Mario Badescu Silver Powder

What it's For: Blackheads

What it claims: To unclog congested pores

Key Ingredients: Kaolin & Zinc

Price: £13 - 29ml

The main ingredients in this are Kaolin which is basically clay which draws out impurities, and Zinc which is know for wound healing and is an astringent.

You apply this sort of like a face mask. Take a cotton wool pad or ball, dampen it, and then dip it into the white powder and quickly pat onto the skin on the troubled areas. Leave for 10 minutes and then it says to “wipe” off but I found you first need to lean over the sink and crumble the top layer off. There is a chalky white substance left over which can be wiped off.

I used this on a small cyst, even though I know it is essentially for blackheads. It was one of the first products I purchased, so thought why not, and it did actually do a very good job of reducing the size of the blemish.

Do make sure you don’t move your chin, or whatever part of your face you apply it to, for the 10 minutes, otherwise you may ruin your clothes and furniture as it comes off very easily. It sets almost immediately on contact with the skin.

There is no smell, and no particular feeling on the skin, i.e. no tingling or stinging, just a tightness from the product drying.

This is a 29ml pot and you to need to use quite a lot to cover a small area as if you don’t do it thick enough, it goes a bit patchy, so I would guesstimate that it would last between 10 to 20 uses if putting it say on your nose and chin area. That works out at between 65p and £1.30 per session, which is pretty reasonable I’d say.

It’s even better value if you buy the “Say Hello to clear skin” kit from Harvey Nichols which includes the 20ml Silver powder, the drying lotion, and the drying cream.

For a cheaper alternative to this, most face masks have some form of Clay in them, and a lot of them in the form of Kaolin. Sudocrem has Zinc in it, but I couldn't find another product that had both Zinc and Kaolin in it.

The best “dupe” product I would personally choose is “Boots Botanics Shine Away Ionic Clay Mask” which has clay and some other useful ingredients in, such as willow bark extract which is also good at unblocking pores. This costs £5.49 for 100ml. Half the price of the Silver Powder, with 3 times the product, but I think you’d use more of this and I think it would probably last about 10 or so uses.

Will I repurchase the Silver Powder? I think probably yes, but not individually, I’d wait until I ran out of the drying cream and lotion and buy the set again.

Next review, Mario Badescu Anti Acne Serum…….. (See previous Blog for Introduction)

Mario Badescu Acne Treatment Products – Introduction

It can’t be only me that was totally confused by the amount of products Mario Badescu has for Acne. Why are there so many? Which ones do I need? How do I use them and when? All questions I wanted to find the answer to because having used just one product (the drying lotion) with success, I was addicted, and wanted to see if the range of products combined were the miracle I was looking for.

I have Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, which in some people causes facial hair, others fertility problems, others bad skin, and still others weight problems. For me, its weight problems and bad skin ranging from having clear skin for months to having 4 or 5 major painful cysts on my face and body at any one time. I have tried every ingredient I believe possible other than the serious ones such as Roaccutane. I’ve tried Niacinimide (in things like Freederm), Salicylic Acid (in Proactiv), Benzoyl Peroxide (Oxy 5), Retinoids (Avene triacneal), you get the drift!

Most of the products I’ve tried have done nothing more than dry out my skin and cost me money. I came across a product called “Bye Bye Blemish” whilst watching some beauty You Tube videos and since there was a rave review of it from someone who had also tried many other things, I knew I had to get my hands on it. I promptly ordered it on EBay from the USA and patiently waited for its arrival.

It arrived and as chance would have it, I had an annoying and painful lump on my chin that made me want to cancel my weekend plans. I did as the bottle said and did not shake it but let it settle and then after my evening cleansing routine, I dipped a cotton bud into the bottom of the bottle to get at the pink sediment, and slathered the offending blemish with it.

It took only a minute or so to dry, felt instantly calming and minty, and so far I was happy. There was an ever so slight stinging which gave me comfort that something was happening and I proceeded to bed hoping to wake up with a peachy blemish free face. (Ok, so I wasn’t THAT optimistic but I had high hopes).

I noticed through the night that I did get a faint odour of Sulphur now and then, but I have to admit that I don’t find the smell that offensive. Since I also don’t mind the smell of eggs (which my husband can’t stand), I perhaps shouldn’t be surprised. Anyway, when I woke up, I found that the blemish had definitely reduced in size and I was delighted. Social plans no longer required to be cancelled, I came out of my sulk, and obsessed with putting on the oh so sweet pinkness whenever I could :0)

A few days later I noticed that perhaps I had gone overboard, as my skin was rather red!

