Benefit Roller Lash Mascara

Benefit sure know how to launch a new product and their new mascara, Roller Lash, is no exception. On a freezing January night they rolled (groan!) into town in the most spectacular Benebus possible to invite us on board to learn more about their latest product. Opening the door I was met with the coolest space on wheels that I would quite happily move right into on a permanent basis, Benebabes were on hand to dish out the tips, mini cupcakes and fizz scattered about and some of the coolest quirky decor I have ever seen ( hairdryer lights= genius!) Add in a host of excited press and bloggers all sitting playing with the new Roller Lash mascara and you have a bit of a dream evening!

Alongside foundation, mascara is my favourite beauty product and the one that is most likely to get me in a frenzy and buying a new one regardless of how many I own. I am super fussy when it comes to the brush, the consistency, the performance and the longevity of my mascaras so I was more than ready to give this bad boy a whirl seeing as their last mascara, They're Real was a big hit in my books. Roller Lash is billed as the mascara that hooks, lifts and curls the lash much like a  velcro roller would in your hair. the innovative brush grabs and separates the lash thanks to these  tiny like hooks which is amazing for me as separating the lashes is one of the big things I look for, I HATE spidery lashes! This is a nifty bit of design and it took 4 different attempts to get this new brush just right and you can see all that work in the finished product.

So how did it perform? I am on the fence in some areas but then I was the same with They're Real initially and after a couple of weeks it became my absolute go to mascara! I do love that it is super black  in colour and the excellent separation it gives my lashes, it hasn't smudged or flaked on me, is long lasting and is still easy to remove which is also good. In fact reading that list of positives makes me realise just how demanding I am being here as it pretty damn good! It just doesn't quite give me the full va va voom I was hoping for and I definitely don't get much of the promised curl from it- I definitely wont be giving up my precious Shu's just yet! I find it doesn't quite give me as full a looking set of lashes as other mascaras can but I am still persevering as I think my application technique needs work.

For an innovative mascara with a nourishing formula this is well worth checking out- I think I just need a little more time with it to be won over completely. It has a lot of positives working for it and the fact it is just so damn good looking always wins points me with me!

The new Roller Lash launches in March at £19.50 but if you are lucky and manage to pick up a copy of the March edition of Elle you will find a tester with it- perfect for giving it a go before going full size.

Lowering my skin age with Skinceuticals

Before hitting the chocolate like a mad man in December my skin was looking in damn good nick thanks to a few skinceuticals products that were specially chosen for me by the team at the Elanic clinic in Glasgow. You can read all about my visit here but to bring you up to speed they took a look at my skin using their fancy visia scanner which analyses it in various areas and then uses its huge database to find out your true skin age, which for me was a whopping 39! They then used the info to prescribe a routine to follow for 3 months to try and bring this down and improve the look and texture of your skin which I was obviously needing.

I left with the Skinceuicals advanced pigment corrector, the blemish and age defense treatment and a little bottle of something called CE Ferulic and have been blown away with the results from using these- but you are just going to have to read on to see if they helped lower that initial result....

First up is the advanced pigment corrector, designed to be used twice a day this is a  cream product that is perfectly dispensed from a solid tube with a pump, it is not heavy at all and spreads easily across the face. It felt light to wear and was absolutely fine underneath moisturiser and make up. Although you dont need much this ran out after about 10 weeks so you don't get loads however I was really taken with the results from this so I am looking at replacing it now. I found the difference it made in the tone of my skin was huge and I only really noticed that when I was done with it and the effect wasn't there any more. Before using these products  my skin was definitely far more uneven and unclear and as this was the one I have used for less time I know it was making a big  difference. As with most of these products you have to be mindful of applying an SPF in the morning and I found no issue with layering these AM products at all which I was worried I might.

Alongside the corrector two times a day was the Blemish and Age defense which is an oil free serum in a glass bottle with a dropper. This isn't a thick or gel like serum as the name might suggest but more a thin and light treatment that I apply like a skin oil and a really small amount goes a long long way.Designed to reduce excess sebum and acne causing bacteria while fighting blotchiness and helping skin tone- this little beauty seems to have done all of that for me. In this 3 month period I didn't have any spots, not one, which is a big difference for me. Added to this the overall improvement in brightness with using the products and my skin has been at a level that I have never experienced before which is a big confidence boost. Like with the corrector I found that when I stopped ( Christmas threw my routine right off) my skin was no where near as good so I was right back on this come January to help bring it back around. The little bottle will last you ages as well, I have had mine around 5 months now and that is it nearing the end- weep!

Last but by no means least is the most expensive of the products ( an eye watering £130) the not so catchily named CE Ferulic treatment.Described as a revolutionary antioxidant treatment that neutralizes the free radicals that cause ageing, this is like the Blemish and Age defense in terms of consistency and application but is for use in just the morning and is designed to work along side sunscreen to protect against the damage that UVA and UVB can bring. This is the product that everyone in the clinic was raving about and I was most excited to get moving with and now I am almost finished it I can see why! I think this one in particular has really helped soften and brighten my skin and bring around the allover dewy and healthy look that has happened since I started the trio, my pores are not an issue now but really bugged me before and I feel so much happier going make up free. The issue with these two bottle products is due to their cost I am terrified essentially every time I open it to use that I might knock it over and lose some, but apart from that being strict with this routine for 3 months has been really amazing.

