CODE Beautiful Blog

CODE GIRL: This month we’re loving, Emma Willis

At CODE HQ we wanted to give you an insight into the ladies inspiring us at the moment, each month we'll be picking a CODE Girl who's killing it in her own unique way.

This month we're loving birthday babe, Emma Willis.

You love her. I love her. Everyone loves her. She is impossible not to like.

Keep reading to see why we can’t get enough of her.

1. She has great hair

Ridiculously good! If you don’t know what we’re talking about you need to get googling... right now!

2. She’s a family girl

Emma has always described her and her husband Matt as a team, which would explain how she’s absolutely smashing the entertainment industry while still raising three beautiful children. 

3. She supports other women

Being a firm believer in supporting each other, Emma has admitted to being a ‘modern-day feminist’ and plans to raise her kids in the same way, go Emma! In an interview with Cosmopolitan she said; “People say women are competitive with each other but thankfully I’ve never found that… We don’t need to pick holes in each other; we need to be supportive.”

It’s International Women’s Day which means today is all about spreading the love and appreciating the achievements of women all over the world.

In honour of some of our favourite ladies in the music industry, we’ve created the ultimate inspirational women playlist.

From Lauryn Hill to Kesha and everyone in between, this playlist will truly remind you who runs the world.

You know how you look back at photos of yourself from a few years ago and you instantly recoil at your make-up? Those skinny brows! That under-eye concealer that was two shades too light! That fake-tan that veers slightly too close to orange? Nowadays we have Instagram filters to blur away what we don’t like, but that’s no excuse for a make-up faux pas that could be totally unavoidable. And in an era of contouring, highlighting, fake lashes and fake lips, there is a hell of a lot that can go wrong. We’ve all done it – this isn’t about feeling bad about your make-up mistakes – but here are a few tips to avoid repeating the most common ones of 2017, as we make our way in to the New Year….

The one that looks ok in photos.. but not so ok in real life…

Let’s face it – contouring has been around for a couple of years now, but shows no signs of going anywhere – so we need to tackle this one. Contouring works really well in theory – defining your features, giving bone structure a more angular appearance and ‘reducing’ the size of any features you aren’t happy with -but in reality, or at least away from Instagram, contouring doesn’t translate so well. Too much definition can highlight lines, too much shading can make the skin appear dirty, and not enough blending just leaves you looking ridiculous. If you’re going to stay on the contouring wagon – and let’s face it, there are plenty that are – just remember to stick to these golden rules: it’s worth investing in a contour palette that has a variety of shades, so you can keep as close to your natural skin colour as possible; play around with formulas until you find the one that works best for your skin type – whether that’s cream, powder or a mixture of the two; and finally, blend, blend, blend.

The one that ruins your lashes

False lashes – we have a love-hate relationship with the things. While we adore the fat fluttery lashes they give us, fiddling around with glue and the inevitable lash fall out (seriously, how do you pull them off WITHOUT ripping out your own lashes?) puts us off. Give lashes a break from falsies and allow them to grow back to full strength, without forgoing the lash envy they create. CODE FFL Forget Fake Lashes £18 gives enough of a pre-mascara boost – enhancing short sparse ones and coating lashes with volumising and thickening ingredients – that you will genuinely forget you aren’t wearing falsies.

The one that doesn’t make the most of what you have

Wearing the wrong mascara is a bit like wearing the wrong sized bra – you won’t realise how wrong it is until you discover the alternative and then you’ll never look back. There’s a good mascara out there for everyone – and it’s such a personal thing that what works on your best friend won’t necessarily work on you – so make 2018 the year you find your one. You need to first figure out what you want from your mascara – do you have thin delicate lashes that need to gain some weight? Are your lashes full of volume but short and stubby, in desperate need of length? Are your lashes long but straight and in need of a little curl to give a wide-eye look? All of the above?? CODE VLM Volumising Lengthening Mascara £19.95 can be built up gradually, and adds length, volume, separation and curl, while nourishing lashes with vitamins and waxes that encourage natural lash growth.

