Category Archives: eye care

Home Made Gentle Eye Make-up Remover

Posted in beauty, eye care, lifestyle, Make-up, Rosewater, Scent, Skin Care, Wellbeing by

DIY Eye Make-up Remover

This is a quick and simple recipe for making your own gentle eye make-up remover.

All you need is some good quality oil, Rosewater and Glycerin.

Make it in small batches as the ingredients are all natural and there is no preservative so it is best to make it fresh every few days, 50ml should last between 3-4 days if you plan on using it every morning and night.

Ingredients:

20ml Rosewater

20ml Jojoba oil

10ml Vegetable Glycerin

How to make:

Pour the Rosewater, Jojoba Oil and the Glyercin in a small bottle. Shake vigorously to combine the ingredients. This recipe is very similar to the home made Micella Water recipe which I wrote about a while ago. You can see the post by clicking this link.

As you can see from the test below, I applied a very dark colour pallet of eye shadow, eye liner and mascara and used the home made version on one eye lid and compared this to the Clinique Eye Make-up remover that I occassionnally use.

Home Made Eye Make-up remover test

I was surprised as the Clinqiue remover was good, I’ve always used this as it’s non-scented and wipes away Make-up with only a couple of swipes. But the home-made version took off much more make-up with just one swipe. Result!

Better still is that it cost considerably less and smells lovely because of the Rosewater.

I’ve been using Rosewater for many years now and I don’t think there is anything better than this gorgeous smelling scented liquid.

Sunday Spa Feature – Anti Aging Eye Serum

Posted in beauty, eye care, Skin Care, Skincare, Sunday Spa Feature, Uncategorized, Wellbeing by

It started to snow today, little fluffy flakes which made the air feel very cold. While I love snow, my face, particularly my eyes don’t.

This homemade Anti-aging eye serum is more like a gel than a serum. That’s because it’s full of the goodness of Rosehip oil.

Rosehip Oil is packed full of antioxidants, is super moisturising and is considered a “dry oil” meaning that it’s quickly absorbed by the skin. It heals scars, is great for pigmented skin and is a great all-round moisturiser for your skin.

Combine this with the calming benefits of Chamomile and the delicate scent of Jasmine, with the antioxidants from Green Tea to prevent dark circles, this nightly eye serum has kept my delicate under eye area nourished, and in spite of the cold weather, the area under my eyes feel soft and replenished.

To make this eye gel is very simple.

In a pan, put a jug in simmering hot water.

(makes 30ml)

Add your ingredients:

3 ml of Bees Wax

20ml of Rosehip Oil

7ml of Shea Butter

Wait until melted.

Now add some Green Tea (I’ve used a Green Tea bag and simply sprinkled this into the mixture to infuse the green tea into the oil.

Add one drop of Chamomile and Jasmine to the mixture

Leave to simmer for 5 minutes and then strain the mixture  through a fine sieve into a small container or jar.

Leave to cool.

The beeswax should emulsify and hold the Rosehip and Shea butter together in a gel-like consistency.

I tend to use this at night just before bed so that all the goodness of the rich serum works overnight. Just tap a very small amount onto the skin under your eye, being careful not to get any into your eyes.

Summer Party and 10 tips for stay put make up

Posted in beauty, Chanel, eye care, Foundation, Health & Wellness, Make-up, Skincare by
Summer Heat Proof Make-up tips

Summer Heat Proof Make-up Tips

Although this post is not particularly about scent, I feel it might be helpful now that we are in high summer, to share 10 beauty tips I’ve learned over the years.

The company that I work for decided to throw a summer party this year in celebration of it’s 150th year anniversary, it also happened to be on my birthday.

While everything was being prepared, what we hadn’t accounted for, was that the date scheduled for the party happened to be the hottest day of the year.

Since I was determined to enjoy myself without having to worry about  makeup sliding off my face, I applied every tactic I’ve learnt to keep my make-up intact and ready for the party.

