LIFE | PAMPER DAY ESSENTIALS

face: origins drink-up intensive overnight moisturising mask | biore deep cleansing pore strips | yes to 'carrots' exfoliating cleanser | lush bubblegum lip scrub | una brennan super facialist pore purifying clay mask | yes to 'grapefruit' correcting serum

body: spoil me naked bath foam | the body shop olive shower gel | yankee candle in midsummers night | the body shop hemp foot protector | the body shop strawberry body sorbet

hair: lush roots hair treatment | organix keratin oil shampoo and conditioner | organix argan oil of morocco

nails: cutex strengthening nail polish remover | deep sea cosmetics cuticle oil | deep sea cosmetics trio nail file | essie nail polish - blanc, tart deco, naughty nautical | vaseline hand and nail cream

Being a Sunday and a bank holiday weekend, what better post to put together than my pamper day top picks? 

Everyone needs a day to pamper themselves head-to-toe (quite literally) every now and then and these are my essential products to do exactly that.

Beauty: January Favourites

Soap&Glory - 'The Ultimelt' hot cloth cleanser | Bare Minerals - Pure Transformation Night Treatment | Ardell - 'Demi Wispies' false lashes | Real Techniques - Contour brush

Only four products have made it into my first lot of favourites of 2014...
 

It took me a while to jump onto the hot cloth cleanser bandwagon with all the attention around the Liz Earle version a while back but with £55 worth of boots points I decided to give the Soap & Glory 'The Ultimelt' a whirl. Rather than using it as a daily cleanser, it's in with the face masks and exfoliators for when my skin needs a quick pick-me-up.

This Bare Minerals night treatment is one of the oddest products I own for sure. As it's a multi-purpose product it can be used as a night treatment or as a full coverage powder foundation during the day... it feels as though you're wearing make-up to bed! But, as weird as it seems, it works amazingly for both uses!

It's a very rare occasion that I go out in public without a pair of false lashes on, which is terrible I know, but acknowledging my eyelash addiction is the first step... I'm gradually trying to wear more natural styles to eventually feel better about going 'au naturel' and the Ardell 'demi wispies' style is perfect!

Last but certainly not least, I've been on the hunt for the Real Techniques contour brush alone for forever with no luck so I finally gave in and treated myself to the 'core collection' set (which contains the buffing brush, pointed foundation brush, detailer brush and of course the contour brush).
I don't know how I ever managed to contour without it!


Which are your favourite beauty products of 2014 so far?

 

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Dear Santa; Beauty Edition

Real Techniques Setting Brush | Zoeva Wing Liner brush 317 | Nars Sheer Glow foundation (Ceylan) | Bobbi Brown Corrector | Enrapture Encode Totem Styler | Michael Van Clarke '3 more inches' Pre-wash Treatment

A couple of brushes I've wanted to add to my ever growing makeup brush collection are the Real Techniques setting brush and the Zoeva wing liner brush. I do have a few RT brushes and, of course, they've never disappointed but I'm yet to try out the Zoeva brand. I've been after an angled brush, mainly for doing eyebrows, for a while and I think this may just do the trick! Let me know if you've tried it and what you think?

Sadly, my lil' bottle of MAC studio fix fluid is coming to an end after being part of my daily make-up routine for a surprisingly long time.. but in perfect timing! Seeing as my skin turns very dry in the winter months, I'm after a foundation that isn't going to dry it out even more.. hence Nars sheer glow. I've heard only good things about this foundation so I'm pretty excited to try it out.

Sticking with the winter skin problems theme... dark circles.  Such a pain! Concealer alone never seems to be enough to cover them, plus the issue of creasing etc. so I think a good Bobbi Brown corrector will be the way to go.

Yes, I'm late to the Enrapture bandwagon, but I've had a bit of a break from my extensions over the last few months and my natural length hair really doesn't suit the curly style. However, just recently they've made their way back in and I feel like now is a great time to get involved with the totem styler excitement.

