Monthly Favourites - January 2022

My favourite things from this month. I've tried to keep them in sections but not sure how well that worked out. All products mentioned are listed below. Some links are affiliate, they won't cost you anything to use but if you would rather you can google things for yourself. 

Il Makiage Inkeyliner 
Bobbi Brown Smokey Eye Mascara 
Tropic Silk Liner 
Tropic Foot Pebble 
Drunk Elephant O Bloos 
Nourish London Illuminating Face Shimmer 
Farmacy Melting Cleanser 
Quest Vitamin C Tablets
doTerra Hygge Oil 
Corinna Harrod Beauty Inside & Out Bag
Notebook
Pen 
Lip Jao
doTerra On Guard Hand spray 
Inspector Montalbano audiobooks 

For my makeup stuff go to - www.corinnaharrod.com

For my stationery go to - www.atticusbeetleandbop.com

For the best facebook group in the world - https://www.facebook.com/groups/CHbeautyinsideandout

Buy Me a Coffee - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/corinnaharrod

Listen to my Podcast - https://www.spreaker.com/show/the-monday-night-revue

Jao Brand Lip Jao - LMB Cult 60

 

Why I think you should know about it? - it's the best lip balm. That is all. 

20 Under £20 - My Best Cheap Beauty Buys

I started this off to test myself. It started off easily and then got harder. I've kept it in the order in which these came to me. Which means sometimes you'll be able to see my train of thought. I tried to keep it varied. I could probably name twenty great black liners for under £20 but I've limited myself - you all know I love MAC Smoulder so I've tried where necessary to go for something less obvious. For certain others, like the product that is first on the list, there is no question that it deserves it's place here. It's unrivalled. I've been recommending it for a decade or so.

What are your favourites? Have I missed anything you think deserves a place? Let me know down in the comments.

In the Kit - Hygiene and Disposables

Cleanliness is next to godliness. In make-up hygiene is sacred and it's the most important thing for me whether I'm working on my own or in a team. It's very hard to marry hating plastic and wanting to keep everything as hygienic as possible in your kit as the best way to work is using disposables and the majority of disposables are made from plastic. There used to be somewhere, The Pro Makeup Shop, where you could get ethical disposables for your kit. It has sadly disappeared and I can't seem to track any down. This is terrible. You can get them from US site Qosmedix who do bamboo disposables.

Although it is hugely important to keep everything in your kit clean and ensure your clients are at no risk it's incredibly easy to do. We all know about cleaning brushes but you need to make sure everything else you carry with you is clean too. Dettol wipes are really useful to have on hand - so good to be able to have a wipe around before you set up. Below are some of the things I always have with me.

2017 Favourites

Some of these were new this year, some were just new to me this year and some are old favourites that just haven't been beaten yet. I've marked the products that were released this year with a *

It's quite a long video but there was a lot to cram in. All products are listed below and any blog reviews are listed at the bottom.

Have a wonderful Christmas and New Year - see you in 2018!

Products:
Cowshed Grumpy Cow Shampoo
*Mane 'n Tail Conditioner
Amelia Moss Argan Oil
*Pixi x Caroline Hirons Double Cleanse
Oskia Renaissance Cleansing Gel
*Superdrug Naturally Radiant Glycolic Pads
Origins Make a Difference + Cream
Origins GinZing Eye Cream
The Ordinary Lactic Acid 10%
Skin Owl Beauty Drops PM
*NARS Sun Wash Diffused Bronzer
Bourjois Smokey Stories in Over Rose
Hourglass Ambient Light Powder
*Rosie for Autograph Eye Shadow Sticks
*Urban Decay All Nighter Setting Spray
Younique Precision Lip Pencil in Popular
*Origins GinZing Tinted Moisturiser
Jao Brand LipJao
Eco Tools Brushes
Louise Young Eye Trio in Studio 54
Ilia Multistick
Ilia Illuminator
Ilia Tinted Lip Conditioner
*Pixi Correction Concentrate
Maybelline Great Lash Big
*Daniel Sandler Customisable Colour for Cheeks
Daniel Sandler Watercolour Blush in Rose Glow
Lord & Berry Kajal
Charlotte Tilbury Lipstick in Bitch Perfect
MAC Retro Matte Lipstick in Dangerous