Some years ago, I had a number of make-up lessons for my wedding from various make-up artists from various brands. What I learnt about wedding make-up was that it needed to be flawless, fade resistant and take you from day into evening with the minimum of touch-ups.

Here’s the 10 tips I’ve learned for stay-put make up:

1) A good Oil Free Moisturiser: Before applying make-up, and after you have cleaned, toned your face, the moisturiser should be oil free and best quality you can afford as this would protect and act as the base for any primer and foundation.

No7 Beautifully Matt Make Up Base

No7 Beautifully Matt Make Up Base

Chanel’s Makeup artist’s tip on applying makeup was to let the moisturiser sink into the skin before applying a primer or base.

2) Mattifying primer/base: To maintain a shine free complexion, apply a mattifying base over the t-zone area or whole face. The one I have discovered recently which works very well at keeping my face shine free is from Boots No7 Beautifully Matte Make-up Base.

3) Oil Free Foundation with high SPF: Leave the primer to settle for just a little while before applying any foundation. The one that I am currently using is the CC Cream from Clinique as the oil free formula, combined with the SPF30 is a great way to have coverage whilst keeping everything looking natural during the day. As soon as I finish this however, I am going to try the Chanel Vitalumière Acqua that I discovered on Ravishing Roses’ blog here. and use it along with Clinique’s oil free Super City Block SPF 40 that I use alone at the weekends.

4) Concealer for eyes: Apply a primer over the eyelid area, this will prevent eyeshadow from creasing and blur any wrinkles. I always use a base for my eyes – Clinique’s All About Eyes concealer, which I find works great as a concealer and primer in one.

5) Set with Powder: Applying a light dusting of powder will set and help make-up last longer in heat and humidity – the one I’m using is Clinique’s Blended Face Powder, Transparency 3.

Clinique Transparency 3 face powder with CC Cream and Foundation

Clinique Face Powder, CC Cream & Foundation

Over the years I have tried many face powders, but this one is the one I keep returning to. It is mineral based and natural looking, you forget that you’re wearing it and is also long lasting.

6) Use good quality products for eyes:  The tip from my make up lesson from Chanel was to use a tiny bit of water to mix in with the eyeshadow to create a more intense look, it will also last longer. You can use it even as an eye liner, with the darkest shade in the eye shadow palette.To line the eyes, I used Bourjois Khol and Contour eye pencil in a dark grey, I find this is a good quality pencil and easy to blend. I took the Bourjois Smoky eye trio in Gris Party a very dark instense grey pallet to use for the party.

Kanebo Sensai 38°C Mascara

Kanebo Sensai 38°C Mascara

7) Smudge free mascara: To compete the eye make-up, the mascara that I use is Kanebo Sensai 38°C in black, this stays put in any heat. As it is smudge proof and suitable for contact wearers, it’s helped me avoid the dreaded panda eyes. Best of all it only comes off with warm water that is over 38 degrees. I have been known to bulk buy this so that I do not run out. You can now order this online through Harrods website. I have also discovered that Clinique has a similar product called Lash Power Mascara Long Wearing Formula which I’ve not tried yet so can’t tell you if it stays put as well as Kanebo’s.

8) Lip line the whole of your lips: The final tip from the make-up artists, was to use a lip-liner, a natural shade close to your own lip colour and fill in the entire lip, that way you don’t get the circle of colour around the mouth.

9) Long lasting lipstick: My all time favourite lipstick is Chanel’s Rogue Coco in Légende which has a slightly blue tone and is a perfect match to my lip colour, it adds a slight iridescence and I love the subtle scent of rose.

It tends to last and last so I never really have to remember to re-apply more than one or two times in a day. Although it’s pricey, I find it lasts 2-3 times longer than budget brands and that means for me, better value and a little bit of luxury that makes me smile.

For the evening, I chose Revlon’s Super lustrous lipstick in Revlon Red 730, which is a vintage red, that suits any skin tone. This is also a great quality moisturising lipstick which has very dense pigment is also very long lasting.

