Jo Wood Langa Body Cleansing Mousse

During the summer I got to work on a fashion show Jo Wood put together for the Vintage Festival. It was amazing to not only meet such an amazing lady but also to have a glimpse at some of the beautiful clothes she’s worn over the years.

As a gift, everyone that worked on the show was given a lovely Jo Wood Organics treat! Ooh la la! I got the Langa body cleansing mousse. I’m loving it! It’s the perfect way to start the day! Sicilian lemon, neroli, cedarwood and vanilla gently wake you up and get you going for the day ahead. I love the moussy texture as well.

Best of all, I love that all the ingredients are organic and planet friendly. I love feeling like I’m looking after my body and the planet at the same time.

You can try yours’ here at £15 for 200ml.

Kisses,

Rebecca xxx

Pukka Ayurveda Skincare – Some More Bits

Last weekend I broke out the Pukka again. I had one model in particular that had a lot of skin sensitivities so I felt confident in using these products on him. They certainly didn’t let me down!

I saw the initial shots of him on the monitor and was dismayed. What was glowing and lovely in the flesh was coming up on the screen with what I’ve now termed “The Cullen Effect”. The lighting was taking all the colour out of the models, creating bags under the eyes where there were none and everyone’s skin looked dehydrated and older.

Right away I used the Nourishing Brightener for a gentle exfoliation. After that I decided to ditch the usual moisturisers and lotions. I used the Radiance Serum mixed with a little Firming Face Oil. It made a WORLD of difference when the next set of shots were taken! Everyone looked years younger, revitalised and perfected. Yayyyyy!!!

The Radiance Serum is packed with aloe vera, manuka honey and lemon balm. It smells and feels amazing on the skin. a 50ml tube is £32.

The Firming Face Oil is made up of rosehip, starflower and neroli. It smells a-mazing. It instantly puts you in a more relaxed, happy mood. At the end of the three days I gave all the models a lovely facial massage with it to rejuvenate their complexion. The 30ml bottle is £38.

They all loved it and trotted off to their nearest Wholefoods store to try find some for themselves. I love it when people like the products so much that they want to buy it for themselves!

Kisses,

Rebecca xxx

FOTD – Nars and Alannah Hill

On Friday night I was meeting a friend for dinner then going to some birthday drinks in town. Seeing as I spend most of my days in comfortable, functional clothing I decided to put on something a bit pretty and girly. I’ve had this skirt for about six or seven years now. It’s an Alannah Hill number from back home in Australia. I LOVE Alannah Hill clothes!!! I always come back from a trip to Australia with a bag full of items from there. They never seem to go out of style and they last forever. In fact, I’m wearing an Alannah Hill dress to a costume party in a couple of weeks. I’m going as Tinkerbell. The dress is a perfectly whimsical, little green number for it. I should mention that the top is an old sweater from The Gap. It looks pretty dull but it’s almost backless and does up with a big, shiny black bow at the nape of the neck. Pretty!

Makeup-wise I decided to just go for it. Unfortunately my pictures haven’t turned out all that well. I used all Nars products for eyes, cheeks and lips. Eyes were a combination of Night Fairy and Notorious. I highlighted the inner corneres with some Himalayas and used Lulu with a wet liner brush above and below the lash line. I used a RougeBunnyRouge black liner pencil on the waterlines. I’m afraid these pictures came out a bit strangely as well. It all looks quite bronzy and brown when it was actually all shades of grey and purple. Sorry.

 

 

 

 

 

 

On my cheeks I buffed in some Cannes Multiple before I powdered my face and went across the apples with some Orgasm.

For the lips I used my finger to put on Captiva lipstick. I’d put on a layer, blot it with a tissue and go for it again. I did that three or four times to get a nice stain going. It’s far from a ‘perfect’ lip but that’s kind of what I wanted. It was all supposed to look a little like I’d slept in it. In a good way.

Kisses,

Rebecca xxx

Amazing Beauty Tutorials From Kay Montano

I really mustn’t keep these to myself anymore. I am OBSESSED with these videos! Kay Montano is a makeup genius and these videos are so fun yet full of amazing information all the same.

