Review: L’Oreal Skin Perfection Serum

I have a love/hate relationship with serum’s, i love the idea of concentrated and targeted moisture and hydration especially as i have dry skin. But i feel with a lot of serums i have tried in the past this feeling is short lived and after half an hour my skin is back to blah and dull once again unless i use oils(which i have been doing for a while now as part of my night time routine)

I hate spending money on expensive skincare products(like we all do) just to feel like i was better off slapping olive oil on my face twice a day(YSL Youth Liberator Serum im talking to you!) Then came along this pretty pink number and i was sucked in by the hype on youtube and decided to give the serum a wiz. I have been using it pretty consistently before i went away for my Hen every morning. Now i know serum’s are better applied at night due to the heavier consistency but with my dry sahara desert type skin i dont have that problem. So let’s go through the pros/cons shall we baring in mind that this product was advertised as being able to improve the condition of your skin from pores to evening out skin tone.

Pro:

Consistency: Yes, its a serum but it absorbs pretty damn easy into my skin and therefore makes an ideal base to apply your make up on top of, its not heavy at all but still left my skin hydrated and silky smooth and that feeling lasted for a few hours at least. Its a no fuss serum that i didn’t need to think too hard about applying.

Skin: The important part, i definitely noticed my skin looking a lot better, i have slightly uneven skin tone around my nose area and i felt this serum helped to make everything look a lot more blended if that makes sense. I love make up clearly so i don’t tend to wear foundation or concealor for purposes of coverage but more because i love the finished look you get, so i can’t say wether you would want to use a lot less of either of those with the results i got from this serum. It does leave slightly tacky feeling but not for long.

Pump: THANK YOU for creating a serum with a pump(be it a tacky plastic pump) but it does the job, so over pipettes or whatever you call them(waste of time)

Cons:

Age: The serum is aimed at 25-35 market which just annoyed me reading, because skin is different for everyone! Although this may be to do with the light consistency of the serum, but i just feel like more mature women(my mum for example) would really enjoy this product because of that reason instead of always being fobbed off with heavy custard like skin products.

The Science bit: “enriched with Perline-P and patented LR 2412, helps transform the appearance of skin quality, as if perfected. Designed to penetrate through the skin’s epidermis layers.
Pores look virtually undetectable, tone looks more even”

Pricing: It’s pretty ridiculous for a highstreet product and by that i mean something you can pick up at your supermarket.(£14.99)

Packaging: Now i did say i loved the pump but lets be honest if you have actually held this range in your hands you will know what i mean when i say it makes you feel quite cheap, although i am not as fussy as it may seem with packaging nor do i ever buy a product simply because of how it will look on my bathroom sink.

In CONCLUSION: I could go without buying this product again, and i think that is the ultimate test. It’s a good serum in the sense that i felt it was doing something to my skin but just not enough. I reckon a decent moisturiser i slap on every morning would do just as good. I will be sticking to my facial oils instead for intense hydration and nourishment.

Wedding Update: THE HEN

I am currently waiting for my Hen VLOG to go live on youtube, so i thought this would be perfect opportunity to share some snaps from my hen do. I can’t thank the girls enough for the experience and i haven’t really felt this close to anyone besides my partner and my family for quite some time. In fact i felt quite emotional at times- lol

Anyway, i shall let the pictures do the talking 🙂 We stayed in a secret location in Marbella 😉

 

My Diary

Good evening lovelies, so here is a picture of my new diary I purchased from a cute stationary shop in town. I gave my mummy the smaller version as she likes to keep her diary in her handbag. I seem to buy a new diary every year and I get as far as filling out birthday reminders for those I already know off by heart.

I was definitely that kid at school who forced their mum to buy new stationary end of every summer and did nothing much with it. But this year one of my resolutions is to be organised and productive, I reckon this will happen naturally anyway as some of you may or may not know I am getting married soon 🙂 so according to my other half I no longer can be too much of a lady of leasure. Although im sure I can twist his ear on that one. I am probably the least organised person I know, but I love the concept of being organised……yes I know. Anyway, I just wanted an excuse to show off my pretty purchase.

P.s. I am writing and uploading this via the mobile (I always think of that F.R.I.E.N.D.S episode with courtney and pheebs snobby friend-u know which one) so excuse the quality.

