A good set of lashes now more than ever are pretty much a necessity, because when you spend your day wearing a mask your eyes are on show the most, so they need to stand out, and look good!!

I have been a lash fan since I purchased my very first pair of Cheryl Coles! I originally purchased a pair for a night out, and loved them so much I have literally been wearing them everyday since!

Lashes, be it strip or extensions are very important to me personally, I NEVER leave my house without lashes on, they make me feel complete and confident.

I love the lash extension look so much so that I am now a fully trained lash technician, however it is important to give those a break, which is wear good old strip lashes come in handy!!

Having had “extensive” experience in wearing many many different types of lashes, and believe me not all of them looked good, I’m here with my own guide to getting good false lashes!!

STEP 1 GLUE – A good glue is my MUST HAVE, girls I’m sure you can relate to this, but I have had so many mishaps where the glues I’ve used haven’t been strong enough and I’ve ended up with what I like to call “FLAPPY LASH” – Which for those of you who don’t know is where the corners of the lash start to lift and it just FLAPS!! Awkward beauty malfunction right there! SO you should never EVER compromise on the glue. It honestly doesn’t matter if the lashes were from the pound/dollar store or from MAC, I immediately bin the glue and turn to one of my go to products – EYLURE 18 hours glue priced at £5.50 or Duo £9.99 both available from ASOS, or any drug store (Boots/Superdrug)

STEP 2 LASHES – Okay so a good set of strip lashes will make your eyes stand out and look beautiful, but a cheap, tacky plastic looking pair of lash’s will draw attention to your eyes for all the wrong reasons! Likewise stupidly long spider leg lashes will also do you no favours, because to put it bluntly they look stupid!

I have worn every type of lash you can think of and I definitely look back on some of my old photos and cringe at how awful they looked! Thankfully I have come a long way since those days and I have most definitely upped my lash game (well I think so anyways!)

I like my lashes to match the event, so if it’s everyday work then Ardell Demi Wispies £5.50 are my go to lash as they look super natural and are super lightweight, and to be honest I usually forget I’m wearing them! Ardell as well as having a huge selection of natural lashes, also offer an equally huge selection of fuller lashes that are ideal for a night out, definitely a brand I trust.

For the evening or night out I like to go bigger (but not over the top) so for this my go to lashes are Tatti lashes. I love the Tatti range, they do such a huge variety of lashes, from natural looking to the full on “look I’ve arrived” lashes. And they always look nice, and I find people really comment on them.

STEP 3 Application – Applying lashes is an art that I have mastered over the years, and can now apply my strip lashes without a mirror if needs be!

Successful application of strip lashes requires just 3 things – Lashes (obviously) good glue and tweezers/or lash applicator.

TIP 1– Don’t forget when removing lashes from the Trey always peel them from the inner corner and not the outer edge. This is because if you bend one section of lashes on the inside it doesn’t matter as it’s more than likely you’ll be trimming them off to fit your eyes anyway. I always trim from the inside as I don’t want to affect the fan in the outer corners, although other blogs will tell you to do it the other way (ie outside, to in) I guess it’s all down to personal preference.

Once your lashes are the right length, simply rest the strip along the lash line. The strip should start where your natural bulk of eyelashes begin, if you start too close to the inner corner it will irritate your eyes, and trust me, that hurts, and will cause your eyes to water.

Put a thin layer of glue along the top of the lash extension from corner to corner. Wait a few seconds for it to go tacky before applying.

Place the lash back on the lash line, and press firmly in place, I always use tweezers or lash applicator to secure the inner corner, as that is the tricky part!

TIP 2– If you want super long-lasting application you can do the ‘double adhesive’ technique by applying a thin line of glue along your lash line as well as on the lashes. My advice is to BE CAREFUL that you don’t get the glue on the lashes otherwise they will clump together, and that is never a good look!

And there you go, my very quick guide & easy guide to false lashes! Hope you’ve enjoyed my beauty post for today, don’t forget to check out my other beauty posts at lifestylelisa.com

Have a great weekend everyone.

The post The Lash Look appeared first on Lifestyle Lisa.