Check the latest one out! It’s to die for!

Check more fabulousness out at becauselondon.com.

Kisses,

Rebecca xxx

Images I'm Loving

I was at a Superdrug press day a while back and was given their Autumn/Winter look book. I totally fell in love with some of the images of Joanna Page. I was struck by how different she looked in each shot as well as how little retouching was done on them. It so fab to see 'real' people in photos!!! I also got to see the women herself on the day. She's just as gorgeous and full of energy in real life.




This Rock Chic look is my fave fave fave.




Kisses,
Rebecca xxx

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

My New Favourite Things. They're All Illamasqua.

I was sent some lovely pieces from Illamasqua and they've become pieces I can't go to a job without.

Androgen and Depravity are cream pigments from the new collection and the colours suit, literally, everybody. From the palest of the pale to super dark skins. I use it on everyone! Eyes, cheeks and lips! A little goes a long way and they blend like a dream.



Androgen



Depravity

They look amazing layered underneath Berber pure pigment. Again, I use this on every skin tone and it looks fab mixed as a lip gloss!



Another combination I can't get enough of is Mould cream pigment layered under Ore pure pigment. In fact, Ore over just about anything makes a gorgeous combination.




Mould



Ore

I seem to be approaching my makeup from the same angle as my wardrobe at this time of year. Lots of layers!

Definitely check out Illamasqua for some truly stunning pieces to add to your makeup collection.

Kisses,
Rebecca xxx

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Pukka Ayurveda Skincare - Nourishing Brightener

I was introduced to Pukka's new Ayurvedic skincare range just last week. You all know how much I love natural and organic concoctions!! Pukka's Love tea is one of my favourites so I knew I'd be sure to love their new skincare range as well.

As suspected, each and every product is a delight. The fragrances transport you to fields in India filled with deliciously scented blossom trees. Well, that's what was happening to me as I tried them and attempted to concentrate on all the scientific tidbits being revealed to me.

From the very beginning my stand out product was the Nourishing Brightener. It's a dry mixture that you mix in with cleanser to give your complexion an instant lift. It's exfoliating but not in a harsh beady way. I hate harsh, beady exfoliants. This is packed with bilberry and almonds so smells great as well. I instantly picked up on the bilberry as I know that's a great supplement to take to brighten eyes up as well.

This weekend I've put it to the test. I've been working with some lighting that isn't the easiest or most flattering to work with. It's very bright and strong which sucks all the colour out of my models and leaves their skin looking a lot patchier and dull than it is. The perfect excuse to whip out the Brightener!

As usual I asked my models how it felt on the skin, etc. They really liked it. Not too harsh and they liked how smooth their skin was when it came off. I followed it up with the Pukka Radiance Serum (more on that later) before getting onto the makeup.

So how did it go with my lighting situation? Their skin looked transformed! I think the most noticeable difference was on my male model. His skin looked smooth, even, perfected. I couldn't have been more pleased with the results.

So where can you get your hands on some and how much will it set you back? Your local Wholefoods, Nutricentre or Revital will have all you need. One of the things I really love about this range is the price point. Despite the high concentration, quality and sustainable packaging it's a range that most of us can try without applying for a bank loan! Yay! A 15g jar of Brightener is £13.

Kisses,
Rebecca xxx

PS, my Pukka products were provided free of charge for review purposes. That doesn't mean I don't already have plans to go buy the rest of the range with my own money, though! X

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

NOTD–Two Weeks in a Row!!!

 

I’ve worn this nail combo two weeks in a row! I can’t remember the last time I reapplied the same nail varnish twice! I am loving this colour combination. On their own the colours are classics. The beige is a dead ringer for a popular Chanel shade. At a fraction of the cost, Eyeko’s Posh Nails is a must have for all girls. Then I’ve teamed it with OPI’s Suzie Loves Sydney – a great metallic red. The combination of the two is perfection. The colours retain their individual classic style but the combination gives it the fun edge that I like to have in a manicure.

How often do you change up the colours in your manicure?

