Super Skincare

I am probably slightly more obsessed with skincare than make up, I find it almost impossible to go into any kind of pharmacy, supermarket or department store without buying some kind of skincare product. I always manage to convince myself whatever I'm buying is absolutely necessary, I'm sure we can all relate to this, I mean you can never have too many cleansers can you?Over the past few months there's been a few standout skincare products I've added to my regime and I really wonder how I managed without them before so I thought why not share my discoveries!

First up we have the No.7 Protect and Perfect Advanced Serum. I've been using this for I'd say almost a year now and I love it. I never really had a serum that I would use regularly before this, I guess I hadn't found one that I liked enough. This particular one is aimed at targeting the first signs of ageing, keeping skin looking radiant and younger for longer. Now let's be honest who doesn't want to look younger for longer?

It has a beautiful light texture, that absorbs into the skin straight away leaving it feeling super soft and smooth. I have often found other serums too rich and almost heavy on the skin but not this one. I have been using it morning and evening and I think it really has done a lot to improve the tone and texture of my skin. My skin tone has evened out a lot, and I also feel it has helped combat some of the more oily zones on my face. My skin just generally feels healthier and I really think adding this to my routine has been a big factor. 

You might think it's a bit pricey for a pharmacy brand but honestly a little goes a long way and any time I get the No.7 vouchers I use them to stock up. So if you have one lying around in your purse now's the time to use it people and hop on the serum bandwagon!

Next up it's the Clinique Take the Day Off cleansing balm.  Intending to buy a clinique lipstick I came home with two of them and this rather lovely jar of cleansing balm. As the name suggests it literally takes all your make off, yes even waterproof mascara. It almost transforms into an oil when you rub it in, but doesn't leave any kind of greasy film on the skin. It's a perfect everyday cleanser, it does exactly what it says on the tin and leaves your skin totally clean and beautifully soft. A little goes a long way so this 125ml tub will last a long time, believe me.

The last facial skincare product I'll talk about here is the Clarins Lotus Face Treatment Oil. I had wanted to get a facial oil for a long time and I knew these clarins oils have a cult following and a great reputation. I don't routinely use a night cream and I decided I'd go for this oil instead. I use it every night you only need 2-3 drops for the whole face. This particular lotus one is for combination skin, now you might think oily skin doesn't need more oil but honestly it has really helped to balance my skin. My pores are much less visible, and oily and dry areas are much improved. I have really noticed a difference in my skin and I could not be without this oil now. Maybe my favourite thing about it though has to be the smell, oh it's just divine and now it reminds me of going to bed which always makes me happy!

Now lastly onto some body care. The L'Occitane Almond Shower Oil. Beauty bloggers have been raving about this for as long as I've been reading blogs and I finally got my hands on a small bottle from sephora just to try it out and see what all hype was about. I have since purchased a full size bottle so that'll tell you how I feel about. It transforms into a lovely foam and I can't tell you how soft it makes your skin. It has a lovely luxurious scent and honestly no product has ever made my skin so soft. Try get yourself a sample before you invest and you'll see what I'm talking about.

Latest Loves

Hello all :)So here I am again with a little post that I've been prepping for a while. Rather than doing monthly favourites over the last couple of months I decided to save up and talk about some products that I totally love and have been using for a while now. It's a mix of drugstore bits and a couple slightly more high end products so hopefully there's something for everyone and I hope you all enjoy reading my long ramble :)

I'll start off with skincare and I have a couple of products that are getting a special mention here. First up it's the famous Eve Lom Cleanser. Now you may have seen me mention this when I first got it back in November in my very first Look Fantastic beauty box. Understandably I was very excited and couldn't wait to try it and let me tell you I was not disappointed. I can confirm I am now a true Eve Lom convert, I now understand why it has the cult following it does. This was actually the first balm cleanser I had every tried and I was a bit worried at the thought of rubbing a somewhat oily balm all over my face, but I found it very easy to use and actually really good on my combination skin. I use it only for removing make up at the end of the day and it does a super job. There's few things I love more than washing my face at the end of the day(yes I did just say that) and using this my face feels amazingly clean yet my skin still feels soft,not in any way tight and is just perfectly ready for my night time skincare routine. Also a little goes a long way, I have only just finished this 30ml sample size and I've been using it for a good 3 months. This will make me feel better about investing in a full size tub!

Next up we have another cleanser ( I may have a slight obsession!) This one comes from Una Brennan and it's her Vitamin C+ Skin Renew Cleansing Oil. I have a thing for oils these days and this particular one is a brilliant drugstore find. Simply massage onto your skin and remove with a damp facecloth and tah dah your skin is make up free, feels soft, hydrated and there's no oily residue left behind. This lasts a seriously long time too, as you can see from the picture it's nearly gone but I've had it for about 3 months now and I use it almost every day. A great value for money cleansing oil, highly recommended from me!!

Now for my current facemask of choice. I got this Nuxe Masque Creme Fraiche de Beaute 24 hour hydrating fresh mask in a Look fantastic beauty box a couple of months back. I put it in my box of samples and minis and kind of forgot about it for a while. Then my skin went through a stage where it was quite dry and just needed a kick of moisture and I decided to give this a go. I generally get on well with Nuxe products and this is no exception. It's a nice light creamy texture, easy to apply and left on for about 10 minutes your skin just drinks it up and is totally re-hydrated. I found it really made a difference to my skin and even the next day my skin felt much smoother and fresher, it did exactly what I needed it to!

The final skincare product that has taken up residence in my bathroom recently comes from the one and only Soap and Glory.

