A Week of Red Lips

A small selection of my red lippys!

Last year some of you may rememeber me talking about the Red Lippy Project, a week of raising awareness of cerival cancer screening, organised by the Eve Appeal.

This type of charity work is right up my street- all you need to do is simply wear red lipstick to show your support! Easy peasy!

When I first heard of the Red Lippy Project last year, I was eager to get on board. As a girl in her mid twenties, it scares me to think so many women of my age suffer from this type of cancer, and some even lose their lifes to it. The silent killer seems to be picking up it's pace.

Only this year, local teenager Sophie Jones lost her battle at the tender age of 19. A mere 6 years short of the cervical screening age limit. Thankfully, due to her supportive family and friends, a petition named 'Sophie's Choice' made it parliment on May 1st. From this we can hope the age limit may be lowered, and young women like Sophie can be saved.

I'm just thankful that I'm now post 25 and able to have my four yearly smear test.

Something I never thought I'd say I'd be thankful for.

So, how do you join me in supporting the Red Lippy Project?!

Simply wear your favourite red lippy each day, from June 8th to 14th, which just happens to be Cervical Screening Awareness Week.

If you are a social media lover like moi, then post your pic with the #RedLippyProject.

Make sure you follow their Twitter, Facebook and Instagram pages too!

I'll be trying a new shade of red each day- so make sure you follow me on Instagram- @sianlouiseauld to see my efforts!

Feasting at the farm

Who would of thought I'd spend my bank holiday weekend (yet another one...where have all these bank holidays come from?!) in a muddy field, wearing an anorak and wellies, drinking from a pineapple and attempting to 'rave' with my collection of glow sticks to a load of New Order and Joy Division classics.

But that's exactly what I did. Followed by a slightly hungover morning of strawberry beer drinking and chilli jam eating, thankfully this time in the sunshine.

Why were these my bank holiday activities?! Because it was time for our local food festival- Farm Feast, and their first music festival Livestock, both held at Claremount farm on the Wirral. 

I love food and drink festivals- You get to meet lots of local suppliers, try new food and drink and it's a fantastic excuse to get out in the great outdoors! Even if I'm not the biggest fan of outdoor wear- but being 'style spotted' by Regatta is always a bonus!

This year, three of my favourite Liverpool drinking holes also got involved- Aloha, Berry and Rye and Ship and Mitre, meaning I could indulge in my favourite beverages all weekend long, whilst exploring the farm!

Muddy times at Livestock

Sunny Farm Feast

During this exploration, I came across Riverford, who deliver fresh organic fruit and veg boxes every week. I've been angling after Abel and Cole boxes for a few months now, so finding a face to chat to from a rival company was right up by street, and I'm now very excited for my first veg box to land on the door stop next week!

So if you fancy a day of trying lots of new local grub, try and get down to your local food festival this Summer- I know you won't regret it!

My Parisian Obsession

I'm not 100% sure when it started, or how the thought even crept into my mind- but right now, I'm pretty much obsessed with Paris. So obsessed, that one night in dreary December, I spent a full 8 hours looking at short term let apartments and cheap flights, rather than getting my much needed shut eye. 

But yet, I have never been. 

(Well no, wait, I have in fact been to Disneyland Paris aged 8, but really that doesn't exactly count)

Some may think it's a romanticised 'Disney-esqe' dream, one where I'm expecting a Scouse boy to swing by and fly me off there for a first date, others that fear I believe I'll arrive in the city of lust and return engaged to a flirtatious French man within 48 hours. 

Yet it really isn't like that at all. A year or so ago, maybe I could only see myself there with one person in particular, but now, I can almost only envisage myself there alone. As lonely and lost as that may sound. I see it more as a journey into independence (probably with a bit of Destiny's Child Independent Women as the soundtrack...)

Aside from the romance, I assume part of me hopes I'll somehow be as lucky as Owen Wilson in 'Midnight In Paris', by stumbling across a time machine and spend endless hours drinking  with the Fitzgerald's and listening to jazz in its purest form. 

But, even for me, I know this is a little far-fetched...ok, maybe more than a little. 

