Pixi Double Cleanse (with Caroline Hirons)

I have been meaning to review this for a while but as you know I like to be thorough. I have to confess I assumed when I bought this that there would be no point reviewing it as it would just a flat out rave on how great a product this is. It is, but not without a few things worth commenting on.

As you may or may not know the Double Cleanse is a product developed with skincare queen Caroline Hirons, a woman who has worked in skincare for decades, knows what she's talking about and isn't afraid to voice her opinion. You know that if she has collaborated on and/or put her name to a product it's going to be good and it's going to do what it needs to do. And the double cleanse, does. But it's not a simple review. I've been using this about 5 times a week since February 2017 and I think I will probably be re-buying when it runs out. I'm about halfway through I think.

The Basic Brush Kit

I've been thinking about this post for a while but the problem is I love make-up brushes so it's really hard for me to not get carried away. What I thought would be useful was a list of all the brushes I would use to make up a basic, personal brush kit. Lots of brands do brush sets (Louise Young, Bobbi Brown and Real Techniques to name but three) but quite often if you are not a make-up artist or super into make-up you end up with a brush or two you don't really use (if this has happened to you let me know the brush and I'll tell you an alternative use for it!). 

When Launches Go Right - Eco Tools 2017

As the beauty industry has taken off launches are now happening all the time. It's always lovely to be invited and most of the time I don't review or mention them because, well how interesting is it to hear about an event that you didn't attend?

But every now and then a launch will be really well organised and set-up and the one I went to on 30th March in London for Eco Tools was just that. The event itself and the products we were given to try inspired to do this vlog when I got home.

Sorry for the breathlessness and the dark lighting. So nice to feel like a brand is genuinely interested in you finding out as much as possible and wanting you to fall in love with their products. It worked - I'm totally inspired, enthused and have started testing them already. Reviews to follow.

Thanks so much to Eco Tools and 3 Monkeys | Zeno for the invitation and for the fab time.

If you haven't already then do subscribe to this channel, check out my blog www.londonmakeupblog.com and come and say hi on social media where I am @corinnaharrod

You can check out the full range of Eco Tools brushes here - http://bit.ly/2nicck2

Mane 'n Tail Conditioner

Surely this should have an extra apostrophe? Mane 'n' Tail?

Anyway, I bought this on a whim in Liberty when I was having a lovely child-free day in Central London and forgot that I am on a total spending ban. It was only £7 which is pretty standard price for most high street conditioners so it wasn't like I was blowing the bank on hair products. That's also with the Liberty price upgrade - you can find it for more like £5. I also wanted to know if this was just a gimmick.

You see I used to have ponies when I was small. And indeed when I was less small I migrated to horses. And if I hadn't married a Londoner full of 'yes we'll move to the country' charmlies I would probably have one now. I love them. I love everything about them. Even tack cleaning and mucking out. I had fond memories of summers spent washing ponies tails in the sun and oiling hooves and I was hoping that the smell of this would trigger some sort of nasal nostalgia-fest.

Concealers

When I first started wearing make-up concealers came in a lipstick-style bullet. Chalky in texture and very limited in colour they were ok for covering a spot if you had a whopper. They were pretty pigmented and unblendable.

Now a lot of clients I work with, especially those over 35, have not kept up to date with how concealers have evolved. Often using a heavier coverage foundation and skipping the concealer altogether which makes it hard to get a natural finish. I often get asked how to get dewy skin without losing coverage and I always recommend a lighter, dewier foundation and a good concealer. They've come on a long way since the 80s/90s bullet. Now you can get the coverage you need, where you need it whilst still keeping a light coverage everywhere else.