Love Kin x

Get Ready With Me – New Years Eve Day Look

Happy New Year to all my followers, and readers, tweeters and all round stalkeroos(its ok)

It had been 2 weeks since i last uploaded on youtube, and i was getting a little frustrated with not having the time over this festive period BUT i found a way. Watch me below get ready for the day, was meant to go shopping and just do some nice things but i didn’t get to vlog much of it for you guys. Maybe next time, I need a better camera, my phone is too big and isn’t ideal for vlogging, so i will probably invest into a compact digi cam that can record HD videos because carrying around my DSLR is also not ideal!

AND now im blabbing but please do check out my video 🙂

Lots of best wishes to you all, i hope you all got to spend the beginning of this new year with those you love.

p.s extra points for my baby kiko making the video magical lol

Kin x

Beauty Review: Kevyn Aucoin’s Sensual Skin Enhancer

I wanted to do a review on this product last week(a day after trying it) but i knew i had to give it a good few weeks in order to give an in depth review, but to be really honest i could not wait! But before we talk about the product i wanted to share with you a youtube video i watched today on Kevyn and his vision and a few of my favourite quotes on this incredibly gifted young man(may he rest in peace)

His earlier years were extremely humble in terms of a childhood and being taken seriously as a make up artist in that era was not exactly easy yet he survived those hardships.
One of my best friends( Ivan ) is Gay and he has so much passion for make up, that sometimes when he can see me diverting my head towards a 9-5 career he will always remind me and reignite the passion i have and we both have for Make up! Kevyn Aucoin struggled in his earlier years to be taken seriously, for the simple reason he was a male. His was of thinking was so perfect in that in order to be a great make up artist you first had to be a great person! I guess that holds true for any career you wish to be heard in. His make up was truly head of his time, and to date i dont think there is a make up artist more inspiring then this man, he really was the KING or Queen of Blending.

So is it any wonder i am deeply infatuated with what i can only describe as a little pot of HEAVEN. The sensual skin enhancer has been thrown around everywhere on beauty blogs and youtube, and as someone who watches more then partakes i found myself lusting after this product and knew that i would love it. I purchased mine in SX 06 from camerareadycosmetics.com however i was recently told by a subscriber of mine on youtube that you can actually purchase it for cheaper here in the uk. Slightly annoyed but that didn’t last long 🙂

Okay so lets break it down shall we…

WHAT: The website describes this as a versatile skin perfecting enhancer,used to achieve a youthful dewy complexion, it can be used as concealer, highlighter or all over the face as a foundation.

COLOR: I purchased SX 06 because i knew i wanted to use it as a bright under eye concealer/highlight

PRICE: If you are in the uk, then head over to http://www.cultbeauty.com where you can purchase this for £37.50!!

PRO’S: TONS!!i just cant speak highly enough about this product, i have dry skin but as i was only using it in certain areas i was fine with the full coverage effect it gave to whichever part of my face i applied it to. Its very long lasting, i had this on for a full day and still it remained well in place minus a few areas in which it settled into the skin but that is to be expected especially under the eye area!

A little of this product will go a long long long way(i’m always sceptical when people say that because i am partial to the odd cake face application on myself but this really does go a long way especially if blended with a wet sponge or even finger!) It’s also ideal to mix with a moisturiser to create your own foundation you can control the coverage as long as you picked up the right color.

CONS: Honestly none, but if you held a make up brush to my head and made me pick then i would probably say the price. It is costly if you see it as a concealer, but not so if you think of it as a multi purpose product. The formula is quite thick which may put you off if you have dry skin like me, but i promise you if you use a beauty blender or a light hand you will find this works beautifully.

SO THEN….

You can clearly tell i love this product, if i could only take one thing with me to a desert island from my make up bag this would definitely be one of those products i would consider!

Soon I realized that if beauty equalled forgiveness, I was never going to be forgiven

That’s why I began doing makeup in the first place: I was hoping that through helping people see the beauty in themselves, I could try and find it in me

Today I choose life. Every morning when I wake up I can choose joy, happiness, negativity, pain… To feel the freedom that comes from being able to continue to make mistakes and choices – today I choose to feel life, not to deny my humanity but embrace it

R.I.P Kevyn Aucoin

Bollywood/Arabic/Xmas/NYE Make Up Look

Good evening guys,

If you follow me on youtube then you will hopefully know that i uploaded a tutorial by the very specific title above on sunday! It was meant to be a christmas party appropriate look, which i definately think it still is, however with the crease and eye liner i could see it becoming perhaps more suitable for another look i had planned. Celebrating 100 years of Bollywood Cinema was the perfect excuse to create bollywood inspired looks(a guilty pleasure of mine) i love playing dress up!