Then a fortnight or so ago, a friend innocently shared a Facebook status. A status I read whilst ordering my daily 'Skinny Grande Chai Latte, Extra Hot' which resulted in my mind racing towards the Euro Star and my stomach flipping with the overwhelming sense of fate playing its card.

The status featured a book, which launched a few days previously. A book written my women who made their dreams come true in a particular European city. Yeah, you guessed it- PARIS.

My Paris Story, is collection of real-life Parisian dream tales, written by 22 women. Why these 22 women? Well, they form part of a network of professional women living in Paris created by business and life coach Dawn Z Bournand. Now this is one group I aspire to join!

Reading a chapter or 2 each evening, before my worn out mind hits the pillow is exactly the tonic I need. Leading to nightly sweet dreams of sitting outside a famous Parisian cafe, drinking copious amounts of coffee, accompanied by sweet pastries whilst jotting each and every thought in my whirring mind onto paper.  

With the hope that those written words become the start of a novel. 

A novel that started in one special place. Paris.

Women In Their Own Words

Tuesday is usually my quietest day. The one I usually spend staring aimlessly at the busy week ahead, wondering how exactly I'm going to inject some social excitement into a life spent making women feel beautiful for theirs. 

Tuesday is also the day I spend catching up on any intriguing social media I've missed out on over the weekend. And how grateful I am, that last Tuesday lunchtime I was grazing through my Twitter time line- when my index finger stopped scrolling on a tweet from @FemaleBloggerRT.

The tweet in question was from Sarah-Jane Darcey, a successful writer specialising in Fashion and Lifestyle, with a CV any aspiring writer would be envious of, who has recently launched Women In Their Own Words. 

I don't need instructing twice- so I put the kettle on, grabbed the biscuit tin and off I headed to http://womenintheirownwords.com/ for a good old nose.

An hour later, after reading the site from 'cover to cover', I was hooked- and perhaps Darcey's biggest fan.

I have always had a secret passion for writing, in fact it was my dream job in my infant years before I discovered the magic of make-up, but have always shied away from anything other than blogging, fearful of my amateur style and lack of knowledge. Browsing through the plethora of stories on the site, all supporting and encouraging women to write, I finally felt the urge to write something different.

45 minutes, 2 cups of tea and a whole packet of choc-chip cookies later- a personal piece about one of my best friends and business partner Robyn was complete. Before fear kicked in any further, I attached the piece to an email and pinged it off the Sarah-Jane, sure my reply would contain the words 'Not good enough'.

So, imagine my surprise (in fact it was near tears of joy, I'm such a weepy one these days...) when Sarah-Jane asked to feature the piece on her website that coming weekend.

As much as I would love you to head over to Women In Their Own Words solely to read my outpouring, I seriously recommend taking a little more time to explore the wonderful wealth of information on the site.

You never know, it might just give you that little bit of faith you need.

Throwback Thursday...to 2009

This past week I've been having a good old sort out. Well, an online sort out, but that still counts as a Spring clean in my book.

Whilst I was tidying up my very very old Facebook page (which is now nearly refurbed- so I'd LOVE you to give it a 'Like' by clicking here.) I discovered a post from back in March 2010, which cast my mind right back.

Five years back- to 2009- when I was living the high life with my bestest friends, in our penthouse apartment in a converted cotton mill, a mere drive away from beautiful Didbsury in Manchester. I was working riduclously hard as a freelance make-up artist, surrounded by a wonderful group of fellow creatives and an equally lovely boyfriend. Oh how life changes!

Back in the Blonde old day! (I'm on the left btw)

One of those make-up buddies, was the talented (and very bubbly!) Sarah Morten, who I worked with on many occasions including a rather creative music video, for the Manchester band  'Ten Bears'.

LITERALLY- EVERYWHERE!

From painting them gold, to sticking feathers EVERYWHERE, and creating what felt like hundreds of glitter lips, this was a music video unlike any other. 

Luckily, the video is still available on You Tube, and I would definitely suggest checking it out! Not only to see our creative skills, but the song is pretty darn catchy too!

OPI Discovery Collection

What are you doing today at 4pm? Or even tomorrow at 2pm? 

Well, after a scorching weekend, it's predicted the next few days are full of silly storms, so why not curl up on the couch and grab an absolute bargain on QVC?

