safe Nails

Introduing fantastic new nail polish - 

Snails Kids is a new range of nail painting products founded  by British mum Jeanette Sklivanou. Safe and fun to use, Snails (Safe nails!) are a completely unique, child friendly product.The only child polish to be 100% European, Snails is manufactured in France and is packaged in lead free Italian glass bottles. Snails adheres to all the regulations set out by the EU protective laws for cosmetics.

They are available in 11 vibrant colours and they are made of just three ingredients: Water, Acrylic Polymer and Non Toxic Colourants. Snails are 100% soluble and so for any unforeseen spillages, this polish will simply wash away!
Snails polish is eco friendly, hypoallergenic, with a babyish fragranceand is biodegradable, it  gives a fantastic high gloss, salon quality finish - with no harsh chemicals. And unlike any other child nail polish on the market, Snails does not require any toxic smelly nail polish remover simply wash with soap and water and the polish will come off. Want it to stay on longer? Use Snails breathe easy top coat

There are also 3  quite neutal soft colours for mums to be ( or for anyone really) use top coat to keep it on for normal length of time. I have tried this myself and can verify that yes it does come off with a wash and yes it does stay on with the top coat. I loved the two colours I chose to try ( Candy floss  & Raspberry Pie ) and will definately be using it again.

Snails nail safe nail colour for kids

11 gorgeous colours to choose from & you can buy these fab nail colours if you click on the the snail

All about eyeshadow colour

Pearly eyeshades are used to highlight the brow bone, they open up the eyes and create a shimmering. Frosted effect. Avoid really pearly eye shadows if your eyelids are very wrinkly because the pearly shadows will accentuate them.
Matt Shades
Matt eyeshadows create a nice flat effect. Dark shades retreat the eyes and light shades seem to advance them. Blend a pearly shade on top of a matt shade.
What colours go with what?
Pearly Greens: These colours include pale yellows, browns & golden colours.
Wear with aqua, pale blue, green & white
Pearly Blues: include all blues & indigo
Super with jeans and black outfits.
Pearly Pinks: Reds, violets, maroon & orange
Really good with pink clothes and to give colour to black & white clothes.
Pearly Yellows & Oranges:  Wear with orange & yellow but also looks great bold with black clothing
Pearly Browns & Golds: These colours look fabulous with purple and lilac
Matt Greens: Colours in this group include yellow, orange grass green & black & are very sophisticated, look best with the neutral colours of  black and white to give a dramatic look.
Matt blues & violets: These include all blues & violets , can be pretty and soft or bold and bright & even deep and sultry.
Matt Pinks: This group has reds, pinks and white & these can give a sweet pretty innocent look or a passionate to classic look.
Matt Browns: Gorgeous group of soft browns maroons, wine shades. Perfect for creating sculpted wide-eyed looks.
Matt Oranges & yellows: This group is full of bright bold oranges and flashing yellow & dark reds. Colours for the bold because they make a great statement. Real fashion colours.
         

Eyeliner

Eyeliner is the most ancient form of makeup used. It was discovered to be used widely in ancient Egypt and Mesapotamia, and used by both ladies and men. Eyeliner was used by King Tut. It is said that eyeliner used in ancient times could have been used to ward off the evil eye and to protect the eyes from the sun & other eye ailments.
Many different ingredients were used in eyeliners, sometimes copper ore and lead. Thankfully our modern eyeliners do not contain these ingredients. Our 100% natural  powder kohl is made from a a variety of nuts  incl:  almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts and pistachio & coconut, ground down and roasted in sesame oil to produce a gorgeous black soot. This is then traditionally applied with either a wooden or bone applicator. As well as this traditional powder kohl (sormeh) made in Iran are the  more well known forms of eyeliner to choose from.

These varying  types of eyeliner on the market each give a different type of effect.

Liquid eyeliner : a liquid which comes in a bottle and is applied with a thin brush to create a sharp defined line.
Kohl : A soft powder eyeliner in matt shades. Kohl outlines the eyes and can come in a powder form or as a pencil, it is soft and easy to apply and is popular in the east. Also called Kajal. These are easier to use if you want to produce a smudged look too.
Powder based pencil : This is a soft, powder base eyeliner in a wood pencil form, lots of colours available, matt shades and generally easy to apply.
Wax based pencils : These are similar to the powder based pencils but are wax based and much easier to apply as they have added wax which makes the eyeliner very soft.

 

 

Natural & Organic Show

Last month I went to the Natural & Organic show.

I took my daughter with me  to the show this year, I reckoned that taking along a discerning 20 year old who is quite an expert on cosmetics and is a total fuss pot about what goes on her face would be a good move.

In this I proved to be right.

We had a great time together, trying out lots of new  products, most of which were really great, and some of them have now found there way into the store.

Try out the gorgeous Alva products. I am now stocking  the Sanddorn skin care range, and I promise they are lovely. Hand cream goes on beautifully sinking into skin without feeling sticky or gunky and the skin oil is great for face, absorbs easily and doesn't feel oily, Buckthorn is great as an anti aging ingredient & helps with the effects of scars.

The new Alva Coleur cosmetics are super. There are two liquid foundation shades, baked rouge, baked pressed powder and gorgeous pressed eyeshadows. There is also a new range in the shop especially for menfolk. Natural and kind for shaving routines.

