Balance Me Facialists

Hi All!

Embrace their wellbeing roots, British-made, gorgeous skincare brand Balance Me has launched a signature facial to showcase their beautiful products. Skin is dealt with on an individual bespoke basis, and needs are addressed using smoothing fruit acid exfoliation followed by sculpting, radiance boosting massage techniques drawn from facial rejuvenation and acupressure, a collagen-boosting mask plus a layer of hyaluronic acid. The hour-long treatment is suitable for all skin types and ages and delivers excellent long-lasting results and a sense of wellbeing and rejuvenation.

Here's the fun part:

They're recruiting self-employed/freelance/private therapists with their own spaces to do the treatments.

The requirements are a minimum 3 years’ experience as a beauty therapist/facialist with own home, mobile or salon practice. You will need to be BTEC/CIBTAC qualified or equivalent. And fully insured (obvs).
All successful applicants will be required to attend a one day Balance Me training in London.

If you are interested in any further information and would like to apply you can email here. You need to send in your CV, proof of qualifications and two references, but they can answer any questions you may have in the first instance.

www.balanceme.co.uk

balance Me Cleanse and Smooth Face Balm (and Radiance Face Oil - secret spot weapon)

balance Me (their spelling) are an old favourite - if you like 'natural' products that really are 'natural' - this brand is for you.

What is it?

The Cleanse and Smooth Face Balm is the balm cleanser in their range and is lush. Note: If you used this when it first launched (as I did) and hated it because of the huge pieces of oats in it (as I did) fear not - it was very quickly reformulated and now has the very softest of oatmeal grain - soft enough to use around the eyes. Give it another go.

What's in it?

Well, you could look at the balance Me website as they have a full inci listing for every product clearly labelled.    *JAZZ HANDS, tips hat to balance Me team*

No 'active ingredients' nonsense - just the full list. For your ease though:

Prunus amygdalus dulcis (sweet almond) oil, Colloidal oatmeal, Cera alba (unrefined beeswax), Mangifera indica (mango) seed butter, Butyrospermum parkii (shea) butter***, Theobroma cacao (cocoa) butter, Polyglyceryl-4 caprate, Oleic/Linoleic/Linolenic polyglycerides, Hydroxystearic/Linolenic/Oleic polyglycerides, Rubus chamaemorus (cloudberry) seed extract, Cocos nucifera (virgin coconut) oil***, Aleurites moluccana (kukui) oil, Rosa canina (rosehip) fruit oil, Camellia oleifera (camellia) oil, Citrus reticulata (mandarin red)*, Litsea cubeba (litsea may chang)*, Citrus aurantium amara (petitgrain)*, Anthemis nobilis (Roman chamomile)*, Cananga odorata (ylang ylang)*, Coriandrum sativum (coriander)*, Tocopherol (vitamin E), Rosmarinus officinalis (rosemary) extract, Limonene**, Linalool**, Citral *natural pure essential oil **naturally occurring in essential oils ***certified organic ingredient

Who is it for?

Labelled as 'normal to dry/sensitive' - although the shea butter and beeswax content feels quite refined and shouldn't therefore break out any oily/combo skins.

What's good about it?

• lovely texture - perfect for massage
• doesn't emulsify into a runny milk - holds its form
• does not sting the eyes - at all (on me)
• removes makeup but I would still use a pre-cleanse oil over eye area first
• doesn't leave oily residue
• affordable!

What's bad about it?

I'm ignoring the muslin cloth. 

How much is it?

Cleanse and Smooth Face Balm is £20.00 for 125ml (I know!) - £20.00! available from balanceme.co.uk 

Highly recommended.

While you're there:

If you are someone who suffers from spots/breakouts/acne and slaps on toothpaste (loads gun) or nappy cream (fires gun) - use the above instead. This little rollerball is on my bedside and in my MU bag. Any sign of a zit and it gets rolled to death. Continuous use of an oil like this one is much better for your skin and your spots - and helps prevent scarring - in essence if you use this it will either:

• bring the spot to a head without scarring - OR
• make it completely disperse before it comes to a head
• Also helps heal scarring old and new (remember scars can only be helped without machinery intervention if they are still red/pink, showing blood circulation - this will not fix the scar on your knee that you did when you were 6).

Everyone should have one. £15.00 from balanceme.co.uk  - the 10ml size is the rollerball.

A few weeks in the life of ....Instagram August and September!

 Bloody hell.

I thought it was just September I missed out. No. Weeks and weeks. Hopefully work will steady out a little (Who am I kidding? Really?) and I can get back to some Clinics and reviews asap!

I am in the last throws of planning a Live Winter Clinic so will have details of that soon. In the meantime... some titbits from the last couple of months...

Westminster Cathedral. Pretty breathtaking.