Kisses,

Rebecca xxx

Style Inspiration

I've not seen this photo of Marilyn before. I love it. Obviously, she's one of the most beautiful women ever. What I love about this photo is her off duty style. All my favourite photos of her are these more casual ones. It looks like she's in the middle of singing a great folk song! It's great. I'm definitely feeling inspired by this photo.

Kisses,

Rebecca xxx

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Summer In Autumn

Summer in England wasn’t exactly amazing this year. In fact, it’s the coldest summer we’ve had in a long time. So it was brilliant to have a quick burst of warm weather in October! To celebrate, a friend surprised me with a spontaneous picnic in Wimbledon! We even played frisbee! I’ve never played frisbee before! Needless to say, my hand-eye coordination was completely consistent and I was rubbish at it.

Even the walk to my friend’s place was all summery and pretty. I couldn’t help taking a picture of these pretty flowers.

Kisses,

Rebecca xxx

Off To The Old Vic

On Thursday night a friend took me out to see The Playboy Of The Western World at the Old Vic. I’d been there before to see Kevin Spacey in Inherit The Wind last year. It’s an amazing venue and it was a nice opportunity for me to get a little dressed up. I’ve been a bit chained to my uniform of flats and jeans lately!

What I hadn’t banked on was how cold it was going to be! A light Primark dress and a trans-seasonal coat were not enough! I needed thermals and my snow parka on the way home!

I don’t wear my hair up all that often but I really wanted to wear some fab earrings so I decided to put it back in a ballerina style bun. I also decided to go for a statement ring so decided not to wear anything around my neck and just a simple bracelet. The bracelet is actually my baby bracelet from when I was young! I’m amazed it still fits!

Makeup-wise I went for a grey eye warmed up with a little toasted brown through the crease to warm it up, black liner and I took the grey and brown together to line underneath. My cheeks were flushed with some Nars Multiple in Mystique and my lips were a rosy nude lipstick mixed with a denser, wine colour to come up with a berry style stain.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kisses,

Rebecca xxx

Super Salad

For those of you that don’t know me, I’m notoriously undomesticated. Cooking really isn’t my thing. Lately I’ve had to face up to the fact that crisps does not constitute a nutritionally balanced meal. For that reason, this little gem has become my saviour.

I make a big bowl of it every couple of days and either snack on it as it is, put it in a wrap, include it as a side dish for dinner. Best of all, it’s super easy to make. Even someone as useless as I am in the kitchen could whip this up. It’s great for those of that are time starved but still want to eat something vaguely nutritious.

So what’s in it? A green capsicum (or pepper for the Brits), two salad tomatoes and a small red onion. Finely chop it all, add a little salt and pepper, enjoy. Every now and then if I feel really adventurous, I heat some sesame oil in a frying pan, add pumpkin seeds and sprinkle soy sauce over them while they heat up. Once they’ve cooled down, they mage a great addition to this yummy dish. You can also add feta for a Greek spin on it.

Nom nom nom!

Kisses,

Rebecca xxx

Morocco!!!

You may or may not have noticed my absence last week. I was in Morocco!!! We went to Marrakech and then onto Agadir to relax for a week. It was a great week! I’m not sure I’d go back again without a boy in the group. It was pretty tricky being there with another girl. We got hassled A LOT. I couldn’t help but laugh as we walked through the souk and boys kept shouting “Fish and Chips” at us in homage to the British National Dish! Ha ha ha!

I thought you might like to see some of my favourite pics from the the week.

Morocco 2011 VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Kisses,

Rebecca xxx

Treasure Yourself

This was such a lovely birthday present from my Mum! In fact, I’m going to make a sweeping statement and say that all girls should read this book. It’s a little treasure in itself. Covered in beautiful fabric with designs of pretty flowers and butterflies all over it.

It’s a book by Miranda Kerr, the Aussie supermodel. She’s not just a model, she’s quite a force of nature. She’s published a book, released an organic skin care range, the face of high profile campaigns including being a Victoria’s Secret Angel, a wife and a mother all before she’s 30! Yikes! You have to wonder how one girl can fit it all in.

