Mar 15, 2019
These days, there’s an app for just about everything and the ever-current beauty industry has stepped up to the mark.
We’ve been seeing beauty and makeup apps springing up for a couple of years now, and we can’t get enough of them! With developments in facial recognition technology and artificial intelligence moving forwards in leaps and bounds, if you’re new to the world of beauty apps, there’s never been a better time to get involved.
Whether you want to try on virtual makeup looks, order a new collection or appoint a professional hairstylist or beauty therapist to your door, these apps have it all. Here are a few of our favourites.
1. YouCam
YouCam is one of the most popular makeup apps available and can be downloaded on Apple and Android devices.
By using facial detection, this smart beauty app gives you a true-to-life experience in real-time or on photos. There are hundreds of gorgeous makeup and beauty products to choose from, so you can mix and match until you find a combination that suits you!
The YouCam community is thriving – members can share and discover makeup tutorials, fashion news and tips. Some of our favourite features of this app include:
• One-touch skin analysis
• Beauty live streaming
• Real-time makeovers
This app has it all and is a great place to start if you’re new to the game.
2. Mary Kay Virtual Makeover
Mary Kay’s Virtual Makeover app is perfect for makeup lovers. You can try makeup and beauty products on your own face, or choose a model to try on, and share your designs with your friends on social media.
What we really love about this one is the one-click makeover feature. These makeup looks are created using perfectly matched seasonal colours and products. Users can try on timeless or modern makeup looks and discover what suits them best, without having to splash out on all the products before-hand.
This one is available on both iTunes and for Android.
3. Slapp
Finding the right shade of foundation, especially online, can seem impossible. There are so many makeup apps that promise to match your skin tone to your perfect shade of foundation, concealer or lipstick, and often they fall short of the mark.
Well, enter Slapp! This is one of the few skin-matching apps that really work, and we can’t get enough.
Available on iTunes and for Android, this free-to-use app works by analysing a picture of you, focusing on your cheeks, chin, and forehead, before bringing you a list of all the best products to suit your shade. You can filter products depending on your needs, and the app will serve up a whole selection of colour matches from all your favourite brands! Amazing, right?
So, it seems no matter what you’re in the market for, there’s a beauty app available to help. Did you know we have an app of our own? Download the Fragrance Direct app to browse and buy all your favourite products at the touch of a button! If you’re a little more old-school, stick to the Fragrance Direct blog for all your beauty and makeup tips, like how to clean your makeup brushes and sponges, or how to gym-proof your makeup.
Mar 15, 2019
Is your first holiday of the year nearly here? Whether you’re going on a city break or a week somewhere further away for some sunshine, you must start thinking about what to take. Packing light is something many of us struggle with! So today we are running through some skincare and make up essentials that won’t break the bank in case you need a last-minute fix;
Let’s assess your wash bag first; While our skin will benefit from some vitamin D, we tend to over indulge when on holiday. So, we need to make sure we are counteracting on any increases in alcohol or lack of sleep by maintaining a good skincare routine. The Ren Clean Skincare Gentle Exfoliating Cleanser is a reliable cleanser than is sensitive to all skin types. It has jojoba wax beads which will purify and detox your skin by gently scrubbing away dead cells while the jojoba seed oil deeply hydrates and plumps leaving your new underneath skin looking its best.
When on holiday we all want to wear minimal make- up and let our skin breathe so taking a moisturizer than can allow your skin to stay hydrated and let you feel comfortable bare faced is a massive must. The Nivea Soft Cream is perfect for everyday and can be used on your face, hands and body. This formula also includes jojoba oil working well with your cleanser leaving your skin looking and feeling revitalised.
Sun cream as we all know should be worn no matter how much sunlight you are getting, Piz Buin is great for leaving your skin light and weightless without feeling oily and greasy. There is a huge selection on site with great savings but one to try if you are going on a city break and need one for on the go is the Piz Buin Ultra-Light Dry Touch Sun Fluid SPF15. This hydrating fluid spreads easily and leaves skin silky smooth and dry without any white marks.
One to consider while on holiday especially if you are going to be in the sea or a pool is a hair mask. Hair can often become dry and rough, looking damaged due to the oils being removed from factors such as chlorine. So, if you are wanting to create that perfect beach wave, put on the Osmo Hair Mask for 5 minutes and let the moringa oil and silk protein smooth and revitalised your hair.
Now let’s look at your make up bag; On holiday we tend to wear less make up as we develop a nice glow but if you want a natural look for a day out or in the evening then having a good foundation such as the Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation is key. This foundation is renowned for its 100% poreless coverage and light texture leaving you with a flawless natural finish.
