The British Beauty Blog
by Jane Cunningham since 2008

[unpaid/sample/affiliate/ad] I often think Finnish brand, Lumene, has been a bit over-looked in the UK. Everything I’ve ever seen from the brand I’ve liked. I used their Natural Glow Foundation last year and it reminded me, in the best possible way, of the light touch of Bourjois Healthy Mix foundation. I bought it in Sweden…

Mother’s Day is round the corner and a good opportunity for us to celebrate mothers and mother figures in our lives. I’m almost never with my mum on Mother’s Day so there’s no going out for lunch or tea – instead, I have to get inventive with things I think she’d like. This said, I…

[unpaid/sample] Eye sticks are everywhere and most of them cost far more than these beauties from L’Oreal Paris, which at £9.99, seem very reasonable indeed. I love an eye stick for effort free lids although there is always something of an on-going battle to make the colours stay put on which is a naturally oily…

[unpaid/sample/affiliate/ad] We do have to go into the nuances of brown here because not all browns are equal. I quite like a brown mascara but tend to opt for a dark brown which just edges away the harshness that black can bring. But, if you look across the brown mascara market, dark brown is pretty…

[unpaid/sample/affiliate/ad] I don’t think I’ve used anything from Kat Burki before but the founder – er, Kat Burki, has a background in nutritional biochemistry, healthcare law and epidemiology and uses that experience to bring the philosophy of nutritional biochemistry to her skin care collection. It’s about now that I feel thank god someone else puts…

[unpaid/sample/affiliate/ad] I’ve got so many products to write about at the moment so yesterday I had a big testing evening that covered face, hair and body and I’m going to start with the Jo Malone Care Collection which I only received on Friday. It’s bad news for the old credit cards because it’s as lovely…

[unpaid/sample/affiliate/ad] I’m very interested in Kosas marketing for their Revealer Extra Bright Colour Corrector which is being twinned with their existing Revealer Concealer as a ‘system’ for covering dark circles. At first I thought that maybe it’s a just a good way to persuade you to buy two products instead of one (and maybe it…

[unpaid/sample/affiliate/ad] A new blush always makes me happy and I’ve been impressed up to now with everything I’ve seen from Haus Labs. Their new Glassy Blush Balm is making me happy on so many levels – it’s easy to use, the colours are divine and the finish is a perfect and I can’t say better…

In 2006, Dior had their beauty novelty game full on – not only was there a lip gloss filled, star shaped ring, but also the Pretty Charms Compact that was bejewelled and jangly. It was called the Dior Pretty Charms Secret Lip Gloss (I still have mine!) that was a heart-shaped locket with crystal balls…

[unpaid/sample/affiliate/ad] Of all the things I’ve been excited to try recently, Joonbyrd Body Serum ranks very highly. I’ve been so curious about the (self-funded so far) body collection from dermatologist, Dr Alexis Granite. The name comes from her Persian roots and once you know that Joon translates to soul or spirit and life, it becomes…

[unpaid/sample/affiliate/ad] When I was first starting to learn more about the intricacies of fragrance (before I started writing about beauty, I never gave note complexity a thought) it was always clear that I wanted the perfume to smell of the thing it was supposed to – so don’t go calling, e.g. Geranium Symphony that unless…

I have some stunning new pieces to show you from L’Era Jewellery, the beautiful brand founded by mother and daughter team, Lara and Angèle. The Tesori Collection is a celebration of resilience and beauty found in imperfection that’s inspired by Roman architecture which has stood the test of time with strength and grace. Can you…

[unpaid/sample] It’s rare for me to get excited about skin care – I see so much of it and with only now and then exceptions, it all feels and looks the same. I was using And Begin (now Renew + Me) for a long time because it suited my skin so well, but I stopped…

In general, beauty is not happy. Almost across the board, sales are down and brands, such as ELC, who invested heavily in China are not getting the returns they hoped for. Is it that we just all have enough make up now? Who knows, but the decline is across both luxury and high street and…

[unpaid/sample/affiliate/ad] I don’t think I’d ever envy the task of formulating budge proof eye shadow sticks. Too budge proof and they’re dry, shrinkable and hard to remove, not budge proof enough and they can make their own way off way before you want them to. The juggle must be real! So, bravo Ilia for taking…