Come Rain Or Shine

Another busy couple of weeks! Being a grown-up in real life is hard! Thankfully I have my lovely Cabaret life to even things out...

A few weeks ago a group of us went to the most amazing little spot - a beach in Surrey! It's a man-made lake with a beach next to it and we spent a beautiful day sunbathing, playing in the lake and drinking champagne and cider. Absolute perfection.

 

Sun worshippers! ** Sand and Cider

Toasting the Beach while toasting on the beach

I have to admit though, it made the next couple of shows rather difficult as I caught the sun more than I expected to...

Ouch!!

However it did lead to the production of one of my favourite ever backstage photos as the team clubbed together to help cover my tan lines using fake tan, foundation, concealer, powder, talc, and whatever else came to hand...

Joe Morose and Chastity Belt *helping*

Shows have been fun and included a couple of private parties alongside the public shows. The problem when I do private events is that I always forget to take pictures, although I did get given cupcakes.

Delicious! I am the sex.

 

Mirror Pictures! With Leah Debrincat, Adama, Natalie Fish, Taz Zebrowski, Slinky Sparkles and Joe Morose! ** With Coco DuBois, Mat Ricardo, Jolie Papillon, Betsy Rose and Taz Zebrowski!

 

Selfie! With Ben Brown and Jonathan Finch! ** Mirror Picture! With Ben Brown and Missy Fatale!

Last week I was lucky enough to be able to go to the London Coliseum again to watch two of the best ballet dancers in the world *not* doing ballet! Natalia Osipova and Ivan Vasiliev have experimented with contemporary dance in 'Solo For Two' and it was wonderful!

Cutain up and curtain call!

In more banal news, I've been playing with my hair now that it's long enough to actually play with and experimenting with braids. It's fun. 

 

Two recent hairstyles

And that's that for now - I'm poorly today so I'm off to hide underneath a hoodie, drink tea and watch Disney movies. It's a patented (by me) cure-all for any sort of sickness. And wine. Wine is also good. But I don't have wine so tea will have to do for now.

Hoodie and Tea. It *is* tea. Honest.

Photoshoot - Taz Zebrowski (Behind the Scenes)

I've had a couple of shoots with Taz in the past for various things including Red's Ribbons and Proud Cabaret, but since getting his new camera, he wanted to have a proper play and try out a lot of new things.

This is one of my favourite pictures from our first photoshoot last year!

He's invested quite a bit into professional grade equipment, including backdrops, lights, soft-boxes and all sorts of bits and bobs that look good but I haven't a clue what they're called! Our living room currently looks like this though...

With the help of our friend Hayley from Clear Cut Events, Taz was able to try out lots of different things, from outdoor, natural light photography, to a basic studio set up with multiple backdrops. 

Shooting outside with Piglet getting in on the act!

Studio set-up

We weren't shooting anything specific, just playing with light, shadow and ideas: I obviously need a whole host of new pictures now I've gone back to brunette, and we both had some ideas for Film Noir, silhouettes and body-scaping shots we wanted to try. Here are some sneaky peaks of what we achieved...

 

Silhouette ** Pin-Up

Natural Light

Film Noir

We still have lots of ideas to try out, and hopefully we'll be able to throw a sort of photography party during the summer for Taz to build up a strong portfolio of work, and as an excuse to drink wine while we work!
xx

Beauty Blog

I have annoying, combination skin, so find skincare products difficult to shop for; I usually opt for products designed for sensitive skin, followed by a water-based moisturiser with aloe or camomile.

However, I'm also addicted to GlossyBox, so when an offer popped up in my inbox for a Flash Box containing luxury Darphin skincare goodies, I had to have it!

GlossyBox

List of Products

Gorgeously packaged products in a lovely little make-up bag - a girl can never have too many make-up bags!

I try and stick to a 'cleanse, tone, moisturise' regime each day, and I usually manage it about four days a week! I used these products this morning in place of my usual brand (Simple, in case you were wondering!) I liked that these products contained chamomile, as it is a key product to look out for in sensitive skin products.

Darphin: Intral - Cleansing Milk with Chamomile

I was a little surprised at the strength of the fragrance of this cleanser - it wasn't unpleasant however sensitive skin products are usually unfragranced or very lightly at least. The cream worked well and felt luxurious on my skin while removing grime (nice...)

Darphin: Intral - Toner with Chamomile

Following the richness of the cleanser, the toner felt lovely and light and removed the last traces of cream.

Darphin: Intral - Redness Relief Soothing Serum

I was quite disappointed with this product - the texture was extremely runny and I had difficulty even applying it as the consistency was more like water than serum! I also had to use quite a bit more than the recommended amount as the three pumps suggested barely covered my forehead! However once I had managed to cover my whole face, I did feel the benefit of using a serum and once I've found one I like I may incorporate it into my regular routine.

Darphin: Intral - Soothing Cream

This felt lovely and rich, and several hours later my skin still feels smooth and moisturised.

