Affordable treats

I have often seen Montagne Jeunesse face masks but never actually tried one.  I feel slightly snobby saying I was probably put off by the affordable price tag, which seems silly but when it comes to skin care, the products that work, generally tend to come at a more high end cost.  I was recently asked if I would like to try some out and as they are pregnancy friendly I thought I would give them a go!

This Travel Pack is designed to be taken away with you to treat yourself whilst you are on holiday, but these products are equally nice to try out in the comfort of your own bathroom!

Montagne Jeunesse Travel Pack

It comes with two body wash sachet's, a foot cooler, a purifying face mask, a body scrub and a hair mask.

I have so far tried the Orange Body Wash, which has a very strong, tangy orange smell.  If you like the smell of orange you will love it, which personally I do and it felt very invigorating.  You also get more than enough for one showers worth in a sachet.

I also tried the Passion Peel Off mask which I was a little hesitant to try as I have very fussy skin.  It claims to deeply cleanse your skin, leaving it with a radiant glow, it also has added antioxidants to protect.  The first thing I noticed was the lovely sweet, fruity smell, not hugely natural smelling but very appealing.  Make sure you tie your hair back well, as it has a very sticky gel consistency, also don't apply too much as it wont dry properly.  I left it on for around 20 minutes, it felt really cooling on, which was lovely as it was a hot day so I can imagine this would be lovely on holiday.  It was really fun to peel off and left my skin feeling very clean and looking bright and fresh.  I have to say I was pleasantly surprised!  I would avoid any extreme dry areas on the face but over all this felt really gentle.

The last thing I have tried was the Intensive Spa hair masque which claims to repair and condition.  It smells very strongly of Lime which is nice for a morning bath or shower, but I found there wasn't enough product for my hair which is long but very fine.  The consistency of the masque didn't feel as thick as I would have expected and was hard to spread evenly.  It has, however, left the ends of my hair feeling quite soft, so it has done more than I thought it would!

I am looking forward to trying the Foot Cooler which can apparently be used anywhere on the body.  It is creamy when applied and quickly turns in to a soft powder, sounds strange and interesting at the same time!  I am going to save it for a day when my pregnant feet feel all hot and swollen.

Over all I think this is a great little selection of products if you are going away for a long weekend or you just like trying out new things.  It retails for £5 and it available at www.montagnejeunesse.com

Pregnancy Skin Savers...

The two main skin concerns I have had since being pregnant is fear of stretch marks on my bust and stomach and coping with crazy breakouts on my face!  

Luckily, as yet, I have had no stretch marks on my rapidly growing stomach or bust, I have  heard that it is down to good or bad genes whether you will get them or not.  Despite this I have been loading on the cream after every bath or shower, just to be sure!  A very kind Makeup Artist friend of mine, who is also a mummy, gave me a HUGE jar of Pure Virgin Coconut Oil which I am extremely grateful for as it's going to last me the entire pregnancy and beyond!  
The first thing I love about it, is the smell, which is a completely natural coconut fragrance that, luckily, I really enjoyed during my few weeks of morning sickness.  It  smells really natural and pure!  Secondly I love the way it goes hard when cool and turns in to an oil when warm, I keep it in my bathroom so it's usually in its solid state, I love digging a big chunk out and letting it melt between my hands, SO lovely to use and it sinks in surprisingly quickly whilst feeling extremely nourishing.  Thirdly, I read that is is has anti bacterial properties so can help prevent skin infections during pregnancy.  I don't know if its common to get skin infections during pregnancy but either way it can only be a bonus!  I'm pretty sure you can buy it anywhere for between £5-£10.

My main concern though recently, has been my breakouts and dry skin on my face, I tried just sticking to a sensible and simple routine of making sure I thoroughly cleansed my skin morning and night with a sensitive and natural cleanser (I can't remember the name) and then using Cetaphil Moisturiser to make sure my skin was hydrated.  This did not work, I continued to breakout all over my chin and slightly on my forehead along with really dry flaky (mm nice!) patches on my chin and nose!  I have since invested in a tube of Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish (as featured in my last post) which I have been using for exactly a week now and I can already see a major improvement.  My spots are slowly but surely disappearing, with a stubborn few still remaining and the dry patches have pretty much gone!  Yey I love you Liz Earle!  I knew I would and am annoyed it took me this long to get around to trying it but when I read on the website that it is safe to use during pregnancy I was sold.  In case you haven't heard about this product before I will tell you briefly how you use it (regular blog readers or skincare fanatics out there will be bored stiff by this!)  It is a cream formula containing Rosemary (great for breakouts), Chamomile (calming and soothing), and Cocoa Butter (moisturising).  Using 1 pump or 2 you massage in to dry skin, it will remove eye makeup as well but do this last so you don't get a big messy face, then take one of the two muslin cloths it comes with and run under hot water, gently then wipe of the cream and makeup from your face, rinsing the cloth a few times in the hot water.  The muslin is great to exfoliate the areas that need it as you do this.  I then use another small pump to repeat this process to make sure my skin is completely clean.  At the end, splash your face with cold water to close the pores.  It sounds faffy, but its really not and you can use each muslin three times before you wash it, just rinse it well after each use.  I bought mine from John Lewis for £14.25.