My gorgeous colleagues at OPI are back on air once again- this time with a 12 Piece Discovery Collection. If you are a big OPI fan (like moi) or maybe you've just heard me banging on about them for the past 2 years, it's the perfect why to try a little bit of all the OPI favourites. Plus it comes in a gorgeous box, ideal for any summer birthdays coming up.

So what do you get?

First up, it's hero treatment Nail Envy, in original gloss and the new QVC UK exclusive shade-nude, plus my desert island pick, Avoplex Nail & Cuticle Oil. You can read how to get stronger, longer nails using these products here.

Next, for a long lasting, quicker manicure, it's professional secrets Chip Skip and Rapidry Top Coat. Simply start your mani with Chip Skip, and follow with a base coat or Nail Envy. After two coats of colour, finish with Rapidry Top Coat for a high shine finish in a flash.

Now what colour to choose?! We've got summers favourite coral  Cajun Shrimp, amethyst  toned Purple With A Purpose and a hot pink, Pompeii Purple. Plus, from the Brazilian collection, multi tonal pewter Next Stop The Bikini Zone and a soft pink I Love Applause from the Muppets collection. Phew! That's a lot of mani's and pedi's to be rocking in the sunshine!

Talking of the sunshine- if you are jetting off on your jolly's this collection is even more perfect- as each and every bottle is 3.75ml meaning you can even take a few in your hand luggage! Plus you'll also get your manicured mitts on moisturising lotion Avojuice in Coconut and Melon (smells exactly like a holiday cocktail!) and floral Violet Orchid, which is ideal for a romantic evening stroll.

Thinking this collection will break the bank? Then you'd be wrong- you'll be grabbing over £60 worth of OPI goodies for under £25! Bargain!

So make sure you tune in and join me in sporting gorgeous fingers and toes this summer!

Ombre Locks

For the past 18 months everybody from Kimmy K, Alexa Chung and Drew Barrymore has rocked the ombre hair trend. Leading to the majority of So Coco Rouge clients embracing the trend. 

And boy have I been jealous. Don't get me wrong, I adore my vibrant red locks, but there is something special about those rich chocolate roots gradually toning into caramel blonde ends. 

Before

After lots of thoughts and endless searching on pinterest for 'Red to copper ombre', I brought up the topic with our extremely talented hair Rougette Kelly. We agreed we had never seen a well done red-copper ombre, so thought it was time we showed the world how it was done.

During

For those of you who have never experienced a 5 hour long ombre application, it goes a little like this.... Root colour, vigorous back combing, bleach foils applied to ends, crying in pain as backcombing combed out, final toner applied to end colour, cries of joy at your gorgeous new locks!

Can't beat a good Saturday night Blow Dry!

Now, I just have the job of keeping these locks looking so luscious every single day.

Anyone fancy hiring me a live in hairdresser?!

After

A new sunny life

Whilst I am sat at the So Coco Rouge reception desk, peering out into the deary and dull May weather, it's comforting to know one member of my family is enjoying the sunshine.

Well, a little more than sunshine- Caribbean sunshine in fact.

Yes, my lucky lucky cousin and her lovely hubbie, this week upped sticks and headed to the beautiful Caymen Islands to start their sunny new life! 

Any room for a little redhead in that luggage guys?!

Pre wedding pampering

Suzanne, her brother Mike and I

Suzanne, is the gorgeous bride I had the pleasure of pampering for her Vegas wedding last year, and her love for the USA goes far beyond getting hitched there! As far back as I can remember, she's been determined to get out there and live the American dream. And this is the first tip toe into that fantasy. 

Suzanne and I grew up together,  almost like sisters, and as an only child, there is nothing more special than that precious relationship, and that of the one I have with her wonderful brother Mike. From days spent playing with barbies for an endless 12 hours to the ones spent declaring 'war'' across her parents landing, complete with trenches built with goose down feather pillows, our's was a childhood built on countless happy memories.

After over ten years working in the beauty industry, (and she's only 24!! They start you making tea in salons ultra young!!) ambitiously working her way up from spa therapist to a 5* spa manager and national skin care trainer, she's off for pastures new, and I'm sure a wonderful new job! I'm now simply and selfishly hoping her new job role has a make up artist opportunity available nearby! 