The next essential is having a good powder to matte your complexion as the heat can often give us an unwanted shine. The Bourjois Silk Edition Compact Powder blurs imperfections and mattifies your flawless finish providing a bare skin sensation. It includes a soft sponge perfect for touching up on the go.
The next necessity is having a fresh mascara to give those gorgeous long eyelashes. A few strokes of mascara go a long way even if we are wanting a natural look. The Max Factor False Lash Effect Waterproof Mascara would be a good choice to take.
The Sun kissed Hello Sunshine Matte Bronzer is something everyone should have packed. On holiday many of us apply bronzer everywhere! On our cheeks to make then glow, on our neck to blend our finish and on our shoulders so we look sun kissed. This velvety powder infused with minerals smooths easily over your skin.
Lastly taking a good gloss with you for your lip will finish off any day or evening looks you need. The Daniel Sandler Lip Gloss is a non-sticky formula that gives you a transparent shine. The glide on tube applicator is quick and easy and enriched with vitamin A, giving you a high impact shine! A personal favourite is the nude Super Bare shade.
Mar 14, 2019
Mother’s Day will be here before you know it and with it being on the 31st of March, the last day of the month it is best to be prepared while we still have the budget. We all want our mums to feel appreciated and loved every day of the year but on Mother’s Day we can make an extra special effort.
If you are struggling with idea’s here at Fragrance Direct, we have the answers so there is no excuse to grab some flowers and chocolates from the corner shop last minute. If you think this year your mum would like to try a new fragrance, then these three launches are ones to have a look at. The first is Issey Miyake Eau’ D’Issey Pure Petale De Nectar, which is a fresh light Eau de Toilette that has just launched and is perfect for spring summer. This is a great one for all mums out there with a feminine taste due to its sleek, delicate bottle design and sweet scents of pear, honey and rose.
The second recommendation for a fragrance would be the new Emporio Armani In Love with You. This new Eau de Parfum is a fruity, sweet, addictive scent with notes of black cherry, jasmine and vanilla and with its classic, simplistic bottle, this would make a great gift. Not only that the name of the fragrance would flatter any mum out there.
The final suggestion for a fragrance would be the Dolce and Gabbana The Only One 2, the second chapter of the story. This new launch is for the sophisticated, strong mums out there with its signature coffee and violet notes. With its red, empowering bottle it symbolises love and femininity.
If you are thinking of other options this Mother’s Day, there are some great gift sets that any mum would love to receive. The first is the Gatineau Pamper Collection 4 Piece Gift Set, this set includes the Aquamemory High Hydration Cream Mask, Defi Lift 3D Revoluming Lip Care, Vitmina Suractivee Hand Cream and the Professional Mask Brush all in a beautiful wash bag. For anyone who uses Gatineau and is new to the brand, this is an incredible brand and would be a real treat to whoever receives this set, another bonus is you would make a huge saving on these products.
The next idea we pulled out as a great present was the Crabtree and Evelyn Garden Hand Therapy Duo. This brand always does lovely hand cream sets in beautiful packaging, but this duo is a favourite. Both creams smell gorgeous especially the Gardeners moisturising therapy and are great for healing any cracks or dryness caused by the cold weather.
This set is for if your mum deserves a little pamper, this Soothing bath and body set by Urban Veda is a trusted brand that will harmonise delicate skin. It includes a body wash and full-size soothing body lotion full of calming botanical extracts that will de-stress and pamper this Mother’s Day.
The final recommendation from us here at Fragrance Direct would be for those mums who are into their beauty brands and products. The Elizabeth Arden Grand Entrance Mascara Set includes a full-size mascara, lip and eye make up remover and a precision glide eye pencil eye liner in black velvet. This is a highly recommended brand and these three products are essential in any lady’s make up bag making it a great gift this Mother’s Day.
We hope that this has been helpful and that you find the perfect gift for your mum this Mother’s Day! Make sure you take a look at the Mother’s Day category for more options.
Feb 21, 2019
No one can deny their obsession with highlighters and creating that flawless glow! Whether you apply it everyday or just to add a little something when you are enjoying out of work hours; everyone loves the look when applied right! If you don’t already know highlighter is added to our face to attract light creating the illusion that we have sculpted cheekbones. We have learnt from industry experts that applying highlighter in addition to contouring lifts and push’s features back.
