EMPTIES (SPRING 2015)

Chanel Coco Mademoiselle EDP 35ml (£48.50)
Scent can evoke very personal memories: my teenage years can come flooding back with one whiff of Calvin Klein’s ‘Eternity’ (In retrospect, I was one picky teenager).
While some fragrances have come and gone out of my life, there are others that stay the course. Scents that feel so ‘me’ now, I would be bereft without them. While the Stella McCartney delicate rose scent is a firm favourite, top spot has to go to Chanel’s Coco Mademoiselle.
I’m not normally one to get suckered in by advertising, but as soon as I saw this advert in 2007 with Keira Knightley being all very Left Bank and super-chic….I knew I had to give this perfume a go.

See? Even Joss Stone singing a Nat King Cole classic…the magic’s all there. (Begging note to Chanel: please play this advert more – it’s a corker). Released in 2001, Coco Mademoiselle is the younger sister to Chanel’s classic Coco fragrance. In fairness, I am terrible at describing fragrance – I did have to google the ingredients…
Loaded with florals including jasmine and rose, what makes this fragrance so light and easy to wear are the citrus-y top notes of mandarin, orange blossom and bergamot. Blended with patchouli, vanilla and white musk, this is a truly versatile and adaptable fragrance. No wonder Keira wore it to all those parties.
I think that’s why I love Coco Mademoiselle so much: at the time Coco Mademoiselle was launched, I was experiencing migraines which weren’t helped by heavy, musk-filled scent. As much as I wanted to graduate from the teenage, citrus-based fragrances, the ‘grown-up’ scents were far too heavy for me and basically spritzing them on, even with the lightest touch, I was sending a handwritten invitation to my migraines to come on over.
Coco Mademoiselle was, along with Stella McCartney’s original fragrance, the first ‘adult’ perfume I could use without triggering a migraine. Luckily, my migraines over the years have abated, but I still have to be careful of any scents that describe themselves as ‘heady’.
I continue to wear Coco Mademoiselle because we now have an emotional connection; a love that is true and faithful. It’s certainly not a love that is easy on the pocket – Chanel invariably comes with a hefty price tag, but you are repaid with an experience that is luxury from start to finish. The scent lingers on the skin beautifully – and it just feels like a big olfactory security blanket, wrapping itself around you. A good perfume can be like a suit of armour, or as Sali Hughes brilliantly put it, ‘backbone in a bottle’. If it feels like it’s you and Coco against the world, that’s alright – Coco’s got you covered.
http://www.boots.com/en/CHANEL-COCO-MADEMOISELLE-Eau-de-Parfum-Spray-100ml_3629/
Would I buy it again? It’s definitely a luxury purchase, but a good perfume is hard to find.

Korres Black Pine Antiwrinkle and Firming Eye Cream (£36)
I found a buyer on Amazon, selling this for nearly half price a few months ago. Ever the appreciator of a bargain, I weakened, and the credit card flew into action.
I was definitely intrigued by the name: Black Pine sounds like it should be the title of a Scandinavian crime drama. I read up on this eye cream as I waited for it to be delivered, and Korres actually use polyphenols from the Black Pine tree, which strengthens the collagen fibres in the skin, improving elasticity and firmness.
(Beauty Footnote: a polyphenol is an antioxidant phytochemical. A phytochemical is a name used for a wide variety of compounds produced by plants. Who said beauty was brainless? University Challenge’s organic chemistry round can now be your bitch).
I do have some early signs of ageing, but I must admit – I do like a firm eye contour. When the skin around your eye is firmed and lifted, you look refreshed and revived; and it makes make-up application that much easier, especially if you have heavy lids like me.
I did like the firming action the eye cream gave, but I did find after a few weeks of using it, that the product began to plateau. I finished the bottle, but I no longer experienced the impressive lifting effect of the first few applications.
To be fair, I think this was a case of me buying the wrong product. The Black Pine range is chiefly geared towards more mature skin, and I think the eye cream would be more appreciated by an older skincare user. It definitely works – it just didn’t have enough to work on with my skin.
Would i buy it again? Not right now, but in a few years’ times – definitely.

