Illustrations of Beauty

Hey everyone, we wanted to share with you these beautiful hand drawn illustrations by James Brown, featuring some CutECOsmetics favourites. Do drop by his blog HERE & say hi on twitter @jb_illustrates.

Sprout Shea Butter Cream - see more

Megan Miller nail polish - see more

Love & Toast Body Body see more

Aren’t they gorgeous? Thank you so much James, we absolutely love the illustrations! See how we put them together on our site HERE - they make us smile every time we look at them! :)

We’ve had some amazing new deliveries this week, so keep your eyes peeled for new products on the site - new post coming soon to tell you all about them!

Jewel Eyes at NYFW: Get the Look

Jewel tones are the hottest makeup trend for Autumn Winter 2012.  We’ve been glued to the catwalks at New York Fashion Week (from a distance, sadly!) Here are two of our favourite looks, with tips on how to recreate them at home.

Look One, by McGrath for Roberto Cavalli

 

Get this look with several shades from one neat little palette,  Urban Decay’s Deluxe Eye Shadow Box with a travel sized Primer Potion, currently on offer at £20 here.

• Cover the eyelid with a light dusting of Scratch
• Deepen the outer half of the eye with Underground, blended up towards the socket line.
• Blend Graffiti across the inner half of your moving eyelid
• Pat Fishnet on the inner corner of the socket and blend it upwards and outwards, adding a touch of Ransom where it meets Graffiti
• Dot Honey on the inner corners to make your eyes pop and bring the rest of the colours to life.
• Blend all the colours well and smoke it out with Zero on the lower lash line and outer corner of the upper lashline.

Finish the look with black kohl on the waterline and a light coat of mascara (don’t overdo the mascara, the shadow is the star of this show!)

Urban Decay’s blacker than black 24/7 pencil in Zero is hard to beat, though if you prefer a slightly softer look, you could opt for Underground, a metallic taupe.  This set of 5 travel sized glide on pencils is £25 here.

 

Look Two, by Diane Kendal for Jason Wu

Blue and green eyeshadow  have come a long way from the 80s and we love this ethereal yet distinctive eye.  Get the look with another gorgeous palette by Urban Decay, Mariposa, £18 here.

• Blend Wreckage across the entire lid, stopping just below the brow line.
• Layer on Haight towards the outer corners in a wing shape
• Define the edges of the wing shape and inner corner with Mushroom
• Define the lashline with Zero 24/7 liner and wing it out as dramatically as you dare!
• Finish with black mascara

All products used are available here.

Are you a fan of jewel colours for AW?

Love your Hands

We hope you’ve all been keeping your tootsies in tip top condition since our last post, Super Supple Summer Feet.  Today we want to get hands on!  Here are a few reasons why…

• Hands are one of the first things people notice about us after our face
• The skin on our hands is exposed to harsher conditions than any part of our body - from the elements to cleaning products
• Hands are one of the first parts of our bodies to show signs of ageing - and one of the most difficult areas to hide it
• Well groomed hands and nails are always attractive and will get you noticed for all the right reasons!

At CutECOsmetics we’re big advocates of using skin-kind, paraben-free products on our hands to keep them soft, smooth and well nourished.  You can never be too young or too old to start looking after your hands… the important thing is to do it, today!

Here are some of our favourites for daily hand tlc…

 

1. eos Cucumber Hand Cream, £7  eos (evolution of smooth) is renowned for its amazing lip balms - and believe us when we say your hands will love the contents of this sweet spherical bottle just as much! Infused with moisturizing shea butter, oat extract, and a generous helping of antioxidants and vitamins C and E. Also available in Berry Blossom & Sheer Petals fragrances.

2 Love & Toast Honey Coconut Hand Cream, £10.95 A lightweight lotion that’s rich in moisture, with Organic Aloe, luxurious Shea Butter, Safflower Seed Oil, Organic Sunflower Oil, Organic Avocado Extract, Olive fruit, Green tea.  The Honey & Cocunut smells of sweet honey, sugared vanilla, violet & sandalwood. Also available in Sugar Grapefruit.

