Top Five: In Flight Essentials

As Summer rapidly approaches, thoughts are turning into dreams of distant shores and holidays. Sadly I won't be leaving the UK this summer however my easter trip to Sardinia inspired me to put together something that will hopefully help put pay to those long distance travel woes...

Top 5: Non-Toxic Gym Essentials

Resolutions (not mine). Drink less; eat better; take up origami; clean the car once a week; get healthy; be tidier; get more sleep.... The list goes on...

Getting to the gym surely must rank top of the New Years Resolutions poll every single year. The number of people who resolve to get back into shape on January 1st is probably unquantifiable. Over two months on and how many of those people are still there? I wonder...

Top Five: Winter Holiday Essentials

With the holiday season nearly upon us, some of you may be lucky enough to be jetting off to celebrate the festivities boarding down the slopes of Whistler, watching the Northern Lights over Reykjavik or snowshoeing in the fells of Lapland (I quite fancy all of these actually...).

Healing Balm

The drawer in which I store my spare lotions and potions is full to the brim (although typically not with anything I need when I actually need it!) and one of its main inhabitants is an extensive collection of multipurpose, intensive substances that are designed for caring for those irritating little dry bits.

Lavender Blues

A few months ago I went on a little bit of a hand sanitizer frenzy (don't ask) and purchased every organic and natural version that I could find and hadn't already tried. Some I liked, some I inevitably didn't. This is one hand sanitizer that was a success - mostly.

Top Five: Products of 2013

One of the best things for me about writing about beauty products is the way that I have to really look at a product. Rather than just appreciating a product for its colour or finish, I mull over every aspect of it; from the packaging and production to the texture and scent. When you are analysing a product in such detail, it does make you think and putting all those thoughts down in a non-rambling kind of way can be tough.

I have been lucky enough to come across some amazing products over the past twelve months and to round off the year, I thought I would take a little time to reflect upon some of these marvels and pick out my favourites.

Kitted out

Kitted Out (Kit.ted out)

vb

1. (tr, adverb) Chiefly Brit to provide with (a kit of personal effects and necessities)

2. (Clothing & Fashion) to provide with (an outfit of clothes)

A few months ago I wrote about the EMJ Company Pencil Roll (a very handy piece of kit I can assure you) and wanted to share another more recent purchase from this beautiful collection...

Love: Hurraw spf lip balm

During my recent holiday temperatures were nearing 40 degrees Centigrade (super hot as far as I am concerned!) so sun protection was a must! I have been loving using the Hurraw SPF Sun Balm to protect my lips.

My Holiday Bag

I am off on holiday! I'm vey excited as its been a couple of years since I've been out of the country - the longest non-holidaying time in a while. This year is a little different as it is the first year of travelling with a young child and as I will be flying without a second pair of hands to help baby wrangle, push the pushchair and carry luggage, packing very light is a must!

I thought I'd share with you some images of the skin and make-up essentials I will be taking on my trip...

Mud, Mud, Glorious Mud!

Rain, tents, mud, porta-loos, brief sunny interlude, wellies, glow sticks, more rain...

See where I'm going with this? Yep, it's festival time again.

London Goats

Brush cleaning takes up a lot of my time. I currently have in excess of ummm... (whispers) 200 make-up brushes and although I don't use all of them at once (obviously) they do need cleaning between make-ups.

I love my brushes, however with all that cleaning I'm always looking for new and better ways to clean them - If nothing else it makes it a little more exciting for me!

Chamomile Tea

Facial wipes are such an easy way to remove make-up. A couple of goes over the face and even the heaviest make-up is usually gone, negating the need for many of the bottles and jars of cleansing products that take up space in and weigh a kit down. Quick and convenient, I tend to find that facial wipes are particularly popular with the male artists and presenters I work with - well who wants to hang around after a long day on set!?

Blotting Paper

As a Make-up Artist one issue that you are constantly battling on set is shine. Powder and mattifying products are part of every kit, but many mattifiers don't work well when applied over existing make-up and applying layer upon layer of powder will simply clog up the skin and looks terrible on High Definition. So what do you do?

All Consuming

As I have said before, on the whole, being a Make-up Artist is neither the most ethical or ecologically sound profession. Setting aside everything with regards to toxic ingredients in products, the animal testing debates and brand ownership issues (to name but a few), Make-up Artistry is just not green.

Organic Christmas Calendar: 5th December

Keep 'Em Clean: No Germs

No Germs Instant Hand Santiser

Fast acting No Germs Instant kills 99.9% of all germs in under 15 seconds! (I haven't actually timed this however..)

Keep 'Em Clean: Bentley Organic

Bentley Organic Moisturising Hand Sanitizer

Soil Association certified, Bentley Organic Hand Sanitizer is an antibacterial foaming mousse that kills 99.9% of germs and has been rigorously tested against both viruses and bacterias. 

Bentley Hand Sanitiser

Unscented, it is free from alcohol and parabens and contains moisturising Aloe Vera so is very gentle on your skin - ideal when moving from one artist to another on set means repeated use!

Available in a 50ml pump bottle, you get approximately 125 applications per bottle. I have used Bentley Sanitizer for a while and would say that 2 pumps is adequate to give you good clean hands with no residue or stickiness.

Prices do vary, but it is usually around £3.00.

www.Bentleyorganic.com

Available in the UK from (amongst others) good health food stores

Bentley Organics Ingredients:

(*Denotes certified organic ingredients)

Aqua (water), Clycerin, Aloe Barbedensis Leaf Juice Powder*, Lauryl Betaine, Lactic Acid, Citrus Grandis (Grapefruit) Seed Extract,  Citrus Aurantium (Grapefruit) Bergamia (Bergamot) Fruit Extract, Citrus Tangerina (Tangerine) Extract, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis (Organge) Fruit Extract, Potassium Sorbate

Keep 'Em Clean!

High standards of hygiene is essential for any Make-up Artist and I always keep an anti-bacterial hand spray (anti-bacs, as I generally refer to them) in my kit - both onset and in the make-up room. Hand sanitisers really have become a must-have product for many of us, but many traditional high street brands contain all manner of nasties, thankfully there are some organic alternatives out there.