Anyway, bye bye blemish, I later found out, is exactly the same as Mario Badescu Drying Lotion, and that led me to notice that Mario Badescu has many different Acne treatments. This is Part 1 of my hopefully useful ramble about the products, and is just an introduction to the name and to give you some hope that there may be some products out there for troubled skin that you haven’t tried.

I will then do a blog post on each individual product detailing what they feel like on the skin, how much they cost, the main ingredients etc (will be a long one!), what effect I have seen if any, any cheaper alternatives, and finally I will do a post “Your personal prescription” which is what I believe would be the best plan for you depending on your particular skin issue.

1^st Review – Mario Badescu Silver Powder……

Nail studs

How funky are these? I love em I do :0) I got them from Ebay for £1.89 including postage.

They arrived yesterday and I was a bit alarmed when I saw how tiny they were and I wasn't sure I’d be able to master getting them on my nails – I don’t have the steadiest of hands. I’m so impatient to try new stuff, and these were no exception but as luck would have it, I had one odd coloured nail, so I decided to try the studs out on this one nail on each hand.

My plan was to use nail glue and put a tiny blob on the plastic that the nail studs had been in and then use tweezers to pick up the studs, dip them in the glue then onto my nail. This plan was promptly scuppered when I realized my glue had dried up. Not to be prevented from trying exciting new stuff, I decided that I’d try it with nail varnish.

I took out the 12 studs I thought I’d need, and another 4 to allow for dropping and/or mistakes. I laid them out on a piece of paper and turned them the right way up with the tweezers. I quickly found that my normal tweezers were useless but the ones for ingrown hairs that are really pointy were perfect (not overjoyed at that as they are expensive ones but hey ho, see my previous comment about being inpatient – am going to buy some cheaper ones from Boots!).

I then put a layer of top coat on – I used the Rimmel top coat, and I quickly placed the 6 studs, and moved them gently into alignment. I waited for about 2 minutes, then added a top coat of Seche Vite, which is my holy grail top coat that is thick and dries super quick but smells oh so strong so don’t use it if you have a headache. I waited another 2 minutes, and applied another coat of Seche Vite, and hey presto, this is the result. I thought they might feel a bit fragile, as if they’d come off, but not at all and I think nail varnish is what I’ll use going forward.

Yippee, new nail toys he he. They also come in silver.

Any other nail adornments I should try?

Vita Liberata Gradual Tan & Vita Liberata Untinted self tan

I had high hopes for these tans after using the gradual tan on my face and the untinted self tan on my legs. They both had the same plus points – dried really quickly, no scent at all, and they both developed into a lovely tan, albeit ever so slightly orange.

That is, unfortunately, where the good stuff ends. I noticed that my skin felt dry - there is no moisturisation at all from the lotions, but worse than that, one day later I had extreme patchiness all over my neck and feet. Not a good look, very far away from the Bronzed Goddess image I had in mind!

Thank goodness I have my wonderful La Roche Posay tan for face to fall back on. For my legs, I think I can still squeeze out a few more doses of tan from my Marks & Spencer tan that is now discontinued, and unless I find something better, I’ll be going back to Utan gradual tan for my legs.

If you want to hear more about self tanners, check out my You Tube video here:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=HibTwERIyOk 

James Read Gradual Tan Medium and Liquid Tan Light

 

I love my fake tan + I’m very pale = I need to be really careful I don’t look orange or strange when using the sunless stuff! Faking a tan has been a hobby of mine since being 14 years old and working a Saturday job in the local pharmacy. I took home many goodies each week, spending almost all of my earnings of course, and one of my favourites to spend on was the Garnier self tan. Things have come a long way since then, but one thing that hasn’t changed it seems, is me being willing to spend a lot of money on the brown stuff.

I would say that I have most likely tried at least 50% of fake tans on the market, if not more, and if a new one comes out tomorrow, I’m there :0) James Read have been on my list to try for some time, but they are definitely at the higher end what I’m prepared to spend on any one product, but the reviews were just so good, I finally went for it.

James Read Gradual Tan in Medium

This comes in at £18 which wouldn’t be too bad for a large bottle, but for 50ml is pretty darn steep so I expected wonderful things from it. Did I get them? Easy to apply, tick. Colour you can see, tick. Non greasy but still moisturising, tick. That’s pretty much where it ends for me in the plus column.

