Wednesday 31 December 2014

My Current Skin Care Routine


Over the past couple of months my skin has not been looking its best. I've been getting alot more breakouts than normal and instead of feeling overly dry like it normally does, it has turned on its head and started to get slightly more on the oilier side of things. I think the main cause of this change in my skin has been the change in seasons. The weather has gotten alot cooler in recent months and I feel that this definitely has taken a toll on my skin. So in a bid to combat this I have switched out a few products from my skincare routine and I thought I would share them with you. 

For removing my make-up in the evenings I have been sticking with the Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water. I just soak a cotton pad (I use the big square ones that you can get in the Baby section in Boots!) in it and just take my make-up off with it. It does a brilliant job at removing the bulk of my make-up including eyeliner and mascara! 

The main thing I have changed is my cleanser. I have been a firm fan of the Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish for years now- but I am starting to think that my skin is getting too used to it and it just wasn't doing the same job for me. So I did my research and eventually decided to go for the Clinique "Take the day off" Balm. It is suitable for all skintypes, so as my skin is flitting between being dry and oily it will cover me for all days. I do enjoy using cleansers that are slightly thicker in consistency during the colder months. I find that they are just slightly more nourishing for my skin during this time. The Clinique balm does slightly resemble a pot of fat when you first look at it, but don't let that put you off! It is a lot lighter in texture than I was expecting but once you rub it between your hands it turns into an oily substance which you then rub into your skin and rub off using a hot flannel/cloth. I imagine that this will last me ages because I only use the smallest amount and it is quite a big tub. 

I am still loving the Liz Earle Instant Tonic Boost for my toner. I find it soothes my skin when I apply it and does a good job at calming any redness that may be going on. I have this in the spritzer bottle so I can either just spritz it directly onto my skin or just apply it onto a cotton pad and use that to wipe my face with. I sometimes use this in the mornings before I apply any make-up, to freshen up my skin for the day. The next step which I also do in the mornings is apply my beloved La Roche Posay Effaclar Duo. This cream is absolutely amazing, it helps to clear up breakouts really quickly and any redness that may linger from spots. It feels so light on the skin so when I apply it in the mornings before make-up it doesn't make a difference to how my make-up looks. I recently ran out of my favourite Origins GinZing eye-cream and unfortunately I couldn't justify paying for it at the moment (Christmas is coming!) so I went on the hunt for something similar. I look for something that is brightening as well as hydrating in an eyecream. I do tend to get alot of discolouration and puffiness under my eyes so anything that can combat that is a star in my book. So again after a bit of research I decided to go for the Una Brennan Superfacialist Vitamin C eye-cream. I am a massive fan of the Una Brennan range, and everything that I had tried I had loved. In the couple of weeks that I have been using this I have noticed that the dark circles under my eyes have been neutralized quite well and puffiness has been brought down. 

My moisturizer has not changed, I am still loving my Origins GinZing moisturiser. I find it really brightens my skin while still adding a decent amount of moisturizer. Plus it smells like oranges...yum! And finally for any unwelcome friends on my face I use the Origins Super Spot Remover. I am a massive fan of this stuff. Just pop a tiny bit of this onto the offending area and I find that it reduces the size of the area, the redness and overall just speeds up the healing process. It does tend to dry out the spot so only apply this where needed!

So those are the products that I reach for on an everyday basis to try and keep my skin in as best condition as it possibly can. I do think that consistency is a major part of skincare. If you are chopping and changing products like nobodies business then your skin doesn't get a chance to settle down and it will eventually react. So that is why when I do find a product that I like, I stick with it as best I can. What is your all time favourite skincare product and are there any products that you think I should try out?


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Monday 29 December 2014

December Beauty Favourites

I just want to start off this post by apologizing for the severe lack of blogging the past couple of weeks. I have felt like the worst blogger in the world but life has just been very hectic the  past while, that paired with the darker days have not been a good combinations for my poor blog! But (almost) new year, new start and one of my New Years Resolutions is to get more organized when it comes to blogging - a diary has been bought, organization will happen! 

I wasn't sure whether to bother do a December Favourites post or to just skip to my 2014 favourites but I decided to do both, because I have been loving some products in the past month that don't quite qualify for the 2014 status but I still wanted to share them with you! My 2014 favourites will be appearing later on this week! 



The Balm | Frat Boy Blush
I bought this on a whim from Cloud10Beauty earlier on in the month and have fallen in love. It is not hte most seasonal choice when it comes to blush but I have been wearing it most days in December. It is a gorgeous matte peachy-pink blush. It is amazingly pigmented so be warned ladies- less is more in this case! But it just seems to brighten up my complexion when I apply it and it is surprisingly long-lasting on the cheeks too which is a bonus! My only gripe with this blush is the packaging- it is housed in a little cardboard palette which I'm thinking is going to get slightly grubby in my make-up bag.



