Video: Added Extras #3 | My Evening Pamper Routine

Normally these types of posts are blog posts, but as I was having a pamper evening last night, I thought it would be fun to film a different type of video than I normally do (a chatty sit down). It took me ages to film but is actually my shortest video ever haha, so I totally appreciate the amount of work it goes into videos like this!

I hope you enjoy this different style of video - please subscribe to my channel if you do. And if you have any other video suggestions let me know :) xxx

Makeup of the Day #1

I tend to switch up my make up look on a day to day basis (with the exception of a few favourite products of the moment) to match my mood, outfit and generally because I like to play around with it! I thought it would be a nice idea to put up a few looks every so often to encourage me to 'shop my stash' more regularly and maybe it will give you an idea on a new way to use a palette or help you get out of your make up comfort zone.

This particular look may be too dramatic for some people in the day due to the heavy(ish) eyes but I wore it during the day no problem. I wish my camera picked up my base products a bit better but I think that's because I need to play around with the settings - if you are good with camera settings please help!

Base:

I started with the Tea Tree Flawless BB Cream by The Body Shop in 01 which gives good coverage without being heavy or clogging up the skin, buffing it in with my buffing brush from Real Techniques (best brush ever). Next I did some concealing - tackling the dark circles under my eyes by blending Bobbi Brown Corrector in Light Bisque just in the inner corners with my ring finger. I concealed any blemishes and under my eyes with Revlon's Colour Stay Concealer in 02 Light, which is a little too yellow toned for me but fine once blended out. I always set my make up with a decent oil controlling powder and at the moment that is Maybelline's Matte Maker in 20 Nude Beige. This can go a bit cakey so you need to have a light hand with it. My really old but newly re-discovered  Avon Bronzing Pearls gave me some colour applied to where the sun naturally hits and then finished off with my new favourite Benefit Havana Blush combined with the highlight from the centre of Sleek's Contour Kit on top of my cheekbones. 

Brows:

I find brows quite difficult to master due to finding the right shade and not having loads of hair to work with but since getting the Anastasia Brow Wiz in Taupe/Ash Brown it has literally changed my life in terms of eyebrow game. It's the perfect shade and easy to work with - totally a new holy grail product. To set I used Maybelinne's Browdrama in Medium which is too dark but I've never been able to find a light shade so I just have to use it sparingly.

Eyes:

For my eyes I used a variety of shadows from the Urban Decay Naked 2 palette: Chopper all over lid, Tease in the crease, Snakebite in the outer corner and finished with Foxy in the inner corners and brow bone to highlight. I used a mix of Tease and Snakebite smudged under my eyes, stopping about half way and Blackout as a thin liner on top using an angled liner brush. Finally I used a few coats of the curved version of MaxFactor 2000 Calorie mascara - I still like the formula but hate the brush so will definitely be going back to the original once this runs out.

Lips:

Because the eyes were so dramatic I wanted the lips to be quite neutral. I chose MAC Creme Cup which is not only one of my favourite nudey lipsticks but one of my all time favourite MAC lipsticks. Over the top I added Clarins Instant Light Natural Lip Perfector in 02 to keep my lips hydrated and glossy. I love this lipgloss/balm hybrid so much and its perfect for fuss free lips.

Whats your favourite make up product of the moment? xxx

Origins | Zero Oil Deep Pore Cleanser |

£18 // 150ml

Origins is one of my favourite brands, and I am slowly working on building up my collection of skincare from them. I was in need of a new face wash for the mornings and this had been on my radar for quite a while so I decided to buy it around a month ago. Since then my skin has changed so much for the better.

Although the packaging is a cute blue colour, the product inside is a clear gel that slightly foams once emulsified. I know foaming face washes are meant to be a bit of a no go but it doesn't foam that much and to be honest it has benefited my skin so much I'm not really too bothered! Ingredients include saw palmetto which helps to inhibit excess oil, salicylic acid which helps to exfoliate the skin's surface and therefore minimise and unclog pores and soothing aloe leaf juice. 

My skin has been so much clearer and even toned as well as oil production now being balanced, although I haven't noticed much difference regarding my pores. I used to have to blot/powder a few times a day but sometimes I can go a whole day without wearing any powder since using this. The only gripe I have with the product is the smell, which I'm really not a fan of. I'm literally so impressed with this product and it has reached holy grail status in my skincare regime. If you have a similar skin type to me I highly recommend you pick this up.

