Benefit's Mascarathon for Refuge

I love running. I love mascara. And I really love Benefit Cosmetics. So, when some information on Benefit's Mascarathon for the domestic violence charity, Refuge, landed in my inbox, I wanted to give the spotlight to this great charity event.

Benefit's Mascarathon will be celebrating the success of 'They're Real' - Benefit's No1 premium mascara in the UK, whilst raising funds for a fabulous charity. The run, fronted by TV beauty Caroline Flack will be raising funds and awareness for the national domestic violence charity for women and children, Refuge, reaching out to women who may be affected by domestic violence or know someone who is.

Starting in Edinburgh on June 15th and finishing in London on June 29th, the Mascarathon will call in at Newcastle, Manchester, Birmingham, Cardiff and Oxford. Along the 500+ mile route, there will be a range of areas for fans of Benefit Comestics including make-up stations and some lovely Benefit samples for runners and friends (I'll be there raiding samples of mascara and cheering on the running masses!)

And the fun part? A Benefit mascara baton will be passed from runner to runner as they make their way along the route, each completing 2 miles each; these 2 miles mark the 2 women lost every week because of domestic abuse.

For all the lovely lasses in the Toon, the Mascarathon will be stationed in Newcastle from June 13th-15th when Donna Air will be taking part in the run.

In this Olympic year, it's great to see brands supporting charities through sport and I'll be there cheering on the Benefit beauties when they run through Newcastle (and of course sampling some Benefit make-up delights along the way!)

Follow #mascarathonuk and Benefit UK on Twitter

Beauty: Dermalogica and new beauty heroes

This month's new beauty hero products come in the form of Dermalogica's Gentle Cream Exfoliant, every beauty blogger's hero cleanser Bioderma's Crealine H20 Solution Micellaire, and Shu Uemura's utterly genius eyelash curler.


Dermalogica Gentle Cream Exfoliant 
I have been trying to find an non-abrasive but effective exfoliator for a long time now, and whilst watching Lisa Eldridge's Favourite Skincare Products videos, she mentioned Dermalogica's Gentle Cream Exfoliant. Containing lactic and salicylic acids (not as scary as they sound), this cream exfoliant gets right under blemishes and stops them in their tracks before they get a proper chance to set up camp on your face. When I hear the word 'exfoliator', I usually think of gritty scrubs which make your skin ache and squeak after use, but this is so gentle, you feel like you're applying a cream cleanser. This product does not contain any rough grains to buff the skin with, but the acids act as the exfoliants, gently penetrating the skin and seeking out undesirable spots and bumps - perfect for oily and combination skin. I've been using this once or twice a week for around 3 weeks now and have noticed a huge improvement in my complexion. Any blemishes I did have were completely reduced in size after the first use and some disappeared completely. Definately a new mainstay in my bathroom cabinet for the ol' cleansing routine. I bought my Gentle Cream Exfoliant from Beauty Flash - such fantastic prices for Dermalogica products.

Bioderma Crealine H20 Solution Micellaire
Every man and his wife has been blogging about this super cleanser, and for good reason. Heralded by make-up artists as the ultimate cleansing solution to get every last speck of make-up off of your skin, without stripping off any of the skin's essential oils, this is a product I've been trying to get hold of for some time. Usually only available for sale in French pharmacies, I was ecstatic to read that Caroline had come across a reputable seller on eBay, which she'd bought the miracle product from, so I swiftly followed suit and bought some. Such a reasonable price for the amount of product that you get, and a little goes a long way. I've mainly been using this product to remove my eye make-up and then following up with Liz Earle's Cleanse and Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser to get a good, all-round cleanse. This solution literally melts away make-up and leaves my skin feeling fantastic. Another product I can see myself using in the long term.

Shu Uemura Eyelash Curler
I am obsessed with Buyapowa. In the past couple of months since hearing about the co-buying site, I've bought Liz Earle Hot Cloth Cleanser, Bobbi Brown eyeliner, Benefit's hero pore minimiser The Porefessional and now, Shu Uemura's famous eyelash curlers. Buyapowa are doing such a fantastic job getting these big brands into the co-buying scheme, and the demand for co-buying these essential beauty products is very popular - the first time the Shu Uemura eyelash curlers went live on the site for a co-buy, they sold out within around 15 minutes. So, I'm thrilled that Buyapowa managed to secure another lot of these babies to sell to the masses. All I can say about this beauty tool is why didn't I invest sooner? Sure, they're a bit pricier than your average eyelash curlers, but by god do they do the job ridiculously well. I have long eyelashes as it is, and always have comments asking if my eyelashes are real or false (cheeky), but these eyelash curlers make my lashes look even more lush, full and fluttery than they ever have done. Genius!