Smashbox #shapematters palette review

Hi everyone,

So this is my first ever Smashbox product and I love it! I purchased this palette when it was on at Boots as a star gift. It has fitted well into my everyday make-up and has regular use. Here is what I thought about it.

First off the packaging is stunning. When you first purchase this palette it comes in a box and also has a sleeve over it. Once you have removed the outer packaging you are left with a stunning palette, with a design that is so simple yet stunning. The palette is in a matt black finish. With the only detail being 'Smashbox shape matters' in shiny writing on the front, which is also in black. If you turn the palette over you have a sticker on the back telling you all the colours included. 

Once opened, the palette is just as beautiful as when closed. You are faced with a lovely large mirror which is handy when applying your make-up. It has a clear sheet over the make-up to tell you what all the colours are and where. It features three products for your brows, four products for your face and 9 for your eyes. It also comes with a double ended brush, one end is for your brows and the other for eye shadow.

The brow products included are 1 wax and 2 powders. I have found the wax very good and it does keep them in place. Also I find the product last longer on my brows when I use this as well. The two powders included are Taupe and Soft Brown. I mostly use the Taupe shade as it is the lighter of the two and matches the colour of my brows. But I have used the Soft Brown to help create an ombre in my brow colour.

Top shade: Soft brown
Bottom shade: Taupe 

The face products consist of 2 highlighters, 1 bronzer and 1 contour powder. The contour powder is called Contour and is a lovely colour. I tend to go for this one more as I like to define my cheekbones. Contour is the darker of the two shades. Bronze is the bronzer. This is a stunning light bronze colour which gives you a sun kissed look. Both colours look incredible when they are worn together. The first highlighter is called Highlight. This is very pale in colour and has very little shimmer, if any. The second highlight is called Glow. This lives up to its names and is a gorgeous shimmery colour. I tend to use this one the most. All four powders look incredible when worn together.

From the top down: Glow, Highlight, Bronze, Contour

Lastly you have the 9 eye shadows. These range from nudes to simmers to dark colours. All the colours are highly pigmented and look stunning worn alone or together. Some of my favourites are Champagne (champagne shimmer), Aubergine (dark purple) and Totally Nude (nude shade). All the colours blend very well. There is a colour in this palette for everyone.

From top to bottom: Blackout, Aubergine, Sumatra, Platinum, Posh,
 Stripped, Champagne, Totally Nude, Vanilla

What I like about this product:

- It all comes in one handy palette and it has nearly everything you need in it.

- All the products are very pigmented.

- The consistency of the products are lovely.

- They blend very well, whether its the lightest or the darkest colour.

- The brush included in the kit is very good and lovely and soft.

What I dislike about this product:

I spent ages thinking about this one and I have to be honest there is nothing I dislike about it. I just love this palette.

So this is what I thought about the Smashbox Shape matters palette. Have you tried it? If so what do you like about it? Have you tried any other Smashbox products you would recommend?

Let me know in the comments below.

Love

Zoe x 

Skincare:acne

Hi everyone,

Over my teenage years, there's no doubt that I have struggled with acne. So I thought I would write a blog post about what I have learnt over the past few years. I am not saying I am an expert on this subject but I would love to share my process with you.

First off I will start by telling you about the basics of my skin. My skin type is normal at the moment, but it does change with the weather. My skin use to be very oily and I had a lot more blemishes. At the moment with the skincare routine I am currently using I am not finding my skin to be so oily and my blemishes are a lot better.

About three years back I had very bad skin. Which I felt I had to cover up with make up as I felt so embarrassed by it. I lack in confidence anyway and this was not helping me to feel more confident. One day I decided to talk to the beauty therapist I work with about it. This did help and she recommended that I start having regular facial with her. So that's where it all began, I started seeing her once a week for facials. Now I will be honest with you, you don't see results straight away. But with something like this it takes time. So don't rush it.

It has taken me these three years to get my skin where I feel confident with it. I am not saying I have flawless skin, because I don't. I have just reached a point where I feel I can go out and not think about needing to put on a ton of makeup, if any. This to me is a ground breaking point as before I didn't even feel happy around friends and family with no makeup on.

My skin with no make-up on

Here are a few tips I have picked up along my journey:

1. Regular facials with the right products do make a difference to your skin. You just have to give it time, blemishes wont be there one day and gone the next. I personally started with having one facial a week. I am now down to having them once every four weeks as my skin doesn't need to have that kind of treatment every week now. How often you have a facial will obviously depend on your budget and how often your therapist thinks you need them. 