Harvey Nichols chips. Also breathtaking - for other reasons.

Zelens, La Prairie, Caudalie, Hydraluron and Ms Somerville.

Gigi

A nice working kit!

Puma in Carnaby St gets a couple of extra window dummies.

Broadwick St mural

Carluccio's. *weeps*

Me in a terrifying face mask. You're welcome.

Cleanser I can never remember the name of from pharmacy in Paris, La P, Sjal, Zelens, Hydraluron, Ms Somerville and Caudalie

One of my favourite places

One of my favourite pictures ever - source unknown

Beautiful packaging

A hotel bathroom after my own heart.

Saw at Thorpe Park - or as I called it: CHRIST ON A BIKE

Stealth. Lest said the better.

Me with long legs thanks to a very low sun!

Suti, Zelens, Sjal, La Prairie, Hydraluron and SkinCeuticals SAVED my face after Thorpe Park.

Damien Hirst putting me off my lunch.

Eysilix launch. Not me - for the record.

Trialling this.

Beautiful newness from Balance Me.

And possibly one of my most favourite pictures EVER of my Babygirl - she's perfectly sane. No really.

Overnight Travel Kit

I went on an overnight trip to Monaco earlier this week - more of which to come at a later date.

I snapped off this pic very quickly as I was packing up to come home as it was probably the best overnight kit I've managed to put together for some time.

As I was going on my own and didn't have to make room for seven billion items belonging to my children that normally fill all of my cases - I didn't worry too much about travel sizes.

Included above is:

• balance Me Cleanse and Smooth Face Balm cleanser - full review to follow - but lovely!
• Serge Normant Volumizer, Shampoo and Conditioner (Hairspray out of shot) - the only range to use if you have long hair
• L'Oreal Tecni Art Volume Architect - when you want ridiculous OOMPH
• Aesop Petitgrain Hydrating Gel - reviewed earlier this week - lovely
• Alpha-H Liquid Gold travel size - obviously
• Frederic Malle Lys Mediterranee - obsessed
• Omorovicza Queen of Hungary Mist travel size and Illuminating Moisturiser - loving at the moment 
• Kate Somerville Deep Tissue Repair - brilliant for glow and travel due to the packaging
• Hampton Sun After Sun Moisturiser - as a body moisturiser - not aftersun...
• Oral B Pro Expert - I remain completely obsessed with this toothpaste and now have the entire family addicted also - go get your free sample via the link

That's it. Stood me in good stead. Anyone have any good suggestions for travel sizes for the future?

* the above are a mixture of PR samples, purchases and product from clients (Serge, Hampton) but are all equally amazing.  No affiliate links. Just being helpful.

Beauty News Round-up

This week's round-up - starting with...

• Stop the Press! Next Friday - 10th, Emma Watson - Hermione herself, is doing a P.A. in Selfridges as part of her role as Lancome Ambassador and Face of the brand. She's there to launch her new collection of lipsticks and nail polishes called Rouge in Love and Vernis in Love respectively. Prepare to be squashed to death by screaming Harry Potter fans.
  Selfridges Oxford Street - 4.30pm. Friday 10th February.

• Origins launch Youthtopia Lift today. Designed to help skins affected by stress, age, fatigue and lack of hyaluronic acid (moi) - it uses Commiphora Mukul - a key plant ingredient used in ayurvedic medicine for over 3000 years. 92% of their testers said their skin was 'lifted and firmer'. That'll do.
  My favourite part of Origins packaging? This bit:
  
  Origins products are formulated WITHOUT:
  Parabens  ● Phthalates  ● Propylene Glycol  ● Mineral Oil  ● PABA  ● Petrolatum
  Paraffin ● DEA ● Animal Ingredients (except cruelty-free honey and beeswax)
  Doesn't it look nice to see that? Youthtopia is £48.00.
  
  

• Deborah Mitchell launches her Eye version of her infamous Bee Venom Mask exclusively through NutriBeauty this week, priced at £55.00. A natural alternative to botox - she has taken the 'sting' part of the mask and added river silt - rich in  minerals, enzymes and marine collagen to feed, firm, tighten and rejuvenate. I kinda need that all over.
  

• The stunning cologne 4711 is sponsoring Matthew Williamson at LFW 2012. Frankly it's about time this unisex cult classic was put in front of people in a more pro-active manner. Never smelt it? It's citrus-y, think James Bond wears Aqua di Parma.
  Interesting sidebar: this is the first time I've linked to a wikipedia page for a product. Told you it was a classic.
  

• Also launching is Wild - a bright, bold and fresh initiative proving that Fair Trade doesn't have to be brown, dull and drab. Taking oils directly from ethically sourced and sustained suppliers from Africa, they have beautiful body butters and soaps that won't break the bank and make great gifts.
  

