Oscars 2014: Our Best Beauty Looks

Images from Grazia

With the Oscars comes the most beautiful dresses and fabulous hair and make-up. Here in the Face Matters office, after many arguments, we've chosen our top three looks from the night.

Jessica Biel looks elegant with her make-up kept quite natural with a pale pink lip... but the best bit about this look is her hair! Elegantly swept to the side over the shoulder with a slight curl - not only was Jessica seen with this hair style, it was a firm favourite among other stars including Sandra Bullock and Kate Hudson.

Naomi Watts gives her look a slight edge with her straight locks swept back giving her hair a laid-back feel and the pop of colour on her lips. She works this well as everything is kept quite simple but the pop of red gives the look definition.

And finally, Cate Blanchett. She looks utterly flawless with her natural make-up - which is a huge beauty trend at the moment. Her hair side parted and styled perfectly in a classic wave. Her overall look gets a huge thumbs up from us here at the team... pure glamour!

What did you think of this years Oscars beauty looks? What were your top three favourite looks?

Better Skin While You Sleep!

On MSN UK, Victoria Joy recently wrote about products that give you better skin while you sleep. And guess what... our Evening Elixir was featured! 

Read the article for yourself online, we are on slide 8.

Desk Workout - The Stomach!

Finding time to spend an hour or so at the gym is difficult, especially when you feel like there are simply not enough hours in the day. 

The easiest area to target is the stomach. Sit in your chair properly, this will also help your posture, and contract the abdominal muscles simply pulling these in - hold this for a few seconds before you release. You can repeat this exercise as many time as you like throughout the day. However, don't do this immediately after your meals.

The best thing about this exercise, is that no one will know you are doing it. 

An Egg-cellent Face Mask

If you want radiant glowing skin... then this at home face mask is one for you.

The ingredients you'll need are eggs and plain greek yoghurt!!

• Simply crack the egg separating the yolk and whites, for this mask you will only need the egg whites.
• To the egg whites add in a tablespoon of greek yoghurt and mix together.
• Apply the mixture to the face and leave on for a couple of minutes.
• Rinse off with lukewarm water and pat your face dry.

Have you ever tried a egg face mask?

Bare Hands

Image, allure.com

As spring is arriving and your hands are slowly starting to emerge from woolly gloves, it's time to take a little bit of extra care. 

Prevent your hands from getting dry by using a hand cream or a moisturiser to keep them soft and smooth. Apply the product all over the hands, even massaging this into the cuticles!! Looking after your hands is important to give them a youthful appearance, as well as preventing them from sun damage. 

Top Tip : Dry Stubborn Skin

Treating dry skin can be difficult, whether it's on your face or body! 

To help achieve smoother skin try using the 24/7 Balm. This is a multi-functional balm that can be used to cleanse the skin but also rubbing this into dry patches can help soothe and reduce dryness... don't just take our word for it, a handful of women on our skin trials reported how this helped! 

Pamper yourself

Every now and then us women need to pamper ourselves, although the chance we get to sit back and relax something important seems to come up!

With stress taking over, it's important to make sure that we get the chance to de-stress without feeling guilty. Whether it's a massage at a spa, a night with your girlfriends or a hot bubble bath... it will leave you with a smile on your face and feeling relaxed and calm - something we all need once in a while.

A Pop of Colour

One of the beauty trends this year is to keep your make-up natural and fresh with a pop of colour on the lips... definitely something everyone can work. 

Keeping your base make-up looking natural is key, the term less is more applies. Heavy foundations don't work for this look, as you don't want a 'cakey' look, choose a lightweight foundation or BB cream.

Your eyes will only need a brush of mascara to keep your lashes looking natural yet more defined. Choosing a brown mascara can create a softer look. 

It's all about the lips, whether you choose orange, purple, red or pink... it's about being bright! This flash of colour will brighten up your look and make it look like you've spent hours getting ready when it's only taken you a matter of minutes.

Will you be trying out this beauty trend?

The Ageing Habits

Some habits are just too hard to break, but when certain habits can actual age you I think they will make it a little easier to break them!

Over Exfoliation 
Exfoliating too much will only damage the skin leaving it feeling sore and red... simply exfoliate the skin once or twice a week!

Overloading 
The term less is more certainly applies to this habit. Too many products with an ingredients list a mile long is a huge turn off, all those extra ingredients can cause your skin to breakout and leave it feeling sensitive! Use products are different times across the day to avoid overloading your skin.

Cleanse Properly
Removing your make-up with only face wipes is a habit everyone needs to kick. Cleanse properly with water to prevent your skin from getting dry and irritated.

Oils Matter

Oils are still a hot topic at the moment, especially facial oils. With many different oils around, finding the right product for you can be confusing! 

Look no further, we give you a brief overview on a couple of key oils and the benefits they provide! 

• Argan, yangu & borage seed oils all help to decrease inflammation.

• Lavender oils contain antioxidants that can help relieve stress.

