Guest Post: The Milliner

I was recently lucky enough to be invited to Imogen Towers to meet Sophie Cooke, the brains behind vintage-inspired headwear brand, Imogen’s Imagination. I’ve been a fan of Sophie’s work for a long time, so I was thrilled to have the opportunity to see where all the magic happens, find out more about the business and, of course, get to try on some of her gorgeous pieces. 

From office job to full time milliner…
"I’ve always been creative, and I’ve always loved hats, but I never thought it could become a career. I was working in an office job when I started out making mini-top hats for friends on the Sheffield burlesque scene when I started to realise that I was actually pretty good at it, and that there was a market for handmade headwear. After encouragement from family and friends – and the inspiration of my teacher-turned-jeweller Mum – I set up the label in 2005. Nearly ten years on, I never dreamed I would have come this far. For years I juggled work with running the business, but I recently gave up my job to concentrate on the Imogen's Imagination full time. There's been a lot of hard work involved, but starting the business was the best decision I ever made." 

I don’t pay attention to trends…
"Trends come and go, but my pieces are vintage inspired so they’ll never go out of fashion. I use classic shapes, but keep things interesting through the use of colour, texture and accessories – my little birdies are a big seller!" 

To hat or not to hat…
"There’s no rule that says you have to wear a hat or a fascinator to a wedding, but if you’re the only one who isn’t wearing one, you may feel uncomfortable. My Mum always used to say that hats didn’t suit her, so making her one which she loved for my brother’s wedding was one of my proudest achievements. In fact, lots of women tell me that they don’t suit hats, but I truly believe it’s just that they haven’t found the right one yet. From a small comb or a simple fascinator, through to a bird-cage veil or a wide-brimmed hat, there’s definitely something out there for everyone. Trying them on can be lots of fun."  

A confidence boost…
"When choosing a hat, there are a few things to think about - your face shape, your colouring, your own personal style, the rest of your outfit and the setting at which the hat will be worn. The end result should not only look great, but should raise your confidence levels too. It gives me so much pride to see my clients walk that little bit taller when they try on their chosen design for the first time."

• Try on Imogen’s Imagination’s fabulous creations for yourself at The Hat Stand in the Sheffield Winter Gardens Pop-Up Shop until Friday 30th May. 
• Permanent stockists include All Good Stuff at Butchers Works Sheffield, Bird's Yard Sheffield, Frankly My Deer Sheffield, The Makers Emporium Rotherham, Bella Figura Matlock and UK Milliners Guild Bristol.
• Visit www.imogensimagination.co.uk 

Buy This Now! British Beauty Blogger Dream Box

 

If like me you love trying new products, but don't want the risk of buying the full size or full price versions, beauty boxes are a great way to dip your toe in the water. Brands like Glossy Box and Birch Box are a lovely way to get a surprise selection of items, but you often have to sign up for a monthly subscription and they charge a delivery fee on top of the standard cost. 

Enter the British Beauty Blogger Dream Box. The brain child of Jane Cunningham, one of the UK's most influential bloggers, each and every product has been tried, tested and verified for quality by the lady herself. I've been lucky enough to get the previous two British Beauty Blogger boxes and I've been seriously impressed with the products, so I have high hopes for this one too.

For just £20.00, you'll get an amazing selection of samples and full sized beauty products from both budget and luxe brands:

1 x Benefit it's potent! eye cream (3g)
1 x Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara (Full Size, 8ml)
1 x Elemis Treat Your Feet FOOT CREAM (20ml)
1 x L'Occitane Divine Lotion (50ml)
1 x Essie Spring Shades (Full Size, 13.5ml)
1 x REN Satin Perfection BB Cream (3ml)
1 x Charlote Tilbury K.I.S.S.I.N.G Lipstick sachets (1 sachet)
1 x La Roche-Posay Thermal Spring Water (50ml)
1 x ROGER & GALLET Gingembre Rouge (1.5ml vial)
1 x Janjira Hand Wash (50ml)
1 x LOLA Make Up Kabuki Brush (Full Size)
1 x Makeup Revolution Awesome Eyeshadow & Eyebrow Palette (Full Size)
1 x Bourjois Cream Blush (Full size, 2.5g)
1 x Kneipp® Herbal Baths (Full Size, 100ml)
1 x Bee Good Honey & Wild Water Mint 3-in-1 Cleansing Water (Full Size, 100ml)

Be quick though - no doubt the British Beauty Blogger Dream Box will sell out fast.