Do you have any favourites from Origins? xxx

All Used Up #5

There isn't too many products in the fifth installment of this series even though I have used up other things but have failed to keep them in order to write a post. I'm going to try a bit harder though to find somewhere safe to keep them as I think they are a great way to do mini reviews and enjoy reading other people's (link me in the comments if you have a recent post of your own!)

001. La Roche-Posay Physiological Micellar Solution: I've been trying out a few micellar waters to take off the excess of my make up before cleansing properly, which I used to do with face wipes before. This was one of the better ones I have tried but did not take up all of my make up so I wouldn't recommend cleansing with just this. It was nice in the mornings though to freshen up and left skin soft and without any residue. I'm not sure if I really 'get' the hype over micellar waters to be honest - I'm using a bottle of Bioderma which is supposed to be the best one on the market, so once that is all finished I think I will have formed my final opinion on this type of product.

002. Simple Smoothing Facial Scrub: This has been hanging around for a while so I was pleased to finish it. It is an effective scrub without being too harsh and a good scrub/cream ratio but it didn't blow me away. I am looking at other scrubs and ways in which to exfoliate my skin instead at the moment.

003. Soap & Glory Sugar Crush Body Scrub: Another scrub, this time for the body. The scent of this is amazing: citrus and brown sugar combined together smells like Rowntree's fruit pastel lollies :) I'm a big fan of all things Soap & Glory and I am slowly working my way through their products but this particular scrub wasn't the best I've tried from them. As I said the smell was amazing so I am definitely looking into getting the shower gel of this range but the scrub wasn't scrubby enough for me and found that meant a lot of product was needed to get the desired results. Flake Away lasted a lot longer than this and I preferred the texture so it is still the top scrub for me!

004. Superdrug Blonde Colour Enhance Conditioner: Like the Simple scrub this has been in my bathroom for ages (I'm talking years) as I didn't really like it too much. I ended up using it for shaving my legs which it was good at but for its actual use I wouldn't repurchase.

005. Batiste Dry Shampoo in Blush: Yet another dry shampoo as I always use this in between washes. I've never really tried another dry shampoo as these are cheap and do the job.

006. Tresemme Heat Defence Smooth Spray: I don't use any other products from this brand as I heard from hairdressers that it isn't actually good for your hair, but their heat protectant is lovely and I always repurchase it. It smells lovely, doesn't weigh hair down and lasts ages so is very cost effective too. My favourite aspect of this product is the spray function as it delivers a very fine mist. I've kept the bottle to transfer some other heat protectants that I've got to use up into as its the best spray I've found. A definite repurchase.

Have you tried any of these products? xxx

Review: Clarins | Lotus Face Treatment Oil |

Oily/combination Skin // £30 // 30ml

Considering I have combination to oily skin, my skincare routine was always focused on using products that would strip the oil away. That was until around a year ago when I realised that this only made the problem worse and so started to switch up the products I was using. Even though I made those changes it was still weird to consider using an actual oil on my face but after seeing positive things about the benefits of using a facial oil I put this one from Clarins on my birthday list.

Clarins do a range of three different oils depending on your skin type - this one in particular is focused on oily/combination skin. This oil contains 100% natural blend of lotus, geranium and rosewood which are supposed to be naturally astringent and the claim is that they help to purify and refine pores as well as refining skin's texture. Hazelnut oil is also present to seal in moisture and prevent fine lines. The blend of these oils leads the oil to smell like citronella candles which is quite strong but it isn't unpleasant at all. The pipette for dispensing the oil is also really useful and enables me to get just the right amount of product. 

I apply this on damp skin (from toner) and sometimes layer on a night cream afterwards or mix it in with the cream. From the first use I could tell this worked wonders - my face in the morning was matte (something which never happens), smooth and even textured. It has also really helped with dehyration too. Only a few drops are needed as a little goes a long way - you can see a few months usage from the pictures above. This has definitely become holy grail status and something which will be a staple in my skin care. I rotate it every other night with my ANR and always see a positive difference after applying it. I loved it so much I even bought the formula for dry skin for my Mum and she loves her version too! Clarins are really on a roll at the moment and I am enjoying using quite a few of their skin care and make up bits (reviews to come!) 

