Beauty and Health

Swalk Salon blow dry

I’ve visited blow dry bars before but I’ve never been as happy as I was last week when I had it done at Swalk Salon on Portobello Road. Akiela listens to you and understands exactly what it is that you’re after. My hair looked so full and sexy and I felt so confident that night, it’s amazing what a difference good hair can do. So if you got a big date coming up or a fun night out with the girls, make sure you drop by Swalk and get Akiela to do your hair. I can’t recommend her enough.

Friday 3rd May 2013 | 3 comments | Category: Around Notting Hill, Beauty and Health | Tags: Akiela Peters, blow dry, hair, London, notting hill, Portobello road, Swalk Salon

The Sound of Dreams

Following the previous post, I thought I would share some of the music I exercise to. I used to listen to upbeat electronic music when going on the treadmill or cross trainer. That’s until I tried running to music by the Polish composer Abel Korzeniowski. It has changed my whole running experience, not only can I run for longer but his amazing scores take me to a place of calm. If you like to listen to my running play list or hear more from Abel Korzeniowski then you can subscribe to my shared playlist on Spotify, just search The Sound of Dreams.

Wednesday 6th March 2013 | 2 comments | Category: Beauty and Health, General | Tags: Abel Korzeniowski, exercise, Music, playlist, running, spotify playlist, the sound of dreams

My Bobbi Brown favourites

It’s been way too long since we did the topic beauty here on the blog. As you already know my makeup bag mainly consists of Chantecaille and Laura Mercier products, with the occasional something from Nars. During my recent visit to LA I met the loveliest makeup artist from Bobbi Brown. Amanda Flood introduced me to the entire range, from skincare to make up and I must say she had me converted. So very often I end up buying products that sound great in the store, but once I get home I don’t use them more than once or twice. These three star buys I use daily and can’t imagine going without now:

Bobbi Brown Foundation Stick: This is truly the most amazing foundation I’ve ever used. A makeup artist at work first used it on me and I fell in love with the coverage and texture, so in LA I purchased this award winning stick in the shade Natural. It’s easy to carry around, easy to apply and blends in like silk. You can use it all over the face, or like me use a small concealer brush to pick up a little product to cover up problem areas. This product is buildable; you can go for light, medium or full coverage depending on how much you use and how you apply it. The best thing about it is that it doubIes as a concealer which you can use under the eyes to brighten up. It looks really natural and stays put all day.

Bobbi Brown Sheer Lip Gloss – Pretty in Pink (Limited edition): This is my favourite lipgloss ever. I’m much more of a lipstick person because most glosses feel too sticky for me but I haven’t gone a day without using this product since I got it. This super sheer and wearable gloss is designed to enhance your lips. When you first apply it you feel a slight cooling tingle which I really like. You can wear in on top of any lipstick for extra shine.

Bobbi Brown Bronzing Powder (Golden light): For years the only bronzing powder I would go near was Benefits Hoola bronzer and even that could look muddy at times, but when Amanda applied this bronzer on me I instantly saw the difference. The problems I have with most bronzers are that they are either too orange, too muddy or have too much shimmer in them. This soft matte bronzer gives your skin the look of a flawless natural tan. It blends nicely and will never look patchy or orange. You can use it all over for an even tan or like me add a little to your complexion to warm it up. I also this product together with another Bobbi Brown product which is the Shimmer Brick Compact in Bronze, it helps achieving the perfect sun kissed look.

Saturday 2nd March 2013 | 1 comment | Category: Beauty and Health, Make up | Tags: Amanda Flood, Bobbi Brown, Bobbi Brown Bronzing Powder, Bobbi Brown Foundation stick, Bobbi Brown Sheer Lip Gloss, Los Angeles, makeup artist, makeup review, Pretty in Pink, review

Three Little Wonders

While in California I stocked up on my favourite skin care products. I had previously tried Ole Henriksen, but when Christina introduced me to his Three Little Wonders I got hooked on the brand. It’s pretty hard to find here in UK, I think you can order it online from Lookfantastic.com and Liberty might still be stocking it. In US you can buy it at any Sephora store, and I promise that you’re going to love it.

Monday 11th February 2013 | 2 comments | Category: Beauty and Health | Tags: Liberty, Lookfantastic, Ole Henriksen, Sephora, skin care, Three little wonders

Infrared Dome – tested

About a month back I got invited by Mydetoxdiet to try out their new Infrared Dome. I did my research before heading to Russel Square and felt quite nervous. 30 minute is this heated dome is meant to make you burn up to 600 calories, sweating out toxins and breaking down fat. It’s meant to work miracles on cellulitis as well. Would I cope with the heat?