L’Occitane Hand Cream (Shea Vanilla Bouquet) 30ml (£8)
There’s no doubt about it: when it comes to hand cream, things tend to get a little controversial. There will be those of you looking at this price point and scoffing at the idea of spending £8 on a 30ml tube of product.
Normally, I would agree with you – getting value for your money is important – but bear with me.
There are beauty classics, and then there’s L’Occitane’s hand cream. Formulated with a 20% Shea butter content, the hand cream that L’Occitane has produced is a world leader. It soothes, it comforts, it gets to grips with even the driest skin. You need very little and it actually does what it promises. A tube of L’Occitane hand cream is sold, somewhere around the world, every THREE SECONDS. I just want you to digest that statistic for a moment. Admittedly, McDonald’s sell 17 Big Macs every second, but the world is sometimes a strange and baffling place.
While the Shea butter hand cream is good for your skin, buying from L’Occitane is good for everyone. Since the 1980’s, L’Occitane have sourced their Shea butter from Burkina Faso. It is produced and harvested using sustainable methods, and the women responsible for producing the Shea have entered into a Fair-trade agreement with L’Occitane. You get a great hand cream, and they get a great deal.
Even if you still think £8 is too much for your budget, you have to admire a company that adopted fair-trade practices decades before it became a marketing plus. L’Occitane is a beauty company with morals, that won’t sell you (or its producers) short – and you can’t get better value than that.
http://uk.loccitane.com/nourishing-hand-cream-trio,83,1,29776,701938.htm#s=39668
Would I buy it again? Absolutely.

Bliss The Youth as We Know It Anti-Ageing Night Cream (£52)
I am a bit of a sucker for night creams. There’s something beguiling about knowing a beauty product is hard at work while I’m getting in a solid 8 hours.
A box of this night cream caught my eye whilst I was browsing the beauty aisle at TK Maxx. I picked this up for £24…still a pricey buy, but in light of its RRP, it’s definitely classed as a bargain.
I do love Bliss – I’m on my second tube of their Triple Oxygen Mask (too good for words….get it…love it) and I’ve yet to be disappointed by the products that I’ve tried from their range.
The beauty of this cream is that it’s a serious anti-ager, but without the cloggy, overwhelming texture usually associated with anti-ageing creams. Dubbed by their website as ‘delivering twice the wrinkle-fighting power and half the weight’, The Youth as We Know It night cream is a beautifully lightweight texture. A nice, comfortable cream-gel, this product is brilliant for those with combination skin but still have ageing concerns.
Containing anti-wrinkle peptides, collagen and elastin protectors with a good dose of Vitamin A, this power-packing cream repair existing damage whilst helping to protect your skin from future damage. It claims to retexturise, plump out and brighten your skin – and I must say, after having used a pot of this, on the whole i agree. My skin looked better in the morning – my patches of dehydration were gone and I looked well rested. Again, I think this is a product that needs a more mature skin to really flex its muscles and show off what it can do.
Would I buy it again? Without the TK Maxx discount, this cream is right at the top of my budget ceiling. As impressive as it was, I don’t know if I could justify paying full price.

REN V-Cense Youth Vitality Day Cream (£28)
Ah, REN. You are becoming one of my favourite skincare ranges of all time. I had another empty, their Vita Mineral Omega 3 Skin Oil, but that one will be featuring in my next Budget Buys post, where I will be waxing lyrical.
What I love about REN is that they just deliver results without making a song and dance about it. The products are simple and quick to use, and I’ve not come across a duff one yet. They all perform with aplomb. Which is what you want from a beauty product really – lots of aplomb.
I was introduced to this day cream via its night-time counterpart. If you haven’t tried it, the V-Cense Night Cream is a thing of beauty, but the Day Cream isn’t about to allow itself to be overshadowed.
So if your youth isn’t feeling too vital, is this day cream for you? This smart, multi-active cream takes extracts from Arctic Cranberry Seed oil and Frankincense to protect against UV damage and smooth out fine lines and wrinkles. The website highlights the cream’s ability to hydrate and nourish, leaving the skin feeling protected and glowing.
I must say that when it comes to long-lasting hydration, this day cream is pretty difficult to beat. What I loved about the night cream was how it felt so nourishing without being heavy, the balance was just right. With the day cream, the formulation is obviously a little bit lighter for daytime, but the quality of hydration it gives you is unmatched. If you have dryness or dehydration as your skincare concern, I would heartily recommend trying this product. It doesn’t promise you the earth, but it doesn’t need to – it’s brilliant at the basics. You want a day cream that hydrates, soothes and protects – and V-Cense Youth Vitality does all three. You want bells and whistles…go elsewhere. If you want a targeted, intelligent moisturiser – you know what to do…
Would I buy it again? REN have a customer for life.