Just in the last 2 weeks I had my hair cut for the first time in over 2 years (terrifying experience), so I'm now in a desperate state for my hair to grow quickly, dreaming of long locks. I saw this '3 more inches' treatment a while back but the price tag is is tad bit scary at £29!


What's on your beauty Christmas list this year?

Beauty Favourites #2

Over the last few months I've been swapping and changing the products I use daily and discovered some new favourites.

 Maybelline Baby Lips - Peach Kiss.

Of course, I had to give in to the huge amount of hype surrounding baby lips.. the 'buy one, get one half price' deal managed to sway me. For some reason, when there's so much hype around a product it tends to put me off, which is why I took me so long to jump onto the bandwagon.
Honestly, I was surprised at how much I liked the product, I love the colour, it's really moisurising and it smells incredible too!

 Loreal Collection Privee - Cheryl's Nude.

I'd been after the perfect shade of nude lipstick for a long long time but they always seem too dark or too 'foundation-lips'-y. This shade is perfect, definitely a holy-grail!

 Original Source vanilla & raspberry shower cream.

Never in my 18 years of life have I smelt something soo amazing!

 Garnier Moisture match - Dry to very dry skin.

I'd heard only good things about this moisturiser during some of the #bbloggers chats when I was going through a very dry skin phase. I'd been trying so many different products and exfoliating my skin to death and nothing was helping it but this stuff is a miracle worker!

 Sleek - Au Naturel eyeshadow pallette.

This pallette has been an integral part of my everyday make-up routine for at least 3 months now, and I have successfully hit pan on a lot of the colours. There's the perfect mix of matte and shimmery colours to use from day to night.

  Nars Orgasm Blush.

This was my only purchase at the Manchester Vogue Fashion's Night Out. I managed to get a cheeky £5 off with a gift card they were giving away at the event. I am so obsessed with the colour, I know there are some good dupes out there for a much smaller price tag, I think Sleek does one, but nothing beats having the original, right?!

What are your favourite beauty products lately?

Review; Organix moroccan argan oil shampoo & conditioner

When I found myself walking out the doors at Boots once re-purchasing this shampoo & conditioner for the third time, I realised how much I actually love these products. There hasn't been much hype around Organix hair products and I haven't seen many reviews either, so I thought I'd give them the recognition that they deserve.

My hair is not in particularly good condition.. split ends galore! But since switching to this shampoo and conditioner, it seemed to have bounced back to life, feeling softer and more manageable than ever!

So... what does it promise?

'This exotic precious blend of Moroccan Argan oil, moisturises, revives and helps create softness and strength while helping protect your hair from harmful styling heat and UV damage as it gives you smooth and sexy tresses.'

Do I agree?

It certainly moisturises and creates softness.. I have no evidence of it protecting my hair from styling heat or UV damage, yet again I have no evidence that it doesn't. As far as I can see, I totally agree with what they promise and I'll definitely be re-purchasing for the fourth time.

Pro's:

- Makes your hair softer and shinier,

- Hair looks healthier and is easier to manage,

- No more frizzy-ness!

- They smell incredible,

- Pretty packaging - not that it makes much difference.

Con's:

- The shape of the bottles make it difficult to get product out when you get towards the end,

- They're a tad bit pricey (£6.99 each @ Boots), however, it's well worth splashing out.

Have you tried the Organix Shampoo & Conditioner? What did you think?

My skincare products & routine

Over the last few months, I've experimented with a whole bunch of high end skincare products that claim to 'reduce pores' and 'prevent breakouts'. They've all been pretty good to an extent but not quite worth the big re-purchase at their rather large price tags.

Only now, have I finally built a skincare collection/routine that I'm genuinely happy with and does what it says on the tin! I do usually suffer with having breakout prone skin and even though it has improved naturally over the last few months, I do believe that these products and routines along with drinking lots of water are mainly to thank.

Exfoliate

Boots - Exfoliating gloves

Superfacialist by Una Brennan - Tea flower facial scrub

My favourite product to use for exfoliating is the Una Brennan facial scrub, which, as you can tell by the lack of photo, I have used up and thrown away.. I love the product though, it really makes my skin feel softer and fresher after using it. I use the scrub about 3 times a week as part of my shower routine before cleansing and moisturising.

