My Beauty Bibles

I'm going to start out by saying that I wish someone had stopped me aged thirteen, foundation two shades too orange for my skin, hair scraped back and the scrapings of a Natural Collection mascara on my lashes and just handed me one of these books.

In my opinion, beauty bibles are completely essential: for both a lazy poolside read and a brush up on techniques and tips. I'm not saying these are brought out every day, but each contain their own priceless hints and tips that have helped sculpt my beauty routine.


Bobbi Brown: Teenage Beauty, by Bobbi Brown and Annemarie Iverson
This is a fairly new book that my family brought back from a car boot sale a few weeks ago, but has already graced it's way into my beauty bibles collection. As this book is specifically for teenagers, it focuses mainly on how to achieve beauty in a subtle way - minimum makeup but maximum results, and it also talks about skincare tips for teenage skin, discussing issues such as how to deal with hormonal skin and acne.
If you ignore the scattered 'love yourself, beauty is on the inside' cheesy inspirational lines, it's a good read for younger people wanting to start wearing makeup, or maintain a subtle look.

Bobbi Brown Makeup Manual, by Bobbi Brown
Time for the big one: this gorgeous manual, again by Bobbi Brown (my makeup idol, that woman is a miracle worker!) is the be all and end all of makeup. It contains everything you would everything need to know about makeup of any kind, and displays it all in incredible full page glossy photos. I love that this book goes into great detail and almost feels scientific in it's explanations, so you can really feel like you understand the reasons why her tips work.

Lauren Conrad Beauty by Lauren Conrad and Elise Loehnen
I hadn't heard of Lauren Conrad till I heard recommendations for this book on a blog somewhere as I'd never seen The Hills - but it's pretty apparent at a google of her name that a) she is absolutely stunning and b) that girl knows how to dress! She's also a fellow worshipper of my staple look: the winged eyeliner, so I was in girl crush mode instantly. Again, the book focuses on all aspects of makeup, but also features a section on haircare and a personal favourite - the step by step makeup looks section. I find it fascinating hearing the little tips and tricks people use in their daily routine - and if she ends up looking that good then it must be worth a try.

If you haven't invested in beauty manuals yet then I'd definitely recommend one of these as a starting point - who knows, it could end up changing your entire routine!

Primark A/W Collection 2013 Wishlist

It's got to that weird time of year again: where the weather is finally acceptable in England, and then the shops bring in all their autumn/winter collections. Just looking at wool coats, jumpers and monochrome should be banned in August! Saying this, I'm still only female and could only resist the temptation for a few minutes after seeing a link to the new Primark A/W collections on Rachel Nicole's blog before I rushed to go check it out myself. I also saw her gorgeous wishlist and thought I'd do one for myself!

There is far too much monochrome on here for comfort, but hey, it's autumn and it's allowed! There are around a hundred new pieces on the Look website here but I've just picked a few that I would love in next seasons wardrobe.

Now I just need to get to a shop and buy it all!

French Cosmetics Haul

Before I say anything about the collection of loveliness I have to share with you all, I have to start with a massive SORRY! It's been about a month since I posted and the only excuse I have is a big old case of bloggers block - if you're a fellow blogger, I'm sure you've been in the same situation where you just can't find any inspiration whatsoever. I'd much rather take a small break as I did than force myself to write about things that I had no passion for at all, so three weeks off plus another week sunning myself in Portugal has been my recovery. I'm glad to say I'm back now and have spent this morning photographing lots of treasures to post about over the next few weeks and I hope I still have some of you on board with Liv Florence!

Enough about me, shall we proceed onto the interesting stuff? If you're a usual reader, you'll know that a while ago I took a trip to Le Touquet in France for the weekend, and being the standard beauty blogger I couldn't help a little trip to Continente to pick up some beauty buys.

1 - Bioderma Sebium H2O
Starting with the stereotype - no blogger is going to travel to France without picking up a couple of bottles of Bioderma. I went for the Sebium version which is green rather than pink, which is meant to be more suited to oily skin as it decreases the sebium being produced in your skin (the oily yucky stuff which helps skin to break out). For those who don't know, Bioderma is a make up remover which also cleanses the skin and is truly famous within the blogosphere - I've been dying for a bottle for a while and though I did want the famous pink version, the green was more suited to my skin so :( I use this after I wash my face to make sure every scrap of make up is removed and it's actually scary to see that even after a proper cleanse, there is usually still muck on my face! I got a two pack of 500ml bottles which cost around 16 euros - amazing considering on amazon, a single 500ml bottle goes for around £15-20.

2 - Klorane Eye Makeup Remover
This was more of a spontaneous buy - I needed some eye makeup remover for my holiday and remember Ruth from A Model Recommends saying she liked this one. I have pretty sensitive eyes so usually rely on my Body Shop Camomile Waterproof Eye Makeup Remover, but this one is also supposed to be gentle and has a pH similar to that of tears (which while sounding a bit creepy, does mean it doesn't cause irritation). This works averagely for an eye makeup remover - though it is really gentle, it takes a while to fully remove eye makeup and I still prefer my Body Shop.

3 - La Roche Posay Effaclar Duo
I picked this up after a friend told me how much she swears by it - I haven't had a chance to try this out yet but it is basically a blemish treatment cream which cures most complexion woes, especially acne/ blemishes. From what I can tell, it can be used as both a direct treatment on blemishes, and as an all over cream to improve basic complexion. I'll be trying it out over the next few weeks and will be sure to pop a review up!

4 - Ducray Keracnyl Triple Action Mask 
This was another spontaneous buy, one that I am very very proud of myself for. This mask is a little miracle worker! It has three functions - absorbing excess sebum using clay, deep cleansing of pores and exfoliating. The first time I used this, it had a mild sting on my face due to what I suppose is the poly-hydroxy-acids - a feeling I actually enjoy with treatment masks, as I can feel it working. After using it, my skin felt amazingly smooth and soft - a couple of days later, a few pimples popped up as usual with a mask, and after they'd disappeared I noticed a dramatic difference in the smoothness and clearness of my skin. In short I adore this mask - I think it was only about 7-8 euros too, so a complete bargain! I'll definitely be stocking up on this when I go to France in a couple of weeks.

5 - Nuxe Reve de Miel Lip Balm
Why am I so predictable?! I picked this up because... because everyone else have it and I want it. And guess what, I love it just like everyone else! It's a fairly matte lip balm, not leaving too much shine, but is very thick and really softens lips - whilst smelling absolutely divine! This again (though I can't remember exactly how much it cost) was quite a bit cheaper than in England, so go me!

Now that I've tried out French cosmetics, I'm completely converted - it's not going to be good for my bank account when I head over to France again in a couple of weeks.. I'm going to want to try even more!


What are your favourite French cosmetics and skincare, is there anything I should try when I go back?