This book is a little insight into that. It’s all about being gentle to yourself, to other people and being the best you can be. My favourite part of the book is where she describes us all as butterflies. The challenges we come up against in life are like when a butterfly emerges from a cocoon. That struggle is what makes the butterfly’s wings nice and and strong so it can fly around. I love that idea. I also love butterflies. In fact, quite a few of my friends call me The Butterfly. One of my favourite songs is Magic Fairy butterfly by The Lovegods. The song has a similar theme to it.

Treasure Yourself is split into two parts. The first talks about Miranda’s own life and the way the power of positive thinking has helped her get over a lot of the challenges she’s faced in her life thus far. The second half is full of really lovely affirmations that she has garnered from great people and her own spin on them. It’s a book that isn’t too difficult to read and that leaves you feeling revitalised and ready to take on the world. It’s not always easy being a girl in this day and age. The world can be a very noisy, harsh place to be. This book is all about tuning out all the chaos and finding some inner peace so you can keep going forward and being a beacon of happiness. Definitely worth picking up a copy here at Amazon.

Here is a picture of a butterfly I followed around for AGES on a beach in Morocco. It was totally worth it to get a close look at its gorgeous wings!

Kisses,

Rebecca xxx

Moroccan Fantasia Evening

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

While I was in Morocco I went to a Fantasia Dinner experience. I was a bit dubious but it was AMAZING! There were fire breathers, performing horses, cobras, belly dancers, acrobats and all sorts! @AmyBumps, who took these amazing photos, had remembered to elt them know we were veggie in advance. The day before on our safari we’d just had to skip a course so we weren’t expecting too much. They totally looked after us on the dinner! We couldn’t MOVE let alone eat all the food! I saved all the apples from our fruit plates and fed them to the horses as we were leaving.

So what does one wear to a Moroccan Fantasia dinner? I was very conscious of what is and isn’t appropriate whilst out and about in Morocco. I went for a full length dress that covered my shoulders and arms. It’s a lovely Primark number and it was super handy while we were away. I was cool, comfortable and it hid my huge belly after all the food we tried to stuff in during dinner!

Sorry about the lighting. You know what it’s like in most hotel rooms. It’s less than ideal for these kinds of shots. I’m a bit too short and small for these maxi dresses so I wore some massive platform wedges to give me extra height. Then I threw an old French Connection belt around my hips. The dress gathers in at the waist a little but I’m too small for all that fabric so pulled it down a bit. Much better!

Accessories included a lovely big ring, a couple of bangles and these cute earrings a friend gave me for my birthday about seven years ago. I’m such a hoarder! In fact, the French Connection belt was from the same birthday!

Makeup-wise, I wanted a nice, smoky eye and everything else to just be glowing and bare. It was too hot for much makeup. I took my MAC Hello Kitty Lucky Tom eye shadow quad with me. For the eyes I coloured my mobile lid in with my black Rouge Bunny Rouge pencil then buffed it in with a fluffy brush. Over that I smoked out my eye in a nice, round shape with the dark brown shadow called Lucky Tom. A little Paradisco lightened up the inner corners and then I lined my eyes with the black eyeliner. It was all pretty simple. I also quite liked the effect from the creasing. It wasn’t too “done”.

 

 

 

 

My cheeks had some Nars Multiple in Mystique and I did my lips using it as well. For some staying power and a little something-something I put some Paradisco shadow over the multiple on my lips as well. It was all mostly still in place when I got home much later!

 

 

 

 

The pretty flower in my hair is courtesy of one of the little fire breathers that brought it over to me. Very sweet but it’s a shame he’s young enough to be my SON!!