2. I know how tempting it is to pick your blemishes. No one wants them. But don't. In the long run it can leave your skin worse off. I have been left with scarring from when I was younger and didn't know better.

3. This one sounds so simple its stupid. Drink more water. I know what your thinking, its boring. Trust me I said the same. But I do believe that this makes a difference. If I have a week of drinking water and then the next I don't. I notice how my skin reacts to this, I get more blemishes and my skin just doesn't look good. If you want it to be less boring try adding slices of lemon to your water.

4. Again another simple one. Clean your make up brushes. Just think of all the bacteria that is on them and then you just apply it to your skin. They only take a few minutes to clean, be it everyday or once a week.

5. My last point is pick the right products for your skin. I personally use Neal's Yard Remedies products, and I love them. I was first introduced to them by my beauty therapist and automatically loved them. Shortly after I became a Neal's Yard Remedies consultant because I love what they stand for and their products are truly incredible. I am not saying this is a brand that you have to use. I tried so many different products and brands before NYR and I just found NYR products were best suited to my skin.

Two NYR products I recommend for people with acne are:

1. Neal's Yard Remedies Rose Facial Wash:
I love this, the smell is gorgeous. This has helped so much with my skin as it does not dry it out, like some facial washes I have used in the past. I also find this to be very gentle and it works well with my Clarisonic Mia 2.

2. Neal's Yard Remedies Rose Formula Antioxidant Facial Mask:
Again this product smells incredible. I use this once a week on my blemish prone areas. This really helps to dry my blemishes out which helps to clear them up.

As I said at the beginning, these are all my personal opinions. They are just a few things that have helped my skin. Again this is a long process and it doesn't get better overnight. So take your time to care for your skin. If you are unsure what products to use find out your skin type and look for products that are suited to this. I usually give my skin about a good couple of months to get use to a product before I write it off. Just remember your skin wont be use to it straight away it takes a little while. Its all trial and error. If you are really unsure visit your local salon/ beauty therapist and see if they can help. I understand not everyone can afford to pay for facials, so why not try an at home facial?

If you would like to see my skincare routine or an at home facial routine. Also if you want me to write about any more skincare for different skin types. Let me know in the comments below.

If you have any feedback for me about my posts leave it in the comments. I would love to know what you all think.

Love 
Zoe x

Up and coming hair trends

Hi everyone,

So I love nothing more than a bit of me time. Whether this be taking a long bubbly bath or chilling reading a magazine. Recently I went shopping and purchased a few magazines. The magazines I got included Elle, InStyle, Grazia, Vogue, Look, Hello fashion, Cosmopolitan and Glamour.

When I started looking through them one thing caught my eye every time. This is the up and coming hair trends. As a hairdresser I love to know what's coming up in the hair industry. Clients are always asking what new things we can do. So its good to know.

Here is what I have learnt.

You know that hat hair we have been avoiding for years? Well get ready to welcome it with open arms this season. This is anything from your bobble hat to your snapback. So get ready to rock them undone waves and messy plaits with this seasons must have accessory, the hat.

As much as short hair is trending big right now, long hair is still a massive objective this season for many. This season will see people taking more drastic actions for that 'princess' hair everyone dreams of. This includes supplements, which are becoming increasingly popular among females for achieving stronger hair. If you want to take a less drastic measure the product you may be looking to try is an exfoliating scalp mask. As a happy scalp makes happy healthy hair. When growing your hair your first thought is 'I must not have my hair trimmed', do not listen to this voice. You want long hair? Without a trim your welcoming split ends and this is going to end with you needing more cut off. So take the time to have small trims every 8-10 weeks. If all else fails and you want a quick fix, hair extensions are always an option.

 New York fashion week saw dry shampoo being used to the max. This is helping to achieve this seasons undone hair look. Check out my last blog post to see which dry shampoo I recommend.

For years we have been trying to hide them short baby hairs. Well now we don't. Baby hairs have been spotted at shows to have been combed, coiled and slicked down. This will be adding to this seasons biggest trend, undone hair. So what do you think? Will you be giving it go?

So Halloweens over, But don't think pumpkins have gone unnoticed. This seasons hair colour is so inspired by them its trending as 'pumpkin spice'. This is a combination of coppers and oranges. This seasons also big on seeing bronze, red and copper tones within the hair colour. So do you dare to try this daring colour?

Everywhere I look recently are braids. Everyone's doing them. there are so many type of braids out there. Whether you have short hair or long hair. So grab your combs and clear bands and give it a go. Everyone can rock this season look, the braid. Give it a go on yourself or get a friend to help, why not make an evening of it.