This look was not based on anyone specific, its just very glam and heavy and i think that alone falls into a number of different categories as i mentioned in my title. Have a look at my tutorial and let me know what you think, im still getting used to the whole talking to the camera, and editing video thing but hey as long as i am trying 🙂

Product breakdown:

Collection 2000 concealor in medium on my eyebrows as a base

M.A.C.’s Dipdown Fluidline: http://www.maccosmetics.co.uk/product/shaded/151/898/Fluidline/index.tmpl

Urban Decay’s Blackout eyeshadow

Illamsqua Cream Base in Enrapture: http://www.illamasqua.com/shop/products/eyes/enrapture-liquid-metal

ANY light Gold eyeshadow( i used boots 17 range name has rubbed out sorry!)

Stila Metal Foil eyeshadow in Comex Gold: http://www.stilacosmetics.com/product/magnificent+metals+foil+finish+eye+shadow+.do

Sugarpill’s Goldilux: http://www.sugarpillshop.com/products/goldilux-loose-eyeshadow

Loreal Carbon Eyeliner in Black

Loreal Voluminous Mascara in Black

Estee Lauder’s Double Wear Foundation in Honey Bronze 4w1

Kevin Aucoin sensual skin enhancer in 06 as Concealor and Highlight: http://uk.spacenk.com/sensual-skin-enhancer-18g/MUS300022865.html

Ben Nye Banana Powder

Benefit’s Hula Bronzer

Coastal Scents Blush Palette: http://www.coastalscents.com/pl-012.html

M.A.C.’s Kinda Sexy Lipstick

M.A.C.’s Morning Coffee Lip liner

TA-DAAAAAAA

Hope you guys liked this look, now its time for some shameless selfies, i included some pictures without my dslr and any filter so you guys can see for real how beautiful this look is when the light hits!(not to say its ugly when the lights go out)

The Links included are just as a guide so you guys can see the products i have mentioned up close, there are definately cheaper alternatives and sites where you can get the same product but for cheaper depending on where in the world you live 🙂 do your research as i ended up paying way too much for the Kevin Aucoin Skin Enhancer! Speak Soon lovelies

Love Kin x

Make up for Wetheurban Magazine and Charlixcx

Photographer: Ash Kingston
Publication: wetheurban
Make up artist: Kiran Ghuman(Me)
Hair: Mickey

A day in the life: Make up for Charlixcx

So a few months ago i had the pleasure of being asked to do the make up for Charlixcx on a outdoor shoot with Wetheurban magazine and photographer Ash Kingston. To be honest i had not heard much about this online magazine and that was honestly because i wasn’t much of Tumblr user, and to be honest im still not. The online magazine is a huge success and is the most followed fashion/culture blog on tumblr which is HUGE!

The concept for the shoot was very much in keeping with Charli’s image so we decided on a classic smokey eye but something that looked quite worn in and not sharp or sleek lines but quite a “lived in” look, and to add something i used deep purples as opposed to black for the depth. Charli has written songs for Britney spears and Icono Pop as well as feautring in the iconic summer anthem “i dont care” which we all struggled to avoid being bitten by.

P.s. did i mention this was my first time making someone up outside…we had to utilise whatever there was 🙂 including the public toilets….never again. It’s not so glamorous is it?

Love Kiran x

Why wait til January

Good evening guys 🙂

So this is it, my blog i guess. A part of me had a strong urge to create a brand new blog on blogger but to be honest after five minutes of faffing around on blogspot i wound myself up and ended up back here on wordpress. Not entirely in love with the name(thebeautygamer) but at one point in my life(approx 12 months ago) it was something i thought suited me so here we go. I was going to wait until January like most good idea’s i feel compelled to only begin on a monday morning or on Jan 1st but NO not this time..

First things first, i am not much of a writer, so expect to see lots of pictures and oooohh and ahhhh’s from me! Although i love make up and all that shallow stuff it is my blog so expect lots of random posts from me on pretty much anything i like or want to talk about 🙂 if your looking for a beauty blog with descriptions on the base notes of the latest perfume im afraid i shall only disappoint you here.