3. Nougat London Helping Hands Fig & Pink Cedar Mini Travel Set, £6   A perfect travel, desk or handbag companion, this set of 30ml minis will treat your senses and your skin. Enriched with hydrating Almond and Macadamia oils, comforting Comfrey and Vitamin E and a blend of Lemongrass and Bergamot oils.

4. Skin Blossom Caring Hand Cream, £4.95 This easily absorbed cream contains a special blend of plant oils fight dryness as Shea and Cocoa Butter restore skin, while Rose Geranium restores and protects.

Top Tips for hand care:

• Avoid harsh soaps that can strip your skin of natural oils
• ALWAYS wear gloves when washing up or using cleaning products
• Sunscreen is just as important for hands as it is for your face: use it daily, all year around
• Apply hand cream regularly throughout the day to keep skin moisturised

Once a week, treat your hands to some deluxe treatment… gently exfoliate your hands with exfoliator such as Deep Steep Organic Sugar Scrub with Lavender and Chamomile, slather on a thick layer of hand cream or body butter, pop on some cotton gloves and leave them on overnight. Wake up with baby soft hands! If you can’t face sleeping in gloves, do this while you watch a movie one evening (at home… it might look rather odd in the cinema!").

Super Supple Summer Feet

We’ve really been enjoying the nice sunshine this week and if you’re anything like us as soon as the sun is out the entire summer is spent in flip flops or barefoot.  This is all well and good however this can damage the skin on your feet. The constant exposure to the air can cause the sensitive skin on your heels to dry out and leads to cracked heels, which as we know are not the prettiest sight.

So here are a few tips for looking after your feet in the summer.

• Remove dry skin – if you’re lucky enough to be jetting off to the beach, walking in the wet sand will naturally exfoliate the feet on your skin (we knew there was a really good reason for booking that holiday!)

• If you’re not so lucky then at home soak your feet in warm water for 15-20 minutes, then use a pumice stone to gentle scrub your heels removing the dead skin. It’s easy peasy to make your own foot scrub using Sea Salt, Olive Oil & your favourite essential oils. There are some great resources online to guide you through making your own remedies.

• If you haven’t got the time to make your own then use an all natural foot scrub like Deep Steep’s Candy Mint Foot Polish

·    This 100% natural foot polish contains a circulation-boosting blend that is loaded with extracts of Peppermint, Rosemary, Eucalyptus, Tea Tree and Spearmint as well as a touch of sweet, natural Vanilla. The polish is brilliant at exfoliating with Walnut Shells to slough off dead, dull skin and Jojoba Oil to moisturize.

• Rinse and dry your feet.

• Liberally apply a foot cream, balm or lotion – our personal favourites are:

·     Lulu and Boo Melissa and Mallow Foot Balm – it contains Organic Marshmallow to soften, moisturise and sooth tired achy feet, combined with the antiseptic qualities of Organic Lemon and Tea Tree Essential Oils. As with all Lulu & Boo products it smells divine.

·  Or alternatively Balm Balm’s 100% Organic TeaTree Foot Balm will certainly do the trick, containing Shea butter, sunflower, beeswax, jojoba, calendula & tea tree essential oil. A great value option as well.

• Make sure to apply plenty, pull on a pair of cotton socks to sleep in and your feet will thank you for it in the morning.
•  Try to avoid wearing backless or open styles all summer to avoid losing the moisture from your feet, use the pumice stone at least twice a week & apply a daily moisturiser/balm to your  feet.

·     Gwdihw’s Twinkle Toes Balm is great to give your feet a quick lift packed with Marigold Flowers, Coconut and Olive Oils, Beeswax and Essential Oil of Lavender.

Deep Steep Candy Mint Foot Cream will really leave your feet feeling energized and it’s 100% Natural formula is perfect for daily use 

 We’d love to hear any of your foot care tips! We're looking forward to the natural exfoliation of the beach next week!