I know it's quite frowned upon to use exfoliating gloves on your face as they are a bit too coarse, however when my face feels as though it needs a deeper exfoliation to really remove all the dead skin, they are great to use! Of course, I only use them on a very rare occasion, only around once every two weeks to avoid causing damage to my skin.

Remove make-up

Simple - Cleansing facial wipes

No7 - Cleans & Care eye make-up remover

For some reason Simple is the only brand of face wipes that doesn't irritate my skin, even other brands stating to be for sensitive skin manage to bring my skin out in a tiny bumpy rash!

Basically, I use simple face wipes to remove most of my face make-up and eye-shadow. 

The No7 eye make-up remover is so good, it removes the toughest mascara and as it's oil based, it doesn't leave a big smudgy mess all over your eyes like a lot do.

Cleanse

Superfacialist by Una Brennan - Tea Flower cleansing wash

Boots - Face cloth

I use this face wash every morning and night after removing most of my make-up. I dampen my face, massage in the wash and rinse off with a hot damp cloth. 

I adore the smell of the Una Brenna tea flower range, it smells so fresh.. and feels that way too!

Moisturise

Superfacialist by Una Brennan - Tea flower mattifying moisturiser

Simple - Soothing eye balm

Once again, Una Brennan has popped up! I love this moisturiser, I don't have oily skin, infact I have pretty dry skin but I cannot stand the greasy effect dry skin moisurisers leave. When I saw this 'mattifying moisuriser' I thought I'd give it a go! It's not drying what-so-ever but it doesn't leave your skin feeling wet and dewy after applying it.

I follow with my Simple eye balm. It's so cooling and refreshing when you need a quick pick-me-up for those drowsy dark circles.

Masks and treatments

REN - Invisible pores detox mask

Superfacialist by Una Brennan - Tea flower pore purifying clay mask

Sudocrem - Antiseptic cream

When my skin is feeling dull and tired I like to give it a bit of a treat.. it does go through a lot. This little process often occurs once a week, mainly on a Sunday while catching up on my fave blogs or reading the latest Company or Elle.

My two go to masks of choice are the REN invisible pores detox mask and of course, the Una Brennan tea flower clay mask. Both of these are as amazing as each other so asking me to choose a favourite would just be cruel..

On the occasion that my skin decides to punish me through breaking out in blemishes I fight back with the well-known miracle product that is Sudocrem! Seriously, pop this on a spot over night and it'll be gone down before you know it.

I am on the look-out for a good face oil so if anyone has any recommendations send 'em this way!

So there are my skincare products that I use in my routine! Of course, different products work differently for different people but these have been the best products I've found for my skin so far.

Do you use any of these products? What's your skincare routine?

p.s. check out my blog sale! still lots of unworn items for sale :)

Top Summer & Autumn nail colours

Although summer may be coming towards an end with autumn creeping up on us, I am refusing to give up the summer brights and pastels just yet.
I thought I'd put together a little collection of some of my top nail colours that are easily wearable through the summer/autumn transition.

Essie - Tart Deco

Jessica - Orange You Glad To See Me

Essie - Eternal Optimist

Corals, oranges and nudes are always the first colours that come so mind when thinking of the autumn colour pallet, yet they're also perfect for summer to bring out that holiday glow! 

Jessica - Born 2 Pansy

Essie - Naughty Nautical

Models Own - Pink Punch

Of course, as ever, pastels and brights have to be involved. Although pastels are more often associated with spring time, they are a year-round shade when it comes to nails. We all love a good pastel don't we?

With festival season going on until late summer/early autumn, neons are always perfect to bring a bright pop of colour with us when we're most likely covered in mud and sleeping in a tent... yay!

Essie - Blanc

I thought I'd save my favourite for last... WHITE! I am so obsessed with white nail polish at the moment. I've been wearing this polish by Essie non-stop for the last 2 weeks or so, it's certainly been my go-to. 

As with the autumn shades, it's well within the nude pallet yet in a way, it could be considered a bright colour seeing as it definitely stands out... Perfect for both seasons.