Buy the British Beauty Blogger Dream Box

Go!

Bargain eyeshadow palette

For £7.99, you could be forgiven for having low expectations of the Sleek iDivine Storm palette, but here's one product that under-promises and over-delivers. 

Sleek iDivine Storm Palette offers 12 shimmery and matte shades

Appropriately sleek packaging

L-R: Sand Storm, Snow Storm, Calm Before The Storm, Thunder Storm, Perfect Storm, Firestorm

L-R: Dust Storm, Gathering Storm, Storm Cloud, Electric Storm, Eye Of The Storm, Blackout

Shade range

Well, there's a gorgeous mix of twelve shimmery and matte shades, from pale gold through to deepest black. One of the great things about palettes is that the colours have been pre-selected for you so you know they'll work well together and there are endless possibilities for colour combinations here. Of course, each colour can be worn alone too. Each of them is very wearable. The golden and darker shades will suit most skin tones, whilst the pinkier colours will look amazing on darker, Asian and black skin tones. 

Pigmentation

The shadows in the Storm palette, for the most part, are really well pigmented. The pale shimmery shade, Snow Storm, hasn't shown up well in the pictures but it actually applies beautifully on the eye. The darker shimmery shades, including Sand Storm, Dust Storm and Storm Cloud, are amazingly well pigmented. The two paler matte shades, Calm Before The Storm and Eye Of The Storm, don't fare as well on the pigment front, but they are still good for shading in the crease and they work perfectly well as eyebrow colours. The darkest matte shade, Blackout, is super pigmented. In fact, I had trouble getting it off my arm after swatching.

Wear time

Speaking of staying power, I find these shadows work best with a primer underneath. But then so do all eyeshadows on me. I got a good nine hours wear out of them, with only some fading as the day wore on. Without primer, it was more like six hours wear time - still pretty good considering the price. 

Blendability

One thing to note is how soft the shadows are. Whilst this makes blending a breeze, it does result in some drop down. I found it best to tap any excess off the brush and blend the colour into the back of my hand before applying to the eye to minimise drop down.

Packaging

This palette really is sleek by name and sleek by nature. It's small enough to be easily transportable and comes with a decent mirror inside. The double ended foam applicator isn't something which I'd use as I prefer to use a brush, but it could be good for emergencies I guess.

Dupes

It would be rude to mention this palette without drawing comparisons with its pricier cousins in the Urban Decay Naked range. Along with Mac, Urban Decay eyeshadows have been my favourites for years because I really rate their staying power, pigmentation and amazing choice of shades. Whilst the Sleek shadows aren't quite in their league, and the colours not exact matches for the Naked palettes, they give them a damn good run for their money. The Naked palette is £37.00. The Sleek palette is £7.99. 'nuff said.

Verdict

I've been seriously impressed with the Sleek iDivine Storm palette. It offers a gorgeous colour selection and outstanding quality and value for the price. There are 16 other palettes in the iDivine range and I can't wait to give them a go. I picked mine up from Superdrug where there's currently a 3 for 2 offer on.

Sleek iDivine in Storm | £7.99  

Lush Anti-Badger Cull Bath Bomb

Brands like Lush and the Body Shop have a long history of using their beauty products to support charitable causes and it's something I always keep an eye out for. What's not to like about contributing to a worthwhile cause whilst handing over pennies for a product you're going to buy and use anyway? 

How cute?

