just don't see the same results any more. I know I'll go back to Double Wear one day though, and I'll probably fall in love with it all over again.

Anyway, I took a wee wander in Debenhams to see what I could find. The Flawless Finish compact on the Elizabeth Arden counter caught my eye. I remember my mum used it years ago and really liked it. And I quite fancied the idea of a compact foundation for a change - so much easier for quick fixes when you're out and about!

The girl on the counter tried the make up on me and I really liked it. She explained that by using the included sponge dry or wet you can vary the coverage of the foundation depending on the look you're going for. Personally I quite like a lot of coverage from my foundation, not that I have particularly bad skin or much uneven skin tone...I just like to feel like I'm wearing make up. I know that sounds bizarre!

I've been really pleased with this foundation. I've not used the sponge that comes in the compact very often, only when I'm out and about, as I've found that I get the best coverage when I apply the foundation using a foundation brush. Mine is a MAC 190 brush. I have used sponges a couple of times when we had warmer weather and I was just looking for a light covering, but I'm yet to try it with a wet sponge so I can't report on how that goes. My colour is Porcelain Beige, to be honest the colour names are the only negative I have about the product, each colour is named a different type of beige...I just know that when I go to replace this I'm going to get confused about which beige I am. Oh well, good job I've written it here so I can remember!

What foundation are you using now? Have you tried this Elizabeth Arden one?

A different Brazilian..

As well as having red hair, (a blessing and a curse I'll tell you!) I was lucky enough to be gifted with the driest, thickest, coarsest (is that a word?) hair you could ever imagine. AND it's a not quite straight, not quite curly, mess of kinks...oh boy am I sounding gorgeous right now or what?! One of the only treatments I've found to tame my hair is the Brazilian blow dry. It really does make a massive difference to my hair.

Not quite a straightening treatment, as many think it is. The blow dry actually smooths the hair and makes it a lot more manageable and easier to work with for up to 3 months. Unfortunately it's not the cheapest treatment out there with most salons charging anywhere between £150 and £300! Now as much as I love it, and I really do swear by it, I just can't justify spending that kind of money on my hair. Therefore any time I've had a brazilian blow dry I've bought it on an offer from one of the daily deals sites, Groupon, Itison, Living Social, etc. They don't appear on the deal sites all that often, not like fish pedicures or spa packages, but if you keep your eyes peeled you can get a real bargain. I tend to pay about £60 for mine, and as I don't colour my hair, or really do much more to it other than a cut and style every couple of months, I feel like I can really justify the cost.

So I went for my latest Brazilian Blow Dry treatment last Thursday in the Illusion salon in the east end of Glasgow. It was my first time in the salon and the staff were all really friendly. They used the La Brasiliana treatment. I've had this particular brand used before and it's definitely one of my favourites...I'm becoming a bit of an expert now!! They also recommended after care products to use as after the treatment you shouldn't use shampoos and other products containing sulphates as it won't work as well. Luckily with this particular one you can wash your hair the next day, although before you wash it you really need to keep it perfectly straight; no ponytails, kirbies or tucking your hair behind your ears. One treatment I had in the past I still had to do all these things, but I was told not to wash my hair for four days...that really wasn't fun!

Unfortunately I don't have any before and after pictures as even before my hair was always straightened, and there's no way I'm posting a picture of my pre-straightened barnet on t'interweb! But the images on La Brasiliana's website shows just how much of a difference the treatment can have on your hair.

My own hair is now so much lighter, shinier, softer and less frizzy than it was before. I still need to blow dry and style it, but it takes a fraction of the time that it used to.

Have you had a Brazilian blow dry? What did you think of the results?

National no make up day

So apparently today is national no make up day. Have you taken part??

To be honest I didn't know the day existed until about lunchtime today, but even if the day had been marked in my diary and highlighted on my outlook calendar I still wouldn't have been partaking in this particular celebration.

Don't get me wrong, I don't want to sound vain but I love a bit of make up...in fact I pretty much won't leave the house without some on. I know, I know so much for not sounding vain.

You see the thing is, I'm a natural red head. And although I don't have what we like to call "ginger skin" (aka really pale and scattered with freckles) I do have the palest of pale eyelashes and eyebrows. Therefore without my trusty 3 coats of black mascara I look like I'm about 6 years old. I can skip the rest of my make up routine, but without the mascara I'm not going anywhere!

Of course the problem is that once I've got the mascara out I'm as well just putting on a bit of foundation to even up my skin tone, then a bit of bronzer to brighten me up, some blusher for a bit of life...ach just give me the liquid eyeliner and the red lippy!

Ok ok I'll admit it "my name is Paula and I'm a make-up-aholic".

Did you go make up free today??