Reviews:
Cowshed Grumpy Cow Shampoo
*Mane 'n Tail Conditioner
Amelia Moss Argan Oil
*Pixi x Caroline Hirons Double Cleanse
Oskia Renaissance Cleansing Gel
*Superdrug Naturally Radiant Glycolic Pads
Origins Make a Difference + Cream
Origins GinZing Eye Cream
*The Ordinary Lactic Acid 10%
Skin Owl Beauty Drops PM
*NARS Sun Wash Diffused Bronzer
Bourjois Smokey Stories in Over Rose
Hourglass Ambient Light Powder
*Rosie for Autograph Eye Shadow Sticks
*Urban Decay All Nighter Setting Spray
Origins GinZing Tinted Moisturiser
Jao Brand LipJao
Eco Tools Brushes
Ilia Multistick
Ilia Illuminator
Ilia Tinted Lip Conditioner
*Pixi Correction Concentrate
*Daniel Sandler Customisable Colour for Cheeks
Lord & Berry Kajal

Some links are affiliate links which means I will get a small commission if you click through and buy from them. There is no extra cost to you and if you are not comfortable with that then do feel free to open a separate window and google the product for yourself

Christmas Gift Bags for Friends

If you have girl friends that you buy Christmas and birthday presents for every year it can be hard to come up with ideas and it can get very expensive. I always love the idea of putting together goodie bags (or hampers) for friends which include lots of lovely little treats and if you are clever you can do lots of friends at once and not break the bank. I've come up with a lovely goodie bag, some ideas of what to go in it and then some budget options to help you out.

Jao Brand LipJao

A lip balm is a lip balm is a lip balm right? Wrong. LipJao from Jao brand is flat out the best lip balm I've used. The perfect mix of deeply moisturising but not too glossy. I love everything about it from the packaging - great for even the smallest handbag and I much prefer the roller as opposed to a twist up which can break the stick.

Shea butter, coconut oil and cocoa butter are the top ingredients which make this so moisturising but what really puts this in a league of it's own is the way it can blend out any lipstick or lipliner. Which may sound very niche but we all have those favourite lipsticks or liners that just don't last the day. Yes you can reapply but if you are anything like me you get to a stage where you just want to carry on stuffing your face/drinking the beer/smooching and don't want to reapply your lipstick. Lipjao blends everything together effortlessly so you can look... well effortless. I love make-up but having dinner with someone who reapplies their lipstick and looks in the mirror 800 times isn't fun.

Also a great one for boys who like lip balm - all the moisture, but kind of manly. I have one of these in my kitchen, at my desk and in my handbag.

What You Need to Know - Jao Brand LipJao

• £8
• 4.6g
• Natural, non-toxic, no sulphates or parabans, mineral oils or silicone
• Also from Jao Brand - Goe Oil
• Available from Blue Bowl

Goe Oil

Some products fit in so easily with your life that you forget to review them - Gao Oil is one of these. I was given it by a friend who'd been to the US on holiday and had become obsessed with it, as did I. It went into my washbag and every time I use it I think 'I must review that' and then forget. Well review it I will.

I rather absent-mindedly assumed this was the latest cool Korean product she'd just happened to find in the US but Jao brand are actually from Pennsylvania and Goe stands for Garden of Eden - a little insight into the idea behind this wonder product. It's been a decade or so since everyone fell in love with Paw Paw oil and Goe is a very similar product though, if possible, even more multi-tasking. I have used it as a body moisturiser, on my dry skin patches that would have become eczema, as an eye make-up remover and a tamer of frizzy hair and apparently it can also be used as aftersun. The reason it went straight into my washbag is that it means you have every eventuality covered in one tube; cracked heels, rough cuticles, eye make-up remover, tame flyaways, moisturiser, soothing shave-rash, chapped lips or nose from a cold. This will sort out all of these and more. And it's incredibly cool packaging makes it acceptably unisex.

April 2016 - Friday Video

This months favourites, and there's more than four. I don't know if that's a good or bad thing. Links to everything, under the video
Goe Oil
Daniel Sandler Watercolour Blush in Rose Glow 
Kerastase Nutrive Nectar Thermique
Redken Stay High 18  
Dior Rouge Baume Lili
Clarins Anti Wrinkle Sun Cream SPF 30
Environ AVST 1 Moisturiser
Sunday Riley Luna Sleeping Oil
Clarins Eau Dynamisante