HELEN TOPE

BEAUTY EMPTIES (WINTER 2014-15)

I’m all in favour of keeping things simple, and this is a fairly simple post – here are the beauty products I’ve recently finished. What follows is a short review of each, and the all-important question, would I buy it again?

Filorga Time-Filler Eye Cream (£44)
You may wince a little at the price, but when it comes to anti-ageing, I firmly believe in the power of a good eye-cream. With the skin around the eyes being ten times thinner than the skin on your face, spending a bit extra is entirely justified. Laughter lines, wrinkles, God’s cruel joke – whatever you want to call the ageing process, it happens around your eyes first. A decent eye cream will be indispensable in staving off premature lines. Even if you’re fairly unlined at the moment (lucky!), getting into the habit of using a good quality eye cream will reap benefits in the long run.
I like my eye creams to have a good hit of hydration as well as anti-ageing benefits, and Filorga’s Time-Filler Eye Cream felt soothing and nourishing on the skin, making it perfect to use before bedtime. Containing hyaluronic acid, and armed with powerful peptides to relax the lines around the eyes, this really is a great all-rounder when it comes to tackling the signs of ageing.
Would I buy it again? Even though I bought this with a 30% discount from lovely M&S, this was still very much a considered purchase for me. The hydrating effect was the main selling point of this cream – if you’re a smoker, have dehydrated skin or spend a lot of time in front of a computer screen during your day – this would be a worthwhile investment.

REN V-Cense Revitalising Night Cream (£32) – left
I bought this after a recommend from beauty blogger Ruth Crilly (A Model Recommends – it’s what she does!). I’ve used a few REN products and know that my skin gets along with them, so purchased this with a great deal of confidence.
That confidence was well-placed. Containing Frankincense and Vitamin C, REN says this anti-ager helps smooth out expression lines and wrinkles, and combats ‘the signs of premature ageing’. After using this product, you’ll hear no arguments from me. This night cream is beautifully moisturising, leaving your skin feeling comforted but never overwhelmed. I never had any issues with breakouts, despite it being quite rich in texture. You only need a single pump of product at a time, making it surprisingly economical. It tackled dry patches with aplomb, leaving me feeling gorgeously hydrated. Can you tell I liked this?
Would I buy it again? Let me fetch my purse….

Liz Earle Superskin moisturiser (£39)
I do have a bit of a history with Liz Earle. First I fell in love with their Cleanse and Polish, then the Eyebright (great as a compress for tired eyes) and then I made our love official with their Skin Repair moisturiser. Buttery and totally sumptuous, it’s a no-nonsense hydrator that makes light work of even the driest skin. In short, a new moisturiser would have to be ruddy impressive to make me stray from Skin Repair.
With Superskin Moisturiser, they very nearly succeeded. Promoted as Liz Earle’s cornerstone anti-ageing product, the moisturiser contained essential oils including Neroli. I must be honest and say that I experienced a slight tingling sensation when applying the moisturiser the first few times – but certainly not a full-blown allergic reaction.
I persevered with the product and the tingling did subside – I’m assuming the moisturiser contained an ingredient my skin needed to get used to (which it did).
Would I buy it again? Yes – I liked how the moisturiser did smooth some of my fine lines, but next time I will be purchasing the fragrance-free version.

