RMS Reader Lynsey knows a thing or two about make-up. We love reading Lynsey’s comments on our posts so much we invited her to share all her beauty secrets and let us have a peek at her bathroom cupboard. Allow me to hand over to today’s intrepid cosmetics reporter…
About Me
{Skin type} Normal, dry in Winter.
{Hair} Lots and lots of straight, fine hair.
When the lovely bunch at RMS asked if i’d like to write a post about my beauty bits my first thought was – YES, closely followed by – this has the potential to get very expensive when I see what you lovely lot recommend in the comments!
I’ll preface this post by saying that my beauty routine has changed massively since becoming a mumma. I no longer have time to faff with a whole arsenal of products so I’ve spent the last 12 months tracking down products that actually work.
The Face
I’m a simple soul when it comes to skincare, favouring good old soap and water. If things get a bit dry I like a good scrub with a hot flannel. If things get a bit dull then I bust out the big guns in the form of Alpha-H Liquid Gold. Soak a cotton pad, swipe it over your face before bed and wake up to skin that’s magically brighter and plumper. WIN. Liquid Gold is quite tingly so I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone with particularly sensitive skin.
The Hair
I’ve got almost-waist-length hair which is 90% dry shampoo and 10% hair most days. Blow drying it is a huge effort so I’m constantly on the hunt for products that help me go longer between shampoos. That makes me sound like a right minger! Once a week I use Phyto Phytoneutre Clarifying Detox Shampoo. This is a French shampoo that removes build up and products in a way that an everyday shampoo just can’t. I use a tiny amount, work it into my hair (it doesn’t really produce a lather) and rinse as normal. When I’m blow drying I use the Style Extender Spray by Living Proof. I may have fallen entirely for the Jennifer Aniston marketing campaign here but this spray manages to repel both dirt and oil without weighing your hair down. Work it in to towel dried hair, blow dry as normal and have a great hair day until your next shampoo. I don’t know what kind of science / voodoo / magic causes this to work but it does.
The Make-Up
I feel like my monthly make-up purchases could become a whole post in itself so I’ll try and limit this to the products I reach for on a daily basis. I’ve been on a quest to get super glowy skin sans glitter. I’m talking about that lit-from-within glow that gives other people skin envy. A recent discovery in this quest is NIOD’s Photography Fluid. Not something for cleaning your camera with but rather a magical cream that’s basically an Instagram filter for your face. RMS Living Luminizer is another glow giver that I’ve been reaching for on the daily.
I really don’t know why I didn’t buy this sooner. Ok so it’s £30 for a teeny tiny pot but you only need to use a teeny tiny bit. It’s contains about 4 ingredients, all organic so it should work for all skin types. If the pot was big enough, I’d literally stick my whole face in it. I love it that much.
I don’t really wear foundation on a daily basis, preferring to use concealer as and when I need it. I bought Antipodes Mineral Foundation on a whim and so far I’m really liking it. It’s light, so light that it doesn’t feel like you’re wearing anything at all. I wear the shade Light Pink and it very much makes a difference to my overall complexion.
I’ve waxed lyrical about Max Factor’s False Lash Effect Mascara many a time in the comments on this here blog. If you are looking for length and volume minus the clumpy bits, this is your guy.
I like to sweep on some Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush in Ethereal Glow to add some life to my face. If I need a lot of life adding, I opt for Tom Ford in Flush. I run some Anastasia Brow Wiz in Taupe through my non-existent eyebrows and add a bit of definition to my eyes by lining with Tom Ford’s Eye Defining Pen. It has a thin brush on one end and a thick brush on the other making winged eyeliner a doddle.
I finish with MUA Sweet Sheen Lip Balm in Coral Reef on my lips (which will set you back the princely sum of £2!) and it’s job done.
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Love make up and skin care posts – just a thought though, could we have pics of before/after so you get a better idea of how the products “look”?
Thanks Emma, before and afters are definitely on our wish-list for Charlotte’s usual beauty posts. Agree it helps to see the results – I want this shampoo after seeing Lynsey’s lovely locks! x
I love a good before / after but I don’t think the Internet is ready to see me sans make-up just yet!!
Haha, to be fair I’m the same – I think just an after shot would still be good though. And will definitely check out the shampoo
You really should. A tube lasts for ages because you only use it every other wash and I’ve found nothing that comes close to removing product build-up the way this stuff does!
LYNSEY!!! What are you doing to me woman? I now need at least the Alpha-H Liquid Gold and the Style Extender Spray by Living Proof and possibly the Phyto Phytoneutre Clarifying Detox Shampoo (if only because it’s French!). We seem to be beauty product twins already (the RMS Luminizer and Tom Ford for a start!) so I have a feeling I’m going to like the beauty recommendations in this post!
We soooooo are. Although I doubt you’re as much of a minger as me when it comes to washing your luscious locks. It just takes SO. MUCH. EFFORT.