Of course this time of year does have a few set backs (dark nights aside) I mean things like dry hands and chapped lips, and dry skin in general! Every girls beauty nightmare right!

I must admit I’m not a girl who sticks to one particular beauty brand, I do like to shop around and try lots of different products, and then decide what works best for me.

Because I am a girl who loves different beauty products I thought I’d share with you what beauty lifesavers I am using this season, as well as some of my favourite beauty essentials.

Lip Love Balm by Tropic Skin Care £5.00 – This super multi purpose lip balm helps to replenish dry and cracked skin, whether on your lips, cuticles, elbows or heels. A real multi-purpose handbag hero. I use this religiously, it came to Florida with me and was amazing at keeping my lips moisturised on the 9 hour plane journey.

Tamanu Healing Balm by Tropic Skin Care £16.00 (20ml) – This multipurpose, nourishing green balm that smells a little bit like curry paste is a skincare hero. Enhanced with antioxidant-rich ingredients, it helps to repair scarred and damaged skin, improves the appearance of stretch marks, and soothes dry skin conditions such as eczema and psoriasis, as well as stings and bug bites. Tried and tested, it’s a winner for me!

Vitamin Toner Pore Refining Mist by Tropic Skin Care £14.00 – Refining the appearance of pores with this pH-balancing toner I find that it gives my skin a brighter, smoother complexion. This is a must-have addition to my daily skincare routine.

Camomile Sumptuous Cleansing Butter by The Body Shop £10.00 – What a gem this product is, it removes every last little spec of make up without drying out my skin and making it feel tight. It’s great for sensitive skin, which mine seems to be lately. And it really does leave my face feeling smooth and soft.

Vitamin C Skin Reviver by The Body Shop £17.00 – I have been using this product for so long now that it’s hard to imagine life without it! I use this to give my skin a healthy looking glow, if I’m on holiday I use it on its own, or back here because it’s currently very cold UK I use after moisturising to combat the dull, tired complexion. It’s also a great make up primer too! Multipurpose little winner!

Overnight Firming Cream by Sephora $38.00 Yes I know this one is hard to get hold of for any UK resident, but I just had to add it to the list!!Formulated with 95% natural origin ingredients, the firming sleeping cream from Sephora collection nourishes, softens and protects skin. It has a thick, rich and pleasant texture and doesn’t leave my skin feeling greasy.

All day hydrator moisturiser by Sephora $15.00 – Final Sephora one I promise!! This little gem of a day cream contains hyaluronic acid and vitamins C and E. It moisturizes, brings radiance and protects your skin from environmental stress . Really great for everyday use because it gives the skin the substances it needs to maintain its natural glow, whilst acting as a protective shield thanks to its cocktail of antioxidants. Its ultra-lightweight, texture makes it an excellent makeup primer.

Because it’s the holly jolly Christmas season, I am all about the colour RED! Red lips and red nails are of course my must haves for the holiday season, and because I get a new colour on my nails every 2 weeks, I pretty much work my way through all the reds that my nail technician has!

Red lipsticks and lipglosses are also a winter essential as from October to March that is the only colour I will wear! . So here are a few Of my personal favourites.

The body shop do some lovely colours and if it’s a good lipstick that in after then Rimmel or good old MUA work for me

And finally never leave the house without antibacterial hand gel and hand cream!!

I am always after some new winter beauty product must haves, so share away if there is anything that I should add to my list!

Enjoy the rest of your Christmas Eve – Eve

Please don’t forget to check out the rest of my beauty posts here ?? https://lifestylelisa.com/category/beauty/

Lifestylelisa.com

The post Winter Essentials appeared first on Lifestyle Lisa.

Having written a well received post about my top 5 luxury perfumes, which you can read here ?? https://lifestylelisa.com/2019/06/26/top-5-luxury-perfumes/ I thought it seemed only right that the next post should be about my top 5 affordable perfumes.

Perfumes shouldn’t just be a luxury accessory that you wear on a night out, you should be able and want to smell nice all day everyday! But let’s be honest would I fancy wearing Chanel or Valentino to work? Definitely not! That’s where the celebrity collection’s come in handy.