The last, very simple product that has helped is Sudocrem.  When I found out I was pregnant I stopped using all my usual spot creams and masks as I couldn't find solid answers for whether they were safe to use or not (certain chemicals, active ingredients and high doses of essential oils can be harmful to the baby) so I resorted to using my pot of Sudocrem that I had bought a while ago and never really given a proper go.  Its not revolutionary but its helped and its great to have something I can use over night when I have a seriously bad attack of breakouts.  Since I have been using My Liz Earle I have used this a couple of times and together they are working wonders for my poor face.

 I hope this is useful to anyone who is pregnant and has the same concerns!

.Current Skincare Routine.

I have been using these products for the last couple of months and thought I would share with you my thoughts, as a lot of them are new products for me.  Just in case you haven't read previous posts of mine, my skin type is; combination with very dry and oily areas.  I am also very prone to breakouts, mainly hormonal around the chin area but also occaisionally on other areas too.  I have very problem skin, and its a constant battle to keep it as clear as possible.  Ah well, these things are sent to challenge us!

Murad Time Release Acne cleanser - I was worried about this drying me out, as lots of acne products do to a skin type that is not a straight forward oily skintype, but I suffer from breakouts so often that I'm always attracted to Acne ranges.  I have to say I like it a lot more than I thought I would, it doesn't lather up but does leave your skin feeling clean.  If I'm wearing makeup then I always double cleanse.  This has a very subtle menthol/fresh feel to it which I like and it doesn't dry my skin out excessively.


Witch Blemish Stick - I have been loving this, I pop it on all areas that are breaking out just before I apply my moisturiser.  It doesn't dry my skin out at all and I really feel it helps to reduce my pesky spots nice and quickly.


Caudalie Vinopure Purifying Mask - I have loved this for years now, I use it as a full mask every so often if my skin is really suffering but I use it at night when I have a really stubborn spot or break out and it tends to clear it in a couple of days whilst being really gentle.


Murad Anti Ageing Moisturiser for Blemish Prone Skin - This is probably my least favourite product out of all of these but I am sticking with it because its not doing anything bad to my skin and I'm really enjoying using a moisturiser for blemish prone skin, simply because I never do.  Pretty much as soon as its soaked in my skin is tight and dry again but I have been looking at it as a base layer before the next product!


Oilatum Natural Repair Face Cream - My favourite fail safe moisturiser, it gives my dry skin the moisture it needs and never breaks me out which is a life saver for me.  Although when I have a particularly bad breakout I tend to miss out that area when apply this cream as I worry it would make the break out worse.


I change up my skin care all the time because I'm always searching for the perfect routine that gives me perfectly clear skin, I'm not there yet but along the way I find a few products that stand out enough to stick with me.  Hopefully these will build in to the perfect routine one day! 


Thanks for reading guys and please let me know if you think you know of a product that would help me! 


x Lucy x

.Decleor Skincare.


Happy Sunday guys, I thought I would just tell you about some skincare products I have been enjoying!  About 7 weeks ago I was sent some Decleor goodies to use on New Look Style the Nation, which I was very pleased about because I haven't delved much in to the world of Decleor before...


My stand out products from what I was sent are...

Now that Style the Nation has finished, I thought I would continue using these products on my own skin to really trial them out and experience Decleor first hand.  I have to say I LOVE them.  A LOT.  If you don't already know I have major combination skin to every extreme possible, I get very very dry patches on my forehead, round my nose and on my chin, I suffer from breakouts at the slightest suggestion of an irritant, whether its; hormonal, eating bad food, or a reaction to a product, and I also have an oily t-zone (I know what your thinking, lucky me!)  How I personally tend to keep it balanced is by giving it a thorough clean and double cleansing with a facial wash for oily to combination skin and then I put the moisture back in with a normal to dry skin day/night cream (usually I have a few blobs of spot cream to apply to the desired areas, which I do just before my moisturiser)

These products have been perfect for my skin and slotted in to my routine nicely, my skin is really really fussy so when something works for me it usually means it is an outstanding product!