I was left alone in a room with really atmosphere and music. I had a couple of glasses of water with lemon to make sure I was hydrated enough. There was access to a bathroom with make-up removers, deo’s and a shower. I stripped off and lay in the infrared dome, the first 15 minutes on my front. Now this was early January and it was very cold outside and my body felt achy and tired. As the dome heated up I could feel my muscles relaxing. After 15 minutes the lady knocked on the door meaning I should flip over to do the last fifteen minutes on my back and this is when I could feel how much I was sweating. Apparently you sweat as much as if you had run 22 km. When it was over I got to lay there and cool down slowly. I was feeling relaxed and full of energy.

So how does it work? The technology of the black carbon dome gradually heats up the body by emitting vibrations of far-infrared rays that are in line with the infrared naturally produced within the body. The heat penetrates up till 40 mm under the skin, which is purifying, in depth cleansing and cellulite fighting.

I can’t say I lost any weight because you simply don’t lose weight after one session of burning 600 calories, but I will say that my skin has never ever felt firmer. I noticed it the day after in the shower. Would I try it again? yes most certainly.

For more information visit www.mydetoxdiet.co.uk

A session normally costs £55 but if you quote: beingdena you get 2 sessions for the price of 1.

Thursday 23rd February 2012 | 1 comment | Category: Beauty and Health, Reviews | Tags: burn calories, cellulitis, diet, Infrared Dome, mydetoxdiet, sweating

Some of my favourite beauty products

While I was in Tenerife I stocked up on some of my favourite beauty products.

♥ Biotherm – Biomains Age Delaying Hand & Nail Treatment. This is one of my favourite hand creams. It absorbs into the skin really quickly, leaving soft without feeling greasy. It has a wonderful scent SFP 8 and nice packaging. £10 for 50ml

♥ Biotherm- Beurre De Lèvres Lip Balm. I have so many lip balms but this is really one of the best. It contains 5 nourishing oils (jojoba, apricot, coriander, passionflower and macadamia) and Acacia Biosugar gently eliminates the dead skin cells from chapped lips. I love this melting balm and it’s matte finish. Highly recommend this! £9 for13ml

♥ Bioderma Crealine H20 Micelle Solution- I first heard about this product through Gwyneth Paltrow’s site GOOP. It’s hard to find in the UK unless you order online so I bought a bottle in France at the pharmacy. I can’t express how amazing this make-up remover is. It gets rid of all your make-up, even water-resistant ones, while maintaining the skin’s balance. My skin feels soft and clean, ready for my favourite moisturizer. Approx £10 for 500 ml.

Monday 6th February 2012 | 7 comments | Category: Beauty and Health, Reviews | Tags: Beurre De Levres, Bioderma, Biomains Age Delaying hand cream, Biotherm, Crealine H20 Micelle Solution, Hand & Nail, lip balm, Make Up Store, review

Oh Dior you won me over

On my way to Tenerife I stopped by the duty-free shop and noticed Dior’s Spring 2012 nail polishes are out. I adore both colours and must admit that this is a first for me: first time that I’ve chosen Dior over Chanel. Which is your favourite?

Sunday 29th January 2012 | 6 comments | Category: Beauty and Health, Nails | Tags: April 533, chanel, dior, Dior Vernis, June 539, May 635, nail polish, nails, spring 2012

Shea Honey

I always have a hand cream by my bedside table and one in my bag, and they tend to always be by l’occitane. I love their Shea butter creams, they’re rich without leaving your hands feeling sticky. They’ve brought out a limited edition Shea Honey Hand Cream which I can’t wait to try out. I’ve heard it smells heavenly.

Saturday 28th January 2012 | 2 comments | Category: Beauty and Health | Tags: hand cream, honey, L'Occitane, limited edition, Shea Butter

Lookfantastic Beauty Haul

If you follow me on twitter (beingdena) then you might have read that I recently won Lookfantastic’s Beauty Haul. It was amazing considering that I didn’t have a clue that I had entered the competition. I simply tweeted how happy I was with their service. I always get my Dermalogica and Kerastase products from them. Their webshop has the lowest prices as well as a very speedy free delivery. So you can imagine how surprised I was when I got a tweet saying I won their Beauty Haul and a few days later a package arrived with all of these beauty products inside. I think I will start tweeting more :)

Wednesday 7th September 2011 | 9 comments | Category: Beauty and Health | Tags: 8 hour cream, beauty haul, competition, Dermalogica, Elizabeth Arden, fudge dry shampoo, Kerastase, Lookfantastic, moroccan oil, Opi, review, tweet, twitter, winner

Scent of a man

My blogging habits don’t look good at the moment, basically I think of blogging all the time but don’t actually do it. But I do have a good excuse, sort of… been working hard and also working on some big changes involving the blog. Some exciting news for those who follow my blog. You will find out what in exactly one months time (or perhaps sooner).

So my long weekend has started. Yesterday I decided to spoil handsome who is always spoiling me by getting him the most wonderful scent ever: Verbenas of Provence by Jo Malone. He loves it and I love smelling him. I love all fresh citrus scents and to me this one is a very masculine one though Jo Malone fragrances are unisex.