Rimmel Provocolips | Play with Fire
For my Christmas party this month I was on the hunt for a dark, burgandy red lip product that was longlasting. I am slightly lazy when it comes to reapplying my lipstick when I'm out so it is not uncommon for me to arrive home with that dodgy ring of lip colour around my lips and everything else has worn off...oops! So I took to the blogs to see what lip products everyone had been loving recently and I read alot of posts about the new releases from Rimmel called the Provocolips. The shade I went for is called Play with Fire which is exactly what I was looking for - it's slightly darker than your standard red lip. It comes with two ends- one is the colour and the other is the balm you put on top. The first time I used this I was so sceptical because my lips felt so glossy, so I just thought that it would slide all over my face while I was eating. It did not budge. After an evening of food, drink and lots of chats it was still intact! So impressed with these and I will definitely be trying out more shades! 


Charlotte Tilbury Lip Cheat | Pillow Talk
Yes I caved. This lip liner definitely has lived up to the hype for me this month. It is a little bit more pink than my natural lip colour so it doesn't look overly done on my lips. I can get away with (slightly) over-lining my lips with it, so that combined with a lipgloss has given me a very plump lip look for the month of December. It is the creamiest lip pencil I have used but once it is on it stays put for hours. My go to lip look this month has been this paired with Nuxe Reve De Miel on top because my lips have been so dry because of the cold weather. 

Essie Summit of Style
 I went on a mission to get this at the beginning of the month and eventually snapped the last one up in Boots. Since it is the season for glitter this lived on my hands right up until Christmas. It is chunks of rose gold glitter
suspended in a clear polish. I have worn it over both dark and nude shades and it works well over both. Plus it wasn't too bad to get off-bonus!


L'oreal La Palette Nude | Rose
I think this is possibly my favourite out of all my favourites this month. I am so glad that you can start to get eyeshadow palettes like this in the "drugstores" now! I did find this really hard to get my hands on, like the Summit of Style nail polish. It is a gorgeous palette with 10 shades. There is a mixture of both matte and shimmer shades and they are all slightly cool toned which I love on my skin tone. The shades are not the most pigmented but they are easily built up and are super blendable so I think they would be perfect for someone who is starting out with eyeshadows! 

 


So those are my favourites for the month of December! I hope you all had an amazing Christmas and have nice plans for the New Year!  


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Tuesday 9 December 2014

My Top 3 Foundation Picks


I have seen a few bloggers doing posts and videos about their favourite foundations so of course I am ready to jump on that bandwagon and share with you my go-to products for my base. If you are a regular reader on these parts then you will have probably predicted what will be included in this post but if you are on the hunt for something new read on. I do tend to go for higher-end foundations because I just find that the quality and lasting power is slightly better. Saying that I do have quite alot of lower-end favourites but I do save those for shorter days.


NARS Sheer Glow Foundation
Of course I had to start off with the foundation love of my life. I discovered this earlier on this year and it has been my go to base ever since. It is a medium to full coverage foundation with a satin finish. It is so longlasting which is why I tend to reach for it on an everyday basis. It works well with so many different brushes and with fingers which is great for early mornings when you grab the nearest thing to you! I love this foundation so much I have it in two shades, Monte Blanc and Fiji - which if you look at swatches online are miles apart but I do love my fake tan! Another thing I love about this foundation is that it is SPF free which is perfect for flash photography- no ghost face! It is the most expensive out of my three picks but one bottle will do me 4-5 months so you really do get your moneys worth! Available online here.


Bourjois 123 Perfect CC Cream
For days where I want a slightly lighter coverage I always reach for my Bourjois CC Cream. This offers amazing coverage while still feeling amazingly lightweight on the skin. I totally ignored the whole BB/CC cream hype but this one slipped itself into my make-up bag and it is a keeper! It contains different colour correcting pigments which even out your skintone. Whenever I wear this my skin looks completely radiant with a bit of a glow. I do have to powder this to make it last the whole day but other than that I can not fault it. It is the cheapest of my picks and available online here. You can get it online here.


YSL Youth Liberator Serum Foundation
This is the most recent addition to my foundation collection, and it is actually one I "borrowed" from my mum. This again is a more medium-full coverage foundation and is extremely long-lasting throughout the day. The reason I am such a big fan of this foundation is that while I'm wearing it it seems to improve my skin and how it looks. I was going through a bad skin patch a few months ago and during the time I was wearing this I found that it made such an improvement to my skin. It is definitely on the dewier side of things so if you are an oilier skinned girl maybe steer clear of this one! Available online here.

If you have any other base recommendations for me please let me know.