10) Use blotting paper or loose fine powder: Finally, I have always kept blotting paper in my bag for the occasional touch-ups. My favourite is the little booklet of Lehacresor Papier Poudre which is now only available to buy online. Since I had run out of this, I took the Bourjois Java Rice Powder that I use occasionally as

Bourjois Java Rice Powder

Bourjois Java Rice Powder

a subtle highligter for days when I think my skin needs help.

This powder looks like powdered mother of pearl. Although it is a soft delicate pale creamy pink, it is very fine and is translucent with a lovely light rosy fragrance which as you apply wafts around you, making the air feel soft and fragrant. I love the retro packaging.

By the time of the party, the office had literally melted in the heat, we had a power outage in the morning which meant most of the building had been without power and with it no air conditioning or fans to keep everyone cool.

I gave up on any idea of taking off the day-time makeup and re-applying fresh make-up for the party. Instead, I opted to dust the Bourjois powder over my face to revive my skin.

As the heat of the sun begun to fade, the open roof-top terrace was transformed into the maritime themed party, complete with a bar in the shape of a ship’s deck serving cocktails. The humidity and heat was forgotten as everyone turned up in fancy dress and partied on the lawn. I slipped away to get home early enough, just in time to unwrap a few of the birthday presents my kids had made for me before their bed-time.

Cucumber, Witch Hazel and Rosewater Eye Mask, a delight for sore eyes

Posted in beauty, eye care, Skincare by
Cucumber, Witch Hazel and Rosewater Eye Mask

Cucumber, Witch Hazel and Rosewater Eye Mask

I’ve not written a post for a few days, quite honestly this is because there have been a few late nights, combined with the summer heat, contact lenses and staring at a computer screen, my eyes feel sore. I mean really sore, the kind that feels as if you have sharp sandpaper in your eyes and are on fire.

By the time I got home last night, I needed something to help soothe my eyes. I’ve used cucumber slices before and they do help, but I needed something that would be potent and act quickly to relieve the sore tight feeling in my eyes.

I thought about this on the commute all the way home and I decided the best way to get results would be to mash up cucumber slices so that all the juice from both the flesh and the skin could be used.

I had recently purchased a bottle of Witch Hazel to try and make a Rosewater and Witch Hazel toner that was featured in Janis Natural’s blog. She’s got some great tips about natural beauty.

This was a good combination I thought. Witch Hazel is a natural astringent and is good for helping to soothe bruised skin. (It lists this as one of it’s many uses for Witch Hazel on the bottle I bought) Cucumber has lots of health benefits that is widely known and written about.

So here’s what I made:

Cut 4 thin slices of cucumber and chopped them up thinly. In a pestle and mortar, I mashed the cucumber up as much as I could.

Sliced Cucumber

Sliced Cucumber

Into the mortar a poured some Witch Hazel and added some Rosewater.

I combined this with the cucumber and let it sit until the cucumber, witch hazel and rosewater had infused and mixed with one another. I poured this mix into a small bowl over a small sieve so that all the solid bits of cucumber were removed. The remaining liquid was a lovely cool green colour and had a lovely cucumber scent.

Cucumber with Witch Hazel & Rosewater liquid

Sieved Cucumber, Witch Hazel and Rosewater

Using a couple of cotton wool pads I dipped them into the mix and squeezed out the liquid so it would not drip into my eyes.

I put these pads over my eyes once I’d removed my make-up and contact lenses and let them do their work for about 10 minutes – basically, I was so tired yesterday, I fell asleep in my daughter’s bedroom with the pads on my eyes as they were so lovely and cool.

When I awoke, my sore eyes felt much, much better.

There’s enough mix for a couple of days. Which is about right as I don’t think it can keep any longer than this, as it’s the freshness of the cucumber that I think makes it so powerful at combating sore and puffy eyes.

Do let me know, if you have a remedy for tired sore eyes, I’d love to find out about other ways to help de-puff sore eyes.

(BTW apologies for the slightly blurry, wonky photo in this post – I didn’t have my glasses or contact lenses in, which means I was as blind as a bat, when I took the picture.)