Everyone needs Alpha-H Liquid Gold in their life, fact. It’s AMAZING, but yes you’re right Lynsey it does tingle which can be a bit off-putting at first, and not for the super-sensitives.
The Hourglass blush looks gorgeous…good job I got paid last week! Thank you for the recommendations 🙂
Katie xx
A fellow Liquid Gold lover! ❤️
I sometimes buy it from QVC of all places – they have been known to do great deals on the bigger bottles.
Cult Beauty is doing 2 for 1 on Alpha H Liquid Gold at the moment and it has “accidentally” made it into my basket together with the RMS luminizer! 🙂
Oh really? I probably NEED a couple of back-up’s right?
You will love the RMS Living Luminizer. It’s so good. @Lolly is also a big fan!
Kat – I missed this! There’s a waitlist now!!
Marks and Spencer’s sell a 200 ml bottle for £40!
Now you tell me Emily – I’ve purchased a single 100ml bottle now 🙁
Another fan of the RMS Living Luminizer here!
It’s so good isn’t it Sarah!
Thanks Lynsey, really tempted by a lot of these products now! I may schedule in a bit of beauty shopping…
A less tingly product for the face (which I have found amazing for cleansing) is Emma Hardie’s Moringa Cleansing Balm. It comes with its own cleansing cloth. At first you think “how on earth is this going to clean my face?” but it is actually magic and takes makeup off so easily! Really gentle on your face and a little bit goes a long way 🙂
http://www.emmahardie.com/product.php/32/0/moringa_cleansing_balm_with_cleansing_cloth
I’ve heard Caroline Hirons mention this on her blog a few times but I haven’t been convinced enough to purchase… yet! Do you find it leaves your face greasy at all?
I love Ponds Cold Cream and a warm flannel for cleansing, for such an affordable product it feels so rich and luxurious. And I read that Kylie swears by it, if it’s good enough for Kylie…..
YES! I often resort back to good old Ponds Cold Cream. I love the smell ?
Loved reading this – its so nice to hear from people you read comments from so regularly. Lynsey I feel like I need to sit down for the evening with a bit list of new amazing things to look at/ buy … but also I have total hair envy. I need to copy what you do… it looks so long AND so healthy. I just chopped too much of my hair off – it was in dreadful condition and I’d like to grow yours instead please.
Awe thanks Amanda! I constantly toy with the idea of chopping it all off into a long bob but I have the fear! It takes soooo long to grow.
This will sound like me trying to excuse being a minger but I genuinely think my hair has got healthier since I stopped washing it so much. I used to wash it every other day which meant blow drying / hot tools every other day (air drying isn’t an option because there is so much of it!). It also used to be very blonde but I’ve started to darken it recently: dark hair = shine = the illusion of healthy hair! ??
Agree with you completely on that. I’ve recently switched to using a lush shampoo bar and hardly any/ no conditioner and can go so much longer between washes and it looks so much better than when its covered in all the spendy products I used to use.
Me and my friend at work have both recenly chopped off our super long hair and both really regret it. It feels like such an achievement to have grown it for that long. We’ve promised we wont let each other ever get haircuts again! Ahh I am always switching between blond and brown too… and fringe/no fringe. I’m basically the most indecisive hair person ever.
Whenever I get more than the usual cut off, I always regret it. Goodness knows what I’d be like if I actually had it cut short!
Great to hear you like our reader features Amanda. We’ll try to plan more in for the future x
I’m so sorry to be hijacking this post but I just had to share this wrapping paper with RMS! – flamingos AND pineapples! 🙂
http://www.johnlewis.com/john-lewis-flamingo-wrapping-paper/p2275345
ps. definitely going to try the Style Extender and the Brow Wiz (just a bit worried about picking the right colour)…thanks for the fab recommendations x
That is fab wrapping paper ???
I usually find brow products have a warm tone that can look a bit false. I went for the Brow Wiz in Taupe because it’s quite ashy. If you can match your tone, I wouldn’t worry about it being too dark – it’s a waxy crayon so a light hand gives a hint of definition but it’s totally buildable if you’re a fan of the Cara Delevigne look!
The paper is all sorts of amazing Sarah!
Brilliant Lynsey!
I think I need the Living Proof spray. Desperado. Being a not-so-natural blonde, my hair sucks up dirt/smells/passing small mammals like a sponge. I’d wash it every day but then it just ends up snapping so I need something like this to keep it fresh.
Great post lovely and some ace recommendations xxx
I hear you love, I do! If you try it, let me know how you get on. I have the spray version for fine hair but I hear the cream is equally as good.
Will definitely give it a shot. Thanks love xx
Bit late to the party but as a recently returned to work mama the living proof spray sounds like just what I need. Seeing as I HAD to do a click and collect order for my little one anyway it happened to jump into the basket too, a little Mother’s Day gift to myself haha. Testing it out this morning!
Hope it works for you Debs, I’ve definitely noticed a difference!