Sprout Skincare: a UK first at CutECOsmetics!

CutECOsmetics is thrilled to bring the 100% natural Sprout skincare range to the UK.  We’ve fallen head over heels for this US brand, who’s products are handmade in small batches, using the purest ingredients available, to ensure optimum quality every time.

Not only are the adorably packaged products a pleasure to use; every ingredient is either certified organic, Fair Trade, or sourced from small family farms, PETA certified and Vegan Friendly.  Impressive? We thought so too!

The ‘mother’ of the range is Sprout Shea Butter Cream. Rich and therapeutic, this is made with wild-harvested shea butter, organic extra-virgin coconut and olive oils.  Our dehydrated Summer skin is thanking us for it (ps it smells di-vine!).

Other gorgeousness:

• Sprout Body Scrub - with demerara sugar & organic shredded coconut
• Sprout Exfoliant - with oats and almonds
• Sprout Cleanser - with organic rosewater, glycerine & tea tree
• Sprout Makeup Remover - with sweet almond & jojoba oils
• Sprout Toner - with apple cider vinegar & essential oils
• Vegan Lip Balms - choose from citrus, cinnamon, cocoa & peppermint

Have a closer look at Sprout!

Olympic Beauty Giveaway

Who else is on fire with Olympic fever?!  We’ve been so inspired we’ve decided to give away some of our favourite Olympic Beauty Products - Gold, Silver & Bronze could all be yours!

The prizes, worth more than £45 in total, are:

Lily Lolo If Eye Were a Winner - Limited Edition metallic mineral eyeshadows in gold, silver & bronze.

Lime Crime China Doll - eyeshadow palette reflecting the colours of the Olympic rings!

Love & Toast Lip Glaze - Crush Rush, a shimmery coral bronze shade.

To enter, simply like our Facebook page, share & leave a comment on our Olympic Giveaway post before 12 August, when the winner will be announced. 

On your marks, get set, GO!

If you’d like a closer look at the prizes, you can view them on our website.

New in: Karora Self Tanning - Naturally Organic!

Irish self tanning brand, Karora, uses only organic and natural extracts to create a cruelty-free range of fabulous self tanning products, without parabens, artificial fragrances, synthetic colours or harsh chemical ingredients.
We’re head over heels about the multi award-winning range, which we think gives the most believable looking golden glow we’ve seen in a long time - and are thrilled to be an official stockist!
Here are Top Tips for a truly natural glow this Summer!





Skin Prep: Slough off any rough dry or dead skin with super gentle Smooth Operator. Made with pure fruit enzymes, this micro-peel is enriched with Vitamin E, Aloe Vera and Citrus to stimulate natural renewal and leave your skin baby soft.  It contains no grit or grains and is suitable for sensitive skins.












Gentle Colour:  Pale skinned beauties or those who prefer a subtle golden glow will love Karora’s Gradual Bronzing Moisturiser for face and body with SPF 15. Containing natural botanicals and protective sun filters, it is fused with sweet orange extract, jojoba, vitamin E and essential oil of argan.  We love the citrus fresh fragrance and find this works just as beautifully on the face as the body.
      






Post Holiday Tan: Self Tan Mist For deeper colour that’s super easy to apply,  We find this works best when spritzed on a tanning mitt and gently swept over the skin.  Scented with sweet orange and melon, the tinted formula with acai berry & argan oil, develops into a gorgeously golden hue in just a few hours and lasts around a week.

Instant Colour: can help top up your existing tan or take your natural skin colour a couple of shades darker.  Instant Wash Off Tan offers superb coverage, hides skin imperfections and gives colour that lasts up to 24 hours. Packed with supernatural botanical ingredients of grape seed oil and horse chestnut extract it keeps skin nourished, smooth and supple.
Karora products are reasonably priced for such high performing, luxury products at £13.50 each. For full details and ingredients, please see HERE.