So when it comes to undone hair you are going to need some great products at the ready. You know that short choppy slicked back look? Well don't just use your gel to make it look neat now. This season see's the uniformed slick short style with more of an edge. Don't be afraid to get your gel in there and ruffle it up a bit. Next we have the salt spray. This is a must have for them ruffled out of place hairstyles. You know them flyaway's we all hate? Get your salt spray at the ready and forget about them. This season is all about being out of place, from the baby hairs to the ruffled waves.





Another colour obsession this season is pastels. Be it streaks, ombre or full head. Pastels are going to be popping up everywhere. Ones I am currently loving at work are the Matrix colorgraphics lacquer in light peach, light pink and light indigo. What colour would you dare to go? Let me know in the comments.

So these are some of the up and coming trends this season. What are loving? Any other ones you know about? Let me know in the comments below.

Love

Zoe x

My top 5 hair products

Hi everyone,

In todays post I thought I would talk about my top 5 hair products I reach for. As a hairdresser I love nothing more than trying out new products. So as you can imagine I own quite a lot, so picking out 5 was not an easy task. It took me a while to think what products to write about but these are probably the products I reach for the most nearly everyday. All the products I have chosen to write about for this post are all available on the highstreet. If you would like me to write a post about my top 5 salon quality hair products leave me a comment below and let me know.

V05 extreme style matt clay (Boots-£4.19):

So I'm starting with V05 clay. I love the V05 extreme style range and I currently own 3 of their products. I use to use the matt clay when I was back in early years of high school. Then a few months back I repurchased it and fell in love with it all over again. This clay is ideal for choppy or short hairstyles. I mostly use it when my hair is curled as it defines the curls and helps to hold them in place. When I use this I just get a small amount out of the tin and rub it between my fingers. Be careful not to use too much as it does feel quite sticky and this will end up weighing your hair down. Overall this is a great product for girls who want to define or have that bedhead hair look. This is also fantastic for guys as well.


John Frieda sheer blonde colour renew tone correcting shampoo (Boots-£6.00):

Now this product won't be for everyone, I currently use it as I bleach my hair. This shampoo I find great for maintaining my blonde. Before I was blonde I was a dark plum red colour. So getting from that to blonde was going to be a long process, so I thought I would give this a go. This shampoo is purple in tone because the purple helps to prevent brassy tones within the hair colour. I use this shampoo once a week in place of my normal shampoo, and I do find it leaves my blonde looking brighter and fresher. This shampoo does have a really good lather (bubbles) and smells lovely too. John Frieda also do a conditioner to match but I have not tried it. 



Fudge urban dry shampoo (Boots-£5.24):

Dry shampoo is great for them days in between washes, and this one is not a let down. To start with this one is scented crisp pear and sweet vanilla, and it smells incredible. The other reason I use dry shampoo is because its dry so its great for getting body in your hair or using it for hair ups. It makes a great base for hair ups as it helps to hold the hair in place. When I use this I just pull up sections of my hair and spray it onto the roots. Be careful not to be to close with the can or spray too much. As this can leave you with a white look on your roots. Then I just massage it into my roots and I am good to go.




Aussie miracle hair insurance light weight conditioning spray (Tesco's-£4.49):

Lets just say this is one product I buy religiously. I think I am on my 5th bottle, and I still love it. With my hair I get a lot of knots and tangles and it is hard to comb when its wet. I use this every time I wash my hair. This smells incredible as well and doesn't leave your hair feeling weighted down. To use this I spray it on my hair when it is damp and then I comb it through. I then tend to leave my hair to dry naturally. I would recommend this product to anyone who finds their hair hard to comb or brush. Also this product is ideal for if you go away in a hot country to protect your hair from the heat.




L'Oreal elvive extraordinary oil (Boots-£9.99)

Again another product aimed at conditioning you hair. But I love them. This oil smells really good, and does keep my hair in good condition. I use about two pumps on the midlengths and ends of my hair. Do not put this anywhere near your roots though as it is very oily in consistency. I would not advise people with oily hair to use this product as you would find it will weigh your hair down and make it look and feel worse. But I find this oil great for my hair. As I have said it is very oily in consistency so it might not be to everyone's taste. When I first started using it I wasn't sure, as I was use to using more of a dry oil on my hair. But I do love it now and it works well with my hair.



So they were my top 5, do you use any of them? If so what do you think of them? Also what are your top 5 hair products? Leave me a comment below, as I would love to hear.

Love
Zoe x