Its Thursday evening, i just filmed a video on what was supposed to be a christmassy look but as soon as i started to play with my brand new Stila Eyeshadow in Comex Gold it hopped skipped and jumped the boundary of what most would feel comfortable wearing for a christmas party etc so it is now renamed “Bollywood/arabic inspired” and that could pretty much mean anything and that’s what i like…:)

Currently uploading my beauty haul, so i will be posting swatches of certain make up products on my instagram or on here. Come watch me on youtube i shall insert a link here…

 

www.youtube.com/kinniahtv

and a photo…..was it necessary? probably not.

 

Kiran x

DIY Hair Mask for DRY, DAMAGED and FRIZZY Hair

 

Hair masks have become a staple part of my beauty routine, and more so after i experimented like a psycho with colours this last year-honestly i don’t know what i was thinking with the amount i exposed my hair to-im so sorry hair 😦 don’t leave. 

It was only since then and since seeing the damage i had done to my hair that i took a real interest in hair products that promised to recondition and spoil your hair with all that goodness. Truth be told 8/10 times i was left disappointed and frustrated with the lack of improvement in my hair, and yes i did give these products time to work but you also pretty much know from the first couple of uses if a hair product is going to be of any real benefit. 

So fast forward a few months of splurging out on hair conditioners and products i decided to go back to basics and take some good old advice from my elders more so my grandmother who since i can remember has always told me once a week to massage my scalp with almond oil. Mainly because she doesn’t actually like my hair and makes no secret of it, she can’t understand why her granddaughter has tangled hair every single day, what she calls tangled is what most of the world calls curls 😦 but hey i guess i wasn’t meant to have long silky straight hair. After a lot of experimenting much to the annoyance of my dear mother who is always having to clean up after me and my experiments in the kitchen i managed to figure out a nice easy cocktail of oils that from first use make a huge difference to the condition and look of your hair. Now i have very dry coarse hair like most curly haired girls so this treatment is fine for me to use once a week however for those of you with finer hair it may be a little too heavy as i mentioned in my winter post about beauty. So do change up the measurements according to your own needs.

 

Lets get cooking shall we!

You will need:(totally feel like I’m on blue peter) 

4 table spoons roughly of Olive Oil– the greener the olive oil looks in the bottle the better i found some in the kitchen

1 large table spoon of Coconut oil– make sure it is pure coconut oil and hasn’t been mixed with vitamin e or other stuff, this type is normally found in hard white substance as can be seen from the pictures i have included 🙂

1 tablespoon of honey– ADD this ONLY if you have brown or light hair the honey contains small traces of hydrogen peroxide(BLEACH) which are obviously so small that they do not harm us when we spread it on our toast in the morning but over time will lighten your hair, on this occasion i did not use the honey only because i recently dyed my locks black so no thanks.

Right so basically all your doing is putting all that into a bowl, if you have a metal bowl it would be better simply because you want to be able to see and control the temperature of the oil so for this i like to put the mixture into a metal bowl and place it on the cooker on top of another safe kitchen tool. Normally i use a thava(haha) which is basically what us indians use to make rotis(naan/chappatis) on. But if you don’t have one of these grab a saucepan fill it will some water and place another smaller saucepan with the mixture in so it can slowly melt without catching on fire. This is one of the main reasons i dislike telling people to warm up this mixture in the microwave, because the olive oil is already in a liquid form and the coconut oil is not so in order for that to melt your taking a risk heating up the olive oil a lot longer then needs to be! Hope that makes sense?

(the thava) 

Feel free to also add drops of rosemary or any other nice smelling oil you may like, i do this every week so the smell of the coconut oil and olive oil doesn’t bother me, and twice in a month what i will do is change the olive oil around with almond oil. I love using coconut oil because its one of the very few oils that can really penetrate into dry damaged hair follicles. 

So after the mixture has melted wait a while so its not super hot and well slap it on. I start at the scalp and massage my scalp to stimulate hair growth and natural hair oils, and then the rest i coat my hair with, throw your hair up in a bun and leave for a good 12-18 hours. I normally do this on a saturday night and wash off sunday night. 

 

Have a go and let me know what you think, also i would love to know any secret recipes you guys may have for hair and face 🙂

 

Lots of Love

 

K I N N I A H 

       x