Kate Middleton’s go-to nail polish: Essie. | Love Laura x

If you’re looking for a durable, high-shine nail polish with a superior selection of colours to choose from, then look no further than the award-winning nail varnishes from Essie.

 

With the tongue-in-cheek names, high-gloss finish, and spectrum of over 300 colours to choose from, the Essie brand has continued to build upon its reputation as a fashion-forward nail polish supplier, and has ultimately attracted a cult of followers – including professionals and celebrities – who swear by the brand.

                                                  (You can watch my video for more information)

Indeed, the likes of Jennifer Aniston, Sienna Miller, Rihanna, Cheryl Cole, and even the Duchess of Cambridge, Kate – to name just a few – have all been spotted flaunting their trendy Essie talons out in public. 

In fact, the Duchess of Cambridge loves Essie so much that she opted for a chic Essie manicure for the infamous Royal Wedding last year, inspiring Essie Weingarten herself – the face behind the famous brand name – to create a wedding collection.

The mini 5ml bottles of colour in the four-piece ‘Wedding Collection’ cube are bang on trend for spring 2012. With classic reds, and pretty pastel shades gracing the catwalks, the Essie brand clearly has its finger firmly on the fashion pulse, and has created a gorgeous milky pastel blue colour, ‘Borrowed & Blue’  and a beautifully classic, captivating red hue named ‘First Dance’. Both shades are highly pigmented and look stunning on your nails.

The same can’t be said of the other two shades in the collection. Whilst the light powder pink, ‘Better Together’ and nude ‘Made to Honour’ look beautiful in the bottle, Essie’s sheer formula makes it difficult for the nude tones to show up without dramatic layering. However, any more than three layers and the polish will develop a tacky texture, making it almost impossible for the formula to dry properly.

Whilst I highly recommend ‘Borrowed & Blue’, and ‘First Dance’, I’d steer clear of any nude colours from Essie because the sheer formula makes the outcome disappointing when you’re using neutral tones.

The luxury line of Essie nail polishes are highly coveted for those in need of a shiny, chip-free nail colour with a chic, classic edge. Compared to its competitor, OPI, I much prefer Essie nail varnishes because the formula seems to be of a higher quality and thus, less prone to chipping than OPI polishes.

Essie is also slightly cheaper than OPI. The quality of Essie nail varnishes is – in my opinion – second to none. Whilst it is still a professional brand, and this is reflected through the price, I feel that it is worth paying extra for the quality of this polish.

 The four-piece sets of mini 5ml bottles retail at around £17, but if you wait for it to go out of season, you can sometimes purchase them between £8 and £10 from all good department stores.

If it’s good enough for Kate, it’s good enough for me...

My top three high-street foundations | Love Laura x

It’s pretty much impossible to pin down one foundation that works on everyone. With normal, oily, dry, and combination skin types, the foundation that’s perfect for one person won’t necessarily be the best for someone else. It’s also a matter of personal preference. What kind of coverage would you like? Do you prefer a dewy or matte finish?

Maybelline Dream Nude Airfoam

This week, I’ve spent a considerable amount of time in Superdrug and Boots trying on all sorts of weird and wonderful foundations from the likes of Revlon, Barry M, Rimmel, Maybelline, and Max Factor, to name just a few. Then I compiled a list of my top three.

My third favourite was the Maybelline Dream Nude Airfoam foundation. This has received mixed reviews from users, with many complaining that the foundation is streaky, drying to their skin, difficult to blend, and provides no coverage. Others disagree, praising Maybelline’s innovative foamy invention for the light texture, even coverage, and the resulting dewy glow.

It seems that if your skin is dry or you have scars or blemishes to cover, then this foundation won’t be the best for you. My skin is problematically dry and, when I hadn’t been slathering my skin in moisturiser, I noticed the airfoam turned into that dreaded cakey texture. When my skin was moisturised, however, this foundation worked really well. It evened out my skin tone perfectly and felt as if I had no foundation on.

Make sure you shake well before you dispense the foam to ensure that the colour is evenly mixed and don’t press the nozzle down too hard because the mousse will froth up and go everywhere (trust me, I became an expert on this after the first few times I used it!) I found this for £8.99 in Boots and £6.99 in Superdrug. Boots customers rated it an average 3/5.  

Max Factor Second Skin Foundation

My second favourite is the Max Factor Second Skin foundation. This really lives up to its name – it looks virtually undetectable on your skin as it gives a fresh, glowing, even coverage without looking cakey. I’ve received so many compliments about my skin whilst wearing this foundation. And the best part? It only costs £12.99. Not bad for a foundation that, to me, does the same job as a high-end product. Boots customers are rating it an impressive 4/5 stars.

In first place is the Revlon PhotoReady make-up. I found the consistency to be heavier than the other two foundations, so I save this for the evening.  It gives your skin a beautiful flawless finish.

The PhotoReady foundation is oil free so doesn’t go shiny throughout the day. I bought this for £12.99 from Boots, where customers have rated it a superior 4 ½ stars.

Revlon PhotoReady Makeup

Remember though, that everyone’s skin is different and what is good for me might not necessarily be good for you, so make sure you shop around before you purchase your foundation.