• Speaking of Africa - this week pureDKNY launch their latest collaboration with CARE International - an organisation that aims to empower and lift women out of global poverty. *stands up, claps*
  A Drop Of Verbena not only donates £1.00 per bottle to CARE, it sources the verbena directly from farmers in Togo to help sustain the local community. Can I get an AMEN?
  Watch this video featuring the face of DKNY Angela Lindvall for more info about the work DKNY are doing with CARE.

Good work DK peeps.

• Fast on the heels of RapidLash comes RapidBrow - the gift from the Gods for over-pluckers everywhere.

• Your eyebrows are the coat hangers for your face - if yours look like old wire hangers from the dry cleaners instead of sturdy fabulous wooden ones from Peter Jones haberdashery department (trust me), you may wanna look this up. Exclusive to Boots - £37.00
  

• Dove Spa have launched their Real Local Beauty campaign. Open to all ages and sizes you can nominate a friend or enter yourself if you fancy your chances. Prizes of up to £250 are on offer along with the chance to appear in their advertising campaigns and in the windows of Dove Spas across the country.  To enter email realbeauty@dovespa.co.uk. Entries close 17th Feb.
  

• Can we all take a minute to bow before the altar of NARS and these gorgeous previously-exclusive-to-Selfridges-now-in-SpaceNK new glosses?  He's basically giving us a super-pigmented-crack-version of his original glosses in THE most amazing, bright, beautiful colours. I suggest you go now and investigate Norma - pictured above. No I don't suggest, I HIGHLY suggest. £19.00

• Speaking of bowing, my old favourite Doctor P as usual, is at the forefront of his game and has released a Hypoallergenic Collection for those of us with sensitive skin - for whatever reason. I love this man and I trust him implicitly. No he's not cheap, but if you want cheap I suggest you go and use something for £2.00 on 3 for 2 in Boots and come back to me when your face is falling off. Yeah. That's what I thought.
  Starting with a cleanser, eye cream, peptide complex and moisturiser it is priced between £34 and £80 and is available online and on Perricone counters. Review to follow.
  

• Coach launched its latest fragrance - Poppy this week. Fruity and floral, it's the perfect escape as we get SNOW forecast. Priced from £29.00 at Debenhams, Harrods and selected stockists.
  

• Balance Me launch their skincare Try-Me kit on QVC on Sunday 5th at 6pm and 10pm. Priced at £22.50 it contains trial sizes of both cleansers, Radiance Face Oil, Moisture-Rich Face Cream, Wonder Eye Cream and Stellar Face Balm. Tune in at 6pm - it's bound to sell out.

• And finally - be careful what you wish for. Stila launching online with SpaceNK in March. HELL YEAH!

Product of the Week Giveaway Winners - balance Me and Beauty Works West

Firstly. Huge apologies. I was out of commission for a couple of days last week and then Max was sick for the following three days - and low and behold - a week has gone by. So these winners are long overdue.

So let's make haste:

The 5 winners of the CLEANSE wipes are...

1. Sparklz and Shine
2. Miss Mathful
3. Squarrell
4. MissisG
5. Jan

And the winner of the balance Me Radiance Face Mask is...

....betwixt beauty

Please email me your addresses asap.

Congratulations all and thank you to everyone who entered!

Product of the Week - balance Me Radiance Face Mask

Right - I realise I should rename Beauty Mouth 'the Wednesday blog' - so apologies for the randomness - again - and thank you for your patience and support. It's never taken for granted and is always appreciated. Best I stop there before I start to sound like I'm accepting a Nobel Peace Prize.

On to this weeks's fabulous Product of the Week.

There is nothing not to love about this product. Firstly - it's made by the girls at balance Me - one of the few who when they say 'natural' they mean NATURAL. They're also lovely, lovely people. And smart. Genuine. No egos. And no - I'm not employed by them in any way. They just are.

So on to the product. I love a clay mask. We used to make them up ourselves in college as part of our training - changing the clay to reflect the client's skin. Clay is the best. Gentle, effective and cheap! Hallelujah!

The balance me Radiance Face Mask is a recent addition to the range - included in their skincare launch this year and adding to the hugely successful bath and body range they initially launched with. It contains kaolin, fruit acids (gentle), crushed walnut shells and rosemary, palma rosa, lavender and chamomile to ensure it smooths and softens while doing the job.

It has a perfect texture, gentle scent and works. No redness or irritation here people. LOVE.

If you fancy trying one for yourself the balance Me team are offering one up to a BM reader. Simply leave your name/twitter ID/email - whichever - in a comment and they'll pick a winner next week.

I told you they were nice.

balance Me Radiance Face Mask is £18.00 and is available here along with further information on the brand.

Fine print.
I paid for my mask.
Yours will be a gift from balance Me.
It's bloody lovely.