If you suffer from combination/oily skin I really urge you to pick this up. It is a bit pricey but is definitely worth it. What are your skin care holy grail products? xxx

Review: Barry M Lipstick in '101'

I've been meaning to put up a lipstick review for a while as I have quite a few to share. From now on I will accompany these posts with lip swatches, rather than just on my hand as I find the former the most useful. I've been putting it off though because although it seems silly I'm a bit scared to put up zoomed in pictures of my lips! The swatches below are my first attempt so please be kind :)!

Anyway, onto the review... I received this lipstick in my stocking at Christmas which was a nice surprise as it was something I had wanted to try for a while. I love Barry M nail varnishes, but was yet to delve into their make up range. The rubber packaging is rather basic but I don't think its anything to complain about as it is sleek and simple. The formula isn't too bad either for a budget lipstick, although I did have to apply a few coats to get an even colour. 

By itself, the colour of this lipstick is nothing like how it is in the bullet! I thought this would be a peachy nude, but it comes out as a really milky pink shade, which washes me out completely and looks like I've coated my lips in concealer! The swatch down below doesn't show how white this looks in person, but as I have to apply quite a few coats to make it opaque as I have naturally pigmented lips I end up looking a bit ridiculous. 

I've found the best way to wear this is with a light pink lip gloss over the top to brighten it up a bit (like this one), dabbed onto my lips as a colour corrector before a brighter lipstick or the way Lisa Eldridge showed in a recent video like I did in this post - dabbing a favourite bright as a stain onto your lips then applying this over the top to stop it looking so 'dead'. I  used the Kate Moss for Rimmel lipstick in 107 in the swatch below. 

Overall, the quality of this lipstick isn't bad but the colour is just awful for me! Luckily I've managed to find different ways to make it wearable - next time I will have to swatch them in store to make sure the colour matches up to that of the bullet!

Lipstick on its own.

Lipstick with pink gloss over the top

Lipstick over the top of Rimmel's shade 107

Have you tried anything from the Barry M make up range? Do you have any suggestions for a nice peachy nude? xxx

Review: Nars | Orgasm Blush & Laguna Bronzer Duo |

NARS Blusher/Bronzer Duo // Orgasm and Laguna // £30

Two cult products in the beauty blogging world are the naughtily named blush 'Orgasm' and a bronzer in the shade 'Laguna' from Nars. I had wanted to try them for ages and was really lucky when my Mum picked me up the blush/bronzer duo a few months ago. They are my first Nars products and I'm pleased I got the duo so I could sample both products.

Housed in the iconic Nars packaging and featuring a large mirror that is great for travel, the aesthetics ticks all the boxes for me. Lets start with the blush - silky smooth and with a finely milled texture, you only need to dip your brush a tiny bit into the pan to give your cheeks a lovely flush of colour and is easily buildable too. In terms of colour, Orgasm is a light pink with a hint of coral shade, flecked with lots of golden glitter particles. That might sound really scary but these golden sparkles don't leave you looking like a glitter ball but offer a lovely sheen which means you can forgo highlighter. This blusher has really lived up to the hype for me  with both the quality and colour being worth the price. I can see this lasting me ages as you don't need a lot of product and think it will be perfect for spring/summer make up.

In regards to Laguna I'm not really sure how I feel. Like the blusher this can also be built up very easily which is great for heavy handed people, however I felt like you can't see a difference when wearing it unless you build it up quite a lot. I really like that it has no orange undertones so is very natural and I've heard that it is great for contouring too (I don't really contour too much) but for some reason I just haven't fallen in love with it like other bloggers have and prefer the Bourjois chocolate bronzer. Maybe I'm not doing it right - if you have any tips on what to use/how to apply it to see if I can make it work better that would be great!

Overall I think this was a great product to introduce myself to the brand. The blusher has definitely won me over and I'll be exploring into other shades, but the bronzer hasn't done much to wow me. I do have my eyes on a few eyeshadow duos and lipsticks though so hopefully I will be expanding my Nars stash soon....

What is your favourite product from Nars? xxx