For more information, refer to my video, above. 

Teeth whitening: How to get the Hollywood smile at home | Love Laura x

Having a gleaming set of pearly white teeth is a favourable trait when it comes to personal appearance. Nevertheless, no one wants to pay over the odds for whitening treatments at the dentist’s and with shop shelves packed full of goods that promise a whiter, brighter smile, it’s hard to know which product to reach for.

I’ve found two of the most effective, yet affordable, teeth whitening products on the market which allow you to achieve the coveted ‘Hollywood smile’ from the comfort of your own home.

Plus White 5 Minute Speed
Whitening Gel

Starting with the cheaper option of the two, the award-winning Plus White 5 Minute Speed Whitening Gel – retailing in the US for under $10 and in the UK for around £15 – implements the same active ingredient used by dentists to gently whiten your teeth within just a few days.

Indeed, the bleaching action of peroxide in this product allows you to achieve the same results as you would at the dentist’s, for a considerable amount cheaper. Aside from price, the only difference is that the ingredients in this gel are more concentrated so there’s no need to leave it on your teeth for as long as the dentist does.

With words such as “bleaching” and “peroxide”, I was initially concerned about the damage that such a product could cause to teeth. After extensive research and assurance from the professionals at Plus White, however, I was later guaranteed that this product has a neutral PH balance, proving it is gentle on your teeth and gums. If you experience sensitivity, you are advised to discontinue use for a few days, or until your teeth feel less sensitive.

Being renowned for their love of perfect white teeth, the most effective teeth whitening products are manufactured in the USA, including Plus White items. As a result, this brand can prove difficult to find on UK websites. Amazon.co.uk is probably the best place to look – I bought mine off there for around £10. For more information on Plus White 5 Minute Whitening Gel, you can visit: www.pluswhite.com.

Crest 3D Whitestrips

Moving on to the second of my two discoveries, Crest 3D Whitestrips have received rave reviews from users. The strips are much easier to apply than the Plus White gel as they come as a thin strip of microfilm – very similar to sticky tape – which you simply peel off of the plastic backing and place over your teeth.

The Crest website states that the strips are safe to use on the enamel of your teeth as they are dental strength.

Furthermore, the strips are available in a variety of strengths including ‘vivid’, ‘advanced vivid’ and ‘professional effects’, so there are plenty of options to choose from depending on the amount of whitening you require.

Crest 3D Whitestrips are a considerable amount more expensive than the Plus White gel but they are sold in the UK, making them easier to get hold of. You can buy them from www.crestwhite.co.uk where they retail between £34.99 and £42.99 depending on which strength you choose. However, I bought a packet of five for £10 off a private eBay seller, so it’s worth having a look around to discover the best deals.


If anyone else has had success with a different home teeth whitening treatment, I'd love to hear from you! You can find me on Twitter: @LauraRachelleT.

For more information on these products and a tutorial on how to apply them, refer to my video, above.

I hope this helps!

Lush-ous smelling bath products that sustain the environment too! | Love Laura x

With their delightfully scented toiletries and innovative ‘green’ thinking, Lush has certainly revolutionised the bathing experiences of many of us across the globe. So why are Lush enthusiasts – including myself – so passionate about the lotions and potions on offer at this popular high street store?

The answer lies not only in the quality and creativity behind the luxury products on the shop floor, but also in the ethics about which Lush employees are passionate.

Lush believes in sustaining the environment and promises to ensure that all produce is 100 per cent vegetarian and uses little or no packaging or preservatives. Indeed, in resourcefully creating solid bubble bars, shampoos, and conditioners – to name just a few – Lush has managed to dramatically reduce the need for packaging. Any wrapping or casing they do utilise is re-usable or recyclable and, as an incentive for customers to recycle, for every five pots returned to a Lush store one free face mask can be redeemed as a reward.

However, the ethical thinking of Lush employees extends far beyond what we see in the store –   literally. The company’s buyers travel thousands of miles across the length and breadth of the world to ensure that all ingredients are sourced from community projects, which guarantee fair trade for the workers who pick and produce the natural ingredients. We can therefore rest assured that all of the elements that go into our deliciously scented toiletries are of the highest quality, and produced in an environment that is fair for all.

As well as caring for the working conditions of their foreign co-workers, Lush holds animal welfare high up in their priorities too. The company ensure that no product is sourced from any business that conducts, commissions, or condones animal testing. Animal cruelty is perhaps one of the biggest causes of concern for Lush - they even dumped manure outside the Houses of Parliament in 2010 to express their fervent loathing of animal testing. You’ve really got to admire their fortitude. 

 Ultimately, the creativity and passion that goes into Lush products is what keeps customers hooked. It seems hard to believe, but each product is handmade individually in a factory and uses all fresh ingredients. With each product comprising of ‘as-natural-as-possible’ ingredients alongside the attractive appearance and stunning scent, Lush products are pretty hard for other retailers to compete against. Thus, Lush continues to remain the world’s favourite environmentally friendly toiletry store.

Now as you know some of the background information on Lush’s ethics, feel free to watch my video review of Lush products, in which I analyse some of the beautifully scented toiletries in detail, helping you to find the product that’s right for you.