The face wash smells delicious, but in a very light, subtle way.  Its very gentle feeling on the skin and removes makeup very nicely.  I usually remove my eye makeup first with cotton buds and eye makeup remover but I have used the face wash a couple time to remove my eye makeup and it actually did a pretty good job without stinging my eyes.  I always double cleanse at night time, once to remove my makeup and then once again to deep clean the skin.  It leaves my skin feeling clean but not too tight and dry, although I always apply my moisturiser within about 1 minute of drying my face.

The Hydra Floral cream is a lovely consistency, thick enough to feel nourishing but not greasy and it sinks in pretty quickly.  I occasionally need to apply a second layer to the dryer areas of my face, but this is not unusual for me. It has quite a strong floral smell to it which I enjoy, but if you don't like strong smelling face products it might be too much for you.  I often use it as a day and night cream if I want to keep it a bit lighter for the night time but I think it is specifically meant as a day cream.  It also contains no parabens and no mineral oils which is a great bonus.  It leaves my skin especially soft which is lovely and because of the silky feel it acts as a great primer.

Here is the info on the box incase you are interested...

I can see most skin types getting on well with these products and they are perfect as part of a preventative ageing skincare routine.


Thanks for reading guys, and even though I was sent these products it was not for blogging purposes and I was under no obligation to write a review, these are just my thoughts and I was very keen to share them with you!


x Lucy x

.My Style the Nation fave products.

Hey guys!  I just wanted to write a post about all the lovely products I've been loving using on 'New Look Style the Nation' on T4 every Saturday Morning!

 We were sent so many lovely things to try, we haven't made our way through all of it yet but these have been the most used so far!  Still 4 weeks to go so lots more time to try new things! I love my job!

Number 1 has to be the Urban Decay naked palette, especially on the first show we had such limited time with the models, this palette allowed us to have all the colours there, needed to create a naturally defined look and they go on so smoothly and blend like a dream, speedy pretty makeup in minutes!

Also by Urban Decay is the setting spray Dew Me, I LOVE THIS STUFF!  Its bloody gorgeous!  It gives a dewy finish whilst also helping to make your makeup last, its so clever!  Great in a studio situation when you are doing someones makeup at 7.30am that needs to last until midday, I have also tried it on myself and was so surprised how amazing it was even on my skin.  I have a very combination skin type, and normally have to powder every hour or so but with this stuff on I didn't have to as much and could still look dewy in an acceptable kind of way, which doesn't normally happen for me!

Something else which has been great is the Little White Lie Wash Off instant colour, Little White Lie is a sister company of Make Believe tanning products at a slightly more affordable price range.  The wash off colour has been great for quickly getting all the limbs on show looking gorgeous and uniformed, and its particularly great because its so easy to blend, I haven't experienced a streak appear at all!  Even when I have about 5 seconds to get someones legs done!  Another thing that I like about it, is once its dry, which takes around 30 seconds, it doesn't transfer at all which is great when a model is needing to change outfits or be dressed very quickly.  It comes in lighter or darker and can be bought in Boots for £10.

Other things we have been loving are; Eylure lashes, they are a firm favourite for my kit as they are so affordable and the amount of choice in style is brilliant.

L'oreal Professional hair products have been a new addition for the kit and I have to say I really like them, especially the Techni Art range.

Last but not least for this post is Dermalogica skincare, this stuff has been in my kit for years now, I can always depend on it doing what I need it to do and people sat in my chair are always very happy when they see Im going to use some Dermalogica on them!

The next episode of New Look Style the Nation is on tomorrow morning on T4 at 11.25am so be sure to watch!  Its live so I will be backstage somewhere running around with my set bag!

Thanks for reading, I have a few more things I am excited to use on this weeks show so keep your eyes peeled for a post on how I got on with those.

x Lucy x

.LP Skin Therapy.

This week I was very kindly given this new range to try by Dr. Linda Papadopoulos PhD.  I have done Linda's makeup many times over the years, she is such a lovely lady and always a pleasure to paint as she is such a beauty!