The colour on me is orangey, and I’m really surprised as I’ve read so many reviews saying the opposite. It may just be my mutant ginger gene he he, cause I know when I put a hair dye on, regardless of the colour I choose, it just goes a different shade of red! That said, I’ve certainly used many tans that don’t go orange, so I guess it’s just not a good fit for me and James Read gradual tan.

Orangeness aside, this broke me out spots, was too dark in my opinion for a gradual tan, and faded streaky. Next.

James Read Liquid Tan in Light

This is £24.50 for a 250ml bottle, much better value than the gradual tan for face. This is almost identical to St Tropez liquid, with the differences being that this is slightly lighter in consistency and doesn’t seem to cling to blemishes as much as the St Tropez one does.

I actually found this harder to apply on my face and neck than I do St Tropez, but granted it’s not actually for the face. It was streaky, particular on my neck, but thankfully it wasn’t at all streaky the following day. It also seemed to pour too quickly out of the tube and there was tan everywhere.

The colour is nice once developed, but very light. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised since I bought the “light” one! I’m guessing the medium is closer to the St Tropez colour. Anyway, I didn’t love this for my face, mostly because of how hard it was to blend, but also because some of the other tans I have produce a colour that I feel is more “me”. That said, I used it on my legs and was pleasantly surprised at how natural it looked, and how unstreaky it was on feet which are usually a problem area in that respect.

Next review on Vita Liberata Warm Silken Sun 200ml (gradual tan) and Vita Liberata Deep Silken Touch: Body (untinted self tan) which I’ll be trying out this weekend. Bronzed Goddess, that’ll be me :0)

Mascara Review – NYC, MAC, Chanel, Christian Dior, Laura Mercier

Before & After - my left eye is NYC Skyrise, and my right eye is Christion Dior New Look

I feel like I always begin any review with “I’m really fussy about…..” and I’m going to say the same about mascaras! I’ve got so many requirements of the little tubes of loveliness, including but not limited to: stays on for 12 hours without specks of it appearing under my eyes at anytime, not waterproof but doesn’t run if I cry or get caught in the rain, lengthens & separates but is not clumpy, and finally, does all the aforementioned without making my eyelashes feel crispy. Phew, no pressure makeup giants. Oh, and if it comes off with water and a flannel, bonus points!

I usually find that a thin or small brush is the best for separating lashes, so all the mascaras listed below are of that flavour. I’m now however in a quandary since as I age I have found that my eyelashes are becoming sparse, and this in turn means I need to add “volumizing” to my list of requirements. Does such a wonder product exist?

Here are a few of my favourites:

Laura Mercier Long Lash – I didn’t think this would be a great hit with me when I saw the size of the brush (not small or thin, but “normal” sized!). I was pleasantly surprised however, as it does separate well, stays on well although not cry proof, and doesn’t create the dreaded crispy eyelashes. It came off easily in the shower with just water too. Love that. The downside to this mascara is it’s pricey at £20 considering it dries out very quickly.

 

Chanel Inmitable – another “normal” size brush but this one has the plastic bristle type of brush, which in general I’m still undecided about. It’s a lovely not too wet not too dry consistency but only after using it a few times. Do you know what I mean, when you find mascara that gets better with age, but then doesn’t last long as it gets too dry? This is that very fella. It stays on well, and there is only a forgivable very light crisping up of the lashes, but again it’s expensive at £24. This claims to also give volume but I can’t say I’ve noticed that.

 

NYC Skyrise lengthening – this was a fantastic find for only £2.49 from Superdrug and when I put it on, it was an instant winner. I love the smallish traditional brush and the consistency was perfect. It really felt like I had lengthened my eyelashes without too much effort. It lasted all day, my lashes still felt flexible and not dry, so it was in edge of becoming a Holy Grail product. The worry I have is that with that first use, I also wanted to try my Christian Dior mascara (below) and being impatient I decided to put the NYC on one eye, and the CD on the other. On the eye with NYC, I had itching and mild soreness for most of the morning. Being of the female variety, I did not let that stop me trying again and the following day I tried it on both eyes and had no reaction at all. The third day, I had some itching. I’m still not sure if it was this mascara causing a reaction, but it does seem quite a coincidence when I put it on one eye, so it’s something to watch out for if you buy it.