The way you apply your highlighter is based on the look you are trying to create, sometimes we want a subtle lift and sometimes we want complete GLOW up. If you are wanting a shimmery glow that can be altered to your occasion, make sure your skin is hydrated. Dry skin and highlighter don’t mix! A good primer will help set the look then over your foundation add a dusting of powder to set and matte your face, creating the perfect canvas to touch up. Using a fan or angled brush you want to apply your highlighter to your cheekbones positioned above your bronzer following your face around the eye, on the bridge of your nose, on your cupids bow and underneath the eyebrow getting as close to the edges as you can from the arch to the brow bone. One thing we have noticed is an increase in palettes to apply certain shades to different areas and mixing liquid highlighter with a powder over the top.
So here are our top 5 highlighters for under £5:
The Rimmel Insta Strobing Highlighter comes in two shades gold glow and pink glow depending on your skin tone. This is a multifunctional product, it can be mixed into your foundation to create that dewy glow or you can apply it alone to the areas you want the light to catch.
Loreal’s Crushed Foil Metallic Round Box Highlighter in the gilded glow shade is a bright, bold powder highlighter. This is easy to apply luminous finish, which can be worn separately but we would recommend layering. This is a gold toned highlighter so better suited to a yellow based foundation or ivory, tanned skin.
If you have a paler complexion and often wear pink based foundation, we would recommend the Sunkissed Baked to Perfection Blush Highlight Duo this will give you a good combination of colour and light. You can use the colours separately together or separately.
If I wanted a combination of shades to work in different areas of the face the W7 Life’s a beach Highlighter Trio. This trio has three shades which work to highlight, sculpt and blush your face giving you that perfect summer glow. The three shades are Pearl Diver which is the gold shimmer, Sea Ya which is the pink shimmer and Bronze Babe which is the brown shimmer.
Lastly, we are going to suggest a liquid highlighter for those who want a bronzy glow. The Bourjois sculpt bronze this is a universal shade that matches all skin tones, we would suggest this works better on someone who wants a sun kissed look. Enhanced with ultra-fine reflecting pearls it illuminates the skin and gives a plump complexion.
Everyone needs a good highlighter for summer so don’t forget to take a look at our selection!
Jan 28, 2019
Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, and we can’t stop thinking about how to style for the big night. Love is in the air, and we feel more strongly about our favourite palettes, lipsticks and liners every year!
Whether you’re spending Valentine’s Day with your partner or your friends, it’s time to celebrate, and with so many Valentine’s Day looks to choose from, deciding how to apply your makeup can seem impossible.
As always, we’re here for you – narrow down your search for perfection with our three favourite makeup looks for Valentine’s Day:
1. Sexy Smoky Eyes
The ultimate eyeshadow look, a smoky eye is timeless, versatile, and sure to suit you no matter your face and eye shape.
The key to a breath-taking smoky eye is understanding your eye shape. Here’s a quick overview of the most common eye-shapes and the smoky style to suit:
• Close-set eyes: focus light coloured shadow on the inside and dark on the outside, extending the surface of the colour as you move outwards
• Wide-set eyes: ‘pull’ eyes closer, minimising the gap – the trick is to blend your darker shadow inward
• Mono-lid eyes (lids are more of a flat surface): start with a dark liner and fade your smoky shadow colours from the darkness of the liner upwards
• Hooded eyes: avoid using too much dark shadow – use highlights to open your eyes
• Deep-set eyes: balance your features – avoid applying dark shadow all over your lids
• Prominent eyes: use a thick liner along the lash-line, and apply the darkest shade to the middle of your lids
• Downturned eyes: lift the corners of your eyes with a cat-eye, then blend out with smoky shadow
• Upturned eyes: emphasise your lift by splitting your lids into two sections, with the darker shade on the outside
These tips work no matter which colour you choose for your smoky eye. If you’re aiming for something that’s timeless and a little special, try Prima’s Shade and Sparkle palette, which is bursting with shimmering neutral tones and promises to enhance any skin tone.
For a truly memorable look, update your smoky eye with Technic’s The Heat is On palette – a selection of browns, oranges and reds, perfect for a luxurious Valentine’s Day date night.
2. A Timeless Red Lip
We’re going to say it – red lipstick is the most iconic makeup look of all time. It’s a favourite of modern and historic icons in film, music and culture, and dates back to the ancient times of Cleopatra. That’s right – the Egyptian queen is reported to have mixed a red lipstick formula using beetles and ants!