The other range now in the store is BWC. Beauty without Cruelty cosmetics. This includes all natural and chemical free cosmetics including: mascara, (waterproof too!) a  full range of 6 shades of liquid foundation, eye liner pencils, lip pencils, eye shadows & more. If you don't see what you want please ask as new products are being added every week.

I also have another line of natural  cosmetics in the pipeline. I am very excited about these products as they are all flower based. I tried them at the show and both my daughter and myself fell totally in love with them, the way they go on is terrific the feel of them is silky smooth and the look is natural & enhancing. I  cannot wait to get them in stock for you. They have not yet arrived in the UK but I have them on the agenda so watch this space for updates.

In the meantime do please visit www.hennaherbals to see what new products are on line as well as the ever popular signiture hair products, henna, indigo, lotus powder and cassia for natural colouring, conditioning and washing.

Alva Sanddorn hand cream

BWC Waterproof mascara

Henna eyebrow pen - long lasting & natural

Lips

Recently I have been asked the question  ' what colour lipstick should I buy?' and the other question is 'lipstick or lip gloss?

I pondered on these questions and realised quite quckly that the first question is quite hard to answer.  The second question lipstick or lip gloss is slightly easier.

Lipstick is  solid colour whilst lip gloss is luscious and glossy and some are rather sticky. Personally I like to have both in my makeup bag. I recommend Honeybee Gardens lips gloss for gorgous colour, pinks, peaches and natural glosses and Barefaced Beauty have some fabulous earthy browns and are not too sticky.

The question of what colour to choose all comes down to skin tone and hair colour.This can take years of trial and error and a bagfull of half used lipsticks and lip gloss. And yet, get it right and you'll feel fabulous. Wearing the right lipstick can transform your look, make you feel a million dollars and kick start your day.

For a detailed look at matching colours with hair and skin tones go to
http://www.hennaherbals.co.uk/page_2380390.html 

You'll find a great selection of different lipsticks and lip glosses and a variety of colours and shades. You'll also be able to find fantastic natural lipliners to compliment your lipstick.

Henna as Hair Dye

When  I was first introduced to henna as a hair dye I must admit I was sceptical as I was unsure if I would come out orange.

My husband is from the middle east and had grown up with 5 sisters and numerous aunties who all used henna so he had no qualms about the use of henna as a hair colourant or as a conditioner. So I took the bull by the horns and decided to have a go. My sister in law on a visit brought me a bag of pure natural henna unpretenciously packed in authentic hessian like mesh bags and sealed up by being sewn up with thick cotton thread. The bag was written on the outside in gorgeous script that I couldn't read, it all seemed quite exoctic at the time, after all few people 30 years ago used henna in this pure form.

1kg henna

My husband duly agreed (actually he was dead keen to get his hands into the sludge)  to do the honours of colouring my hair.Henna when its a powder should be green. This is how you know its fresh and it smells all earthy.

 Henna Herbals

Dry Henna Powder

 

Henna mixed with water

Mixing up a good amount of henna powder into a bowl he added warm water and mixed it until it became yogurt consistency and left it for 20mins,  this helps to settle and release the dyes & many people add oil at this point which also aids the release of the dye although I must admit neither he nor I knew this at the time and I have never used anything but water and have never had a problem.

At the point of putting this mud like goo on my hair I did put on old clothes and covered myself, of course over the years it did get better but it can be a messy business, henna, and I did end up with henna on my ears, arms and on the floor, but bless him he did do a good job, parting all my hair methodically and rubbing in henna until I was completely covered , then wrapping my head in a shower cap.

I left this on for about an hour, having quite light brown hair. I then washed it all off ( which took forever!) and then washed in gentle shampoo.

The effect was fantastico ... a gorgeous coppery red colour and I loved it ...

Over the years I have used henna consistently, getting older I added a table spoon of coffee to dampen the red down a bit which was starting to become a little more vibrant and orangy due to the greying of my hair. Coffee always worked for me.

The big bonus for me was that previously whilst growing up my hair was always kind of limp and thin but once I started to use henna over the years my hair transformed to a decent thicker quality and I now find that reaching my 50's the effect has had a truly amazing effect. No thinning hair for me and no dulling, my hair almost seems at its prime, thick, lustrous and shiny.

I am so happy with my hair at the moment and I do believe that it is henna that I need.

Henna Makeup

I thought it was high time to chat a bit about these great new products. I absolutley adore them

Henna makeup may sound strange and perhaps a little scary but I can assure you that they are fabulous. I use my eyebrow pen every day to cover up my sparse eyebrows and add a some colour to my faded tired old brows.

The ingredients are all natural with no chemicals added.  A small amount of natural henna powder for hair and tattoois added which is why it stays on for longer than the average brow or liner pencil, & then other natural ingredients are added for colour & moisturising and hey presto .. you have this wonderful concoction. I love them.

Now when we say it's semi permanant one must be careful not to think in terms of permanat tattoos or henna colouring on hair which  lasts a whole lot longer than the makeup.  Henna makeup will last longer thanan average liner and may stay on to some degree over night but  the time it will take to wear off will be dependent on your skin & sweat glands. All I can say is that I adore mine, it's soft, easy to apply & if I make a mistake it is easy to take off with some ordinary cleanser. The colours are not harsh, will not irritate your eyes and look beautiful. You can buy these at www.hennaherbals.co.uk and can even buy natural pure henna too

henna makeup for eyebrows, eyeline and eyeliner