 

Christian Dior New Look  - Yay, a mascara with my kind of brush, i.e. tiny! It’s so cute! It’s plastic, and tapered, and apparently full of new technology and it certainly looks like there is a lot going on with the “multidimensional” bristles. A Lash Multiplier serum treatment is supposed to help thicken your lashes, and on first use, I think I’m in love, oh yeah. You need no more than one coat of this beauty, and you are set to go – thicker longer lashes. £23 puts it on a par with Chanel and Laura Mercier, so I’m just hoping that this doesn’t quickly dry out as they did. This is going to be my “in a rush” or “special night out” mascara :0)

 

MAC Extended Play – this is an old love that will always have a special place in my heart as I used it on my wedding day last October and it lasted all day long through the tears etc, and still looked great. It washes off with water, separates & lengthens wonderfully, and at £14 is not too crazy a price. The brush is a long thin one, and the packaging is small which I love. The only thing that doesn’t put it as my numero uno is that it dries out my lashes and you know how I hate that. Not only does it feel weird having brittle eyelashes, but for some reason it makes me play with them more and I end up pulling out little lashes, no wonder I’m thinning in that area eh!  

 

 

If I had to choose one of the above to repurchase? The NYC one. It does everything I need to for £2.49, bargain, and I’m hoping the sensitivity was temporary or unrelated. To be honest though, it’s highly likely I’ll be trying some new drugstore ones cause as I mentioned earlier, I now want to add in the volumizing aspect. I see another mascara review in my future :0)

What’s your favourite mascara ladies?

Favourite Perfumes

I am super super fussy when it comes to perfume, and not only that, but my husband is too, so when I find one we both like, you can guarantee it’s going to be on my dressing table for a long time!

I must admit though,  I’m now getting a bit bored of my current collection of perfume, and would love to buy a new one but just can’t seem to find one that I like and my husband doesn’t hate (I adore the new Issay Miyake Intense but my Kev thinks the Jasmine smell is “granny”!).

These are the current ones on my dressing table, starting with my favourite perfume of all time:

Alexander McQueen Kingdom

Why oh why did they discontinue this? It always happens to me! This is, in my opinion, the perfect mix of musk and sensual notes to make it a gorgeous evening wear perfume. It’s really strong (something I love, I’m not into these light perfumes as they don’t last very long on my skin) and has base notes of Oakmoss, and top notes of Mandarin & Lemon, Cumin and Rhubarb.
  

 

Dolce & Gabbana light blue

I still love this oldie but goody, but I can smell that it’s a bit outdated and quite frankly my dear I don’t give a damn :0) It’s probably the strongest smelling perfume I own and it lasts all day and beyond. It has base notes of cedar wood, and top notes of Lemon and Apple.

 

Elemis Exotic

This was a surprise find that I discovered whilst in a spa waiting room. It’s really fresh with a touch of Exotic as the name suggests. I actually purchased my small bottle from ebay for a bargain and am just about to use the last few drops. This is a nice day perfume that isn’t too overpowering and would be great layered with the body lotion.

 

 Chloe

This is my 2^nd all time favourite perfume, and is one that I would describe as powdery, if you know what I mean?! Very clean smelling (not that others smell dirty hehe). This has base notes of cedar wood & amber, and top notes of lemon and pink pepper, and can be overpowering if not sprayed lightly.

 

Armani She

A very feminine fragrance, it’s another one that has powdery scents to it and is really light but lingers all the same. It has base notes of sandalwood and Tonka bean (whatever that is!), and top notes of Mandarin and Tuberose. This is one of those fragrances that is old but classic and I just don’t think it will ever go out of fashion. They used to do a “White” version in an all white bottle but they discontinued it unfortunately. The bottle is lovely and I particular enjoy perfume that you can grab and spray, and by that I mean that it doesn’t have a separate top, the spray is embedded in the bottle. If I can’t decide which perfume I’m “in the mood” for, this is the one I reach for.

 

Narcisso Rodriquez Musc Edition

Now, this is going to sound a bit weird when I tell you that this has a slight smell of germolene. Strange I know, but I really don’t mind medical smells and I work in a hospital, so maybe that explains it! It’s quite strong when first sprayed but doesn’t last for many hours and I seem to go through phases of using this daily, then getting fed up with the scent. Definitely an acquired taste this one!

Other favourites that I don’t currently have are Chanel Chance, a really sophisticated not too strong but still with depth perfume, and Mont Blanc Presence d’une femme, another powdery feminine one that I think it only now available online.

Any suggestions for my next indulgence?