Kisses,

Rebecca xxx

Tresemme Split Remedy

Most of us get split ends. If you’re like me, they’re the bane of my life. I do have a couple of friends that never get split ends! Both of them have gorgeously thick, luscious hair. Obviously, I’m jealous of their indestructible locks. I also had no idea how many types of split ends there are. I was given some in depth knowledge when I went along to learn about Tresemme’s latest innovation.Did you know there are ten different types of split ends? No wonder I have so many.
I think anyone that regularly styles and colours their hair or has fine hair is going to sit up and pay attention when I say this. Tresemme has developed a split end remedy! It’s even called Split Remedy! Being Tresemme, it’s super easy on the budget and it’s super results driven. The shampoo and conditioner are £4.99 each for 500ml. There is also a treatment and a serum for £5.50 each. Not bad, eh!?
So how do we actually get split ends? In my case, I think breathing could be the culprit! Even straight after a cut I can see split ends! They drive me crazy! My hair just doesn’t grow anymore because I struggle with breakage and damage. Why??? Because it’s incredibly fine. I think it also has a lot to do with the fact that I often blow dry my hair. If you colour your hair, chemically process it, expose it to a lot of sunlight and constantly comb your hair, then you’re going to get split ends. Dull!
These new products have a Reconstructing Complex. Unfortunately, what a Reconstructing Complex involves is a heavily guarded secret. Drats. I like to understand these things and know how it’s effective and why. From what I gathered at the presentation, the complex encourages the split ends to bond back together. It does that after just three uses. In fact, Tresemme says that your split ends will be reduced by up to 80% after just three uses!
I used the products for a few weeks to see what happened. Did my hair seem smoother after three washes? It sure did! I’ve found Tresemme conditioner a little too heavy for me in the past but this one was okay. I’ve also been fine with the serum. My hair gets weighed down very easily. A small amount through the ends while they’re damp has been working a treat.
If I was going to recommend two products out of this range that were my favourites, it would be the conditioner and the serum. Why these two? They both comprise part of the range that work independently. If you’re going to use the shampoo, you’ll need to use it in conjunction with the conditioner or the treatment. It won’t be effective on it’s own. I feel like they’re the most effective and the best value for money. You’ll get amazing results out of those two.
I went to get my hair cut after using the Split Remedy for a couple weeks. The stylist said my hair was in good condition and didn’t need very much off it! Yay! That’s exactly what I wanted to hear! I’m back into them again after a week of soaking up sun in Morocco! Don’t get me wrong, you’ll still need to go get your hair trimmed while you’re using these products. You just won’t need to go so often! You can probably start to get away with going every three months! Amazing!
Another little note for you, these products will make your hair soft and silky. If you’re a volume addict like me, then it’s not going to be conducive to your usual look. I suspect the bushiness I like to achieve is mostly done with my damaged hair! Drats! I think I’m okay with forgoing some volume in the name of condition. The way I see it, the healthier my hair, the thicker it will naturally become. I won’t need to create quite so much volume all the time!
You can get Tresemme’s Split Remedy from Tesco and Boots now. They’ll be nationwide from November.
Kisses,
Rebecca xxx
PS, I was given these products free of charge for review purposes. x

Sunny October Sundays In The Park

I’m loving this October summer we’re having! It’s been the perfect weather to come back to after a lovely week in Morocco! I spent Sunday on Clapham Common having a picnic with some friends.What does one wear? I’m not really a Shorts Person and a skirt was going to be tricky sitting on the ground. So it was my Old Faithful flared jeans, embellished red suede flip flops and my floaty New Look top. It was perfect as coming home in the evening it got a wee bit chilly.

These aren’t earrings I wear very often. A special friend I met in Bootcamp back in Australia gave them to me. A very special friend had given them to her. I’ve since lost touch with Joyce but I do treasure these special earrings she gave me. I have to say, they’re LOUD! Everyone can hear me coming! I sound like Santa!

 

 

 

 

Makeup wise I kept it all pretty simple. SUNSCREEN!!! Even in Morocco I was constantly reapplying the 50+ sunscreen! I had a little concealer and some MAC Mineralise Skin Finish Natural over some Benefit Cha Cha Tint on my cheeks. For the eyes I had some waterproof, crease proof liquid eye shadow in a rosy gold colour. Then I lined them in a metallic aquamarine colour. Unfortunately both of these have been discontinued. The liner was sealed in with some Shattered eye shadow from my Urban Decay Ammo Palette. Even the mascara was low key. I curled the lashes and then put on two coats of my RevitaLash Mascara in brown. Lips were just balmed up and left natural.

Then, I topped it all off with a soy frapuccino and some Tame Impala on the ipod for my travel entertainment!

How did you spend your sunny weekend?

Kisses,

Rebecca xxx