What are your favourite summer & autumn nail shades?

p.s. check out my blog sale that's live at the moment! lots of unworn and rarely worn items for sale...

Halo Clip-in Hair Extensions // Review

Halo Hair Extensions

I have to mention that they came beautifully wrapped up in tissue and a pretty ribbon bow, but being so excited that they'd arrived, I completely by-passed taking photos of it for you guys... sorry!

I've tried every hair growth remedy and method under the sun, in the attempt to avoid getting my hair cut and nothing seems to be working. So, I finally gave in to the idea of clip-in hair extensions!

After doing a bit of research I found Halo, and ordered the colour light brown, which sadly turned out to be the wrong colour for my hair. However, this was an opportunity to witness the incredible customer service that they offer! All I had to do was e-mail them requesting a returns form and they replied almost immediately with a very straight-forward form to fill out and send back along with the extensions.

So, the extensions I exchanged them for were the clip-in full head 16" set in the colour Choc Brown (#4). These are the most perfect colour for my hair, I've had a lot of comments on how natural they look too which is nice!
They have a wide range of 23 colours in lengths 16", 20" and 24" so you're bound to find a colour and length that suits you. Even if you're not sure which is the right colour, you can send them a photo of yourself to get a second opinion.. very handy!

The full head 16" clip-in set is £49.99 for 2x 3-clip pieces, 2x 2-clip pieces and 4x 1-clip pieces, which is the perfect amount to create good volume. The clips are already sewn in for you, which makes them even easier to wear. The extensions are made with 100% Indian Remy human hair which also makes them so easy to style and care for.

Overall, I'm very impressed with not only the extensions themselves but the whole experience of ordering from Halo.. no complaints here! If you're thinking of buying some extensions I 100% recommend these. They offer clip-in and pre-bonded extensions as well as their own creations of the 'Halo' and 'Syn'. You can check them out here!

Beauty Favourites

 To kick off the beauty posts, I thought I’d do a favourites / repurchases post. So basically, some of my all-time favourite beauty and skincare products which I can’t get enough of.

First off, it HAD to be the Holy Grail that is Palmer’s Cocoa Butter. This stuff is pretty much like heaven in a bottle. Not only does it smell like a tropical island, it leaves your skin feeling extremely moisturised and soft without feeling sticky like some moisturisers can.The formula comes as a basic lotion, a solid moisturiser, body oil, a gradual tanning lotion and a lip balm etc., which of course I own all of.

Another repurchase is the Revlon Colorstay liquid eyeliner pen. I’ve been wearing liquid eyeliner for around 3/4 years now and I’ve used so many different brands and styles I’ve lost count! This is the only one that I’ve purchased more than twice, in fact more than about 4 times even! It’s so easy to apply and achieve a good winged eyeliner, it stays on all day without smudging or fading and it’s just plain brilliant.

Although I only recently bought my bright pink Tangle Teezer, I’m already in love with it. It is so worth all the hype surrounding it! My hair doesn’t usually get particularly tangled but after backcombing and wearing clip-in extensions all day, it’s perfect for teezing out those small annoying knots near the root without the pain of tugging and ripping at your hair when using a regular brush. I’m so impressed I plan on buying the compact travel size for my trip to Ghana and V festival… to avoid that dreaded festival hair!

Lastly, this isn’t particularly a single product but more of a collection: Ecotools make-up brushes. I never used to use brushes an awful lot, only really for bronzer and blusher (I have no idea how I coped!), now the only thing I don’t use a brush for is eye concealer. I have bought almost the entire range of brushes as they’re so ridiculously soft and eco-friendly (score)! I have the compact foundation, flat foundation, domed bronzer, blush, powder, eye-shadow and concealer brushes as well as the small eye-shadow set. They’re all made cruelty-free, using synthetic talkon bristles and recycled materials, which I love.

So there you have it, my top favourite beauty products of all time. Of course, I have other products that I love, however these are the ones that I use the most and that I’ve repurchased the most.

What are your favourite beauty products?