The one that looks dated (even if it is back on-trend)

The Moschino S/S’18 show was all about a return to the 90’s: so we can expect the Spice brown lip liner/pale concealer lips combo to be making a return too. While this may look cute on the catwalk, in reality it looks unflattering and dated, plus it won’t help you achieve that plumped effect pout that you’ve been lusting after. Stay away from dark brown lip liners and instead stick to CODE SSL Soft Smooth Lip Liner £18 - which is the perfect nude shade - and you’ll create the perfect amount of volume and natural definition, without any telltale dark lines.

The perfect nude lip has become a bit of a beauty phenomenon in its own right. In recent years the nude lip, like the red lip before it, has become a go-to look that, done right, has the power to transform your face, update your look and make you look can’t-put-my-finger-on-why better. Now the nude lip got a – sort of – royal seal of approval, as the signature look of Prince Harry’s gorgeous new fiancé, Meghan Markle.

Like its rouge predecessor, the perfect nude lipstick needs very little else to go with it and should make your teeth look whiter, your skintone brighter an your eyes pop.  With all that in mind it’s worth remembering this: just like with a red lippie– finding the perfect nude lip is a bit of holy grail of beauty. So, while Meghan has found the one (lippie we mean…) finding your own may take a bit of work. But we promise, the payoff (flattered complexion, brighter face…) is worth the graft.  So, what qualifies as a nude lip? Let’s face it, with our different skintones, naked means something different to each of us. It can be a real jungle out there in the world of flesh-toned lippies. So let us steer you in the right direction and help you find the perfect nude lip for you. We like many were searching for the perfect nude so searched high and low and came up with two products we think are the perfect shade for all skin tones...👏🏻

CODE SSL Soft Smooth Lip Liner £18

Never underestimate the power of a good lip liner, and this one is pretty unique... a lip liner and plumper all in one elegant, self-sharpening device.

CODE SSL is the perfect universal Soft Nude Blush shade which looks gorgeous on everyone. Non-feathering, CODE SSL prevents your lip gloss or lipstick from bleeding for an effortless look you can trust. Clever self-sharpening technology means you simply twist the lid till it clicks and you have the perfect tip to glide onto your lips. (We like to also create some vertical lines on the lips to give a stronger base - so you can use it as a lip liner and a lipstick... two in one!)

CODE LIP Lip Intense Plumper £20

CODE LIP is the lip plumping treatment you’ve been waiting for – full of the best lip-plumping ingredients – the more often you apply it, the better the results. Plus it gives you an instant boost in plumpness and moisture. Use CODE LIP on its own or let it dry and wear under your favourite lipstick or gloss.

The magic ingredient in CODE LIP is Hilurlip, containing a blend of lip treats such as Hyaluronic acid, Tripeptide-1, and Dimethicone. This exclusive combination helps to redefine the natural contours of the lips and create a more youthful, sculpted look.

CODE LIP comes in a beautiful soft nude rose colour to suit all skin tones.

Love it or hate it, there’s no denying, that the annual office Christmas party has become a phenomenon in its own right. The only time it’s socially acceptable to do your make-up at your desk, get drunk with your boss and pull a fake sickie, the office Christmas party often gets a bad rep, with its connotations of cheap booze and embarrassing antics. Well, we can’t promise that our CODE Christmas party rulebook will keep you on the straight and narrow, but we can promise that if you follow our party beauty guide, you’ll certainly look good at this year’s Christmas do. So, here are our top five rules for making sure your Christmas party antics are memorable for all the right reasons. We promise there’s no mention of mistletoe or photocopiers.

Preparation is key to longevity

Want your make-up to last all night? Want your skin to glow, regardless of how many gins you’ve been sampling? Want to look fresh and radiant in the morning? Then a pre-party skincare regime is essential. Exfoliate gently, but regularly, using a glycolic acid-based product, in the fortnight running up to the party. Every other night use a hyaluronic acid-infused sheet mask, followed by a serum, before your moisturizer. On the night, follow your moisturizer with a primer that encourages longevity. Finally, don't forget to drink tons of water!

Perfect your complexion before anything else

We can guarantee there’ll be plenty of photos taken at your Christmas ‘do - and you won’t necessarily be in charge of choosing the Instagram filter – so make sure that your skin is on point for each shot and your complexion has just the right amount of coverage to blur out wrinkles, spots and discolouration. When choosing a foundation for your nighttime look, look for moisturizing ingredients, a demi-matte or matte finish and blemish-blurring pigments, which will keep you selfie-ready all night long.

