TWO NEW

My latest installment of 'two new' features an eyeshadow primer and a serum, both of which I have been using for a few weeks now.  These two new posts have been a bit long and rambly but hey, I call it 'thorough'

The Art Deco eyeshadow primer is a very silicone based, almost putty like cream you apply to your lids to prolong the wear of your eyeshadow and give an even finish.  It comes in a tiny 5ml pot costing £8 (I got mine from Beauty Bay if I remember correctly) but you only need a smidgen to even out your lids.  You can then apply shadow directly on top and it does keep your shadow crease free all day.  I have a little niggle in that when you first apply eyeshadow on top of this primer, especially in the inner corner of your lid the eyeshadow can look a bit streaky and uneven but a second coat of shadow resolves the issue.  I would also warn against this if you have sore lids, especially this time of year when hayfever is rife in the UK as the highly silicone-y formula could irritate them further.

It's not a glowing review but it does the job.  If you haven't used an eyeshadow primer before they can do wonders for keeping your eyeshadow in place but also making the pigmentation of the eyeshadow truer to pan.  Space NK used to make the most amazing cream one, I went through literally pots and pots of the stuff but sadly they discontinued it.  Urban Decay, Nars and Too Faced all do highly rated primers and MAC paintpots make great bases for powder eyeshadow.  The Nars eye primer is really good for cream shadows.

I always use a primer but at this point I probably wouldn't purchase this one again.

Elemental Herbology is a brand I have discovered this year and every single thing I have tried from a cleanser to a mask to a moisturiser has been great.  Enter the Elemental Herbology Cell Food.

I do invest quite a bit financially into my skincare routine and this serum is a pricey £45 but I am really enjoying it.  In my laymans terms, it's a viscous serum that I have been using morning and evening-in the evening it's the last stage of my skincare routine every other evening and in the morning I used it after my hydrating toner and before my Hydraluron.  It feels really watery when you apply it but it is literally absorbed into the skin in seconds.  It contains a whole host of ingredients I can barely pronounce never mind know what they are (Kombuchka, Rovisome and Phylderm?  Nope me neither!) but the basic concept is that this is a serum designed to give radiance and vitality to the skin and is particularly good for those with dull, undernourished skin and frequent travellers.  As someone who works long hours in an airconditioned office, gets on a tin can to fly a couple of thousand miles at least twice a month and has a terrible diet this appeals!  The ingredients work to improve tone and radiance, stimulate cell renewal, soften and soothe and help reduce the damaging effects of the environment on the skin.

I can't attribute it soley to this serum but my skincare routine is definitely 'working' at the moment.  Even though I chop and change like a mofo.  It's a nice addition to my routine and my skin is looking a-ok right now.  So it's a keeper.