Every penny of LUSH's new badger inspired, May Day bath bomb (minus the VAT which has to go to the Government) goes towards anti-badger cull projects in the UK, including SAVE ME - the animal welfare organisation founded in 2010 by Queen guitarist Brian May.  

If you're against the badger cull too, this adorable limited edition bath bomb will be right up your street. With fennel oil to stimulate your skin and antiseptic rosewood oil to soothe and uplift, it would make a lovely treat for yourself and an even lovelier gift for wildlife lovers. And at just £2.95 each, you can feel like you're making a difference for the same price as a cup of coffee.

There are many opposing arguments when it comes to the UK badger cull and it's arguably a more political issue than some beauty charity campaigns. Whatever your standpoint, you've got to admire Lush for sticking their head above the parapet and trying to make a difference for something they believe in.

May Day bath bomb | £2.95 | Available for one month only from Lush stores or online

Review | STEAMCREAM

Before we get started with the moisturiser itself, let's just take a moment to appreciate the be-auti-ful packaging of my tin of STEAMCREAM for a second. This was a birthday gift for me recently (I'm an April baby, hence the Aries tin). 

Pretty packaging #1.

Here's the Aquarius version which I bought for my Mum. 

Pretty packaging #2.

Aren't they just gorgeous? 

There are lots of other regular and limited edition designs to choose from which are all equally lovely - from florals to peacock feathers, there's sure to be something that tickles your fancy. Once the cream has run out, they make perfect trinket jars.

STEAMCREAM smells naturally floral, with a predominant scent of lavender. Even if lavender isn't usually your bag, it's not overpowering. STEAMCREAM is billed as a multi-purpose moisturiser for body, hands and face. I like the idea of multi-tasking products, but in reality I'd question its abilities as a body lotion. Personally I prefer something richer and the 75g tin wouldn't last very long if applied all over regularly. It could be handy for weekend trips though. 

All natural ingredients make for a lovely scent.

I occasionally use it as a hand cream, but for me, STEAMCREAM is best when used on the face. It's light in texture and just a small amount leaves my normal/combination skin feeling nourished and moisturised. I find it makes a nice base for make up and is rich enough to be used as a night cream too. If used as a day cream, you'll need to use a separate SPF. 

One of the things I love most about STEAMCREAM is the level of information about each of the ingredients on their website. There's no hiding behind fancy-schmancy, unpronounceable names here. Of the less pronounceable ingredients there's an explanation about why they've been used. It's so refreshing to know exactly what you're putting onto your skin.

Ingredients: Oatmeal Infusion (Avena sativa), Orange Flower Water (Citrus Aurantium amara, Aqua), Almond Oil (Prunus dulcis), Cocoa Butter (Theobroma cacao), Glycerine, Stearic Acid, Triethanolamine, Organic Jojoba Oil (Simmondsia chinensis), Lavender Oil (Lavandula augustifolia), Chamomile Blue Oil (Chamomilla recutita), Orange Blossom Absolute (Citrus Aurantium dulcis), Rose Absolute (Rosa damascena), Neroli Oil (Citrus Aurantium amara), Cetyl Stearyl Alcohol, *Coumarin, *Geraniol, *Citronellol, * Limonene, *Linalool, Perfume, Methylparaben, Propylparaben.

In there we have British oatmeal to brighten and soothe irritated skin, lavender to balance sebum and reduce redness, orange flower water to hydrate, and sweet almond oil to soften and nourish. As the name suggests, they use steam to naturally fuse all the ingredients together, which they claim improves absorption into the epidermis. 

Only a small amount is needed when used as a day or night cream.

So who should try STEAMCREAM?  

For the face I'd say it's best for normal to dry complexions. It may be too rich for very oily skin during the day but as a night cream it should be ok. Very sensitive skins may need to be careful due to the essential oils, but I have sensitive skin and I've not had any problems with it at all. In fact, I've really been enjoying using it and would definitely re-purchase. The gorgeous range of designs and the quality of the product make it a great gift for women of any age too.
  
STEAMCREAM is £12.95 (including free delivery) from www.steamcream.co.uk.