It’s all about easy tweaks, rather than a fresh new face of make up

You don’t want to have to start from scratch with your make-up if you’re going straight from the office to your Christmas do. Likewise you don’t want to start using fiddly products that will keep your colleagues waiting (and gossiping). The answer? Keep products in your desk drawer that will transform your look from day to night, hassle-free. CODE FFL Forget Fake Lashes, used together with CODE VLM Volumising Lengthening Mascara, will seriously upgrade your lashes from office-appropriate to party-ready, without all the glue and faff of falsies. Apply FFL to naked lashes, and the lash-fattening formula will add length and volume to your natural lashes. Once dry, coat with VLM, to add depth of colour, and amp up the volume and length even further.

Make an impact with a statement lip

An easy way to make a make-up statement is with a bold red lip: it’s the make-up equivalent of pulling on a stunning LBD. High-shine is this season’s way to do a red lip and a burgundy shade of red will really keep it looking fresh and modern. Prepare lips before applying colour, by boosting fullness, and adding definition and volume to your pout, with CODE LIP Lip Intense Plumper.

Keep it classy

Yes, a hint of sparkle is a lovely festive addition to your make-up bag (let’s face it, when else can adults get away with glitter?)  but a sparkly nail colour or hint of glitter eyeliner will suffice. We love Smith & Cult’s Shattered Souls Nail Lacquer – a combo of large and small golden particles – that will grab attention for all the right reasons.

Yes it's THAT time of the year again. So, whether you’re ahead of the game and don’t mind joining the crowds or planning on a spot of online shopping from the comfort of your sofa, we’ve taken away some of the legwork and hunted down a collection of the most unique, lust-worthy beauty gifts that money can buy right now.

It can be hard to please your beauty-obsessed friends: with beauty products being so accessible and not usually too pricey, anything new they already have and anything they spot they usually snap up there and then. The key to buying a successful stocking filler is to go for something that they won’t have picked for themselves – something that is either a little bit luxurious or self-indulgent, or something that is so cute and quirky they won’t have thought of it themselves. So here’s a few stocking-filler ideas that they hopefully won’t already have in their make-up bag. And if they do, well, then you can always keep it for yourself…

Beauty sleep starting to become a thing of the past? Why is it that when the nights start to get longer, the amount of sleep we’re getting actually, conversely, starts to reduce? The clocks might have gone back this weekend but let’s face it, the extra hour in bed didn’t touch the sides- we’re getting gradually less sleep each week, thanks to our inability to turn down invitations to all those bonfire night parties/ post-work prosecco/ pre-Christmas drinks (yes, even in November. We like to start early.)....

Halloween is often the first event to kick off party season (yay!) and a great excuse to play about with our makeup. Whatever you’re going as, dramatic eyes can really complete the look (think feline fabulous or sultry vampire) and can give us the confidence to work the room at that unmissable Halloween party. While going for fake lashes can seem like the most obvious choice it might not be the best one, falsies can leave us looking a bit scary, and not in the way we want to.

With Halloween being the traditional time to tell horror stories, we thought we’d have a tale-telling sesh in the CODE office. But with us being a bunch of beauty buffs, we aren’t about the ‘Here’s Jonny’ kinda tales: we decided to tell our make-up horror stories- you know, all those terrifying tales of fake tan tide marks and first date make-up disasters....

Remember when Halloween was just for kids? Oh how we’ve moved on from the days when the 31st October was just a day when we’d go for a spot of after-school trick or treating, dressed in a bin liner and a mask we’d bought at the newsagents. Now, thanks to Hollywood’s love of Halloween, the end of October is one long party, an excuse to dress up, go crazy with our make-up and then Instagram the hell out of it. Figure out which Halloween tribe you fit into...

How old is your mascara – and be honest? We’re ALL guilty of clinging on to our make-up for longer than we should. Let’s face it, who wants to throw out their favourite mascara if they can scrape out a few more weeks of use? But, how old is too old?