I think celebrity perfumes are often overlooked by many who think they are cheap and nasty. Whilst true that they are a considerable amount cheaper than the luxury brands they definitely shouldn’t be pushed to the side and forgotten about.

I have a nice selection of celebrity perfumes that I wear specifically for work during the day, I wouldn’t dream of wearing them during the evening, or to some sophisticated event, but all the same they smell really good and they all do come at a very reasonable price.

Shopping around is the key when purchasing any of the below (or a celebrity fragrance in general) ideally £20 is the most I really want to pay for a 100ml bottle, anything above that and I may as well by a bottle of Gucci, so always check for the offers! Superdrug and Savers here in the UK nearly always have these on offer.

So let’s get on with the list!

1. Kim Kardashian by Kim Kardashian – This perfume was released back in 2009! ERM how is it that like TEN years ago? Anyways this perfume is priced at around £20 (100ml) the scent is quite heavy and has a kind of Oud smell to it (which I love) for £20 it really stays on all day, and it’s one of my favourite affordable perfumes!

2. Fantasy by Brittany Spears – I will probably group my favourite fantasy’s together, because I am a fan of all of them!! So in no particular order, Midnight Fantasy, Hidden fantasy and Intimate Fantasy. These are the ones in my perfume collection that I have been wearing them for a number of years and at around the £20 mark for 100ml you just can’t go wrong. These are a perfect day time perfume that needs very little topping up and gets you plenty of compliments. The pink one is probably my favourite HOWEVER it’s VERY sweet, so if sweet isn’t your think try the Hidden or Intimate. The Midnight Fantasy I think smells like blueberries.

3. Beyoncé – With a moderate 10 perfumes in her collection, Beyoncé’s earliest edition was created in 2010 and the latest in 2017. Out of the ones I have added to my collection over the years I can certainly recommend Heat Rush, Midnight Heat, Heat Wild Orchard and Pulse. You can usually pick these up from £15

4. Versace Red Jeans – Perhaps one of my favourites on this list and certainly one of the most underrated fragrances. Red Jeans was released in 1994! But that doesn’t means it’s old fashioned, and shouldn’t be worn! This fragrance is fruity and floral, described as sweet and casual, and it smells FAB! I get plenty of compliments and it’s a distinctive smell that you can really smell all day. And as for the price, well you can pick this up from around £10…. hello bargain!!

5. Rose by Paul Smith – Launched back in 2007, this is a light and floral perfume, that compliments a summers day (I think). It’s not too overpowering and after a while the initial spray turns into a more powdery scent. Definitely one of my favourites and can be picked up from around £15

As always I am always on the look out for more new perfumes to try, so you know the drill, drop me a comment below on any you like and think I should try.

Lifestyle Lisa

L xxx

The post Top 5 affordable perfumes appeared first on Lifestyle Lisa.

Happy Monday everyone! Did you all blink and miss the weekend, and just wake up on Monday!!!!!! I know I did!!!

So let’s do a little post to get over the Monday blues! I don’t do these often enough so I thought today I would do my first beauty post of 2019.

I love make up and all things beauty and I probably have enough products to last me a whole year! Christmas is a really good time to stock up on essential’s!

My favourite brand is The Body Shop, I think they have an amazing range and of course are cruelty free.

Unfortunately although I try not every brand that I use at the moment is cruelty free, I am trying to make the change, but some products on this list don’t comply with being cruelty free.

So these are the products that I am just loving right now, the products that I can’t be without, my favourite products of 2019!!!

Lisa’s must have beauty products!

Vitamin C skin reviver and Tea tree BB cream (The Body Shop) are how I like to start off my make up routine. The skin reviver has been a favourite of mine for years and it goes everywhere with me (even on long haul flights) instantly turning dull skin into bright and healthy looking skin, a definite must have, I also use it as a make up base. The tea tree BB cream I love especially this time of year as it doesn’t dry my skin out (the winter seasons are notorious for making skin dry!) it’s shine free and great to wear if you have a few unsightly breakouts!!

