May Beauty Round-Up

 This month I'm looking at a bronzer designed for mature skin, a vitamin C serum, a two-in-one shampoo and conditioner, and a hand wash which is helping to improve my nails.

A Fool Proof Bronzer

Now I don't know about you but I'm very fearful of bronzing powder. It must be remembering Ultra Glow from my teens which made us orange. I find it hard to know where to put a bronzer. If you use too much you get a flat, dirty look. But it's useful to master because in the summer I try not to expose my face to the sun, so I need to add a little colour. Otherwise the rest of me is a different shade.

I tried Studio 10 Radiance Glow Bronzing Veil, £28, which is from a range aimed at older women and available from Marks and Spencer and Cult Beauty.

I used my fat kabuki brush to cautiously apply the darker shade all over my face. I know that general advice is to "dot it where the sun hits," but I find this is a garanteed way to get a dirty looking face. I made sure I brushed my neck too. The key thing with bronzer is to make sure you use a little blusher as well, as this avoids the flat, matte look. I used a little of Rosie Huntington Whitley's cream blusher for M&S Autograph as it's a sheer cream. Powder on top of powder would look too matte on older skin.

You're probably wondering if the photo is the "before" because I don't look very bronzed. But reader, that was the intention. Now I know that I can apply this product gently and not go orange, I may be a bit braver next time.  The highlighter was very useful to apply down the centre of my nose and on the temples (trying to avoid the crow's feet, as you don't want to highlight wrinkles!).

A holiday winner: one bottle combining shampoo and conditioner?

Mainly for time reasons, I'm resentful of the need to use two products for a hair wash. But if I don't use a conditioner, my hair looks coarse and has no shine. I liked the idea of a product from trendy brand Deciem which claims to replace shampoo. This might be ideal for holidays, I thought. The packaging advises you to apply a generous amount of Grow Gorgeous Cleansing Conditioner to wet hair (it won't lather much because it doesn't contain detergents and sulphates) and leave it on for around three minutes. Then rinse thoroughly.

The smell really reminded me of something else, but I can't remember what. I find the "no lather" aspect a bit disconcerting. and it's put me off other natural shampoos in the past, but getting past that, the product did leave my hair feeling clean and nicely conditioned with no frizz. And it's supposed to keep colour vibrant too. It makes my colour a little less "blonde" than the Pureology products I normally use - which is a good thing. Buy for £16.72 from Amazon.

Nail Helper

I've been trying to improve my nails since Christmas. It was a New Year's resolution. I'll be writing a separate post about this ongoing struggle (yes, a real First World problem!). I've found that using a better quality hand wash makes a difference.  I used to buy those cheapie one pound anti-bacterial hand washes. Now I've discovered a great product at Waitrose, Argan Moroccan Rose Soothing Hand Wash. It has a divine smell and doesn't leave my hands dry.

Vitamin C Serum

In my April round-up I was thrilled with Mad Hippie's antioxidant face oil and was buying myself another product from their range, the Vitamin C serum.

Mad Hippie is a US brand that creates vegan, all-natural products stuffed full of effective ingredients. The vitamin C serum has eight actives including konjac root, ferulic acid (shown to double the UV protective effects of Vitamin C) and hyaluronic acid.

I've been using the Vitamin C serum at night after cleansing, followed by a night cream. It's described as an "uplifting antioxidant blend hat brightens, tightens and smoothes the skin." You can buy it at Amazon, £26.62.

My skin is a bit frazzled at the moment because on holiday in the Lake District I forgot to take any cleanser, and, unable to get to shops for two days, had to use shower gel !! Plus once the sun came out, my SPF50 didn't seem to last all day and I got a bit weather beaten.

I've been using the serum for about three weeks but can't say I've noticed any major improvement - although now with my latest skin issues, maybe I'll see something. I'm still using the antioxidant oil and rate it very highly.

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