Just some of the areas my skin saw massive improvements

I am writing this following about 6 weeks off of using these products now and can report that my skin is no where near as good as it was when doing this trial, I under estimated just how much of a difference using these would make and I miss that fresh, youthful glow I had going into December. I was aware how well these were working when I went back for a follow up scan but did not expect to know off a massive 16 years off my visia results when they were re-done! This was a huge result in those 3 months and I was utterly delighted with it-I adore products that really work and the difference in my results speak volumes. Products like these are real investments but I am a big believer in putting what you can into your skincare to get good results and these are soooo worth it.

yay! youthful skin!

You can buy skinceuticals in the Elanic clinic and the team there can talk you through the products best for your skin. You can contact them on 0141 332 5106. Thanks so much to the team there for taking me on this journey- what a fab bunch!

Edinburgh Reviewed; The Hydrafacial at Beyond Medispa

If you are anything like me, you spent your festive season stuffing as many quality street as is humanly possible into your mouth while washing it down with some kind of booze. All fun and games at the time- my tight jeans now however beg to differ but more annoyingly to me is the state it has left my skin in. I generally don't eat much sugar or dairy as not only does it play havoc on my stomach but it appears almost instantly on my face in the form of deep under skin bumps. The Skincare gods must have been looking down upon me then as the team at Beyond Medispa got in touch to invite me along to try out the Hydra Facial at their Edinburgh branch just when my poor face needed it the most.


Nestled on the second floor of Harvey Nics ( which worryingly means you have to traverse some amazing looking goodies to get there.....)  the Beyond Medispa specialises in medical and aesthetic treatments for the face and body which means if you are looking for panpipes and candle light this is not the place for you. If you are looking for cutting edge technology and treatment options however this is well worth checking out.

This facial was certainly different to anything I have had before thanks to the super futuristic looking vortex-fusion technology which is basically a space age looking machine that is used for all the stages of the treatment. There are a series of tips used on the skin that have different types of edges to exfoliate the skin as the wands are passed over which is what gives the facial its results such as dislodging and removing impurities while also hydrating the skin. It is almost hard to describe but it is kind of like a little sucker being passed over you skin, not sore but definitely unusual . This is  a facial for those looking for improvements over a standard relaxation inducing facial however thanks to the technology used this is far less abrasive than a standard micro-dermabrasion treatment so it is perfect for sensitive skins.

Using this fancy technology-the skin is cleansed and exfoliated, an acid peel is then applied that tingles but doesn't sting or leave you looking 'samantha-esque' but it gently loosens dirt from the pores. The sucking motion is then used again to clean out the pores of all this debris and finally a hydration element is added in the form of antioxidants and hyaluronic acid to nourish and protect the skin. Without a doubt at the end my skin looked fresher and brighter than it has done since the festive season began- it felt soft and smooth and just insanely clean which is exactly what you would expect with this little device working its magic. The little wands are helping with the lymphatic drainage while they do their work which also helps rid you of any nasty toxins and reduce puffiness, they then help give the skin a huge antioxidant boost that mine was most certainly needing!  It is recommended as a course of treatments and the results photos from having a course of them look amazing but you can definitely see change with just one go thanks to its soothing and moisturising elements.

This is definitely a high end treatment (coming in at £125) which is why it is perfectly placed in a spa in Harvey Nichols and for those looking for a total skin boost that will have you back out on the shop floor within the hour.

You can contact the Edinburgh Beyond Medispa on 0131 524 8332
  

Recipe collecting made easy

Happy New Year everyone! That is me back to work and back to normal life after a couple of weeks of family, friends and some super indulging. I doubt I am alone when I say that any attempts at healthy eating in December goes right out the window in favour of lindor for breakfast and countless nibbles through the day- I am struggling to adjust to dinner not being at least two full courses!

Fun as this always is, it never fails to leave me feeling a total sack of crap come January back to work time so in times like this I turn to my little online recipe wonder that I have realised I have never shared on here before. I know how many readers are big fans of cooking so hopefully this will be as useful for you as it has been for me. I absolutely love scouring the internet for healthy eating ideas and always struggled to keep a track of where I had seen things, working between various computers meant recipes were getting lost on bookmark bars and my iphone was stacked full of photos of recipes that I couldn't keep up with. I decided someone out there must have been smart and come up with some kind of online recipe collator to use and lo and behold that is just what I found with Kitchenbug.

This site has been an absolute godsend for me, you download a little clipper to your tool bar and whenever you com across a recipe you want to keep you just click on it and it takes the link, the ingredients and the directions and compiles them into a stored recipe for you which you can then file into different 'boxes'. You can then browse the site ( which is pinterest esque in layout) which is a compendium of the all the users boxes and find even more ideas there and put them in your personal collection too which is how I have found loads of fab ideas! I love how it even analyses your recipes and gives you a nutritional breakdown for them which is perfect if you are looking to follow a particular regime or want to avoid certain things.

It is so easy to use and navigate and now they handily have a free app which is amazing to then using for reading the recipes when I am in the kitchen, or adding to my boxes when something catches my eye. If you made a resolution to eat healthier this year then this is just the thing for you, you can see the recipes that have caught me eye here and if you make a profile let me know so I can follow you too!

https://www.kitchenbug.com/ruthjack

This is in no way sponsored, I just realised this is an amazing resource that I have been keeping to myself!