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Thursday 4 December 2014

NYX HD Concealer


You all know I am a massive fan of the NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer but unfortunately coming up to Christmas, a €30 concealer is just not high on my list of priorities. I recently tweeted that I was going to a NYX stand and asked for recommendations for what to pick up and the lovely Leanne recommended the HD Concealer. I hadn't heard anything about this concealer before but I decided to buy it since I was running dangerously low on my NARS one. 

There are so many shade options of this concealer it is amazing! I normally go for the lightest shade possible in concealer because I am so naturally fair that I can use it with or without tan on, and I always like to apply it underneath my eyes to brighten up those dreaded dark circles. But there were so many shade options I really wasn't sure which to go for, I did eventually settle on CW02 which was the second lightest in the range that was at the stand I visited. It is a pretty close match for my shade in the NARS so I felt our relationship was off to a good start! I have to say, I have fallen in love with this concealer. For the couple of euros I spent on this I wasn't expecting much but I have to say that I think this is comparable to the Radiant Creamy concealer. It gives amazing full coverage but it doesn't look heavy or caked on. I just apply it to the area needed and blend with my ring finger. It blends in seamlessly and is amazingly longlasting! I would apply this in the morning and it is still there when I remove my make-up at the end of the day.




For €6.99 I think this concealer is an amazing find! If you are in the market for a good drugstore concealer I would definitely recommend you give this one a go. They have an amazing range of colours, including some colour correcting ones so there is something for everyone! 


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Tuesday 2 December 2014

Collective Haul | Beauty & Clothes


Sooo I did a bit of shopping. The sad thing is that this isn't actually everything I've bought. Some bits are still on the way and other things I forgot to take photographs of..oops! 

Clothes
 These three pieces are from good old Penneys/Primark. They really have some nice bits in there at the moment and I was really restrained with just these three bits (and a statement necklace that I was wearing at the time of taking the photos) I have been after a white blazer for ages and eventually spotted this one. I'm not the biggest fan of the buttons so I am planning on replacing them with something less noticeable. It was only €25 too, so I couldn't really leave it behind. This mint clutch was an impulse buy, it's absolutely massive so I'll be able to fit all my essentials (and the kitchen sink) in it for a night out! I had my eye on these shoes for ages and I know they will be a firm staple in my wardrobe this summer. They are surprisingly comfortable and I'm tempted to get them in the other colours too! 

Make-up/Beauty
I literally have just went crazy for make-up lately. First place that was hit was the Barry M stand, when I seen they had released new shades in the Gelly Hi Shine range I had to get my hands on them. I am such a massive fan of the Gelly Hi Shine's and these colours are perfect for the Summer. I picked up Rose Hip (Light Pink), Almond (Nude), Pink Punch (Dark Pink) and Damson (Blue). My lovely boyfriend treated me to the Naked 3 palette and I am in love. It has colours that I would never normally go for but after trying them I have found that they are so amazingly wearable and of course as all Urban Decay eyeshadows are, amazing quality. I'm planning on doing an entire review on it even though there are already a million and one across the internet. After getting major skin envy after seeing one of Orla's instagram pictures I went out that day and bought the No.7 Stay Perfect Superlight foundation, again I am planning on doing an full review on this but so far I am loving it for lighter coverage days! Since I had one of those pesky No.7 vouchers that I just had to spend I ended up picking up this Naturally Sunkissed Facial Gradual Tan too. This is brilliant for bringing some colour to my face while still moisturising. As a self confessed mascara addict I couldn't resist picking up this newbie from Bourjois, the wand is so unusual! On a random food trip to Aldi I spotted these look a likes. They reminded me so much of the Aussie packaging and at €2.50 a bottle I had to give them a go. I haven't tried them yet but I will be sure to let you know how I get on. I found this Michel Mercier brush in TK Maxx for €9.99. I remember hearing good things about these brushes a couple of years ago and decided to try it out since my poor Tangle Teaser is on its last legs. I love the fact that it has a handle but other than that I haven't found much of a difference! After having such a good experience with the This Works Sleep Spray I decided to give the balm a go, and I am happy to report back and say it works just as well. This is so handy for travelling because it is so much smaller than the spray and I've really enjoyed using it.

Random
I finally caved to the hype and got the Alexa Chung book. I got it off the app Depop (which I am literally addicted to!) and to be honest I did only order this to have in the background of some of my blog pictures but I have really been enjoying flicking through it. I never buy actual books anymore because of my Kindle so this is nice for a change. After hearing so many rave reviews I bought the Louise Young Super Foundation brush - this brush is insanely soft! I am currently trying it out with my different foundations and it just works amazingly well with all of them so far! Finally was a sneaky purchase off Amazon and was this beautiful Kate Spade phone case. I have been coveting all things Kate Spade lately and this was the only thing I would allow myself to buy.

So those are a few or my more recent purchases, as I said I still have a few make up bits on the way so expect lots of reviews coming up!


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