If you’re looking to draw a little attention to yourself and exude confidence this Valentine’s Day, this is the look to go for. Here are some things to think about when you’re choosing a red lipstick:
• Texture: gloss, matte or sheer? Choose a texture to match your mood and style
• Shade: the perfect red will make your complexion glow and your teeth shine. It can take years to find your perfect red lipstick, but there are some all-round shades which will suit most. Try Clinique’s Pop Lip Colour & Primer in Cherry Pop
• Prep: your lips, like the rest of your face, look their best when they’re well hydrated. Use a lip scrub and a balm before you apply your red to combat dryness and ensure a perfect pout
• Apply: colour, blot, colour – apply one layer of red, then blot with tissue paper to remove any product that hasn’t stuck to your lips, and apply a second layer of colour
Follow these steps, and you’re guaranteed a dazzling red lip with extra staying power!
3. Natural Romance
Think peachy pink tones and a dewy finish. This look is versatile, making it perfect whether you’re spending Valentine’s Day with the girls or heading out on a laid-back date.
Skincare is at the heart of a natural makeup look, so make sure you set the groundwork the night before. Use a cleanser to wash your face thoroughly and follow with a good-quality moisturiser before you go to bed. You’ll wake up with skin that looks fresh, feels hydrated, and is a stunning base for your minimal Valentine’s Day makeup.
Here are some tips to creating a natural, romantic look that’s perfect for a casual night out:
• Keep it light: if you feel confident enough, switch your usual heavy foundation for a lighter product with a dewy finish. If you need a little more coverage, try Clarins Pore Perfecting Mattifying Foundation for flawless, natural-looking skin.
• Enhance your features: nobody has a face that’s quite the same as yours, and that’s something to celebrate! Apply a touch of highlighter to your cheekbones, the bridge of your nose and the top of your Cupid’s bow to draw attention to your unique features. Try NARS The Multiple Stick – the multi-purpose product that we can’t live without!
• Add a flush of colour: a dab of blusher creates instant warmth and brings any look together. Try Daniel Sandler’s multi-award-winning Watercolour Liquid Blush, which is not only easy to blend and build on but contains ultra-nourishing Jojoba oil and Vitamin E.
If you’re going for natural romance this Valentine’s Day, remember, less is more! Make the most of your natural beauty and enjoy the night no matter how you’re spending it.
Jan 18, 2019
As we head into 2019 it is only right, we start off with the January sales. This is a chance to pick up anything you wanted, and your partner didn’t quite get the hint. The good thing is it will now be massively discounted compared to when it first caught your eye so there’s no guilt factor. This year there has been a few favourites in the sale so here is a list of a few we have picked out for you to have a look through.
One brand you can never go wrong with is Elizabeth Arden and the Visible Difference Moisture Cream is now heavily discounted. This cream, if you haven’t tried it before, is a rich emollient moisturizing cream that penetrates deep into the skin. This product is ideal for dry skins and will reduce the appearance of fine lines dramatically improving your appearance.
The TIGI Catwalk Oatmeal and Honey Twin Set is one to try while the weather is still harsh on our hair. This formula with acacia honey, wheat protein and vitamin E, helps to smooth dry hair acting as a comfort food leaving your hair soft and silky. Perfect for restoring some health after all the heat styling over the festive period.
For men the American Crew hair products are one of the best, they have a shampoo and conditioner which would balance hair leaving it soft while washing away any excess build-up of any styling products from the day.
The Max Factor Miracle Foundation is a steal in this year’s sale transforming your skin with the perfect shade match giving you a healthy-looking finish, imperfection coverage and leaving you with a dewy complexion. A great opportunity to try something new.
If you are looking at gift sets for gents, the Prada Luna Black Rossa Black Gift Set including a spray and shower gel is the latest in the in the line of sophisticated fragrances. This Eau De Parfum is the combination of raw and refined, with top notes of bergamot and base notes of amber, musk, coumarin.
The Jean Paul Gaultier Scandal Gift Set is fabulous for a lady. It is a feminine, intimate scent with heart notes of honey and gardenia and with its unique bottle and packaging it makes this set extremely desirable.
If you are thinking of spring and inspiration for your 2019 spring summer look there are some great lipsticks in the sale such as the Revlon Super Lustrous Colour Change Lipstick or the Lustrous Matter version both formulated with microfine pigments for long lasting high colour impact.
One last favourite would be the Marc Jacobs Daisy limited edition Eau De Toilette 100ml this classic pure fragrance is signature Marc Jacobs and charmingly simple. The top notes are infused with succulent wild berries and soft violets leaving you with a fresh and radiant scent on the skin. This is one not to be missed.
January can be a hard month post-Christmas but that is why we have put together some of the best reductions that won’t break the bank.
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