Linda is a well known psychologist and also a leader in the field of psychodermatology, she believes there is a direct link between how you feel and how you look, something I completely agree with!  This skincare range tackles the external factors of ageing, such as pollution and sun damage but also the internal causes of premature ageing; stress.  This is the first skincare range to address this cause.

This range is for all skin types but when reading more in depth about it, I realised it was better for my skin type than I initially thought (my skin is prone to breakouts but also dry), as when the body is anxious it produces more of the hormone cortisol and this can result in blocked pores, breakouts and premature ageing, this is what LP Skin Therapy uniquely addresses - perfect!  It consists of a balancing face wash, an uplifting facial water, multi-task day cream, overnight replenish cream, refining lip exfoliator, lip rescue gel, untired eye cream (for under eyes) and re-affirm eye serum (for lids).

Head to the LP Skin Therapy site CLICK HERE to find out individual prices and descriptions of what each product does and can offer you.  Prices range from £15 - £47.  I highly recommend the refining lip exfoliator (the perfect primer before lipstick) and the day and night moisturisers!

Let me know if you have tried it already and what you think.  I shall update you in a month or so.

Thanks for reading!

x Lucy x

.My current favourite skincare.

The products above have all contributed to getting my skin in ship shape recently, I have always had difficult skin but a couple of months ago I was suffering from a lot more problems than usual.  The main culprits being; constant breakouts (hormonal and otherwise), severe dry patches, and sensitivity.  A very irritating combination I might add, but luckily, after a LONG period of trial and error I have found my 'life saving' products!


I have included two face cleansers, and I didn't decide to purposefully use these two separate cleansers for a specific reason, it was just because I spotted the Vichy one when desperate for a new cleanser on the way home one day and found this in a random pharmacy in Kensington and it looked perfect for my skin problems at the time.  I started using the Dermalogica one because I needed something that would remove my eye makeup and didn't want to use the Vichy one as it has scrubby particles in it, so to try and cut a very long winded and boring story short it seemed to me that the Dermalogica cleanser was excellent at removing a full face of makeup and then I could cleanse my makeup free face with the Vichy one targeted at acne prone skin!


I have to say I think the whole double cleansing thing may have helped to keep the breakouts to a minimum but they have both massively cleared up my skin.


After using two face wash cleansers my skin can feel a little tight afterwards but by no means uncomfortably stripped (which I can't stand) and once I put my moisturiser on it feels perfect.


One thing I quickly need to rave about is my Body shop facial buffer, its £3 and its is this little baby ALONE that has completely gotten rid of my dry patches, and trust me, I have tried nearly EVERY product out there that removes dead skin cells and dry patches; masks, peels, scrubs, muslins, you name it and although most have been pretty effective, none have been as good as the facial buffer, and at £3 it is by far the cheapest solution!


The Caudalie mask I have spoken about before but its basically my spot treatment whenever I notice a blemish appearing and it saves me every time.


I love the Jurlique Purely Age Defying eye cream simply because I normally react in some way to eye cream, by either developing dry sensitive skin under the eyes or by clogging up the pores and getting little bumps, but after using this eye cream I have not reacted at all and the skin around my eyes is just as it should be!  Plus this is an anti ageing product so I feel like I am preventing any unwanted fine lines.


I have saved the best till last.....Oilatum Natural Repair Cream, as recommended by Nic and Sam from Pixiwoo...this stuff is flipping amazing!  My skin type is so dry and tight that it needs a heavy duty moisturiser that penetrates in to the skin efficiently so it hydrates my skin properly but doesn't leave a greasy film so I break out, which my skin will do in an instant.  I have searched and searched, and after having just finished working at Space NK for 2 and a half years and trying every product under the sun I have finally found my saviour moisturiser!  The best thing is that its £7.49 from boots!  Slight downside at the moment being that as it was recommended by the Pixiwoo sisters there unfortunately now seems to be a mega shortage but I'm hoping this will be temporary and Oilatum will step up to meet their new demand!


I do use a serum but I find that any one is fine, I've never found any particular brand or product to do especially good or bad things to my skin, all i know is that I notice when I don't use one, my skin will be too dry and I will need to apply more moisturiser than usual.  Plus i like knowing that I am hydrating the layers of skin underneath the surface layer as the molecules are a lot smaller in a serum and will travel a lot deeper in to the skin.


That has turned out to be a massive ramble but I am really happy with my skin care routine at the moment and its taken me a long time to get here so I thought I should share!


Hope it was helpful to someone!

x Lucy x