• Camomile can help soothe irritated skin.

• Primrose & rose oils are great to help slow down the ageing process and lessen the appearance of scars.

Top Tip : The Decolletage Area

The decolletage is usually an area we forget to take care of, but by not taking care of it, it could actually age us!

This area only has a thin layer of skin to protect it compared to other parts of the body. Due to this, the skin here is prone to sun damage which is a main factor in speeding up the ageing process... to help soothe your skin and also stimulate the production of collagen, a simple spritz or two of the Face Matters All-Day Spritz is a great way to help keep this area looking youthful and fresh. Don't forget to spritz the face and neck for an instant refreshment.

VIP Club

Did you know that we have a VIP club?

Well we do, and if you join then you will be kept up to date with everything Face Matters, receive exclusive offers and much more!! What you waiting for... join today!!

A Delicious Dark Chocolate Treat

Image : livingthehealthierlife.com

Every now and then majority of us will get a sweet tooth, and eating lots of sugary treats isn't great for us, so what should you turn too? The answer... dark chocolate!

This dark treat, is the kind of chocolate we can all indulge in, providing that it contains at least 70% cocoa. Being packed full of protein and B vitamins, it can help burn fat and also improve your skin and hair! This is definitely something we like to hear, here at the Face Matters offices.

Top Tip : Flawless Make-up

As we age, our skin tends to become drier which can result in make-up looking cracked.

As part of your morning routine, we suggest that you apply a moisturiser as normal, but afterwards use a drop of our Evening Elixir and massage into your face and neck - this will add extra moisture. Using too much oil, could leave your skin feeling 'wet' as this will take a while for all the product to be absorbed. Follow on, by applying foundation... you will be left with a dewy finish, and your make-up won't cling onto the dry patches as much!

Have you tried this little tip?

Moisture at night

Night-time is the time of the day we get to relax and get a good nights sleep. We already know that getting plenty of sleep, helps the body and the skin... but did you know that adding moisture into the skin at night is a must, even if it's oily.

Why is a night moisturiser so important? Well... during the day your face has to tackle with harsh weather and pollution, which can leave your skin feeling dry and dull. Adding a cream or oil into your evening routine will help to add back the moisture that was once lost, but also help soothe and calm your skin. 

In the morning, you will be able to feel and see a difference in your skin... if you don't believe it, why not try it for yourself. Apply the product to only half of your face, (not forgetting the neck), and leave it to soak in and head to bed... once you awake, you will be able to see the results for yourself.

Of course, you need to make sure you choose a product suitable to your skin type. So always check the ingredients on the back, as well as what it claims to do on the bottle. Here are Face Matters, we have our Evening Elixir, it contains a blend on botanical oils and pure organic collagen-boosting silicon making it the perfect anti-ageing product! Simply massage a small amount into the skin after cleansing.

Goodbye Sugar!

The festive season has flown by and after eating plates of turkey and piles of chocolates, it's time to detox! 

The best way to cleanse your body, and get your health back in check is to cut out the sugar. It's now a known fact, that us Brits are consuming too much sugar, actually the NHS reckon that we are having double the amount (or over), then what our bodies can handle! Which is why many of us are suffering from health problems. 

But did you know, sugar actually ages you! A large amount of refined sugars, can actually damage the collagen and elastin in the skin... causing lines to form and the skin to appear less plump, one thing no woman wants - ageing! If that's not motivation to cut out sugar, then I don't know what is! 

If you feel your skin needs extra attention why not try a face mask or treatment to help you relax and also clear your skin! Why not try our DIY Avocado Mask.

Happy New Year!

Christmas Time

It's time to fake it

As we get older, our eyelashes begin to break easily and can leave your lash line looking rather sparse... and as the festive season is upon is, full, voluminous looking lashes are a must!

Eyelash extensions are a great way to achieve this look at the salon. This will involve individual false lashes being bonded onto your own, to create longer and fuller lashes that look natural. The lashes will last up to six weeks depending in the quality of them, but your beautician will tell you all this before hand.

For a quick way to give your lashes a boost, try using false eyelashes. These can be quite fiddly and difficult to start with... but practice does make perfect. When purchasing the lashes make sure you get a style that will suit the look you are going for, starting with a more natural pair of lashes if the great way to make your natural lashes look fuller, without an over-the-top look.

Have you ever tried fake eyelashes? What do you think?

Last booklets to be returned!

We are still waiting for some booklets to be returned... please could the following return the Skin Trials booklets back to us as soon as possible, or get in touch with the Face Matters team regarding the issue.

Rachael Kerr
Nicky Gates
Louise Gleeson
Danielle Jones
Jackie Johnston
Jessican Newman
Lynne Griffin
Michelle Whittle
Amy Foster
Lynette Fuber
Helen Porter
Jessica Edmunds
Stella Melia
Kristina Miciute
Gillian Gemmell

Plus the other 5 who we have been dealing with via private message!