I know Darphin are a bit of a cult, or luxury brand, but I can't honestly say I noticed any difference between these products and my usual combination of Simple and Nivea! However the product size is handy for popping into my suitcase on my travels and you can never have too many beauty bits!
xx

Beauty Blog

I realised as I was writing this that it is exactly a year since my very first Glossybox Beauty Blog! Where does the time go?

Valentines GlossyBox

GlossyBox Brochure

MicaBella Cosmetics: Mineral Blush Powder

While I'm not sure about the colour of this blush, as I usually prefer a slightly pinker shade, I like the texture and slight glittery sheen. I would probably use this more for contouring than blush and for a very natural, daytime look.

MeMeMe Cosmetics: Beat The Blues

I was very excited to find this in my GlossyBox - I *love* MeMeMe! This skin illuminator works to highlight cheekbones or temples, or can be mixed with foundation for a natural glow. The texture felt quite thick, however I'm looking forward to using it as part of my regular make-up kit.

Helen E Cosmetics: Moisturising Lipstick

When I saw the colour of this lipstick in the tube, I was a little bit disappointed as it appeared quite similar to a shade I had received in a previous GlossyBox. However, once I had applied the lipstick, I was pleasantly surprised - it is much more natural and flattering than I had expected, and is actually a nice daytime shade. And yes, my lips felt nice and moisturised too.

Narciso Rodriguez: Foe Her l'eau

This is a 'first look' exclusive of a new fragrance launching this month. The blurb states that this is a 'modern and sensual fragrance' which 'forgoes the traditional citrus and blends a symphony of floral top notes with a heart of musk.' I'm never usually a fan of the fragrance samples in GlossyBox as I have my usual favourite perfume - this is slightly too musky for my personal taste, but it is a nice, sensual fragrance and lasted a long time.

Docteur Renaud: Raspberry Soft Cream

Yes, I like this a lot. The cream is formulated for dry and sensitive skin, which I have, and has hydrating properties and all natural ingredients. The cream texture was thick and luxurious so a little went a long way and it smelled divine. My skin felt instantly moisturised and still does, several hours later.

If you liked reading this Beauty Blog, why not have a look at some previous GlossyBox reviews?

Beauty Blog

Christmas Glossybox!

After being very impressed with last months items I had high hopes for this box and I wasn't disappointed.

 

Beautifully packaged Glossybox

Seche Nail Laquer: Simplicity

Coming in 33 different shades, I was slightly disappointed to receive this very light peach, almost nude colour as I usually opt for reds or dark shades. The description claims that one coat 'leaves a strong pigmented and long-lasting colour...and satin smooth application dries quickly.' I'm very sceptical of claims like this so put it to the test: 

  

One coat - maybe the other shades will cover completely, with this colour one coat was definitely not enough. However I was pleased and surprised at how quickly it did dry. 

Second coat - I noticed a lot of dragging with this coat. The colour built up nicely however I had to be a lot more careful with the application and fill in a few sections with the brush after applying a full coat.

Final Coat - Again it was quite difficult to apply neatly, there was a *lot* of dragging and it took quite some time to get even. However once it was completed I was actually pleased with the colour: it's a very neutral 'grown-up' shade, despite being completely different to my usual colour choices, and makes my hands look longer!

Sleek Make-Up: True Colour Lipstick in Candy Cane

When I saw the colour name of this lipstick I was excited as I've been looking for a nice, pale pink lipstick. However, this definitely isn't it! It's a very, very bright pink, apparently designed to warm-up dull skintones during winter. Again, this is a shade I would never choose for myself, however for the purposes of research I did try it on - I really liked the application, it went on smoothly and left good colour coverage after one coat, and my lips felt moisturised due to the Vitamin-E formula. And in all honesty, I possibly would wear it again for a different look! 

Mary Greenwell: Lemon by Mary Greenwell Eau de Parfum

The one product in the box this month that I really didn't like. Apparently Mary Greenwell is 'a true British icon of style and beauty' - the one thing I can say I liked about this fragrance is that it reminds me of my Grandma's perfume (although whether that is a good thing in a 'new, modern scent' is debatable!) I shan't wear this in future.

Milk_Shake: Conditioning Whipped Cream

I haven't tried this product yet but I'm definitely looking forward to trying it! It smells divine and I'm hoping it will work wonders on my bleached-to-within-an-inch-of-it's-life hair! It is a 'leave-in conditioning foam with milk, wheat germ and casein proteins' and claims to be 'Ultra-niche and high-end' so I'm expecting great things from this product!

Sebamed: Anti-Dry Day Defence Cream

I love receiving little products like this in Glossybox - as I travel around so much I adore sample sizes of moisturisers and make-up products and this one is perfect. An intensive moisturiser designed for sensitive skin, a little went a really long way and left my skin feeling deeply moisturised.

Bonus - Glossybox Blusher: Glossy Pink

A really nice shade of blusher - because I'm so pale I'm very particular about blushers and rarely wear them. This looks quite heavily pigmented in the pot but had a really nice texture and looked quite flattering when I sampled it