Indeed Labs Eysilix Instant Eye Rescue (£24.99)
Another blogger recommend, this time I trusted the (very trustworthy) opinion of Caroline Hirons and purchased this eye cream, as she said it contained several of the same anti-ageing ingredients as eye creams many times this price.
I’ve tried eye creams of varying price points, and the Eysilix was extremely impressive, especially considering it’s under £25. It firmed the skin around my eye area and I could see a marked improvement in my fine lines. I don’t have a huge problem with dark circles, but the thing I liked most about this cream is how it felt like a premium product when applied. It went on smoothly, and the texture was just right: not runny, but lovely and pliable, to be worked around the eye quickly and easily without pulling or tugging.
Would I buy it again? Absolutely – it’s a great product if you’re looking for an introduction to eye creams – but be warned: it will ruin you for other budget brands….

Soap and Glory Beauty Sleep Accelerator Night and Flight Moisture Miracle (£13)
My winters are usually spent in search of three things: a good book, a decent Amaretto latte and a fail-safe, super-hydrating moisturiser. The Liz Earle Skin Repair is a terrific option, and to add to this, I can personally recommend Soap and Glory’s Night and Flight Moisture Miracle.
If you’re old like me, you may remember beauty brand Prescriptives. They had that ‘Magic Powder’, they had that terrific mascara whose name escapes me, and they also had a little blue tube of wonder called ‘Flight Cream’. It was a deeply-hydrating moisturiser designed for use by flight crew, but through word of mouth, it became a beauty staple in everyone’s skincare kit.
Since Prescriptives was disbanded, the search has been on for an alternative, and I think I’ve found a product that comes pretty damn close. Soap and Glory’s Night and Flight Moisture Miracle is a cream-gel texture which glides onto the skin, seeps in and hydrates like a dream. It’s lightweight, non-clogging and ideal for oily / combination skins who would normally avoid hydrating moisturisers like the plague. I’ve used it as a night cream, but also as a general moisturiser when my skin feels in need of extra help. Oh, and it also works as a base under make-up: it truly is a great workhorse product.
Would I buy it again? This will be my 5th pot so I think it’s a safe assumption this will be a repurchase.

Apivita Creamy Cleanser (with Olive & Lavender) approx. £15
I am one of those people who is quite happy to stay in their beauty rut. But when I found myself unable to get a repeat purchase of my usual cleanser, drastic, unthinkable measures were required. I had to find a new cleanser – from scratch.
I just needed a wash-off cleanser – one that didn’t leave residue, but cleaned my skin thoroughly without stripping it. For some reason, when it comes to wash-off cleansers, this seems to be quite a tough ask. I normally have 2 or 3 cleansers that I’m loyal to, because I know they work, and very rarely stray outside my comfort zone.
The thought of having to try something new was not entirely pleasant, but one Saturday, I was feeling particularly bold and devil-may-care, and ended up purchasing this cleanser from Greek brand Apivita on a whim. I loved the scent, a gloriously fresh lavender, and it became very clear on its first use, that this product wasn’t just selling itself on a beautiful aroma. The texture of the cleanser was creamy, but not heavy – it had great ‘slip’, working around my skin with ease. I rinsed it off – no residue, no stripping – just clean, soft skin. When it comes to cleansers, if they’ve got this bit sorted, you don’t need to ask for anything else – you’ve got yourself a winner.
Would I buy it again? Definitely – and I also learnt a valuable lesson about not being afraid to try new things- especially if Apivita makes them.

Avene Skin Recovery Cream Calming Formula (£13) – right
Now and again my skin likes to play games: it likes to pretend it’s terribly sensitive and throws a little tantrum when I use perfectly acceptable products on it. To counteract this act of rebellion, I use Avene’s Skin Recovery Cream. A brand that focuses on the treatment of long-term sensitivity, it’s also highly adept at dealing with flare-ups. An application of this when my skin is playing up, quickly soothes redness and irritation. I keep a tube of this on standby, knowing that if my skin does decide to have a moment, I’ve got it sorted. It’s calming and gently hydrating – a great day moisturiser if you have long-term issues with sensitivity. My only gripe with this product (and it’s a small one) is that the tube comes to 40ml – for the price, I think Avene could stretch to an additional 10ml to create a standard size moisturiser.
Would I buy it again? This tube is my skin’s insurance policy against sensitivity – it works every time, and I wouldn’t be without it.

If you want more recommends from Ruth Crilly and Caroline Hirons, see links to their websites below:
http://www.amodelrecommends.com/category/beauty/
http://www.carolinehirons.com/

HELEN TOPE