Any new life, needs one hell of a send off! So last weekend we spent a full day plus a special evening spent with family, celebrating the end of their UK life and the start of their new US adventure. Amongst many, many, many tears. 

Rocking my favourite deep red lip was a must, and with a red lip, comes a flick!

These are my favourites when creating my signature winter look....Yes, I know it's May- but have you looked out the window?!

No7 ADVANCED Serums

I can still vividly remember that day back in 2007, whilst working on a make-up counter in my local Boots store,  watching hundreds, and I seriously mean hundreds of women queueing outside our store, for hours before opening.

Why on earth would you do such a thing?! For a free Mulberry? A Chanel sample sale? 

A SKINCARE LAUNCH?!

Thanks to BBC2 show Horizion, it was in fact the latter. Yes, when No7 launched Protect and Perfect Serum, women went mad. Why? Because Horizon hired scientists were surprised to find the cream was as effective at reducing sun damage as prescription-only products, such as widely recognised retinoic acid.

7 years on, and 3 more serum launches later, today they revealed the next generation of anti-ageing magic. Protect and Perfect ADVANCED Serums, which are now available in your local Boots store. (Unless those hoards of women have got there first again!!)

Boots No7 claim the serums are clinically proven to be even more effective at reducing fine lines and wrinkles, and from 100's of women who tested the serums, 80% saw their best ever anti-ageing result. So far, so good.

But, the intriguing part was showcased in last nights TV advert. The ad, which was showed during the 10pm News break, revealed 8 women, had spent 4 weeks without looking in a mirror.

Not one. Can you imagine?! Not driving, for some- not working, and not having a clue how you look, for one whole month. It sounds like my idea of hell.

However, watching their delightful reactions at the big reveal, tells us what we need to know- the serum worked. 

I have been using Protect and Perfect Serum, alongside the matching day and night cream for the past 2-3 months, and have been pleased with the results. But my intrigue has got the better of me. So, today I will start with the Advanced range- and in four weeks we'll see if I'm as delighted as those 8 women.

Join me again in 4 weeks and we'll see for ourselves!

Benefit The POREfessional

At the grand young age of 27, I have noticed my first wrinkles. And unsurprisingly I'm not impressed.

Alongside these fine lines (damn being such a smiler), I'm also starting to notice my pores are appearing enlarged in my T-zone, particularly on my forehead.

Luckily for me, within days of this grim discovery, the latest issue of Elle dropped through my letter box, with a lovely little treat from Benefit. Their famed The POREfessional, which is currently the UK's number 1 selling primer.

Claiming to 'Quickly minimise the appearance of pores & fine lines' the oil free formula contains vitamin E and can be applied under or even over make-up. 

A relaxed lunch time catch up with my cousin (who is lucky enough to be moving to the Carribean this week!) was the ideal chance to try The POREfessional. 

Following the instructions helpfully supplied on the Benefit website, I applied a pea sized amount of the silky feeling primer from the centre of my face in a patting motion. I focused on my T-zone leaving very little applied to cheeks and hair and jaw line.

Next, I followed with No7 Stay Perfect Foundation and No7 Match Made Concealer mixing in a little of my all time favourite highlighter Benefit Moon Beam.

Unfortunately, Moon Beam has now been discontinued, but Girl Meets Pearl will offer a similar finish. 

For a subtle shimmer and a touch of definition, I sweeped yet another discontinued Benefit beauty, 10, over cheeks, before finishing with California Kissin lip gloss. This blue-tinted lip gloss tastes minty fresh and even makes teeth appear brighter and whiter- but luckily doesn't turn your lips blue!

After a good long catch up, and 12 hours of make-up wear, my complexion was still perfect. A little shine in my t-zone, but as I had not powdered my base, I think that's pretty impressive!

Benefit The POREfessional is £24.50 and available nationwide.

Kryolan Illusion-new shades!

Way back in December I introduced you to my favourite new highlighter- Kryolan Illusion.

At the time this gorgeous cream-golden toned cream was only available in one shade, but I'm exited to tell you, we now have 8 stunning tones to try!