Clinique all about eyes and 3 in 1 brow definer are next on my list. All about the eyes (from Clinique) is great for getting rid of those puffy eyes and dark circles that have a nasty habit of appearing when you least want them too!! It’s a really light weight formula and I use it in the mornings and the evenings! Next BROWS!! Brows are like the biggest thing right now! It’s all about the brows! So it’s no surprise that I love the 3 in 1 brow definer from The body shop it’s an eyebrow pencil, highlighter and brush all in one!

My versatile strobing obsession is Drops of Glow Lustre Finish Creator from The body shop! A one-stop shop for the girl on the go, this clever blend is perfect on its own or mixed with your favourite beauty products for instant luminosity anywhere, any time. I use it for giving my foundation a healthy-looking radiance and I even mix it with my daily day cream, it really is super versatile! A perfect highlighter for your Cupid’s bow, cheekbones, and even as a topcoat to eyeshadow!

When it comes to lip balm Dr Lipp is my saviour! In fact this cult beauty balm is a must have for nursing mothers and makeup artists and everyone in between! It helps soothe cracked skin and can be used on lips, cuticles, feet, eczema any dry skin areas, lip priming, lip gloss, cheek shine, eyebrow shaping, and nipples!! Seriously it’s a must have!

Every girl who loves makeup needs a decent set of makeup brushes! And I absolutely LOVE Spectrum!! Spectrum Collections pride themselves on creating trend products with professional performance. Vibrant colour palettes are teamed with expert, hand-crafted design to ensure your brushes are not only beautiful but offer exceptional quality. Not only are Spectrum a cruelty free brand, they are also Vegan Society and PETA registered. Seriously how cute are my Disney spectrum brushes?

I love lipstick and lipgloss’s, an outfit is not complete unless I’ve got my lip on!! From Autumn through to about April I am a red girl, and love the dark red lip look!! My favourite matte glosses at the moment are – Tahiti Hibiscus and Mauritius Dahlia both from The Body Shop and I also really like NYX liquid shine in dark rouge. All 3 have very intense colour, and last pretty much all day!

ROSE ROSE ROSE ROSE ROSE!! I LOVE ALL ROSE SCENTS!! I have some lovely rose scented perfumes which are on my 2019 must have list, perfect for any season. They are – Prada Rose, Paul Smith Rose, Ellie Saab Rose Couture, Armani Diamonds Rose, and Miller and Harris Rose silence! I also have to have my rose hand cream from surprise surprise The body shop!

I really do love a nice bronzer for the all over healthy look, and I like a nice shimmered bronzer for the cheeks. I have a standard Rimmel bronzer for my everyday essential and for the gorgeous sun-kissed glow I love the baked to last bronzer from The Body Shop, 8 hours of golden glow without a drop of sun in sight!

My look is just never complete without my lashes!! I am a lash queen (I gave myself that title) but I definitely am a lash addict! I love having eyelash extensions usually for holidays and special occasions but because my natural lashes need a break I turn to trusty strip lashes. I don’t have have a particular brand that I use, if the lash looks good I’ll buy them. BUT I do only use ONE brand of lash glue, no other glue will do, it has to be Ardell lash grip! It’s the glue that I swear by and completely trust, I know when I put this glue on, the lashes will stay securely in place and I don’t have to worry about “flappy lash” you know where the corners start to flap because the glue hasn’t held properly! Seriously if you are a strip lash wearer try this glue out!!!!

At the end of a long day I LOVE taking off my makeup, a pack of good make up wipes and a bottle of cleansing lotion are all you need to wipe away the day. Boots cucumber range are currently my favourite, they get the make up off in one go, and don’t make my skin dry and sore. Sometimes own brands are so much better than the brands that pack their products with lots of chemicals

After the cleansing routine I love to finish off with Drops of youth, youth cream – A velvety air-whipped moisturising cream that leaves skin feeling smoother, more supple and refined with a youthful-looking bounce. I got this gem in my 2018 advent calendar and to be honest I’m not sure what I ever did without it!! Oh and its 100% vegan!!!!