It's their Whipped Clean Luxe Cream Wash Shower Butter (bit of a long name!). Soap and Glory products are so popular but I've only really started getting into them properly recently and this is now one of my favourite shower products. It has the texture of a body butter but then it lathers up into a gorgeous soft shower gel that does actually moisturise the skin. This is probably thanks to the shea butter and different oils that are combined in it. So nice to have a shower gel that doesn't leave the skin feeling dry or flaky and for some people it may even mean you can skip the post shower moisturising if you're having a lazy day!

Onto make up and first up we have lipstick. I feel that a girl can never have too many lipsticks and nothing makes me happier than buying a shiny new one! This particular Yves Saint Laurent one was a treat to myself using my boots advantage card points and I just adore it!! It's one of their Rouge Volupte Shine range in the shade number 5 Fushcia in Excess. It glides on so easily, the colour pay off is amazing, it has a beautiful shine, it lasts for a good 8 hours and it's even moisturising!! Can you tell I like it ha!! The colour comes across better in person but the picture below gives you an idea of the dreamy pink colour. Go use your Boots points wisely people!


Another Soap and Glory product has made it into my latest loves and it's their much loved Solar Powder Bronzer. I had wanted to get my hands on this for ages and it was always out of stock in my local boots but i finally managed to get it a couple of months ago and now I know why it was always sold out. Basically it's your perfect everyday bronzer. No shimmer, just a lovely two tone compact, a lighter peachy shade on one side and a darker bronze shade on the other. Swirled together they give your face the perfect sun kissed touch, adding a gorgeous natural looking glow that's perfect even for paler skins.

Last but not least is possibly the best addition to my beauty routine over the past few months and it's the amazing Wet Brush. This is also thanks to Look fantastic because I got this super cute mini one from their beauty box. I had been meaning to buy one for so long, I have mentioned my ridiculously knotty hair on here before and I really never thought anything could tackle it. But it's true the Wet Brush is life changing-yes I said life changing. Seriously, my knotty haired friends with understand what a chore it is to brush your hair but this makes it so easy! It glides through the hair detangling without snagging or pulling, I can't even describe in words how good it is, just wait until you try it!! 
P.S. Follow me on instagram to check out my new hair do :)

My 5 Minute Work Face

Woohoo my first post of the New Year!!

I hope year has got off to a good start for everyone and here's to a great 2015 :)

So when I'm working I'm not one of these people who gets up super early and has loads of time to have breakfast and get ready and watch a bit of morning TV. I love my bed and the longer I can stay in it the better so I literally get up and dressed and ready for work all in about 20 minutes. My make-up look has to be quick and easy so I've got my 5 minute face pretty fine tuned now.

I don't wear much make-up to work.I'm a nurse and my day is 13 hours long so really I try to just have some kind of coverage that will last for a good chunk of the day. As you can see from the picture,nothing caked on, all very minimal just something so that I'm not completely bare faced. So here are my go to products for my super fast and easy work face.

First of all I pop on a bit of concealer. I always, always use the Maybelline Instant Anti-Age Rewind Concealer. This is much needed after rolling out of bed. I use it under my eyes and around my nose, it's so quick to blend in with your fingers and gives great coverage of those pesky dark circles.

For my base I have a couple of different foundations that I go between, just depending how my skin is at the time. First my L'Oreal True Match foundation. This is an old reliable and is perfect for the long days in work. It blends in so easily, gives a medium coverage and does not feel heavy on the skin. It looks natural and really just have good staying power. The next one I use is the Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum. I've mentioned this before in my foundation favourites and I still love it. It's a lighter coverage than the true match so I usually use this on particularly good skin days.It has a lovely light texture that blends very easily and leaves a nice fresh finish. Once set with some powder it lasts pretty well and is perfect for the fresh natural look I like for work. 

To set my base in place I use my MAC Mineralize Skin Finish Powder. It sets foundation perfectly without making you look cakey or dry. It smoothes over imperfections, gives the perfect natural look and lasts really well.

Next up is the brows. For this important step I reply on the Soap and Glory Archery Brow Tint and Precision Pencil. I have tried so many different eyebrow products and this is always the one I come back to, in fact I only recently repurchased after completely using up my last one. The pencil end is more crayon than pencil really which is why I like it, it's perfect for filling in gaps without looking like you've drawn anything on. I have the colour Love is blonde and it's the perfect shade,so natural looking which is very rare for brow products I think as so often the shades offered are too dark. I use the crayon end for this daytime work look as it gives the most natural effect, I tend to use the tint end when I'm doing a more full on make-up look.

I add a little bit of bronzer just to warm up the look and make me look more alive. My go to bronzer is the L'Oreal Glam Bronze Bronzer and Highlighter Compact. I swirl the two colours together and sweep it across my face and it completes the look by just brightening up my face without looking in any way orange.

All that's left now is the eyes and lips. So the mascara I usually use for work is the L'Oreal Miss Manga Mascara. I like this for the minimal look as it separates the lashes nicely, opening up the eyes and gives just the right amount of volume. It lasts perfectly, doesn't flake off throughout the day and doesn't clump together either. Last but not least is my lips. Lipstick is a no go for work really, a gloss or balm is the best option. My lips can get very dry and as I said the day is very long so you don't want something wearing off terribly half way through the day. The No7 BB Lips Beauty Balm is just what I need. The shade I have is blush coral. It nourishes the lips, giving just a nice hint of sheer colour. It lasts pretty well and even when it does start to wear off, because it's more of a balm it's not dry or flaky and is so easy to reapply on the go with no need for a mirror.  

So that's it my 5 minute work face. Super quick and easy and gives the perfect natural look to last a long busy day in work.

Let me know what you reach for in the morning as your quick fix for the day :)