Whilst I was in London last week, I popped into make-up artist heaven Charles Fox and enjoyed a good old play with the latest offers from Kryolan. Some of the new shades may seem a little 'out there' as highlighters go,  including the deep bronze 'Nappa', dark rose 'Velours' and lilac 'Chiffon' but when worn correctly, they look stunning. Try sweeping these shades across eyelids or pat onto lips either alone or over lipstick for a multi-tonal finish.

For a gorgeous shimmery cheek this summer, try buffing peachy shades 'Cashmere' and 'Organza' from apples up towards the top of cheekbones. If we are lucky to have subtle kiss of the summer sun, these shades will instantly rev up our bronzed complexions.

If not, we always have 'Silk', 'Satin' and my original fave 'Velvet', which when buffed onto the tops of cheekbones, cupid's bow, collarbones and even down the centre of our legs, give a gorgeous glamorous glow and enhance our natural bone structure, however milk-bottle our complexion may be.

The real bonus? illusion is now available in either a 5 or 8 palette, perfect for those of us wanting to try a combination of shades, or for us pro's who are constantly looking for new ways to avoid a back-breaking heavy kit!

Available from Charles Fox, in store and online now!

Sparkling New Smile

For a few years now, I have been desperate to have my teeth whitened. But for some reason fear has always got in the way. Well, fear and a lack of funds- it's always seemed just that bit out of budget.

But, recently, we decided to rent our gorgeous little beauty room at So Coco Rouge out to fellow beauty professionals, such as dental nurses.

This weekend, the lovely Lauren from Sparkling Smiles joined the salon for a day of teeth whitening- and I jumped at the chance of being first in the hot seat.

Firstly, Lauren and I discussed the procedure and compared my teeth to the shade guide. It was decided I was shade 18- which thankfully was around average. So all that coffee drinking hasn't done me too much damage then!

Next, Lauren protected my gums with a paint on gum shield, before applying the whitening accelerator and placing my mouth beneath an LED lamp for 20 minutes. Ipod in, Kasabian playing and a chance to catch up on 20 winks it was.

This process was repeated again, leaving my teeth noticeably whiter and brighter, (I'd actually jumped to shade 6!!), so obviously I was one happy bunny!

Lauren is back in the salon on the evening of Thursday May 29th. Her services cost £59 per person, or two people for £99. You can book in by calling the salon on 0151 708 7245.

Funday Sundays

How is it yet another bank holiday?! It feels like we are being utterly spoilt by these Monday morning lie in's at the moment- not that I'm complaining!

Anyway, after chatting to a few of my lovely readers, and even my closest friends, I've decided to start sharing a little more with you in my tiny corner of the world wide web. But don't worry- my snip bits of gossip will always be accompanied with a little bit of beauty love!

This weekend it was time for a much overdue catch up with my gorgeous friends, Heather and Zarah, after Heather returned from 6 months of living the dream in Austria. I met the girls whilst working for Estee Lauder, so meeting up with fellow make-up lovers I decided to push the boat out from my usual chilled Sunday look! 

After rifling through my make-up bag I decided to create plum smokey eyes, complete with rose pink lips and cheeks.

 I started with the Illamasqua Compliment Palette, sweeping the cool brown liquid metal over eyelids from lash line to socket, before highlighting the inner corner of the eye with the champagne shadow. Adding smokiness with the rosy plum shadow in the socket line and the deep purple to the outer corners and lash line, before finishing with Daniel Sandler Velvet Waterproof Eyeliner in Grey to top and bottom lash lines and two coats of Max Factor Masterpiece Max mascara. 

Finished look

For naturally sculpted cheeks, I buffed Illamasqua Cream Pigment in Hollow under cheekbones before sweeping yet another cream pigment, this time in Androgen, from the apples of cheeks and up over cheekbones. Finishing with a subtle highlight on tops of cheekbones using Kryolan Illusion in Silk.

The finishing touch of pink, was from my favourite lip stain Kryolan Lip N Cheek in Petunia, followed by Art Deco High Shine Lipgloss in clear. 

All ready for a day in Liverpool and lots and lots of girlie gossip!

Lots of fun with the girlies!