So there we go, my first beauty post of the year, I would love to know what your beauty essentials are, or if you have tried any of the above? Leave me a comment below

Don’t forget to check out my other beauty posts here!

Lifestylelisa

L xxx

The post Wake up and makeup – The beauty products I am loving right now! appeared first on Lifestyle Lisa.

Hi!!

Happy Tuesday! I don’t know about anyone else but I am LOVING this hot weather! I just hope it lasts until the weekend, so I can sit outside, read my book and chill!

Today I thought I would do a beauty post, about strip lashes , something that I use everyday and quite honestly just CANNOT be without!

I am a self confessed huge fan of strip lashes, I have been wearing lashes since I bought my first set of Cheryl Cole’s back in 2009, and ever since then lashes have become an obsession of mine. There isn’t a day that goes by when I don’t have a pair of strip lashes on and before holiday’s and Christmas I get Lash extensions.

I have tried and tested all kinds of lashes, some have looked ridiculous, others have looked amazing, some have looked really fake, whilst others have looked real!!

I was recently trying to find a really good pair of volume lashes for a wedding I was going too, I wanted them to look real but I wanted them to be full volume too. I was looking at various website’s and on ebay.

I come across some beautiful lashes on this one particular website I was looking at, the lashes were called Mink 3D, they looked so full and natural, exactly what I was looking for!! They were priced at £29.95, which for one pair of lashes, is a bit steep, even for me! I usually get ardells priced at £5.95.

So I decided to do a little bit of investigative digging on Mink Lashes-

Yes maybe I was being naive because not for a single second did I think that Mink lashes were really from a real animal?! I thought it was just the name of the lash!…..But after much research on the internet it turns out that they ARE.

Mink lashes are in-fact the “new” trend, only being made more popular by the celebrities who wear them.

WHY anyone would want to wear animal fur so close to there eyes in beyond me, but it appears that Mink lashes are becoming VERY popular, with many companies preaching that the fur is sourced ethically and is very much cruelty free

Minks are wild animals! They are captured from the wild or breed on fur farms. They certainly haven’t been able to domesticate them to ethically source their fur. And again THEY ARE A WILD ANIMAL!

I read that Minks fur is devastatingly “harvested” by skinning the mink alive, anal electrocution, slow poison deaths, engine exhaust, braking necks, and other cruel, unimaginable endings to innocent lives

People for Ethical Treatment of Animals’ associate director of campaigns Ashley Fruno said the world’s largest fur exporter was China. “There are no penalties for animal cruelty in China, but mink are also farmed in US and Europe,” she said. “Mink eyelashes are fur that’s been shaved off a mink’s body, either right before or directly after the animal is killed on a fur farm,” Ms Fruno said minks – weasel-like animals long prized for their fur – were the most commonly farmed fur-bearing animals in the world. “They’re confined to rows of small, filthy, cramped wire cages, with some mink gnawing on the bars of their cages or neurotically pacing back and forth due to stress,” she said. “They are then shoved into gas chambers and killed.”

Is it just me or does anyone else think it’s GROSS? does Anyone really need to be walking around with animal fur on their eyelids? There are many other cruelty free options already on the market, I’m not sure why it has to be mink fur all of a sudden!

My Ardell lashes are priced at £5.95 and are not mink fur! This is one of my favourite brands of lashes to wear and are available from most supermarkets and drugstores.

I get that people have been wearing fur for many many years, I get that it’s not a new thing (I have nor will I ever wear real fur) but Mink eyelashes just take it to a whole new level!

Unfortunately as long as people continue to buy and wear animal fur products, this trade will continue to exist, and this post from me certainly won’t stop it, I know, but i just wanted you all to be aware next time your buying lashes make sure that they are not made from animal fur!!

I really would love to hear from anyone else, who like me is trying to go cruelty free, you can email me direct at [email protected] or leave me a comment below.

If you like this post then please check out my other beauty posts at lifestylelisa.com

Thanks for reading

L xxx

The post Mink Lashes-The ugly truth behind the new trend! appeared first on Lifestyle Lisa.